Inside the main hall, the atmosphere was even more stagnant, as if they had suddenly entered a freezing autumn.

Everyone was silent as if dumb.

At first, the Madam, Chu Lingxiao, Chu Lingyu and others tried to talk to Gu Jue, but all they got was a faint response. Gu Jue probably said less than ten words in total.

In the end, the Madam and others no longer tried to curry favor with Gu Jue. Anyway, they were eager to keep a distance from Gu Jue, the plague god.

Finally, a round-faced maid came in a hurry and said, "Madam, the eldest lady, the second aunt, and the fourth young master are here."

The Chu family members in the room felt relieved and looked outside the hall together.

From afar, Shen, Chu Qianchen and Chu Yunmu came hand in hand, strolling leisurely under the dense and luxuriant trees.

The three of them were talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Under the burning gazes of the crowd, the three of them entered the main hall.

Shen didn't care whether the Madam, Chu Lingxiao and others were happy or not, and looked at Gu Jue.

Shen had also seen the young Gu Jue. At that time, Gu Jue was the ninth prince, the most beloved by the late emperor. He was dressed in fine clothes and rode a horse, full of vigor and vitality.

When Gu Jue personally came to the Marquis' Mansion to pick up the bride the day before yesterday, Shen looked at Gu Jue from afar, feeling as if she were in another world.

Prince Chen looks very different from before.

As a teenager, he was very talented, but now he is able to control himself and keep a low profile.

The way he sat there, he looked quiet and profound, indifferent and arrogant.

It was as if there was an invisible barrier separating him from the other people around him.

There was no emotion on his face.

Shen clenched his fists, thinking about whether to apologize or not, when he saw Chu Qianchen smiling at him, tender and soft. Gu Jue's cold eyes softened a lot at once, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips, adding a bit of warmth to his expression.

Seeing this, Shen felt relieved.

Everyone knows that Prince Gu Jue is arrogant and not easy to approach. Ordinary people are simply not worth his attention. Even when facing the emperor, he does not lose to him.

He obviously had some special feelings towards Chu Qianchen.

This is already a good start! Shen looked at Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen again and felt that they were a perfect match.

Shen walked briskly to the old lady and bowed, "Mother."

The old lady was upset when she saw Shen, but now that Prince Chen was here, she could only force a smile, "Azhi, you're here. You look much better than yesterday, please sit down."

Everyone knew that this was just a polite remark. Shen just smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, mother," and sat down next to Chu Lingxiao.

The next step was the formal recognition of relatives, and everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Because Chu Lingxiao has difficulty walking, today it was the second master of the Chu family, Chu Lingyu, who took Gu Jue to meet his relatives. Chu Qianchen followed quietly beside Gu Jue, elegant and dignified.

Today's recognition of relatives is a little different from ordinary ones. Gu Jue is a prince, so he naturally does not need to bow down to the Chu family. Chu Lingyu introduces the people and Gu Jue recognizes them one by one.

Everyone present had the surname Chu. In addition to the four branches of the Chu family, there were also some relatives of the Chu family in Beijing, a total of more than forty people.

The elders naturally prepared gifts for the new sons-in-law. When it was Chu Qianchen's turn, Gu Jue gave the gifts. The girls all received identical eight-treasure gold necklaces, while the boys received a set of the finest four treasures of the study.

Only Chu Yunyi and Chu Yunmu got a Persian scimitar that was different from the others, with rubies embedded in the golden scabbard sparkling.

Chu Yunmu's eyes glowed like gemstones, and he said happily, "Thank you, brother-in-law."

He couldn't help but pull the scimitar out of the scabbard. The silver blade was cold and extremely sharp.

Chu Yunmu straightened his chest and felt as if he was already a heroic and vigorous general.

He suddenly felt that having a brother-in-law wasn't bad...

About half an hour later, the ceremony of recognition of relatives was over.

According to custom, the newlyweds have to stay at the bride's home and enjoy a simple meal before leaving.

So, Nanny Chen came to ask whether to move to the theater, saying that the troupe was ready.

For today's return banquet, Shen specially invited a troupe of actors to her home. She took great pains to do this, as she was afraid that everyone would be speechless. It would be better for everyone to say less, watch a few performances, have a meal, and then go home.

