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Ling Jingchu's cousin does indeed look somewhat similar.
But if Qing Shuang were asked to elaborate on the similarities, she would find it difficult to recall any further.
"Does being handsome and charming count as good looks?"
She hid behind the screen and looked closely. Her back view was quite upright, and she did have a certain demeanor.
Despite being dressed in coarse linen clothes, she had a vague sense of familiarity about him.
When the man turned his head to the side, she froze. Wasn't this the hostage sent by the Li Kingdom?
The Emperor doted on Chen Qingqing, the Crown Prince's birth mother, but Chen Qingqing died young, shortly after giving birth to the Crown Prince.
To prevent the crown prince from being bullied, the emperor directly made him the crown prince and placed him by his side to personally educate and raise him.
Moreover, the Chen family wielded considerable power in the court, but the emperor never interfered.
The reason why the Third Prince was able to sit on the throne under such circumstances was entirely because of this hostage.
When the Li Kingdom sent the hostage, the emperor placed him in the Cold Palace. At that time, Consort Li was disliked by the emperor because of her lowly status, and he casually found an excuse to send her to the Cold Palace.
While in the Cold Palace, the Third Prince met a hostage. Consort Li would secretly feed the hostage and protect him when the eunuchs bullied him.
The hostage was always grateful to Consort Li and the Third Prince.
Later, when they rebelled, they relied on a close-knit group of guards, including a hostage.
How could protons appear here now?
She almost laughed.
There will always be someone who wants her dead.
It's just unclear whether it's the Marquis's residence or Consort Li's.
For reasons unknown, Ling Jingchu decided to keep the person there. Originally, Ling Jingchu's intention was for the person to stay in the side courtyard where he had previously lived.
But her father, Jiang Jinhong, made the decision with a wave of his hand.
"Since you are Jingchu's cousin, why don't you stay at the Jiang family's house? Next year, you can go to the capital together to take the imperial examination. Wouldn't that be perfect?"
And so the hostage remained with the Jiang family.
She was speechless at her father's behavior; he had let a wolf into the house.
But her father was completely unaware and even invited them to join him for dinner.
So a whole table of people sat down together.
The hostage spoke first: "Thank you, Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang, for taking me in. I, Li Chuan, will remember the kindness of Uncle Jiang, Aunt Jiang, and my cousin today when I achieve success in the imperial examination."
After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank a cup.
Jiang Yunshu chuckled inwardly. The royal family of Li Kingdom had the surname Baili, and he had taken one of those surnames.
Jiang Jinhong quickly waved his hand: "Nephew, why do you say that? Since you are Jingchu's cousin, you are also a cousin of the Jiang family. Please stay here."
Li Chuan was extremely grateful and said a long string of words, which made Jiang Jinhong smile from ear to ear.
She was silently observing this person when Baili Chuan suddenly turned his gaze toward her.
“Miss Jiang,” he smiled gently and politely, “I have long admired your name. Be warned, you are indeed a heroine among women.”
She suddenly felt that Baili Chuan looked shifty and his smile was unpleasant.
"Really? Then take a good look."
Baili Chuan's smile faltered for a moment.
She continued, "It's okay to be visually impaired, but it's a problem to be emotionally impaired."
"Ah Yun!"
"Nonsense!"
Her father clicked his tongue lightly and muttered a reprimand in a low voice.
Turning to Baili Chuan, she smiled apologetically and said, "Don't mind her, Ayun is just spoiled by us. She doesn't have those kinds of thoughts."
Bai Lichuan smiled gently, appearing extremely tolerant.
"Miss Jiang is truly pure and straightforward, which is rare. My mother once said that a woman should be like this."
Seeing Baili Chuan's utter tolerance, she felt a surge of admiration.
Those who survived the deep palace were no ordinary people.
After the Third Prince ascended the throne, Baili Chuan took advantage of his power to carve out a bloody path in the Li Kingdom, transforming himself from a hostage into the ruler of a country.
How could someone like that not be patient?
Her gaze was fixed on Baili Chuan, and as she pondered, her eyes, as clear as autumn water, seemed to hold a tender and affectionate look.
Ling Jingchu's already deep, dark eyes became even more gloomy, and he turned his head to glance lightly at Su Ye.
"Young Master Li, I heard that You County was severely flooded. My aunt's whole family perished. I wonder how you managed to escape?"
Youxian County is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, where floods are common because it is situated in the central part of the Jin River.
The Jin River is considered the mother river of the south, but due to its unstable water conditions, the surrounding areas have suffered disasters.
Youxian County is a flood-prone area, and many people have already left, but a few people who are unwilling to leave their homeland still stay there.
She looked at Baili Chuan, whose eyes showed no panic. He said sadly, "I never expected to hear about my hometown here. I went to a neighboring village on business, and when I came back, I saw that the village was flooded."
"The aunt you're talking about, is it Aunt Zou?"
Baili Chuan looked up at Su Ye with tears in his eyes, his expression one of profound grief.
“My mother died early, and my father loved to drink. Aunt Zou always treated me like her own child. I never expected that just because I went on a long trip, Aunt Zou's whole family would…”
A single, glistening tear fell.
Su Ye pursed her lips, and her eyes reddened.
She narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly; Baili Chuan was indeed well-prepared.
