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Upon hearing that her aunt had invited the Chu family to visit, Jiang Yuyuan combed her makeup in front of the mirror.

The sixteen-year-old girl has watery eyes and fair skin. She doesn't need to draw eyebrows or put on powder, but she wears heavy makeup.

Qing Shuang was puzzled: "Are you being too grand?"

There are two advantages of being grand. One is that it makes the aunt satisfied and feel that she has done her best. The other is that it makes the Chu family unhappy.

Chug is a scholar and a man of letters, most likely a bit lonely and admiring the beauty of nature. He certainly wouldn't appreciate her gaudy makeup, so she would have an excuse then.

"Mr. Chu is the only son of the Chu family. If I marry him, I will be the mistress in the future. Of course, I cannot appear too immature."

Qing Shuang suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. I was wondering why you acted out of character. You are so thoughtful. It's worth it for the princess to test the Crown Princess for you and make this marriage happen."

In fact, if it works out, it would be quite interesting if Chu Yin called her "sister-in-law".

Unfortunately, she only has Lu Jingzhuo in her heart.

Sure enough, Princess Baocheng soon sent someone to invite her.

After Emperor Jianxing conferred the title of Xuanning Marquis on Jiang Xian, he also gave him a house, which was the Zhou royal palace in the early years. There was a cool room built on the flowing water, shaded by flowers and trees. It was indeed an excellent place to escape the summer heat, so the banquet was held there.

Princess Baocheng used the title of the eldest son, so Jiang Lin had to show up and receive Chu Ge.

The two talked about playing chess.

Princess Baocheng chatted with Mrs. Chu about family matters.

"I just met A Yin last time. If you want to know anything, feel free to ask me."

When her daughter was in Qingzhou, it was easy for them to meet, but it was different after she entered the Eastern Palace. She needed the consent of Emperor Jianxing and Queen Jiang. For this reason, she did not want to cause trouble for her daughter and only communicated with her at critical moments.

Mrs. Chu said, "Thank you very much. I just want to know how Ayin is doing."

This body is really not that good.

Princess Baocheng said, "She is a little weak, but don't worry. There are so many doctors in the palace. What symptoms can't be cured? I have also told Jingzhuo to take good care of Ayin."

Her prince's son-in-law and her daughter were previously separated, and she was always worried that it would affect their relationship. Now that Princess Baocheng said she would take care of her, she didn't know whether it was true or not.

Mrs. Chu smiled and said, "It is an honor for Ayin to have Auntie take care of her."

"After this summer, Ayin will probably be healthier. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, I will ask my brother to invite your family to the palace to celebrate the festival. Then you can be reunited with Ayin."

"That's a great trouble for you."

"Nothing, I went to the palace as usual, but it was just a piece of cake."

Every word she said highlighted her status. Her care for the Chu family implied that a marriage between the two families would be beneficial to the Chu family. But Mrs. Chu thought, even so, she couldn't just let her son marry Jiang Yuyuan. This was not an exchange. The conditions had to be equal and her son had to like it.

At this moment, Jiang Yuyuan appeared, walked in front of everyone and bowed: "Meet your aunt, Mrs. Chu, and your cousin... Mr. Chu."

Seeing her face painted extremely gorgeously, comparable to a peony among flowers, Princess Baocheng was very happy and said with a smile: "Yuyuan, you came at the right time. Lin'er and Master Chu are discussing the art of playing chess. You are quite proficient in it. Why don't you play a game of chess with Master Chu?"

Mrs. Chu frowned when she heard this.

Men and women should not touch each other, how can they play chess when they first meet? Princess Baocheng's behavior was a bit excessive, but they were in Xuanning Marquis's mansion, and as a guest, it was inconvenient to contradict the host. Besides, Jiang Yuyuan was a girl, and her reputation was more important than her son's, so this matter would not be spread.

Chu Ge politely declined: "Your Highness, this may not be appropriate. How about I play against Mr. Jiang, and Miss Jiang will watch the game. I will then listen to Miss Jiang's opinion. How about that?"

This could have helped them understand each other and get closer, but who would have thought he would refuse. Princess Baocheng was a little annoyed and sullenly ordered her maid to set up the chess table.

Jiang Yuyuan secretly glanced at Chu Ge.

He and Chu Yin looked quite similar, except for their eyes and noses. Chu Yin had almond-shaped eyes, while his was slightly narrower and taller. He could be considered handsome, but he was still slightly inferior to Lu Jingzhuo, and lacked the innate confidence and bearing of a noble family.

Jiang Yuyuan said softly, "A true gentleman watches chess without saying a word. I will definitely not disturb my cousin and Master Chu."

There was a hint of loss in his tone.

Princess Baocheng felt distressed after hearing this.

After the Chu family left, Jiang Yuyuan lowered her head and said, "Aunt, I told you that I am not worthy of Master Chu. You just saw that he was unwilling to play chess with me. You should not worry about me in the future. Those famous families don't even look down on my family background..."

The game of chess lasted for a long time, and Jiang Yuyuan could only sit on the sidelines, feeling indeed left out.

Princess Baocheng could sense her grievance and consoled her, "What's wrong with your family background? If you live here, you will be a member of the Xuanning Marquis's Mansion, and no one will dare to look down on you."

"But it's not just Mr. Chu who's like this. Madam Chu also didn't take the initiative to talk to me. It was only after I said a few words of greeting that she even looked at me."

The mother and son were so shameless that they thought it was a big deal to have a Crown Princess in their family and they could choose any beautiful lady in the capital.

But she is not without a solution!

Princess Baocheng stroked Jiang Yuyuan's shoulder and said, "Do you like Mr. Chu? Tell me honestly, don't worry about whether it will work or not." She could ask the emperor to arrange a marriage for her, "Just tell me the truth."

