Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Does His Highness know that you are no longer a virgin? ...

A young man in red rode over on horseback, but he was an unfamiliar face to Zhang Jiang Hexue.

She sighed in frustration.

Her jaw was grasped by two cold white fingers, and she straightened it, her back pressed against his chest again, fitting perfectly.

"Who were you calling just now?" Shen Qingchen's voice was low and cold, and his emotions were difficult to discern.

"Fu Wang." Jiang Hexue didn't notice anything unusual about him. She rubbed her chin and leaned her head comfortably on his shoulder.

Shen Qingchen didn’t speak, she thought he had forgotten again: “The second son of the Marquis of Changping.”

"Why, do you miss him?"

"A little bit." Jiang Hexue said honestly.

After all, they were such close friends back then. Apart from him, Ruan Yueyi was the only one she truly regarded as a friend - although Ruan Yueyi always had a cold face and was not as good at making people happy as Fu Wang.

Speaking of which, Ruan Yueyi is the Princess of Ganle, and her deceased mother is Shen Qingchen's elder sister. She also calls Shen Qingchen "little uncle".

If Ruan Yueyi saw her now, wouldn't she have to call her "Little Imperial Aunt"?

Jiang Hexue couldn't help but laugh when she thought of this.

"So happy?" His tone still lacked emotion.

"Yes." Jiang Hexue asked him. "Have you seen Gan Le in recent years?"

"Not yet." Shen Qingchen's tone seemed to be a little more relaxed. "Today is the winter hunt, she is here."

Jiang Hexue's eyes lit up: "I'll go find her now."

"Not riding anymore?"

He tightened his grip on her hand.

"It's the same any other day." Jiang Hexue struggled but couldn't get free, so she turned around to look at him.

It was colliding into his eyes which were as dark as a cold pool.

"What, what's going on?" Jiang Hexue couldn't help but stumble.

Shen Qingchen lowered her eyes and did not answer.

She had just said that she missed him very much, and after spending an hour with him, she was going to go find Ruan Yueyi.

She still missed Fu Wang a little bit, but they hadn't seen each other for ten days, so she only missed him a little bit.

"Liar." Shen Qingchen whispered.

She didn't miss him very much at all.

At most, a little bit.

Jiang Hexue was puzzled: "You are the liar."

"I hate you." Shen Qingchen didn't respond, she muttered. "Let me go find Gan Le, her carriage is the last one in the royal family?"

She said she loved him a few days ago, but now she hates him.

I didn't tell him I love him today.

It's a liar.

Shen Qingchen suppressed the sadness in her heart and thought silently.

After a moment, he replied Jiang Hexue with a cold "hmm", but the horse showed no intention of turning around and only slowed down.

"At this speed, it's only as fast as a carriage. Even at the winter hunting grounds, her carriage won't be able to catch up." Jiang Hexue measured the distance and said, "Take me back..."

Before she finished speaking, Shen Qingchen gently rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed his nose against the side of her neck.

"There's someone else here!" Jiang Hexue glanced at the shocked and playful eyes around him and whispered, "Zhaohua? What's wrong?"

Shen Qingchen blinked, and her thick eyelashes rubbed her cheeks itchy: "Nothing."

He just wanted to hug her.

He might have missed her a little, or maybe more than that.

I was so greedy that I didn't want to be separated from her for a moment.

-

When they arrived at the next rest stop, Zhuixue walked towards the back of the convoy. After a few steps, he saw the carriage of Princess Ganle Ruan Yueyi.

"When will you come back?" The young man who was holding her from behind finally straightened up, loosened his grip, and asked lightly.

"I'll come back when I've had enough fun." Jiang Hexue said.

She couldn't estimate how long she would chat with Ruan Yueyi, so it was better not to promise to come back in an hour and then break her promise and not come back.

"Remember to come back." Jiang Hexue thought, and suddenly heard Shen Qingchen's reply.

