Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Princess Heng'an

Shen Qingchen didn't answer, perhaps because he didn't like it.

But there was no reason for Jiang Hexue to refuse the lunch that was served to her door.

What's more, along with lunch, there was also a delicious little angelfish delivered to the door.

After confirming that he was the host, Jiang Hexue happily followed Shen Qingchen out the door.

North Third Street sells breakfast, while West Third Street, which intersects not far away, is lined with restaurants.

The restaurant that Shen Qingchen brought her to was called "Manzhi", a new restaurant opened in Kyoto this year, with elegant scenery and booming business.

Normally, Jiang Hexue couldn't queue up and couldn't afford to eat.

Sitting down in a special private room, Shen Qingchen pushed the menu to her.

"The boss ordered the dishes." Jiang Hexue didn't answer.

Shen Qingchen didn't force it, and ordered a few dishes casually, then chatted with her with the grape water that was already on the table: "From what you said just now, do you have any clues about finding your brother?"

"Yes. Ah Ye is two years younger than me. She was weak from birth and always took medicinal baths when she was young. She rarely left the house. You've only been in Liangzhou for half a year, so you shouldn't have a deep impression of her, right?"

Shen Qingchen seemed to agree.

"Not long after the Marquis of Zhenbei kicked us out, I lost him. I was busy escaping, searching all the way from south to north to Kyoto, but to no avail." Jiang Hexue sighed softly. "Since Ah Ye has purple eyes like me, it should have been easy to find out."

"By the New Year, if there's still no news from Kyoto, I'll continue my search northward..."

"Have you ever thought that he would be in the palace?" Shen Qingchen suddenly asked.

"In the palace?" Jiang Hexue's eyebrows knitted slightly, then her eyes lit up. "If it's in the palace, it makes sense why I haven't been able to get any information. Your Highness, are you sure..."

The waiter started serving the dishes at this moment, interrupting Jiang Hexue's words.

In front of Jiang Hexue was glutinous rice lotus root with osmanthus, drizzled with sparkling osmanthus honey.

One of her favorite dishes as a child.

"Have lunch first." After the dishes were served, Shen Qingchen signaled her. "Don't talk while eating."

Jiang Hexue's words were blocked again, so he simply stopped worrying about it and concentrated on eating.

She couldn't remember where she last ate osmanthus glutinous rice and lotus root.

Maybe it's in the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion.

The glutinous rice was white and soft, the lotus root slices were crispy and juicy, and minced beef was added inside. After taking a bite, Jiang Hexue squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

All the delicacies on the table were quite to her taste - she liked sweet and spicy food, and did not like coriander, pepper, or mutton, so such a picky taste was perfectly catered to.

Even the drink on the table was her favorite grape water.

Even in the Marquis's Mansion, the servants would not cater to her tastes so attentively.

Jiang Hexue took a few bites, his heart moved slightly, and he turned his head to look at Shen Qingchen beside him.

His movements while eating were dignified and elegant, which was pleasing to the eye, and he seemed unaware of her observation.

That's right, how could he have prepared it on purpose? Only my mother could remember her taste so accurately.

This restaurant must be unexpectedly to her taste.

Jiang Hexue pulled his thoughts back to his senses and looked at him again, and suddenly saw that there was no osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root on his plate.

Can't reach?

She sincerely thanked her host and picked up a piece with her jade chopsticks and put it on his plate.

Shen Qingchen paused chewing, looked at the glutinous rice lotus root, and tilted his head to meet her gaze.

"You eat." He had specifically instructed "Don't talk while eating", so Jiang Hexue didn't say anything, just lip-synced with him, then picked up another piece and ate it herself.

The edges of the young man's ears gradually turned red. He stared at the piece of glutinous rice lotus root, and finally picked up the jade chopsticks to eat it without saying a word.

"You actually have a small mole on your earlobe." Jiang Hexue looked at him for a few seconds and finally couldn't help but speak. "So beautiful."

Shen Qingchen paused with the jade chopsticks in her hand. After a moment, she hooked the hair that was half scattered on her shoulders to cover her entire ear.

Jiang Hexue chuckled.

-

Lunch passed in silence.

Jiang Hexue picked up the topic: "Your Highness said that Ah Ye was in the palace. Was that a guess, or did you see her?"

"Princess Rongchang Youyue brought back a personal poison guard from outside the palace, Zhuqiu. I heard he had purple eyes. Maybe it's him."

Jiang Hexue's eyes lit up: "Is there anything else?"

"I've never seen Zhu Qiu in person, it's all just rumors." Shen Qingchen shook his head. "I only heard that he was seventeen or eighteen years old."

"My younger brother is seventeen years old this year. He was born in the month of Mao, also known as 'Bamboo Autumn.'" Jiang Hexue's smile deepened. "Purple eyes are of Beixuan bloodline, quite rare in Longlin. It must be."

"I want to meet him in person and confirm whether he can leave the palace. Or should I go inside to meet him? Or disguise myself as a palace maid?"

"Even the princess can't leave the palace at will, let alone the servants in the palace." Shen Qingchen said objectively. "The New Year is approaching, and it will be inconvenient to enter the palace. As a palace maid, I can't do anything."

Jiang Hexue's lips, which had been raised widely, drooped slightly. "Will he ever leave the palace with Princess Rongchang? For example, on an autumn hunt? Or will Princess Rongchang leave the palace to attend some banquets?"

"The autumn hunt is over. How can you attend the banquet hosted by the noble lady without an invitation?"

Jiang Hexue pressed her lips into a straight line and frowned.

"During the Spring Festival, Qingyuan came to the court and was interested in marrying a princess. The only princess from Longlin who could go to Qingyuan for marriage was Rongchang." Shen Qingchen said in a low voice again.

