Her peach-blossom-pink eyes tilted upward slightly, her brows and eyes both charming and sharp.

Their eyes met, and Xie Jin Yan's gaze flickered involuntarily.

But quickly, he regained his composure, a cold glint in his long, narrow phoenix eyes. He grasped Yu Qingwu's hand and retorted, "What do you mean by that, A'Wu? I don't understand."

"Your Highness has always been skilled in scheming and sees through everything. Why pretend to be ignorant?" Looking at his foolish act, Yu Qingwu was amused.

Her face was cold, and her tone was sarcastic as she said, "His Majesty obtained his empire on the battlefield and grew up in the bloody world of the royal family. I don't believe he can't see that the matter between Xie Qiyun and Qiu Shiyi Niang was orchestrated by your mother, the Empress. In the end, His Majesty, you, and the Empress don't favor the You family or the Liu family. The reason he praised me in front of You Wanwan and Qiu Kui yesterday and conferred the title of Crown Princess upon me was to show the You family, deliberately slapping them in the face, telling them and You Wanwan to restrain themselves, and also to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, taking the opportunity to knock those arrogant and reckless nobles into line."

In fact, she didn't mind being used by Xie Jin Yan, but she didn't like his hypocritical act of using her while pretending to love her so much.

Forcefully pulling her hand back, Qingwu's eyes suddenly turned cold. She looked at Xie Jin Yan sternly, enunciating each word, "Your Highness, from the day you took me as a *liangdi* (a concubine of the third rank), His Majesty, the Empress, and you had already decided that the Crown Princess would be me, right?"

This was not a question, but an affirmation.

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants – the merchant was the lowest of all.

Even ordinary officials' families were unwilling to marry merchants. It was already very strange that Emperor Wei Jing and Empress Zhou agreed to Xie Jin Yan taking her as a *liangdi*.

At that time, Xie Jin Yan said that he had donated the Yu family's property in her name to the Southern Frontier soldiers as military funds. At first, Yu Qingwu believed it, but after last night, she no longer believed it.

Donating military funds was just an excuse to marry her to Xie Jin Yan.

Without this reason, perhaps she would still become the Crown Princess.

The reason being...

"Shijie (Senior Apprentice Sister), women are sometimes too clever and not very endearing," Xie Jin Yan said, interrupting Yu Qingwu's thoughts.

He sighed and looked at her with gentle eyes, chuckling. "You're right. From the beginning, Father and Mother were determined to make you the Crown Princess."

"As for the reason, with *shijie's* (Senior Apprentice Sister's) intelligence, you must have already guessed it."

"In his early years, Father's elder brother, the late Emperor Yiwen, suffered greatly because of the powerful maternal relatives. So much so that less than ten days after ascending the throne, he was rebelled against by the Empress's family. In the many years that followed, Father suffered a great deal, and even I and Mother almost lost our lives. After countless lives were lost and rivers of blood flowed, the imperial power was finally returned to the Xie family."

"Now, the You family is overbearing, the Qiu family is winning people's hearts, and there are many other noble families of the imperial clan watching covetously. To avoid another rebellion by powerful maternal relatives, the Crown Princess must not be the daughter of any noble family. Even if a noblewoman does take the position, she will be accused of crimes and deposed, becoming a pawn to suppress others."

"Shijie (Senior Apprentice Sister), you have no parents, which makes you the most suitable."

Heh, her being an orphan had become an advantage?

Xie Jin Yan's words made Yu Qingwu feel uncomfortable.

Her eyes darkened, and she looked up at him, snorting coldly. "So, Your Highness means that if I didn't have no parents, and didn't bring a large fortune with me, making me suitable for your royal family to use to suppress the nobles without posing any threat, I would only be fit to be a plaything?"

She smiled, but her eyes were filled with sarcasm.

Hearing the word "plaything," Xie Jin Yan's eyes trembled slightly.

After a moment of silence, he said, "A'Wu, I have never regarded you as a plaything."

"I admit that yesterday's events did involve using you, but things happened suddenly. Father and Mother had their own thoughts, and everything changed too quickly. I had no choice but to follow Father's lead..."

"So, when His Highness asked His Majesty to confer the title of Crown Princess upon me, you were also following His Majesty's lead?"

Yu Qingwu was a little annoyed. She looked at him coldly and snorted. "Yesterday, Your Highness could have avoided letting me be in the limelight so much."

"So, when *shijie* (Senior Apprentice Sister) gave 'unpleasant advice' in front of Father, that was also my doing?"

"If you hadn't been so eager to scheme against the Qiu family and plead for that Qiu Shiyi Niang, how could you have given me this opportunity to ask for a reward? Besides, *shijie* (Senior Apprentice Sister), you didn't suffer any losses. What's there to be angry about?"

"..." Yu Qingwu was instantly speechless.

It had to be said that Xie Jin Yan had excellent eloquence. In just a few words, he left her unable to say a word.

But...

Thinking that he had used her like that without even discussing it with her, she felt a lump in her throat that she couldn't swallow.

Biting her lip, Yu Qingwu shook off Xie Jin Yan's hand again and walked ahead, saying, "Alright, Your Highness is right. I got the better end of the deal. I have nothing to be angry about."

She stepped onto the carriage. Seeing Xie Jin Yan sit down, she moved her body away from him.

Seeing this, Xie Jin Yan frowned involuntarily.

A trace of helplessness appeared in his handsome brows and eyes. He reached out and forcefully pulled her into his arms.

Looking down at the woman's angry face, he was silent for a moment. As if seeing through her, he sighed, "Alright, *shijie* (Senior Apprentice Sister), aren't you just angry that I didn't discuss it with you? In that situation, how could I discuss it with you?"

"Alright, *shijie* (Senior Apprentice Sister), don't be angry. I promise, I'll discuss everything with you in the future, okay?" Xie Jin Yan held her tightly in his arms. His normally sharp and cold phoenix eyes revealed a hint of innocence and coquetry.

Meeting his blinking eyes, Yu Qingwu couldn't help but feel goosebumps all over her body. A chill rose from the soles of her feet.

This expression was very endearing when it appeared on his face when he was young, but now... it was quite unsettling.

Yu Qingwu raised her hand and pushed away that handsome face, a hint of disgust in her eyes.

Xie Jin Yan took in her expression but didn't say anything more. He just patted Qingwu's shoulder, reminding her, "Also, *shijie* (Senior Apprentice Sister), when you enter the palace to express your gratitude later, don't have this expression. The Qiu family will also be entering the palace to express their gratitude today, so don't let them seize any advantage."

"I know that naturally. I'm not an idiot." Yu Qingwu glanced at him and said a little impatiently.

Xie Jin Yan curled his lips, looking at the woman's angry appearance. He didn't say anything more, and the smile in his eyes deepened a little.

Compared to her hypocritical appearance, he still preferred her being more casual with him, just like when they were in the sect in the past, when she didn't know his identity.

Remembering the past, Xie Jin Yan couldn't help but gently rest his head on Yu Qingwu's shoulder again.

As the carriage bumped along, Qingwu still sat up straight, her eyes coldly looking out the window.

Not knowing how long had passed, they finally arrived outside the palace gate.

Yu Qingwu carefully stepped out of the carriage, and as soon as she got down, she saw a figure that she loathed and hated.

That person seemed to have noticed her as well. Suddenly, a smile piled up on their face, and they walked over and said, "Oh my, isn't this Qingwu? I heard that you've become the Crown Princess now. Do you still remember me?"