Several princesses and consorts stared at Chu Qianli, dumbfounded.
Even Princess Consort Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Although everyone had wanted to see her drink the foul substance, now that she was actually about to, they found themselves unable to react.
It felt as though things were… too smooth?
So smooth it felt uncanny!
“Little Li’er, don’t…” Feng Mingzhu tried to break free from Princess Consort Yu’s grasp.
Chu Qianli, however, smiled calmly. “Princess Consort Yu, I am offering you a toast. If I don’t drink, it would be disrespectful. However…”
She pushed it back.
Her smile inexplicably sent a ripple of unease through their hearts.
“I am merely a guest. The host has not yet drunk, and I were to drink first, it would seem… unreasonable.”
“Hmph!” Princess Consort Yu sneered, and the inexplicable sense of unease vanished instantly.
What was she talking about? How could she be so proactive?
So, it was a pretense?
“Do you think you, of all people, can force me to be like you?”
Did she not know that her maids, even those who hadn’t practiced martial arts, were all strong and capable?
“Come…” Before the word could even be uttered, Chu Qianli suddenly turned and left.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The vixen, seizing the moment when everyone was distracted, suddenly quickened her pace forward.
Where she was going…
“No! Seize her! Quickly!”
The two maids finally reacted.
As they tried to give chase, Feng Mingzhu suddenly grabbed the one who had stepped forward first.
“Why are you walking so fast?”
“Mingzhu, what are you doing?” Princess Consort Yu glared at her. “Yan’er, go after her quickly!”
She herself shook off Feng Mingzhu and turned to pursue.
Feng Mingzhu, seizing the opportunity, also grabbed the other maid, Yan’er.
“I am a princess! How dare you push me around!”
How could the two maids dare? If they accidentally injured the Ninth Princess, their heads would be forfeit!
Princess Consort Yu could only chase after Chu Qianli herself.
But no matter how large the banquet hall was, how far could they be from the princes over there?
Chu Qianli had left first. No matter how hard Princess Consort Yu tried to catch up, she couldn’t.
“Your Highness!” Chu Qianli had already reached Feng Xianyu.
Fortunately, the so-called wine in her hand was not full, otherwise, it might have spilled on her hand along the way.
When she reached Prince Yu, more than half of the liquid remained.
“Why aren’t you sitting over there? What are you doing here?” Prince Yu frowned.
He glanced back, noticing that Feng Yexuan and Feng Qihe were still by the Emperor’s side, seemingly engaged in conversation.
However, Feng Xianyu knew that with Chu Qianli’s arrival, their attention would soon shift here.
Therefore, he didn’t get angry. Instead, he looked at the wine in Chu Qianli’s hand and smiled meaningfully.
“Are you offering me a toast?”
However, why was there a faint, unpleasant smell wafting through the air?
Prince Yu frowned.
Chu Qianli smiled. “This is…”
“Chu Qianli, how dare you disturb His Highness! Come back with me at once!” Princess Consort Yu panted, breathless from chasing.
Her elaborate headdress had even tilted precariously.
Prince Yu’s expression immediately turned displeased.
At his birthday banquet, his consort was rushing about, her headdress disheveled, lacking all decorum. It was utterly disrespectful!
Was she trying to embarrass him in front of all the guests?
“Such haste, what kind of bearing is this?” he reprimanded in a deep voice.
“It is… it is this consort’s fault. This consort… this consort was just coming to…”
“Princess Consort Yu was going to toast me. I still feel that as a guest, I shouldn’t steal the host’s thunder.”
Chu Qianli’s smile was composed and unhurried as she raised the cup of wine towards Prince Yu.
“Tonight is Prince Yu’s birthday banquet. The first cup of wine carefully prepared by Princess Consort Yu should be drunk by Prince Yu.”
“Chu Qianli, how dare you!” Princess Consort Yu was terrified and immediately lunged forward, trying to snatch the cup back.
Chu Qianli, however, seemed startled. As she lunged, Chu Qianli’s hand trembled.
The liquid in the cup spilled entirely onto Prince Yu.
A scent of… urine…
Everyone around stared, dumbfounded, at Prince Yu’s wine-stained robes, unable to believe their eyes.
This wine… what kind of wine was this? This was clearly… clearly…
But how was it possible? How could the wine prepared by Princess Consort Yu for the guests be such a foul substance?
Prince Yu looked at his stained robes, his fingertips slowly trembling.
It was from anger.
“Your Highness, Your Highness…” Princess Consort Yu was trembling with panic. At this moment, she no longer cared about Chu Qianli.
She immediately rushed to Prince Yu’s side and took out her handkerchief, quickly wiping him.
Even though she knew it was urine, even though she had never touched such a dirty thing in her life, she could only wipe it now.
She could only keep wiping.
She was so flustered that she almost forgot to breathe.
“Your Highness…”
“Is this the wine you prepared for her?” Prince Yu’s expression remained calm.
At least, he wasn’t furious or agitated.
He even seemed to be slowly calming down.
However, only he knew that the fist hidden in his sleeve was clenched as tight as steel.
“This consort… this consort…”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t know Princess Consort Yu would lunge, so I accidentally spilled the wine.”
Chu Qianli looked innocent. “What a waste of Princess Consort Yu’s kind intentions!”
Feng Xianyu closed his eyes forcefully. When he opened them again and looked at Chu Qianli, there was no anger in his eyes.
He even smiled. “Good, very good. You are indeed the woman of the Fourth Prince. You have quite the courage.”
The smile on Chu Qianli’s lips gradually disappeared. She merely looked at him calmly.
“The tree wishes to remain still, but the wind does not cease. A cornered dog will leap over the wall, Your Highness, please forgive me!”
She turned and left.
To offend Prince Yu and remain so calm.
Even the guests around who had smelled the unpleasant odor and understood what had happened couldn’t help but look at her with newfound respect.
It was an act of extreme provocation, yet her words earlier evoked a sense of profound melancholy.
A cornered dog leaping over the wall – if not truly desperate, who would risk offending Prince Yu like this?
After all, without protection, a powerless woman like her would be as easily dealt with by Prince Yu as an ant.
Especially when Chu Qianli turned around, her expression and gaze were as calm as the wind.
There was a sense of desolate indifference, as if she didn’t even care about death.
No one found her actions excessive. The men who saw it felt an inexplicable pity in their hearts.
And then there was Princess Consort Yu… the once beautiful and captivating Princess Consort Yu, who had instantly become terrifyingly dirty and malicious!
Never before had they seen such a shameless and wicked woman in the imperial family!
It was utterly disgusting!
Princess Consort Yu was still wiping Feng Xianyu’s clothes, completely panicked.
Feng Xianyu suddenly pushed her hand away and said expressionlessly, “Come back with me to change.”