He stared at the figure not far away, his eyes fixed.
Her sleeves fluttered gracefully, accentuating her jade-like skin, making it appear even more translucent.
Her waist was so slender he could wrap one hand around it, and the curve of her chest… His Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbed.
And that face, brimming with allure…
Was this… Su Yaoyao?
The fiancée he had loathed for years?
When had she… grown into this?
“Your Highness?” Su Yun’er noticed his lapse, alarm bells ringing in her heart, and quickly called out to him in a gentle voice.
But Xiao Qiming seemed not to hear, his eyes still locked on Su Yaoyao.
Su Yaoyao appeared oblivious to the gazes fixed upon her, walking with composed steps, a faint, appropriate smile gracing her lips.
“Sister…” Su Yun’er forced a smile and stepped forward. “Sister, today… you’re truly unrecognizable.”
Su Yaoyao stopped a few steps away from them, her gaze lightly sweeping over Xiao Qiming’s hand resting on Su Yun’er’s shoulder. The corners of her lips curled into a faint, ambiguous smile.
“Second Prince, younger sister.”
She gave a slight nod, her voice clear and bright, carrying a hint of lazy huskiness. “What a coincidence.”
Xiao Qiming jerked his hand back as if scalded, his Adam’s apple bobbing again. He opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a single word.
The woman before him was so unfamiliar it startled him, yet… so beautiful he couldn’t look away.
Seeing the Second Prince in such a state, Su Yun’er’s jealousy and resentment deepened.
“Sister, this dress… it’s new, isn’t it? The color is quite bright, but the style…”
She feigned hesitation. “Isn’t it… a bit too figure-hugging? Today’s palace banquet, His Highness the Crown Prince is also present. It would be better for sister to… maintain some decorum.”
Her words, seemingly complimentary, carried hidden criticism, directly implying Su Yaoyao’s attire was improper and suggestive of frivolity.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, some of the older noblewomen looked at Su Yaoyao with scrutinizing eyes.
Before Su Yaoyao could speak,
a young man in blue nearby couldn’t help but interject, “Miss Su Yun’er, that’s not quite right. Miss Su Yaoyao is exceptionally beautiful, and her attire is perfectly appropriate. She looks splendid!”
Another chimed in, “Exactly. In my opinion, Miss Su Yaoyao’s attire is elegant and refined, far superior to those adorned with gold and silver.”
His words carried an implication, causing the faces of several noblewomen who had mocked Su Yaoyao earlier to turn sour.
Su Yaoyao offered them a slight smile, which made the young men blush deeply.
Xiao Qiming, seeing her charming, smiling appearance, felt a surge of inexplicable anger. He sneered, “Dressed up so flamboyantly, for whom? Shameless!”
Su Yaoyao turned her eyes to him, a flicker of faint mockery passing through her gaze, too quick to catch.
Instantly, a hazy glimmer of tears gradually welled up in those beautiful eyes.
Then, she lowered her head slightly, her voice trembling.
“Second Prince… there’s no need to humiliate me like this. Yaoyao… understands in her heart…”
She raised her eyes, tears shimmering on the verge of falling, yet her gaze remained clear and transparent, carrying a fragile strength.
“Your Highness and my younger sister are deeply in love. Yaoyao sees it clearly.”
Su Yaoyao’s voice was soft and gentle, yet it carried clearly to everyone around.
“Although Yaoyao is betrothed to Your Highness, she has no wish to be the villain who steals another’s love or obstructs their marriage…”
As she spoke, she wore an expression of barely suppressed grievance, feigning strength.
“This marriage arrangement… since it was bestowed by His Majesty, Yaoyao, being of humble status, dare not comment. But if Your Highness and my sister truly love each other…”
She bit her lip, the plump lips taking on a vivid hue from the pressure, making several young gentlemen’s hearts skip a beat.
“Your Highness, rest assured… if Your Highness truly does not wish for it, Yaoyao will kneel before my aunt for three days and three nights, kowtowing and pleading, and will surely… surely beg my aunt to grant Your Highness and my sister your wish, so that you, as lovers, may finally be united.”
With that, a single tear fell perfectly, rolling down her pearly white cheek.
A beauty shedding tears—a sight to stir pity.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Look at Su Yaoyao, on the verge of tears yet bravely holding back her sorrow, still wholeheartedly “granting” others their wishes.
Then look at the overbearing Second Prince, defending his concubine-born sister-in-law while showing no respect for his fiancée.
And that Su Yun’er, hiding behind the Second Prince, appearing delicate and weak yet managing to provoke the prince into publicly belittling his legitimate fiancée.
The contrast was stark!
