How could she know that! Nanny Yan's pupils shrank sharply, and she felt as if something in her heart suddenly shattered, and the clothes behind her were almost soaked with sweat.

Chu Qianchen actually knew her symptoms clearly, as if her every move in the past year had been under his watch!

Then, will she become crazy in the future as that person said? !

Nanny Yan was terrified. Her legs went weak and she fell to her knees with a plop. She said in a trembling voice, "Miss, please save me."

In Nanny Yan's mind, there emerged images of palace maids who died in the cold palace. Before they died, they all died in a miserable way, lonely and helpless.

"Why don't you confess!" Amber scolded expressionlessly, in her heart she was full of admiration for her own girl. The day when Nanny Yan first came to the Marquis' Mansion, she was beaten to her knees by Chu Qianchen, but now, she was the one who bent her waist and knelt down on her own.

Nanny Yan's defenses had been completely broken by Chu Qianchen's continuous attacks.

Chu Qianchen just smiled and said nothing.

Of course she knew it. That day, when she took the ruler from Nanny Yan, she also took her pulse.

At Nanny Yan's age, her health is deteriorating and she is prone to these symptoms. Besides, she was ordered by the emperor to go to Shouning Palace as a spy, so how could she not feel guilty? Naturally, she would easily wake up at night!

Under normal circumstances, Nanny Yan would not be so easily defeated, but she had been under house arrest in the room for several days, and her mental defenses were already precarious, so she was defeated by herself in a short period of time.

Nanny Yan raised her eyes and glanced at Chu Qianchen, and saw her waving a round fan calmly.

The black cat on the round fan was about to touch the butterfly with one of its paws.

There were many raccoon dogs in the palace. She knew that although these little raccoon dogs looked gentle and kind to people, they were actually very vicious. If any prey fell into their claws, they would only end up being killed!

Nanny Yan was terrified, and she knew very well in her heart: if Chu Qianchen told the Empress Dowager what she had done, then she would be dead!

The emperor would not admit to the crime of murdering the empress dowager, which meant that she had no choice but to die!

She doesn't want to die yet.

Nanny Yan took a deep breath and said in a tense voice, "It was the emperor's idea to put drugs in the ginseng tea. The emperor wanted the empress dowager to be in a bad mood and stay in Shouning Palace as much as possible. The empress sent someone to deliver the herbs every ten days, and the ginseng tea was brewed by me personally."

When Nanny Yan thought about how much medicine she inhaled when she brewed ginseng tea every day, she felt cold in her hands and feet.

"That's it?" Chu Qianchen smiled slightly, and the round fan in his hand suddenly stopped, but the big red cord hanging on the fan handle was still shaking slightly.

Nanny Yan stared at the blood-stained silk cord, her expression becoming even uglier. She continued, "When I came to see the young lady, the Queen also told me to 'teach' her well and make her obedient."

Nanny Yan confessed everything she knew. She felt weak and powerless, as if all her energy had been drained away.

Chu Qianchen was smiling from beginning to end, with a bright smile, as if she knew everything that Nanny Yan said, and she just wanted to see if Nanny Yan would lie.

In fact, this is true.

Chu Qianchen could guess most of what Nanny Yan confessed. The reason why she patiently told Nanny Yan so much was for a more important purpose.

“Then, Madam, how are you going to explain to the Queen after you return to the palace?” Chu Qianchen played deftly with the round fan in his hand, his eyes clear and pure, as bright as the cold moon.

At this moment, a pair of originally cold and calm eyes became like a sword suddenly drawn from its sheath, releasing a chilling sharpness.

"..." Nanny Yan's pupils shrank suddenly, she shuddered, and subconsciously avoided the other person's gaze.

She actually felt an aura from this little girl who was not even fourteen years old that was more majestic than that of the Queen. This Miss Chu was definitely not an ordinary girl.

Even though she had seen countless nobles in the palace, she had never seen a woman like this, who was unfathomable and able to see the big picture from the details.

Nanny Yan inexplicably thought of someone——

Prince Gu Jue.

Nanny Yan broke out in a cold sweat again, and a deep fear arose from deep in her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

At this moment, she really wanted to go back to the past and slap herself. She shouldn't have said such big words to the Queen.

Her little tricks were like an ant trying to shake a tree in front of Chu Qianchen. She was simply overestimating her own abilities and was extremely stupid!

