With the opening of the country, there was no taboo against men and women dating.

I grew up with Michael Lewis since childhood, we were childhood sweethearts and always almost inseparable.

At first, I didn't notice anything wrong, until my cousin came to live with us, and I found that Michael always talked about Jennifer Smith.

"Your cousin is a pitiful person, her parents died and she is relying on others, making her very cautious with every step she takes," Michael said, holding a cup of tea and looking at me.

I frowned, feeling something was off, "Your words make me feel as if the Hawk family is mistreating her, but how do you know that she is cautious with every step she takes?"

"You are a noble young lady, and of course you don't know how the servants treat an orphan like her."

"Michael, you've gone too far with your words."

"Is this too much? Do you know how sad she was when the servants threw away the things she used to worship her parents?"

"Michael! It's inappropriate to worship her parents in the family, so why did you go so far?!"

"Michael left with a flick of his sleeve, saying, 'Forget it, I can't reason with a noble lady like you!'"

This was the first time that Michael and I had an argument in front of others.

I was a little angry. I didn't know when they knew each other, but it hadn't been too long, and it couldn't compare to the time I spent with him for more than ten years.

Though I still felt angry, I sent someone to understand what he said. Anyhow I couldn't let my Hawk family be known for bullying an orphan girl.

The fact was that the servants tried to dissuade Jennifer three times, but she insisted on going her own way, so the servants forcibly took away the offerings.

It was a taboo to conduct worship ceremonies casually in the mansion. Jennifer, at the very least, came from a prestigious family and she should understand this.

I could understand Michael's mood. He used to be an unpopular illegitimate child, and it was only because the White family had no heir that he could be adopted by the queen and inherit the position of the crown prince, thus establishing a marriage arrangement with me.

Maybe Jennifer liked him.

The next day, we attended the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet hosted by the White family and I attended together with Jennifer.

Just as I sat down, someone started making a fuss and asked Jennifer to write a poem. They didn't dare to make a fuss with me, so they made a fuss with Jennifer.

I was about to stop them, but Jennifer responded first.

I couldn't help but curse in my heart. Do you respond first to show that my Hawk family don't value a girl like you in order to gain sympathy?

I had always been willing to speculate about others with the worst intentions, but yesterday's incident did make me feel resentful.

After all, Jennifer was the daughter of a noble family. Although her parents died in battle, her education since childhood should not be let her be so ignorant of etiquette.

"Jennifer and I have just taken our seats, and the Chrysanthemum Banquet has not yet begun. So, it is unreasonable for you to start making a fuss, is it?" I looked at Waner, who was making the loudest noise, with a smile that was not a smile.

"Yvonne Smith, you..."

"Miss Tanner, why don't you greet me?" I rarely use my status to oppress others, but Miss Tanner was always my exception.

Miss Tanner reluctantly bowed to me and said, "Your Duchess."

Yes, because of my father's relationship with the current emperor, I was a Princess Royal since I was young.

Because of this incident, Jennifer didn't manage to compose a poem. As for whether someone would ask her to compose a poem after the banquet starts, I couldn’t care about that at all.

I took a sip of plum wine, put down the cup, and prepared to take a walk in the garden.

As soon as I entered the pavilion in the garden, Michael chased after me and said, "Yvonne..."

I glanced at him and didn't want to speak.

"Yvonne, what happened yesterday was my fault. I shouldn't be angry with you."

"Michael, do you think that your fault is just about taking it out on me? Do you understand the cause and effect of the matter? Or do you think it's reasonable to secretly worship in the mansion?"

"I... I was just impulsive. Anyhow, Jennifer has already lost her parents and is pitiful. Look at how she was bullied by those people just now." Michael frowned, as if I was making trouble for no reason.

Another layer of anger rose in my heart and I said, "Are you implying that my family is bullying her?"

"Yvonne, if you want to think that way, I can't do anything about it! The fact is that your family has never valued her! That's why even some servants can bully her."

