Chapter 21: Wine and Tea Are Not Permitted

  "Chancellor! How come I haven't seen my fiancé yet?" Zi Ruoye stood up, stretching her neck to look outside, and indeed saw Liu Qingyou walking over.

  Just then, the servant girl had already returned to say that You'er would arrive immediately. How long had it been since then? Yet he was already growing impatient. Minister Liu furrowed his brow but still spoke politely, "Your Highness, please do not be anxious, You'er will arrive shortly."

  Liu Qingyou had already arrived at the outer edge of the inner hall while they were speaking, wearing a pure white brocade robe with silver-edged embroidery of lively and dynamic jade orchids, delicately scattered on one side, without too much ornamentation, simple and elegant, which made his skin as white and delicate as jade.

  Liu Qingyou was anxious all the way, with a heart that was neither here nor there. On one hand, she didn't want to see Zi Ruoye, but on the other hand, if it really was Li Yu, she also wanted to see him again. It had been several years since their last brief encounter, and he had waited for her for several years too. As the third day of the new year approached, his heart grew increasingly anxious. If he didn't express his feelings soon, she would become someone else's wife...

  "Madam, You'er has arrived." The maid who was accompanying Liu Chengxiang to receive guests whispered in his ear.

  Zi Ruoye saw Liu Qingyou enter, and her slightly drunken eyes flashed with a clear and playful smile. Indeed... a man will do anything to please his love. If he was normally a child who was arrogant and had a bad temper when she saw him, then at this moment he truly looked like the young master of the Prime Minister's estate.

  Simply using a single jade hairpin to tie up her hair, the fine strands of hair slipped down, and the hairstyle was also tied in a simple style used by unmarried men. When Liu Qingyou saw Li Yu, his cheeks flushed with a faint pink, just like delicate jasmine unfolding slightly in the morning light, with three parts of spirit and seven parts of elegance.

  Recalling the few times I met Liu Qingyou, the first time was in night attire, the second time was in white clothes, but didn't pay attention to it, and the third time was in coarse linen clothes worn by servants. What a difference in treatment! If Li Yu's words are true, he will definitely make him bring out all the good wine from the Prime Minister's mansion.

  Only then did Liu Qingyu walk to Liu Chang's side, her voice as gentle as a quiet orchid, light and elegant like green bamboo. "Qingyu has paid respects to the empress, the king, and General Li." After speaking, she obediently stood aside.

  Hmph!

  Zi Ruoye, who was originally drinking alone, heard Liu Qingyou's "Have you met the king" and couldn't help but spit it out. Seeing that everyone was looking at her with strange eyes, she could only smile and continue drinking, but in her heart, she was as frightened as if she had seen a ghost.

  She thought that even if she saw Li Yu, Liu Qingyou would at least give her a stern look and then exchange flirtatious glances with Li Yu, but unexpectedly it had the opposite effect.

  This scene was even more terrifying than snow in June...

  "This must be the Prime Minister's beloved son, Liu Gongzi." Li Yu shifted his gaze from Zi Ye's body and carefully examined the person standing beside him, Liu Qingyou. Indeed, he bore a three-part resemblance to Empress Feng... Unbeknownst to himself, even his gaze carried a hint of infatuation.

  Today, Feng Hou Liu Qingyue is indeed the husband of many women in the country of Zi Xuan. Only those who are phoenixes can be with him, and absolutely no one else can perch on his branch. Li Yu, of course, cannot help but like Liu Qingyue's appearance.

  "Yes. However, the young one is not talented and doesn't have even a bit of masculinity." Speaking of her two sons, Yue'er has already become the Empress, what she worries about most now is Liu Qingyou. In the future, marrying into the Wang family and becoming the Wangfei, but with his temperament, how can he navigate the inner court of the Wangye? Thinking of this, her eyebrows furrowed in worry once again.

  "Haha! This is just his true nature." Li Yu burst out laughing, seemingly not minding Liu Qingyao's personality.

  Zi Ruoye rolled her eyes, but giggled and said, "You'er, come here quickly and let me take a look. It's been so many days since I've seen you, I've missed you terribly." Her smooth-talking voice even made Zi Ruoye herself shiver, as she smiled at Liu Qingyou with raised eyebrows, beckoning him to come over.

  "Go ahead, You'er. The king has come specifically to see you this time." Prime Minister Liu also smiled slightly, with a glint of sharpness in his benevolent eyes.

  Liu Qingyou heard Zi Ruoye calling herself in such a familiar way, her first reaction was to look at Li Yu's reaction. How could she be so intimate with herself in front of Li Yu? What if Li Yu misunderstood?! Hearing her mother telling her to go over, she secretly gritted her teeth and took a glance at Li Yu, seeing that she didn't react, her heart became even more anxious.

