Bai Qingzhou hurriedly asked, "What good news?"
Madam Ding smiled and said, "Today I brought mahjong to the princess's residence. Her Highness liked it very much and didn't even want me to come back. I explained your situation to the princess, and only then did she let me come back. But she said she wants me to come over early tomorrow morning and bring Madam Shen with me."
Bai Qingzhou was pleasantly surprised, "That's wonderful, thank you for your trouble, Mother!"
What does this mean?
This suggests that Chen Mianmian may be favored by the princess, and has Princess Rui'an as her backer.
Princess Ruian was the Emperor's older sister and the Empress Dowager's only biological daughter. She was even more favored than the Emperor at the time.
Chen Mianmian watched the excited mother and son speechlessly—no, didn't anyone ask for her opinion? Oh well, it's pointless to ask, and she didn't dare to refuse.
On second thought, it might be good for her to go to the princess's residence. Since she had decided to completely stop the Marquis of Anning's residence and Prince Jin, she might as well infiltrate the enemy's ranks and get firsthand information.
Shen Mianmian suddenly remembered something else, "Madam, I also have something to say here."
Ding asked, "What is it?"
"Not long after Madam left today, Young Madam went to Mingyue Courtyard and asked me about the princess's invitation. Young Madam wondered why she wasn't brought along, and I explained my guess. Afterwards, Young Madam expressed that she also wanted to learn mahjong, so I taught Young Madam the rules of mahjong."
Shen Mianmian dared not hide it, after all, she was afraid that Jiang Yinjin would confront the madam.
Mrs. Ding was surprised, "Yinjin is also learning mahjong?"
"Yes, I saw that we didn't have enough mahjong tiles, so as soon as Guanshui returned, I asked him to find the carpenter to make two more sets of mahjong tiles."
Ding nodded, but didn't say anything.
Ding was quite unhappy about Jiang Yinjin learning mahjong.
She still vividly remembered the disdainful look and reproachful expression Jiang Yinjin gave her when she came to the main courtyard to play mahjong. Now she heard that she was going to the princess's mansion to learn mahjong.
Even the most clueless person could see that Jiang Yinjin suddenly learned to play mahjong to please the princess.
Haha, as a daughter-in-law, instead of trying to please her mother-in-law, she goes to try to please the princess. It seems she looks down on her mother-in-law.
What grand ambitions!
Ding said, "Alright, it's getting late, you should all go back and rest. Tomorrow morning, Shen, you will come with me to the Princess's residence."
Chen Mianmian replied, "Yes," then paused, remembering another question, "Will the young mistress come along?"
Ding's eyes turned slightly cold. "Her Highness the Princess did not invite me, so it's not appropriate for me to bring anyone. Let's talk about it next time."
...
night.
Mingyue Courtyard was quiet.
The window was slightly ajar, and a cool evening breeze blew into the room, carrying with it the scent of grass and the chirping of insects.
As Chen Mianmian dried her hair, she entered the room and saw the boy leaning against the soft couch reading a book.
Because she sweats a lot from practicing martial arts, Chen Mianmian takes a thorough bath every night. "Are you done showering? You showered so quickly?"
Bai Qingzhou turned her gaze from the book to the woman, her starry eyes sparkling, and her jade-like cheeks flushed slightly. "I just took a quick rinse, I didn't take a bath. Come here, I'll help you dry your hair."
"good."
Chenmian sat down on the soft couch and handed the boy a clean linen towel.
She was helpless. Before she transmigrated into the book, she had a hairdryer, but she didn't have much hair. After transmigrating, she didn't have a hairdryer, but her hair was incredibly thick.
Washing my thick, long hair is a nightmare every time; drying it is another nightmare.
It used to be okay; she could bear it and wash her hair every three days. But ever since she started running and practicing martial arts, she has to wash it every day. If it weren't for ancient times, she would definitely cut her hair short immediately.
There was no other way but to dry my hair faster, I had to repeatedly wipe it with absorbent linen towels.
The moonlight was serene, and the two of them wiped each other clean for quite a while.
Bai Qingzhou asked softly, "When I'm not around, will you miss me?"
"Yes," Chen Mianmian answered readily.
Bai Qingzhou's lips drooped unhappily. "It's obvious she doesn't want to."
Chen Mianmian sighed inwardly—that brat is getting harder and harder to appease.
Today, she spent the day coaxing the madam, teaching the female lead to play mahjong, practicing martial arts, and taking baths. She's already exhausted, and now she has to burn dopamine to coax the man. She's really pitiful.
Helpless, Chen Mianmian still managed to force a charming smile, "Your Highness, you're so annoying! If I didn't miss Your Highness, who would I miss? Could I possibly miss the Young Mistress?"
Bai Qingzhou frowned. "When we're together, can you please not mention other people?"
"Alright, but next time, Your Highness, don't falsely accuse me of not missing you. How could I not miss you?"
"You answered too quickly, without any shyness or emotion. It was obvious you were just giving me a perfunctory answer."
"..." Shen Mianmian felt even more frustrated—what happened to the brainless cannon fodder character she was supposed to be? What am I going to do about her getting smarter and smarter?
In the end, she could only tell the truth: "I do miss you, Your Highness, but I'm just too tired today to express how much I miss you."
Bai Qingzhou then remembered that the woman had indeed been very busy that day.
He quickly snatched the handkerchief from the woman's hand, saying, "Don't move, I'll wipe it for you."
Shen Mianmian was both amused and exasperated. "It's just drying my hair."
Bai Qingzhou still didn't give her a towel, and insisted on drying her hair.
Seeing that the boy insisted, Chenmianmian let him be, comfortably closed her eyes, and focused on resting.
After a while, Bai Qingzhou saw that her hair was almost dry, so he put down the towel and went to hug the woman.
Shen Mianmian opened her eyes. "No need, I can walk by myself."
"Don't move."
"..."
In the end, she was carried onto that exquisitely carved canopy bed.
The elaborately embroidered curtains were drawn back, leaving the small space bathed in the dim, warm light of a corner lamp—a space that was both cozy and intimate.
An imperceptible allure gradually creates an emptiness, as if it must be clung to the skin or merged with something to fill it.
Bai Qingzhou placed the woman on the inside of the bed, but after putting her down, the warm, soft touch on his hands disappeared, leaving him feeling empty all over.
He tucked his fingers together, wanting to hug her, but then felt a little shy.
The two used to rarely touch each other except for intimate moments, and each slept in separate beds.
He used to think this was fine, as it wouldn't disturb each other's rest, but today he felt it was very bad.
Suddenly, he remembered what the woman had said earlier, so he pursed his lips, reached out and pulled her into his arms.
The drowsy, half-asleep woman was bewildered.
Bai Qingzhou awkwardly turned her eyes away. "This afternoon, you were the one who told me to hold you while I sleep tonight. Have you forgotten?"
"Huh?" Chen Mianmian struggled to process her malfunctioning brain, and it took her a lot of effort to remember that there really was such a thing.
Because she was in a hurry to get Guanshui to make mahjong, she didn't speak to Fengchu first.
Fengchu was unhappy, so she coaxed him by saying that sending Guanshui away would give them some alone time.
She also said that the Crown Prince was so cold and scary, and that she needed the Crown Prince to hug her at night so she wouldn't have nightmares... No, he actually did hug her?
Can't he tell that this is just a way of comforting him?
Why is this child sometimes smart and sometimes not?
Bai Qingzhou—you idiot, you're pretending to be stupid when you're actually smart.
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