Chu Qianchen knew all of this.

She called out "Prince", and Gu Jue understood what she meant. He stood up first and said, "Let's go."

Shen saw the tacit eye contact between them and felt even happier.

Everyone moved to the theater to listen to the opera. The men surrounded Gu Jue and walked in the front, while Chu Qianchen and the female relatives walked behind.

There is a clear distinction between men and women.

Soon, everyone arrived at the theater and others took their seats.

Shen immediately asked the troupe to start the performance, and the first song they sang was the joyful "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents".

After a while, it was time for Shen to take medicine, and Dongmei came with a food box. So Shen left the theater under the pretext of changing clothes.

As soon as Shen left, Chu Qianchen was called by the lady to the side room next door, and the only person accompanying him was Liu.

No one else paid attention, they just thought that the lady had something private to say to Chu Qianchen. According to the custom of returning to the bride's parents' home, the female elders in the family would symbolically ask the new bride how she had been doing in the past few days.

Nanny Wang sent all the maids to wait in the corridor.

There was a lively sound of stringed instruments outside.

The first scene of "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents" is Mr. Yang's 60th birthday celebration. His five daughters come with their sons-in-law to pay their respects. The faint singing of actors can be heard, making the side hall seem even more deserted.

The lady pretended to take a sip of tea, then asked coldly, "Sister Chen, are you living well in the palace?"

She asked perfunctorily, so Chu Qianchen also answered perfunctorily: "Okay."

This one word completes the answer.

The grandparents and granddaughter had never been sincere to each other. They had long since fallen out with each other, and there was nothing left of their dignity.

The lady raised her eyebrows, pursed her lips and fell silent.

She picked up the blue and white porcelain teacup again and drank the tea slowly, trying to put silent pressure on Chu Qianchen in this way.

To Chu Qianchen, the Madam's tricks were not enough.

She looked relaxed and contented. As soon as she stretched out her hand, Amber tacitly handed her a round fan embroidered with a cat playing with butterflies.

Chu Qianchen slowly fanned herself with a round fan, again and again. She did not look at the lady, but instead stared at the pond outside the window.

Half of the lotus pond was in full bloom, and the fragrance attracted butterflies and dragonflies to fly among the lotus leaves and flowers.

If Yueying were here, she would probably make a soft and tender cry and rush out to catch butterflies.

Thinking of his own kitten, Chu Qianchen smiled slightly.

She was originally worried that the kitten wouldn't be able to adapt to the unfamiliar environment, but when she was walking around the garden with Gu Jue yesterday, she saw the little black cat happily chasing butterflies among the flowers. It just rubbed against her generously and then ran away.

The lady did not speak, and Chu Qianchen did not speak either.

There seemed to be a silent duel going on between the grandparents and the grandchildren.

Deathly silence continued to spread quietly in the hall, and time passed.

The lady's eyes flickered slightly, and the disgust in her heart deepened little by little. She thought: Chu Qianchen's cowardly appearance in the past was really just pretending! This girl has been pretending for so many years, she is too scheming.

On the contrary, Liu was a little anxious, and her eyes kept looking back and forth between the two of them.

The lady noticed Liu's expression out of the corner of her eye, and sighed that Liu was not experienced enough and could not hold back on such a small matter. No wonder she had always been outshined by Shen all these years.

Liu clenched her handkerchief. Seeing that the lady hadn't said anything, she couldn't help but speak: "Sister Chen, your grandmother has something to say to you."

Madam: “…”

The lady was disgusted with Liu's impatience, but since Liu had said so much, she had no choice but to continue.

She twisted her Buddhist beads, looked kind, and admonished: "Sister Chen, you are a new wife, so you must be respectful, modest, quiet and polite, and strictly abide by the "Female Precepts" and "Female Rules."

Chu Qianchen continued to fan himself slowly, now and then, without making any comment, intending to see what they were up to.

Then, the Madam changed the subject: "I know that you have been getting along well with the Second Prince since you were young. Originally, your family had thought of marrying you to the Second Prince, but now that you are married to the Prince of Chen, you should not be indecisive and have such inappropriate thoughts."

She looked earnest and taught, and displayed the dignity of a grandmother.

