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Xiao Jinyan ate the lamb with a puzzled look, then he heard Xu Concubine’s inner thoughts.

"It’s not convenient for Your Highness at all. One cannot even eat properly, and sitting in the middle means one can’t casually chat with Shen Chuwei."

Alas!

Xiao Jinyan: "...Am I superfluous?"

He cast a cold glance at Xu Concubine, thinking to himself that she was the truly superfluous one.

Xu Concubine felt an inexplicable chill down her spine, and she looked up in confusion. There was no wind today!

Shen Chuwei was enjoying her food when she suddenly felt a weight on her leg. Looking down, she saw Xuetuan looking up at her with those deep blue eyes that seemed to say only three words: I want to eat.

Shen Chuwei was not stingy with Xuetuan and fed it a piece of lamb.

After finishing the roast lamb, Xu Concubine took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth and looked up at Xiao Jinyan, only to find him sipping tea.

She thought to herself, now that we have finished eating, why doesn’t Your Highness leave?

I still want to whisper to Shen Chuwei!

How inconvenient for Your Highness to be here!

Xiao Jinyan’s tea sipping paused as he threw another cold glance at Xu Concubine and said, "If you’re finished, you can leave as well."

He then heard Xu Concubine muttering, "It’s just like Your Highness to be so busy that one hardly sees even your shadow, and now you’re so idle? Could it be that His Majesty didn’t assign you enough tasks?"

The Emperor should assign more tasks to Your Highness to gain more experience.

Xiao Jinyan took two sips of tea to calm the rising blood pressure.

Working like a dog every day, even coming to Hehuan Hall is a brief respite in the busy schedule.

To think someone actually said I was being idle?

Shen Chuwei sipped her tea to cut through the greasiness, puzzledly sounding a huh in her mind, noticing that Xu Concubine, who never stopped talking during previous visits to Hehuan Hall, was unusually quiet today.

She guessed that it was because Xiao Jinyan was present that Xu Concubine wasn’t speaking.

What Shen Chuwei didn’t know was that although Xu Concubine wasn’t speaking out loud, her mind was incessantly active, and the object of her rant was the much-admired Xiao Jinyan.

Nobody would believe this if she told them.

Xiao Jinyan, upon hearing Shen Chuwei’s spoken thoughts, looked down and saw Xuetuan eating lamb. No wonder he had suddenly heard Shen Chuwei’s inner voice.

It was at this moment that Xiao Jinyan realized Xu Concubine had always been a chatterbox each time she came to Hehuan Hall.

Xiao Jinyan sipped his tea lightly and said dispassionately, "Does Concubine Xu have anything she needs to do?"

The intent to send her away was clear in his words.

Xu Concubine didn’t give it much thought. After all, she was in Hehuan Hall, not the Crown Prince’s palace. She wasn’t getting in anyone’s way.

"Your Highness, I have nothing particular to be busy with," she replied.

Xiao Jinyan’s expression turned stern.

Shen Chuwei fed another piece of lamb to Xuetuan, then raised her head to look at Xiao Jinyan, feeling that today’s atmosphere was somewhat off.

Xu Concubine picked up her tea and took a sip, then suddenly asked, "Your Highness, aren’t you busy? You don’t have to worry about Lady Shen being alone; I can keep her company and chat."

She couldn’t help but inwardly shout, "Please do go and be busy, Your Highness!"

It was the first time that Xiao Jinyan had been urged to leave, especially in Hehuan Hall, which naturally irritated him.

Shen Chuwei’s petting of the cat paused as she sensed an undercurrent of tension, aware that one could easily become collateral damage in the brewing unrest—

Ultimately, it was Liu Xi who called Xiao Jinyan away.

As Xiao Jinyan stood to leave, he heard Xu Concubine’s shouts of joy, rejoicing that Your Highness was finally leaving and she could finally chat with Shen Chuwei freely. Ha-ha!

Before he departed, Xiao Jinyan gave Xu Concubine a frigid glance and then stepped out of Hehuan Hall.