My condolences.
She said something softly, and Baili Chuan turned his head and nodded at her, his eyes revealing no emotion.
Ling Jingchu lowered his eyes gloomily, picking at his food with a bored expression, but when he looked up, he saw Jiang Yunshu's gaze fixed on him.
Jiang Yunshu was in much better condition, with a rosy complexion. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes showed both the mischievousness of her childhood and the alluring maturity of her present appearance.
She simply tied her hair up in a bun; the lack of elaborate decorations couldn't hide the inherent elegance in her bones.
Jiang Yunshu stared at the blockhead in front of her, but finally gave in.
Ling Jingchu and she really have no chemistry at all.
She was trying to get more information out of him, but Ling Jingchu just kept eating in silence.
How could someone like this be favored by the Crown Prince?
How dare they rival the Third Prince?
She suffered a heart attack after eating a meal.
Once back in her room, she immediately called for Qing Shuang.
"Tell Aono to keep a close eye on Li Chuan."
Qing Shuang's younger brother, Qing Ye, is her bodyguard.
A short while later, Aono returned.
"Reporting to Master, the room is lit, but no one is home."
Nobody here?
Are you that impatient?
She smiled. A perfect opportunity!
"Let's go out too."
Qing Shuang was confused. "Miss, what are we going out for now? We don't even know where Li Chuan went."
She smiled and said, "Let's go to Zuiyue Tower first."
She didn't know where Baili Chuan had gone, but usually, brothels were the places to exchange information at times like this.
You can't go wrong.
"Miss, how do we get to Zuiyue Tower? It's......"
Qing Shuang didn't continue speaking. She thought for a moment, then turned to Qing Ye and said, "Bring me two sets of your clothes."
When the two arrived at Zuiyue Tower dressed as servants, no one even bothered to greet them.
This gave them just enough time to move around.
The Drunken Moon Pavilion was luxuriously decorated, and she had no way of finding Baili Chuan inside those tightly closed doors.
Just as she was sighing, she saw Jiang Yunzheng.
Jiang Yunzheng was embracing a courtesan with a lewd smile when he reached the door of the room. He gently pushed the door open with his folding fan.
Then he turned the folding fan around and lifted the woman's chin. The woman shyly punched Jiang Yunzheng's chest.
The two were about to enter the room, looking like they were locked in a passionate embrace.
She was so angry that she didn't care about Baili Chuan. She led Qing Shuang forward to question him, but after taking two or three steps, she was caught off guard and saw Baili Chuan sitting in the room.
Even after the door was closed and they were both on the street, she still didn't realize what was happening.
I didn't even dare to look at it again.
Baili Chuan and Jiang Yunzheng...?
In her previous life, the Jiang family was destroyed shortly after her death. She always thought it was because after her death, the Jiang family lost its usefulness and was therefore raided.
But now...
Could this matter be related to Jiang Yunzheng?
The Third Prince.
Jiangnan is the most prosperous region in the entire Daxing Kingdom, and Consort Li and the old lady of the Marquis's mansion are cousins.
Could the marriage alliance between the Marquis's mansion and the Jiang family have been for... a deliberate scheme from the very beginning?
She is now divorced, but Consort Li will not easily give up this lucrative opportunity from the Jiang family.
When did Jiang Yunzheng become involved with Consort Li's people?
Her heart sank deeper and deeper. After returning home, she didn't look into the yard. So when a voice suddenly rang out in the dark porch, she screamed in fright.
"Who goes there?!"
"Jiang Yunshu, where have you been dressed like this so late?"
Her cold tone allowed her to recognize the person without even seeing their face clearly.
"Ling Jingchu, do you know that people can scare each other to death? You almost scared me to death just now!"
She was so frightened that a surge of anger rose in her chest, and she found him even more repulsive.
"Where I go is none of your business. You should use your time to worry about your cousin, who's been out all night and who knows what he's doing!"
After saying that, she walked past Ling Jingchu and entered the room.
Qing Shuang was also terrified by this, and didn't even bow to Ling Jingchu as she passed by.
Ling Jingchu's expression darkened slightly, but Su Ye, who was behind him, followed Qing Shuang inside.
How did you know Li Chuan wasn't in the room?
"Our young master actually came to deliver medicine to Miss Jiang, since she was scratched last time."
Su Ye's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Jiang Yunshu to hear clearly in the quiet night.
After the initial shock subsided and her senses returned, she recalled what she had just said and silently cursed herself.
She turned to look at Su Ye, who took out a small porcelain bottle of ointment and handed it to Qing Shuang.
A figure could be vaguely seen standing in the shadows not far away, the night so deep it seemed to want to swallow him whole.
The dim candlelight flickered in the room, as if it were stirring up her guilt from the depths of her heart.
"I just..."
"I mentioned that lamp to you this morning, but you wouldn't allow it. Miss Jiang must have been terrified. Actually, I could have delivered the medicine myself, but you insisted on coming along..."
"Su Ye".
A deep, muffled sound came from outside, but the tone of the voice was indiscernible.
His usual cold tone.
She got angry too: "It's pitch black, who can see anything? It scared me to death! Ling Jingchu, are you going to take care of A Yao for me?!"
The blurry figure outside paused for a moment, then walked towards her.
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