Jiang Yuyuan shook her head: "He doesn't like me, and I won't like him either. A forced marriage is not sweet. Even if I marry into the Chu family, I may not have a good life in the future. Besides, I don't want you to have any problems with the Crown Princess because of this."

Is she afraid of Chu Yin? She does everything for her nephew's sake.

But what the child said was true. A forced marriage may make the Chu family happy on the surface, but they will definitely bear grudges behind the scenes. How can they be lenient towards Jiang Yuyuan? Princess Baocheng said, "Don't be discouraged. I will always help you find a better man than Chu Ge."

"Aunt, that's really not necessary. I want to be filial to you and my uncle for a few more years..."

"I'm not marrying far away, so what does it matter?"

Jiang Yuyuan couldn't stop it, and tugged at her handkerchief in annoyance.

However, it is said that the next day Chu Yin first sent a eunuch to the house to inquire about the situation, and then went to pay respects to Queen Jiang.

Queen Jiang had nothing to do, so she painted.

She was thin, wearing a moon-white summer shirt with wide sleeves, holding a pen in her bare hands, and looked quite like an immortal.

"Ayin, you've been training these days, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, not so breathless now."

"It seems to be quite effective. You have to hold on." Queen Jiang smiled. "You are young, but I am not. I cannot practice this kind of skills. Fortunately, I don't have to work so hard, otherwise I really can't bear it."

But right now, there was something that needed to be handled by the mother-in-law. Chu Yin asked tentatively, "Do you want to let Concubine Shu take care of Third Brother's affairs?"

"Jing Rui doesn't want to get married yet, let's talk about this later."

What?

Chu Yin blurted out: "Didn't you promise Concubine Hui?"

"Yes, but Jingrui doesn't want to. Can we force him? He is not yet twenty, so there is no rush."

Isn't it the parents' order and the matchmaker's words? Why did the mother-in-law turn to Lu Jingrui? Chu Yin was very surprised and said carefully: "I didn't expect you to love my third brother so much, but my daughter-in-law thinks that my third brother doesn't like Kunning Palace very much."

"He often stayed by my side when he was young, but later he stopped because he was afraid of disturbing my recovery," Queen Jiang said without further ado. "Ayin, come and take a look at me. How do you like this color?"

Chu Yin walked over and helped her adjust the color.

After coming out of Kunning Palace, the more she thought about it, the more strange it seemed to her.

Is it necessary for the mother-in-law to consider a bastard like this? Shouldn't he be kicked out of the palace earlier?

Or do they really have a deep bond?

Is Lu Jingzhuo the same as him?

No wonder Lu Jingrui was able to stay in the capital so smoothly in his previous life. It turned out that he not only had the support of Lu Jingzhuo, but also his mother-in-law. How come she didn’t notice it at all?

When she arrived at the East Palace, the eunuch also returned and reported to her that Madam Chu and Chu Ge had been guests at Marquis Xuanning's residence yesterday, and that they had decided not to get married.

It doesn't sound like a big deal, just a game of chess...

My brother rejected Princess Baocheng's suggestion, which might cause some unpleasantness.

With two things weighing on her mind, Chu Yin had to talk to Lu Jingzhuo about them in the evening.

"Your Highness, didn't I tell you about my third brother's choice of wife before?"

"Well," Lu Jingzhuo came back from cleaning, "what's up?"

"My third brother actually refused," Chu Yin stared into his eyes, "and then mother let him do what he wanted. Don't you think it's strange?"

“Not surprising.”

“…”

Isn't this strange? But Chu Yin couldn't tell what he was feeling, so she could only continue to test him: "What if he doesn't get married when he's twenty? We can't just let him do whatever he wants, right? Whose marriage isn't decided by the elders?"

"Yes, but what does this have to do with you?" he asked.

There was no impatience, just a serious question.

He didn't know why Chu Yin was concerned about his third brother's life.

But Chu Yin couldn't tell the truth. She played with the hair hanging down in front of her chest to hide her inner feelings: "I'm just curious. After all, no child can disobey their parents. But my third brother said he didn't want to do it, as if he was spoiled by our mother."

"As for my third brother's affairs, our father and mother will take care of them. You don't have to be curious." He leaned down and put his hands on her waist.

Ever since her menstruation ended, he had sex with her more often than before. Before, he had sex once every three to five days, but now it was once every two days, which was more frequent than in his previous life. However, the way he did so did not change. He was still so direct and lacked tenderness.

He seldom kissed her.

Even the kiss was light and just the right amount, making it difficult for people to feel any friendship.

Seeing him taking off her shirt with ease, Chu Yin said, "Wait."

He paused and looked at her, his eyes asking "what are you waiting for?"

Her face heated up first.

Even in the dim light, he could still see the red. Lu Jingzhuo thought, she was determined to have a child, so why was he shy? She used so many tricks to seduce him, wasn't it for this purpose?

But he was not in a hurry and waited for her to speak.

Chu Yin pursed her lips again and finally said, "Kiss me first."

“…”

There was a moment of deathly silence in the house, like a windless summer day when all the grass and trees were still.

The two people also seemed to be still, like puppets.

After a while, Chu Yin whispered, "It's not like we haven't kissed before, why do you have to think about it for so long?"

As for.

Because it was the first time he heard such a ridiculous request, which was even bolder than "rub it".

Why can't he think about it?

It seems that he is unwilling to...

Was she too impatient? But who made him always be like this? Sometimes she would get really angry.

There will be an impulse to take off his mask and reveal his true self.

But would this backfire?

Chu Yin suddenly felt a little dazed, lowered her eyes and said, "If you really don't want to..."

Before she could finish her words, Lu Jingzhuo lifted her chin and bent down to kiss her.