The Dark Moonlight returns to the capital, and the mad prince is accused of forcing love.

"The year after Qiqi passed away, the Duchess came to propose marriage, but I refused at the time," Chu Yunci said calmly. "At Jiming Temple, I thought you were deliberately seducing me, so I played along and invited you to go for a walk around."

As he spoke, he took half a step back and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Miss Xu."

Xu Qianhui stepped aside and said, "What wrong have you done, young general? It was the Duke's mansion that wanted to force me onto you first, so it's no wonder you have such suspicions. You haven't said a single bad word about me, showing your gentlemanly demeanor. If you apologize again, it would really be too much for me."

Chu Yunci smiled and said, "So, we're friends now?"

Xu Qianhui looked up, her eyebrows and eyes curving.

"I am so fortunate."

......

In the stands of the polo field, Madam Fu went to speak with the wife of the Marquis of Wu'an.

Lin Zuoqing led Lin Zhiwei, who had changed into riding clothes, into the high platform pavilion of the Rongguo Duke's mansion.

When Lin Rulan saw the visitor, she smiled and said, "Sister Zhiwei, come, sit here with me."

Lin Zhiwei sat down with red eyes, her gaze constantly glancing at the person diagonally opposite her.

Diagonally opposite each other, Qin Miaoyun and Lin Zuoan were sitting side by side.

Lin Zuo'an said something that made Qin Miaoyun cover her mouth and chuckle.

The two were very close, displaying an intimate demeanor as if no one else was around.

Lin Zhiwei gripped the riding whip tightly, and the veins on the back of her hand bulged out.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Lin Rulan quickly picked up her teacup and stood up.

"Brother, your clothes suit you very well." She placed the teacup on the table. "When are you going to show off your skills?"

Lin Zuoqing said, "Next act, with Yun Ci."

Upon hearing this, Qin Miaoyun turned around and asked, "Why doesn't the young master team up with the second young master?"

"It was arranged in advance."

Lin Zuoqing took a sip of tea, his voice indifferent and devoid of any inflection.

Seeing this, Lin Zuo'an tugged at Qin Miaoyun and laughed, "My ball skills are not as good as General Chu's. I would only be a burden to my brother if I went on the field. I'd better not make a fool of myself."

Qin Miaoyun glared at him and said, "You're so good at talking."

Just then, Chu Yunci strode over with Xu Qianhui.

The teasing stopped abruptly.

Lin Zuo'an's gaze lingered on Xu Qianhui for a moment before turning to Chu Yunci: "Why did you all come together?"

"I met Miss Xu on the way, so we came together."

Lin Zuo'an frowned: "Xu Qianhui doesn't know how to play polo. He might as well rest in the tent."

He clearly didn't want Xu Qianhui to be here, fearing it would upset Qin Miaoyun.

After all, in order to avoid Xu Qianhui, he had been leaving home at dawn these past two days and returning late at night.

Chu Yunci smiled and said, "Since you two are a couple with people cheering you on, can't I ask Miss Xu to help make a good impression?"

Lin Zuo'an breathed a sigh of relief: "I see. General Chu, please have a seat."

Chu Yunci pulled out a long bench and sat down next to Xu Qianhui.

The servant stepped forward with a copper kettle and poured two cups of hot tea.

Xu Qianhui took out a sky-blue purse from her sleeve, untied the ribbon, and poured a shiny black plum into the teacup.

She looked at Chu Yunci: "Young General, would you like some?"

While changing clothes, Xu Qianhui saw this in Chu Yunci's teacup in his tent.

Then I saw a large bag of dried plums on the table, and without anyone noticing, I put a few in.

This is the perfect time to use it.

Chu Yunci opened his large palm, and Xu Qianhui immediately smiled and placed the plum on it.

Lin Zhiwei, having been rebuffed by Qin Miaoyun, was eager to vent her frustration. Speaking in a hostess's tone, she said, "Miss Xu, this is the Duke's mansion's elevated pavilion. Let's avoid this kind of informal drinking. If General Chu gets sick, wouldn't that damage the relationship between our two mansions?"

Chu Yunci ignored her, threw the plum into the cup, and picked up the teacup to swirl it a couple of times.

"This way of drinking it isn't bad either."

Lin Zhiwei was stopped by him and wanted to say something more, but Qin Miaoyun interrupted.

