Even if we have to settle accounts, we have to do it step by step and count them one by one. Anyway, the monk can run away but the temple cannot. The Duke Mu’s Mansion will not just swallow this big loss! The wife of Duke Mu and Duke Mu exchanged a look calmly.

In the distance, there came the sound of a gong marking the first watch of the night, piercing through the thick darkness like a sharp arrow.

Shen turned her head and looked out the window. The night was as dark as ink and as cold as water.

She couldn't wait any longer, hoping that tomorrow would come so that she could see Chu Qianchen again...

Soon, Dongmei came in through the curtains, smiling, and said, "Madam, the carriage from Prince Chen's Mansion just arrived outside the Duke's Mansion. Guess who's here?"

Dongmei didn't mean to keep the secret, she just wanted to make Shen happy.

The answer to her question was obvious, and Nanny Chen asked in cooperation, "Could it be His Royal Highness Prince Chen?"

"That's right!" Dongmei said happily.

Shen was startled at first, then relieved. That's good!

Duke Mu and his wife looked at each other again, with some surprise in their eyes.

On the contrary, Nanny Chen thought back to what she had seen and heard in Prince Chen's Mansion and did not feel surprised at all.

Nanny Chen added, "Madam, when I went to Prince Chen's residence today, before Second Aunt asked, His Royal Highness Prince Chen took the initiative to ask her to come to the Duke's residence to see you..."

Nanny Chen knew that Shen had been worried that Chu Qianchen would be wronged in Prince Chen's Mansion. Now, judging from Prince Chen's various behaviors, it at least showed that Prince Chen still attached great importance to Chu Qianchen.

Shen's brows relaxed slightly, and so did the two elders.

They were originally worried that Chu Qianchen would be caught between a rock and a hard place by marrying into Prince Chen's Mansion in compliance with the imperial decree, but now it seems that her situation is better than originally expected.

Duke Mu stroked his beard and smiled, "Prince Chen is not an unreasonable person."

Chu Qianchen also didn't expect Gu Jue to come to pick him up.

At this moment, she had already boarded Gu Jue's carriage, her eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles, "Your Majesty!"

Amber felt a little redundant and sat next to the driver automatically.

At night in the capital, the streets were empty, and the carriage of Prince Chen's Palace occupied the entire street.

Taking the warm tea handed over by Gu Jue, Chu Qianchen took the initiative to say without waiting for him to ask: "I seem to be my mother's child..."

A few rays of hazy moonlight shone through the carriage window onto her small face. The girl's eyes were clear, and there was a hint of innocence and expectation in her glance.

She recounted everything that had happened in the Duke's Mansion that day, including her visit to the monk who was in charge of reception.

Gu Jue leaned against the window and listened to her quietly.

The sound of horse hooves echoed clearly in the empty streets, and was particularly loud in the quiet night.

By the time Chu Qianchen got off the carriage, he had almost calmed down, his face was calm, but the corners of his eyes were slightly red.

Her life experience shaped who she is today. Even if she had let go of many things in her previous life, how could she remain indifferent to all this?

The two walked side by side back to the main courtyard without speaking a word along the way.

Chu Qianchen looked up at the vast sky above, and recalled the scenes in her previous life when the prince taught her to learn about the sky and recognize the stars. Her mood calmed down, and she felt that her own affairs were nothing in front of this sea of ​​stars.

"Your Highness..." Chu Qianchen stopped at the entrance of the yard, wanting to ask him if he had chosen a name for her.

At this time, Madam Cai came over and said, "My Lord, Princess, the meal has just been served."

As soon as the carriage entered the mansion, Matron Cai got the news and immediately had someone serve the meal, with just the right timing.

Chu Qianchen then remembered that he hadn't even had dinner and was starving.

but……

Chu Qianchen turned around and looked at Gu Jue with disapproval.

As if to say, the prince is really disobedient, if she doesn't keep an eye on him, he won't even eat dinner! And that Yun Zhan, he has time to drive the carriage for the prince, why doesn't he know to urge the prince to eat! If Yun Zhan wasn't here now, Chu Qianchen would have to give him a good scolding.

Gu Jue completely understood her expression and eyes, touched her head smoothly and said, "I'm hungry."

He smiled slightly, and his smile was like the warm sun, softening his frosty facial features and making him look even more handsome, like a spring breeze and a bright moon.

Chu Qianchen: “…”

For a moment, Chu Qianchen almost tried to coax him, but he reacted immediately and said to himself: No, I can't let the prince be coaxed so easily.

She thought so in her mind, but she couldn't be fierce at all.

Just looking at him like this, she couldn't help but curl up the corners of her lips, and her smile was as bright as the starry sky on this summer night.

The prince is so cunning! Chu Qianchen thought.

There were four simple dishes and a soup on the table.

Even if Chu Qianchen didn't look at it, she knew what was on the table. She personally reviewed the menu for Gu Jue every day, not because she didn't trust the chef, but because she was afraid that the food would conflict with the medicine Gu Jue was taking and affect the medicinal properties. In addition, she also prepared some recipes for medicinal food for the kitchen, and asked the kitchen to make it for Gu Jue every day according to her instructions.

Aunt Cai personally served the two people food, smiling so much that her eyes narrowed. She felt that since the princess married into the palace, this originally cold palace had become popular. This palace really needed a hostess!