Look, Michael’ voice is full of anger, as if he wanted everyone in the garden to hear it.

"Michael, do you remember that you are my fiancé?" I signed deeply.

Michael remained calm, "I just wanted to stand up for her."

Well, He held a grudge against his fiancée for the sake of other women?

"If you really care about her, go to her and protect her, so that she won't be bullied." I left straight away.

I didn't know why, but I felt weak and couldn't exert any strength. I didn't know where these twists and turns in the garden led to, but I had to get out as soon as possible. After walking a few steps, I felt limp and collapsed on the ground.

Just then, a maid happened to pass by. I had a bad feeling instinctively, but I couldn't move at all. I was about to call for help when the maid quickly approached and in the next second, everything went black and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, there was a raging fire all around me, about to reach me.

I was caught off guard and fell victim to a conspiracy. Who the hell did this? And he even tore my clothes off?

Before I had time to think about who did this, I ground the rope that bound me at the bedside and jumped out of the window with a piece of cloth covering my mouth and nose, where the fire was less intense.

As soon as I went out, I saw a large group of people rushing towards this side. I was currently only wearing underwear, which made me inconvenient to go outside. There were also many strange men attending the banquet, which made it improper when I dressed like that although it was opening up in this country now.

I hid in another place and waited for the opportunity to pass a secret signal to my maid – the bird call.

Monica quickly slipped over from there and took me to the peaceful courtyard of Joseline Nelson’s family, while complaining about my disheveled appearance.

Joseline Nelson and I were close friends, but she rarely went out due to illness. I originally planned to stroll in the garden for a while and then find her, but I unexpectedly fell into an ambush.

"Yvonne, how did you end up like this?"

"Joseline, I will explain it to you later. Let me change my clothes first."

She found me a set of her new dress. After hearing my story, she was furious and took me to investigate.

When Joseline and I arrived, the fire had already been extinguished. Everyone bowed to us as we approached.

"Yvonne, are you okay? Jennifer was so worried about you." Jennifer greeted me.

"Why did he worry about me? How could anything happen to me?" I looked around and said, "I just went to Joseline's place for a cup of tea. How did things turn out like this?"

Jennifer remained silent, concealing her expression and stepping back behind me.

Hey, this little girl is really adorable when she’s like this.

"Yvonne, what are you doing here?" Wendy Tanner looked shocked.

Well, I don't even need to investigate and the ready-made clue had been delivered.

"How dare you! You dare to call the princess by her name?"

She never learn the lesson and I said to her, "Wendy, it’s not the first time for you to be like this. In the past, I didn't mind because you were young, but now you always call me by my name. Are you doing this because you’re dissatisfied with me or dissatisfied with the emperor?"

"Princess, please forgive me." Wendy was seeking redemption, then she knelt down in panic, clearly not expecting that I would actually confront her.

"I see that you are doing this on purpose. Today, I will go to visit your father and see how he evaluates your behavior!"

Her father was a doctor of the imperial academy and he brought me to school. He was my mentor, and because of this, I did not investigate Wendy's misconduct.

Wendy panicked and came over to grab my hand in a fluster. I turned around and walked away, and since no one stopped her, Wendy followed me.

"About today's matter, did you have a hand in it?" I sat down in the side room and let Wendy stand in the room.

"Your highness, I don’t understand what you are talking about. I don't understand it at all." Wendy looked flustered but tried to appear calm, unaware that her voice was trembling.

I didn't say a word and took a sip of tea.

"Princess, I was wrong. Someone passed me a note, saying that they have drugged you. I just need to lead you to the side room to make you suffer a bit. I didn't expect it to catch fire! Princess, Princess...

"Suffer a bit?" I had a face full of sarcasm. This was an attempt on my life. "Do you remember who gave you the note?" I asked her.

If not mentioning others, Wendy excellent at painting and could directly draw a portrait of a person.

After up the clue, the person behind the scenes did emerge.

Joseline Nelson was extremely shocked after hearing the result, "It's her? Why did he harm you?"

