Everything in the Garden of Serenity was fresh and beautiful, making it easy to forget all pain and sorrow.
Hot springs, spas, amusements, and board games—all sorts of pleasures were dazzling and intoxicating…
Although there were minor incidents, they were not enough to affect their mood for enjoyment.
Everyone had their own fun.
On this side, Du Yiyi had her maid, Zi Ye, escort the senior maid, Pu’er, who had accompanied her to watch a grand play, back to her grand-uncle.
Then, she quietly slipped away to the innermost courtyard of the Garden of Serenity.
Su Xiaoqi was already waiting for her.
Seeing her arrive, she quickly asked, "How did it go?"
Du Yiyi smiled, "It’s just as you predicted, Sister. I suspect you have the ability to foresee things.
Otherwise, how could you have calculated it so accurately? Su Yurou clearly wasn’t sent an invitation, yet she still appeared here.
And she even brought the Crown Prince’s heir with her."
Hearing Du Yiyi say this, Su Xiaoqi breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, she hadn’t been very confident at the time; it was basically a gamble.
She just thought that there was no harm in taking a gamble.
"And you know what? I was truly blind before.
I only saw that he was handsome and dashing on the outside, but in reality, he’s truly worthless!" Du Yiyi said with a look of disdain.
Su Xiaoqi busied herself asking about what she had seen near the rockery.
"He was meeting someone, and then…" Du Yiyi said angrily, recounting the incident of seeing the Crown Prince’s heir intimately meeting with Su Yurou.
She also told Su Xiaoqi that this Crown Prince’s heir was truly worthless. Originally, he and Su Yurou were a loving couple.
But the moment he saw her, for some unknown reason, he abandoned Su Yurou and chased after her.
"Tsk tsk, isn't this just a ready-made philanderer? He falls for everyone he sees, completely brainless, only thinking with his lower half.
Yikes, if I were to marry someone like that in the future, I’d really rather not live."
Du Yiyi vented, her small face flushed red.
She was truly angry.
She had finally developed a good impression of a man, and it had been shattered like this.
"My requirements aren't high. My future husband doesn't need to be like Brother Shen, but at least half as good."
Du Yiyi muttered, her anger unable to subside for a moment.
Su Xiaoqi chuckled, "Pfft."
Du Yiyi, thinking of Shen Yun as her standard for choosing a husband… If she knew what kind of person Shen Yun would become in the future, she probably wouldn’t even want to mention him.
"Everyone is different. If you use Shen Yun as your standard… it might be difficult."
Shen Yun was a person who appeared gentle and polite on the surface, but was actually fickle-minded and calculating.
He was a good official, but as a husband, he wasn't the best.
At least not to the point where he could provide a template for Du Yiyi.
"I just feel that Brother Shen treats you well, Sister. When you go out, you have no idea, Brother Shen’s heart and eyes are full of you," Du Yiyi teased Su Xiaoqi with a smile.
When it came to these matters, she felt she had the right to speak.
"Sister, you are too close to the situation to see clearly, but we onlookers see everything. We can see it very clearly."
Well, Du Yiyi, who had been full of frustration just moments ago, was now all better. Speaking of her and Shen Yun, her spirits immediately lifted, and she went from listless to lively.
Su Xiaoqi shook her head. She really didn’t know what to do with Yiyi.
Her mood changed so quickly.
However, this made her feel relieved, indicating that she hadn’t really set her heart on that Crown Prince’s heir.
Therefore, she didn't need to be too sad about seeing such a thing.
"By the way, Sister Xiaoqi, are you alright? When I came just now, I heard them say you jumped into the water to save someone."
Du Yiyi knew that Su Xiaoqi could swim, so she wasn't too worried about her jumping into the water to save someone.
She believed that her Sister Xiaoqi could handle these things.
However, she was in such a hurry to see Su Xiaoqi that she hadn’t inquired carefully. Now that her emotions had subsided, she remembered to ask in detail.