At this time, the actors outside happened to sing about how Madam Yang despised the poor and loved the rich, and made things difficult for the three daughters and their sons-in-law. The sound of stringed instruments became tense, and there was a sense of solemnity that was about to explode.

Chu Qianchen sat upright with an elegant posture. The round fan in his hand stopped. He withdrew his gaze from the window and looked towards the lady.

The lady took out a water-green purse embroidered with lotus flowers from her sleeve, put it on the coffee table, and asked sternly, "Sister Chen, do you recognize this purse?"

Liu curled the corners of her mouth smugly, as if she was smiling.

Chu Qianchen recognized the purse at a glance and restrained his smile.

She remembered that this purse was asked for by Aunt Jiang in March. Now that the purse was in the hands of the Madam, it meant that Aunt Jiang had handed over the purse...

Chu Qianchen's eyes gradually became deeper, and his fingertips gently stroked the handle of the round fan twice.

She recalled that in her previous life, when she was fourteen years old, she was also confused by a purse.

At that time, she couldn't understand what was going on. It was not until now that she suddenly realized that Liuli must have stolen her purse according to Aunt Jiang's instructions and then handed it over.

In the previous life, Aunt Jiang had never asked for the purse in person. Many things in this life were different from the previous life. When Aunt Jiang asked for the purse, Chu Qianchen was a little surprised, but still gave it to her.

It's just a purse, you can use it to throw a stone to ask for directions.

Chu Qianchen laughed mockingly in his heart, but his face showed just the right amount of surprise, and he asked, "Grandma, how come this purse is here with you?"

"How dare you ask!" The Madam slammed her palm heavily on the coffee table, angrily scolding, "Since the Emperor has granted you and Prince Chen a marriage, you should recognize your status and abide by the rules of being a wife. You gave the purse to the Second Prince, do you know what this means?!"

Before the wedding, she and Chu Lingxiao tried to control Chu Qianchen several times, but Chu Qianchen easily exposed them every time. Of course, they were unwilling to accept this.

A concubine's daughter who cannot be controlled is no different from a waste, and this concubine's daughter will also bring trouble to the entire Chu family!

The Chu family is now walking on thin ice, and it's all Chu Qianchen's fault! Liu watched this scene quietly from the side, pretending to wipe the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

Liu had originally created this purse in order to marry Chu Qianchen to the third son of the Marquis of Jingyong, who had a tendency to have affairs with men, to give her a marriage that was sweet on the outside but bitter on the inside. However, before she could make a move, she had to be controlled by Chu Qianchen because of the Ten Perfection Cream and did not dare to offend her.

Later, the emperor granted Chu Qianchen a marriage, and Liu had to give up.

She saw that the old lady wanted to control Chu Qianchen, so she took the initiative to hand over her purse, hoping to use the old lady's force to help her subdue Chu Qianchen, so that she could naturally get the Ten-Ingredient Cream.

"Sister Chen," the old lady hit Chu Qianchen with a stick first, and then softened her tone, "You are a married woman. Whether a married woman lives well in her husband's family depends on whether she has the support of her natal family. You are almost a marriageable woman, so grandma doesn't need to tell you such a simple truth, right?"

"We all prosper together and we all disgrace together. You are my granddaughter, so I naturally want you well. That's why I quietly asked the Second Prince to return the purse. Don't be so reckless in the future..."

The lady seemed to have good intentions, and her purpose was obvious.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

She took out this purse purely to seize Chu Qianchen's weakness. Chu Qianchen was really too presumptuous and arrogant. She relied on the fact that she was a prince's consort to dare to disobey her, her grandmother.

Ridiculous, did Chu Qianchen really think that they could do nothing to her? ! If the Prince of Chen found out that Chu Qianchen had had an affair with someone before marriage, how could the Prince of Chen tolerate it! Not to mention the Prince of Chen, no man would be so tolerant! Of course, the Madam Tai was just threatening Chu Qianchen and didn't dare to really make a big deal about it, after all, this matter also involved the Second Prince.

The atmosphere in the side hall was cold, making the sound of opera outside even clearer. In the opera, the second elder of the Yang family, instigated by the second daughter, ruthlessly drove the third daughter and her son-in-law out of the Yang Mansion.

This section of the play reached its climax.