Xu Concubine, her head lowered, missed the impatient look Xiao Jinyan had shot her, but she was nonetheless ecstatic.

She excitedly grabbed Shen Chuwei’s hand, "His Highness has finally left. I thought he would linger on."

Xiao Jinyan, who had just reached the door, heard her words and left Hehuan Hall with a darkened expression.

Shen Chuwei looked puzzled at Xu Concubine, who seemed overly excited, "What’s the matter? Why such excitement?"

"Of course, I’m excited."

Xu Concubine’s voice echoed her intense elation, "Lady Chang didn’t become the Crown Princess and was even demoted to Lady, two ranks below me. How could I not be elated?"

Shen Chuwei was baffled; she only knew the Crown Princess selection was called off.

"What exactly happened?" she asked.

Xu Concubine sighed, "Lady Shen, I’ve realized that you are a lucky star."

Shen Chuwei was even more confused, "Can you stick to the main point? How did I become a lucky star?"

Still electrified, Xu Concubine said, "Didn’t you suggest yesterday to have the Imperial Doctor Zhao take my pulse? Do you know who was behind Zhao?"

Without waiting for Shen Chuwei to answer, Xu Concubine continued, "It was Lady Chang’s doing. If it hadn’t been for your proposal yesterday, Your Highness wouldn’t have been able to uncover the truth, and Lady Chang would have successfully become the Crown Princess."

After stating this, Xu Concubine chuckled proudly, "Remember how arrogant she was before? I’ll see how I can taunt her in the future."

Shen Chuwei then understood Xu Concubine’s reasons for excitement: as long as Lady Chang couldn’t trump her, Xu Concubine felt free to taunt her without restraint.

No wonder Xu Concubine couldn’t wait any longer the moment Xiao Jinyan left.

After dealing with his affairs, Xiao Jinyan asked Liu Xi to call Lu Zhaoyan over.

Lu Zhaoyan had also witnessed quite the scene today since Lady Chang did not become the Crown Princess, and Xiao Jinyan’s mood should be quite good at the moment.

When he approached the study room and saw Xiao Jinyan, just as he had thought, Xiao Jinyan appeared relaxed, clearly in a good mood.

Lu Zhaoyan bowed respectfully, "Your Highness, what do you need from this humble official?"

Xiao Jinyan snorted, "It seems the position of the director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is no longer secure."

Lu Zhaoyan was bewildered, "What do you mean, Your Highness?"

Xiao Jinyan stated, "Even who the Crown Princess will be, no one can calculate accurately. Do you think the position of director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is still secure?"

Lu Zhaoyan laughed, "You misunderstood, Your Highness. Didn’t I already say that you don’t have to forcibly intervene? There is a preordained fate for everything."

Xiao Jinyan immediately detected the implied meaning in his words and his eyes narrowed slightly, "So, you already knew that the Crown Princess selection ceremony wouldn’t take place?"

Lu Zhaoyan smiled sheepishly, "I had some inklings, which proves that Lady Chang is not the one destined for Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan retorted coldly, "Why didn’t you say anything?"

Lu Zhaoyan elaborated, "Your Highness, sometimes speaking out could backfire."

Xiao Jinyan pondered for a while, realizing that if Lu Zhaoyan had revealed the matter in advance, he wouldn’t have been anxious and wouldn’t have stayed up all night to investigate the case of feigned pregnancy to curry favor.

That could have meant missing the chance to expose Lady Chang’s misdeeds.

Having come to this realization, Xiao Jinyan did not pursue the issue with Lu Zhaoyan any further, "You do have a point."

This time, it was thanks to Chuwei’s decisive action yesterday to have Imperial Doctor Zhao come and check on things, leading to a series of chain reactions.

Lu Zhaoyan felt somewhat vindicated, for he had intentionally been vague that day.

He suddenly remembered something, "By the way, Your Highness, I would like to read Lady Shen’s palm."

Because he hadn’t seen it clearly last time, he was still curious about whether Shen Chuwei truly was Xiao Jinyan’s fated partner.