Chapter 4 Questions: The Eastern Palace is not like the Shen Mansion
The main courtyard of the East Palace was quiet. Ever since the Crown Prince and Crown Princess returned from the palace, they had gone to their sleeping quarters together. Seeing this, the servants of the East Palace kept quiet and held their breath, and unconsciously walked with light steps.
In the silence, Jiang Chen and Shen Yujiao looked at each other in silence. Why had they come here? Perhaps they had no way of knowing at the moment.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Chen spoke first: "The day we came back from the South China Sea, I felt extremely tired as soon as I got off the plane. I took a shower and went to sleep after getting home. When I woke up the next morning, I was here."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao's eyes widened slightly: "Me too. I took a shower and went to sleep as soon as I got back from the South China Sea. As soon as I opened my eyes, I was helped into the bridal sedan chair."
The two stared at each other for a long time, both with unresolved doubts in their eyes. Since they had transmigrated on the same day, why did Jiang Chen arrive a week earlier than Shen Yujiao?
The trip to the South China Sea was arranged by the Jiang and Chen families long ago. Once the two children received their college admission notices, they would take Jiang Chen and Shen Yujiao on a family trip. They would start from Beicheng, travel south, and return to the South China Sea.
I was perfectly fine when I left, but after taking a nap after returning, I found myself in another world.
It's truly inexplicable.
Shen Yujiao slowly buried her head in her arms. If this matter were not mentioned, she would be fine. But when she thought of her parents, she felt an indescribable sadness. If her parents woke up and found that she was gone, or that she was not waking up, how worried they would be.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Chen immediately guessed what Shen Yujiao was thinking. He raised his hand and hesitated for a moment before gently placing it on Shen Yujiao's back, stroking her gently.
"It's okay, we'll go back. Two people are always better than one. Your brother is with you, so what are you afraid of?"
Shen Yujiao's long period of sadness was instantly broken by Jiang Chen. She glanced at Jiang Chen, then raised her hand to push his arm away, and pouted, saying, "Brother my foot."
Seeing that her emotions came and went quickly, Jiang Chen shrugged and stood up, saying, "Whatever, I'm going to change my clothes."
Today, when they entered the palace to serve tea, both of them were dressed in gorgeous clothes. It was indeed very uncomfortable to be bound in them. Shen Yujiao initially tried to remove the restraints from head to toe, but after trying for a long time, she only messed up her hair.
Looking at her messy hair in the bronze mirror, she helplessly called out "Mu Jin" to the outside, and then the door to the bedchamber was opened from the outside.
She initially thought it was Mu Jin who had entered, but when Shen Yujiao saw the person's appearance through the bronze mirror, her lazy posture instantly straightened up, and she mechanically turned her head to call out, "Mama Liu."
This Liu Mama was Miss Shen's maidservant and an elder who had watched Miss Shen grow up since she was a child. Shen Yujiao couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable in front of her. Seeing that Liu Mama's expression was not good, Shen Yujiao felt even more uneasy.
"Your Highness."
Liu Mama first bowed to Shen Yujiao, then stepped forward to undo her hair. As she removed Shen Yujiao's hairpins and ornaments, she asked in a deep voice, "Why did Your Highness not perform the full ceremony with His Highness the Crown Prince last night?"
The whole ceremony? Shen Yujiao blinked a few times as she looked in the bronze mirror, then lied through her teeth, saying, "Alright, I did everything I was told, including lifting the veil, drinking the nuptial wine, and tying the knot. It's just that the brocade pouch containing the knot was taken away by the Crown Prince."
Liu Mama continued working, but her eyes were fixed on Shen Yujiao in the bronze mirror. She said somewhat seriously, "What this servant is referring to is the rites of Zhou Gong."
When Shen Yujiao realized that her words referred to consummating their marriage, a wave of embarrassment washed over her, flushing her neck and face. She was speechless for a moment before saying, "Last night, last night the Crown Prince drank too much, and I was extremely exhausted, so, so..."
"Your Highness, now that you have married into the Eastern Palace, you must look to the future and be cautious in everything you do. There are many experienced and discerning old women in the palace who can tell something just by looking at the way you walk... In short, you must keep this in mind. If others notice something, they will inevitably assume that you and the Crown Prince are not on good terms."
Reminded by her words, Shen Yujiao remembered that the Empress's expression seemed a little strange when she spoke to her at the end. If combined with what Liu Mama said, it could be explained.
She chuckled twice, "There's no discord, nothing at all. My relationship with the Crown Prince... is quite good."
Seeing her embarrassed expression, Liu Mama knew that this was not something that could be rushed for her young lady. She loosened her grip, and Shen Yujiao's long, flowing black hair fell loose.
The pressure on her head was instantly relieved, and Shen Yujiao unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she relaxed, she felt a light pat on her back from Liu's mother, which made her straighten up again.
"Your Highness, please don't blame me for being nosy. The Eastern Palace is not like Jiangnan. There are many eyes here. If Your Highness makes the slightest mistake in your behavior, the entire Shen family will suffer the consequences."
"Yes, I've got it..."
“Oh, right, there’s one more thing,” Liu Mama said, her hands slowing down. “Originally, the day after tomorrow was supposed to be your homecoming day, but now that you are the Crown Princess, the etiquette is different from that of ordinary girls.”
"The day after tomorrow, the Duke and his wife will come to the Eastern Palace to pay their respects. Since they will be returning to Jinling after the visit, they cannot stay long. I hope Your Highness will make preparations in advance."