The women who were listening to the opera burst into warm applause and cheers.

In her heart, Liu was also cheering for the lady, even though she herself couldn't sing any better.

Chu Qianchen remained silent, and flapped his fan twice slightly, like a butterfly fluttering its wings.

The lady took another sip of Biluochun and felt more certain. She thought that Chu Qianchen, a little girl, would be panicked and scared when encountering such a thing, and there was no way she could get out of her Five Fingers Mountain!

The lady pulled the corner of her mouth, hooking a determined smile, and then said: "Sister Chen, a married woman must rely on her parents' family. If her parents' family is good, you will be good."

"Don't you think so?"

Chu Qianchen stared at the Madam, and finally said the second sentence: "Grandma, why don't you just speak directly."

Liu was a little surprised when she heard this.

She thought Chu Qianchen would defend herself, saying that she did not give the purse to the second prince, and that she did not have any private dealings with the second prince.

Liu was not afraid that Chu Qianchen would not admit it. After all, the purse was here, and a woman's reputation could not tolerate the slightest stain. Rumors are scary, and three people can make a tiger. Chu Qianchen couldn't clear himself even if he jumped into the Yellow River! Don't want to -

Chu Qianchen didn't refute at all...

Is it because she knows that no matter how much she says, it will be useless? Liu thought doubtfully.

In contrast, the Madam seemed calm and composed, as if she had already made up her mind, and said, "Sister Chen, you also know that His Royal Highness Prince Chen and the Emperor have been having a bad time recently."

"Alas, the emperor is the sovereign and the prince is the minister. If the prince gets angry with the emperor like this, he will be killed sooner or later. You are the princess of the prince, and the husband and wife are one body. You cannot escape this fate alone."

After a pause, the lady added, reminding meaningfully: "His Royal Highness the Second Prince is a prince."

The old lady also felt that Chu Qianchen had an extraordinary friendship for the second prince, but she didn't care about it before. To be honest, she was used to cousins. For example, Chu Lingxiao and Aunt Jiang were not the same.

And now, since it is profitable, the lady does not mind talking about it to coax Chu Qianchen. Even if this girl doesn't miss the Chu family, she should at least miss the second prince.

Chu Qianchen looked at the Madam calmly and asked, "So?"

The lady said again: "You are my granddaughter, and I wish you the best."

"In the future, you should come back to see grandma often and tell her about the affairs of Prince Chen's mansion. In this way, if Prince Chen does something wrong, we can stop it in time and avoid a huge disaster."

"At her age, my grandmother only hopes that her children and grandchildren are safe and happy."

The lady spoke tactfully, implying that she was doing this for Chu Qianchen's own good, so that Chu Qianchen would not be implicated by Prince Chen's actions. If the Chu family is doing well, Chu Qianchen will be better off.

After a lot of talking, she felt thirsty, so she drank two sips of tea, then put down the teacup and asked, "Sister Chen, do you understand?"

Chu Qianchen felt that he understood it very well, so he nodded.

The lady was very satisfied and smiled arrogantly.

So what if this girl is now the princess of a royal family? She is still very experienced! Seeing Chu Qianchen was convinced, Liu was relieved and her lips curled up. She was overjoyed and felt that this was the right step. Now Chu Qianchen relied on the Prince of Chen, and her weakness also became the Prince of Chen.

Liu signaled anxiously to the Madam Dowager, since they had Chu Qianchen in their grasp, she should quickly take out the Ten-Herb Ointment.

The lady gave Liu a look that told her to be patient.

Things have to be done step by step. Chu Qianchen can't be pushed too hard, lest he end up making things worse.

Liu: “…”

Liu wanted to say something, but the lady had already stood up and said, "Let's go to the opera."

The three of them returned to the theater's lobby from the side hall.

At this time, the stage was empty, and the actors left the stage one after another. The first section of "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents" had been sung. The men looked indifferent, while the women were very excited and were discussing the previous section of the play in groups of three or four.

The lady went to her seat and sat down. Liu, the second daughter-in-law, accompanied her with a smile on her face.

Ever since Shen and the old lady had a falling out, Liu became a big shot in front of the old lady.

The third and fourth wives both looked at her with envy.

