Chapter 137 Chu Jichen's Secret Meeting?
Shen Qingci was unaware of the myriad thoughts swirling in Chu Jichen's mind. Seeing that his expression had softened slightly, she took the initiative to recount the events of the previous day.
"Huo Yunzhan's visit to the Prime Minister's residence today was at my instigation." She spoke calmly, explaining how she had her informant spread the word and how she had accurately predicted that Huo Yunzhan would come to apologize in order to win back the Liu family.
“But…” she frowned slightly, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes, “The only thing that is not under my control is what Huo Yunzhan said to Prime Minister Liu at the end.”
"My men were too far away to hear clearly. But judging from Prime Minister Liu's expression, he seemed quite interested in Huo Yunzhan's proposal."
“Huo Yunzhan is a vicious and cunning man. Since he said he has a way to deal with you, Your Highness, it must not be baseless.” She raised her eyes and looked at Chu Jichen seriously. “Your Highness, you… still need to be more careful.”
Looking at the undisguised concern in her eyes, Chu Jichen felt a pang of bitterness instantly replaced by warmth.
He reached out and gently took her hand, his voice warm yet firm: "Don't worry, I understand."
...
The next day, Chu Jichen entered the palace early in the morning, leaving Shen Qingci alone in the mansion.
She locked herself in her study, carefully counting the silver and land she possessed, as well as the detailed list of Shen family's former subordinates and hidden agents presented by Zhuque.
She must take complete control of these powers as soon as possible.
Just as she was completely absorbed, the butler hurriedly walked in from outside.
“Your Highness,” he bowed and presented an unsigned letter with both hands, “just now, the manager of Yunmenglou, the dowry shop under your name, sent a letter urgently, saying that… there is a very important matter that requires your personal attention.”
Shen Qingci took the letter, opened it, and saw only a few words on the plain white paper, the handwriting messy, as if it had been written in a state of extreme haste and shock:
"The prince is currently in the top-class private room of Yunmeng Tower, having a private meeting with a mysterious woman. Their behavior is... quite intimate."
Shen Qingci's brows furrowed instantly.
She raised her head, her gaze sharp as she looked at the butler: "Are you sure this letter really came from someone from Yunmeng Tower?"
The steward nodded hurriedly: "Your Highness, it is absolutely true. The person who came had a waist token from Yunmeng Tower, and this old servant has already sent someone to verify that he is indeed a waiter from the tower."
Yunmenglou was one of the shops that were part of her dowry.
Shen Qingci sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.
She naturally didn't believe a single word of the letter.
If Chu Jichen really wanted to meet someone in secret, why would he be so foolish as to go to her own shop and make it known to everyone?
There must be something fishy about this.
Nine times out of ten, it's a scheme by Huo Yunzhan or Liu Ruolan.
Her dowry business had been under Liu Ruolan's control for nearly a year. Although she had cleaned it up twice, it was hard to guarantee that no one had escaped.
This is clearly an attempt to sow discord between her and Chu Jichen using such despicable means.
She casually pressed the letter under the paperweight, determined not to pay any attention to it.
However, when she picked up the ledger again, the once clear numbers now seemed to have turned into blurry ink blots.
She was restless, and the phrase "their behavior was very intimate" from the letter kept uncontrollably replaying in her mind.
An inexplicable sense of unease and suffocation, like vines, tightly coiled around her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Could it be that Chu Jichen had no idea that Yunmenglou was her dowry shop?
Could it be that what's said in that letter is true?
Chu Jichen was indeed very good to her, but it was precisely because he was too good that she always felt it was unreal.
She really couldn't understand why Chu Jichen would treat her so well given her situation and experiences.
She always felt that there was no good without purpose or reason.
What was Chu Jichen's reason...?
Chu Jichen was already over twenty years old. Although he had previously said that he had not gotten married because he was too busy with government affairs, plus those rumors.
But the rumors are untrue. Chu Jichen is impotent; as the regent, it's impossible that he hasn't had a woman all these years...
She slammed the ledger shut.
A moment later, she took a deep breath and called out towards the door, "Wanqing!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Get the car ready! I... need to go to Yunmeng Tower!"
The carriage stopped at the back gate of Yunmeng Tower, where the innkeeper had been waiting for some time. When he saw Shen Qingci, a complex expression flashed across his face, as if he had expected her to come.
"princess……"
"Take me there." Shen Qingci said succinctly, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Yes." The shopkeeper said no more and led her through the winding corridors to an extremely elegant backyard.
Yunmeng Tower occupies a vast area, with its backyard featuring pavilions, terraces, bridges, and flowing water, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere. Individual private rooms are scattered along both banks of the waterside pavilions in a well-organized manner.
The innkeeper pointed to the only private room with an open window in the center of the waterside pavilion not far away, and lowered his voice to say, "The prince and that young lady are in Tianyi Pavilion. This old servant has prepared Shuiyun Room upstairs across the street for you. It has the best view, and the windows of Tianyi Pavilion are not closed tightly, so you... can see everything clearly."
Shen Qingci's heart tightened, but she remained calm on the surface, nodded, and followed the shopkeeper up to the second floor across the street.
As soon as Shen Qingci entered Shuiyunjian, he went to the window and opened it a crack. Through the crack, his gaze shot like a sharp arrow towards the private room opposite.
With just one glance, her breath caught in her throat!
Chu Jichen... he really is inside!
He was wearing the same dark brocade robe he had worn when he left that morning, sitting quietly in his wheelchair, facing her sideways.
Opposite him sat a young woman dressed in simple, elegant clothes.
The woman had delicate features, but her brows were furrowed with a lingering sorrow.
What made Shen Qingci's pupils shrink the most was—
Beside the woman was a little girl who looked no more than two or three years old, with two cute little buns in her hair!
Just then, the young woman opposite seemed to have touched on something sad, and suddenly slid off her chair and squatted down in front of Chu Jichen's wheelchair.
She looked up at him with teary eyes, her lips moving as if she were crying out something.
Chu Jichen's expression was gentler than Shen Qingci had ever seen before.
He even took out an embroidered handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to the woman, seemingly to offer her gentle comfort.
Upon seeing this, the beautiful little girl hugged the woman's neck tenderly, kissed her on the cheek, and then took her short, unsteady steps to reach Chu Jichen.
She tilted her innocent little face up and stretched out her two chubby little hands toward Chu Jichen, calling out something in a childish voice.
The next instant, to Shen Qingci's astonishment, Chu Jichen... casually bent down, stretched out his arms, and steadily picked up the little girl, placing her on his lap.
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