"I've never heard of tea and plums being incompatible. Lin Zhiwei, your words don't sound like you're worried about General Chu; they sound like you're cursing him to be sick and unable to participate in the battle."

Lin Zhiwei's expression stiffened slightly, and her eyes quickly filled with tears as she looked at Lin Zuoqing with a wronged expression.

"Zuo Qing, I didn't mean that. I was just worried that if General Chu drank this strange stuff, it would affect his performance later. But Miao Yun is misunderstanding my good intentions."

Seeing her demeanor, Qin Miaoyun felt a surge of anger rush to her head.

Just as she was about to get up, Lin Zuoan spoke first.

"Miss Lin, have you considered that Xu Qianhui simply doesn't appreciate tea? We can enjoy good tea ourselves. Strange people like to drink strange teas, why bother?"

Lin Zuo'an's words clearly displayed an aggressive stance.

He wanted to remind everyone that Xu Qianhui was just a down-on-her-luck merchant's daughter, and any rudeness was in accordance with her status.

More importantly, he had to adopt this hostile attitude in front of Qin Miaoyun to put her at ease.

Qin Miaoyun was indeed pleased with these words.

Her eyes and brows were full of smiles, but she said, "Zuo An, how can you talk about a girl like that?"

After the last campaign, she no longer called him Second Young Master.

Lin Zuo'an immediately replied, "I'm just telling the truth."

Although he said this, his eyes still glanced at Xu Qianhui.

However, it only lasted for a brief moment.

When he feels guilty, his eyes often dart around, but he managed to keep them in check today.

Seeing his earnest performance, Xu Qianhui suppressed a laugh, lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "Second Young Master is right, I am indeed not worthy of drinking good tea."

Lin Zuoqing, who was standing to the side, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and watched the farce unfold without any change in expression.

Chu Yunci downed the plum tea in one gulp and said coldly, "What good tea or bad tea? It's just leaves picked from the tree, with a few fancy processing steps added. I've never seen anyone who's been fooled and is still smug about it. It's truly an eye-opener."

Lin Zhiwei instinctively retorted, "General Chu, tea trees naturally vary in quality. The tea we're drinking costs a hundred taels of silver per tael. Its value is obvious at a glance; how can you say it's just bluffing?"

Chu Yunci leaned back in his chair and gave a mocking laugh.

"When I was fighting on the frontier, I drank large bowls of tea that cost ten coins a pound every day. My father would also put dried plums in his tea. Miss Lin, do you think this way of drinking tea is cheap? Or is it the large bowls of tea that my father and I drank that are cheap?"

Chu Yunci's father was a powerful general who held military power.

Although he guarded the frontier for many years, his reputation far surpassed that of the Marquis of Wu'an, whose household did not even hold a proper official position.

Lin Zhiwei pursed her lips: "General Chu, I'm sorry. I've never drunk tea like this before, and I was worried about causing any problems, so... If I had drunk it before, I would definitely have found it good."

Xu Qianhui shook her head inwardly.

When she first met Lin Zhiwei, she thought this young lady was really good at talking, probably because there was an extraordinary governess in the mansion.

But now, looking at how she handles things, how come she's become just like Qiu Zhiqing after being blinded by jealousy?

At this moment, the only thing she should do is apologize; she cannot offer any explanation.

really.

Chu Yunci's sarcasm became even more pronounced after hearing her words.

"Therefore, Miss Lin should try to explore more new things in the future so that her horizons won't be so limited."

Lin Zuo'an coughed twice, trying to smooth things over.

"Brother Chu, Miss Lin didn't mean it..."

"Second Young Master."

Chu Yunci interrupted him directly.

"My surname is Chu, and yours is Lin. Please address each other by our titles."

Lin Zuo'an's face instantly turned red.

On the polo field, the dull drumbeats resounded.

The polo match is about to begin.

Lin Zuoqing finally stood up: "Let's go, Yun Ci, it's time to leave the stage."

Throughout the entire process, he did not glance at Lin Zhiwei, nor did he pay any attention to Lin Zuoan's embarrassment.

He merely glanced at Xu Qianhui as he passed by.

Just one glance.

Xu Qianhui knew, however, that he had seen through everything.

She met his gaze, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips.

So what if you see through it?

You still didn't expose it, did you?