Chu Qitong's gaze finally landed on Meng Jinyu, who was wiping away tears while bowing her head. She let go of Ming Luan's hand and stepped forward to stand in front of Meng Jinyu.

Chu Qitong took out her handkerchief, leaned down slightly, and gently wiped the tears from Meng Jinyu's corner of the eye. Her tone was soft as she said, "Miss Meng, please don't cry. Your makeup will be ruined if you cry. Let me apologize on behalf of Mingluan. Although she may sound a bit harsh, she didn't mean any harm."

Hua Jiejie, you don't have to apologize for me." Ming Luan heard Chu Qitong apologize on her behalf, and after seeing Chu Qitong bend over to wipe Meng Jinyu's tears, she couldn't hold back any longer. She reached out and snatched the handkerchief from Chu Qitong's hand.

Mingluan received a warning glance from Chu Qitong for her actions. This was the first time that the usually mild-tempered Chu Qitong had looked at her like this. Caught off guard by Chu Qitong's gaze, Mingluan paused momentarily and decided to stop herself from finishing her sentence.

It was unclear what kind of magic was in Chu Qitong's eyes, but Ming Luan couldn't control herself and took the handkerchief back from Chu Qitong's hand, then handed it back to her.

After receiving the handkerchief handed back by Ming Luan, Chu Qitong remained silent, her hands continuing the motion of wiping away Meng Jinyu's tears, as if the handkerchief in her hand had never been taken away by Ming Luan.

After carefully wiping away the tears on Meng Jinyu's face, Deng Chu Qitong noticed that none of the young ladies attending the plum blossom banquet were willing to speak. The festive atmosphere that should have been filled with joy and laughter now seemed as quiet as the sound of a fallen needle. Apart from the whistling wind, there was no other sound to be heard.

Looking at Ming Luan's obvious distracted appearance, Chu Qitong knew that today's plum blossom banquet could not continue. In order to quickly skip this awkward atmosphere, Chu Qitong had no choice but to take the initiative and say, "It's getting late, and the snow is falling heavily. Let's end the banquet here."

As soon as Chu Qitong voiced her suspicion that it might be a farewell order, the group of official's daughters who had been looking for excuses to leave one by one stood up and left. Meng Jinyu also prepared to bid farewell to Chu Qitong, but she reached out and grabbed hold of her wrist.

"Princess?" Chu Qitong's actions made Meng Jinyu feel somewhat nervous. Because of Ming Luan's words, she had lost all face in the Rui'an Prince's Mansion today. Now she could finally leave this place. She didn't want to stay here for another minute. However, she didn't expect Chu Qitong to single-handedly hold onto her as she was about to leave.

Although Mingluan's words were somewhat unpleasant to hear, they made Meng Jinyu realize the disparity in their identities with Chu Qitong. Even if she were given another hundred courage, she wouldn't dare call Chu Qitong "Sister Hua" anymore. When Chu Qitong grabbed her, Meng Jinyu's first reaction was that Chu Qitong was finally going to blame her for not understanding the rules. For a moment, she couldn't control the fine beads of sweat that emerged in the palm of her hand.

Chu Qitong also noticed Meng Jinyu's nervousness. She curved a gentle smile at the corner of her lips and softly said to Meng Jinyu, "Miss Meng, don't be anxious. I have no ulterior motives. I just noticed that your makeup got smudged when you cried earlier. If you go out with such a face today, you might be ridiculed by others. This whole incident is also my fault. I wonder if Miss Meng would be willing to give me face and accompany me to Mingluan's room. Let me help you touch up your makeup as a way to apologize."

Chu Qitong's words surprised Meng Jinyu. Generally, female leads are all fond of beauty. Meng Jinyu lightly touched her own face and indeed felt the rouge that had mixed with tears and congealed on her face. Meng Jinyu couldn't care less about whether going to Mingluan's chamber was appropriate or not, so she hurriedly agreed to Chu Qitong's proposal.