Chapter 30 "Who is the Princess Consort Flirting With? + Lu Qingchen..."

Chapter 30: Siblings ==

Qin Jue suddenly looked up and saw his younger sister, wearing a snow-white plum blossom cloak and a veil, appearing below the city gate. Her cheeks were rosy, and her almond-shaped eyes were brimming with tears. When she saw Qin Jue, her eyes were filled with undisguised joy. Qin Jue suddenly smiled, a smile as fresh as a snow lotus in bloom. "Sister."

She is Wanwan, and also their little sister.

Upon seeing her family, Su Wanyue couldn't hide her joy. Qin Jue, seeing her, also couldn't hide his tenderness, mixed with doting affection for his "biological sister." This scene of deep sibling affection was witnessed by others. Luo Qi and Mu Ziyi remarked that there were few princes and princesses in the Nanqiong royal family, and that the prince and princess got along very well, without any of the usual scheming. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, had a dark look in his eyes and brought his wife to Qin Jue.

He greeted Qin Jue politely, "Big Brother."

Qin Jue's usually composed expression suddenly became somewhat subtle. Admittedly, the Prince Cheng in front of him was his "brother-in-law," so it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to call him "elder brother" like Wanwan did. However, the man in front of him was clearly an outstanding individual with exceptional bearing, and Qin Jue felt that he was unworthy of being called "elder brother."

"Your Highness Prince Cheng." Qin Jue quickly came to his senses, smiled gently, and nodded slightly.

The brother and sister hadn't seen each other for more than half a year and clearly had something to say. Just as Qin Jue was about to ask if he could speak to Su Wanyue alone, Xiao Yu spoke up, saying that he and his wife were hosting a dinner party for Qin Jue at the Prince's Mansion.

After a moment's thought, Qin Jue agreed. He could see that Prince Cheng was indeed very fond of Wanwan, but at the same time, he did not like her to have any contact with other people alone, even if that person was Wanwan's own brother.

No wonder Zhou Heng couldn't meet Wanwan alone to find out the truth.

So the group entered the capital in a grand procession.

Su Wanyue and her husband returned to the post station, Mu Ziyi and Luo Qi went to the palace to report to the emperor, and Qin Jue led his men to the post station in the capital first.

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince of Nanqiong was coming to the mansion for a meal, the steward dared not be careless and hurriedly came to ask Su Wanyue how to prepare the lunch.

Su Wanyue said that it would be fine to prepare lunch normally, but the Crown Prince of Nanqiong was an honored guest. In addition to being the Crown Prince of Nanqiong, he was also the elder brother of her princess. The steward dared not be careless at this time and went to the kitchen himself. The lunch that day was still the usual one with more than a dozen extra dishes.

At 3:45 AM, Qin Jue arrived at the Prince Cheng's residence with his entourage. The steward greeted him with a smile and led him to the main hall, saying, "Crown Prince Qin, please come in."

Inside the main hall, Su Wanyue and her husband were already there. Seeing the two sitting side by side, Qin Jue smiled gracefully. It was clear from the small details that Prince Cheng truly cared about Wanwan.

Qin Jue was seated at the front of the lower section. After he took his seat, the dancers, their robes fluttering, entered the hall like a gust of wind and began to dance gracefully.

Qin Jue had come for the girls and was not particularly interested in the singing and dancing. He filled his wine cup and then stood up, saying, "I would like to toast King Cheng."

Xiao Yu naturally gave Qin Jue face, and he poured himself a cup of wine. Seeing this, Su Wanyue also poured herself a cup of wine, and the two of them toasted Qin Jue together.

"Sister, let me offer you another toast."

Qin Jue looked at her, his tone full of affection, "Since you came to the Prince Cheng's residence, my sister has become much quieter."

Su Wanyue was taken aback, not understanding why he said she was quiet. Then, Qin Jue smiled and said, "Before I left the capital, Father and Mother carefully instructed me to make sure that my sister was doing well in the Prince Cheng's residence and whether she had any unpleasantness with Prince Cheng. My sister doesn't care about Father and Mother at all. If Father and Mother knew, they would definitely be heartbroken."