The cold voice was lowered and softened, and when it passed by the ears like a feather, it was tinged with a bit of inexplicable grievance.

Before she could investigate further, Shen Qingchen had already carried her off the horse.

He lowered his eyes and glanced at her, but the expression in his peach blossom eyes was obscured by his thick black eyelashes and could not be seen clearly.

Without saying anything else, he turned around and left with Zhuixue.

Jiang Hexue always felt that he was a little unusual. He tilted his head to think about it, and it was rare for him to have no clue at all, so he walked towards Ruan Yueyi's carriage with slippers.

"Jiang Xingcong!" Before he reached the car, he heard a roar coming from inside the car.

Jiang Hexue paused.

Is this the stern and cold-faced Ruan Yueyi in her memory?

"Yiyi," Jiang Xingcong's voice, tinged with laughter, sounded familiar from inside the carriage. "I'm just telling the truth."

"Calling someone 'Yiyi'! That's rude!"

"Gan Le, Princess!" Jiang Xingcong immediately changed his tone. "I just miss you so much that I'm sick."

Jiang Hexue stopped and turned back.

She came at the wrong time.

"One day without seeing you feels like three months?" Ruan Yueyi scolded in the car. "Even newlyweds are not as corny as you."

Suddenly, Shen Qingchen's words "Remember to come back" flashed through my mind, as did his inexplicably clingy hug.

Jiang Hexue looked at the young man riding a white horse in front of him, and was caught off guard and met his eyes.

He tilted his head slightly, his jaw was cold and sharp, but the bright winter sun cast tiny drops of light on his eyelashes, soft and gentle.

Shen Qingchen stopped his horse.

Jiang Hexue lifted her skirt and trotted towards him, but he pulled her and carried her back onto the horse.

"Why aren't you going?" The voice was still calm and cold.

"It's inconvenient because there are other people around." Jiang Hexue explained.

A cold "Oh".

"There's another reason, do you want to know?"

"Yeah." Shen Qingchen was frugal with words.

When she didn't say anything, he added, "What?"

"Someone needs to accompany Gan Le, and so do I." Jiang Hexue turned around and curled her lips towards him.

"It seems there's a little angelfish waiting for Little Jiang Cat to keep him company."

A light kiss landed on the corner of his lips.

"Husband, I'm back to accompany you."

-

Amid the clear sound of horse hooves, everyone arrived at the winter hunting ground.

For safety reasons, winter hunting was conducted in groups of two. The team with the most prey would receive a reward from Emperor Hengshun. Women who were good at martial arts would also go together, while those who were not good at martial arts would be organized by Empress Xie to sit around the stove, brew tea, compose poems and paint.

Chen Qingchen brought back a snow-white horse for Jiang Hexue. It looked like the same precious breed as Zhuixue, but it was gentle and cute. As soon as they met, it rubbed its head against Jiang Hexue's palm.

Two white horses and a perfect couple walked side by side into the forest.

There are mostly wild rabbits and flying birds in the shallow forest. The deeper you go into the forest, the more deer and sheep you will see. The birds of prey are all stopped by the Jinwu Guards, so there is no need to worry.

Jiang Hexue took a few steps and itched to look at the bow bag behind Shen Qingchen: "Zhaohua, shoot one for me to see."

She knew that he had amazing arm strength and could hold her up steadily with one hand.

Shen Qingchen shook his head.

"If you don't show me, it means your archery skills are not good enough!" Jiang Hexue pretended to be angry and said something sarcastic with a pout.

Shen Qingchen glanced at the hare running around in the bushes, reached out, and broke off a sharp branch from the tree next to him.

Then she narrowed her peach blossom eyes and threw the branch.

With a dull thud, the branch pierced into the back of the hare's neck. The hare's legs twitched for a moment and then stopped moving.

Shen Qingchen threw the hare into the bamboo basket and tilted his head to look at her.

