The second day of the first lunar month is the day to go back to one's parents' home. Qin Yi didn't need to attend court, so she accompanied Chu Jinyao out of the palace, and the two returned to Changxing Marquis's mansion together.

Fifth Aunt has always been a very special existence in the mansion, and even Changxing Marquis didn't know how to treat this son-in-law. Fortunately, Qin Yi was very polite to his father-in-law. Changxing Marquis was half monarch and half father-in-law, and he was able to get along with Qin Yi in harmony.

Yesterday, Mrs. Chu and Zhao had just seen Chu Jinyao, so they didn't think it was strange to see her today. However, the other female members of the Chu family who had no chance to attend the New Year's Day audience saw Chu Jinyao, but they couldn't hide their surprise.

Every time I see Chu Jinyao, I can clearly see that she is growing rapidly. When she left the palace last December, Chu Jinyao was calm, and you could still see her anxiety about the future in her eyes. When she returned home three days later, Chu Jinyao's hesitation had dissipated a lot, but her behavior was still cautious and reserved. But this time, after only a month, Chu Jinyao's temperament became much calmer. This calmness was not the kind of calmness that was cautious and afraid of making mistakes before, but a calmness that was calm and frank, and there was no need to worry about losing.

Yan stood below and watched for a long time. She thought of the brides she had seen before, and finally had to admit that Chu Jinyao was truly born with a good life. It's not like she hasn't seen people who married into high-class families. Those women were dressed in gorgeous clothes, but they were always cautious and they would think twice before speaking. But Chu Jinyao was different. She was obviously married to a wealthy family, but her words and smiles were natural. It was obvious that she had confidence in her heart, so she was never afraid of saying or doing something wrong. Duan Yinghua was also a bride, but she married a month earlier than Chu Jinyao. But when they stood together, the difference was obvious. A woman's expression could not lie about whether she lived a good life after marriage.

Chu Jinyao's mother-in-law was Empress Xiao Qi, who was not only her stepmother, but also had a long-standing grudge with the prince. There was no need to expect such a good story as the harmony between the aunt and the stepmother. Then Chu Jinyao's confidence could only come from the prince.

Yan sighed, not knowing whether to envy Chu Jinyao for her good fortune or her good looks. Some things are really hard to be jealous of. She is also the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion. If Chu Jinyao does not come back, Chu Jinmiao will not be able to enjoy such a blessing with her petty and timid personality.

Chu Jinyao sat with the elders for a while, and after letting her younger sisters line up to come in and kowtow to her, she asked to go out for a walk. She has not returned to her own room since she got married, and she doesn't know what the former courtyard has become.

Chu Jinyao wanted to go out, and of course no one dared to stop her. Chu Jinyao took Linglong and Platycodon to the east, and they were all moved when they saw the old scenery.

"Crown Princess, our old courtyard is still being cleaned!"

This courtyard in the capital is still called Chaoyun Courtyard. Even after Chu Jinyao got married, it was still kept, and people were regularly arranged to come in and clean it. Chu Jinyao walked into the house and looked around. The big things were still there, but there was a lack of a lot of living air. It was obvious that there was no one here.

Kikyo was still mumbling: "The things are still fine, but no one lives there, and the room is a little dark. Crown Princess, do you want to bring a pot of charcoal over?"

"No need to be so troublesome, I just came to take a look, there's no need to mobilize a large force."

"Does this mean mobilizing a large force?"

Chu Jinyao and Kikyo were both startled, Kikyo immediately lowered her head and stepped back: "Your Highness."

Chu Jinyao was sitting on the bed, and when he heard Qin Yi's voice, he quickly stood up: "Your Highness, why are you here?"

"I heard that you were in the East Courtyard, so I came to see you." Qin Yi naturally held Chu Jinyao's hand, and his eyebrows moved slightly, "Your hands are so cold?"

Kikyo understood, and said tactfully, "I'll go get the charcoal."

After Kikyo left, Linglong was still changing the tea, and now she didn't come back, so only Chu Jinyao and Qin Yi were left in the room. Chu Jinyao glanced at Qin Yi, as if he wanted to say something, but finally curled his lips and said nothing.