It was Jennifer who did that. I was not surprised to hear that it was him. And it's not surprising that she could attract Michael's attention and protection several times in just one month. She must be someone extraordinary.

I'm just curious, why me? Just because of Michael?

I laughed and said nothing, comforted Joseline Nelson, and went back home without waiting for Jennifer to ride in the carriage with me.

I believe she wouldn't come back on her own.

I came back and took a bath before Jennifer stepped into the Hawk’s House late in the evening. Sure enough, it was Michael who brought her back, as I expected

I didn't bother with these two people and went back to my boudoir. It's almost time for the autumn hunt, so I needed to prepare.

Early the next morning, Michael came without an invitation.

I allowed him to come in, just to assess whether this marriage contract still needed to continue.

"Yvonne, you've gone too far. Yesterday, Jennifer was worried about you. It's ok when you humiliated her in public, but why didn't you wait for her when you returned home?"

Very well, he came up and started questioning and accusing me. In this way, our childhood friendship of more than ten years has truly been in vain.

"I've gone too far? I humiliated her in public? Do you know who helped her when everyone made fun of her at the Chrysanthemum Banquet? Did you care where I was when there was fire? Without me, would she be unable to return to the mansion?"

"Yes, I admit that you helped her, but why didn't you respond when she cared about you? What if a woman encounters danger on the road without me accompanying her back to the mansion?"

"But why do you know that I was trapped in a big fire yesterday?" I looked calmly at Michael.

Michael was shocked: "You?! Isn’t..."

"You see, Michael, our years of friendship can't compare to the fact that you've only known her for a month and yet you know everything about her. But what about me, your fiancée? You can leave, let's find a time to cancel the engagement, and I won't bother you two."

"Jennifer, you're angry now, so I won't argue with you. I won't cancel this engagement either. I wonder why do you always have to oppose Jennifer?" Michael frowned.

"You should ask her that." I dismissed him and didn't plan to see him for the next few days. I needed to prepare for the autumn hunt.

Every day after that, Michael would come to my courtyard in the name of visiting me and then go to Jennifer's courtyard to enjoy.

The servants in the mansion reported to me, but I just smiled and let them be.

My parents were furious and wanted to drive Jennifer away. I stopped them. Because she would surely leave one day, but she couldn't tarnish the reputation of my Hawk family.

In the blink of an eye, it was time for the autumn hunt. Everyone participating in the hunt wore equestrian shooting attire, looking heroic.

The shooting range for women was in the Purple Bamboo Forest, where there were mostly gentle creatures like rabbits and foxes. Men could go to the Black Bamboo Forest, where there were many ferocious beasts.

"Yvonne, I'll hunt a fox for you and make a cloak, okay?" Michael rode towards me on a horse.

"No, thank you, I'll hunt it myself." I took a few steps back and said calmly.

"It's been so many days, are you still angry with me?"

I remained silent and rode into the Purple Bamboo Forest.

Michael glanced at my back and rode towards the Black Bamboo Forest.

Out of sight, out of mind. After entering the woods, I automatically distanced myself from Jennifer.

Unexpectedly, when I was chasing after a fox, I ran into her again.

I felt so unlucky.

"Hello, Yvonne, what a coincidence! Are you also interested in this fox? I'll give it to you!" She put on a weak appearance.

I really couldn't stand it anymore. Why is she everywhere?

"No thank you, let's rely on our own abilities."

I pulled the bow and was about to shoot when a pair of green eyes appeared. The forest was dense and the light was dim. Before I could see clearly, Jennifer ran towards me and said, "Yvonne, run! It's a wolf!'

What! Wolves are only in the Black Bamboo Forest. How could there be wolves in the Purple Bamboo Forest?"

I realized that Jennifer was at the boundary between the two bamboo forests.

I was about to run on my horse, but I was forcefully pulled down. The horse got scared and ran away. I turned around and it was Jennifer.

I caught a glimpse of her smug smile and understood everything that it was her doing again.

The wolf pack was getting closer.