"Madam Yan, we can't have slaves from two different families." Chu Qianchen's half-smiley voice sounded again.

Nanny Yan: “…”

She felt breathing became more difficult. She didn't have the courage to betray the emperor and queen and join Chu Qianchen.

"Madam, please think about it carefully." Chu Qianchen didn't intend to say anything more. He just stood up and walked out of the house.

Amber followed Chu Qianchen closely and walked out of the house.

The old woman who was waiting outside the house immediately pulled the two doors with both hands, and with a "creak", the doors began to close.

Kneeling on the ground, Nanny Yan watched helplessly as the light ahead became narrower and narrower...

Two feet, one foot, half a foot, one inch...

Seeing that it was about to turn into a tiny crack and that darkness was about to cover her again, Nanny Yan's heart shrank suddenly, as if an invisible hand was holding her heart in its palm.

As long as this door is completely closed, she will return to the darkness and be trapped here alone.

Lonely, solitude, and dead silence.

Nanny Yan thought of all the concubines, palace maids, and maids who died in the cold palace. They were often dead and no one knew about it. By the time their bodies were found, three or four days had passed. The bodies were rotting and smelling, and maggots were crawling everywhere...

At most, they would just wrap the body in a straw mat and carry it out of the palace and throw it into a mass grave. Even if it died, it wouldn't cause any ripples, and no one would care about it...

No!

She doesn't want to go crazy, and she doesn't want to die here alone!

"Miss Chu, I was wrong!" Nanny Yan crawled towards the gate on her knees, shouting at the top of her lungs, "I am willing to acknowledge you as my master!"

Nanny Yan kowtowed repeatedly in front of the door gap that was only a finger's width, making a loud kowtow sound.

The old woman stopped closing the door and looked at Chu Qianchen with a questioning look.

Chu Qianchen didn't look back, but said lightly: "Unfortunately, I don't believe you."

Immediately afterwards, the door slammed shut tightly.

Darkness fell again.

A door separated them, and it seemed as if inside and outside the door were two different worlds.

Nanny Yan screamed from inside the door: "This slave is sincere!"

"Miss Chu Er, you must trust me!"

“…”

No matter how Nanny Yan called out to him, Chu Qianchen did not stay and walked away slowly.

Words are not enough. We should give Nanny Yan some time to think about how to express her "sincerity".

Chu Qianchen curled his lips and smiled, looking energetic.

She felt that she had rested enough during her trip, so she went out of the house to relax.

Well, that's good, it's time for her to go back to making medicine.

Chu Qianchen went straight back to the small study, closed the door, and continued to make medicine with Amber in the room.

She was busy day and night until two days later, early in the morning of June 18, when Nanny Chen came at dawn and brought her the altered clothes and jewelry.

Nanny Chen said very seriously, "Second Miss, please put on this dress quickly and dress yourself up."

There was not much time left, so Nanny Chen, Amber and two maids surrounded Chu Qianchen and went to the inner room.

Chu Qianchen went behind the screen to change clothes, while Nanny Chu continued on the other side of the screen: "Second Miss, the agenda for the engagement ceremony is trivial. I will give you a general outline now. However, you don't need to be too nervous. I will remind you when the time comes."

"Today is an auspicious time. The Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites will come to visit in the morning."

"In addition to the usual small engagement ceremony, the clan office will also hold a wild goose as a gift on behalf of the man."

"After that, the woman has to present a return gift, which includes the four treasures of the study, silk fabrics, clothes, shoes and socks, etc."

"Furthermore..."

Nanny Chen explained the etiquette procedures of the small engagement ceremony in an orderly manner. Chu Qianchen listened with one ear and let it out with the other, while Amber silently memorized the ceremony.

Chu Qianchen obediently let the maids help her change into the lotus-colored dress. Then, sitting at the dressing table, Nanny Chen instructed her to put on the complete set of headgear that Shen had prepared in advance, and carefully dressed her up.

Afterwards, Chu Qianchen followed Nanny Chen to the main hall. The mansion was decorated with lights and colorful decorations everywhere, and it was decorated in a very grand manner.

There was still half an hour before the auspicious time. The old lady, Shen, and the other three ladies in the mansion had already arrived and were sitting in the hall.

This was supposed to be a happy day, but there was no trace of joy in the hall.