  Reluctantly walking over, "Your Highness, what's the matter." The cold voice that was no longer able to be colder, carried with it a biting anger, Liu Qingyou stood in front of Zi Ruoye, her line of sight not looking at her.

  She put down her small wine jug, Zi Ruoye felt a little regretful and stuffed it back into her sleeve. Drinking was more enjoyable when one was in a good mood, but the person in front of her thought she was causing trouble for him. Her hand reached out to Liu Qingyou's waist, and with a gentle pull, she let Liu Qingyou sit on her lap. However, her gaze darted towards Li Yu.

  Liu Qingyu didn't expect Zi Ruoye to suddenly do this, and her heart skipped a beat as she let out a startled cry. When she came to her senses, she found herself sitting on Zi Ruoye's lap, with Zi Ruoye's hand resting on her waist. Just as she was about to berate her in anger, the flesh around her waist was pinched, causing her to bite her tongue and break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, she didn't make any humiliating sounds. She glared at Zi Ruoye with even greater fury, wishing she could chop off Zi Ruoye's hand!

  How can this person touch him casually!

  "Young Master, what's wrong? Don't be angry with me. You know I like Cloud Condensation very much, but that doesn't mean I won't dote on you after you enter the palace. In fact, I'll probably spoil you even more than her." Zi Ruoye saw a flash of displeasure in Li Yu's eyes and immediately softened her tone, begging Young Master Liu Qingyu with a gaze, claiming that she would definitely spend more time pampering him than Cloud Condensation after he entered the palace. From just now, Zi Ruoye's hands were gently stroking Young Master Liu Qingyu's waist, which in Li Yu's eyes was unmistakably fondling his waist.

  "Ah!" Liu Qingyou didn't expect Zi Ruoye to humiliate him like this in front of his mother and Li Yu. Did she mean that he was nothing more than a prostitute?! He hastily looked at Li Yu, but found her sitting silently, her angry expression suddenly dimming.

  "Even if I were to die, I wouldn't marry you! You're just a three-foot piece of white silk, and even a cup of poisonous wine is better than you!" He angrily escaped from her arms. Today was all because of her. He had originally wanted to leave a good impression on Li Yu's face, but she humiliated him like this, how could his temper endure? He truly regretted not having the weapon he usually carried with him at that moment, and when he was sitting on her leg, he should have stabbed her!

  She glanced at Li Yu, shook her head, and with a trembling voice that was on the verge of tears, she slightly bowed to Liu Xiang, "Mother, You'er is not feeling well, I'll go down first." After saying this, she turned around and left without looking back.

  Li Yu watched as Liu Qingyou walked out, and without thinking, followed her. But she forgot that women were not allowed to enter the men's backyard, Zi Ruoye raised an eyebrow and smiled, showing her teeth.

  Is he that serious... Three feet of white silk, a cup of poisonous wine... The clear eyes flashed with a faint sense of helplessness, but it didn't matter, she was never his good wife anyway. Hating her or being annoyed by her was fine, as long as Li Yu said those words, they would go their separate ways from then on.

  Zi Ruoye found that every time she put Yun Ning and Liu Qingyou together, Liu Qingyou's reaction would be very intense. Was he looking down on Yun Ning?... How could these young masters who lived under the honey jar understand the hardships of Yun Ning, who had to struggle and crawl since childhood?

  Shook his head silently, forget it, that kid Liu Qingyou will probably add another stroke to his own Violet Leaf's Ten Great Crimes today...

  Liu Chengxiang had been paying attention to Zi Ruoye's expression, seeing her smile and shake her head from time to time. However, in the end, he caught a glimpse of relief in her eyes. He slowly sipped his tea and said, "Your Highness, is Yu'er really that bad?" Although she was somewhat older, she wasn't senile. At this point, anyone with discerning eyes could see that the prince was helping Yu'er...

  "Ah!?" Being suddenly asked by Liu Qing's abrupt question, he smiled and said, "How could that be? You don't know how beautiful you are... *sigh*... That hug just now really made me feel itchy in my heart."

  Liu Chengxiang smiled lightly and said, "Really? Then on the third day of this month, I was waiting for Prince Wang to come and win over my family's You'er!" It's a good thing that you're making him eager, she's still worried that her family's You'er can't arouse Prince Wang's interest...

  "Cough, cough, cough...... Definitely, definitely!" It seems that not only can't drink wine in this prime minister's mansion, but also can't drink tea. Zǐ Ruò Yè lightly coughed to cover up the small surprise in her heart. This Prime Minister Liu usually had an indifferent attitude towards her, logically speaking, she should be the first one to oppose Liu Qingyou marrying her, how come today he suddenly changed his attitude? It's really inexplicable... However, whether they can get married on the third day of the new year is still uncertain...