I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

The next day, at the Crown Prince's residence.

The rooftops, pavilions, and towers were all covered in a blanket of silver.

The maids and servants got up early and swept the road.

In a courtyard, the vermilion-lacquered door of the main house was opened from the inside, and cold air rushed into the house at a visible speed.

A woman wearing silver headdress and a bright red dress stood at the door.

In the courtyard, the maids who were sweeping the snow with brooms quickly surrounded her upon seeing this, saying with concern, "Your Highness, why are you out so early? It's freezing outside, you should go back quickly and be careful not to catch a cold."

Upon hearing this, the woman gave a wry smile and said, "How could I be the Crown Princess? The one who returned yesterday is the Crown Princess. According to the rules, I should go and pay my respects to the Crown Princess."

The woman in the fiery red dress was none other than Xiao Xue'er.

After saying that, Xiao Xue'er ignored the maids' attempts to stop her and walked straight outside.

On her way to pay her respects to the real Crown Princess, Xiao Xue'er stopped.

Her gaze fell upon a pavilion not far away, which was the mansion's library, a forbidden area within the mansion.

No one is allowed to enter without Qin Li's permission.

But early this morning, some people walked towards the library via the boardwalk on the lake.

The high-ranking martial arts guards at the entrance of the library not only did not stop him, but also respectfully invited him in.

"she is?"

Xiao Xue'er frowned and asked, puzzled.

Following Xiao Xue'er's gaze, the maid explained, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but we've already inquired. Her name is Bai Zhenzhen, and she's His Highness's old flame. She accompanied His Highness back to the capital this time, and His Highness promised her that she can freely enter and leave the library from now on."

Xiao Xue'er nodded, indicating that she understood.

She looked at the maids and said, "By the way, don't call me Crown Princess anymore, it will cause trouble."

The maids asked, "What do we call you?"

Xiao Xue'er thought for a moment and said, "Let's call her Your Highness, or Concubine Your Highness."

She was Qin Li's fiancée before he became the crown prince.

She couldn't possibly become the Crown Princess.

She believed she could still manage to become a concubine.

The maids felt indignant on Xiao Xue'er's behalf, but since Xiao Xue'er had already spoken, they dared not disobey her and bowed down to say:

"Yes, Your Highness."

Following Xiao Xue'er, they arrived at the best courtyard in the entire mansion, apart from Qin Li's courtyard.

People moved into this courtyard yesterday, and quite a few of them.

Before they even went inside, they could hear the sound of weapons clashing together.

Upon entering the courtyard, they saw Chun Tao sparring with a woman dressed in tight-fitting clothes.

Both men were using swords, and sparks flew as the swords clashed together.

Needless to say, the woman in the tight-fitting clothes was the Crown Princess that Qin Li brought back from Jiangnan.

Last night, Xiao Xue'er sent someone to inquire about her; her surname was Pei, and her name was Pei Qingluan.

Looking Pei Qingluan up and down, Xiao Xue'er really couldn't understand why Qin Li had made her the Crown Princess.

Although Pei Qingluan is very beautiful, she is definitely not among the top-tier beauties. Is it only because of her family background?

The two were locked in a fierce battle, and Xiao Xue'er couldn't just step in to interrupt them. So she went around to Xia Liu, who was watching from the sidelines.

Upon seeing Xiao Xue'er's arrival, Xia Liu instinctively bowed and greeted her: "This servant, Xia Liu, greets Miss Xiao!"

Upon hearing the title "Miss Xiao," Xiao Xue'er felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her chest.

Is she not even worthy of being a concubine?

"How dare you! This is the concubine!"

Xiao Xue'er's maid couldn't help but scold Xia Liu.

Xia Liu was not afraid at all and argued her case logically:

"A concubine? When did His Highness appoint a concubine? I've never heard of it before."

"Miss Xiao is the daughter of the Prime Minister and His Highness's nominal fiancée. The two have never been married, so she cannot be considered a member of the Crown Prince's household. What are your intentions in calling Miss Xiao 'Consort'?"

Xia Liu's words were reasonable and well-founded, leaving the maids speechless. They all looked at Xiao Xue'er.

Xiao Xue'er just smiled wryly and said, "Xia Liu is right, from now on you can call me Miss Xiao."

Forcing herself to swallow the bitter pill of the title, Xiao Xue'er watched the fight on the field and said, "The Crown Princess is truly a heroine, I admire her greatly."

Xia Liu said, "Although Miss Xiao cannot practice martial arts, she is very knowledgeable about all the martial arts in the world, and His Highness often praises her for it."

