Who said the eldest daughter is crazy? She's clearly a woman of high rank and influence in the

The figure had been crouching there for some time, like a cat that had been waiting on the eaves for a long time, finally waiting for the right moment to move.

She covered half of her face with a dark red veil, revealing only her curved eyes. She leaped off the railing, her boots touching the edge of the stage curtain below in mid-air. Using the momentum, she spun around and landed right in front of Xi Yue Li's table.

After landing, she casually kicked over the half-person-high ebony screen on the side of the table.

The screen fell down with a thud, startling the guests at the two adjacent tables who all turned their heads. She had already sat down opposite Xi Yueli with a grin, as if the seat was rightfully hers.

"No wonder my heart has been racing lately," she said, pulling down half of her face towel to reveal a smiling face. She reached out and grabbed Xi Yueli's wrist. "So it's you who's back."

The grip was so tight and urgent that before Xi Yueli could react, she had already pounced on her and hugged her tightly, one hand pinching her cheeks and pulling them apart, the other ruffling her hair: "So thin! There's no flesh on your face at all, you've been abused so badly!"

Xi Yueli's face was distorted from being pulled, and just as she was about to raise her hand to block, Helian Jing had already reached out.

He reached out from the opposite side, his palm gripping Hua Jianzui's wrist. The pressure wasn't heavy, but it precisely positioned itself on the most vulnerable spot on the outside of her wrist bone, removing her hand that was pulling Xi Yueli's face from Xi Yueli's cheek.

At the same time, his other hand was already on Xi Yueli's lower back, pulling her out of Huajianzui's embrace and pressing her back onto the chair beside him.

Hua Jianzui wasn't angry after her wrist was pulled away. She tilted her head and looked Helian Jing up and down, her gaze sliding from his brow bone to his jawline, and then from his jawline to the hand he was holding on Xi Yueli's lower back. She whistled loudly and deliberately, and everyone on the second floor of Zuixianlou heard it.

"Oh, is this young man your lover?" She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, her lips curving into a wide smile. "He's really handsome. Those brow bones, those eyes—he's even more handsome than the young master I saw on the beam of the Marquis's mansion last time."

Helian Jing remained expressionless. He pulled Xi Yueli half an inch closer to him before speaking, "I am her husband."

Xi Yueli and Hua Jianzui looked at him at the same time. Xi Yueli raised an eyebrow, as if to confirm that the words came from his mouth.

Hua Jianzui's reaction was much more direct. She slapped the table, laughing so hard she leaned back, her back hitting the chair back and bouncing back, the tea spilling out of the cup.

"Oh no, oh no, it's so boring with someone in charge here!" She slapped her thigh, almost laughing to tears.

"I'd also like to take you to meet some of the most handsome men in the south of the city tonight—one who plays the zither, one who writes calligraphy, and another who is the young master of a noble family, who looks like he stepped out of a painting."

As she spoke, she stood up and walked around the table, grabbing Xi Yueli's wrist with a slightly lighter grip than before, as if calling to a cat she didn't want to scare away: "Come on, let's go upstairs. I have something to tell you. Let him wait."

When Xi Yueli was pulled to her feet, she glanced at Helian Jing.

Helian Jing remained seated, withdrawing his hand from her lower back and placing it back on the edge of the table, giving her a slight nod.

Hua Jianzui had already pulled her up the stairs to the corner, pushed open the door of a small room by the window at the far end of the second floor, and slipped inside.

There were no lights on in the cubicle. Hua Jianzui closed the door behind her, and moonlight leaked in through the half-open window, covering the floor with a silvery glow.

She stood in the moonlight looking at her, her curved eyes shining brightly in the darkness, her smile fading slightly, revealing a seriousness that was completely different from before.

"The Empress's people are investigating you. She reported the thefts at the Princess's residence to the Imperial Household Department. Ostensibly, it's to recover the stolen goods, but actually, it's an opportunity to investigate the people around you. Make sure you keep the Nine Heavens Hairpin on tight and don't take it off."

"If you need anything, just send someone to find me." She pointed to her head. "I don't want to pay this back for now. The interest is just for you to use; you have to be available whenever you call."

Xi Yueli lowered her eyes and chuckled softly, "Having so many memories that don't belong to me is truly a headache. Don't worry, this is enough to deal with the Empress."

Hua Jianzui resumed her playful demeanor, patting Xi Yueli on the shoulder. "Alright, I've delivered the message. Your cold-faced husband is waiting downstairs. If you don't go down soon, he'll come up and tear the house down."

"But then again, it's hard to say that this lustful nature isn't something that came from a fragment of you."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and climbed onto the windowsill, crouching on the window frame like a hawk about to soar into the night.

She turned her head and gave Xi Yueli one last look. "I'll come find you when I'm done having fun."

Before she finished speaking, she leaned out of the window, using the tips of her boots to touch the tiles of the opposite roof for leverage. Her figure slid along the shadow of the wall for more than ten feet, then flipped and disappeared into the darkness around the corner of the alley across the street.

Xi Yueli stood by the window watching the figure completely disappear into the night before turning around, pushing open the door of the cubicle, and going downstairs.

Helian Jing was still sitting at the square table, the teacup in front of him already cold. "Did she introduce you to a young man?"

"No, we just exchanged a few words." Xi Yueli sat down again opposite him.

Helian Jing stood up, casually took the outer cloak draped over her chair and draped it over her shoulders. He walked to the window, opened the window, and glanced outside—the rooftops opposite were empty, moonlight bathed the tiles, and not a single footprint was left.

"That flower thief."

He walked back to the table, bent down and tidied up a strand of hair that had been pulled loose by Xi Yueli's hair. He paused for a moment as his fingertips brushed against her earlobe, as if making a final confirmation.

He looked up at her, the candlelight flickering deep in his pupils: "If her fragments were yours, would you also become... fond of teasing people?"

Xi Yueli put down her teacup, leaned back in her chair, and placed her hands folded on her knees. Looking at his rarely seen expression, she slowly asked, "Is Your Highness worried that I'll become unable to resist beautiful things in the future?"

Helian Jing's eyebrows twitched, and his voice lowered slightly: "Hua Jian Zui flirts and runs away, never taking responsibility. When she looks at people, her eyes are like she's picking fruit; she takes a bite and then throws them away. If you get that piece of her..."

He paused for a moment, as if considering his words, "I'm afraid that after you've seen it so many times, you'll think that my face isn't anything special anymore."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, as if reflecting on why he had said it. He picked up the freshly poured tea, took a sip, and kept his gaze on the table, not looking at her.

Looking at him in this rare state, Xi Yueli thought that the Prince Chen, who used to coldly survey all the female officials outside the palace gates, was now sitting in the lamplight on the second floor of Zuixianlou, worried that his face was not good enough to look at.

She smiled slightly, reached out and took the teacup from his hand, took a sip herself, put it back on the table, then stood up and walked to him, bent down, placed her hands on the armrests of his chair, trapping him between the back of the chair and her arms.

"Your Highness," she said, her voice earnest, "I possess the composure of Fu Yuan and the shrewdness of He Qing Shuang within me. They have both returned; I have not become either of them."

She tilted her head slightly. The sunlight had long since faded, and the candlelight cast a dim glow on her face. "After I come back from 'Drunk Among Flowers,' I'll probably be a bit more cheerful, a bit more agile, and a bit better at scaling walls than I am now—"

"But I won't become her."