"What book?" Prince Chen looked at the walnut kernels piled up like a small hill. He picked up two walnut kernels and threw them into his mouth, then moved closer with curiosity.
Jiuzhu moved aside to make room for Prince Chen to sit: "I don't know. I haven't opened the book to see it. There are only two little people on the cover."
Prince Chen did not take it seriously and summoned the palace maids and eunuchs to help the two of them wash up.
The palace maids were making the beds, and the two of them sat side by side to soak their feet, even their foot basins were next to each other. Prince Chen turned his head to look at Jiuzhu's basin, stretched out his wet feet and placed them on Jiuzhu's instep.
"Your Highness?" Jiuzhu turned to look at him.
"Let me try the water temperature here."
It turns out that a girl's instep is much more tender and softer than a man's.
"There is no difference, it's all the same." Jiuzhu imitated the King Chen and put her feet into his basin. The King Chen's raised big toe tickled the soles of her feet.
"Itchy." Jiuzhu lifted her feet, dried them, and climbed onto the bed: "Your Highness, this bed is really big."
Prince Chen touched his nose uncomfortably and waved away all the palace servants in the room: "This is the bed for the two of us to sleep in, so of course it's big."
Yun Duqing, relax. This is your princess, the princess who will eat, sleep and live with you in the future.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu sat cross-legged and picked up the picture book that he had thrown aside: "Your Highness, throw the book aside."
"Why is there a book on the bed?" Prince Chen took the book. He wondered if the servants in Qilin Palace could do their job. Who would have the mind to read a book on the wedding day?
He sat cross-legged like Jiuzhu, opened the book carelessly, and stared at the contents on the screen without reacting for a long time.
"Your Highness, what is painted on it?" Jiuzhu leaned over curiously.
"It's not suitable for a little girl to read." Prince Chen blocked her head with his hand and closed the book stiffly: "There's nothing interesting to see."
"There's nothing good to see, but you can at least let me take a look." People are like this. The more someone close to them doesn't let you see something, the more you want to take a look at it.
"What are you looking at? Aren't you sleepy after a tiring day?" Prince Chen hurriedly threw the book under the bed, pushed Jiuzhu onto the bed, and pulled the quilt over himself and her head: "Go to sleep."
"I'm sleepy." Jiuzhu stuck her head out from under the quilt, grabbed the edge of the quilt with both hands, and whispered, "But I can't sleep."
"Why?" Prince Chen hesitated for a moment, reached out his hand from under the quilt, and pressed the quilt behind Jiuzhu to prevent the cold wind from blowing in and catching a cold on her back.
"I have slept alone since I was young. This is the first time I share a blanket with someone, so I am not used to it." Jiuzhu glanced at King Chen and said, "But don't worry, Your Highness. I sleep very well. Master said that I will be in the same position when I wake up in the morning when I lie down at night. I am very obedient."
Seeing her timid look, Prince Chen sighed, lifted the quilt and prepared to get out of bed.
"Your Highness, where are you going?" Jiuzhu grabbed his wrist.
"Go get a quilt from the closet." Prince Chen looked down at her hands and yawned, "Lie down and have a good sleep."
"No need." Jiuzhu dragged King Chen back into the quilt, and King Chen found that he was unable to struggle.
"I'm not used to it now, but it should be fine after a few more nights." Jiuzhu patted the blanket on the two of them: "Husband and wife should lie together."
Prince Chen did not tell her that the prince and the princess each had their own courtyards and did not live in the same courtyard every day.
Her eyes were pure and innocent, and she was ignorant of matters between men and women. In his heart, Prince Chen was struggling violently between being a beast and being worse than a beast.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu put her arms around his neck and said softly, "Go to sleep."
Prince Chen took a deep breath and said, "Are you sure you want to hold me while sleeping?"
"Don't you have to hold each other while sleeping on your wedding night?" Jiuzhu was puzzled: "Is the posture wrong?"