Already, several soft-hearted young ladies had reddened eyes, pressing handkerchiefs to the corners.
“Miss Su… is too pitiful.”
“Yes, clearly she’s the one who’s been wronged…”
“A proper fiancée, yet forced to watch her betrothed be intimate with someone else…”
“And still so magnanimous, saying she’ll grant their wishes…”
“Miss Su Yun’er too, usually she seems so gentle and weak, how could she…”
“The Second Prince is too much!”
Xiao Qiming stood with his mouth agape, staring at Su Yaoyao’s tearful yet still stunningly beautiful face, listening to the faint murmurs of blame around him, his mind in chaos.
Before, he had found Su Yaoyao’s crying annoying, but now…
That tear—why did its fall unsettle him so?
And her mention of breaking off the engagement… he suddenly realized he didn’t feel… as pleased as he’d imagined?
Besides, she loved him so much, willing to kneel and plead just to grant his wishes…
Didn’t that… prove she had feelings for him?
He opened his mouth, wanting to say “You know what’s good for you,” but the words that came out were: “You… you understand, then! But… the marriage arrangement was bestowed by Father Emperor, it’s not something that can be broken off so easily…”
Su Yun’er was both shocked and furious.
His tone… why did it sound as if he was reluctant?!
And that wretch! When did she learn this trick of retreating to advance, pretending to be pitiful to gain sympathy?!
She was even better at it than I am!
Seeing the situation turning unfavorable, she quickly squeezed out tears: “Sister, don’t say that… Yun’er never intended to compete with you. As long as I can serve by His Highness’s side, Yun’er will be content…”
As she spoke, she moved to kneel, but was pulled up by Xiao Qiming.
“Yun’er, what are you doing!”Xiao Qiming held her distressingly, then looked at Su Yaoyao with a complex expression.
Su Yaoyao sneered inwardly.
Oh, so now we’re competing to see who can cry more pitifully?
She gently dabbed the corner of her eye with a handkerchief, her voice softening further: “Sister, please don’t cry… rest assured, I mean what I say. Only…”
She paused, glancing hesitantly at Xiao Qiming: “Only, Yaoyao worries that if this engagement is truly broken off and Your Highness then marries my sister, it might invite gossip, saying that my sister… that my sister took advantage of her elder sister’s serious illness to seduce her future brother-in-law…”
“What nonsense are you saying!” Xiao Qiming’s face changed.
Su Yaoyao quickly shook her head, tears finally rolling down: “Yaoyao didn’t mean that! Younger sister is innocent and kind-hearted, how could she do such things? It’s all idle gossip from outsiders… Yaoyao is just worried about younger sister’s reputation…”
As she spoke, she covered her face with a handkerchief, her shoulders trembling slightly, crying in a pitiful manner that tugged at the heartstrings.
The noble ladies around them were already looking at Su Yun’er differently.
Indeed… Miss Su the Second is inseparable from the Second Prince all day long, which is truly improper…
Su Yun’er trembled with anger but still had to maintain her delicate image, her face turning pale with suppressed rage.
Su Yaoyao, however, added fuel to the fire, her eyes sweeping back and forth between the two.
She gave a bitter smile, so fragile it could break one’s heart.
“Yaoyao understands. Your Highness need not worry, Yaoyao… will no longer hope for anything.”
After saying this, she slightly bent her knees in a curtsy, turned, and walked toward her seat.
Her skirt brushed against the smooth floor, her Buyao hairpins swayed gently, her back slender yet upright.
She left behind a room full of varied expressions and Xiao Qiming’s livid face.
He stared at that retreating figure, a sudden, inexplicable irritation welling up in his heart.
Su Yun’er nestled in his arms, sensing his momentary distraction, and alarm bells rang in her mind.
Something’s wrong… this fool is acting too strangely today!
She must carry out her plan as soon as possible!
Meanwhile, Su Yaoyao, walking toward her seat, wiped away the tears at the corner of her eye from an unseen angle, a fleeting cold smile curling at the corner of her lips.
Scumbag.
Can’t handle it already?
The real show is yet to come.
She took her seat and looked up toward the main position—
That seat was still empty.
Crown Prince Xiao Chenyuan had not yet arrived.
Su Yaoyao picked up her wine cup, amber liquid swirling inside.
No rush.
A hunter is always the most patient.
Her true target today… was not that empty-headed Second Prince.
Just as she was thinking this, a eunuch’s sharp announcement suddenly came from the entrance:
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—”
The entire hall fell silent at once.
Su Yaoyao raised her eyes to look.
Amidst the brilliant palace lanterns, a figure as cold and pure as snow slowly entered.