Su Wanyue was merely the niece of the Emperor and Empress of Nanqiong. Qin Jue knew, of course, that Su Wanyue was most concerned about her father, so he used the name of the Emperor and Empress of Nanqiong to tell Su Wanyue about her father's recent situation.

Su Wanyue immediately understood Qin Jue's meaning and coquettishly retorted, "Brother, you just came and offered me a toast without giving me a chance to speak."

Qin Jue laughed and said, "That's my fault. Father and Mother are doing well in the palace. It's just that your second brother is a bit unreliable and always makes Father and Mother angry."

This is true. The Prince of Xiang is sometimes reliable and sometimes unreliable. The Empress of Nanqiong has a hard time controlling the Prince of Xiang.

Su Wanyue's eyes lit up with a gentle smile. After mentally preparing herself for a long time, she asked in a casual tone the question she most wanted to ask, "Are my cousin and Uncle Wang doing well?"

This "cousin" and "uncle" are Princess Zilu and the Prince of Nan. Qin Jue sighed inwardly, but did not reveal a flaw on his face. "Uncle and cousin are both well. When I came, Uncle asked me to say hello to my cousin."

Qin Jue deliberately concealed the fact that Uncle Wang had been ill before, because Uncle Wang was now much better, and Qin Jue was afraid that if she told Su Wanyue, Su Wanyue would worry and become emotionally unstable.

Upon hearing this, Su Wanyue quietly felt relieved. Her emotions tonight were written all over her face, and any intelligent person could see through her at a glance. Xiao Yu's lips curved slightly. After a few rounds of drinks, Qin Jue was a little drunk. He was not good at drinking, so the steward immediately had someone prepare a hangover soup for Qin Jue and then said that there were guest rooms in the Prince Cheng's mansion, asking if Qin Jue would like to stay at the Prince Cheng's mansion for the night.

Qin Jue certainly wouldn't choose to stay at the Prince Cheng's residence. He smiled and bid farewell to Xiao Yu, then turned his gaze to the girl beside him, "I wonder if my sister could see my brother off?"

Su Wanyue curtsied gracefully to Xiao Yuying, "I'll be right back."

As the brother and sister walked from the main hall to the door, Qin Jue suddenly stopped and asked with a refined smile, "Is Prince Cheng good to you?"

Su Wanyue: "He's been good to me."

Even when she first married him, he didn't treat her badly. That's why Su Wanyue didn't know how to face him. During the past six months in Beili, Su Wanyue kept herself from thinking about what she would do if things were exposed in the future, and she also kept herself from thinking about the people and things in Nanqiong.

Qin Jue smiled, thinking that he had asked too much of a question. Anyone with eyes could see that His Highness Prince Cheng treated Princess Cheng very well.

"Then I'll take my leave now. If you need anything, just have someone come to the inn to find me." With someone beside him, there were some things Qin Jue couldn't say, but he did give her a word of advice. He would stay in the capital for a month during this trip, and he would definitely protect her wherever he could.

Su Wanyue smiled faintly, "I know, brother, be careful on the road."

"Is Your Highness drunk?" After seeing Qin Jue off, Su Wanyue stood at the gate of the mansion for a while. The steward saw her and hurriedly reminded her that the winter wind was cold. Only then did Su Wanyue feel the wind stinging her cheeks. The steward carried a lantern in front and escorted Su Wanyue back to the main hall.

Inside the main hall, a noble and elegant man was lounging in a grand chair with his eyes slightly closed. Su Wanyue was worried that he was drunk, so she took a few steps forward.

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Yu suddenly opened his eyes and met the woman's worried yet tender gaze. His breathing immediately became somewhat heavy, and he pulled the woman into his arms, holding her like a child.

Su Wanyue thought he was really drunk and was about to have someone prepare another bowl of hangover soup when the servants had already left. Su Wanyue felt helpless and didn't know how to reason with him. Perhaps because her emotions were too obvious, Xiao Yu suddenly buried his head in her neck and chuckled softly, "I am not drunk."

