The person who came was none other than Madam Chu.
Madam Chu was well-preserved and had already given birth to children, but you couldn't tell from her face at all.
Madam Chu nodded slightly to An Yi as a greeting, then personally stepped forward to help Chu Xinxin up: "Why did you come here, child?"
Granny Ni then explained to An Yi, "Princess, our mistress prepared the best and largest Qiluan Pavilion in our Prime Minister's residence for the eldest young lady. I just don't know why the eldest young lady chose to come here."
Haitang's eyes widened. Holy crap, how could this person be so shameless? They clearly dumped the young lady in this most remote courtyard in the southwest corner, yet they insist that the young lady ran here on her own.
An Yi glanced at Madam Chu with a puzzled look. Then, Granny Ni said, "Look, Madam and the eldest daughter have a very good relationship."
Haitang: ?
Madam Chu held Chu Xinxin's hand tightly: "Child, Mother will take you back to your room."
Chu Xinxin, unlike her arrogant self yesterday, dared not utter a sound as Madam Chu pulled her into the Qiluan Pavilion.
The interior of Qiluan Courtyard was extremely luxurious, even the door plaques were made of precious wood.
A hint of amusement flashed in Chu Xinxin's eyes. This courtyard was called Qiluan Courtyard. The word "Luan" in mythology generally refers to the phoenix clan.
The Chu family is trying to kill you with praise.
“Xin Xin, I couldn’t see you yesterday because you were tired. If you need anything, just tell your mother.”
Madam Chu's voice softened, and her smile truly resembled that of a loving mother.
Chu Xinxin looked around, her eyes gleaming with greed.
Madam Chu subtly observed her, seeing through her greed completely, and the smile on her lips became more genuine.
"Mother's arrangements are certainly excellent, but..."
Madam Chu: "Tell me, I'll give you everything Mother has."
People often talk about the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but Xin Xin feels that this room is missing a few of them.
"Granny Ni, hurry and go find her..."
Chu Xinxin interrupted her: "I heard that the Prime Minister's residence has a collection of ancient zithers with the sound of the Great Sage, chess pieces made of white marble and black jade, tens of thousands of books, and countless works of calligraphy and painting by scholars. Mother, you can just pick a few things for me."
...You fucking said it out loud!
Madam Chu's smile froze.
Chu Xinxin immediately felt wronged: "Mother, you wouldn't be reluctant to part with her, would you?"
An Yi and Doctor Wang visited Madam Chu together.
Madam Chu immediately concealed her displeasure: "Xinxin is joking. They are just some items. Granny Ni, go and fetch all that the young lady mentioned."
Granny Ni said anxiously, "Madam, everything else is fine, but you just gave the Great Sage's Legacy Ancient Qin to the Second Miss a while ago."
She said that Chu Xinxin should know her place. She took her sister's things on her second day back. That's not a good reputation for her.
Chu Xinxin spoke up again as expected.
Granny Ni was overjoyed, but then she heard Chu Xinxin say, "Mother, if you don't want to give it, just say so. How come you've already given it to my second sister as soon as I asked? Never mind, I'd better go back to the Qi residence."
Madam Chu & Granny Ni: ......
Granny Ni took the blame herself and apologized profusely before the matter was dropped.
Madam Chu felt that if she stayed any longer, Chu Xinxin would move the entire Prime Minister's residence to Qiluan Courtyard, so she made an excuse and left.
"Haha, Xinxin, Liu's pained expression just now was hilarious."
Liu was Madam Chu. An Yi burst into laughter as soon as she left.
Chu Xinxin raised an eyebrow: "It's too early to feel the pinch now."
An Yi's spirits lifted: "What else do you want to do?"
Chu Xinxin: "Go bankrupt the Prime Minister's residence."
"I'll help you!" An Yi seemed to thrive on chaos.
The two gave each other a high five.
"By the way, what brings you here today?" Chu Xinxin asked.
"I originally wanted to see how angry Chu Yun was after going from being the eldest young lady to the second young lady, and also to deliver an invitation to you..."
An Yi's lady-in-waiting handed over a name card that read "Spring Festival Banquet at the Duke's Mansion".
"There will be many banquets in the next month or two. The larger ones include the Spring Festival Banquet, the Leisurely Outing, and the Spring Outing. After that, there will be the Empress's birthday, the Empress Dowager's birthday, and the Emperor's birthday. In between, there will also be small banquets organized by the princesses, imperial concubines, and young ladies of various families. Don't you want to see Prince An? He will definitely attend the Spring Festival Banquet."
An Yi explained.
Why do you say he will go?
“All unmarried princes and nobles will go.”
After she said that, Chu Xinxin understood.
Isn't this just a large-scale matchmaking event?
"Moreover, the Duke is Prince An's teacher, so he will definitely go for this reason."
After An Yi finished speaking, she moved closer to Chu Xinxin and looked closely at Chu Xinxin's face.
"Strange, the burns on your face... I don't see any change?"
Chu Xinxin: "Oh, Doctor Wang said the medicine he used on me is called 'Xin Jing' ointment."
"What 'Heart Purification' ointment?"
"A plaster that makes the face of the person you love instantly clean."
An Yi & Doctor Wang: Hmm?
An Yi turned to look at Doctor Wang, who was preparing the medicine.
Doctor Wang: "Uh, Miss Chu is right."
An Yi felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
......
After An Yi and Doctor Wang left, Haitang came in carrying the Great Sage's Legacy.
"Miss, would you like to keep this zither in your room or put it back in the storeroom?"
"Put it on the table."
Chu Xinxin casually plucked the strings of the guqin a couple of times. The sound was crisp and clear, but upon closer listening, there was some unwanted noise.
It's a counterfeit.
[Chu Yun absolutely refused to let Granny Ni take the genuine product, so Granny Ni gave you a high-quality fake instead.]
Seeing that Chu Xinxin stopped after flicking the strings twice, Haitang asked curiously, "Miss, what's wrong?"
"This instrument is a replica."
Haitang: "What? They actually dared to do that? This servant is going to confront them!"
Chu Xinxin called the person back: "There's no need to go, they definitely won't recognize you."
"So we're just going to let them bully us like this?"
Chu Xinxin smiled: "Of course not."
That night, Chu Xinxin and Haitang, dressed in night clothes, switched the two zithers in Chu Yun's room.
She also brought back many pieces of jewelry that Chu Yun cherished.
"Miss, we took so many things. What if the Second Miss wakes up and finds out and comes after us?"
Chu Xinxin tossed a luminous pearl in her hand and replied, "This originally belonged to you, Miss."
Haitang didn't understand.
Chu Xinxin handed Qi Xiao's dowry list to her: "Do you understand now?"
"Miss, shall we go again tomorrow night?"
......
On the other side of the capital, at the Prince An's Mansion.
Zhou Huaichuan listened to the reports from the secret guards on the major and minor events that had occurred in the capital over the past two days.
When he heard that Chu Xinxin, the eldest daughter of the Chu family who had been raised outside the family, had been brought back to the Chu family, his hand, which was practicing calligraphy, paused slightly.
A single drop of ink fell heavily, ruining the beautiful calligraphy.
The Chu family is a den of wolves...
Zhou Huai'an recalled the day they first met, when Chu Xinxin's clear and bright eyes were like those of an innocent fawn.
It's very pure.
She said she returned to Beijing to find him...
never mind.
Zhou Huaichuan ordered, "Send someone over...to protect her life."
This can be considered as repaying her for the divine pill.
"yes."
The guards obeyed and left.
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