Some people came in, some went out, and some lit lanterns for her.
As night falls and the temperature drops, even the cicadas become quiet and stop chirping, making the summer nights exceptionally peaceful and tranquil.
"Amber, take this Astragalus..."
Chu Qianchen originally wanted to tell Amber to cut the Astragalus, but before he could finish his words, he found that it was a man's hand that took the Astragalus.
Chu Qianchen blinked, finally coming out of his state of concentration.
"Your Majesty?"
Only now did she realize that Amber was no longer in the pharmacy, and had been replaced by Gu Jue, and she didn't even know when her assistant became Gu Jue.
“Ding! Ding!”
The sound of the second watch was heard in the distance.
Chu Qianchen blinked again and subconsciously turned his head to look at the leaking clock, only then he was sure that it was already the second watch of the day.
Chu Qianchen frowned and educated him seriously: "My Lord, you are disobedient and stay up late again!"
She made a schedule for Gu Jue. He should lie down and rest before 11 p.m. every day. He had to sleep for four full hours every day before getting up. It would be best if he took a nap in the afternoon.
But the prince always disobeys! This makes Chu Qianchen a little distressed.
Gu Jue stretched out a slender index finger and tapped her forehead, and directly sent her words back to her: "You are disobedient and stay up late again."
Of course, he was referring to Chu Qianchen who was still busy here.
Chu Qianchen: “…”
In her previous life, after the prince passed away, she was used to being the master of her own life, and she was a little uncomfortable with it for a while. However...
"Go to sleep." Gu Jue said as he pinched her sleeves. She was like a puppet, she obediently put down the things in her hands and followed him to the inner room.
It's great to have someone to take care of you! Chu Qianchen smiled slightly, feeling sweet in his heart, and replied: "Okay."
So good. Gu Jue also smiled and said, "How about I make a few medicine cabinets for you?"
Chu Qianchen's eyes lit up, "Okay!"
This "OK" deserves to be louder and more joyful than the previous one.
That's great.
In her previous life, the prince saw that she was studying medicine, so he specially asked someone to make a special medicine cabinet for her. She drew the blueprint herself, and the prince helped her improve it.
The prince is going to give her the medicine cabinet again!
Chu Qianchen's eyebrows and lips were curved in a smile, and his steps were light and fluttering.
Gu Jue raised his eyebrows, a smile flashed in his eyes, and his pupils sparkled with warm rays in the orange light.
The girl was laughing there alone again, seemingly carefree.
As long as she doesn't stretch out her claws, no one can tell that the kitten has sharp claws hidden in her soft pads.
The kitten was very sleepy, and after lying down, her soft body gradually curled up into a ball. After a while, her breathing became even.
For Gu Jue, the steady breathing of the person beside him was like the best lullaby. He listened to her breathing and soon fell asleep.
The night wind outside the window blew through the courtyard, and the slightly cool air was tinged with the faint fragrance of lotus and hibiscus. The moon shadow was cold in the sky, and the flowers and trees rustled.
The night is long and short.
In the next few days, Chu Qianchen was very busy, busy with making medicine every day. However busy she was, she no longer dared to stay up late and went to bed before midnight every day.
The prince said that we should lead by example.
Of course she would listen to what the prince said.
One day in the meantime, Chu Qianhuang came to the palace again, but Chu Qianchen was busy making medicine and had no time to pay attention to her. By the time she finished making a small bottle of pills, it was the eve of Gu Jue's departure.
These days, the emperor is still "bedridden", and all state affairs are handed over to the crown prince Gu Nanjin.
Gu Nanjin was so busy that he wished he had three heads and six arms, but even so, he still found time every day to visit Prince Chen's Mansion and try to persuade Gu Jue. However, no matter how hard he tried, Gu Jue did not agree to let the third princess accompany him until the moment of departure.
On the seventh day of August, Chu Qianchen accompanied Gu Jue and Wuhejialou and his party all the way to the outskirts of the capital. After they left the South City Gate, he accompanied them for another three miles before reluctantly asking someone to stop the carriage.
Chu Qianchen leaned his head out of the carriage window and looked at a line of carriages and horses going further and further away. The convoys of the Nanhao people and the Beiqi people were mixed together, just like water and oil, and it looked inharmonious no matter how you looked at it.
Chu Qianchen's eyes were only fixed on the figure in the frosty cloak.
Suddenly, Gu Jue in front looked back and saw the carriage parked alone a hundred feet away.
On the official road, people were coming and going in an endless stream, but only this carriage stood still, as if time had stopped.
At this distance, he could no longer see her face clearly, but in his mind he could clearly picture every subtle expression on her face.
He knew that she would be waiting for him in the palace.