But Su Wanyue still felt that he was drunk, because he seemed a little unfamiliar to her.

Xiao Yu seemed oblivious, recalling the woman's coquettish manner earlier that day. "The Princess Consort has two elder brothers. Back in Nanqiong, who was the Princess Consort closest to?"

“Then it must be my older brother.” Su Wanyue answered subconsciously. Both the Crown Prince and the Prince of Xiang were very good to Su Wanyue, but from childhood to adulthood, the Crown Prince was not only good to Su Wanyue, but also guided her when she encountered any problems or did not know what to do. Therefore, Su Wanyue respected this older brother very much.

Therefore, she was closer to her older brother and sister, but in her dream she called her second brother.

Xiao Yu glanced at her with a slightly scrutinizing look. Su Wanyue felt a little flustered under his gaze. Had she said something wrong? Seeing that she suddenly became nervous, Xiao Yu gently stroked the back of her hand with his slender fingertips, and then picked her up horizontally.

Su Wanyue instinctively hugged Xiao Yu's neck. Xiao Yu supported her hips with one hand and stroked her back with the other. Seeing that His Highness was carrying the Princess Consort out, the others quickly lowered their heads and pretended not to see anything.

==Second Update==

When Zhou Heng heard that Qin Jue had arrived at the post station in the capital, he took a carriage to the post station. Outside the post station, guards from Nanqiong were stationed. Everyone who wanted to see the crown prince of Nanqiong had to be questioned first. However, as an envoy sent by Nanqiong to Beili, the guards recognized Zhou Heng and immediately let him in.

The guard led Zhou Heng to the side room where Qin Jue was staying and asked His Highness the Crown Prince at the door if he could let someone in.

Qin Jue's clear and gentle voice came out. The guard pushed open the door and let Zhou Heng in. Zhou Heng walked in calmly. He thought that only the Crown Prince was inside, but he did not expect that there was another person inside.

He wore a long blue brocade robe with a jade pendant engraved with pine and cypress at his waist. His eyebrows and eyes were gentle and refined. When he heard footsteps coming in, he continued to drink his tea with his head down, as if nothing could arouse his interest.

When Zhou Heng saw the gentle and refined Lu Qingchen, her pupils visibly contracted. The official document from Nanqiong said that the Crown Prince was coming, and Zhou Heng mistakenly thought that only the Crown Prince was coming this time. However, she did not expect that Lu Qingchen was also coming. Did she know that Lu Qingchen was coming, or had she already met Lu Qingchen? Zhou Heng did not know how to react for a moment.

Perhaps because Zhou Heng's gaze lingered on him for a while, Lu Qingchen raised his eyes and smiled slightly, "Lord Zhou."

“Young Master Lu,” Zhou Heng said with a smile on his androgynous face.

"Has the Crown Prince seen her?"

Qin Jue knew perfectly well what his friend's feelings were for the girl. He nodded slightly and said, "I just returned from the Prince Cheng's residence not long ago."

"Wanwan doesn't know that Lu Er is here yet."

Because Lu Qingchen's identity is quite sensitive, Qin Jue was unsure whether the young lady had completely let go of Lu Qingchen, so he dared not let her meet with Lu Qingchen rashly. If the Prince of Cheng noticed something was amiss, it would be a loss.

So Lu Qingchen just wanted to see her. Zhou Heng glanced at Lu Qingchen in silence. Of course, Zhou Heng never doubted Lu Qingchen's sincerity towards her.

"Speak."

Zhou Heng then told Qin Jue about all the major events that had happened in the past six months. He first told Qin Jue that he did not know the girl's identity before he sent a message back to Nanqiong, and he always thought that she was the real Princess Weiyang. Then he told Qin Jue about the current situation in Beili.

Upon hearing that the current crown prince had colluded with other princes to smuggle salt, and that after being discovered, he had someone take the blame for him, and that a prince had been assassinated a few days ago, which was very likely also the work of the current dynasty, Qin Jue raised his eyebrows slightly. "So, apart from having the status of being the legitimate son of the empress, the current crown prince has no outstanding qualities whatsoever."

