“To see what?” Shao Wanru asked in surprise.

“Just go with me!” Chu Liuchen said. Putting one arm around Shao Wanru’s shoulder, he led her into the inner room.

There was only a bed, a table, and a few chairs in the inner room.

The curtain of the back window was closed. When he got in, Chu Liuchen pulled the heavy curtain to one side. Then, Shao Wanru was stunned to see the scene on the opposite side. It so happened that the window faced the islet in the lake where the pavilion stood.

Earlier, she could not see the place clearly from outside because of the dense wood, but she could see it much more clearly here. On the balcony on the second floor, Shao Yanru and Chu Liuyue stood together. It seemed that they were talking about something. The other two ladies didn’t go upstairs but were still downstairs. It was unknown whether they were embarrassed or had been stopped.

The two ladies with their two maids were walking casually below, but they seemed to look at the man and woman upstairs from time to time.

This house was built near the water, facing the sun in the south and leaning against the lakeside in the west. On the second floor in the west, there was an extended balcony, where Shao Yanru and Chu Liuyue were now standing.

This balcony extended deep over the lake. Standing here, one could probably have a panoramic view of the lake.

And there was a balustrade on the balcony.

The two seemed to be talking about something. Shao Yanru waved to the place below, and she seemed to say something to the two ladies down there. After a while of hesitation, they walked upstairs together.

Then the four of them talked together, looking harmonious.

“What is she going to do?” Shao Wanru asked in confusion. Shao Yanru didn’t seem to be a person who was willing to share the man she liked with others. Especially in the current situation, her consort’s title was still not clearly stated, so how could she want the two ladies to join in the contest and be her rivals?

At this moment, Shao Yanru was probably having a showdown with Chu Liuyue, asking him to marry her. Of course, it was unsuitable for her to say anything if an outsider was present.

Shao Wanru had guessed that the two must have built ties a long time earlier. Otherwise, Shao Yanru would not have planned to be a calm bystander and watch the fierce fight between Chu Liuyue and Chu Liuzhou before making a move when one party won.

Earlier, when she found that the woman was panicky, she had deliberately made her even more panicky, forcing her to go to Consort of Virtue.

Today’s occasion should be that Chu Liuyue said he wanted Shao Yanru to be his consort or persuaded her to be one. Shao Yanru might have been willing to agree earlier because she had thought that she was Chu Liuyue’s beloved one and that no matter what position she was in, she would laugh in the end.

Now, the woman, who had been emotionally hurt by her and lost her confidence, was not sure of Chu Liuyue’s attitude, so she would not agree to be a consort. Then they would have a conflict, but Chu Liuyue was not one who would be immersed in love.

In her previous life, the man and the woman had killed her with joint efforts. In this life, she wanted them to suspect each other.

But she couldn’t see through the current situation. This was a little different from what she had imagined. She looked sideways at Chu Liuchen and saw that he was standing gently and elegantly next to her with his hands behind his back. When he sensed that she was looking at him, he turned his head and looked at her with a warm, beautiful smile.

Shao Wanru curled up her lips secretly. This person liked to hide his insidious, scheming nature beneath his harmless appearance. If this had nothing to do with him, he would not have spoken of watching the show.

When he saw that she was still staring at him, Chu Liuchen said with a smile, “Why do you keep looking at me? I know nothing either!”

Shao Wanru glared at him and turned her head to continue watching outside the window, but she did feel that something would happen. The person next to her pretended to be so innocent, and his skills were so great.

It would be strange if he was innocent!

Shao Wanru pursed her small, red lips and asked, “What do you know then, Prince?”

Seeing her unhappy, aggrieved expression, Chu Liuchen smiled even more gently, threw his arm around her thin waist, and pulled her to him. Feeling her small figure leaning against him, he grew increasingly happy. Rarely, he dropped his pretension.

“Chu Liuyue doesn’t want to marry Shao Yanru, but Shao Yanru wants to marry him wholeheartedly!”

Shao Wanru’s heart skipped a beat, her long eyelashes flickered a few times, and she smiled. This was what she had wanted to get with her previous action. She wanted them to have conflicts, and then they would not be able to continue to be allies.

“Shao Yanru will not agree to be a consort, so I must think of a way to let Chu Liuyue marry her!” Chu Liuchen continued.

Shao Wanru was struck by some thought. She glanced at the two people who were still talking happily on the balcony, but she suddenly felt that she had missed something. Then, she looked at the railings opposite and asked subconsciously, “The balustrade there is broken? Shao Yanru didn’t know that Chu Liuyue would bring her here!”

No matter how capable she was, Shao Yanru could not predict that Chu Liuyue would suddenly have an idea and bring her here, nor could she loosen the railings.

“She didn’t. I did!” Chu Liuchen smiled, and his expression became warmer and warmer.

“You… you didn’t loosen the railings, did you?” Shao Wanru opened her mouth and suddenly turned her head to look at Chu Liuchen in shock as if she had been struck by lightning.