"Before you got married, the nanny sent by the Ministry of Rites told you this?"
Jiuzhu recalled carefully: "Mammy said that some things are for others to learn. Your Highness treats me like her own daughter. If there is anything I don't understand after the wedding, Your Highness will teach me."
That means I really treat you like my own daughter, and I am a cheap son-in-law picked up from outside.
"Did Madam say anything wrong?" The smile on Jiuzhu's face gradually faded, and she released her hand on Prince Chen's neck.
"She's right." Prince Chen sighed deeply in his heart and hugged her in his arms: "Go to sleep. I will teach you slowly every night from now on."
As for today...
Seeing the girl's smiling face again, he decided to be worse than a beast for once.
In less than two sticks of incense, the girl who had been saying she couldn't sleep fell asleep with even breathing.
Prince Chen moved the arm that was pressed by her. The stories in the novels about sleeping with the arm as a pillow all night were all false. In just a moment, his arm began to feel numb.
He cautiously pulled his arm away, and when he saw the girl frown in discomfort, he immediately gave up struggling.
Looking at the auspicious dragon and phoenix embroidered on the bed curtains, he leaned over, kissed her gently on the forehead, and slowly fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning, he was lying on the edge of the bed, and Jiuzhu was lying on the bed at an angle with her head resting on his chest, taking up most of the bed.
He bent his arm and found it was intact and could still be used normally.
It was already bright outside the window. Prince Chen took Jiuzhu's hand, which was stretched outside the quilt, and gently tucked it back into the quilt.
Although he only occupied a small half of the big bed, he still didn't want to get up on this peaceful morning.
Outside the door, the palace maids and eunuchs had changed the warm water in their hands several times, and no one dared to make a sound.
"Miss Chunfen." The chief eunuch of Qilin Palace walked over and asked Chunfen in a low voice: "I don't know what taboos the princess has on a daily basis. Please give me some pointers, so that we can please the masters in the future."
After yesterday's wedding, everyone knew that the prince valued the princess. All the palace people in Qilin Palace were worried that they might displease the princess.
"Don't worry, Eunuch Yang. The princess was very gentle when she was at her parents' home. As long as everyone works hard and does not violate palace rules, the princess will not be willing to punish you." Chunfen smiled politely. As the first-class maid that came with the princess' dowry, all the palace maids in Qilin Palace had to respect her.
"Yes, yes, the young lady is right. We are all loyal and dedicated people." After just a few words, Butler Yang knew that the young lady Chunfen beside the princess was not someone who could be easily fooled.
Nearly half an hour later, there was finally some movement in the house. Manager Yang and Chunfen politely walked to the door and invited each other to go in first.
Finally, the two of them stepped into the door at the same time with satisfied smiles on their faces.
"Congratulations to the prince and princess on their wedding."
"Everyone, get up." The Prince of Chen said to everyone with a rare gentle expression, "The servants of Qilin Palace will receive two extra months' salary.
He saw Chunfen standing next to Yang Zongguan and knew that she was the head maid among Jiuzhu's maids. "Miss Chunfen is the princess's attendant and will be treated according to the rules of the first-class maids in the future. Yang Yidu, go to the Palace Department today and register Miss Chunfen as a sixth-rank female official and bring back the waist badge."
"As you command." Yang Yidu looked at Chunfen with envy. It was good to follow the right master. In a blink of an eye, he was promoted from a maid in the Minister's Mansion to a sixth-rank female official. He entered the palace at the age of thirteen and has worked hard until now to become a sixth-rank general manager.
"I thank Your Highness for his great kindness." Chunfen of course understood what a sixth-rank female official represented, and she prostrated herself and bowed deeply to the Prince of Chen.
"You are the princess's personal maid. If you don't have an inner court official rank, others will look down on the princess." The prince did not hide his intention of giving her a female official rank just to flatter Gao Jiuzhu: "You don't need to thank me, just serve the princess well."