Jiang Hexue had only seen the Qingyuan Khanate in books when he was young. It seemed thousands of miles away.

If Princess Rongchang were to marry, my brother, as a poison guard, would definitely go with her...

I'm afraid we'll never see each other again in this life.

Absolutely not.

Jiang Hexue tightened the embroidered handkerchief in her hand and raised her eyes to look at him.

He was taller than her. When he lowered his eyes to look at her, his thick eyelashes were half-closed and his eyes were cold and calm.

"Could you... help me?" She chose her words carefully, speaking softly. "For the sake of our old friendship in Liangzhou..."

She paused awkwardly.

Asking him for help isn't difficult, but if it's done in the name of old friendship...

She recalled that her meeting with Shen Qingchen was in the sixteenth year of Yongjia, which was also her last summer in the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion.

She was only a young girl that year, spoiled and undisciplined. Not only did she call him "little fairy" without courtesy, she also forced him to do the homework assigned by the teacher for her. After being defeated in an argument with her brother, she came back to tease the taciturn him.

What's more, she even secretly braided his hair into pigtails while he was resting...

She thought she didn't think of this person normally, but when she did, she wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

And now, she happened to need something from him.

Jiang Hexue unconsciously twisted the embroidered handkerchief in her hand tighter and tighter. When she put herself in Shen Qingchen's shoes, she felt that Shen Qingchen would definitely not agree.

He was a cold-hearted person by nature, so the fact that he invited her out for dinner probably meant that their old friendship had worn off. She should not create trouble for herself.

After all, if she wanted to make friends with princes and nobles, Emperor Hengshun also had five unmarried princes. Although she and Shen Qingchen were old acquaintances, they had not seen each other for many years. Why should she go to pick this unattainable flower on the high mountain?

Jiang Hexue stared at the tiny white flowers on the tablecloth in front of him, and he was already thinking of retreating.

Completely unaware of her movements, the young man beside her silently watched her little movements, his eyes becoming increasingly darker.

-

"It's not a bad idea." As Jiang Hexue's thoughts turned, Shen Qingchen spoke.

"However, I'm afraid that today is the only free meal in the world." He stroked the ribs of the white jade folding fan with his fingers and said lightly.

Jiang Hexue took a sip of the grape water on the table and pondered.

What he said was clearly asking for compensation.

She was now just a common woman, without power or influence, and all she could give him was her beauty and money.

As for her looks, she was good at making use of her superior appearance. She only needed to beckon ordinary men with her fingers, and there would be many who were willing to do things for her. Occasionally, she would say a few sweet words, and she would not be afraid that they would not try their best.

But Shen Qingchen… Jiang Hexue shook his head subconsciously.

He was well-known in the capital for his chastity. When he heard that a noble lady had "accidentally" fallen beside him, he not only did not help her up, but instead deliberately stayed away from her and even shook off the non-existent dust on the edge of his sleeve.

The noble lady was laughed at in the capital for half a year.

Besides, he would be twenty-two next year, and he had not yet decided on a wife, nor did he have concubines in his house, or even a maid to serve him.

A man who is not interested in women must be after her money.

"Your Highness, do you want silver?" Jiang Hexue asked, the invisible abacus in his mind clacking rapidly.

Her Qianxiangfang already made several times more money than any other incense shop, but she only made about a hundred taels of silver a year, after deducting the rent and daily expenses...

Jiang Hexue bit her lower lip and said, "Your Highness, please name your price."

Shen Qingchen seemed to laugh very lightly.

"My royal brother gives me an annual salary of 20,000 taels of silver," he said calmly.

Twenty thousand taels, even if she doesn't eat or drink and doesn't spend a penny, it will take her twenty years to earn it.

Jiang Hexue couldn't hold back the smile on her face: "Your Highness, I can't afford this money."

She couldn't afford the money, and the beauty trap would definitely be useless to him.

"Don't bother Your Highness. I will think of other ways. Today... thank you very much, Your Highness." Jiang Hexue put down the teacup decisively, thinking about the reputation of several princes in his mind.

The eldest prince, Prince Gong, is elegant and modest, but he is currently providing disaster relief outside the capital, so I'm afraid we can only try our luck to meet; the second prince, Prince Jin, is already married, so he is not considered; the third prince, Prince Ling, is still fighting in the southeast, so it's too late; the fourth prince, Prince Jing, is indulging in the mountains and rivers, and probably won't return to the capital before the New Year; the fifth prince, Prince Yu, is said to be engaged, but she can't consider it even though the marriage has not been granted yet; the sixth prince died young; the seventh prince, Prince Xiang, led the Northern Expedition and has not returned yet, so it's too late.

Jiang Hexue couldn't help but droop the corners of his eyes in frustration.

Beside him, Shen Qingchen spoke slowly again: "If you don't look for me, who are you looking for?"

Jiang Hexue immediately straightened his back a little more and looked at him vigilantly.

His face remained calm.

"I have plenty of people looking for me." Jiang Hexue would never let himself lose to others in verbal communication and lose his momentum, let alone someone as taciturn as him.

Shen Qingchen did not respond, nor did she mean to say goodbye to her. She picked up the scented slices brought by the waiter and washed her mouth with the fragrant soup.

"But if Your Highness is willing to offer less, I would naturally choose Your Highness as my first choice..." Jiang Hexue raised her chin slightly. "Around double digits."

She herself may not have realized that her voice was getting weaker and weaker due to lack of confidence.

His chin was slightly raised proudly, like a proud cat.

Shen Qingchen raised the corners of his lips slightly.

"If you can't be a palace maid, I can give you another identity to enter the palace."

"What?" Jiang Hexue obviously didn't expect him to let go so suddenly.

"Princess Heng'an."

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