In the eyes of the Lady Dowager, Mrs. Liu and others, this was not a happy event at all, but simply bad luck for the Marquis's Mansion!

As the hour of Si approached, the sound of firecrackers could be heard from the direction of the gate. It was very lively. Then, a maid ran over breathlessly and reported, "The Princess of Li and Lord Liu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, are here!"

The whole mansion was in commotion.

The lady, Mrs. Liu and others were all shocked.

Prince Li is the head of the clan, and the wife of Prince Li is equivalent to the royal clan's wife, which is somewhat higher than other princesses. The fact that she came in person today to pay the betrothal gift shows how much importance the clan office attaches to this matter.

The Princess of Li and Minister Liu have come to visit, so the Marquis's Mansion naturally opened the main gate to welcome them. Today, the Marquis's Mansion's chief steward and Nanny Wang went to the ceremonial gate to welcome the guests.

The entire engagement ceremony was very solemn. Princess Li brought eighteen boxes of engagement gifts. Each box was very heavy and tied with big red ribbons. It was a solemn and festive occasion. Even the gifts used were live geese.

The lady cleared her throat and politely complimented the Princess of Li, "Princess, you are so thoughtful that you even specially sent a live goose as a gift."

Nowadays, people mostly use wooden geese for the goose offering ceremony, and live geese have become a rare thing.

"This is the wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Chen. The Emperor has specifically instructed that it should be grand. We cannot let His Royal Highness Prince Chen down, right?" Princess Li smiled generously, not wanting to take credit for it.

From what the Dowager heard, it seemed that the Princess of Li was eager to sever her relationship with Prince Chen.

The princess meant that if the emperor had not asked her to come, she would never have come.

The lady was a little absent-minded.

Immediately afterwards, the Princess of Li took Chu Qianchen aside and said a few polite words to praise him, such as "a talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven". The women in the Marquis's Mansion also smiled and echoed the words, saying "a perfect match made in heaven", "the emperor's grace is enormous", etc. At first glance, both the host and the guests were happy.

The small engagement ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner. Each step followed the ancient rituals and was extremely meticulous and solemn.

Shen was very satisfied with this, and everything on her side was in accordance with the etiquette for a legitimate daughter.

The return gifts she brought out shocked the Princess of Li. For example, the first box of four treasures of the study were all exquisite, including the brush washer, inkstone drip, paperweight, etc., which were all antiques from the previous dynasty; the second box was a complete set of official kiln blue and white porcelain; the third box was a box full of Yunjin. You have to know that every inch of brocade is worth its weight in gold. This Yunjin was a tribute, and ordinary people could not even ask for it...

Each box of return gifts prepared by the woman was carefully thought out, which made Princess Li almost suspect that Shen was preparing a marriage for her own daughter.

An hour later, after the small engagement ceremony was completed, Princess Li and Minister Liu said goodbye. Shen, Liu and several other sisters-in-law personally saw them off.

In the main hall, only the old lady at the top and Chu Qianchen at the bottom were left.

As soon as Princess Li and the others walked away, the lady's expression changed, and the smile on her lips disappeared without a trace in an instant.

It was very quiet.

The servants all felt the cold atmosphere and stared at the tips of their shoes with their eyes lowered.

The lady took a sip of tea slowly and asked indifferently, "Sister Chen, how are you doing in learning etiquette from Nanny Yan recently?"

"Grandma, Nanny Yan taught me well." Chu Qianchen answered obediently.

Amber also lowered her head, thinking to herself: The girl has taught Nanny Yan very well!

The day before yesterday, Nanny Yan was still making a fuss and shouting, but these past two days, she has not dared to make any noise at all and has been very well behaved in the house, as if she were almost mute.

That is, every day when the maids went to deliver the meals, Nanny Yan would politely express her wish to see her daughter. Amber also conveyed this to Chu Qianchen, but Chu Qianchen said, "Leave her alone for now. She will have her time to show up."

The lady looked Chu Qianchen up and down. Her gentle and docile expression was completely different from her arrogant and conceited look in the manor a few days ago.

The lady thought that Nanny Yan had taught Chu Qianchen a lesson, and breathed a sigh of relief, secretly sighing: This nanny who came out of the palace really has a way of teaching people! It has only been a few days, and the effect is immediate.

The lady took another sip of tea and admonished righteously, "Sister Chen, Nanny Yan was appointed by the Empress Dowager. You must learn the rules from Nanny Yan and listen to her. Don't let the Empress Dowager down."

