Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her for a moment, then sat down on a narrow couch opposite her.
"Indeed, as Ashina said, this archery ceremony was held for you."
After he sat down, Xuyu said.
"It was their proposal that inspired me. Ashina was the first person to know my idea. I told him that you are the most suitable person to be my consort. He is a straightforward person and it is a pleasure to discuss matters with him. He agreed to help me without any hesitation."
"Lan Tai can't beat Cheng Ping, so there's no need to worry about accidents."
"Prince Yuwen's place may affect my plan. In order to avoid unnecessary accidents and reduce the variables of the day, after repeated consideration, I decided to ask him to withdraw."
"In my plan, Prince Kazu is the most crucial person. So I think about him the most."
"Everyone knows that the Grand Archery Ceremony is actually to select a consort for me. If I lose the bet and you don't come, and Xifan insists that my father fulfill his promise, I can certainly make excuses to shirk my responsibility, but I will be in the wrong in the end. Hedu is the future king of Xifan, and he has a straightforward personality. It would be bad if we harbor resentment because of this."
"Maybe God is helping me. Just when I was hesitating about this, Yuan Zhi sent me a message that a cousin of Hedu Kingdom took advantage of Hedu's visit to Chang'an to assassinate Hedu's father and start a rebellion to establish himself as king."
"After Xifan was defeated and surrendered several years ago, several forces in the country fought for power, and Hedu's father came to power. But Aye was not completely relieved, and sent envoys to stay in the capital of Xifan. In addition to performing regular duties, he also planted spies to monitor the movements. This incident was discovered by the envoys in advance and informed the king of Xifan, and assisted in suppressing the rebellion. The king of Xifan was old, and although he escaped the disaster, he became ill because of it, so he summoned Hedu back to the country to stabilize the situation. This news should be delivered to Hedu soon. So even if I lose the bet in the end, it doesn't matter if you don't want to stand up. When Hedu learns about this, he will only be grateful to the court."
"I considered it carefully and asked Aye for permission. This is the origin of this grand archery ceremony."
Pei Xiaoyuan looked at her for a long time, feeling a little confused.
"what's on your mind?"
Just when he was in a trance, her voice suddenly came to his ears.
He came back to his senses, raised his eyes, and met a pair of dark eyes staring at him.
"I am listening to the princess." He responded respectfully.
Xuyu was silent for a moment.
"To be honest, I have been thinking about making you my consort for a long time," she continued.
"I chose you because I know what kind of person you are and I can trust you completely. And your uncle's arrival is the opportunity that prompted me to make up my mind."
"But these are secondary. From the first day I decided to be a princess again, I knew what I wanted to do and what I had to do."
She looked at Pei Xiaoyuan.
"In fact, even if you didn't say it just now, I could roughly guess what you were thinking from the way you looked at me."
"Mr. Pei, you were thinking just now that I am no longer the Miss Ye you knew before."
Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly felt uncomfortable as if his secret had been discovered.
He had been sitting upright, but at this moment he couldn't help but move his shoulders and said with forced calmness: "Princess, you think too much." After he finished speaking, he saw her smile.