After rebirth, His Highness Xinshu was pampered by me.

Chapter 467 Inheriting His Kindness
Jinse is all ready to leave...

For some reason, she always felt an aversion to having any interaction with the Fifth Prince. She had felt this way for a long time, even though she clearly had no dealings with him and no real conflicts with him.

Or perhaps it was because of Empress Li?

Jinse didn't quite understand, but she followed her heart.

If you're inherently averse to it, then simply avoid contact with the other person.

She intended to leave quietly, and had even lifted her foot, but her path was blocked.

The two of them fell silent for a moment.

Jinse remained silent, genuinely because she didn't know what the Fifth Prince was up to, and she didn't want to see him.

But even the Fifth Prince remained silent…

After a long pause, Jinse silently looked up at the Fifth Prince, then curtsied and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

After bowing, Jinse prepared to walk around again.

The Fifth Prince then spoke up: "I didn't expect to meet you here. It's been a long time. Miss Jinse, would you have time to accompany me for a cup of tea?"

She accompanied him for tea?
Jinse subconsciously looked up at the Fifth Prince, but did not respond.

She didn't want to.

Unfortunately, the Fifth Prince didn't care whether she wanted to or not.

He seemed to be asking Jinse a question, but he only gave Jinse one choice.

"Let's go."

The Fifth Prince gestured to Jinse: "I heard that the snacks at the teahouse next door are quite good; they should suit your taste. You'll like them."

After saying that, the Fifth Prince walked towards the teahouse diagonally opposite.

Jinse didn't move for a moment.

Zhuo Fang, who had been standing not far away, stepped forward and smiled, gesturing for Jinse to follow: "Miss Jinse?"

Jinse took a deep breath and finally followed.

In the private room of the teahouse, the Fifth Prince was already seated. When he saw Jinse enter, he raised his chin indifferently and said, "Sit!"

Jinse paused, then silently chose a seat and sat down.

The Fifth Prince glanced at Jinse twice, then smiled—a smile as gentle as a spring breeze—but his words were not so pleasant.

"Why are you sitting so far away from me? Are you afraid? But if I wanted to do something to you, do you think just sitting so far away would be enough?"

Jinse didn't find it useful.

They also knew that the Fifth Prince was telling the truth.

However, Jinse didn't move, nor did she want to.

She simply lowered her head and asked in a calm tone, "I wonder what Your Highness has summoned me for?"

The Fifth Prince gestured for Zhuo Fang to pour tea for Jinse, and then sent everyone else away.

Zhuo Fang remained in the private room to guard the door.

The Fifth Prince said, "It's been a while since I've seen you, and you've certainly grown bolder!"

When I spoke to him, I was surprisingly calmer than before, and I wasn't as flustered.

Thinking of this, the Fifth Prince felt inexplicably unhappy.

Of course, he didn't like seeing Jinse as afraid of him in the past, but he also didn't like seeing Jinse as indifferent to him now.

"Your Majesty the Fifth Prince..."

Jinse didn't want to ponder the meaning behind the Fifth Prince's words, but simply asked again, "I wonder what Your Highness has to say to me?"

The Fifth Prince stared at Jinse for a while.

Jinse lowered her eyes; although she didn't look up, she still felt the Fifth Prince's ever-present gaze. A moment of silence fell over the private room.

After a long pause, the Fifth Prince finally spoke, "I happened to run into you, so I thought I'd ask you what you think about the Emperor of Liang's desire to marry into the Great Sheng."

Jinse was momentarily confused about what the Fifth Prince meant by asking that question.

After thinking for a moment, she cautiously replied, "This servant is merely a servant of the Twelfth Prince's household. How could I possibly have any opinion on such a significant matter of the court? Your Highness is too kind to me. This servant has no opinion whatsoever on this matter!"

The Fifth Prince said he did not believe Jinse's words.

Even if you knew that you were the one most likely to be sent to Daliang for a political marriage, wouldn't you have no opinion at all?

The Fifth Prince stared at Jinse, as if trying to find some emotion on her face.

As for what he was actually looking for...

Even the Fifth Prince himself couldn't quite explain it for the time being.

Jinse frowned, somewhat surprised by the Fifth Prince's persistence on this issue.

She quickly regained her composure and stopped worrying about why the Fifth Prince was so fixated on this.

Jinse didn't think much of it and said directly, "Even if I am chosen in the end, I think I still have no opinion on this matter!"

That's true... of course.

Jinse really didn't have much of an opinion on this matter.

Moreover, Jinse also knew that even if she had some opinions on these matters, she knew it would be of little use.

Therefore, Jinse became even less interested in the matter.

The Fifth Prince was skeptical: "Aren't you really afraid?"

He looked at Jinse, and without waiting for her reply, said, "You should know that if you are willing to tell me the truth, perhaps I have a way to prevent them from choosing you."

Jinse subconsciously looked up at the Fifth Prince.

I was really surprised that the Fifth Prince would say this to me.

After a while, Jinse shook her head: "This servant is of lowly status, Your Highness, there is no need for such courtesy. This servant is unworthy of such kindness."

Moreover, she was unwilling to accept the Fifth Prince's favor.

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince smiled again.

Jinse laughed inexplicably.

Jinse looked at the Fifth Prince with a puzzled expression for a while, but she didn't understand and was too lazy to think about it anymore: "Your Highness, I still have things to take care of and need to hurry back to the manor. If Your Highness has nothing else to say, I will take my leave first."

Having said that, Jinse stood up quickly.

The Fifth Prince didn't send anyone to stop her, but simply said to her, "Think carefully about what I just said. If you understand it, come find me."

Jinse remained silent, only offering a slight bow to the Fifth Prince before turning and leaving the private room.

After leaving the teahouse, Jinse began to ponder the events of the day.

What exactly is the Fifth Prince planning to do with her?
Jinse paused slightly, her mind a little jumbled.

Jinse was brought back to her senses when she smelled the aroma of hibiscus pastries wafting from a pastry shop not far away.

Taking a deep breath and putting the matter of the Fifth Prince out of her mind, Jinse turned and walked towards the pastry shop.

Rather than racking her brains trying to figure out what the Fifth Prince was planning to do through the marriage alliance, Jinse preferred to spend her time buying some delicious pastries for the Twelfth Prince.

She is now the steward of the Twelfth Prince's residence. Taking good care of the Twelfth Prince and managing the residence should be her primary concern.

Before long, Jinse returned to the Twelfth Prince's residence with several kinds of pastries that suited the Twelfth Prince's taste.

The study of the twelfth prince's residence.

The twelfth prince was listening to Lin Yi's report about the fifth prince finding Jinse. Upon hearing that the fifth prince had taken Jinse to a private room in a teahouse and spent a long time alone with her, the twelfth prince's expression instantly turned cold and hard, and he looked quite displeased.