"Yes." Chunfen glanced into the bed curtains and saw the young lady moving. He whispered, "My lord, the princess doesn't like too many people to serve her when she gets up."
"Yang Yidu will stay with you, everyone else leave." Prince Chen straightened his sleeves, opened the bed curtains and sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing Jiuzhu sitting with sleepy eyes hugging the quilt, he stretched out his hand and pinched her cheek: "Are you awake?"
"Your Highness?" Jiuzhu slowly came back to her senses from the unfamiliar environment. She tilted her head and stared at Prince Chen. She and His Highness are now a family.
"Drink some honey water." Prince Chen took the honey water from Yang Yiduo and fed it to Jiuzhu's mouth: "Open your mouth."
Jiuzhu drank two sips obediently and asked in confusion: "Your Highness, when did I fall asleep last night?"
"Do you want to drink more?" Prince Chen was reluctant to answer this question.
Jiuzhu shook his head.
"Two sticks of incense after you said you couldn't sleep." Prince Chen handed the cup to Yang Yiduo and poked her forehead with his hand: "Liar."
"Normally, I can fall asleep after one stick of incense." Jiuzhu looked away guiltily: "So two sticks of incense is barely enough to make me fall asleep."
Prince Chen looked at her with a half-smile: "Really?"
"Yeah!" Jiuzhu nodded vigorously to prove the authenticity of what he said.
Chunfen lowered his head and tried to hold back his laughter. Normally, the young lady would fall asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, so it wasn't a lie.
"Okay, I believe you." Prince Chen chuckled and said, "Get up and have dinner. I'll take you to meet my father, the emperor, and my mother, and then take you to visit my four brothers."
He rubbed two fingers together: "There should be something good to take."
Jiuzhu suddenly became energetic: "Okay."
On the first day of her wedding, Jiuzhu dressed up beautifully. The eight-tailed phoenix hairpin in the middle of her hair was so exquisitely crafted and gorgeous that Jiuzhu actually covered it up.
"The phoenix matches the peony." Prince Chen drew a blooming peony between her eyebrows and nodded with satisfaction.
"The princess is truly a goddess descended from the heavens, with stunning beauty." Yang Yiduo flattered him, "The peony flower that Your Highness painted is just right, and the two of you standing together are a match made in heaven. Looking at the entire capital, apart from Your Majesty and the Empress, there is no one more compatible than you two."
"Well said." Prince Chen threw the brush for drawing the flower ornaments to Yang Yiduo: "There is a reward."
The palace servants in Qilin Palace have sharper eyesight than those in Zhangliu Palace.
"Our princess is indeed a fairy from the Ninth Heaven who came down to earth." Prince Chen took Jiuzhu's hand, raised an eyebrow and asked Yang Yiduo: "Do you know why she went through so much trouble to come down to earth?"
Yang Yidu shook his head blankly.
"Of course it's to meet me." Prince Chen laughed with high spirits and picked up a shawl to put on Jiuzhu: "Ming Xiaozhu, follow me."
In Mingyue Palace, Empress Su finished her breakfast absentmindedly. Emperor Longfeng fed food to her mouth, but she did not react.
"Mei Dai." Emperor Longfeng smiled: "Du Qing likes to sleep in, how can you get up so early?"
"Today is different from the past." Empress Su pushed away Emperor Longfeng's hand and said, "I don't know if they saw the book I put under their pillows."
"Alas, I want them to see it, but I don't want them to see it either." Empress Su held her cheek with her bare hands and said, "When I entered the backyard of the palace, I was only as old as Jiuzhu."
"In my eyes, you are the same as in previous years." Emperor Longfeng said quickly: "You got up so early in the morning and didn't even eat properly. Eat more."
"No, I have no appetite." Su Hou pushed his hand away again: "No matter what is in front of me now, I have no appetite."
"Then I'll have someone go and urge Du Qing..."
