Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Sleep with the person first
Jiang Hexue didn't know how she had offended Empress Dowager Su, but she knew she was deliberately provoking her. She knelt quickly and said, "I admit my guilt."
The moment his knees touched the ground, he was gently lifted up. When he knelt again, there was an extra layer of warm fox fur between him and the cold floor tiles.
"Your son pays homage to the Queen Mother." Shen Qingchen knelt beside her and saluted again.
"Daughter-in-law pays her respects to the Queen Mother." Jiang Hexue followed him.
The Empress Dowager Su paused from casually tapping her teacup. "I didn't ask Zhaohua to kneel down. Get up quickly."
"He Xue is my son's wife. I believe that husband and wife are one, and they should perform the ceremony together." Shen Qingchen couldn't get up.
"Your humble servant, I beg Your Majesty to clarify: from now on, shall we kneel together or perform a simple ceremony?"
He repeated "together" twice. Empress Dowager Su frowned, then relaxed after a moment: "Simple ceremony. Stand up."
"Thank you, mother." Shen Qingchen extended his arm to Jiang Hexue, letting her climb up, and then said.
The palace maid brought up a complete set of celadon tea sets. The black tea had been brewed and poured into the cups, steaming hot.
Jiang Hexue carefully filled the cup with tea and handed it to Empress Dowager Su with both hands: "Please have some tea, mother."
Empress Dowager Su did not make any more trouble and drank the tea in the cup.
Jiang Hexue offered tea to Emperor Hengshun and Empress Xie in turn. Nothing went wrong, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hexue, come here." Empress Dowager Su called.
Jiang Hexue took another breath, secretly straightened his back, and bowed: "Mother."
Empress Dowager Su took off the jade bracelet from her wrist, put it on hers, and smiled, "Now that you have entered the palace, you must behave like a princess. You must not continue with the customs of the common people."
"Don't get angry with Zhaohua. Jumping over the fire basin yesterday was already a violation of etiquette, and driving him away made Mother feel even more heartbroken..."
"Mother," Shen Qingchen interrupted calmly. "I was the one who chased them away last night, and I was the one who acted on my own initiative when I jumped over the fire basin."
The smile on Queen Mother Su’s face froze.
"Although Hexue lives in the city, she is not from a common family and does not know etiquette. I have already reported this to my brother, the emperor. This matter only concerns the reputation of her mother's family and has not been made public. Please rest assured, mother."
Shen Qingchen explained again, took Jiang Hexue to sit beside him, and pushed a cup of tea towards her.
Empress Dowager Su nodded "hmm" and said nothing more.
Instead, Emperor Hengshun glanced at the two of them, clapped his hands and laughed: "Good, Zhaohua has also learned to protect his shortcomings."
"In the future, be gentler and more considerate to Hexue. Don't always have a cold face. Smile more. Do you understand?" Queen Xie advised.
These words touched Jiang Hexue's heart. She sipped her tea and glanced at him secretly.
"I will remember the teachings of the Empress Dowager." Shen Qingchen responded.
"You two know how to get along, and I'm just giving you one more thing to say," Empress Dowager Su said. "Hexue, I still say the same thing: once you enter the palace, you must fulfill your duties as a princess."
"Zhaohua will be twenty-two next year. I used to worry about him getting married, but now that he's married, I'm worried about having children."
Jiang Hexue suddenly curled his lips and glanced at Shen Qingchen beside him.
The tips of his ears turned slightly red, and he looked away for a moment.
"My daughter-in-law understands." Jiang Hexue spoke first with a smile. "My daughter-in-law will definitely work hard."
Whether she has children or not is another matter, she has to sleep with him first.
Empress Dowager Su probably hadn't expected her to agree so quickly. She paused for a moment before smiling, "Please don't keep me waiting."
"I am only half a year older than Prince Gong, and I have already married a concubine, while Prince Gong's marriage is nowhere in sight. Your Majesty, you should urge Prince Gong to get married."
