Chapter 24 A Meeting Finally Takes Place
Zhongyu Palace, located in the northeast corner of the palace, was where the Crown Prince lived and studied when he was young. After the Crown Prince got married and moved into the Eastern Palace, Zhongyu Palace became deserted. But now, this long-uninhabited palace is lit with dim candlelight.
Jiang Chen sat at the head of the table, his legs crossed and leaning back slightly against the chair. His long, slender fingers with distinct knuckles tapped on the mahogany table.
"This palace was built by my father for my elder brother. After my brother passed away, my father had me move here." His face was dimly lit by the candlelight, his expression inscrutable.
"So... this is also my territory, General He, you don't need to be so reserved here."
Upon hearing this, the young man sitting below nodded respectfully, "I dare not be presumptuous in front of Your Highness."
This was a young master who exuded the air of nobility from his entire being. Although his features were exquisite and his demeanor gentle and refined, his years of military service had given him a composure that came with experience. His inner and outer dignified bearing made him seem completely unrelated to the spring waters of Jiangnan.
However, Jiang Chen was very satisfied with He Zhiju in this way.
"The Crown Princess mentioned to the Empress Dowager the other day that when she was young she often begged her elder brother to go out for a spring outing. I originally thought that the Crown Princess missed the spring scenery, but I didn't expect that the Crown Princess missed her elder brother."
He Zhiju stood up and bowed to Jiang Chen, saying, "At that time, the Crown Princess was still young, but because the family disciplined His Highness very strictly, the Crown Princess wanted to go out for a walk in the spring to relax."
“Yes,” Jiang Chen nodded at home. “General, there’s no need for such formalities. You and the Crown Princess are as close as siblings, so you are naturally my brother-in-law as well.”
"Your humble servant dares not." Although He Zhiju did not know why the Crown Prince said this, he dared not accept the title of the future imperial brother-in-law.
Before he could even sit down properly, the Crown Prince asked again, "A few days ago, the Crown Princess and I made a kite for Princess Yong'an. At that time, we heard that the Crown Princess had accidentally fallen from a height when she was young, and that's why she's afraid of heights now?"
“Your Highness,” He Zhiju rose again, “the Crown Princess has been quiet and virtuous since childhood, and has never fallen from a height before…”
"Please sit down," Jiang Chen said, noticing that the man was getting a little uncomfortable with his repeated bows. He stood up, helped the man up, and pressed him back into his chair. He then stood beside the man and started chatting. "Brother, you've been in the army for many years now, haven't you?"
"I dare not accept Your Highness's title of elder brother. I have been serving in the army for six years."
"Six years... No wonder the Crown Princess misses her brother. My birthday is in a few days. I would like to invite the general to my residence so that I can have a chat with the Crown Princess."
"It is my honor to be appreciated by Your Highness." He Zhiju originally wanted to get up and bow, but as soon as he stood up, he felt the force of a hand on his shoulder.
Jiang Chen stared intently at his left shoulder, his gaze deep. He asked, word by word, "After so many years at the border, how is your shoulder, General?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Although the border is harsh and cold, I am in good health."
"I see..." Jiang Chen released his hand on his shoulder, then slowly straightened up and said, "That's good, otherwise the Crown Princess and Mother-in-law would always be worried... It's getting late today, and I have some other matters to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave."
As the palace doors slowly closed, a genuine smile finally appeared on Jiang Chen's lips. This He Zhiju was likely going to disappoint Jiao Jiao.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Palace, Shen Yujiao was also talking to Mu Jin: "Didn't you say that brother received Mother's letter? Why didn't he come to the Eastern Palace after court today?"
Ever since she learned that He Zhiju was about to return to the capital that night, Shen Yujiao had been trying to find a way to see him. She even specially copied Miss Shen's handwriting to write a letter to the Duchess of Cheng, saying that she missed her brother and so on. But who knew that the reply was all well and good, but now that He Zhiju had returned to the capital, he did not come to see her.
The Eastern Palace wasn't far from the Imperial Palace; by now, it was probably within walking distance. But Shen Yujiao waited and waited, and the person she wanted to see still hadn't arrived.
"Your Highness." Seeing Mu Nan approach, Chen Yu stood up abruptly: "How is it?"
Mu Nan was slightly taken aback by Shen Yujiao's eager gaze, then smiled and replied, "His Highness the Crown Prince's carriage has arrived at the gate. The kitchen is asking whether dinner should be served in the main courtyard or sent to the front courtyard."
Upon hearing that it wasn't He Zhiju, Shen Yujiao sat back down with some disappointment. When Mu Nan saw her dejected expression, he thought he had said something wrong and quickly looked to Mu Jin for help.
"Your Highness," Mu Jin said softly, "why don't we have a meal first?"
"Okay, go and get my share back."
My share.
"We're not eating together again," Mu Jin sighed inwardly, but still replied respectfully as usual, "Yes."
Returning to Shen Yujiao's situation, ever since the Northern Frontier generals came to the palace to report on their duties, she had not been able to see He Zhiju as she wished. She waited for one day, then two, then three or four days, but He Zhiju still hadn't come to her door, so she began to get restless.
Early that morning, Jiang Chen had just finished getting ready to go to court when he saw Zhu Yu arrive, looking somewhat anxious.
"Your Highness, I just ran into Mu Nan, who serves the Crown Princess, ahead. Mu Nan told me that the Crown Princess was feeling unwell yesterday and is currently calling for the imperial physician."
