Shen Qingqiu and Gu Yanran only stayed in the palace for a short while, and soon they took a carriage back to the Marquis' Mansion.
The servants of Marquis Gu's mansion were also sharp-eyed. When they saw that it was the young lady of the mansion who returned, they immediately waited on the side. When Shen Qingqiu got off the carriage, they took the horse reins and took her to her place.
"Miss, why are you back so early? Madam was still talking about you entering the palace to choose a study partner, but she never thought that she would bring you back." Jin Cai learned that Shen Qingqiu had returned home, and immediately went to the door to greet him with a smile, "The old lady and the madam asked the kitchen to prepare a large table of dishes, just waiting for you to come back!"
Seeing Gu Yanran standing nearby, Jin Cai immediately asked with a smile, "Miss Yanran, did you gain anything from entering the palace today?"
Hearing this, Gu Yanran secretly clutched her dress tightly, but managed to force a smile: "I guess the old lady is worried about me, so take us to see the old lady quickly!"
Shen Qingqiu sneered in his heart, and quickly walked into the mansion in his brocade jacket and skirt. He did not slow down to wait for Gu Yanran, but went straight to the main hall.
Jin Cai had no time to care about Gu Yanran at the moment. Seeing that his own girl was walking ahead, he hurriedly followed.
"Why are you walking so fast, young lady? It's Jin Cai who's walking fast." Jin Cai gave her a scolding look, and then she smiled and said to Shen Qingqiu, "Madam specially asked the kitchen to prepare milk tea, saying that it's for young lady to relieve her greasy feeling. I'll serve it to young lady later."
Shen Qingqiu smiled, glanced at Gu Yanran behind him, and raised his tone.
"I've been riding in a carriage for a long time, and I feel really sick in my stomach. I really need to relieve the staleness."
After hearing this, Gu Yanran felt that Shen Qingqiu was scolding her in a roundabout way, which was disgusting. She thought that she must cry and complain to Old Madam Xu, and no matter what, she must make Shen Qingqiu scolded by Old Madam Xu, so that she would feel better.
When they arrived at the main hall, Old Madam Xu and Madam Liu were discussing something. When they saw Shen Qingqiu and Gu Yanran returning home, they looked towards them.
"Qiu'er, it's rare that you have to go to the palace to choose a study partner, but when you go to meet the Empress today, have you been chosen to be a study partner for any princess?" Liu smiled and had a little more expectations for her daughter, thinking that it would be great if she could be chosen as a study partner.
Shen Qingqiu's lips curled up into a smile, and he did not directly answer Liu. Seeing Jin Cai had already brought milk tea, he only said: "Mother has prepared milk tea. It is true that no one knows a daughter better than her mother. Why not guess which princess I am the tutor for."
Liu saw her take a sip of milk tea and knew that her daughter was deliberately playing a riddle with her, but she did understand what Shen Qingqiu meant. After entering the palace, her daughter really got selected as a study companion? "You clever little thing, when did you let me guess? Why don't you tell me what interesting things happened when you entered the palace today, so that I can relieve the boredom of the old lady and me." Liu looked at her and smiled.
Shen Qingqiu just said: "That's so boring, I'll tell you when I guess it right."
Old Lady Xu only felt that Shen Qingqiu's personality was similar to Gu Yong's, but she didn't mean to blame her. Now that Gu Yong was not at home, she looked at Shen Qingqiu the same way she looked at Gu Yong when he was a child, and only felt a little closer to him.
Old Madam Xu asked the servants to prepare the dishes, and then she turned her gaze to Gu Yanran: "Yanran, how was your trip? Can you be chosen as a study companion?"
After all, she is the only daughter of the fourth room, and Old Lady Xu has been praying for her and the Gu family in the Buddhist temple in the past few years. It is inevitable that she would show some concern for her.
Gu Yanran would never answer truthfully, and evasively said, "Thanks to Qingqiu, Princess Changhe did have an impression of me, but how could Qingqiu, knowing that it was Princess Changhe, make me lose my composure in front of her?"
There was some grievance and resentment in Gu Yanran's eyes.
Old Madam Xu looked at her and listened to what she said, not knowing whether it was true or false, so she had to look at Shen Qingqiu.
"Qiu'er, are the words Yanran said true? How did you get to know Princess Changhe?"
She is old, but she is still mature and knows that she can't just listen to what Gu Yanran says.
Shen Qingqiu nonchalantly picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in the bowl, but he didn't rush to reply to Old Lady Xu. He smiled coldly, his eyes staring straight at Gu Yanran.
"Gu Yanran, you are well-educated and polite in front of the Queen, but why do you lose your temper in front of Princess Changhe? Since you dared to offend and contradict Princess Changhe, I just came to the palace to choose a study partner. Can I still argue with Princess Changhe for you?"
"I didn't! Don't slander me!" Gu Yanran choked and instinctively refuted her, "Since you recognized the identity of Princess Changhe, why didn't you tell me? Why did you embarrass me like this?"
Shen Qingqiu glanced at her coldly, half-squinting his eyes and said: "I want to let the old lady and my mother see clearly who is making things difficult for whom!"
Having said that, Shen Qingqiu lifted up her skirt to show the old lady and Liu. She believed that she was not a kind person who would be generous. She always took revenge for every grievance. Even if she could not take revenge on the spot, she would take revenge in the future.