"Second aunt, please come this way." A maid in blue wanted to lead Chu Qianchen to her seat, but Chu Qianchen walked past the maid as if she didn't hear anything, and came to Gu Jue and smiled slightly.

Her smile was gentle and sweet, but in Gu Jue's eyes, it revealed a hint of cunning.

Feeling that she seemed to be having a lot of fun, Gu Jue asked casually: "What's wrong?"

What made her so happy? Chu Qianchen smiled with her lips pursed, and her smile gave people a bright and gentle feeling like spring breeze and rain.

She smiled and said, "My grandmother got a purse from somewhere and it belonged to someone else. She told me to let her know if there was anything going on in the palace."

She didn't lower her voice, so everyone present could hear it clearly.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone was stunned, and their eyes turned to Chu Qianchen again. Some people also looked at the old lady with different expressions, especially those members of the Chu family, who looked at the old lady with extremely strange eyes.

There was silence in the theater.

Chu Yunmu blurted out and asked Chu Qianchen: "What did you say?"

He was still young and didn't understand Chu Qianchen's meaning at all. He just asked casually, but most of his attention was actually on the precious scimitar in his hand.

“……” The lady felt a burning pain on her cheeks. She was almost going crazy and wished she could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

Just now when they were next door, they were clearly talking fine, and Chu Qianchen understood it, so why is she suddenly going crazy now? ! The Madam was extremely confused, angry, anxious and worried. She was worried about her family, and she was also afraid that the second prince would be dragged into the water.

At this moment, with the deafening sound of gongs and drums, the second quarter of the play began.

On the stage, Mr. and Mrs. Yang fell into poverty and were expelled from Kyoto. However, the second daughter and her son-in-law saw that the two elders were in such a state of destitution that they drove their biological parents out of the house without any regard for the father-daughter relationship. The two elders of the Yang family were left on the streets, full of regret.

This is supposed to be a very enjoyable scene in "Five Daughters Paying Homage to Their Parents", but at this moment no one cares what is happening on the stage.

Gu Jue raised his sword-like eyebrows in surprise, and when he saw Chu Qianchen squinting his eyes with a mischievous look, his mood inexplicably became happy.

He seemed to be easily amused by this girl.

Gu Jue raised his hand to help Chu Qianchen brush away a petal that had fallen on his shoulder, and sighed: "Poor thing, he went back to his mother's home and was bullied."

Everyone was even more shocked and stared at the newlyweds in amazement.

The faces of the Madam and Chu Lingxiao turned blue, white, and purple.

After the Chu clan members recovered, they all guessed that Chu Lingxiao was most likely the one who did this. Many eyes turned to him again. Some of them were speculative, some were doubtful, and some did not take it seriously, thinking that Chu Lingxiao had done something too ugly.

Chu Lingxiao stood up from the chair suddenly, but his injured leg had not yet healed. When he suddenly became alert, he staggered. Fortunately, the servant was quick to support him.

Chu Qianchen was calm and composed. He played with the round fan between his fingers for a while and lowered his eyes. "Hey, I don't know who my aunt gave the purse to. How did it end up in my grandmother's hands?"

This rebellious girl! Chu Lingxiao was furious, and the rage in his heart rushed straight to his head. She even didn't let go of her aunt's reputation, what an ungrateful woman!

"Unfilial daughter!"

Chu Lingxiao lost all his rationality and just wanted to vent his anger. He raised his hand to hit...

“Bang!”

A folded folding fan hit Chu Lingxiao's right wrist steadily, fiercely and accurately. It was a simple action that seemed effortless.

Chu Lingxiao let out a cry of pain and retracted his hand.

He subconsciously shrank his body and staggered again. This time, the servant failed to hold him, and he staggered back onto the chair at the back.

His movements were so big that even his hair bun became loose, with a few strands hanging down, making him look crazy.

Upon seeing this, the Chu clan members secretly shook their heads, thinking that Chu Lingxiao did not have the demeanor of Marquis Yongding at all, and was far inferior to the old marquis before!

The folding fan was held in a large, jade-white hand.

His nails were trimmed very neatly and cleanly, and his fingers were long and slender with distinct joints, as beautiful as a carefully carved jade bamboo.

The owner of the hand was Gu Jue.

(End of this chapter)