Every single thing he did was shameful, and he was petty. Fortunately, the two countries had arranged a marriage, and the Crown Prince already had a wife, otherwise...

"I don't think so. Some time ago, the Empress of Japan sent the Crown Prince's sister-in-law to Prince Cheng's residence, intending for her to become Prince Cheng's concubine. The Crown Prince's sister-in-law is the daughter of the late General Zhenguo of this dynasty. She was granted the title of Princess at a young age, but she is ambitious. She had a dispute with the Princess Cheng the first time she met her."

Upon hearing the words "Princess Consort Cheng," Lu Qingchen immediately raised her eyes and asked, "Since the Crown Prince is so incompetent, why hasn't His Majesty appointed a more capable successor?"

Zhou Heng recalled what he had inquired about earlier and said, "Perhaps it's because of the Empress."

If it's because of the Empress, then why is it that the Imperial Concubine is now the most favored concubine in the palace? Qin Jue has been the Crown Prince for many years and is well-versed in worldly affairs. Why does he feel that the Crown Prince is just a pawn to restrain Prince Cheng? If the current Emperor really deposes the Crown Prince, then with Prince Cheng's current talent and ability, even if he is not made Crown Prince, he will still be deeply loved by the people. The prince's excessive popularity will inevitably reduce the Emperor's prestige, which is something that no emperor can tolerate.

Perhaps King Cheng will eventually ascend the throne, Qin Jue thought to himself.

Seeing that the Crown Prince had no questions, Zhou Heng was about to rise and take his leave when Qin Jue spoke up: "By the way, recently someone in Nanqiong has been inquiring about why the Prince of Nan's Mansion and Prime Minister Lu's Mansion haven't formed a marriage alliance. I suspect it was someone sent by Beili, or even someone sent by Prince Cheng. I wonder if Prince Cheng has already guessed Wanwan's identity."

Qin Jue discovered this by chance. In fact, the person investigating was very clever. He didn't directly ask a servant in the Southern Prince's Mansion or the Prime Minister's Mansion. Instead, he mingled in every teahouse and even brothel in the capital of Nanqiong and used this opportunity to find out. However, the only thing he didn't expect was that the owner behind the First Brothel in Nanqiong was Crown Prince Qin Jue. The reason why the marriage between the Southern Prince's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion had not been settled for so long was because the princess of the Southern Prince's Mansion had already married into Beili. Therefore, Qin Jue guessed that the person behind the scenes was ostensibly investigating why the marriage between the Southern Prince's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion had not been settled for so long, but in reality, he was investigating the identity of the princess of the Southern Prince's Mansion.

Because he didn't want the other party to know Su Wanyue's identity, Qin Jue secretly provided them with a lot of false information to mislead them. However, Qin Jue was still a little worried that the other party was someone sent by Prince Cheng. If Prince Cheng found out something was wrong, it would directly affect Wanwan's situation.

“But she didn’t show anything wrong, so Prince Cheng shouldn’t suspect her identity.” Hearing this, Zhou Heng frowned. “I’ve heard that Prince Cheng acts extremely quickly and decisively. When the Crown Prince and the Eighth Prince were selling smuggled salt, Prince Cheng didn’t even report to the Emperor. He directly arrested the Prefect of Fuzhou, tortured him, and forced him to reveal who was behind it. If he really suspected Princess Cheng, he would definitely question her directly or arrest her maids for questioning, instead of secretly investigating.”

None of the three people sitting in the room today wanted anything to happen to the young lady.

Qin Jue's heart calmed down a little, and she returned to her usual elegant and lotus-like demeanor.

Zhou Heng lowered his head and took a sip of tea, while Lu Qingchen gently stroked the jade pendant at his waist. The jade pendant was cool, but Lu Qingchen's palm was warm.

***

The study, the Prince Cheng's residence.