By the time the two of them had dinner and washed up, it was almost two o'clock in the morning.

Chu Qianchen hurriedly urged Gu Jue to rest. She felt that the prince was too disobedient. She had to make a schedule for him to remind him of the time to eat, take medicine and rest.

She also went to bed early.

The acupuncture she had just used on Shen was extremely exhausting, more tiring than riding a horse all day. In addition, the sudden relief allowed her to let go of a long-standing worry, and she fell asleep not long after closing her eyes.

Only when he heard the sound of even breathing beside him did Gu Jue quietly stand up.

Chu Qianchen was sleeping very soundly, and the slight noise around her did not wake her up, so she did not even notice that Gu Jue had left.

Gu Jue went to the front yard and called over the chief secretary Cheng Linhua.

"Tell me about the Chu family." Gu Jue motioned Cheng Linhua to sit down and asked straight to the point.

After knowing that the miracle doctor in Jishidiang was a daughter of the Chu family several months ago, Gu Jue asked Cheng Linhua and others to investigate Chu Qianchen. However, at that time, they only found out that she was the concubine's daughter of the eldest son of the Chu family.

Afterwards, the emperor suddenly granted this marriage to Gu Jue. Although Gu Jue was not in the capital at that time, the Prince Chen's Mansion still conducted a detailed investigation of the Chu family.

Cheng Linhua vaguely guessed that the reason why Gu Jue suddenly asked about the Chu family was probably because of Chu Qianchen, so his answer was also centered on Chu Qianchen: "The princess is the second daughter of a concubine, born to Yongding Marquis Chu Lingxiao's concubine Aunt Jiang."

"That concubine Jiang is the distant niece of Madam Jiang of the Marquis' Mansion. She came to live in the Marquis' Mansion more than 20 years ago because her parents had passed away. She and Chu Lingxiao have been childhood sweethearts."

"Sixteen years ago, the late emperor wanted to rectify military affairs. The Yongding Marquisate was involved in a case of empty salaries in Liaodong, and the title was in jeopardy. The old marquis went to the Mu Guogong Mansion to ask for Chu Lingxiao to marry the eldest daughter Shen Zhi. Mu Guogong agreed and also settled the case for the Yongding Marquisate. A year later, Shen Zhi married into the Marquisate. In the same year, Chu Lingxiao took Aunt Jiang as his concubine and gave birth to a son and a daughter."

"Back then, Aunt Jiang and Shen Zhi became pregnant almost at the same time. The old marquis was worried that Chu Lingxiao would favor his concubine over his wife, so he sent Aunt Jiang back home."

"Later, the wife and the concubine gave birth to daughters on the same day. They were the eldest daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, Chu Qianhuang, and the princess."

Cheng Linhua spoke, and Gu Jue listened.

Gu Jue tapped his knuckles lightly on his knees.

Cheng Linhua didn't know whether Gu Jue still wanted to listen to what Chu Yunyi, Chu Yunmu and Chu Qianhuang had to say, so he paused and observed his expression carefully. He always felt that the prince's concern for the princess was a little different from that of others.

At least, in the prince's heart, the princess should be a somewhat special person.

Gu Jue paused with his knuckles and asked, "Is the princess having a hard time in the Marquis' Mansion?"

Cheng Linhua felt that the prince would definitely not like his answer, but he still nodded honestly: "Indeed."

"In the past, when the princess was in the Marquis's Mansion, almost no one would look at her straight in the eye."

"Last year, he was sent to live in a manor for half a year, and was later brought back to the capital by Madam Shen Zhi."

"It was not until March of this year that the princess rescued the fourth young master Chu Yunmu and displayed her medical skills for the first time."

Cheng Linhua sighed with some emotion: "It's because the wife of the Yongding Marquis has a good heart. Otherwise, if it were the Yun family, I'm afraid the princess would have been tortured to death long ago..."

He guessed in his heart that maybe the princess had some adventure when she stayed in the manor, so she learned such medical skills. However, it was also because their princess was extremely talented and had a photographic memory! Cheng Linhua admired their new princess so much that he had to applaud Su Mubai, the cunning fox.

Gu Jue stared at the pond outside the window. Under the moonlight, half of the pond of lotus flowers bloomed in the night, like clouds and mist.

The evening breeze blew, rippling the pond water, creating ripples. The lotus flowers swayed gently, and a few dragonflies flew above the pond.

"Meow!"

The little black cat happily chased a dragonfly, its green eyes seemed to glow in the dark night. At night, it became energetic and played with birds and insects everywhere.

Gu Jue looked at the kitten who was having fun and asked, "Where is Chu Lingxiao?"

Cheng Linhua pursed his lips, feeling a little embarrassed.

He really looked down on Chu Lingxiao, but he was the princess's biological father after all.

Cheng Linhua considered his words carefully and said, "Marquis Yongding has always favored Concubine Jiang, but since his wife was born in Duke Mu's mansion, he didn't have the guts to kill her. It's just that the relationship between the couple was not good. On the day when the princess returned home after three days, his wife took her son back to her parents' home."

The servant who came to serve tea to Gu Jue also heard this conversation and said with a smile: "Master Cheng, you said he is a gigolo."

This servant had also followed Gu Jue to the north and had always served Gu Jue personally, so he was bolder when speaking than others.

(End of this chapter)