Qin Yi was amused by her rich expression: "What do you want to say?"

"I originally wanted to say that this is the girl's concubine, and it seems inappropriate for you to come in like this. But I feel that given the character of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it is useless for me to say these words, so I save my breath."

Qin Yi really didn't think there was anything wrong with entering the girl's concubine. He bought this place specially for Chu Jinyao, and he had been there before. What's more, he had seen Chu Jinyao's concubine when she was in Taiyuan, and even lived there for a while.

So, Qin Yi said indifferently: "You and I are husband and wife, why do you care about these things?"

Chu Jinyao knew that she could not persuade Qin Yi, so she did not bother about these details. Instead, she took Qin Yi to see the things she left behind with great interest, and told him how she spent the year before getting married.

"...This is the embroidery shed. When the light is good, I do needlework here. In order to marry you, I learned embroidery for a whole year. My sister heard that I was embroidering my wedding dowry, and she wrote to teach me..."

Qin Yi rarely came into contact with these affairs of the ladies of the royal family. Although they were trivial, they seemed to have a special magic when they came out of Chu Jinyao's mouth. Qin Yi seemed to be involved in Chu Jinyao's life at that time. Qin Yi noticed that Chu Jinyao seemed to be in a low mood, so he asked sharply: "Why don't you talk?"

Chu Jinyao sighed softly: "I'm thinking about my elder sister. Our whole family moved to the capital, and she is alone in Taiyuan. I don't know if her husband's family bullies her. She got pregnant two years after marriage, which must have been very difficult, and her parents' family is not around..."

It turned out to be because of this matter. Qin Yi thought that this was not a problem at all. He said casually, "If you miss your elder sister, just transfer Zhao Jiazhi to the capital."

Chu Jinyao was shocked: "Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Chu Jinyao blinked and asked quietly, "Does this count as a backdoor?"

Qin Yi smiled and looked at Chu Jinyao: "Obviously." Chu Jinyao

was amused and laughed. She looked around to see that there was no one around, and hugged Qin Yi's arm tightly: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Where is your sincerity?"

This man is really pushing his feet and acting willfully. Chu Jinyao raised his head and glared at Qin Yi, signaling the surroundings with his eyes: "This is outside, don't talk nonsense."

"I think you are imagining it." Qin Yi said slowly.

"Shut up!"

The two walked out of Chu Jinyao's bedroom and walked to other places while talking and laughing. Xiao Linzi turned around, with a look of astonishment on his face, and said in the tone of an experienced person: "You see, I said there is no need to go in to deliver the charcoal brazier."

Platycodon held a brazier and was forced to stand by the fire in the cold wind for half a day: "What Eunuch Lin said is right. But what should we do with this brazier?"

Xiao Linzi pondered for a moment and said: "Let's carry it first. If we send it back, the prince won't see anything later and will think we are being lazy, and he will probably be angry. But if we go in to add more fire, the prince will definitely be angry. So carry it first, there's no rush."

​​Platycodon responded, she really wanted to say that Eunuch Lin, you really understand, but in the end she held back.

After lunch, Qin Yi took Chu Jinyao to say goodbye. Marquis Changxing looked at the bright sky outside, then looked at the purple clothes on Qin Yi and Chu Jinyao, which were obviously made by the same person, and finally decided that he knew nothing, which was just as the prince wanted.

Chu Jinyao was wearing a white flowered jacket and a purple horse-faced skirt with mountains and rivers pattern today, and Qin Yi was also wearing the same purple mountain and river pattern. The two of them stood together, and the father-in-law Changxing Marquis was really embarrassed to look at them.

Now, even if the prince's wedding has not been announced to the world, all the officials in the court can see with their eyes that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is newly married recently. Qin Yi not only smiles more often, but also looks like he is enjoying his married life recently, and even a blind person can see it.

They left Changxing Marquis' Mansion early. Chu Jinyao thought they were going back to the palace, but in the end she found that Qin Yi took her to the capital to see the excitement. Chu Jinyao had indeed never seen the capital properly. With Qin Yi's escort today, she happily wandered around for the whole afternoon, and then reluctantly entered the palace.