"Oh?" Jiang Chen walked out without even looking at him. "Is it serious?"
Seeing that he didn't seem worried at all, Zhu Yu thought to himself, "This is bad. The two masters may have gone a bit too far in their argument this time."
"This... I don't know the specifics, but since the imperial physician has been summoned..."
"You come to report without knowing anything?" Jiang Chen glanced at him with amusement.
Zhu Yu noticed the gaze and quickly lowered his head. "Yes, it was all my oversight." He paused, then stepped forward quickly and asked in a low voice, "Does Your Highness wish to send a message to Imperial Physician Wang?"
This Imperial Physician Wang was the exclusive physician of the Crown Prince's Palace. Since the Crown Princess had only recently married into the palace, he had only been invited once, when the Crown Prince had pretended to be ill in his study, and once when the Crown Prince had drunk too much at the palace banquet during the New Year. Apart from that, he did not come to the Crown Prince's Palace very often.
“No need,” Jiang Chen said, showing no sign of worry. Instead, he said in a light tone, “Go and tell General He, who is staying at the inn in the east of the city, that the Crown Princess is not feeling well and that if he has time, he should come and visit her.”
"Yes." Although Zhu Yu was puzzled, he still answered respectfully.
Just after noon that day, a message came from the front that General He from the Northern Frontier had come to visit. Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao's illness instantly subsided, and she hurriedly said to the messenger, "Why don't you quickly invite my brother in?"
When He Zhiju was led into the inner hall by the servants, he saw only two palace maids standing inside, and a huge screen in front of him. On the other side of the screen was the Crown Princess, who was recuperating on her bed.
"Your Highness, this humble subject pays respects to the Crown Princess and offers my greetings." He Zhiju bowed respectfully.
"Brother, there's no need for such formalities. Please rise."
As soon as Shen Yujiao said this, Mu Jin stepped forward to help He Zhiju up. When she saw him looking at her, she called out softly, "Young Master."
Upon hearing this address, He Zhiju knew that this was someone from the Shen family, and his restraint instantly lessened considerably. He had been worried that his visit today would cause trouble for Yu Jiao, but since the Crown Prince had sent someone to deliver the message, he couldn't very well refuse to come.
"Brother, have you received any letters from Jiangnan?"
“Received. In her letter, my aunt mentioned that His Highness has been living in the capital since his marriage. Since they haven’t seen him for some time, the two elders are very concerned about him.”
"Brother, you've been back in the capital for several days now, why haven't you come to the Eastern Palace?"
As expected, upon hearing this, He Zhiju hesitated for a long time before speaking again: "Your Highness, I originally intended to come, but having just arrived in the capital, I inevitably have some official business to attend to..."
"Ah...I see."
"Yes, and besides, it's His Highness the Crown Prince's birthday at the end of the month. I figured he would be coming around then anyway, so I didn't pay my respects beforehand."
—You, Jiang Chen.
Shen Yujiao's hands were already clenched into fists, but she still pretended to be nonchalant and said softly, "Mujin, Munan, you may leave now. I haven't seen my brother for a long time, and we have many private things to say to each other."
Although Mu Jin felt something was amiss, when she turned to look at He Zhiju, who appeared serene and composed, she realized she was overthinking things.
"yes."
After the two left, Shen Yujiao couldn't wait any longer. She nimbly got off the bed, and just by looking at her steps toward the screen, you couldn't tell that she was a patient.
"Brother Zhiju..."
"Your Highness—"
When He Zhiju saw her come out of bed, he quickly bowed to her. This action stunned Shen Yujiao. She stood there blankly, looking at this person who was exactly the same as her Zhiju brother in her memory in terms of appearance, figure and voice. But she just couldn't bring herself to call him "brother".
This person... isn't Brother Zhiju...
After a while, she came to her senses and tentatively called out, "Brother?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the person in front of her slowly raised his head. It was a face that Shen Yujiao had once been extremely familiar with and relied on. But now, the person's face was gentle, and his eyes were full of tenderness. However, the expression in his eyes was completely unfamiliar to Shen Yujiao.
Every time she looked at her brother Zhiju, she could see tranquility and depth in his eyes. Those eyes had a calming power. But the General He in front of her was looking at his sister with tenderness, yet with worry.
It was this one glance that confirmed Shen Yujiao's suspicions once again.
Shen Yujiao no longer remembered how she saw He Zhiju off. Now, she sat alone on the chaise longue, with only one sentence in her mind: He is not him.
That evening, Jiang Chen returned from the training ground, removing the sandbags from his arms as he asked, "Is the Crown Princess feeling any better today?"
Zhu Yu lowered his head and replied, "General He came by this afternoon, but he left after only a short while, saying that he was afraid of disturbing the Crown Princess's rest. As for the Crown Princess, I heard that she is still not doing well."
“This isn’t good…” Jiang Chen casually tossed the sandbag to the ground and began to unbutton his collar: “Then tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the palace on behalf of the Crown Princess and tell the Empress Dowager that she has been feeling unwell these past two days and will not be able to pay her respects for the time being.”
"What if Her Majesty asks..."
"Just say it when asked—" Jiang Chen stuffed the outer robe he had just taken off into Zhu Yu's hands, raised an eyebrow and smiled: "The Crown Princess is fine, she can enter the palace in a couple of days."
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