I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Sixth Brother, what should we do?"

"If our elder brother finds out, he definitely won't let us off the hook."

The Fifth Prince grabbed the Sixth Prince's sleeve and said in great fear.

The sixth prince's pupils flickered incessantly in his eye sockets, clearly indicating that he was also very frightened.

But suddenly, he abruptly flicked his sleeve and said:

"What's there to be afraid of! We've come to invite the Empress to the palace on the Emperor's orders. We haven't provoked him at all, so why should he lay a hand on us? On the contrary, he's deliberately obstructing our efforts to invite the Empress to the palace. He's in the wrong, so why should we be afraid of him!"

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince realized what was happening.

Yes, they are in the right. Why should they be afraid?

Why did Qin Li attack them for no reason?

If Qin Li dares to lay a hand on them, they will have grounds to sue him and have the Xuan Emperor punish him severely.

Thinking of this, the Fifth Prince grew bolder and looked at Pei Qingluan, saying:

"Sister-in-law, that's where you're wrong. We're acting on Father's orders. Are you trying to stop us? If you do, you're disobeying the imperial decree. If Father punishes you, can you bear the consequences?"

By bringing up Emperor Xuan, the Fifth Prince was no longer afraid that Pei Qingluan, a woman from Jiangnan, would stubbornly fight against them.

In all his years, he had never seen a woman with such audacity; if she did, he would be unlucky.

Pei Qingluan wasn't afraid at all, but just as she was about to speak, Xiao Xue'er stepped forward and said to Pei Qingluan:

"Sister Pei, we came together. You can't stand out all by yourself, so please give us a chance too."

Pei Qingluan wasn't the only one who came today; they came too.

In other words, they also wanted to contribute.

Pei Qingluan looked at the women, nodded, and handed the situation over to them.

Xiao Xue'er stepped forward, first reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, before speaking:

"Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince, do you know where you are?"

The two exchanged a glance, unsure of what Xiao Xue'er meant.

Pei Qingluan came from Jiangnan, so they didn't know who she was, but Xiao Xue'er was a native of the capital, so they knew her very well.

Don't let Xiao Xue'er's harmless and gentle appearance fool you; she's actually incredibly domineering and unreasonable.

Therefore, they must be extremely vigilant when facing Xiao Xue'er, otherwise they will be the ones who suffer.

However, it wouldn't be right not to answer Xiao Xue'er's question.

The sixth prince nudged the fifth prince with his elbow, and the fifth prince stepped forward and tentatively said, "Where is this? This is the Imperial Academy, of course, the Lu family's residence!"

Xiao Xue'er placed her hands firmly against her lower abdomen, smiled slightly, and said:

"Indeed, this is the Imperial Academy, the Lu family's territory, and also the territory of my Crown Prince's residence."

Upon hearing this, both the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince laughed in anger.

Are you kidding me? When did the Imperial Academy become Qin Li's territory?

It should be noted that the boundaries between different areas of the capital city are very clear.

For example, the imperial palace was Emperor Xuan's territory, while the large military camps outside the city were Qin Li's territory.

Qin Li never took the Imperial Academy seriously, and even said that the Imperial Academy was full of old, pedantic scholars.

This resulted in the Imperial Academy always favoring Emperor Xuan.

Don't believe me?

Xiao Xue'er smiled slightly again as she looked at the two of them.

The Fifth Prince was about to step forward to speak when the Sixth Prince stopped him, saying:

"Xiao Xue'er, we've known each other for a long time. Before you became my older brother's fiancée, we spent a lot of time together. We know each other well, don't you think I understand you?"

"What I don't understand is, when did you become so devoted to my older brother? As far as I know, didn't you refuse to marry him? You even cried and made a scene, threatening to hang yourself."

"What? You've changed your mind so quickly?"

"You're so fickle."

Anyone with eyes could tell that the Sixth Prince's words were an open mockery of Xiao Xue'er.

Xiao Xue'er remained unperturbed, a faint smile always on her face.

She is no longer the Xiao Xue'er she used to be. The current Xiao Xue'er is so shrewd that she can keep her emotions hidden, making her very difficult for ordinary people to deal with.

Looking at the Sixth Prince, Xiao Xue'er said, "Sixth Prince, you don't need to deliberately provoke me, because it's pointless."

"Today, I, Xiao Xue'er, and several of my sisters have come to welcome Sister Shushu back to the manor."

"Anyone who dares to obstruct us will be an enemy of the Crown Prince's residence."

"Once the imperial examinations are over, my prince will definitely not let it go."

"If you can kill the Third Prince, you can do the same."

Xiao Xue'er's words were extremely harsh, and the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince were furious when they heard them.

It was one thing for Qin Li to say that, since he was their elder brother and naturally had a suppressive influence over them.

But who is Xiao Xue'er? She's just one of Qin Li's women, yet she dares to say such things to them.

"Xiao Xue'er, don't think that just because you're my brother's woman we won't dare to touch you. If you push us too far, we're capable of anything."

