Chapter 118 You know now, don't you?
The following afternoon, Chu Jichen came out of his study and went to find Shen Qingci, who was checking the account books in the pavilion.
"How about we go shopping? Yuanbao said that the Treasure Pavilion has a new batch of jewelry and ornaments. Shall I go with you to take a look? And while we're at it, let's go to the Clothing Pavilion next door to see if there are any clothes we like and pick out some fabric?"
"Huh?" Shen Qingci was a little confused: "I don't lack jewelry, clothes, or anything like that."
When she was at home, she didn't like to wear elaborate headdresses and jewelry. She would usually just loosely hold her hair up with a hairpin or a hairband.
I only wear jewelry when I need to go out.
As for clothes, she hadn't made any new clothes for a while, but her previous clothes were still quite new.
Could it be that her usual attire was too plain, making Chu Jichen feel ashamed of him?
Chu Jichen saw through Shen Qingci's thoughts at a glance, and simply raised an eyebrow: "Isn't it that Qingqing wants to give Huo Yunzhan a chance so that you can sow discord?"
"This Regent's Palace is heavily guarded. If you don't go out, how will Huo Yunzhan get a chance?"
"I heard that Huo Yunzhan heard about what happened at the Princess Consort Gong's birthday banquet the other day, and in a fit of rage, he smashed all of Liu Ruolan's belongings that she had left at the Yongning Marquis's residence."
"He also spent a lot of money to bribe some beggars to guard outside the Regent's Palace day and night."
“He will receive the news soon after we leave the mansion.”
"The Treasure Pavilion and the Fashion Pavilion are next to each other. We'll go to the Treasure Pavilion first. Before entering the Treasure Pavilion, we'll send someone to the Fashion Pavilion next door to instruct the manager to prepare the most fashionable ready-made clothes and the best fabrics. We'll go and choose them in a little while."
Shen Qingci immediately understood.
The first step was to instruct the manager of the Ni Chang Pavilion to make preparations in advance, which meant telling Huo Yunzhan's people that they would be going to the Ni Chang Pavilion later, giving him time to make arrangements.
Shen Qingci looked at Chu Jichen: "Actually, it doesn't have to be so complicated..."
Whenever she leaves the manor alone, Huo Yunzhan will definitely try to find a way to stop her.
Chu Jichen chuckled: "Impossible, I'm definitely going to follow."
"And now everyone in the capital knows that I treat you like the apple of my eye, keeping a very close eye on you."
"If I were to let you leave the manor alone, it would be illogical and would easily arouse suspicion."
“I have to go with you.” Chu Jichen pursed his lips. “And I’ll only give you half an hour. You can use trying on clothes as an excuse to see Huo Yunzhan.”
"The guards will be watching from the shadows. I will come looking for you in a quarter of an hour."
Shen Qingci clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking how extremely domineering he was.
Yet, strangely enough, she seemed to like Chu Jichen's domineering nature, and a subtle joy and peace of mind inexplicably spread through her heart.
Shen Qingci agreed and followed Chu Jichen into the carriage, heading straight for the Treasure Pavilion.
Shen Qingci hadn't been to the Treasure Pavilion for a long time. Back when she was in the Shen family, her parents and older brother used to love bringing her here to choose jewelry.
They always say, "My Qingci is so beautiful, of course we should dress her up nicely and take her out to show her off."
Later, when the Shen family ran into trouble, she married into the Huo family, and that was the end of her marriage.
Huo Yunzhan always said that he was only the second son of the Huo family, and that he had an older brother and sister-in-law, so it wasn't appropriate for him to be too prominent. Moreover, the Huo family valued frugality, so it wouldn't be suitable for her to dress up too much.
But Liu Ruolan's jewelry in the Huo family was all exquisite and luxurious.
Huo Yunzhan added that Liu Ruolan was the wife of the Marquis of Yongning, the face of the Marquis of Yongning's mansion, so naturally they were different. It would be even more inappropriate for her to bypass the position of the wife of the Marquis of Yongning.
At that time, the Shen family had already encountered trouble. Although she was newly married, she was also in mourning, so she always dressed very simply and did not pay too much attention to it.
But now that I think about it, it's probably not impossible, it's just that Huo Yunzhan was unwilling.
Huo Yunzhan married her only because he thought she possessed a troop mobilization order for a private army, and that she was only trying to obtain the non-existent order. It wasn't because he liked her, so naturally he wouldn't spend too much unnecessary money on her.
As Shen Qingci was thinking, she heard Chu Jichen speak up: "Bring up all the new jewelry and headdresses you've recently acquired."
The shopkeeper smiled and agreed repeatedly, bringing out all the jewelry and headwear, which almost filled the entire table.
Shen Qingci was looking at the items in front of her and hadn't spoken yet when Chu Jichen said with great interest, "This headdress is beautiful. The silver ornaments paired with pink gemstones would definitely look good on you, but I don't think I've ever seen you wear jewelry of this color before?"
"I'll take this set; I want to see you wear it."
"This green jade set is also good. You usually like to wear blue clothes, so it goes well with it."
“This set is also good, it’s elegant and luxurious. Now that you are the Regent’s wife, you will have to attend some palace banquets and such on a regular basis. You can’t do without one or two sets of jewelry that are appropriate for your status and can be presented in public.”
"..." Shen Qingci's lips trembled: "Has Your Highness forgotten why we came here?"
Isn't buying headwear and jewelry just a pretext?
Chu Jichen is practically moving the entire shop back home.
Chu Jichen's gaze did not leave those ornaments. Instead, he looked at the ornaments in front of him and then at Shen Qingci: "This set matches your clothes very well today. Why don't you try it on?"
He picked up the jewelry and put it on Shen Qingci's head, then stepped back slightly, as if admiring a piece he was very satisfied with: "It looks good, just wear this set."
After saying that, Chu Jichen finally had a chance to answer her earlier question: "Buy headdresses and jewelry, and make new clothes."
"..."
It was an hour later when they left the Treasure Pavilion.
Chu Jichen then led Shen Qingci into the nearby Ni Chang Pavilion.
The shopkeeper had already received the news and, beaming with joy, had the girls in the shop dressed in ready-made clothes and stand in front of Shen Qingci so that she could choose.
The person who made the selection was still Chu Jichen.
"This style looks good."
As soon as Chu Jichen finished speaking, the shopkeeper immediately laughed: "Your Highness has excellent taste. This set is made of light cloud gauze, which is perfect for summer. It is light, thin, and flowing. The waist has also been specially treated. The princess is beautiful and has a slender waist. She will definitely look good in it."
“Here is a new one, Your Highness may try it.”
Chu Jichen squeezed Shen Qingci's hand and lowered his voice: "Go and try it. It's a promise, half a quarter of an hour."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci immediately understood that Huo Yunzhan must have already thought he had arranged everything and hidden it inside.
Shen Qingci nodded and entered the room. As soon as the door closed, Shen Qingci saw a woman slumped in a chair, unconscious.
Immediately, Huo Yunzhan stepped out from behind the screen, his eyes gloomy: "Chu Jichen is keeping a close eye on you. It will take me a lot of effort to see you now."
Shen Qingci feigned surprise: "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
Huo Yunzhan's eyes were filled with madness: "You know, don't you? You know who I am? You've known for a long time, haven't you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com