The concubine was charming and alluring, and the ruthless prince coaxed her day and night.

Chapter 45 My engagement to you makes you feel so embarrassed?

The smile on Jia Rong's lips gradually disappeared.

After a long pause, she gave a bitter laugh: "Does being engaged to me make you feel so embarrassed?"

Li Mingyu's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

After a moment, he exhaled a breath of stale air, his tone slightly gentler than before: "It's not safe outside the palace, Your Highness, you should go back soon."

After saying that, Li Mingyu turned and left without any hesitation, leaving Jia Rong heartbroken.

Looking at the man's indifferent back, all the light in Jia Rong's eyes disappeared.

Just as she was about to look away, she saw a splash of pale yellow emerge from behind the artificial hill not far away, and a soft, melodious voice came: "Young Master, have you finished speaking to Her Highness the Princess?"

A man's cool, aloof voice came from behind him: "Yes, it's settled. I'll take you for a stroll in the garden."

Jia Rong's pupils dilated, and he took two steps forward, but then suddenly stopped.

What's the point of chasing after it?

It's not like she just found out that Mingyu likes Shen Yunxiang, so why should she chase after him and humiliate herself?

The scenery before Jia Rong's eyes blurred with a ripple of water.

She lowered her head, raised her hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes, and when she looked up again, the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned; she was still that happy little princess.

Seeing Jia Rong walk back, Zhao Yunzheng raised an eyebrow: "Finished greetings?"

Jia Rong nodded, laughing carefree, "Yeah, aren't we going to Chunxi Tower? Second Brother, lead the way! I'm starving!"

Seeing that Jia Rong was unwilling to mention Li Mingyu again, Zhao Yunzheng also stopped talking about it.

On the way back, it was clear that everyone was less happy.

Seeing Jia Rong's eyelashes stuck together with tears, Xu Jiaojiao could feel Jia Rong's sadness.

When it comes to matters of the heart, those involved are always blinded by their own emotions. She couldn't help Jia Rong much, but she hoped that Jia Rong could see through the true nature of men as soon as possible and not repeat the mistakes of her previous life.

The group soon arrived at Chunxi Tower, and Zhao Yunzheng led the two to the most luxurious private room in Chunxi Tower.

In another private room, a young man watched the group enter the room thoughtfully, his fingertips lightly tapping his wine cup.

The person sitting opposite him hesitated for a moment: "What is Your Highness Prince Jin looking at?"

"Nothing." The young man casually withdrew his gaze, tilted his head back and finished his drink, then asked nonchalantly, "I heard that a new concubine has recently been brought into the Second Prince's residence, and that the Second Prince is quite fond of her?"

Lin Zhixing raised his hand to fill Prince Jin's wine cup: "That is true. Some time ago, our people caused trouble at Prince Chen's residence, and it was that concubine who took the knife for Prince Chen."

"To take a blow?" The Prince of Jin chuckled, intrigued. "Interesting..."

The people he sent were just to test the waters; with the second son's strength, how could these people possibly succeed?

In this situation, how could a mere concubine accurately shield the second son from a knife?

I'm afraid this concubine isn't as simple as she seems on the surface...

The Prince of Jin raised his eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing in them: "Go and investigate the background of that concubine."

Lin Zhixing nodded slightly: "Understood."

On Xu Jiaojiao's side.

Because Jia Rong was not in a good mood, the meal was rather dull.

Xu Jiaojiao turned her gaze to the window.

Across the street from the window, there's a thriving pastry shop with a constant stream of customers.

Xu Jiaojiao's eyes flickered, and she had some ideas.

With today's commotion, it's likely the beverage shop will struggle to stay afloat, but keeping our funds readily available is imperative.

She casually asked, "Your Highness, Princess, have you ever tried the pastries from that shop? Their business is so good, their pastries must be delicious."

"Does Jiaojiao want some pastries? I'll have Yingyi go and buy some."

"Zhan Fuji? Their pastries are indeed good, but I think they're not as good as yours, Sister Jiao Jiao."

The brother and sister spoke one after the other. Xu Jiaojiao, flattered, waved her hand and said, "Your Highness is too kind. How could my skills compare to Master Zhan Fuji's? However, I would indeed like to try these pastries..."

Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at Prince Chen with a shy smile: "After Yingyi buys the pastries, would Your Highness like to try them with me?"

Before long, Yingyi returned with the pastries.

Xu Jiaojiao casually picked up a piece of jujube kernel pastry and tasted it.

The taste is decent, but you can tell it's made with traditional, old-fashioned techniques.

In this feudal era when technology was not yet advanced, it was already difficult to produce such a taste, no wonder Zhan Fu Ji's business was so good.

Jia Rong also picked up a piece of mille-feuille and tasted it.

She took only one bite, then put it down and shook her head in disappointment: "I knew Zhan Fuji's pastries weren't as good as yours, Sister Jiao Jiao's!"

Xu Jiaojiao chuckled and picked up a piece of mille-feuille to try.

As Jia Rong said, Zhan Fu Ji's mille-feuille does lack aroma, and the flaky pastry is not fully developed, making it a bit hard to eat.

But for Zhan Fu Ji and other pastry shops on the market, this is the maximum they can do.

The reason why Xu Jiaojiao's mille-feuille is better than Zhan Fuji's is because she comes from the modern era and knows some of the recipes that modern people have improved.

She tried her best to replicate the recipe, and the pastries she made were naturally more fragrant and crispy than those made by the ancients.

Hearing Jia Rong speak so earnestly, Zhao Yunzheng took a piece and tried it.

For Zhao Yunzheng, he didn't care much for food, so all these sweet pastries tasted pretty much the same to him. But after taking a bite, he could clearly feel that Zhan Fuji's pastries were very different from those made by Xu Jiaojiao.

He put down the pastry he hadn't finished eating: "This pastry is indeed not as good as Jiaojiao's."

Upon receiving praise from her beloved, Xu Jiaojiao's cheeks flushed red, and sweetness and joy welled up in her eyes and brows: "If Your Highness and Princess like it, I will often make it for you to eat."

Seeing her joy, Zhao Yunzheng was somewhat moved: "Okay, just don't work too hard."

Jia Rong's eyes lit up: "Sister Jiao Jiao! If you opened a pastry shop with your skills, you would definitely make a fortune!"

Xu Jiaojiao was slightly taken aback, gave Jiarong a reproachful look, and smiled helplessly: "How can a concubine open a shop and show her face in public?"

Zhao Yunzheng also disapproved, tapping Jia Rong on the head: "Talking nonsense again!"

Xu Jiaojiao is his woman, and naturally he doesn't want anyone else to share Jiaojiao's goodness with him.

Jia Rong stuck out her tongue.

She winked at Xu Jiaojiao, implying that she knew everything and would never let her second brother know the little secret between them.

Xu Jiaojiao couldn't help but smile and curved her lips, indicating that she understood.

In this way, Jia Rong completely forgot about the unpleasantness that Li Mingyu had brought her and began to think about where to open the pastry shop.

After the meal, Zhao Yunzheng escorted Jia Rong back to the palace.

Upon arriving at the palace gate, Jia Rong took Xu Jiao Jiao's arm and insisted that Xu Jiao Jiao stay in her palace for the night, and that she make her some pastries.

Unable to persuade him otherwise, Zhao Yunzheng reluctantly left Jiaojiao behind and returned to the palace alone...