Chapter 43 Protecting Your "Promised Birthday Gift".

Jingnu sat on one side of the carriage and glanced at Xue Rongyue, who was leaning against the carriage wall, without making a sound. Seeing that her complexion was still good, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She wasn't afraid of her wife being angry or jumping up and down; her only worry was that her wife's calm face and tone of voice were like a stagnant pool of water. Seemingly calm on the surface, she was actually suppressing all her emotions, and often, within a few days, she would fall seriously ill.

When interrogating Bu Hui, she clearly sensed that her wife was in a bad mood, and knew that she had fallen into the swamp of past pain again. Just as she was thinking about how to pull her wife out, Prince Qin appeared at just the right time and took her wife's attention away.

Jingnu rested her chin on her knuckles, lost in thought.

In terms of seniority, she had served the lady the longest and thus understood her temperament to some extent. The lady was not someone who could easily be distracted by others, but Prince Qin was undoubtedly an exception.

A gentle spring breeze stirs up layers of light, thin fabric, creating graceful arcs under the bright sun. Freshly baked chestnut cakes, along with drifting peach blossoms, are carried by the spring breeze into the carriage.

Memories of her first encounter with Prince Qin involuntarily surfaced before Jingnu's eyes—

After being granted the title of Princess of Yong'an and leaving the palace, the lady was taken to the Princess's residence by Princess Yu'an, who was guarding the palace gate.

On the occasion of her husband's death, Princess Yu'an looked haggard. In just a few days, she had lost a lot of weight, and her eyes and brows were filled with sorrow.

Seeing her wife's restraint, Princess Yu'an mustered her spirits and offered a few words of comfort before instructing a maid to lead her to the prepared courtyard.

As I walked along the crabapple-lined corridor, a plump raccoon suddenly darted out from the crabapple trees planted to the side, causing spring blossoms to fall like rain, sprinkling all over the gray stone bricks at my feet.

The maid, who was afraid of cats, gasped and abruptly stopped in her tracks.

She and her wife came to their senses at the same time. A gentle breeze lifted the girl's skirt as she walked. Her wife's embroidered shoes stepped on the delicate crabapple petals. As if sensing something, she suddenly looked up and saw bright halos reflecting the green and red treetops.

She followed her wife's gaze, her mouth slightly open. When she first saw Prince Qin, only one thought occupied her mind—

He is truly a very handsome young man.

She worked for the Cui family and had the good fortune to see several of their young masters. They were all quite outstanding, but compared to the young master before her, they were still inferior.

He wore a round-necked brocade robe with silver and red pearls embroidered with gold auspicious cloud patterns. His black hair was tied up with a gold crown inlaid with red jade. His tall and imposing figure showed the vigorous spirit of a young man. He casually crossed his legs, rested his head on one hand, and lazily held a book in the other. He had clear eyebrows and bright eyes, a clear and smooth jaw. Although his face still had a slight childishness, his bone structure was extremely superior and outstanding.

Although he lacked the refined manners of a gentleman from a prominent family, his inherent nobility was hard to erase.

She judged almost instantly that this young man must be of noble birth. Sure enough, the next moment, the maidservant respectfully lowered her eyes and greeted him, "Greetings, Young Master Qin."

Crown Prince.

She slowly savored those two words in her heart, thinking to herself that she was truly born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

However, before he could finish his reflection, he was interrupted by his wife's sudden words. Her tone was unfriendly as she asked, "Qin Jin, what are you doing here?"

She was startled.

Firstly, he hadn't expected that his wife and the young master in front of him would actually know each other; secondly, he was worried that his wife would be scolded for calling the young master by his name; and thirdly, he was surprised by his wife's expression and demeanor at this moment.

Having served in the household for many days, I have witnessed firsthand the lady's meticulous planning and composure; this is the first time I have seen her like this...

This isn't exactly lively, but it's definitely the kind of spoiled behavior typical of someone that's young.

Despite being addressed by his given name, Prince Qin did not become angry as she had expected. He sat up abruptly, shook the book in his hand, and said arrogantly, "Can't you see? I'm reading."

The woman snorted coldly, "Why do you have to climb up a tree branch to read a book?"

She was close enough to hear her wife mutter softly, "Pretending again, what's with the pretense?"

Hearing the familiar tone of voice, she finally realized that her mistress and Prince Qin had known each other for a long time, and she gradually felt relieved.

Prince Qin crossed his arms, his thin eyelids drooping slightly, and his cold gaze swept over his wife from head to toe. Not to mention his wife, even she felt a little uncomfortable.

After a moment of silence, Prince Qin suddenly asked, "Has anything happened in your household these past few days?"

It is disgraceful for a servant to bully his master, and this matter only reached Princess Yu'an's ears, so it is understandable that Prince Qin was unaware of it.

The woman lowered her eyes and calmly replied, "It's nothing."

A short, sharp sneer came from above. Prince Qin said, "Come on, you think you're alright looking like this? Who are you trying to fool?"

The woman said, "If I said it's nothing, then it's nothing!"

Prince Qin said, "You're lying again! Xue Rongyue, not a single word of yours is true!"

The woman, growing impatient with the questioning, frowned and said, "What business is it of yours? Mind your own business. You should use that time to straighten the Book of Poetry in your hand first!"

After saying that, she glared at him coldly, then turned and left.

She hurriedly followed her mistress. Perhaps seeing her mistress leave, Prince Qin behind her suddenly panicked and became flustered with his servants.

"Oh, Your Highness, you mustn't jump down! There are pebbles under this tree, you'll fall!"