"You are going to get married soon, so you must learn all the rules and etiquette, so as not to tarnish the reputation of a girl from the Chu family!"

The lady's words sounded high-sounding, but she actually had her own plans in mind.

After the birthday banquet, she discussed the matter with her eldest son Chu Lingxiao several times.

They all agreed that it was obvious and unquestionable that the emperor wished Prince Chen to die sooner, and that the emperor married Prince Chen to Chu Qianchen, a concubine's daughter of a lowly marquisate, just to humiliate him. Therefore, they, the marquisate, must never disobey the emperor's will and ruin the emperor's good deeds.

Although marrying Chu Qianchen would make the Marquis' Mansion and the Prince Chen's Mansion become in-laws, it would inevitably bring more unstable factors, and even the emperor might vent his anger and settle accounts with them one day. However, the Chu family is not a poor family without any roots. The Chu family also has a concubine and a second prince in the palace!

In comparison, the Chu family's relationship with the emperor is obviously closer, which means that the Chu family is destined to always be a staunch royalist.

As the eldest son said, since this arranged marriage cannot be changed, they might as well look at it from a positive perspective.

For example, as long as they teach Chu Qianchen well, they can let Chu Qianchen pass on some news about the Prince Chen's Mansion in the future, and the Chu family can use it to show their loyalty to the emperor.

Thinking of this, the corners of the lady's mouth curled up, and then returned to their original position, still graceful, noble and dignified.

Chu Qianchen nodded obediently and remained silent.

She didn't listen to what the lady said afterwards, her thoughts had already drifted to other things. She thought: Today, she was delayed for the whole morning because of the small engagement ceremony, and she would have to speed up when she got back. The Da Zao Wan had reached the most critical step. If she stayed up a little longer tonight, it should be ready by tomorrow night!

The old lady felt that Chu Qianchen was obviously more well-behaved than before, and she was quite satisfied. She thought that since Nanny Yan played the villain, she should play the good guy, and use both soft and hard tactics to completely control Chu Qianchen.

Then, the lady softened her tone again and coaxed, "We all prosper together and we all disgrace together. Sister Chen, grandma is doing this for your own good and will not harm you."

"After you get married, you will know that life in the boudoir is the best, and you will also understand the painstaking efforts of your father and I."

"Whether a married woman can live a good life in her husband's family depends on whether her parents are capable."

The lady took great pains to say these words just to coax Chu Qianchen to be loyal to the Chu family.

For this reason, the old lady could only give up her thirty thousand taels of silver and use the money to coax Chu Qianchen. Whenever she thought of the silver, the old lady still felt heartbroken.

The old lady spoke absentmindedly, and no matter what she said, Chu Qianchen just nodded obediently.

Gradually, the lady was at a loss for words, and the more she spoke, the more boring she found it.

Chu Qianchen was not her beloved granddaughter after all, and the lady could not say many considerate words to her, and...

The old lady looked at Chu Qianchen, who lowered her head and looked obedient, with disdain and thought: This girl's personality is really not pleasing. She only knows how to nod and can't utter a word for a long time. She can't even say a word to please others. She is really no match for Sister Huang!

Amber, who was standing by, knew it very well. She probably didn't know where her girl's heart had flown to.

Amber looked at the lady with an inexplicable look, then looked away.

The Madam was annoyed by Chu Qianchen and was about to send her away when a little maid hurried over and said, "Madam, Aunt Qiu from the Ministry of Internal Affairs is here... She said she is here to measure the wedding dress for the second young lady."

The lady was a little surprised and stunned.

Today is just a small engagement ceremony. As usual, the Ministry of Internal Affairs should come to tailor the wedding dress for the bride only after the man has officially made the decision and sent the betrothal gift. However, the wedding date is too urgent. Now it is only more than 20 days away, so the wedding dress really needs to be made earlier.

After a while, another maid brought over an old lady in her fifties wearing a purple jacket and two palace maids.

Aunt Qiu had kind eyes and a round face that looked like she was smiling even when she wasn't saying anything, making her very amiable.

As soon as she entered the room, she bowed to the two of them first, and then said, "I am here to measure the body of Miss Chu Er."

The lady asked Aunt Qiu to take Chu Qianchen to Wanyan Courtyard to have her measured.

