“Who are you?” A sudden, icy voice interrupted Qingqing’s daydream. This person was actually the Fourth Prince. His eyes were clouded with a rising chill, like a beast sizing up an intruder who has unexpectedly entered its territory. Qingqing was greatly shocked in her heart, but her face showed an even more innocent and sweet smile as she gracefully stepped forward to bow, saying, “To answer the Fourth Prince, this servant is a new singer, Anu.”
“How did you know I am the Fourth Prince?” The Fourth Prince looked at her with a profound gaze, as if trying to see through to the secrets hidden in her heart. For a moment, his royal aura seemed to pierce through Qingqing. Qingqing was almost overwhelmed by those eyes that could see through one’s thoughts, but she always remembered the abbess’s words: A smile is a woman’s best weapon. So Qingqing made an extra effort to smile more radiantly, even she herself admired her acting skills. The two of them stood there staring at each other, time seeming to crawl, but Qingqing always believed in the saying, “Water wears away stone over time.” Suddenly, the Fourth Prince laughed. The confrontation just now seemed to pass in a fleeting moment, like a shuttle flying through. He returned to his usual coldness, as if he had never changed, leaving one in a daze.
“I saw the Fourth Prince at the banquet last night, so I remembered,” Qingqing wanted to flatter him, but that kind of insincere flattery would never move this man. The abbess had only taught her the principles of life; the palace’s interpersonal relationships she had to explore on her own.
Chapter 116-125
Chapter 116: The Rift Between the Emperor and the Consort
