She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

Li Jingrui was not frightened by his sharpness, but she was surprised.

It seems she really likes it!

He shrugged, a look on his face that said, "The answer is obvious: 'Their hearts are the same. If Your Highness cannot tolerate the County Princess being intimate with others, how can you bear to let her see you with three wives and four concubines?'"

"Other women would not dare to say such things, but the county princess did, which shows that she is a very opinionated woman who absolutely cannot tolerate her husband's fickleness, whether in body or spirit."

"If you try to persuade the county princess to abandon this condition for you, aren't you just telling her that your feelings for her are nothing more than this? Once the county princess understands this, she will be even less likely to choose you."

The cold, sharp blade dissipated, and Xiao Che pursed his lips.

Li Jingrui continued, "Men always feel that it is only natural for them to have three wives and four concubines, especially men of your noble status. Therefore, you were never among the candidates for the county princess's son-in-law from the very beginning."

"One of you two has to step down, but... although you seem to be in a higher position, the one who actually said these words is the one who holds the reins. This is her condition for choosing a husband; if you can't meet it, don't even think about getting close."

Xiao Che suddenly realized.

No wonder he treated her so specially, indulging her in every way and letting her do whatever she wanted, yet she never seemed to fall for him.

It turns out that he... was never one of her choices!

Li Jingrui looked at the ripples beneath his calm face and smiled knowingly: "If it were a girl who lacked her own opinions, or perhaps a woman used as a bargaining chip by her family, you might still have the option of making the county princess fall head over heels in love with you, and then having her endure things for you."

"Does Your Highness believe that Grand Secretary Jiang would use her as a bargaining chip for the sake of his family's future?"

Xiao Che was certain: "No."

Jiang Huai felt guilty towards her and would only try to fulfill all her requests, without forcing or taking advantage of her.

"I don't think Grand Secretary Jiang is that kind of person." Li Jingrui nodded. "Although I haven't interacted with the county princess, judging from her behavior, she is an extremely carefree person who would never cause trouble for herself."

"You! If you want to marry the county princess, there is only one way: find a way to show her your sincerity, move her, and make her believe that you will not take concubines. Only then will you be qualified to be chosen by her."

Xiao Che spent the whole night in worry.

He then discovered that he had no choice at all.

He looked at Li Jingrui.

Li Jingrui remained silent.

Xiao Che pursed his lips: "Is this the method you gave me?"

Li Jingrui smiled, a gentle smile tinged with slyness, adding an approachable vibrancy to his elegant demeanor: "I've cleared the way out for you; how can that not be considered relieving your worries?"

Xiao Che: "..."

They're both infuriating!

His gaze slowly swept across the entire room.

Grand Tutor Xu, Duke Anguo, Minister Bai... these old foxes weren't loyal for the sake of loyalty; what they wanted was power and interests that were inextricably linked to them and the royal family.

They may not care whether their daughters enter the Regent's Palace as the principal wife or a concubine, but if they cannot see any hope that their daughters will give birth to a son, they will definitely waver.

This is a critical moment; if we don't take a concubine, the situation will become unstable.

She had never imagined that she would forbid her husband from taking concubines. This sudden problem troubled Xiao Che, even though he was a master strategist.

A perfect solution won't be easy!

Shi An, one of the onlookers, quietly gave a thumbs up.

Prince Li's mind is truly extraordinary!

It's truly a blessing for the prince to have so many intelligent people around him.

……

Many people went hunting.

Before long, a large number of prey were brought back.

Jiang Ruining found a rare calico rabbit among the dead or wounded prey. Its eyes were covered by black and brown fur, making them bright. It had short legs and a tail curled up like a fluffy ball, making it look particularly cute. Its plump hind legs were wounded by arrows, and it was curled up in a ball, trembling.

With a soft heart, I asked the hunter for it back, treated its wounds, and prepared to keep it as a pet!

She teased the rabbit's fluffy little belly.

She had originally planned to have roasted rabbit for lunch, but now she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth. Of course, she also couldn't bring herself to interfere with whether or not others were eating.

"Bunny is so cute, how can you eat it! We can eat roasted venison, roasted mutton, mushroom stewed pheasant... and lots of other delicious meats, right, fat bunny~"

The wind at the foot of the mountain blew wildly, making the gradient-colored hair ribbon behind her head dance wildly. The shawl draped behind her rippled, and the wispy strands of hair, slightly frizzy from the wind, were tinged with the pale golden autumn sun, blurring into a soft halo, making her look as beautiful as a goddess with a holy halo in a mural.

