Chapter 123 Prince, Pick One!

Xiao Qingyuan looked down on Mu Ge's naive and unsophisticated demeanor: "A thousand taels of gold, is that a lot? Why are you making such a fuss?"

Mu Ge stared in disbelief: "Huh? No, not many?"

"Of course not many."

Xiao Qingyuan looked displeased: "Don't make wild guesses about Shen Wantang and Gu Qianhan. Gu Qianhan is not a good person. He abducted Yan Luo, but Shen Wantang would never collude with him."

Mu Ge lowered her head: "Does the young master trust the princess so much? Doesn't the young master suspect her at all? Everyone has selfish motives. Miss Chu has always been deeply favored by the young master, so it's normal for the princess to feel jealous. Young master, don't think too highly of people."

envy?

Xiao Qingyuan thought about it carefully and realized that he had never seen jealousy in Shen Wantang.

He waved his hand: "Others may be jealous, but Shen Wantang won't. She is a magnanimous person and can tolerate Yan Luo. She will not join forces with Gu Qianhan, much less drive Yan Luo away."

Mu Ge simply did not believe that Shen Wantang would tolerate Chu Yanluo. No woman in this world would be willing to share her husband with another woman!

Otherwise, Shen Wantang would have already promoted her to be Xiao Qingyuan's concubine, so why would she be so wary of her?

Just as she was thinking of saying more bad things about Shen Wantang, a gentle and kind maid walked in from outside.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort requests your presence at Wutong Garden. You haven't gone yet, have you forgotten?"

Hua Yi spoke softly, glancing at Mu Ge standing before Xiao Qingyuan, then gently curtsied: "So Miss Mu is here too."

Looking at her slender figure and beautiful face, Mu Ge felt a sense of crisis and urgency.

She knew that Huayi was Shen Wantang's maid. Huayi's style was very different from the other maids. She loved to dress up and wore the brightest clothes. She did the least work and kept her hands delicate and tender. If you didn't know her, you would think she was some kind of young lady!

Moreover, every time she saw Xiao Qingyuan, she always looked at him with affection.

If we were to say who would be most likely to be elevated to the status of a concubine after Chu Yanluo leaves, it would undoubtedly be Huayi.

Fortunately, Xiao Qingyuan was blind; he couldn't see Huayi's feelings for him, nor could he see her carefully made-up beauty. Upon hearing Huayi's words, he immediately walked out.

"I developed a high fever last night and have been in a deep sleep ever since. I heard from Mo Ji that it was the Crown Princess who treated me with acupuncture again?"

Huayi followed and said, "Your Highness, it was indeed the Princess Consort who treated you. After your high fever subsided, the Princess Consort even left me here to keep watch over you at night to prevent your condition from recurring. Fortunately, you are alright, so I was able to report back to the Princess Consort."

Mu Ge rolled her eyes. Xiao Qingyuan was clearly asking about Shen Wantang, but Hua Yi insisted on emphasizing that she had kept watch for Xiao Qingyuan last night. She really knew how to make herself feel important.

Xiao Qingyuan didn't take Huayi's words seriously. His only servant, Moji, was still injured and unable to serve him, so it was normal for Shen Wantang to give him her maid.

However, Shen Wantang used to prefer having Qin Xin to deliver messages and serve him, so why did he switch to Hua Yi this time? Could it be that he disliked Qin Xin for being clumsy and not knowing how to serve people last time, so Shen Wantang remembered it and specially changed his maid?

The painter speaks softly and seems exceptionally considerate and meticulous, appearing much more docile than Qin Xin.

As Xiao Qingyuan pondered this, he soon arrived at Wutong Garden.

The courtyard was bathed in a warm yellow light, giving it a strangely tranquil and peaceful feel. Xiao Qingyuan had previously disliked this courtyard and had no desire to come here, but now he felt that it was much better than his own courtyard, elegant and comfortable, and very suitable for living.

When he entered, he saw Shen Wantang looking at the account books, with Du Juan and Qin Xin serving her on either side. Hearing the noise, the three of them looked at him.

The two maids bowed respectfully, while Shen Wantang stood up and gave him a slight smile: "The young master has arrived."

Since it was already night, she removed her ornate hairpins and bright dresses, her long hair was tied up with only a jade hairpin, and she wore only very ordinary plain clothes.

With the hustle and bustle gone, Shen Wantang's cool and aloof temperament and otherworldly beauty were revealed.

For a moment, Xiao Qingyuan was in a daze, feeling as if Chu Yanluo had returned: "Yanluo..."

Everyone inside and outside the house changed their expressions upon hearing this.

Only Shen Wantang remained unmoved, as if she hadn't heard anything. Her smile remained unchanged, striking straight to Xiao Qingyuan's heart: "Your Highness, Young Master Gu has come today to apologize for taking Miss Chu away. This is the list of gifts he sent. Please take a look."

Xiao Qingyuan snapped out of his daze. He realized he had called the wrong person and coughed twice to cover his embarrassment: "You are the Crown Prince's wife and the mistress of the house. You can keep the gift list. You don't need to show it to me."

Shen Wantang knew he wouldn't look at it; she was just going through the motions: "In addition to the items on the gift list, the Second Young Master Gu also sent an extra thousand taels of gold. This amount of gold is not on the list, but because it is quite a large sum, it still needs to be presented separately to inform the Heir Apparent."

He was simply informed, but not given the authority to make any decisions.

Xiao Qingyuan touched his nose, feeling that he seemed to be losing his status at home.

He originally wanted to return the gold, preferably throwing it all at Gu Qianhan's face, but unexpectedly, Shen Wantang didn't even bother to ask for his opinion.

He wanted to ask for the thousand taels of gold, but when he looked up and saw Shen Wantang's clear eyes, he closed his mouth again—who told him to call the wrong person earlier? She didn't blame him, so he seemed to have no reason to take the gold.

Fine, Shen Wantang has always liked gold and silver, so let her have it!

"A thousand taels of gold is nothing. Since it's not on the list, just pretend Gu Qianhan didn't send it."

Seeing that he didn't seem to care, Shen Wantang didn't dwell on it either. She brought up another matter: "Your Highness's injuries haven't fully healed yet, and it's inconvenient without someone to serve you. I have a few clever maids here; Your Highness can choose one!"

Xiao Qingyuan hesitated for a moment. He couldn't see the faces of any of the maids outside the house at this moment, but he could see the three inside the house clearly.

A heart that yearns for music, a cuckoo, and the artistic inspiration that drew him here.

When Chu Yanluo was in the Prince's mansion, she was very resistant to Qin Xin, so Xiao Qingyuan subconsciously also felt somewhat resistant to her.

Du Juan was a maidservant brought by Shen Wantang from the Shen family as part of her dowry, so their relationship was naturally extraordinary. Moreover, this maidservant was dull and Xiao Qingyuan didn't think much of her.

His gaze fell on Huayi.

She stood there with her head slightly lowered, gentle and obedient. Under the lamplight, her skin was as white as porcelain, and even her hands were more delicate and beautiful than those of the other maids.

Since we're choosing a maid, we should naturally pick one who's pleasing to the eye and obedient.

Xiao Qingyuan pointed at Huayi: "Her it is!"