Chapter 36 I'm really sorry, Miss Chu, that I can't take the opportunity.
Upon learning that the Crown Prince had indeed come to Jingtan Pavilion, Chu Rou lost her grip on the Nine Chapters of the Mathematical Art and dropped it.
"Oh dear, Consort, why are you still reading that book? His Highness the Crown Prince is here. Stop looking at those questions and go tidy up..."
Pushed by A-Jun towards the inner room, Chu Rou's mind was a complete mess. It wasn't until the Crown Prince appeared before her that she felt a sense of reality: "This concubine greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness be well."
"Get up," Jiang Chen walked to the round table and sat down. Seeing that Chu Liangdi was looking up at him, he raised his chin and gestured, "You sit down too."
"yes."
Chu Rou sat down beside the Crown Prince with some trepidation. She was wondering how to start the conversation when she saw the Crown Prince deftly turn to the page circled in vermilion. He then pointed to the question and said, "This side has three, this side has four. The question asks for the longest side. Listen carefully to this question."
"The principle behind this problem is called the Pythagorean theorem. Let the distance below the sun be the 'hook' and the height of the sun be the 'short'. Multiply the 'hook' and 'short' by each, take the square root, and divide to obtain the angle at which the sun dips..."
Although Jiang Chen spoke quickly, he believed he had explained the problem clearly. He handed the book back to Consort Chu and asked, "So, do you understand now?"
"Uh-huh," Chu Rou took the book and nodded somewhat stiffly, "Your Highness explained it in great detail, and I have now understood."
"Very well, since you understand, I will take my leave now."
"Your Highness—"
"Is there anything else, Lady?"
Looking at the imposing Crown Prince before her, Chu Rou saw the impatience in his eyes despite his faint smile. She curtsied again and said respectfully, "This humble servant respectfully sees Your Highness off."
Seeing that Jiang Chen had returned in less than a quarter of an hour, Shen Yujiao paused in her work, and ink dripped onto the Xuan paper. "Why are you back so soon?"
"What else can I do?" Jiang Chen spread his hands. "I've been living in the study for a month now, so I should at least get a good night's sleep, right?"
"You're sleeping soundly here again now, unlike before when you were always complaining about my sleeping posture." Shen Yujiao put down the calligraphy brush in her hand, crumpled up the ruined calligraphy paper, and threw it at him.
Jiang Chen caught the crumpled paper with quick reflexes and grinned at her, "Shen Jiaojiao, you've always been a terrible sleeper. Aunt Qiao said that apart from me, not many people can tolerate you."
Another crumpled piece of paper flew over, and Jiang Chen quickly tossed the one in his hand back. The two crumpled pieces of paper collided in the air and fell down together.
Seeing that Shen Yujiao was about to glare at him, Jiang Chen stepped forward and said, "I have some good news for you, don't be angry, okay?"
"Speak first."
“He won’t suffer any loss at all,” Jiang Chen said with a smirk, then added, “Now that it’s getting warmer, the emperor wants to go on a spring hunt at the royal hunting grounds in Jiande before summer arrives.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao's eyes lit up. "Then, then is it...?"
"Yes, when we get there, the grasslands will stretch as far as the eye can see. You can ride a horse however you want, for as long as you want."
“That’s not right,” Shen Yujiao, who was just in high spirits, suddenly calmed down. “At a time like this, if you’re traveling with the emperor, what about the capital?”
"The King of Han and the King of Zhao will stay behind to oversee things. Besides, Jiande is not far from Xiajing. If anything happens, they can return in a day."
"I see..."
Seeing her furrowed brows, Jiang Chen stepped forward and pushed her shoulder to walk forward, saying as they walked, "Instead of worrying about these things all day, you should think about what to wear when you go to the grasslands and how much stuff to bring."
“You never seem to care about these things, so of course I have to worry about them. If neither of us cares, we won’t even know how we died if something happens.”
Despite her complaints, Shen Yujiao stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned to look at Jiang Chen, her eyes filled with guilt: "Speaking of which, I made you a set of clothes. I originally wanted to give them to you on your birthday, but I suddenly fainted, so you couldn't celebrate your birthday."
"You prepared a birthday present for me?" Jiang Chen asked incredulously.
"Hmm... but don't get me wrong, I only drew the blueprints, the sewing and embroidery were done by the people from the Knitting Bureau."
As she spoke, Shen Yujiao turned and gave Mu Jin a look. A moment later, Mu Jin and Mu Nan returned, each carrying a tray with the clothes that had been put away that day.
"Why don't you... try them on? What if they don't fit?"
"good."
Shen Yujiao hesitated when she asked, but Jiang Chen responded quickly. He turned and called Zhu Yu over, who then entered the inner room with two trays. Shen Yujiao sat in the outer room, her hands constantly twisting a handkerchief.
Jiang Chen changed his clothes quickly, and soon he emerged dressed in full armor.
The armor was entirely black, with a matching cape fastened to the shoulders by gold buckles. A sword ornament adorned his waist, and he wore leather boots with golden dragon patterns embroidered on the black satin surface. Because he was eight feet tall, the armor added a lot of imposing presence, making him appear heroic and dignified at first glance.
When Shen Yujiao was drawing the design draft of this dress, she had imagined Jiang Chen wearing it countless times, but when he actually stood in front of her in a full suit of black armor, she felt an indescribable flutter in her heart.
The person in front of her was clearly Jiang Chen, but he looked nothing like the man in his school uniform. Although he was two years younger, his demeanor was even more imposing than before. Having grown up in a military family, his eyes always revealed a resolute determination. At this moment, he seemed like a beast ready to pounce. Although he was in the bustling capital, it was as if he was about to rush to the battlefield at any moment, which made Shen Yujiao's heart tremble.