As he thought about it, Gu Jue felt an indescribable subtle feeling in his heart.
Ever since he went to the north at the age of fifteen, he had been away from the capital for many years, either on expeditions in the south or the north, but he had never felt like this before. How should I put it? He suddenly didn't want to leave.
A sentence popped into his mind: There is more love between young people than stormy weather.
The thought only flashed through his mind.
He quickly withdrew his gaze and continued to ride forward.
The earlier you go, the earlier you can return, right?
At this moment, he believed more than ever that he would get better.
By then, he could take the little girl to Jiangnan, Beidi, and Northwest China...
The sound of horse hooves rumbled and dust billowed on the official road. After a while, the figures of the group disappeared at the end of the official road.
Chu Qianchen still didn't move. He held on to the window with both hands, leaned his head out, and stared blankly ahead.
Seeing that her princess was about to become a husband-waiting stone, Amber cleared her throat and thought about comforting Chu Qianchen. For example, it would be much safer for the prince to leave the capital this time than the last time he accompanied Prince Qin to secretly go to the northwest.
Before he could finish his words, Chu Qianchen had already lowered the curtains and said, "Go back."
She returned to the palace with a unhappy look on her face.
Without Gu Jue's presence, Prince Chen's Mansion seemed bigger and more spacious.
Chu Qianchen was unhappy. Every day she either studied how to make thread with mulberry bark or petted her cat. She had little interest in other things.
A few days later, she finally cheered up. Thinking that she hadn't been to Duke Mu's Mansion for a long time, she asked someone to prepare the car and set out.
A few days ago, she was busy preparing medicine for Gu Jue and did not go out. She only asked Amber to visit Shen a few times, send some nourishing pills she made, and see if she was in good spirits.
Chu Qianchen hadn't been here for a few days, and Shen was very excited when she heard that she was here.
"Sister Chen is here, I'm going to..."
Shen had long forgotten that there was another person in the room, and she couldn't wait to get up and go greet Chu Qianchen in person.
"Big sister!" Shen Wan quickly grabbed her elder sister, with a complicated expression, "Finish your story first."
Shen Wan returned to her parents' home today. She was originally angry about the mess in the Prince's Mansion, so she came to complain to the wife of Duke Mu. Only then did she know that such a big thing had happened in her eldest sister's family, so she hurried to Shen's yard.
Unexpectedly, Shen had only said half of her words when the real owner arrived.
Shen thought about it and wanted to quickly explain the whole story of how Chu Qianchen and Chu Qianhuang were switched by Chu Lingxiao.
Shen Wan's eyes widened wider and wider, with emotions including indignation, shock, heartache, disgust, etc.
Before she could calm down, she heard Dongmei's greeting from outside: "Second Aunt, Fourth Young Master."
The door curtain was opened from the outside, and Dongmei personally led Chu Qianchen and Chu Yunmu, brother and sister, in.
Chu Yunmu heard that she was coming and hurried over to pick her up.
Chu Qianchen wore a lotus-colored skirt with embroidered butterflies and jade hairpins today. Her black hair was tied into a heart-shaped bun. She had no more than five pieces of jewelry on her body, including jade pendants, and was dressed elegantly.
As soon as she came in, it was as if a spring breeze carrying a shower of flowers was blowing towards you, making your eyes brighten.
This was the first time Shen Wan looked at Chu Qianchen directly.
Because of the troubles in the Prince's Mansion, Shen Wan has always disliked illegitimate children. Therefore, she was indifferent and almost perfunctory towards Chu Qianchen in the previous meetings. No matter how Shen praised Chu Qianchen in the past, she felt that Chu Qianchen was trying to please Shen with ulterior motives.
She has had a physiological and instinctive aversion to Chu Qianchen until now.
She seemed to have finally had the veil covering her eyes lifted, and everything in front of her became clear.
She stared at Chu Qianchen blankly, even forgetting to blink.
The girl in front of him had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, a slender figure, and the same height as Shen, gradually beginning to have the delicate curves of a girl.
Her eyes are clear and bright, her demeanor is elegant and calm, and her steps naturally exude a sense of nobility and radiance.
In an instant, the figure in front of me overlapped with the image of my elder sister when she was young in my memory...
In Shen Wan's heart, it was like a stone that caused a thousand waves.
So similar.
They are so similar.
Shen Wan murmured to herself in her heart, her eyes were sore and she felt an almost heart-wrenching pain. She felt sorry for her sister and her niece.
How can a person's heart be so vicious? It is said that it takes a hundred years to be able to ride the same boat together, and a thousand years to be able to sleep on the same pillow. Chu Lingxiao and his elder sister have been husband and wife for more than ten years!
Shen Wan tightly grasped the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes dark.
