Chapter 71 Are you really not falling for someone else?

If she doesn't have a good relationship with the Su family, then my plans might not work.

"Yes, the Crown Princess and the Su family have had several unpleasant encounters. Although she is the legitimate daughter of the Su family, her personality and behavior are truly excessive, unlike Wan Shi—"

"Shut up!"

Xiao Churen wanted to say a few good words for Su Wanshi, hoping to change his mother's opinion of her.

Before he could finish speaking, Consort Liu's face darkened.

"Get away from that woman! I will never allow you to marry such a despicable woman!"

"Mother!"

"If you don't listen to your mother, then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Xiao Churen was unwilling, but seeing Consort Liu's harsh words and expression, he held back his anger.

My mother still doesn't understand Wan Shi. It seems I need to work harder in the future to let my mother know how good Wan Shi is.

Seeing that Xiao Churen had calmed down, Consort Liu's anger gradually subsided.

She had always looked down on Su Wanshi's background, and today she made such a fool of herself at the palace banquet. Not only was her reputation ruined, but she was also foolish compared to the Crown Princess's intelligence.

Therefore, she looked down on Su Wanshi even more.

"You should try to get on good terms with this Crown Princess. If you can get her to work for you, she could be a powerful tool to destroy the Crown Prince."

After a moment of silence, Consort Liu slowly spoke.

After these encounters with the Crown Princess, Consort Liu realized that this woman was quite capable.

If I were to make an enemy of her, I fear I would easily suffer heavy losses myself, even if I inflict a thousand wounds on her.

Since we can't confront them head-on, we might as well find a way to take them into our possession.

She discovered today that even the usually cold and aloof Xiao Ye was willing to speak up for this woman, which showed that she held a certain place in Xiao Ye's heart.

Even if it's not many, this is the first woman Xiao Ye has ever actively protected in over a decade, aside from the Empress.

If we could get the Crown Princess to our side, it would be much easier than dealing with the Crown Prince.

Xiao Churen found it hard to believe that Consort Liu wanted him to cultivate a good relationship with Su Liluo.

"Mother, she is already the Crown Princess. You want me to..."

"What, do you still think you're inferior to that good-for-nothing Crown Prince? The Crown Prince is where he is today entirely thanks to this Crown Princess. Ever since she married him, the Crown Prince has been getting better day by day."

"Do you really want to watch the Crown Prince get better and better, and see such a capable woman helping him?"

Consort Liu's sharp questioning ignited Xiao Churen's resentment.

Yes, Xiao Ye was just a cripple with a broken leg before, and I didn't even take him seriously.

But everything changed after he married Su Liluo.

Then she thought back to how she had tried to befriend Su Liluo before, but had been rebuffed in front of her. Now she saw how well she got along with the Crown Prince.

For some reason, he felt a sense of resentment.

He believed that he was no worse than Xiao Ye in any way, so why did she only like Xiao Ye and not him?

So he nodded obediently.

"Mother, I understand and will do my best."

Consort Liu nodded in satisfaction.

He also reminded her, "To win a woman's heart, you must know how to cater to her preferences and never get angry with her. Since she doesn't get along with the Su family, you have to stand on her side, understand?"

Cater to their preferences?

Xiao Churen's eyes flickered slightly; he hadn't actually thought of these things before.

Perhaps it was because I was too arrogant before that Su Liluo rejected me like that?

After leaving the inner palace, Xiao Churen remembered Consort Liu's instructions and decided to first go and find out from Su Wanshi.

After all, Su Wanshi and Su Liluo grew up together, so he thought she should know Su Liluo's preferences.

So he went to the Su residence the next day.

After Su Wanshi was beaten yesterday, she gave her jewelry to the eunuch before someone went to inform the Su family to bring her back.

At that time, Xiao Churen completely forgot to find someone to look after her.

As a result, Su Wanshi kept complaining about Xiao Churen after returning home.

While she was recuperating in her room, she was overjoyed when she heard a servant report that the Prince of Chu had come to see her. She subconsciously assumed that Xiao Churen had come to apologize to her.

But to her surprise, Xiao Churen didn't see her lying on the couch, so injured that she couldn't even sit up. His first words made her break down in anger.

"Wanshi, I have come to see you today because it is important. You and the Crown Princess grew up together, do you know what her preferences are?"

Xiao Churen sat down on a chair by the bed, his eyes filled with urgency.

Su Wanshi felt wronged and her eyes reddened. "Did Your Highness come to see me just to inquire about the Crown Princess?"

"Wanshi, what's wrong? There's a very important reason why I'm asking you about this. Don't misunderstand."

Xiao Churen saw her tears falling and then comforted her.

He then gestured for the maids inside to leave before continuing to explain, "As you can see, the Crown Princess is quite capable now. If I want to win her over, I naturally need to find out her preferences first."

"Is that so? Does Your Highness really only want to win over the Crown Princess, and not fall for someone else?"

Su Wanshi looked at Xiao Churen with tears in her eyes.

She didn't believe that Xiao Churen simply wanted to win over Su Liluo, because he had already tried before, but without success.

Why would he still try to win him over this time?

And he even came specifically to ask me about Su Liluo's preferences?

Is he trying to curry favor with Su Liluo?

These past few days, Su Liluo has been too dazzling, transforming from an ugly duckling into a stunning beauty, and repeatedly slapping herself in the face, stepping on her own to enjoy endless glory in front of others.

She genuinely suspected that Xiao Churen had fallen for him.

If that's the case...

Su Wanshi felt a chill run down her spine. Something flashed through her mind, and she quickly reached out and pulled out the mutton-fat white jade pendant with a coiled dragon design that was placed beside the bed.

"If Your Highness has already fallen in love with someone else, then Wan Shi will not force you. I will return this jade pendant to you, and our past relationship will be considered null and void!"

She stuffed the jade pendant into Xiao Churen's hand, then turned away and buried her face in the blanket, sobbing uncontrollably.

Heartbroken.

Xiao Churen looked at the jade pendant in the book, his thoughts complicated and a little guilty.

Because this jade pendant doesn't belong to him.

Last year, he got close to Su Wanshi because of this jade pendant. She had always mistakenly believed that she was the owner of the jade pendant, which is why she was a little excited when she saw him asking about the jade pendant.

But the reason he asked about the jade pendant was because he knew that every royal man had one made from birth, and his piece was in his own possession.

At the time, he suspected that one of his brothers had something going on with this Su Wanshi, which was why he gave it to her.

He was curious, so he spent more time with Su Wanshi.