"Qiu'er, what's wrong with the hem of your skirt? How come there is such a big pool of ink on it?" Liu looked at it and said in surprise with her eyes wide open.
Shen Qingqiu knew in his heart that Gu Yanran was a two-faced person, but she was not someone who could be easily provoked. She put Ran Mo's skirt on the table, not only to let others see it clearly, but also to let Old Lady Xu see it clearly. Otherwise, she would have to rely on Gu Yanran's hypocritical face in the past to deceive again.
She turned away her cold gaze and smiled coldly at Gu Yanran: "I don't know how I offended you. Just because there is such a big pool of ink on me, you must have a lot of resentment towards me in your heart, right?"
When Old Lady Xu heard this, she didn't want to see the younger generation playing tricks on each other again. She felt sad even for the previous incident involving the second house. She said to Gu Yanran directly, "Since you have returned to the Gu family, you should know that Liu was married to the Marquis Gu's mansion by your ninth uncle. You and Qiu'er should take care of each other as sisters. Why would you resort to such tricks?"
Gu Yanran had intended to deliberately speak ill of Shen Qingqiu in front of Old Madam Xu, but unexpectedly Shen Qingqiu had outwitted her. If she brought up Princess Changhe's affairs again, Old Madam Xu might become dissatisfied with her.
She looked expressionless, but had many thoughts in her mind.
She poured a pot of tea and handed a cup to Old Lady Xu. She smiled gently, but it was hard to tell what she meant. "Old Lady, please don't be angry. I gave Qingqiu an inkstone with good intentions, but I didn't expect to stain Qingqiu's clothes by mistake. It's all Yanran's fault for being so clumsy."
After hearing this, Old Lady Xu took the tea handed over by Gu Yanran and took a sip, and did not forget to say to Shen Qingqiu: "Qiu'er, don't hold a grudge against Yanran because of these things. It's not good to hurt the relationship."
Shen Qingqiu's face was expressionless, he just finished drinking the milk tea.
Then she heard Old Lady Xu ask her again: "Qiu'er, why don't you tell Old Lady how you know Princess Shangchanghe?"
Shen Qingqiu ate some food here and there, and then he replied: "It was all fate that came together by accident. Later, Concubine Rou saw that I was a good match for her, so she directly made me the ninth princess's companion."
Old Lady Xu couldn't help but feel happy for Shen Qingqiu. Not only did this girl get to know the beloved daughter of Prince Qinghe, she also became the ninth princess's study companion. This trip really wasn't in vain.
Liu also brought Shen Qingqiu a few pieces of her favorite cakes and asked her hurriedly: "Is there any accurate news from the palace? Did they say when you will go to the Ninth Princess's place to be her study companion?"
"Why rush? I'll be there in a few days." Shen Qingqiu said while eating cakes.
Old Lady Xu turned around and asked Gu Yanran: "Qiu'er is the ninth princess's study companion, what about you, Yanran?"
Gu Yanran bit her lip at this time, and finally said: "I was also taken care of and assigned to another princess as a study partner."
Hearing this, Old Lady Xu nodded continuously and was very satisfied with her two granddaughters.
After the meal, except for Gu Yanran who was a little absent-minded, everyone else went back to their rooms after finishing their meal.
At night, Gu Yanran carried a dagger in her pocket and some medicine powder on her waist. Seeing that there was no one around, she sneaked into Shen Qingqiu's yard from the corner of the wall.
She quietly walked to the window of Shen Qingqiu's room and went in, crouching down.
Shen Qingqiu on the bed breathed steadily and deeply. Gu Yanran touched the thing on her waist and looked at Shen Qingqiu sleeping with his eyes closed. She couldn't help but harden her heart! As long as this face was completely ruined, Shen Qingqiu would never be able to enter the palace again! Who would let an ugly disfigured freak be their study companion? It would be disgusting to look at him all day long! As soon as Gu Yanran came up with this vicious plan, her eyes seemed to be poisoned, and she slowly approached Shen Qingqiu's bed.
"Gu Yanran!" Shen Qingqiu suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed Gu Yanran's hand.
Under the cover of night, her eyes were so bright that Gu Yanran was frightened, and she didn't even have time to throw out the bag of powder at her waist.
"Shen Qingqiu! You...you are actually awake!"
Gu Yanran turned her head, pushed Shen Qingqiu away, took out a dagger and pointed it at Shen Qingqiu from a few steps away.
Shen Qingqiu raised his eyelids, looked at the dagger shining coldly, and sneered at her.
"Gu Yanran, do you want to kill me?"
The pair of black eyes gradually became stained with bloodthirsty taste, as if as long as Gu Yanran made a move, Shen Qingqiu would immediately snatch the dagger back, and she would not mind letting the dagger see blood.
Gu Yanran looked at her hatefully. She didn't expect Shen Qingqiu to not be asleep, but so what?
This face was an eyesore to her. Tonight must be ruined!
"Shen Qingqiu, it doesn't matter if you are awake. I, Gu Yanran, am still not afraid of you!" Gu Yanran sneered and tightened the dagger in her hand. She felt a little relieved. At least she had a weapon in her hand, while Shen Qingqiu was powerless. How could he fight her? This face of hers, Gu Yanran, was ruined!
"You shouldn't have kept this face to enter the palace!"
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