She refused to marry.

A few days later.

Palace servants arrived at the Su family's gate.

It was said to be the royal autumn hunt, but it happened to coincide with a visit from twelve kingdoms in the northern frontier. In order to show the might of our dynasty, all officials were required to accompany the emperor, and the Su family was specially permitted to bring their families to hunt in the Western Mountains.

Su Wanwan packed her bags and set off for Xishan in the carriage.

The Western Hills are vast in scale; once inside, the carriage took half an hour to travel before stopping.

The tents were placed in the southeast corner, near the perimeter.

Mother was worried that Father's body couldn't withstand the cold winds in the mountains, so she specially chose a location that was convenient for him to come and go.

Once Su Jinning entered Xishan, she was like a wild horse that had been unleashed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Su Xian frantically searched the entire camp for people.

Su Yaoyue and Su Zhiyin are flying kites.

Su Jinse sat gracefully on the stands several miles away, gazing at her future husband with Zhao.

Su Wanwan made arrangements throughout the camp, searching for water sources, doctors and herbs, and food in case of emergencies.

By the time everything was settled, it was already afternoon.

Bored, she walked to the edge of the stands, wanting to get some fresh air and watch the football game.

"Why is it her?"

"Stay away from her; whoever gets close to her is doomed."

"Shen Qingrong died because of her..."

"She even made inappropriate advances towards His Majesty a few days ago... How shameless..."

"Didn't they hire a son-in-law a few days ago...? That's hilarious..."

"Yes, I heard she's already been of marriageable age for two years..."

The sounds were unbearable to hear.

Hearing this, Su Jinse, who was not far away, turned around and glanced at her, then quickly turned her face away again.

Su Wanwan tactfully left, wandering aimlessly.

"Why don't you bow to Her Highness the Princess!" A harsh voice rang in my ears.

Su Wanwan looked up and saw the Third Princess walking in front, followed by a dozen or so maids.

The sixth princess was also traveling with them.

"Greetings, Third Princess; greetings, Sixth Princess." Su Wanwan bowed.

The Third Princess circled Su Wanwan, looking her up and down with a sneer on her lips, and twirled her riding whip in her hand, clapping her hands repeatedly.

"Oh, isn't this Miss Su? I heard that a few days ago in the East Garden, in front of all the noble ladies in the capital, you kissed His Majesty?"

"Tsk tsk, you've got some nerve. I haven't even kissed His Majesty's face, and you've already beaten me to it."

The Third Princess cracked her whip, her voice rising several decibels: "So what if you kissed him? Did the Emperor even acknowledge you? You've been of marriageable age for two years and still can't get married. It's pitiful that your Su family has fallen on hard times and can only rely on you to climb the social ladder. Do you really think the Emperor would even look at you? Dream on!"

The maids around them covered their mouths and chuckled.

The Third Princess got more and more excited as she spoke, taking a step forward. "I advise you to stay away from the Emperor. He is the one I have my eye on. What are you? A daughter of a poor family, daring to covet the Emperor? You should take a good look at yourself in the mirror."

"Royal sister..." the sixth princess said from the side.

"You're a lowly thing too, born of a maid, how dare you stand on equal footing with me..." the Third Princess said angrily.

Su Wanwan was indignant. "Is Your Highness afraid that I'll steal the Emperor from you and displease you?"

"Hmph, you, someone whose status, position, and appearance are inferior to mine, how dare you say you're worthy?" the Third Princess said.

"Royal elder sister, Miss Su..."

Before the Sixth Princess could finish speaking, Su Wanwan interrupted, "Does being born into the royal family mean one is superior to others?"

"That's natural. You were born into humble circumstances, so you understand each other's feelings."

"Sixth Princess, you and she are quite a good match, both of you admire the Emperor. It's a pity that you can only watch from the sidelines of this high branch in this generation..." the Third Princess said smugly.

Su Wanwan straightened her back. "Your Highness, Third Princess, according to you, if you are not born in the palace, you are inferior. Then, three hundred years ago, when our ancestor was born into a farming family, was he also inferior?"

The Empress's Zhou family was nothing more than hunters two hundred years ago. It was only after a prime minister emerged that they achieved their current glory... Isn't it too superficial to rely on one's status to satisfy vanity...?

"You! You're such bad luck!" A whip lashed out.

Su Wanwan quickly covered her face, but felt no pain. When she looked up, she saw Ying Zheng appear behind her at some point, holding a whip in his hand.

"Lu Huai'an?" A hint of surprise flashed in Su Wanwan's eyes, before she regained her composure.

"Third Princess, hitting people is wrong." Ying Zheng grabbed the whip tip, snatched it from the Third Princess's hand, and threw it on the ground.

"Ying Zheng! Who do you think you are? I'm disciplining a lowly servant girl, and you dare to stop me?" The Third Princess was so angry that her face turned pale.

"Third Princess, Lord Fengchen is already heading this way. Are you still going to cause trouble?" Ying Zheng cracked his whip.

Everyone turned around and saw Feng Chenjun walking towards them with his arms crossed.

"Hmph!" After getting angry, the Third Princess immediately changed her expression and clung to Feng Chenjun.

The Sixth Princess stared at Feng Chenjun in the distance, unable to move.

Su Wanwan looked at her with great heartache, "Go on, what are you standing there for? If the Sixth Princess doesn't go and interact with Fengchen Jun, how will she attract the Emperor's attention?"

Ying Zheng lowered his eyes and smiled, "Sixth Prince, she is right."

Encouraged by the two, the sixth princess mustered her courage and headed towards Feng Chenjun's direction.

Su Wanwan turned around as well, "Thank you, Your Highness, goodbye."

Ying Zheng stopped her, "I won't bother you, just for a little while, we can talk for a bit, otherwise I won't be able to sleep or eat at night, look how thin I've become..."

"Liar!" Su Wanwan looked up and glared at him.

In the original story, he was supposed to go to the palace to gather information these past few days, which is why he lost weight.

Xiao Xuanjing watched the two from a distance, his expression displeased.

I haven't seen her for a month, and she seems to have gained a lot of weight.

Just as he was about to grab her, he was entangled by two princesses who were walking towards him.

Before she could even say hello, Su Wanwan had vanished.

His gaze sharpened involuntarily.

"Your Highnesses, the Empress Dowager was just looking for you..."

The Third Princess was taken aback. "The Empress Dowager?" She suddenly remembered that she had not yet paid her respects to the Empress Dowager today. She curtsied and pulled the Sixth Princess along. "Come, accompany me to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Before the sixth princess could even speak, she was dragged away.

Jian Qingshan followed behind, and after the two princesses had walked a distance, he asked, "Your Majesty, is the Empress Dowager really looking for Her Highness the Princess?"

"No." Xiao Xuanjing looked around. Where did she go in such a short time?

Jian Qingshan looked at his master. "My lord, something seems amiss?"

Xiao Xuanjing stopped and turned around. "What's wrong?"

"After that incident, you always laughed to yourself, and you paid too much attention to Miss Su the Second," Jian Qingshan said in a low voice.

Xiao Xuanjing crossed his arms and whispered in his ear, "Does the young master know what he's going to do?"

Qingshan nodded and said in a low voice, "His Majesty instructed him to steal the Tiger Tally."

"So, to prevent this woman from causing me any trouble, you must keep a close eye on her right now and make sure she's not used by the young master!"