Xiao Xue'er gently shook her head: "What's the use of constant praise? Once you take a wrong step, there's no going back."

Logically speaking, a trip to the south of the Yangtze River would involve dealing with many people from the martial arts world.

Taking her along would have been the most appropriate thing to do, as no martial arts master's moves could escape her eyes, but Qin Li didn't take her with him.

It was clear that Qin Li loathed her intensely; if it weren't for his father, Xiao Yuanlu, he would have expelled her from the Crown Prince's residence.

The fight had already ended when the two were talking.

"Chuntao, your kung fu is pretty good. If I were as good as you, I'd be laughing in my sleep."

Pei Qingluan, with her sword on her back, said with a smile.

Chun Tao was anything but modest. She patted her chest and said:

"If you were as good as me, you'd need at least seven or eight more years of training."

"Oh, another seven or eight years? That's a long time?"

Pei Qingluan asked, "Is there any way to speed up cultivation?"

Chun Tao said, "Of course there are. Qin Li is not only rich, but also has plenty of cultivation resources in his mansion. You can take more pills."

"Pills? Forget about that."

Those kinds of elixirs only care about the present, not the future.

Eating too much will directly limit a martial artist's potential.

Pei Qingluan is still young, and she doesn't want her martial arts path to be so predictable.

No rush, she can practice slowly, and one day she will become a martial arts master.

Besides, her martial arts goals aren't that difficult to achieve.

Only a Grandmaster is acceptable; a rank of seven or eight is sufficient.

After speaking, Pei Qingluan realized that several outsiders had come to her courtyard early in the morning, and she was immediately attracted by Xiao Xue'er.

Because of Xiao Xue'er's outfit, in the snow and ice, she looked like a blooming red flower, making it hard not to be attracted.

She reached up and rubbed her chin, looking Xiao Xue'er up and down in her outfit:

"You must be Xiao Xue'er?"

Xiao Xue'er curtsied and said, "Greetings, Crown Princess."

Pei Qingluan waved her hand dismissively and said, "What 'Crown Princess' or 'Not-quite-Crown Princess'? Tell me quickly, are you Xiao Xue'er?"

Xiao Xue'er didn't know why Pei Qingluan was in such a hurry to confirm her identity. Did he want to drive her out of the Crown Prince's residence?

She looked to Chun Tao and Xia Liu for help.

Both Chuntao and Xialiu shook their heads.

They didn't know what Pei Qingluan was going to do.

Left with no other option, Xiao Xue'er could only say, "Yes."

"Very good."

Pei Qingluan was startled and casually tossed the sword to the maid. She then put her hands on Xiao Xue'er's shoulders, put her arm around her, and said with a smile, "I've heard Qin Li mention you several times. I've only heard of you in Jiangnan, but never seen you in person. Today I finally meet you in person."

Pei Qingluan's enthusiasm made Xiao Xue'er feel uncomfortable, and she tentatively asked, "Why did Your Highness mention me?"

"What else could I say? Of course, I'd say you're well-behaved, sensible, considerate, and know how to take care of people," Pei Qingluan replied.

Upon hearing this, not only Xiao Xue'er was stunned, but Chun Tao and Xia Liu were also taken aback.

Is "well-behaved, sensible, considerate, and caring" referring to Xiao Xue'er?

In the entire mansion, if you were to ask who harbored the most disloyal intentions, Xiao Xue'er would undoubtedly be number one.

She had even tried to poison Qin Li, but failed.

Oh, by the way, she's also a core member of the Avengers!

"Is that really what Your Highness said? Then Your Highness is too kind!"

Xiao Xue'er didn't know what to say, so she could only give this answer to brush it off.

To everyone's surprise, Pei Qingluan said, "Miss Xue'er, don't be so nervous. I, Pei Qingluan, am not an outsider. You can treat me as one of your own."

"We are both Qin Li's women, and we should always be of one mind. But by one mind, I don't mean being as obedient and sensible as you are to Qin Li."

"You should follow my example. Qin Li is no good. I married him to be the Crown Princess, which was not my wish. So, we don't need to be so nice to him."

"what?"

Xiao Xue'er was stunned again.

"What do you mean, 'huh'?"

Pei Qingluan said, "While Qin Li hasn't returned to the manor yet, and we don't know what he's up to, we need to unite and not fight amongst ourselves. Otherwise, we won't have any good days ahead."

Xiao Xue'er smiled awkwardly, still unsure of what Pei Qingluan was up to. Was she testing her?

Thinking of this, Xiao Xue'er said, "I will obey the Crown Princess's command!"