Lu Yuanliu rolled up the handkerchief and stuffed it into his sleeve before returning to the Lu residence. Whenever he felt he was being lewd, he couldn't bear to throw the handkerchief away.
That day, Lu Yuanliu stood at the window of his study, feeling the cool breeze under the shade of the green trees. He looked down at the handkerchief in his hand, his eyes still somewhat deep.
Seeing Lu Yuanliu lost in thought, Lu Yuanchuan jokingly asked in a good mood, "Remembering someone while looking at something?"
Hearing the sudden sound, Lu Yuanliu abruptly stuffed the handkerchief in his hand into his sleeve and shouted angrily, "Lu Yuanchuan! Can't you make a little noise when you walk?! Are you trying to scare me to death?!"
He belatedly realized the teasing in Lu Yuanchuan's words, and said in a nonchalant tone, "Brother, have you suddenly blossomed like an iron tree?"
Lu Yuanchuan didn't refute, but instead smiled, the gentleness in his eyes was undeniable.
Lu Yuanliu felt a chill run down his spine. "Brother, have you been possessed? Tell me, who made you bloom?"
Lu Yuanchuan glanced at Lu Yuanliu and said, "You will know what you were holding just now in the future."
Lu Yuanliu's gaze drifted, and he coughed twice. "It's nothing, just a handkerchief left behind by a young lady. I'm wondering when to return it."
Lu Yuanchuan cut to the chase: "Do you still need to think about when to go back? I've told you many times not to always be involved in frivolous affairs, but to find a respectable woman."
"She's from a respectable family!" Lu Yuanliu said this with a guilty conscience. How could a girl who frequented the Flower Brothel be from a respectable family? "She doesn't fawn over me. She'll say a few words to me and then go to practice her singing. Then she'll ask to leave. She never lingers with me."
Lu Yuanchuan did not comment on this, leaving only the words: "You'd better take care of yourself."
**
When Lin Yuyun learned that Lu Yuanchuan had gone to deliver gifts to Qiao Zhen, she sent people to inquire around the Princess's residence. However, the maids and servants in the Princess's residence were all carefully selected by the Emperor and were generally not gossipy, so the maids Lin Yuyun sent did not find out anything.
She didn't know that Lu Yuanchuan was there to apologize; she only thought that Lu Yuanchuan and Qiao Zhen were still entangled, which made her furious but unable to vent her anger.
Lin Yuyun felt she could no longer stand idly by, so she began to plan another play.
Qiao Zhen knew perfectly well that Lin Yuyun wouldn't let it go, but she was happy to be the villain and was determined to play the villain.
Around the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, which was Qiao Zhen's birthday, Emperor Qi specially ordered the Ministry of Rites to hold a banquet in the palace to show his affection for Qiao Zhen.
Moreover, Emperor Qi wanted to give Qiao Zhen a proper name, making her a princess of Qi royal blood.
Qiao Zhen's existence broke the curse that Qi Kingdom only had princes and no princesses, so she was destined to become a person second only to the king in Qi Kingdom.
Qiao Zhen wore a pomegranate-red dress, along with her headdress, which Emperor Qi had specially ordered the palace servants to prepare. Despite her elaborate attire, she did not appear ostentatious or vulgar; instead, she exuded elegance, and her beauty was amplified.
After all the officials and concubines had arrived, the eunuch belatedly announced, "His Majesty has arrived—Princess Zhuyu has arrived—"
Everyone knelt down and shouted in unison, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Princess!"
Qiao Zhen followed behind Emperor Qi and was helped up the steps by palace maids. Since there was no empress in Qi, Qiao Zhen sat on Emperor Qi's right.
In the Qi Kingdom, the head of the household was the most honored, with the right and left sides following in order.
Emperor Qi, with a cold and stern face, exuded authority without anger. "All of you, rise. Today is Princess Zhuyu's birthday. Princess Zhuyu is my bloodline that I lost in the Li Kingdom. Today, I will proclaim to the world that Zhuyu is the first precious jewel of my Qi Kingdom to date."
Everyone stood up. Lu Yuanchuan looked at Qiao Zhen's face with deep affection. But when Lu Yuanliu saw Qiao Zhen's face, it was as if he had seen a ghost. His feelings were so complicated that they were hard to describe. He suddenly remembered what Qiao Zhen had said before.
"This humble woman finds you, sir, to be an old friend."
"Oh? Who is it?"
"My former husband."
"I am a daughter of a respectable family, and you are naturally a son of a respectable family."
Lin Yuyun saw Lu Yuanchuan staring intently at Qiao Zhen, and her jealousy finally boiled over. Thinking about what was about to happen, she felt both uneasy and excited.
The eunuch brought forward a bowl of water and first had Qiao Zhen drip a drop of blood from her fingertip, then had Emperor Qi drip a drop of blood from his fingertip, and then waited for the two drops of blood to mix.
But after an incense stick had burned, the two drops of blood still hadn't fused, and the eunuch couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Qiao Zhen simply stood up, took the bowl of "clear water" to the First Prince's side, and asked, "May I borrow a drop of the First Prince's blood?"
The eldest prince, named Qi Jiao, was a kind and gentle man. "Naturally," he said. He picked up a teacup, smashed it, and then used the shards to cut his fingertip, squeezing out a drop of blood into the teacup.
His blood did not mix with Emperor Qi's blood. Qi Jiao's expression changed drastically. He immediately pulled over the Second Prince and the Third Prince and dripped their blood into the mixture as well.
They did not merge.
Despite it being a very serious moment, Qiao Zhen couldn't help but laugh out loud. She pursed her lips and tried her best to hold it in, finally taking a deep breath to cover up her laughter. "Perhaps there's something wrong with this bowl of water; who knows what might have been added to it."
With so many green hats (cuckolded), if Emperor Qi were to wear one, the Qi Kingdom would become a laughing stock tomorrow.
The eunuch knelt down tremblingly, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Princess, spare my life! This servant doesn't know what happened. This servant was just away for a moment."
Emperor Qi waved his hand, "Xiao Dezi, go and fetch a bowl of water yourself."
"Yes." The eunuch who was following Emperor Qi left.
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