"Then hurry up and move the ladder out from behind the tree! She's already far away! And who was it that said reading on a tree branch would make you look dashing? This damn branch is making my back hurt!"

"I've advised you countless times to read less frivolous books, but you just won't listen..."

"Alright, alright, stop nagging me. I've been holding this Book of Poetry upside down for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and you just watched me hold it upside down without saying a word?"

"I didn't notice either..."

The maid smiled and whispered to her suddenly angry mistress, "Not long ago, it was Prince Qin's birthday. I accompanied His Highness to the banquet and found that the prince had moved a stool to the gate of the mansion, looking anxiously among the guests for your figure. He said that we had made an appointment beforehand and that you would definitely come today, but we have not seen you since."

"The young master waited alone in front of the mansion until curfew. If he hadn't caught a cold, he probably would have run to his wife to confront her long ago."

"Perhaps, that way we can deal with those wicked servants sooner and spare Madam from suffering." The maid sighed softly and asked tentatively, "Or should I go and tell the young master what happened, so that he knows that Madam did not intentionally break her promise and that this misunderstanding can be cleared up?"

Upon hearing this, the woman paused slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face, before finally lowering her head and saying, "...Never mind, let him think what he wants. I'll give him the birthday gift in a few days."

But the Crown Prince of Qin still found out.

The woman locked herself in the house for several days, not even allowing her to enter. Fearing that her wife would become depressed and upset, she secretly peeked through the window every day, poking a small hole in the paper window to look inside.

When Prince Qin came over, he thought she was some audacious and wicked servant who dared to spy on his master's movements, and he even kicked her.

Fortunately, her wife heard the noise and quickly opened the window, thus saving her life.

Before she could finish asking, "What are you doing here?", the woman stared blankly at Qin Shizi's face: "What happened to your face?"

Prince Qin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said nonchalantly, "I bumped into something by accident."

"Don't give me that." The woman's expression was complicated. "Did you get into a fight with someone?"

Prince Qin shook his head, denying it: "No."

"You say I'm a liar? Aren't you the same?"

The lady took a bottle of ointment from inside the house and handed it to Prince Qin.

Taking the ointment, Prince Qin did not object. Seeing his clumsy attempt at applying the ointment, making him wince, his wife glared at him, snatched the ointment away, and applied it to the wound on Prince Qin's face.

However, his wife didn't know her limits, and Qin Shizi was still in pain, wincing in pain. He had just shouted "Be gentle!" and "Can you be a little gentler?" when his wife slapped him on the back twice, leaving him only able to droop his head and endure it.

"Xue Rongyue." Prince Qin lowered his head and suddenly spoke, "If you've been wronged, you can tell me, and I can protect you."

The woman paused in her movements and sighed, "So you really did go to fight."

Prince Qin said angrily, "Your Highness said that those wicked servants were, after all, servants of the Xue family. It is fine for her, as the eldest princess, to punish the culprits, but it is not right for her to overstep her bounds and interrogate the servants of the Xue family, and to gather up all the servants who bullied you."

"Your Highness is powerless to act, but I have no scruples!"

He said with no small amount of pride, "I beat that Li Hui so badly that he even wet the bed several times and confessed. Following the name he gave me, I went to your mansion and made a scene. In no time, I beat those few unruly servants to a pulp."

The wife tightened her grip, and Prince Qin cried out "Ouch!" again, clutching his swollen lip and gasping for breath: "How could you repay kindness with enmity!"

The woman sneered, "If you're really that powerful, where did you get that injury on your lip?"

"...That was when Li Laosan rushed out during the fight with Li Hui, and he was injured in the chaos," Prince Qin said indignantly.

His wife laughed at him: "Aren't you going to stubbornly say you bumped into something by accident?"

Prince Qin angrily snatched the ointment from his wife's hand and stood up: "I'm leaving. Let's not speak to each other for the next ten days!"

The woman stood up and said, "Wait a moment."

Having said that, he quickly went into the house, took out a haphazardly embroidered rag doll of a wolf, and handed it to Prince Qin: "The birthday gift I promised you."

Prince Qin accepted it with delight, his previously cold face instantly brightening. He then awkwardly grumbled, "You're really ugly. Your embroidery skills are far inferior to your aunt's—"

Halfway through his sentence, Prince Qin realized his mistake and abruptly shut his mouth, stammering, "I... I didn't..."

The lady was not saddened by this. Looking at the rag doll wolf, she nodded and smiled, "It is a bit ugly. I will embroider another one for you after I have improved my embroidery skills."

The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the restaurant. Jingnu snapped out of her reverie and suddenly sighed.

Later, the lady mastered her embroidery skills, but her relationship with Prince Qin was never the same again.

Jingnu suppressed the sense of loss in her heart.

With Jingnu's help, Xue Rongyue got off the carriage. Just as she stood up, Qin Jin arrived right behind her, dismounted, and the two of them looked a little awkward as they were silently ushered into the restaurant by the shopkeeper.

After sitting down in the elegant pavilion, Xue Rongyue poured herself a cup of tea and casually asked, "How long have you been waiting for me here, Your Highness? Have you decided what kind of wine you'd like to drink?"

Before Qin Jin could speak, the shopkeeper beside him quickly replied, "The young master arrived before noon and has been waiting here for his wife for almost an hour and a half, without saying what kind of wine she wants to drink."

Xue Rongyue: "...Huh?"

Didn't you say you'd arrive at the tavern at 3:45 PM?

Qin Jin: "......"

Qin Jin: ""

Meeting Xue Rongyue's questioning gaze, Qin Jin's forehead veins bulged, and he almost turned and left.

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Author's Note: The young master has loved posing and showing off since he was a child [doge emoji]