Having been injured and forced to return, Xiao Qing, the second young master of the Xiao family, saw a group of people together. Curious, he approached Gu Lai and was suddenly struck by what he saw, freezing in place in a daze: "Whose daughter is that! What's her name? Is she married?"

The young man traveling with him said, "That is the Princess of Funing who saved the Regent."

Xiao Qing murmured, "It's her!"

Jiang Ruining's gaze passed through him and landed on him, while Xiao Che stood three zhang behind him.

She smiled sweetly in that direction.

Xiao Qing was captivated by that smile, and felt dizzy. A strange and inexplicable feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart, and as the blood flowed through his body, it made his face look handsome.

He wanted to... get to know her!

Her companion kindly reminded her, "Princess Jiang is no ordinary young lady!"

"She fell off a cliff and went missing, but after returning to the capital, she didn't go home. Instead, she stayed at the Regent's hot spring estate for a while. Then, she risked her life to save the Regent, causing quite a stir! Now everyone is guessing that she might be the Regent's wife!"

"If you only want to be friends with her, that's fine. But if you develop feelings for her, not only will the Regent punish you, but your family won't allow it!"

The flaws her companions mentioned sounded like virtues to Xiao Qing: "She survived falling off a cliff, which means she's incredibly lucky! The fact that she didn't go home after surviving means her family must have treated her badly!"

"Her selfless act of saving lives shows her kindness and courage! Look how beautiful her smile is; it shows she has a carefree personality and we can get along well! If she were a wooden beauty who's afraid of this and unwilling to do that, even if I married her, I wouldn't be able to talk to her, and what would be the point?"

"She is Grand Secretary Jiang's only daughter, and a legitimate daughter at that. How noble is her status? If she were truly to become the Regent's Consort, why would she hide it and not make it public? It must be that the Grand Secretary asked the Regent to take care of the County Princess for her, which is why she only stayed at the estate for a short while!"

"Besides, the estate is so big, it's not like it only has one room. What does that prove? It's all just idle people like you making wild guesses and twisting the meaning of a perfectly good young lady's life!"

The more his companion listened, the more complicated his expression became: "..." This excitement seems to have gone completely mad!

He glanced again at the Princess of Funing not far away.

I can understand Xiao Qing's irrationality.

She is truly so beautiful that it's impossible to look away!

"If you offend the Regent, don't blame me for not warning you sooner!"

Xiao Qing raised his chin: "I neither act like a hooligan nor harm anyone. Would the Regent really be unreasonable and punish me arbitrarily? If he also likes the County Princess, let him pursue her according to his own abilities!"

Companion: "..." To be honest, you're really quite naive!

Xiao Che, standing three zhang away, was struck by that radiant smile, like a pebble thrown into a clear, cold lake, the ripples spreading outwards... reaching deep into his heart!

Jiang Ruining withdrew her gaze, a happy and smooth smile curving her lips.

It seems that "borrowing" Xiao Qing is much easier than she planned!

"How about we watch other people eat bunnies later?"

Listening to her "conversation" with the little rabbit, Zheng Lingyi's lips twitched: "Letting it watch its own kind being roasted and eaten, isn't that a bit too sinister?"

Jiang Ruining gave a soft "Ah," and asked the little rabbit very seriously, "Can you understand it?"

The rabbit sniffed, its plump body still trembling, and it had peed a whole bag.

Zheng Lingyi stepped back in disgust and silently pulled Chu Jin away.

Jiang Ruining: "..."

The servants at the hunting grounds immediately came over with a water bag: "Princess, this servant will help you wash your hands!"

Jiang Ruining thought to herself that the maids in ancient times were really good at seeing things!

He handed the rabbit to Jinyu to hold.

Luckily, she had a cloth to cushion it, so the water only dripped onto her hands and not her clothes, otherwise she would have had to go back to change!

Poking the chubby rabbit's belly, he said, "That's too much, you know? You should go back to your tent to heal and get some sleep! What if you can see your own kind being roasted and eaten? What if you treat me like an enemy after you've recovered!"

Then he said to Jinyu, "I asked His Majesty for some wild game. Take it back and marinate it according to the recipe I gave you last night."

Jin Yu smiled and replied "Yes," then picked up the rabbit through the cloth and took her leave to attend to her business.

Jiang Ruining washed her hands several times, finally getting rid of the odor: "I need to ask the animal trainer if it can be taught to use the toilet in a designated spot!"