"Why are you urging them?" Empress Su raised her voice, "No one is allowed to disturb them. How can you, as a father, not know the rules at all?"
Emperor Longfeng didn't dare to speak. He silently picked up the bowl and drank the porridge.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Prince and Princess are here."
"Let them in quickly." Queen Su stood up and motioned Xiangjuan to take out the gifts she had prepared.
"Father, mother, are you eating?" Prince Chen led Jiuzhu into the room, glanced at the breakfast on the table that had not been cleared away, and said with a smile: "Your son and the princess have come to pay their respects to you. Please accept our greetings, father and mother."
"The ground is cold, and a girl's knees cannot get cold." Queen Su asked the palace maid to bring a futon and place it in front of Jiuzhu.
Prince Chen looked at the empty floor in front of him, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.
Doesn’t the prince deserve a futon?
Jiuzhu moved the cushion to the middle and pulled King Chen to kneel down with her on the big cushion.
"Father, please have some tea." Jiuzhu picked up the tea and held it high above his head.
"Okay." Emperor Longfeng took a sip of the tea, picked up a few property deeds and put them in Jiuzhu's hand: "I don't have anything to give you. These are the hot spring villas and villas under my personal name. If you have some free time in the future, you can stay in these places for a few days."
"Thank you, Father."
Prince Chen glanced at the title deed and said, "Father, I also like this hot spring manor."
"It's useless even if you like it. It belongs to your wife now." Emperor Longfeng laughed: "Didn't you take enough from me in the past?"
"Your Highness, it's okay." Jiuzhu whispered in Prince Chen's ear: "What's mine is yours."
"Mother, please have some tea." After handing the house deeds and land deeds to Prince Chen for safekeeping, Jiuzhu offered tea to Queen Su.
"Okay, okay, okay." Empress Su said several good words, picked up the tea and took a big sip, then bent down and helped her up with her own hands: "Come, sit down and talk."
"Your Majesty." Xiangjuan handed the tray to Queen Su, indicating that she should not forget these gifts.
"I almost forgot." Empress Su rubbed her temples and said with a smile, "Your father gave you the house deed and land deed, so I will give you a few shops in the city and a three-story courtyard house. If Du Qing dares to make you angry in the future, you can move to the courtyard house. Remember, men can't be spoiled."
"Cough, cough, cough." Prince Chen glanced at Queen Su and said, "Dear mother, please understand that I am your biological son, not a son-in-law."
"If your throat is dry, ask the kitchen to make you a bowl of Sichuan Fritillary and Snow Pear Paste." Queen Su looked at him with disdain: "Don't get in the way of me and Jiuzhu talking."
Prince Chen: “…”
He walked over and sat down beside Emperor Longfeng, who patted him on the shoulder.
My son, married men should learn from the weeds growing at the foot of the wall, and be strong and tenacious.
"You just arrived at the palace. If there is anything you are not used to, please tell me." Empress Su said to Jiuzhu, "You are the prince's consort. There are not so many rules for leaving the palace. Let Du Qing accompany you outside the palace more often."
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu couldn't help but smile: "Your Highness is very good to me."
"Why are you calling me empress again?"
"Mother." Jiuzhu blushed.
"Have lunch at my place." Empress Su was happy: "I'll ask the kitchen to cook your favorite dishes. Then go to Zhangliu Palace to meet your brother and sister-in-law in the afternoon."
Jiuzhu nodded. She looked at Queen Su, then at Prince Chen who was sitting with His Majesty, her eyes full of smiles.
In Zhangliu Palace, several princes sat in the yard waiting anxiously. When the sun was high in the sky, someone from Mingyue Palace came to say that the Emperor and the Empress had invited Prince Chen and his wife to have lunch, and the couple would come to visit them in the afternoon.
"Huh." Prince An breathed a sigh of relief, his straight back instantly collapsed, and he stood up slowly: "I'll go back to the house first, and play chess with my brothers in the afternoon."