Jiang Hexue's phoenix eyes were already wide open in disbelief, her eyelashes blinking slowly. She looked at the hare in the bamboo basket for a while before looking at Shen Qingchen.

The latter broke off another branch and asked, "Can you pass it?"

Jiang Hexue nodded vigorously: "It's more than just passing the test!"

Shen Qingchen raised the corners of his lips slightly, and his voice was filled with a faint smile: "It's a waste to shoot beasts with feather arrows."

"Let's go deep into the forest," Jiang Hexue said. "Shoot a few deer and roast them for dinner tonight."

"I went to Mengzhou when I was fleeing before. The local Iggy taught me a very delicious sauce. Let me show you my skills!" she said with a smile.

"Okay." Shen Qingchen said softly, with curved eyes.

The sunlight fell into his eyes through the gaps in the green leaves. His amber pupils were as clear as glass, and were rippling with small, gentle smiles.

Jiang Hexue stared at him for a moment, and couldn't help but curl her lips: "Zhao Hua, I discovered a little secret of yours."

He seemed to say "OK" only when he was in a good mood. Usually he would use bland interjections like "hmm" and "oh".

Even when I was in a bad mood, I would be too arrogant to tell her and just wait for her to find out.

"What?"

Jiang Hexue winked at him mysteriously: "Come closer, I'll tell you quietly."

Shen Qingchen moved closer without any suspicion, and the next moment, both ears were held by her hands.

"The secret is, you're very cute." Jiang Hexue rubbed the tip of his ear. "I like you so much."

The tip of the ear under the palm instantly felt hot.

-

Shen Qingchen stabbed another snake, and Jiang Hexue was afraid, so she told him to deal with it himself and wait there.

"Your humble servant greets the princess."

"Mr. Zhou, Madam Zhou." Jiang Hexue nodded politely to Zhou Yiheng, and when he glanced at the woman next to him, his smile froze slightly.

Mrs. Zhou is actually Su Miner, Su Linger's elder sister.

Enemies often meet on a narrow road. Zhou Yiheng wanted to take her as his concubine before, but she scolded him and left him with no chance of survival.

He came up to her because he saw she was alone, so he definitely had no good intentions.

"I heard that the princess and my husband have a close relationship, and I have always been curious about it. Today, I see that the princess is indeed as beautiful as a fairy." Su Min'er is smarter than Su Ling'er and knows to use courtesy before force.

"Thank you for your praise, Madam Zhou. This princess and Mr. Zhou are just nodding acquaintances. Madam, please be suspicious." Jiang Hexue smiled faintly.

"Bah!" Zhou Yiheng yelled angrily. "I was wondering why you looked down upon the concubine of the Zhou family. You're really trying to climb the social ladder!"

"Don't even mention Sister Ling'er. You can't even compare to an ordinary noble lady!" He was furious. "The shougong blood has long been gone. I don't know how many men she has given her life to!"

"Yes," he grinned. "Your Highness, do you know that you are no longer a virgin?"

Jiang Hexue gritted her teeth and suppressed the urge to slap him.

Although what he said was false, she had to consider Chen Qingchen when she acted now. If she slapped Zhou Yiheng today, it would be Chen Qingchen who would be impeached tomorrow...

Just as I was thinking about the wording, there was a "swoosh" sound.

The sharp feather arrow grazed Zhou Yiheng's ear, dragging him and his turban backwards, and slamming him into a tree trunk with a "bang".

The sticky smell of blood spread everywhere, and Zhou Yiheng wailed, "Someone's dead!"

After shouting, he realized that the dead cannot speak. He touched his neck and instinctively turned his head, but met the eyes of a turtledove whose neck was shot by the same feather arrow.

The turtledove's eyes were bloodshot and he died with his eyes open.

Zhou Yiheng let out another shrill wail, but Jiang Hexue had no time to care about him anymore. She stared blankly at Shen Qingchen who was holding the dragon tongue bow.

He spoke each word with a cold voice, "If you continue to be rude, I will break your neck."

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