However, as soon as she returned to the palace, Chu Jinyao instantly returned to reality. Chu Jinyao sighed softly. The unrestrained happiness outside the palace did not belong to her. She was the Crown Princess. She had to face the increasingly suspicious Queen, the scheming concubines in the harem, and the current situation where the future was unclear.

Qin Yi accompanied Chu Jinyao for a whole day today. As soon as he came back, he had to go to the front hall to handle court affairs. After Qin Yi left, Chu Jinyao also called the palace steward in to inquire about what happened in the palace today.

Ding Xiang did not leave the palace today, and stayed in Ciqing Palace to guard the door. Seeing Chu Jinyao coming back, Ding Xiang brought a pile of clothes and said, "Crown Princess, these are the clothes sent by the Shanggong Bureau today. Do you want to take a look?"

"Bring them here for me to see."

Ding Xiang waved her hand and called the little palace maid behind her to come forward. Chu Jinyao carefully flipped through a few pieces and unfolded them for a closer look with the help of several maids. Linglong touched the embroidery on the collar and said, "Crown Princess, these embroidery are really exquisite. As expected, the palace is the best in embroidery."

The maids loved the clothes sent by the Shanggong Bureau, but Chu Jinyao was the opposite. These embroidery were beautiful, but they were not as good as what she made. After she chose the pattern and fabric, she specifically talked to the female official of the Shanggong Bureau about some details, but even so, the waist and cuffs were still not what Chu Jinyao expected.

Seeing Chu Jinyao's face, Linglong could also see that Chu Jinyao was not very satisfied. Several maids said, "Crown Princess, if you are not satisfied, why not take it back and let them redo it?"

"Forget it, I have too many requirements. Others are not the worms in my stomach, how can they know what I want. The Shanggong Bureau has to make clothes for all the ladies in the palace. There will be many banquets during the New Year holidays, and they must be very busy. Forget it and don't cause trouble for them."

Kikyo said quickly, "Miss, you are the Crown Princess now, how can this trouble them?"

If it were other noble ladies who were raised since childhood, they would definitely do everything according to their own wishes and would not mind bothering the servants until they were satisfied with the changes. But Chu Jinyao would not be like this. If she puts herself in other people's shoes, if she took the trouble to tailor a piece of clothing, she would definitely not be happy if others did nothing but kept giving orders and asking for things. Chu Jinyao said, "Forget it. When the fabric is sent to us in the future, we will keep it and make it ourselves. We will always be more satisfied if we do it ourselves."

For example, Qin Yi's clothes today, from the fabric to the pattern, were all made under her leadership. Moreover, Chu Jinyao herself loves beauty, and has many trivial requirements such as where to tighten the waist and where to loosen the volume. However, the Shanggong Bureau handles a lot of clothes every day, and the finished clothes will inevitably be mediocre. Chu Jinyao doesn't want to bother others again and again, so she simply keeps the fabric and directs people to make it.

Chu Jinyao spoke, and everyone else responded in unison. Chu Jinyao asked people to put away all the clothes. She was asking Dingxiang about the kitchen when suddenly Madam Hong came in and said, "Greetings to the Crown Princess."

The atmosphere in the room became quiet. Chu Jinyao stopped what she was saying and winked at everyone. Linglong understood and quickly picked up the clothes, drove everyone out, and stood guard at the door.

Madam Hong then whispered to Chu Jinyao, "Crown Princess, someone came from that palace today."

Madam Hong was talking about Kunning Palace. She couldn't talk about her master's affairs directly, so she had to use some vague words to refer to them. Chu Jinyao understood and asked, "What did they ask?"

"Just like last time, they just asked what the Crown Princess had been doing these days. But this time, I don't know what the maid wanted to hear, so she specifically asked about how the Crown Princess managed palace affairs." She

actually asked this, Chu Jinyao was worried and asked, "What did you say?"

"I only said that the Crown Princess is kind and often reads in her room. All the affairs in the palace are arranged by Miss Ziyan."

Chu Jinyao nodded thoughtfully, "I understand. Did she ask about Madam Liu?"

"No." Madam Hong shook her head.