"Not to mention, you are the ones in the wrong today."

"We are acting on the Emperor's orders. What, are you openly defying the imperial decree?"

Having said that, the Sixth Prince shouted sharply, "Where are the Imperial Guards?"

The imperial guards present drew their swords in unison and roared, "The imperial guards are here!"

Xiao Xue'er glanced at them indifferently, still not taking them to heart:

"Fifth brother, sixth brother, everything should be done in an orderly manner. You say that Sister Shushu wants to enter the palace to become the Empress, is there any imperial decree?"

"They don't."

Lu Shushu interrupted.

This is also why Lu Shushu dared to go against the imperial edict earlier, because the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince had no way to produce an imperial edict; they only said verbally that the edict would be issued in a few days.

"No?"

Xiao Xue'er smiled again, "That makes things easier. Our Prince took a liking to Shushu first, so how can she enter the palace to become Empress?"

"?"

Upon hearing this, a small question mark appeared on Lu Shushu's forehead.

What does that mean?

When did the Crown Prince take a liking to her?

How come she didn't know?

Upon hearing this, Lu's father and mother quickly asked Lu Shushu when he had offended the Crown Prince.

Lu Shushu spread her hands, indicating that she didn't know and was quite innocent.

She did not provoke the Crown Prince, and had never even seen his face.

"What did you say? Eldest brother took a liking to her first?" The Sixth Prince pointed at Lu Shushu and asked incredulously.

Xiao Xue'er nodded: "To steal a woman from one's own son—if word gets out, isn't His Majesty afraid of being laughed at by the world!"

"You're insane! You're absolutely insane!"

The Fifth Prince couldn't help but rebuke him angrily.

When did Xiao Xue'er become so bold that she even dares to mock His Majesty?

"I'm not crazy, it's His Majesty who's crazy," Xiao Xue'er said. "Knowing that Sister Shushu is His Highness's woman, he still forcibly conscripted her into the palace. Isn't His Majesty the one who's crazy!"

The Fifth Prince was furious: "Nonsense! When did Lu Shushu become the Crown Prince's woman?"

"It has been like that for a long time," Xiao Xue'er said.

"What evidence do you have?"

Xiao Xue'er looked at Lu Shushu and asked knowingly, "Sister Shushu, have you taken on two students recently?"

Lu Shushu nodded blankly. How did Xiao Xue'er know that she had taken on two students? Could it be that she had been monitoring her all along? But what was she monitoring her for? She just couldn't figure it out.

"Then please tell them, Sister Shushu, what are the names of these two students?"

Lu Shushu replied, "One is named Qin Li, and the other is named Cao Quan!"

Upon hearing this, both the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince stared wide-eyed at each other in shock.

They didn't recognize Cao Quan, but they knew the name Qin Li all too well.

This name was their nightmare; just mentioning it made them tremble with fear.

"Alright, Shushu, let me ask you again, do you know who Qin Li is?"

Lu Shushu guessed what it was, but still answered:

"He said he was a student from Jiangnan who came to Beijing to participate in the imperial examinations, and his family seemed to be quite well-off."

Xiao Xue'er nodded and looked at the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince: "Fifth Prince, Sixth Prince, I'll give you a chance. You tell me, who is Qin Li?"

Both of them swallowed hard and looked at Lu Shushu: "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Your student's name is really Qin Li?"

Lu Shushu gave them a very displeased look:

"I took on this student myself, don't I know his name? His name is Qin Li."

"Which Qin? Which Li?"

"It shares the same surname as yours, the sinister Li."

Upon hearing this answer, both of them were plunged into despair.

The Qin Li that Lu Shushu mentioned is indeed the Crown Prince, their own elder brother!

However, the Sixth Prince was still unwilling to give up. He said, "You say Lu Shushu is the Crown Prince's woman, but I insist she isn't. What evidence do you have?"

"Getting evidence is easy."

Pei Qingluan suddenly stepped forward and said, "Sister Shushu, did your student Qin Li give you a jade thumb ring before he left?"

Lu Shushu subconsciously pulled the jade thumb ring out from her collar: "Is this it?"

Upon seeing the jade thumb ring, the legs of the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince went weak involuntarily, and they almost knelt on the ground.

Why is Qin Li's jade thumb ring in Lu Shushu's hands?

This jade thumb ring was Qin Li's most cherished possession, and he never parted with it.

Pei Qingluan said, "Qin Li gave his favorite item to Sister Shushu. This is their token of love. Qin Li said that after the imperial examination, he will marry Sister Shushu."

"As for your father, he is late. If he insists on forcibly marrying Sister Shushu into the palace, just as Sister Xue'er said, he is stealing his own son's woman. He is not afraid of being laughed at if word gets out."

"Alright, things are clear now."

Pei Qingluan glanced at the two of them and waved her hand, saying, "Get lost! Before this gets out of hand, it'll be your father who loses face!"