Chapter 749: One plays the good cop, the other plays the bad cop, they team up to blackmail me
"Heng'er, stop messing around. Sister Gu is your benefactor."
The servants brought tea and snacks at the right time, including soft and sweet osmanthus cakes and delicate and small milk rolls, which were all popular snacks in Beijing.
Zhao Heng didn't even look at her, but glanced around the hall as if he was looking for something.
Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the Duobao Pavilion nearby, and his eyes lit up instantly.
He broke free from the prince's hand, trotted over to the Treasure Pavilion, pointed at an ornament on the second floor, and announced loudly, "I want that!"
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed and saw a palm-sized wooden pony. The horse was carved from fine boxwood, its mane flying, its hooves tumbling, its posture agile and lifelike.
This was a masterpiece by a famous artist that the Duke of Zhenguo specially found from the northern border for Gu Qingchen's birthday last year. She has always treasured it.
Gu Qingchen's face darkened completely. "It's just a wooden horse."
"I don't care!" Zhao Heng turned around and looked at her confidently, "You ate my rabbit, so you have to compensate me with a horse! This is only natural!"
Gu Qingchen could no longer bear it, "Who ate your rabbit? Is the rabbit yours? I caught it myself."
Zhao Heng asked, "Little rabbit, it was obviously sleeping soundly, why did you catch it? Or is it a murder for money?"
Gu Qingchen laughed in anger, "Little thing, you can't even read a few words, you can't even pronounce an idiom properly, I'm not trying to get your money, I'm really trying to kill you!"
These few words made the twelfth prince furious.
"Zhao Heng!" Zhao Chen'an's tone finally became stern. "If you continue to act recklessly, I will send you back to the palace and put you under house arrest for a month!"
Unexpectedly, this threat was not only useless, but also ignited the fuse.
Zhao Heng's mouth drooped and his eyes turned red instantly. He looked like he was about to fall apart, as if he had suffered a great injustice. He looked at Zhao Chenan accusingly, but did not cry out loud. He just sobbed and his little shoulders shrugged.
Seeing this look, even a heart of stone would soften a little.
Gu Qingchen looked at the two brothers in front of him, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, and felt like there was a lump in his chest, neither going up nor down.
She has been walking around the capital city like a bully since she was a child. She has always been the one to extort money from others. When has she ever been extorted by others?
And by a five-year-old kid!
She looked at Qian Zhenyun for help, but saw that he was sipping tea with his head down, as if he was unaware of the farce in front of him. Only the slightly raised corners of his mouth betrayed his mood of enjoying the show.
Gu Qingchen glared at him fiercely.
Forget it, arguing with a kid will only make you lose your identity.
She gritted her teeth and squeezed out a few words from the maid beside her: "Go, take that horse down and give it to His Highness the Twelfth Prince."
Huanran obeyed the order and carefully removed the wooden horse.
The tears in Zhao Heng's eyes disappeared in an instant. He snatched the beloved little wooden horse and hugged it tightly in his arms. He raised his chin provocatively at Gu Qingchen. His little expression was so proud.
Zhao Chen'an's face was full of apology. He bowed to Gu Qingchen and said, "Qingchen, I didn't discipline you well enough. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you. This thing... I will definitely find a better one to send you another day."
"No need." Gu Qingchen forced a stiff smile. "It's just a little thing. If His Highness likes it, I'll just consider it a gift for him."
Zhao Heng, who had gotten the advantage, hugged the wooden horse and made a face at Gu Qingchen.
Seeing this, Zhao Chen'an didn't dare to stay any longer. He hurriedly said a few polite words and then took his trouble-making brother and left.
Gu Qingchen stood by the door, watching the two brothers disappear outside the mansion, feeling a surge of anger that he had nowhere to vent.
She turned around abruptly and angrily shouted at Qian Zhenyun, who had finally put down his teacup, "I really want to throw both of them out of the house!"
Qian Zhenyun raised his eyes and looked at Gu Qingchen's pretty face which was red with anger. The smile at the corner of his lips not only did not fade, but deepened a bit.
"Throw them out?" He asked calmly, "Throw the Crown Prince and His Highness the Twelfth Prince out of the Duke's Mansion? Qingchen, with your temper, do you want to make a disrespectful memorial to our Zhenguo Mansion a part of the court tomorrow morning?"
Gu Qingchen was choked by his indifferent tone, and the anger in his chest became even stronger.
"I don't care about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
She walked up to him, her hands on her hips, like a cat with its fur standing on end.
"Didn't you see? The two of them, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, teamed up to blackmail me! I've never suffered such a loss in my life!"
She became increasingly angry as she spoke, pointing at Qian Zhenyun and accusing him, "And you! You were just sitting there watching the show, helplessly watching me being bullied by a little brat. Are you still on my side?"
Qian Zhenyun did not answer, but stood up and walked slowly to the Duobao Pavilion where one compartment was empty.
He extended his finger and gently brushed over the spot where the wooden horse had been, leaving a slight indentation.
He turned his head, looked at her calmly, and asked an irrelevant question.
"Do you think a five-year-old child really has such discerning eyes that he can pick out the one item in a room full of ornaments that most appeals to you and represents the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion?"
Gu Qingchen's anger seemed to be extinguished instantly as if a basin of cold water was poured over his head.
She was stunned.
Yes, that boxwood carved pony is not the most luxurious nor the most eye-catching.
But that was brought back by my father from the northern border, and it was the work of a famous artist.
Zhao Heng was a child who grew up in the deep palace, how could he know?
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