"I only take care of my son. As for the emperor's son, let the emperor take care of it himself!" Empress Dowager Su waved her hand.
Shen Qingchen was speechless.
"Mother, your words hit the nail on the head." Emperor Hengshun laughed heartily again. "I also want to see how my younger brother, whom I raised, will raise his own children."
"As for Prince Gong, please help me figure it out." He lifted his robe and stood up. "The ceremony is over. Follow me back to the palace. I'll have Hexue have a private conversation with my mother and the Empress."
"I am tired." Empress Dowager Su waved her hand. "Emperor, on the first day of the wedding, why are you detaining Zhaohua?"
"Official duties must always take precedence over domestic affairs," Emperor Hengshun said. "I still need to discuss the winter hunting arrangements with Zhaohua."
"Since the Queen Mother is tired, I asked Hexue to go for a walk somewhere else." Shen Qingchen said calmly. "Last night, Hexue said that she and Rongchang hit it off right away and she was looking forward to seeing them again today."
"That's fine. Zhiyang Palace is not far from where my mother is. Hexue, I will send a palace maid to lead the way for you." Queen Xie said gently.
Jiang Hexue thanked him and the group left the palace one after another.
The wintersweets in the courtyard were in full bloom, and the fragrance was refreshing, which contrasted sharply with the strong and pungent musk in the hall. Jiang Hexue frowned again and pulled out the edge of Shen Qingchen's sleeve.
The latter tilted his head in confusion.
"I'm not a man-eating monster. Can I not let Zhaohua out?" Emperor Hengshun gave her a sidelong glance, but his tone was smiling. "I guarantee that you two will have lunch together."
"You are newlyweds and are in love with each other. Your Majesty, I will accompany you back first." Queen Xie said softly.
"Zhaohua, don't delay too long." Emperor Hengshun sneered and strode away with Empress Xie.
Watching the two of them go away, Jiang Hexue pulled Shen Qingchen's fingertips again, asking him to lower himself.
"Zhaohua, does the Queen Mother like this wintersweet?" she whispered.
After Shen Qingchen responded, her brows furrowed even more tightly: “Then is this musk the one that my mother usually uses?”
Shen Qingchen responded again: “I heard that it was the spices from Nanjing before.”
Nanping was originally an enemy country in the south of Longlin, and was destroyed by General Funan at the beginning of the year. Empress Dowager Su has had this incense for a long time, but only recently used it for burning.
"Zhaohua, if your mother likes the delicate scent of plum blossoms, she probably won't be able to tolerate the strong musk," Jiang Hexue said. "Besides, your mother is already sixty years old, and excessive use of musk will easily interfere with her qi and blood circulation."
"Worse still, they could be killed."
"And Zhaohua, the incense in the hall has been specially made stronger."
"I'm worried that someone might want to harm my mother."
-
Jiang Hexue was worried about something. After parting with Shen Qingchen, he was pointed in a direction by a servant, and he dismissed the servant and walked slowly towards Princess Rongchang's Zhiyang Palace alone.
Kunning Palace and Zhiyang Palace are relatively close to each other, and the passage between them is not the palace road, but passes through the plum forest.
When he reached a corner of the plum forest, he heard a choked female voice: "Zhu Qiu..."
It was Princess Rongchang Shen Chuning.
Jiang Hexue stopped immediately, hid behind a plum tree, and listened attentively.
"Princess, why are you crying again?" The young man's voice was low and a little hoarse, but not rough or unpleasant.
The voice was a few notches lower than the boy's in his memory, but still very similar. Jiang Hexue's eyes suddenly became sour.
"Zhu Qiu, if - I mean if, if I find your relatives, would you be willing to recognize them and leave the palace?" Shen Chuning lowered his voice.
"Princess, what you say is always the truth." Jiang Heye laughed lazily. "But, is the princess tired? Are you willing to drive me out of the palace?"