"elder sister!"
At this moment, Gu Zhiyan's soft and clear voice broke the sad and slightly depressing atmosphere in the room.
She stood up from Shen Wan's side and happily trotted towards Chu Qianchen. Her usually dull eyes were now shining again.
Gu Zhiyan threw herself on Chu Qianchen and hugged her slender waist, which made Shen Wan unable to bear to look at it.
Besides, Shen Wan couldn't help but feel a little sad. Qi Niang liked Chu Qianchen very much since she first met her in the Marquis' Mansion. Could this be the fate between them? Chu Qianchen called "Qiniang", rubbed Gu Zhiyan's soft hair, and took her hand and walked to Shen's side.
Chu Yunmu, who was following behind Chu Qianchen, felt a little envious. He also wanted to go over and hold Chu Qianchen's other hand, but he tried hard to suppress himself.
He is five years old, not a child anymore!
"Mother." Chu Qianchen knelt down and saluted Shen first.
Even though she hadn't taken Shen's pulse yet, she could tell from her complexion that she was in good condition these days and was in better health.
"Sister Chen." Shen took Chu Qianchen's hand, smiling happily, and wanted to introduce Chu Qianchen to Shen Wan again, "Come and meet your aunt..."
Shen originally wanted Chu Qianchen to call Shen Wan aunt, but halfway through her words, she remembered that Prince Jing was Prince Chen's cousin, so she stopped talking.
She looked a little strange.
Chu Qianchen could also see what Shen was thinking, and smiled and called out to Shen Wan, "Aunt."
"Sister Chen is so well behaved!" Shen Wan smiled.
No matter how much she disliked Chu Lingxiao and Aunt Jiang in her heart, she would not show it at this time to ruin the atmosphere, nor did she want to hurt her elder sister's heart.
Shen Wan took off a bracelet inlaid with eight treasures of gold and mutton-fat white jade from her hand, put it on Chu Qianchen's wrist, and said with a smile: "This is a gift from your aunt."
Shen Wan didn't mention the past and just thought that today was the first time she met Chu Qianchen.
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"Thank you, aunt." Chu Qianchen accepted it generously.
Shen kept staring at Chu Qianchen with burning eyes, unwilling to look away.
She knew that Gu Jue was going to escort the Nanhao envoy out of the capital, and because she didn't want to cause trouble for Chu Qianchen, she had been holding back for the past few days. After all, Chu Qianchen was already a married girl, and whether she could live a good life in the future depended on her husband's family.
Prince Chen had a good impression of Chu Qianchen, and Shen really didn't want to displease Prince Chen because of these dirty things in the Marquis' Mansion.
When Gu Zhiyan saw Shen Wan give the bracelet to Chu Qianchen, she also took off her own bracelet.
"A gift for meeting you." She also wanted to put her gold bracelet on Chu Qianchen's hand, but she was young and the bracelet was too small to fit Chu Qianchen's hand.
Chu Yunmu was delighted. His eyes rolled around, and he took off a jade pendant from his waist and stuffed it into Chu Qianchen's pocket without hesitation. "A meeting gift."
Gu Zhiyan was so anxious that she took off her gold collar and insisted that Chu Qianchen sit down so that he could put the gold collar on her.
Chu Qianchen felt warm in his heart and let the two little guys "join in the fun". When Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, heard the news and came, what she saw was this heartwarming scene.
Shen Wan smiled and said to Lady Mu, "Mother, we are sending a gift to Sister Chen. Would you like to give her one as well?"
Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, was eager to give Chu Qianchen more good things. She said yes repeatedly and told the maid to get her jewelry box.
Everyone gathered around Lady Mu and sat down. After greeting each other, Lady Mu asked cautiously, "Sister Chen, can you stay a little longer today?"
"Grandma, just say whatever you want to say. I don't have anything to do while the prince is away." Chu Qianchen said with a smile. She was very idle these days.
Madam Mu observed Chu Qianchen's expression and said carefully, "Your uncles, aunts, and cousins all want to meet you."
As she spoke, Lady Mu became more cautious, fearing that Chu Qianchen would refuse to agree.
The fact that Chu Qianchen and Chu Qianhuang were switched has not been spread outside for the time being, but almost everyone in the Shen family knows about it, except for a few very young people.
However, this incident happened too suddenly, and it was only when Lady Mu came to her senses that she realized that she had not formally introduced Chu Qianchen to her family.
Originally, she was thinking of waiting for Shen's body to recover before they went to Prince Chen's Mansion to talk to Chu Qianchen about this matter. But Chu Qianchen came today, and she became a little impatient.
Chu Qianchen: “…”
Chu Qianchen's eyelashes fluttered slightly twice, neither saying yes nor no.