The people in Kunning Palace had their own way of contacting Madam Hong, and Madam Hong had told Chu Jinyao about this a long time ago. Once Nanny Hong saw the icon, she would go to the designated location to meet the other party. Nanny Hong was originally the contact person selected by Kunning Palace, so there was no doubt that only Nanny Hong appeared every time. This was also the reason why Chu Jinyao chose to keep Nanny Hong. However, no matter how well she covered up, Nanny Liu was gone after all. As long as Kunning Palace was interested, they would know it by asking a few questions.

But Chu Jinyao had to deal with Nanny Liu to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. Once the Queen's people were touched, Kunning Palace would sooner or later become suspicious. This was an unsolvable situation. Nanny Hong looked at Chu Jinyao's expression and advised carefully, "Crown Princess, they didn't think of Liu. There are so many palace maids and eunuchs in the palace, who can find out if a maid is missing?"

"Not necessarily." Chu Jinyao shook her head, "If they don't ask this time, they will ask next time."

"How could that be! Liu was sent away because she did something dirty. This is all reasonable and logical. They won't suspect the Crown Princess after hearing it."

Maybe Xiao Qi will believe her later, but others can have a lucky mentality, but Chu Jinyao can't. Chu Jinyao said, "Next time they come, show some suspicion. Just say that it's strange that Nanny Liu was sent away, and I may have become suspicious of you."

"Ah?" Nanny Hong was shocked. "Crown Princess, how can you do this? Isn't this destroying the Great Wall..."

Chu Jinyao insisted, "Do as I say." Nanny

Hong still couldn't figure it out. The Empress clearly didn't mention it, but Chu Jinyao said that she was suspicious. Isn't that courting death? Chu Jinyao didn't want to say more. Empress Xiao Qi had already become suspicious of her after what happened with Concubine Lian. Trying hard to cover up at this time would only backfire. People would only believe what they want to hear anyway. Since Empress Xiao Qi was suspicious, she would just say what she wanted to say. This would give her the opportunity to keep Nanny Hong as a hidden thorn.

Chu Jinyao guessed that Queen Xiao Qi would wait for an opportunity to plant a secret agent in Ciqing Palace, and monitor her together with Nanny Hong, one openly and one secretly. Queen Xiao Qi did not take Chu Jinyao seriously in the past, so she neglected her. Once she took her seriously, she would treat Chu Jinyao like a concubine. However, Chu Jinyao's goal was achieved. She did not expect to stay under Queen Xiao Qi's nose for long. Now she has gained a month, which is enough for her to gain a foothold and sort out the people in her palace. If Chu Jinyao was tested by Queen Xiao Qi when she entered the palace and was still in the dark, then she would be finished.

After Madam Hong left, Chu Jinyao called the people who were secretly watching Madam Hong, and only after confirming that what Madam Hong said today was true, did she feel relieved. Empress Xiao Qi was already suspicious, and the emperor's marriage to the second prince was also very strange. She was now betting her entire life and property on it, so Chu Jinyao had to be more careful.

However, Nanny Hong's words also gave Chu Jinyao a hint, and Chu Jinyao vaguely guessed what Empress Xiao Qi would do next. From then on, when Chu Jinyao went out to pay her respects, she left Platycodon and White Peony behind, and called Erxue and Erhua to follow her.

Many people in Ciqing Palace were dissatisfied with the Crown Princess' sudden courtesy to Erxue and Erhua. But Chu Jinyao's premonition was right. On the eighth day of the first lunar month, when the lanterns were lit, Empress Xiao Qi suddenly talked about something in front of everyone: "Time flies so fast, it's already the eighth day of the first lunar month. I remember that the Crown Princess entered the palace on the eighth day of the last lunar month, and I felt like it was yesterday. I didn't expect it to be a month ago."

Chu Jinyao stood up and replied softly: "Yes, thanks to your care, it has been more than a month."

"It's been a month already." The Queen looked at Chu Jinyao and smiled, "According to the rules left by our ancestors, the Emperor and the Crown Prince must stay in the main wife's room for the first month, and must not mess up the hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate children. Our ancestors treated the main wife with dignity, and we, the younger generation, must also follow the rules of being a wife and act like the main wife. Don't you agree, Crown Princess?"