Lu Fengjin lowered his gaze for a moment.
The wooden box in Chu Yueli's hands looked heavy and solid, yet her slender, jade-like fingers lent it a delicate, soft grace.
Lu Fengjin had known for a long time that she possessed the most beautiful hands under heaven, fingers as white and slender as spring scallions, seemingly carved from jade.
It had to be said that Chu Yueli was a woman specially favored by the heavens, without a single flaw anywhere on her body.
Even when she occasionally walked in a hurry and broke into a light sweat, that faint perspiration carried a unique, refreshing fragrance.
Lu Fengjin had even witnessed with his own eyes how, when she danced, butterflies would linger around her for a long time without scattering.
She was truly a woman so flawless that no one could find a single fault.
For a fraction of a second, Lu Fengjin was dazed.
Suddenly, he couldn't quite figure out what on earth he was doing.
Until Tuoba Feiyuan's cold voice rang out: "I thought Prince Jin was supreme and peerless, having seen every fine thing in the world. Who would have thought you'd be blinded by a mere gift? Truly ridiculous!"
In an instant, Lu Fengjin's thoughts were pulled back to reality.
He looked at the wooden box in Chu Yueli's hands, his expression darkening: "Ali, I thought I had made myself clear enough! Why must you act like this?"
"Does the prince not want to open it and take a look?" Chu Yueli pushed the wooden box a little further forward. "It is an imperial decree. If the prince does not wish to look at it yourself, I can read it to you."
"An imperial decree?" Lu Fengjin's anger flared up instantly. "You went to see Imperial Father? What kind of slander did you speak against Yuan'er before Imperial Father?"
He didn't want to look!
What else could Chu Yueli possibly do?
Angered that he and Yuan'er were together, she must have fabricated faults about Yuan'er in front of Imperial Father.
Yuan'er was, after all, the daughter of outlaws; her background would certainly never be accepted by Imperial Father and Imperial Mother.
He was still racking his brains for a way to make Imperial Father agree to let Yuan'er through the door first, and yet Chu Yueli—how wonderful of her—had actually come to undermine him!
"Ali, I thought you were kind-hearted by nature. I never expected that you are truly no different from the women in the inner palace—despicable, shameless, and using any means possible!"
He snatched the wooden box away, opened it, and took out the imperial decree inside.
Tuoba Feiyuan glared at Lu Fengjin, a sarcastic smile on her lips. "So this is what you call kindness? You dog of a man, after all these years you still can't even tell what kind of person she really is. What use do you have for those eyes of yours? You might as well just..."
"Shut up." Lu Fengjin's voice sounded somewhat numb.
Upon seeing the contents of the imperial decree, his entire body turned to stone, stiff all over.
He spoke those two words very softly, but Tuoba Feiyuan heard them clearly nonetheless.
He was telling her to shut up!
Tuoba Feiyuan flew into a rage. "Lu Fengjin, how dare you..."
"This prince told you to shut up!"
Lu Fengjin suddenly let out a low roar, his glare fixed on Tuoba Feiyuan, blazing with fury.
Tuoba Feiyuan froze on the spot, too shocked to utter a single syllable.
She had known him for over a month, and never once had she seen him lose his temper at her like this!
She felt wronged and resentful, yet beneath his instantly bloodshot eyes, she didn't dare make a sound.
"So Miss Tuoba isn't quite as daring and reckless as she pretends, and actually knows how to be afraid after all?"
Chu Yueli chuckled, turned around to return to her chair, sat down, picked up her teacup, and leisurely sipped her tea.
Tuoba Feiyuan was provoked all over again, and snapped angrily, "Chu Yueli!"
"What do you mean by this?" Lu Fengjin released Tuoba Feiyuan, walked up to Chu Yueli, the hand holding the imperial decree trembling slightly. "Ali, what on earth do you want?"
Tuoba Feiyuan couldn't understand it. Only moments ago, he had clearly been full of disdain and anger.
Why, at this very moment, had he suddenly turned... so complex in expression?
She stared at the imperial decree in Lu Fengjin's hand and frowned. "What on earth does the decree say?"