The game of chess was played in a disorganized manner, but it was just a show for the fifth brother to see. Now that the fifth brother is not coming, they are no longer interested in pretending.
King Huai swept all the chess pieces on the board into the chess box. The black and white pieces were mixed together in a mess.
"Big brother." Prince Jing looked at the chess piece and smiled bitterly: "My younger brother will go back to the house first."
King Huai waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.
"Brother." Yun Yanze took out a chess piece from the chess box and placed it in the middle of the chessboard: "Brother, I'll play with you."
King Huai raised his eyelids and looked at him, sneering: "Fourth brother is very thoughtful, and as an elder brother, I am no match for you."
"I've lost everything." Yun Yanze changed the position of the chess piece. "It's not surprising that Big Brother doesn't want to play chess with me. It's a pity that Fifth Brother doesn't like to play chess, otherwise Big Brother could compete with him to see who is better."
"Fourth brother, what you said is wrong." King Huai picked up the chess piece and threw it into the chess box: "Fifth brother is different from us. He doesn't need to play chess."
Yun Yanze laughed meaningfully. We were all chess players, so why was Yun Duqing an accident?
"Don't be unhappy. In this life, one doesn't want to believe in fate, but has to accept it." King Huai didn't like this kind-looking but cruel brother. "Also, have you ever heard a folk story, fourth brother?"
Yun Yanze looked at him calmly.
"It is said that there was an old man in a village who hated cats and dogs. Whenever he saw them, he would throw stones at them. One day, a cat scratched his hand while he was not paying attention. A few days later, the old man suddenly became crazy and bit anyone he saw. He was afraid of water. People said that this was the retribution for bullying cats and dogs." King Huai smiled and asked in a low voice: "Fourth brother, do you know what this disease is?"
Yun Yanze smiled faintly and shook his head: "Could it be that Big Brother knows?"
"This disease is called mad cat disease." King Huai lowered his voice and said, "It is said that people who have this disease can see the tragic death of various cats every day, and they will never rest in peace until they die. Fourth brother, are you afraid?"
Yuan Yanze picked up the tea on the table and took a sip: "Those with a clear conscience will naturally not be afraid."
"Ha." King Huai laughed sarcastically, "Fourth brother, you are right." After saying that, he turned around and went back to his own yard.
Reaching out and grabbing a handful of chess pieces, Yun Yanze scattered all the pieces on the chessboard and touched his wrist.
"nonsense."
With a sweep of his wide sleeves, countless chess pieces fell to the ground.
"It's dawn." Ming Jiyuan lay on the wall and said to Ming Cunfu on the other side of the wall, "I wonder if Jiuzhu has been wronged."
"Third brother, you've been complaining all morning." Ming Cunfu leaned against the wall dying. He really wanted to say, if it really doesn't work, you can go and find a wife to take care of me.
But thinking of the strength of his third brother, he didn't dare to say it.
"People in the palace are deep-minded, and they say one thing but mean another. She has four sisters-in-law above her, and I don't know if they can get along well with each other." Ming Jiyuan pinched the wall hard: "And those palace servants, Jiuzhu is kind by nature, will the servants pretend to obey but secretly disobey?"
"Brother, stop squeezing me. If you do, we will have our monthly salary deducted!" Ming Cunfu used all his strength to pry Ming Jiyuan's wrist. "Of the five princes in the palace, only Prince Chen is the legitimate son. How dare the servants in the palace pretend to obey their sister? Have you forgotten Prince Chen's character? With him around, who dares to bully our Jiuzhu?"
"It's better to rely on yourself than on a man. Prince Chen can't always be with Jiuzhu, and there are all those conspiracies and tricks..."
"Third brother, you have only been with Jiuzhu for a short time, so you may not know her well enough." Ming Cunfu's face turned red, and he did not pry Ming Jiyuan's hand away: "Don't look at our Jiuzhu as being cute and naive on weekdays, she is smart at critical moments."
