It took several hours to cook the marinade. After adding the ingredients and simmering them on low heat for another hour, the sun had already set.

Chen Ningzhu kept the portion that she and Liu Zhiyi liked to eat, and let Chen Aniu keep some for himself. The rest was distributed to the workers on the farm.

Chen Aniu went to do it with a painful look on his face.

The braised meat has a great flavor.

Not only was the cooking aunt drooling with greed, but even the farmhands on the entire farm were tortured to the point of being miserable by the rich aroma.

They have always known that meat is delicious, but they never thought that meat could be so delicious.

If they could have a taste of this flavor, even if it meant death immediately, they would think it was worth it.

However, what they didn't expect was that the host would send meat to each of their households, and the quantity was quite large.

For a moment, everyone was moved to tears.

Some even brought their entire families, young and old, and knelt down in front of the house where Chen Ningzhu and the others were staying, swearing a solemn oath to be loyal to them for the rest of their lives.

Night falls, and at this time of day, every household is already shrouded in darkness.

Today, every household lit up the lights lavishly. Laughter and joyful chatter could be heard from time to time, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of braised meat.

Chen Ningzhu and her bestie only ate simple farm-style dishes.

Liu Zhiyi placed the ducks in a clay pot and hung it in the well. Soaking them in brine overnight would improve their flavor.

It was completely dark, and the room for the two of them had already been prepared. They washed up and returned to their residence.

For some reason, perhaps because she had slept for too long during the day, Shen Ningzhu tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

I don’t know how long I stayed awake before I fell into a deep sleep.

In a trance, I felt one side of the bed suddenly sink a little.

Immediately afterwards, a cool body touched my back.

The man's fresh breath came, along with his muscular chest, strong heartbeat, and... the familiar and rich scent of ebony incense.

It’s Jiang Yanche.

How did he come here?

"How long are you going to keep pretending?"

As soon as she got into bed, half of Shen Ningzhu's body stiffened. This subtle change did not escape Jiang Yanche's eyes.

So, the man already knew that she was awake.

Shen Ningzhu was about to sit up with a gloomy face, but the man held her shoulders. She simply turned over and faced the man.

In the faint moonlight outside the window, the handsome face that was always smiling and talking was cast at a cold angle.

"How do you know this place?"

"I've always been keeping an eye on Zhuzhu's movements, so I followed her here. So, is it that Zhuzhu doesn't welcome me and doesn't want to see me?"

She welcomes him for nothing, no one wants to see him.

It took a lot of effort to escape, but I never expected that I would be found that night.

What she didn't expect was that the person who found her was not Jiang Xuanyan, Jiang Qingyi, or Song Hanchuan, but Jiang Yanche.

So she escaped from loneliness?

Why is he joining in the fun?

"Stop talking nonsense. What on earth do you want to do here?"

"Missing you, it comes naturally."

The other person propped up his head lazily, lying on his side and smiling. His slender body was as graceful as a startled swan and as graceful as a swimming dragon.

Even Shen Ningzhu had to admit that all the men in the Jiang family were good-looking.

The old emperor is a handsome uncle, and Jiang Xuanyan and Jiang Yanche are even more handsome and elegant.

Yes, she is absolutely stunning.

Even as men, they deserve this term. It's a pity that they are all show and no substance.

Shen Ningzhu looked at him indifferently, and neither of them spoke. After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Yanche finally sighed and shook his head as if in compromise.

"Zhuzhu is really ruthless!"

Shen Ningzhu said coldly, "Tell me, what is your purpose in coming here?"

After a long while, Jiang Yanche laughed.

"Zhuzhu, it's not a good thing for a woman to be too smart."

"Well, it's okay to tell you. I came here today to take you back to the capital."

Chen Ningzhu:???

"Are you sick?"

She had finally escaped, why would she go back? Besides, where she was was none of his business.

"Yeah, lovesick."

Shen Ningzhu's eyelids trembled, and her hands at her sides slowly clenched. Suddenly, she moved closer to the other person.

"Yeah?"

"Of course, with such stunning beauty, who wouldn't love themselves? But... Zhuzhu, you know, you've been gone for so long, but there's been no movement in the Prince's Mansion. My royal brother doesn't take you seriously at all."

"After three years of infatuation, you are really willing to be treated with such contempt? Come back with me, and I will help you get revenge."

In response to her deliberate approach, the man just smiled, his expression normal, without any accelerated heartbeat or nervousness.

So she was sure that he came to her just to use her and there was no love between them.

Shen Ningzhu sneered.

Look, this is his purpose, right?

But, if he was going to use her to deal with Jiang Xuanyan, then why did he do those misleading actions before? Isn't this a contradiction?

Chen Ningzhu frowned slightly and looked at Jiang Yanche with a scrutinizing gaze.

Jiang Yanche's behavior is a little strange.

It was like... intentionally sabotaging the relationship between her and Jiang Xuanyan, and it was also like... intentionally pushing her towards Jiang Xuanyan.

In short, it is hard to understand.

"What if I say no?"

The other party smiled and said firmly, "You won't. After all... you don't want the maid named Liu Zhiyi beside you to die, right?"

Shen Ningzhu felt a tightness in her chest.

Suddenly she smiled coquettishly, threw herself softly into his arms, and said coquettishly, "Your Highness Prince Chen, do you want to take me back to the capital to be your Princess Chen?"

"Your Highness should have said such a good thing earlier. Why bother making fun of my little maid?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!