Liu Mama's words were unusually gentle. Shen Yujiao knew that this was probably because Liu Mama was worried that Miss Shen would miss her parents after marrying far away. Xia Jingcheng was located in the north, while Jiangnan was thousands of miles away. After parting the day after tomorrow, who knew when they would meet again.
But... Shen Yujiao isn't the real Miss Shen. Now that she's been told she'll be meeting Shen's parents the day after tomorrow, all she feels is nervousness. It's one thing to be someone else's daughter-in-law, since everyone is still getting to know each other, but Shen's parents are different. Could she possibly remain silent in front of them?
—It might actually work.
"Your Highness."
Seeing Mu Jin suddenly kneel down, Shen Yujiao was a little confused. She had originally planned to call Mu Jin to find out some things about Miss Shen's private life so that she could act more convincingly when she met Shen's parents in the future. However, she did not expect that Mu Jin would kneel down with a troubled look on her face as soon as she started to speak.
Before she could react, Mu Jin continued, "This servant knows you're still angry with the Duke, but the day after tomorrow... please consider the Madam's feelings. Now that we're in the Eastern Palace, it's not like when we were in the Shen Residence..."
"ah......"
She made these requests without any rhyme or reason, and Shen Yujiao could only give a dry reply. But then she couldn't help but recall that, along with the instructions given to her before entering the palace this morning, this was the third time today that she had been reminded that "the Eastern Palace is not the same as the Shen residence."
Logically speaking, Miss Shen comes from a prominent family, so her manners and behavior shouldn't need to be repeatedly reminded by the two servants. However, judging from Mu Jin's unusually nervous expression, it seemed as if Miss Shen was really going to do something out of line.
Could it be that their nervousness is related to Miss Shen and the Duke's anger?
"I—I understand. I will certainly not make things difficult for my mother in front of His Highness the Crown Prince. You may rise now."
Upon hearing Shen Yujiao's agreement, Mu Jin realized that she had been impolite. Seeing that she was about to apologize again, Shen Yujiao quickly raised her hand to stop her: "Alright, alright. Now that you have married into the Eastern Palace, I have no choice but to ask you to keep a close eye on me and remind me more often. If such a thing happens again in the future, just say it. I will not blame you."
Seeing that she said that, Mu Jin felt relieved and agreed.
Seeing that Mu Jin had returned to normal, Shen Yujiao became suspicious. What could have happened that could make a noble lady like Miss Shen quarrel with her parents like this? She was born to be the Crown Princess and Empress, so why would she have a dispute with her family before her marriage?
Seeing Liu's mother's excessive caution and Mu Jin's uneasy expression, Shen Yujiao could guess that it must be something serious. After thinking for a moment, she decided that Mu Jin was emotionally unstable at the moment, so it was best not to bring up the past today.
So, Shen Yujiao swallowed the questions she had originally wanted to ask, waved her hand, and signaled her to leave.
As soon as Jiang Chen returned to his bedchamber after changing his clothes, he saw Shen Yujiao resting her chin on one hand and holding an empty teacup in the other, lost in thought. He walked over, picked up the teapot, and filled Shen Yujiao's teacup with warm water.
"You're back." A drop of water splashed on her fingertips, and Shen Yujiao snapped back to reality.
"What are you thinking about? Still thinking about time travel?"
"no......"
For some reason, ever since Mu Jin left, Shen Yujiao felt a sudden unease in her heart. Thinking about what Mu Jin had asked for, she couldn't ignore it. After hesitating for a long time, Shen Yujiao told Jiang Chen everything that had just happened.
After listening, Jiang Chen remained silent for a long time before asking, "You think we can't go back, right?"
"What?" Shen Yujiao was a little taken aback by his question.
“You think we can’t go back, so you have to consider yourself one of us.”
The atmosphere fell silent again after these words. After a moment, just as Shen Yujiao was about to speak, Jiang Chen said, "I originally thought I was just having a dream, but day after day, I realized that it was not a dream. I was hesitating whether to give up the idea of waking up—Shen Jiaojiao, I have seen you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. There was no need to explain further; she already understood what Jiang Chen wanted to say.
She had almost given up, but then she came. Just like the moment she saw Jiang Chen on her wedding night, seeing each other was like seeing hope.
As a newcomer, she was anxious about the environment and wanted to understand the situation. Because Jiang Chen was there, she was not so panicked or uneasy. However, she forgot that ever since Jiang Chen saw her, he was probably only thinking about going back.
Although she understood his thoughts, Shen Yujiao still felt inexplicably wronged.
Not to mention whether they can go back is unknown, if they don't know the current situation, it's hard to say whether they can live well as ancient people in this dynasty. He only thinks about when he can travel back again, but he doesn't think about the problem that she has to meet Shen's parents the day after tomorrow.
A mix of emotions welled up inside her, and the words she was about to say changed her mind: "Yes, I just feel like we can't go back, so I want to be realistic, is that okay?"
From childhood to adulthood, the two have often argued over trivial matters, and after the arguments, they usually end up in a cold war. Although their parents are used to this, they still try to mediate between each other.
But in this situation, even though the two know they need to be considerate of each other and rely on one another, they still can't suppress their emotions.
So, on the second day after the grand wedding in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince moved to his study, and the Crown Princess also stayed in her bedroom without leaving. The people working below became increasingly uneasy, and thus the silence in the Eastern Palace was prolonged indefinitely.
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