The guard Qingyi respectfully reported to his master, "Your Highness, not long after Crown Prince Qin returned to the post station, Lord Zhou went to see Crown Prince Qin and stayed for about half an hour before leaving."

Xiao Yu's expression was indifferent, as if he was not very interested in this matter. Seeing this, Qing Yi continued, "In addition, Mo Yu has already found out everything he was told, but because this matter is of great importance, Mo Yu said that he wants to talk to His Highness in person and he will return to the capital soon."

Only then did Xiao Yu's emotions begin to fluctuate slightly. He raised an eyebrow and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "This matter is of great importance..."

Qingyi also felt that these words sounded a bit strange, as if there was some huge secret. However, His Highness had not only asked Moyu to investigate Nanqiong's Prime Minister's Mansion and Nanwang Mansion this time, but also did not involve their Princess Consort. What could Moyu not say in the letter?

Xiao Yu's profile was deep and thoughtful, his fingers lightly tapping the table as if he were deep in thought. Qing Yi stood quietly by his side, waiting for his master's instructions. After a long while, Xiao Yu spoke in a deep voice: "Send a message by carrier pigeon, and tell him to return to the capital as fast as he can."

"Yes, Your Highness." Qingyi felt a chill run down his spine. For some reason, he felt uneasy. What exactly had Moyu found out in Nanqiong?

"Is there anything else?"

"There is one more thing. Lord Xie sent a letter saying that the Seventh Prince needs to recuperate for another month before he can return to the capital. Also, the assassins who killed the Seventh Prince that day were all assassins, and the clues have almost all gone cold. Lord Xie asked Your Highness if you want to continue the investigation. If you do, then we will have to call a coroner."

The only possible assassins of the Seventh Prince are either his enemies or the Crown Prince's men, but according to the Seventh Prince, he has no enemies.

"Continue the investigation."

When Prince Qin arrived in the capital, the Emperor attached great importance to it. Under the guise of serving tea, Eunuch Zhou told the Emperor, "Your Majesty, Prince Qin has already returned to the post station."

The Emperor lifted the lid of his teacup and asked, "I've heard that this Crown Prince Qin possesses extraordinary bearing and an elegant, otherworldly air."

Eunuch Zhou wasn't quite sure what the Emperor meant, so after thinking for a moment, he chose to tell the truth: "This old servant heard from the two gentlemen that Crown Prince Qin's demeanor is indeed like the snow lotus of Tianshan, elegant and refined."

The Emperor's tone was meaningful: "The Emperor of Nanqiong certainly knows how to raise children."

This statement is somewhat veiled. However, Emperor Nanqiong only has two sons and one daughter. The two princes are undoubtedly outstanding individuals. Although Princess Cheng is a woman, she is exceptionally intelligent and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The princesses of this dynasty are still inferior to Princess Cheng.

At this point, Eunuch Zhou certainly couldn't continue along with the Emperor's words. He chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Prince Cheng are both accomplished in both literature and martial arts, and their abilities are outstanding."

"Crown Prince..." The Emperor's expression suddenly turned sour, even somewhat cold. "The Empress has been unwell lately, so the New Year's Eve state banquet will be arranged by Consort Qin."

Eunuch Zhou's mind raced; he never expected the Emperor to give such an order. "This old servant will go right away."

It is said that the Emperor entrusted the arrangements of the New Year's Eve state banquet to Consort Qin. The Empress was furious in Kunning Palace, scolding the maids and throwing things. Not only did she curse Consort Qin, but she also severely cursed Prince Cheng and his wife, thinking that the Emperor was only giving Consort Qin face because the Crown Prince of Nanqiong had entered the capital this year.

Only Kunning Palace knew about this. Consort Qin happily prepared the New Year's Eve state banquet and even summoned Su Wanyue to the palace to talk to her for two days.

After the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, every household in the capital was busy, especially ordinary people. However, this year, the Seventh Prince and Xie Cheng, the eldest son of the Duke of Xie, did not return to the capital from Fuzhou.

***

At midnight, firecrackers went off, marking the beginning of the fifth year of the Dingyuan era.