The two palace maids were the ones who actually took Chu Qianchen's measurements. They were very cautious and terrified, and spoke respectfully: "Second Miss Chu, I will measure your body. Please stand straight first."

The two palace maids quickly measured Chu Qianchen's height and shoulder width and wrote them down one by one.

Aunt Qiu was watching from the side, her posture straight.

She glanced around casually and asked nonchalantly, "Huh? I heard that the Empress Dowager sent Nanny Yan to the Marquis' Mansion, why didn't I see her?"

The person she was asking this question to was Amber.

Amber said calmly, "Mammy Yan is busy." Her words were vague.

"The Empress Dowager ordered her to come to the Marquis' Mansion to 'serve' the Second Miss Chu to show her respect. How could she be so lazy?" Nanny Qiu frowned slightly, thinking that Nanny Yan was too unreasonable. Even if Chu Qianchen was easy to fool, she couldn't be so lax!

Amber smiled and said, "Madame Qiu is right." She randomly called a round-faced maid and said, "Agate, go and call Madame Yan."

Agate responded crisply and left quickly.

The two palace maids continued to measure Chu Qianchen's body:

"Please raise your arms slightly to the sides, and I will measure your waist and hips."

"Let me measure the length of your arm."

“…”

The wedding dress is complicated and requires a lot of measurements. In addition to a red wide-sleeved dress, a shawl, a red silk skirt and a red silk jacket, there are also matching accessories such as the Nine-Di Zhai crown, a large belt, a jade leather belt, a jade flower-patterned ribbon, jade pendants, etc. Everything must be prepared according to the etiquette of the prince's wife.

This is something the Queen specifically instructed. Prince Chen must not be wronged!

After a moment, Agate brought Nanny Yan over.

Nanny Yan had washed and combed her hair carefully early in the morning. She was wearing a brand new royal blue jacket with dark patterns. She was clean and tidy all over, and looked no different from when she was in the palace every day.

Nanny Qiu looked Nanny Yan up and down and felt that she seemed to have lost some weight and looked a little haggard.

"Madame Yan," Madam Qiu looked at her with concern and a warm expression, "You look a little haggard, but did you not sleep well last night?"

Nanny Yan: “…”

Nanny Yan's eyes were a little dull, and she subconsciously looked in the direction of Chu Qianchen.

Chu Qianchen was sitting on a chair, letting the palace maid measure the circumference of her head. She was holding a round fan embroidered with a cat and butterflies and fanning herself absentmindedly.

The little black cat on the fan also moved with her movements, as if it was going to pounce towards her from the fan.

The day before yesterday, the conversation between Chu Qianchen and her flashed quickly in her mind. Nanny Yan felt her heart tighten and she shuddered suddenly.

She didn't want to go back to that dark room.

Nanny Yan had no doubt that if she said one wrong word, it would be easy for Chu Qianchen to make her faint or "sick".

Nanny Yan forced a smile and said nonchalantly, "I'm not young anymore. I haven't been sleeping well in the past two years, and I'm also a bed lover. I just changed my environment, so I haven't been sleeping well these past few nights."

Nanny Qiu didn't really care about Nanny Yan. She just asked casually and didn't suspect anything.

Then, she got to the point, and said with a smile: "Before I came to the Marquis' Mansion, I went to Shouning Palace to meet the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother told you not to rush back to the palace, but to stay in the Marquis' Mansion and 'serve' the Second Miss Chu well."

Nanny Qiu was talking about the Queen Mother, but in fact, both she and Nanny Yan knew that it was the Queen who said this, and she was just using the Queen Mother's name.

Nanny Yan didn't dare to play tricks at all. She nodded and said, "I understand. I will definitely not let the Empress Dowager down."

"Please trouble Aunt Qiu to go back and tell the Queen Mother that Miss Chu is smart and hardworking, and has learned the rules very well."

"That's good." Aunt Qiu was relieved and smiled even more deeply. "The Empress Dowager is very concerned about the Second Miss Chu and asked you to do your best." There was some meaning in her tone.

Nanny Yan glanced at Chu Qianchen quickly again. Chu Qianchen's smile was faint and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

Nanny Yan laughed dryly twice and agreed noddingly. The hairs on the back of her neck all stood up. She only asked Nanny Qiu to say less.

I set the time to 7 o'clock tomorrow... How stupid! Just lie down and curse.

(End of this chapter)