"You," she began, but Jiang Chen took a step closer to her. The sudden pressure made Shen Yujiao instinctively take a half step back. She held onto the corner of the table with her left hand and placed her right hand on the armor. "Take it off when you're done trying it on."
"Is it pretty?" Jiang Chen looked intently at Shen Yujiao, anticipating her answer.
"Okay, it looks good. You can change it now."
After receiving the answer, Jiang Chen's eyebrows relaxed. It was rare for Shen Yujiao to respond so softly in front of him, and he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere. He just hummed in response, but didn't move an inch.
Seeing this, Mu Jin and Zhu Yu exchanged a glance, then led all the palace maids away, leaving only the two of them to talk.
"Shen Jiaojiao, I really like this gift." Jiang Chen looked down at the girl in front of him, his words full of sincerity.
Shen Yujiao didn't dare to look up at him at this moment, and only replied in a muffled voice, "If you like it, then so be it."
"Jiaojiao, you haven't wished me a happy birthday yet."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao seemed to have touched a soft spot in her heart. She looked up at Jiang Chen, her voice slightly hoarse: "Jiang Xiaochen, should I wish you a happy nineteenth birthday or a happy seventeenth birthday?"
Nineteen years old is Jiang Chen, seventeen years old is Crown Prince Chen, and nineteen years old is a full six months short for him, but seventeen years old does not belong to him either.
Jiang Chen pondered for a while before saying in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Then wish me a happy eighteenth birthday again, Shen Jiaojiao, and celebrate my eighteenth birthday with me."
Jiang Chen turned eighteen during the 100-day countdown rally for his senior year of high school. On that day, he stood on the stage with high spirits, leading all the students in shouting out their youthful passion and ideals. But after stepping off the stage, he sat alone in a corner like an abandoned stray dog.
That day, he and Shen Yujiao had an unprecedentedly fierce argument. It was originally just a small matter, but he couldn't help but yell at Shen Yujiao, so much so that when she stood in front of him with red eyes, Jiang Chen seemed to lose his senses.
On his birthday, Shen Yujiao punched him hard in the chest and turned away resolutely. Jiang Chen's hesitation and regret made him lose the opportunity to apologize immediately. He spent his eighteenth birthday celebration in a lonely and dark corner. He broke his promise to his parents and relatives to the birthday party they had prepared for him, and he also let down the sincere feelings of the person he liked.
As dusk fell, Jiang Chen stood beneath the window of the coffin, raising his head amidst the interplay of dim light and shadow. He took a step forward, standing beside Shen Yujiao in the final, brilliant light. His eyes were filled with sincerity, and his words were brimming with guilt and unease: "Jiaojiao, I was wrong that day, I was wrong, I'm sorry, I... are you still willing to forgive me?"
As he finished speaking, Jiang Chen's voice grew softer and softer. He was filled with anxiety, his eyes fixed on Shen Yujiao with a hint of pleading in them.
Shen Yujiao looked into his eyes, feeling his burning gaze, and smiled without saying a word. Just when Jiang Chen thought that Shen Yujiao was unwilling to forgive him, he heard Shen Yujiao softly say, "Jiang Xiaochen, happy eighteenth birthday!"
The night sky was pitch black that night, but in his heart, a thousand fireworks exploded. In an instant, Jiang Chen's world was relit. A moment of bewilderment flashed across his face, followed by undisguised joy. He had received the best coming-of-age ceremony in the world.
He was like a child who had done something wrong and kept it to himself for a long time, prepared for the worst but was unconditionally forgiven. He was a little dazed and even his "thank you" was stammering. He looked like a large dog that was being a little silly. Shen Yujiao couldn't help but reach out and ruffle his hair.
"But next time, you're not allowed to yell at me anymore, understand?"
"Okay," Jiang Chen nodded obediently, then hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Then, could you, could you also..."
"What?"
"No, it's nothing."
Jiang Chen smiled somewhat embarrassedly, with a hint of bitterness in his heart. He had originally wanted to take this opportunity to bargain with Shen Yujiao, hoping that she would mention He Zhiju less in the future. However, after thinking about it, he realized that he neither wanted to mention He Zhiju at this time nor wanted Shen Yujiao to feel that he was taking advantage of him.
Anyway, He Zhiju isn't in Daxia now. The only one we can see is Miss Shen's brother. Now that he has both a title and an opportunity, it's his turn to take advantage of his proximity.
After the news of the spring hunt was released, the travel schedule was also brought up. Shen Yujiao looked forward to riding horses in Jiande while also taking care of all the arrangements for the trip.
Even though she was somewhat reluctant to go on this trip, Consort Chu was no ordinary concubine, and she was going along as well. Since they were going together, how they would get along once they arrived was a problem.
While in the Eastern Palace, Jiang Chen could pretend that Consort Chu didn't exist. But if he went to Jiande, under the watchful eyes of everyone, and if Shen Yujiao let him continue as he was, she would inevitably be accused of being jealous upon her return.
But... Shen Yujiao recalled that since that day, Jiang Chen had become increasingly different towards her. In the past, the two of them could bicker and argue after just a few words, but now, not only did they argue, but Jiang Chen rarely went against her wishes in terms of daily life, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation. She could feel that their relationship was gradually changing.
Looking towards Jingtan Pavilion, Shen Yujiao breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was somewhat unfair, she could make it up to Consort Chu elsewhere. She still didn't know whether her and Jiang Chen's time travel was just a dream. If it was an opportunity, she didn't want to miss it.
In the modern world, she had given up too many opportunities with Jiang Chen, resulting in misunderstandings and regrets between them. Now, in another world, they have fewer concerns and obstacles. Even if she wakes up one day and finds that the trip to Daxia was just a dream, she still wants to take this opportunity to be brave.
So... I'm really sorry, Miss Chu.
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