Ming Jiyuan loosened his grip on the wall, and Ming Cunfu almost fell down: "Wait two days, when my sister comes home, ask her if she is used to living in the palace."
"You forgot." Ming Jiyuan said in a low voice: "Jiuzhu is a royal wife, there is no rule that she should return home three days after getting married."
Ming Cunfu was stunned. After hearing these words, he suddenly realized the heartache that his sister had married and was no longer in the Ming family.
Can’t I even go back home?
He was silent for a moment: "Maybe... maybe His Highness will accompany her back?"
The Prince of Chen even came in person to welcome the bride, so perhaps he could make an exception for his sister when it comes to returning home.
"Even if the Prince of Chen is willing, do His Majesty and the Queen have no objections?"
"Jiuzhu said that the Imperial Concubine... Empress Su likes her very much." Ming Cunfu still held a glimmer of hope: "I don't think it will be for her."
"Many mothers-in-law treat their daughters-in-law differently before and after marriage." Ming Jiyuan slapped the wall again, and this time Ming Cunfu didn't have time to stop him.
After a loud bang, a large piece of the wall was missing.
Ming Cunfu quickly took a few steps back, proving with practical actions that this matter had nothing to do with him.
Ming Jiyuan looked at Ming Cunfu with disappointment. Even Ming Cunfu would abandon him to protect himself at the critical moment. How hypocritical could the brotherhood of those princes in the palace be?
"Third brother, it's not that I don't want to share the good and bad times with you, it's mainly because I really have no money." Ming Cunfu explained as he ran: "If the regular money is deducted again, I won't even have enough money to buy rouge and powder for my fiancée."
Seeing his sixth brother, who couldn't even climb the wall on normal days but now walked briskly, Ming Jiyuan sighed, "Humanity."
"Young Master." A servant came hurriedly. He glanced at the missing corner of the wall and took a few steps back. "There is a wandering Taoist priest outside. He said he was entrusted by the young lady's two masters to bring a wedding gift to the young lady."
"Hurry up and come in." Ming Jiyuan came back to his senses and strode out: "Serve good tea, don't neglect it."
He walked quickly to the main hall and saw a middle-aged female Taoist priest wearing a green Taoist robe and with her hair tied up with a wooden hairpin. She bowed and said, "I am Jiyuan, Jiuzhu's elder brother. I didn't know that the immortal had arrived. I hope I am rude. Please forgive me."
"Mr. Ming, you are too polite." The female Taoist priest returned the greeting and took out a wooden box from her bag. "I am passing through the capital and was entrusted by the two Taoist priests to deliver this to the Ming family. I have fulfilled your mission. Please accept it, Mr. Ming."
"Thank you, Taoist priest." Ming Jiyuan saw that Taoist priest had put down his things and was about to leave, and hurriedly said, "Taoist priest, you have worked hard on the journey. Why don't you stay in my humble abode for a few days? When Jiuzhu comes back, I will thank you in person."
"We are outsiders, we gather and separate as fate dictates, and we don't force anything." The Taoist priest smiled and said, "If you want to express your sincere gratitude, why don't you light a stick of incense in front of the Three Pure Ones and give half a bowl of rice to the beggar? That will be a merit for us."
"Master, if you don't want to stay, I dare not force you. Please leave your immortal name, so that I can explain the whole matter to my sister."
"I am an idle cloud and a wild crane. My name is just a code name. You don't have to be obsessed with it." The Taoist priest smiled casually and said, "Just tell Miss Ming what happened today. She has a predestined relationship with Taoism and will understand."
Ming Jiyuan's heart skipped a beat. Is he destined to be with Taoism?
"Don't think too much, young master." The Taoist priest seemed to see through his thoughts: "Those who are at ease with their hearts are all predestined with Taoism. Miss Ming is a very insightful person."
She reached out and patted the wooden box gently: "Just this thing, please hand it to Miss Ming in person."
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