Naturally, this person could be Chu Liuchen. They had been slow on the way here, so it was very likely that he had loosened the balustrade before Chu Liuyue’s men arrived.

“I hate seeing First Miss Shao being wronged most. Chu Liuyue promised to give her the Princess’s position, so how could he go back on his word?” Chu Liuchen said. If she hadn’t seen the man make the whole scheme, Shao Wanru would have thought that he was in love with Shao Yanru!

Moreover, at the very beginning, this man had painted Shao Yanru’s portrait and asked her to give it to Chu Liuyue without hiding anything. At that time, Chu Liuyue’s face had turned purple with rage.

Although three years had passed, Shao Wanru still remembered it clearly because it was related to Shao Yanru and Chu Liuyue.

“How did you… guess that Shao Yanru would use you to loosen the railings? Moreover, this courtyard is so big that they might not go to that place to talk!” Shao Wanru still felt that she could not figure out a few things, so she took a deep breath and spoke out all her puzzles.

“Who is the most cherished one in Duke Xing’s Mansion?” Chu Liuchen asked as he looked sideways at Shao Wanru’s fair, tender face. As his long eyelashes fell, his smile became softer and softer.

“Shao Yanru!” Shao Wanru replied.

Seeing that she was so sure, instead of asking a question or feeling hesitant, Chu Liuchen smiled. She deserved to be the one he liked.

Shao Wanru straightened out her thoughts and said, “My second uncle, Duke Xing, is not so enthusiastic about the title of nobility. At the very beginning, he wrote a memorial to the emperor to ask for the title of the heir of the duke for his son. It seems that he would like to make the biggest concession for his son’s sake, but he was not so hesitant when my grandmother forced him to write a memorial to the emperor to ask for a title for Hao’er!”

She had even never said this to Rui’an Great Elder Princess. Although she thought this was possible, it was just her guess and could not be taken seriously. But she inexplicably said it to Chu Liuchen at this time.

“If his daughter becomes the Empress, the title can be easily taken back even if your younger brother gets it first. Even if it can’t be taken back, your brother can be easily killed. Once she becomes the Empress, even if she doesn’t do it herself, those who want to curry favor with her will do it. By then, your grandmother won’t be able to protect your brother!” Chu Liuchen said with a smile.

Shao Wanru had a guess about it, but this was the first time someone had clearly analyzed it. She felt pain in her heart. Did her brother die like this in her previous life? She bit her small, red lips and felt some pain. In this life, she would not let them succeed again.

“She won’t be the Empress, will she?” she blurted out. Although she had always behaved like a strong lady and had been consolidating every step she took for such a long time, at this moment, she thought that she couldn’t help telling the person beside her what she was uncertain about in her mind because she could rely on him.

She clasped her hands, and her eyes were filled with pain.

After all, she was just a helpless girl. It had been like this in her previous life, and the same thing happened in this life. She tried to act like a strong lady, but she was still a fragile girl. At this time, she inexplicably wanted to find a kind of conceptual support.

She shouldn’t let the tragedy in her previous life happen again, right?

Her grandmother and brother would all be fine, right?

In her second life, all she wanted was to protect the people she cherished and push her enemies into the traps they had set themselves in her previous life.

It seemed that he had sensed Shao Wanru’s uneasiness, Chu Liuchen put down his hand and held hers. Her hand was so cold that it even trembled a bit, while his hand was quite warm. He held her hand tightly in his and comforted her softly, “Don’t worry. She won’t be. She will never be!”

Feeling the warmth coming all the way up from her palm, Shao Wanru lowered her head and bit her lips with tears in her eyes. She told her that this person was Chu Liuchen, the one who had been helping her in her previous life. He wouldn’t hurt her, but she felt like shedding tears.

Her nose was sore, and her heart seemed to have been severely torn by something. She felt the pain or sadness and the unique weakness of a woman.

Without any hesitation, she suddenly turned around and threw herself into Chu Liuchen’s arms. Holding a corner of his robe tightly, she burst into tears and lowered her head, trying to hide her weakness and helplessness at this moment.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Liuchen hurriedly hugged her and lowered his head to see her face.

“I’m fine. I just… I just remember something!” Shao Wanru shook her head hard, tried to hold back her tears, and even wore a faint smile. This life was different from her previous life. In this life, she would never take the path she had taken in her previous life, and all her effort would yield results.

“Are you really okay?” Chu Liuchen asked softly, worried.

“I’m okay. If anything happens to her, I will be fine!” Shao Wanru whispered. Thinking of Shao Yanru, she immediately stopped crying and had coldness in her eyes. The hatred between her and Shao Yanru meant that they would fight to the death. She would do it not only for herself but also for the relatives she cared about.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything!” Chu Liuchen patted Shao Wanru’s back and said softly. He looked out the window, with hostility welling up in his eyes. “Shao Wanru is so scared, so I can’t let Duke Xing’s Mansion exist anymore…” he thought to himself.