Chu Qianli immediately felt a chill directly confronting her.
She flicked her long arm and sent out a palm strike.
With no intention of lingering, as their palm forces collided, she leaped up and retreated several steps.
The approaching person seemed somewhat surprised, not expecting such a delicate young girl to possess such formidable internal energy!
His tall and slender frame also swayed, and only then did he land beside the Long Whip County Princess.
Chu Qianli lowered her head and glanced at her hand.
Even she hadn't anticipated this.
The internal energy Feng Yexuan had given her, combined with the Yi Jin Jing for cultivation, had caused her internal energy to advance by leaps and bounds in these past few days!
It seemed she was quite powerful now!
"Miss Li!" Leng Ji had arrived with the carriage convoy.
Seeing Chu Qianli confronting the group, he immediately dismounted and hurried over, blocking in front of Chu Qianli as he looked at the man and woman opposite them.
"Miss Li, what happened?"
Chu Qianli felt a subconscious resistance to his address, "Miss Li."
This title clearly reminded her of her former status as Feng Yexuan's concubine.
However, Leng Ji, at least, harbored no ill will towards her.
During her time in the prince's mansion, only Leng Ji had shown her some genuine sincerity.
She looked at the man and woman opposite her and said expressionlessly, "This woman made the first move."
"You dare to be disrespectful to this Princess!"
The Long Whip County Princess waved her hand, and the whip cracked against the ground with a *pa*.
But she knew she couldn't defeat that woman, so she could only grit her teeth in anger and shout, "Ghost Eye, kill her for me!"
Ghost Eye, however, merely said with a detached expression, "Princess, this is the Northern Ming Kingdom. The Prince Regent instructed us to come here solely for the concubine selection. Do not stir up further trouble."
"You!" The Princess glared at him.
However, it was strange. This hot-tempered Princess seemed hesitant to be too overbearing in front of this guard.
Leng Ji turned to look at Chu Qianli and asked softly, "Miss Li..."
"I am no longer your Prince's mansion's Miss Li," Chu Qianli couldn't help but correct him.
Leng Ji paused, then remembered that the title "Miss Li" might indeed be humiliating for her.
He quickly changed his address, "Miss Li'er, why did you get into a fight with them?"
"She made the first move."
"She startled my horse and made it run away!"
The Princess, holding her long whip, pointed at Chu Qianli, her face full of fury.
"And she still dared to lay hands on this Princess!"
"If I didn't act, would I just wait for your whip to tear my face apart?"
Her initial move was a vicious one. If her martial arts were any weaker, she would have been disfigured by now.
What a terrible Princess, truly malicious!
"You..."
"Could this be the legendary Miss Chu Qianli, who requested the royal annulment letter from the Emperor in the grand hall?"
Ghost Eye looked at Chu Qianli with a half-smile, "It is indeed true that meeting you is better than hearing about you."
"What royal annulment letter?" The Long Whip County Princess had not heard of this.
Ghost Eye briefly explained it to her.
However, Chu Qianli had lost her patience and was about to turn and leave.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Chu Qianli's identity, the Long Whip County Princess was consumed by a surge of jealousy.
She had actually been Prince Xuan's woman before.
"You can't leave!" she quickly pursued.
Prince Xuan's former woman... this identity was simply maddening.
She wished she could tear her face apart immediately!
Leng Ji quickly said, "Miss Li'er, this is Princess Feiyan of the Southern Ming Kingdom, Chu Feiyan."
"I was invited by your country's Emperor to participate in the selection for Prince Xuan's Consort, and Prince Xuan himself came out of the city to welcome me!"
Chu Feiyan had not yet met any other girls participating in the selection, and Chu Qianli, standing before her, immediately became her primary enemy.
Who told her she was Prince Xuan's woman before?
Prince Xuan personally coming out of the city to welcome her...
Chu Qianli subconsciously looked back, only then noticing a particularly conspicuous carriage in the distant convoy.
The distance was too great to see clearly who was inside the carriage, and naturally, she couldn't sense his aura.
Leng Ji felt a sense of pressure and explained softly, "Inside the carriage... is the Prince Regent."
"Is that so? Then why aren't you returning with him instead of shouting on the road?"
She glanced at Chu Feiyan and walked around her, intending to leave.
"Anyone who doesn't know would think you're some shrew from another country."
"You..."
"Return," a cold command came from the carriage.
Although the distance was considerable, the people here could still hear it.
Leng Ji immediately bowed to Chu Qianli and said, "Miss Li'er, I will accompany the Prince Regent back first. We can... talk again another day."
He strode forward and, in a flash, returned to the front of the carriage and began to drive it.
But the direction was wrong...
Chu Feiyan was stunned for a moment before immediately chasing after him, "Your Highness, Your Highness... weren't you going to escort me to the palace? Your Highness..."
Ghost Eye also chased after her, lowering his voice, "Princess, the Prince Regent likely dislikes girls who are like shrewish women quarreling."
"I..." Chu Feiyan's face flushed with anxiety.
She wasn't a shrewish woman quarreling, she was just... just that woman named Chu Qianli was too hateful!
Not only was she Prince Xuan's woman before, but she also... she was also so beautiful!
Infuriating!
"Your Highness, Your Highness, I am not like that, Your Highness..."
Chu Feiyan chased after him all the way.
However, Leng Ji, driving the carriage, did not stop.
Finally, the entire convoy moved far away.
Only Chu Qianli remained, standing on the street, looking in the direction the carriage had left, lost in thought for a moment.
Only after they had gone far away, disappearing from sight, did she silently withdraw her gaze and quietly walk towards the Duke's Mansion.
There was nothing to think about.
It was all over long ago.
...
Several more days passed.
This was Chu Qianli's third visit to Qin Xiao after performing surgery on him.
Previously, he had been walking with the aid of a crutch.
Today, from a distance, she saw him attempting to discard the crutch.
Chu Qianli's heart tightened, and she hurried to stop him, "Your leg hasn't healed yet, don't be so impatient, it will..."
But her words died in her throat as she arrived.
Qin Xiao had already discarded the crutch and was standing upright on both feet, looking up at her.
"A'li, I want to try," he felt that he was truly capable now.
Chu Qianli stood not far away, staring at his leg.
This leg was recovering even better than she had imagined.
However, to be safe, it would be best to wait another two days.
But Qin Xiao seemed somewhat anxious.
"A'li, look, I can really do it."
He took a step forward, about to enter the most crucial stage.
Because, in the next step, the injured leg would need to bear weight.
"Don't force it, otherwise, it will affect the speed of your recovery," Chu Qianli, though also excited, felt a bit worried.
"I'm fine."
As a dignified man, he could not continue walking with a crutch.
Moreover, he truly felt his leg becoming more agile.
Qin Xiao took a deep breath and took his second step...