"Not really," Chen Chuning said. "I'm just afraid that during the New Year's Festival, Qing Yuan will come to the court, and I will have to go far away with my relatives. If you don't leave the palace then, you will have to go with me, and you will never see your relatives again in this life."
Jiang Hexue's heart ached when he heard this.
This was exactly what Shen Qingchen had told her, but Jiang Heye...
"So what?" Jiang Heye's smile faded. "I've completely forgotten the past. Besides, since I was stranded in the countryside and taken back by the princess, it means my family has shown no kindness to me. If they don't recognize me, I'll just end up in a hell."
"I have no intention of recognizing such relatives."
"As long as the princess is willing, I will only guard her for the rest of my life."
In the dim shadows of the flowers, he put his arms around the girl's waist and leaned down.
Jiang Hexue suddenly turned his gaze away.
My heart seems to be twisted into a dough, my emotions are complicated and confusing, and tears are welling up for no reason.
Jiang Hexue blinked hard, not wanting to acknowledge him again. She carefully lifted her skirt and walked out of Merlin.
Jiang Heye, has he lost his memory?
If there was a misunderstanding between the siblings that caused him to be unwilling to recognize her, she would not be afraid, as she knew that they could reconcile after explaining it clearly. However, he had lost his memory and had completely forgotten her.
After so many years, he has a brand new life and the princess is by his side. Is it necessary for her to recognize him?
"Who is sneaking around here?" Jiang Hexue's thoughts were interrupted by a sweet voice.
She turned around in shock and met the eyes of the girl in the white dress who was coming at her aggressively.
It was a troublesome day indeed.
-
"Mother, please be quiet. Please don't make loud noises here." She turned around calmly, avoiding the direction of Jiang Heye and Shen Chuning, and spoke calmly.
"Mother?" The girl in white frowned, not disguising the scrutiny in her eyes. "This is near the Empress Dowager's palace."
"A new concubine in the palace cannot call my aunt 'Mother,'" she said arrogantly. "You really don't know the etiquette, like a sparrow trying to become a phoenix..."
"Is the young lady the youngest daughter of the Duke of Ling?" Jiang Hexue quickly figured out the relationship and smiled. "Su Ling'er?"
Su Linger raised her chin slightly: "Exactly."
"The young daughter of the Duke of Lingguo." Jiang Hexue's lips remained curved, but her tone suddenly turned cold. "Why don't you show respect to me when you see me?"
Su Linger was stunned and stood there motionless.
"It's you—" she said in surprise after a while.
"Do you need me to say it again?" Jiang Hexue crossed her arms.
"Your humble servant greets Princess Heng'an. May the princess be well and safe." After a pause, Su Linger bowed reluctantly.
Jiang Hexue had no intention of making things difficult for her. She caught a glimpse of the two people in the plum forest leaving, so she let her get up.
Although she had no intention, there were people who wanted to pick on her.
"You are Brother Zhaohua's legal wife." Su Linger said, still raising her chin slightly.
Jiang Hexue lowered his eyes to look at her, and curled the corners of his lips in amusement.
Su Ling'er was about two inches shorter than her, so it was really interesting to see her standing in front of her like this.
"How dare you ignore me - how on earth does Brother Zhaohua think highly of you?" Seeing her speechless, Su Linger was dissatisfied.
"Brother Zhaohua?" Jiang Hexue repeated. "Isn't he your cousin?"
Su Linger snorted and said angrily, "You just took advantage of the opportunity when I went to the temple with my aunt to pray for blessings—"
"I should have been his wife!"
The author has something to say:
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Gaogao's mumbling: Another year of college entrance examination, it's gone by so fast. I remember there was a sentence on last year's paper: "The past is always given meaning when we recall it" [Drop-eared rabbit head] I really like this sentence [Drop-eared rabbit head]
Maybe in the 3rd or 4th edition I will write a column called "Morning Blooms, Evening Never Falls", a slow-burn high school campus article to commemorate my high school. But the copywriting is not polished yet (I am lazy, I am not good)
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