"It’s nothing much. Someone tried to cause trouble for someone else, and I, in my capacity as host, lent a hand."
Su Xiaoqi calmly recounted the scene.
She even mentioned how two strong men appeared later and tried to pull her into the water.
In front of outsiders, she didn’t dare to say too much, fearing that others would spread rumors.
But in front of Du Yiyi, she didn’t have to worry about that.
Firstly, it was to tell her about the incident, and secondly, to let her know how treacherous people could be, so she could be more vigilant in the future.
"Good for Zhao Xiaohua! Was it her? I'll go and kill her!" Du Yiyi immediately stood up upon hearing this, as if about to rush out the door.
"Hey, hey, Yiyi, it’s fine, it’s fine. We won’t pursue this matter for now…"
"No, Sister Xiaoqi, didn’t you say before that if others don’t provoke us, we pretend nothing happened?
But if others provoke us, we must retaliate.
An eye for an eye, otherwise, others will think we are easy to bully."
Du Yiyi stamped her feet anxiously and even told Su Xiaoqi that all consequences would be on her.
She wasn’t afraid of Zhao Xiaohua at all.
"Hey, it’s not about being afraid or not. At that time, on the lake, the lotus leaves provided cover, and only those few young ladies from the Liu family saw it.
They are all in cahoots and would certainly not betray each other, so not many people knew about it.
If they wanted to protect Zhao Xiaohua, they wouldn’t have revealed what happened at that time.
So, this spares us the worry of them spreading rumors freely.
However, it also means we have no evidence to point fingers at her, so we can only watch her get away with it."
"Hmph, hateful Zhao Xiaohua. I really don’t know what her heart is made of, why is it so dark," Du Yiyi said, puffing out her cheeks and waving her fist.
"Let’s put this debt aside for now. We are the hosts at this banquet, and it’s not appropriate to cause trouble at such an occasion.
Cheer up, we still have business to attend to later!" Su Xiaoqi patted Du Yiyi’s hand to comfort her.
Seeing that she was still a bit upset, she told her about how she had pulled Zhao Xiaohua into the water earlier, making her swallow several mouthfuls of lake water.
Du Yiyi said that was good, her Sister Xiaoqi would definitely not suffer any losses.
Then, Su Xiaoqi elaborated on her plans.
Du Yiyi knew that Su Xiaoqi intended to open a clubhouse, and she was also an investor.
"Alright, for the sake of our clubhouse today, I’ll let her off for now.
Next time, I will definitely teach her a good lesson and stop her from having crooked thoughts all day long."
Du Yiyi said through gritted teeth, unaware that on the other side, someone was equally furious.
"You’re saying you personally saw the Crown Prince’s heir chase after Du Yiyi?" Princess Qionghua looked at her personal maid, Shaoyao, with a gloomy expression.
"Replying to Your Highness, this servant went to invite the Crown Prince’s heir as you instructed.
But before I could even speak, I saw the Crown Prince’s heir leave in a hurry, chasing after Miss Du, who was in front.
Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to be very fond of Miss Du." Shaoyao recalled the scene she had witnessed at the time.
The Crown Prince’s heir’s expression was more than just fondness for Miss Du; it could be described as infatuation.
He chased so earnestly that he didn’t even notice her passing by him; his heart and eyes were only on that one figure.
"Hmph, well done, Du Yiyi. What is she? How can she compare to me, this Princess?"
"Your Highness, this servant has something else to say, I don’t know if I should." Shaoyao hesitated.
"Speak." Princess Qionghua said impatiently.
"This servant seems to have seen the Crown Prince’s heir and Miss Du talking in the rockery earlier."
"Hmph, Du Yiyi, you slut! You put on a show of being noble and dignified on the surface, but in reality, you’re no better than this." Princess Qionghua clenched her fist forcefully, her anger overwhelming.
Her long fingers dug into her palm, leaving one imprint after another.
The pain only intensified the hatred in her heart.