The study door was opened before Feng Qihe could even enter.
Xiao Yao walked out proactively.
At first glance, Feng Qihe's eyes were filled with disappointment.
Just as the scout had reported, she was plain-looking. To princes like them, accustomed to all sorts of great beauties, she could even be considered ugly.
If not beautiful, then ugly.
But, upon a second glance, Feng Qihe suddenly seemed to see something.
It was as if she possessed an aura that made it impossible to look away.
Yet, looking again, that aura seemed to have vanished.
Feng Qihe felt a sense of unease, a mix of astonishment and disappointment swirling within him. He couldn't quite grasp what he was thinking at that moment.
She was merely a maid.
But Feng Yexuan allowed this woman into his chambers, even his study.
Such treatment had only ever been afforded to one other woman: the true Chu Qianli.
Prince He continued to stare at Xiao Yao, and suddenly, something flashed through his mind.
He lunged forward abruptly.
However, before he could get close to Chu Qianli, Jing Ri blocked him: "Your Highness, please show some self-respect!"
Jing Ri's expression darkened, his tone displeased.
Prince He could trespass into Prince Xuan's mansion, even his study, and they wouldn't forcibly stop him unless absolutely necessary.
But for Prince He to try and approach Prince Xuan's woman was absolutely forbidden.
They had to stop him, even at the cost of their lives!
Feng Qihe stopped, staring intently at this woman named Xiao Yao.
No, strictly speaking, she was just a young girl.
She looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.
But looking again, those eyes… yes, Li'er's eyes!
"You..."
"Prince He, you invited our Prince to a banquet, yet you came to Prince Xuan's mansion yourself. We truly don't understand your intentions, Prince He."
Chu Qianli couldn't decipher the meaning behind his gaze, a mixture of disappointment and surprise.
However, in her memory, this person didn't exist at all.
Before Feng Qihe could speak, Chu Qianli took the lead: "Your Highness, coming here like this, are you perhaps intending to steal some secrets from our Prince Xuan's mansion?"
Jing Ri's heart tightened. They wouldn't dare to speak such words carelessly, after all, the Prince was the Prince, and the guards were the guards.
But the current status of Miss Xiao Yao was uncertain.
She, however, spoke these words without any pressure.
As they listened, despite their nervousness and unease, they felt a strange sense of comfort.
Miss Xiao Yao was finally referring to "our Prince Xuan's mansion."
Chu Qianli hadn't thought too much about it. When she was with Feng Yexuan, she didn't feel any particular connection to him.
But now, facing an intruder, she suddenly felt a sense of shared honor and disgrace with Feng Yexuan and the entire Prince Xuan's mansion.
Feng Qihe's heart couldn't calm down.
The way this young girl spoke, her gaze, and her fearless attitude when facing him, a noble prince…
"Is this how you bewitch my fourth brother?"
He suddenly seemed to understand why Feng Yexuan would be fond of such a mere maid.
Prince Xuan didn't actually like this Xiao Yao; he was merely treating her as a substitute for Chu Qianli.
A shadow!
Feng Qihe even felt that if this shadow belonged to him, it would be a very interesting thing.
After despair, at least, he had found a sliver of solace.
Therefore, Xiao Yao's presumptuous words didn't anger Feng Qihe; instead, they piqued his intense interest.
"Do you know, you resemble someone very much?"
Aside from the vast difference in their looks, their personalities and demeanor were truly alike!
"My fourth brother also thinks so, doesn't he?"
But why, at the moment of their eye contact, did he suddenly have an illusion, as if he were speaking to the real Chu Qianli?