Lady Mu felt that this might work, so she advised, "Sister Chen, I know you don't want outsiders to know about this for the time being, so don't worry, today it's just family members, your uncle... I guarantee that I won't let outsiders know."
The Prince of Duke Mu and his men had long wanted to meet Chu Qianchen, but they had never had the chance, and it was not convenient for them to rashly visit him at Prince Chen's mansion.
The family education in Duke Mu’s Mansion is very strict. Since the wife of Duke Mu said so, Chu Qianchen still believed it.
but……
Chu Qianchen's eyes were deep and calm, and he reminded rationally: "The person I am marrying is Prince Chen."
Everyone knows that the emperor has disliked Prince Chen for a long time. Once he knows that the granddaughter of Duke Mu's Mansion has become Prince Chen's wife, he will definitely feel dissatisfied and wary of Duke Mu's Mansion. Then, the careers of several uncles and even cousins will be bumpy in the future.
Chu Qianchen only said this one sentence, and Shen Wan was confused, but the experienced Lady of Duke Mu understood it as soon as she heard it.
Lady Mu couldn't help but hear her eldest daughter's heart-wrenching sigh:
"Mom, Sister Chen has had a very hard time."
"She has a very smart mind, and she considers everything...but she doesn't consider herself."
The wife of Duke Mu felt a pang of pain in her heart again.
The eldest daughter is right, Sister Chen is such a pitiful child.
She considered the Shen family, but forgot that the Shen family was her maternal family. They were all her elders, and they should have supported her as a junior.
Madam Mu Guogong pulled Chu Qianchen's hand, patted it, and scolded: "This is not something for a little kid like you to worry about!"
Shen also looked at Chu Qianchen expectantly.
Facing the loving and gentle looks of Lady Mu and Shen, Chu Qianchen was speechless and finally nodded.
Seeing this, Lady Mu was overjoyed. She smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed and wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes. She kept saying, "Good boy! What a good boy!"
Shen and Shen Wan exchanged glances, and the two sisters were also smiling. Perhaps only Chu Yunmu and Gu Zhiyan didn't understand what was going on. The cousins looked at each other.
Immediately afterwards, the wife of Duke Mu asked someone to call back all her sons who were on duty, as if she was afraid that Chu Qianchen would go back on his word.
The Shen family is a century-old family. However, the line of Duke Mu's Mansion is not large. Shen Zhi's generation only has two legitimate sons, one illegitimate son, and two sisters, Shen Zhi and Shen Wan.
Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, knew her limits and had no intention of notifying the side branches of the Shen family. She planned to wait until the Chu family officially opened the ancestral hall in the future.
Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, was in a good mood. She acted immediately and called everyone to go to the main hall of the inner courtyard.
Chu Qianchen was still a little confused.
So fast? She had never had the chance to interact with the wife of Duke Mu in her previous life. All she knew about her came from what other people said. They said she came from a family of scholars, that she was graceful and generous, and that she was flexible and adaptable...
But now, Chu Qianchen felt that the wife of Duke Mu seemed to be somewhat different from what she knew.
Her grandmother was really...decisive and efficient in her work.
Shen had been paying attention to Chu Qianchen, trying to figure out what she was thinking. She smiled and said, "Your grandmother is impatient and always does whatever she thinks of."
As daughters, Shen and Shen Wan knew their mother's temperament. Shen Wan also talked about the interesting story of how the wife of Duke Mu chose a daughter-in-law: "Your grandmother went to Prince Li's mansion to attend a flower-viewing banquet and picked out aunts for your two uncles."
The wife of Duke Mu said half seriously and half jokingly: "A daughter of one family is sought after by hundreds of families. If there is a good girl here, then of course we have to act quickly."
She said all this just to make Chu Qianchen happy.
"Grandma is right." Chu Qianchen nodded seriously and couldn't help laughing.
As they chatted and laughed, the atmosphere between everyone became less unfamiliar and more intimate.
Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, told herself not to be anxious and that this man's feelings also needed to be cultivated slowly.
After a while, the wife of the Prince of Mu, Duke of Mu, came in a grand procession with her sisters-in-law and the girls under her.
Chu Qianchen had visited the Duke's Mansion three times before, and only the first time was relatively formal. The wife of Duke Mu asked her eldest granddaughter Shen Congzhen to take Chu Qianchen for a stroll in the garden. Most people in the Shen family had never seen her.
The main hall became lively because of their arrival.
Everyone couldn't help but glance at Chu Qianchen, sizing her up, their eyes filled with curiosity and sighs.
Especially Shen Congzhen's expression was the most complicated.
The last time Chu Qianchen came to the Duke's Mansion, Shen Congzhen was just curious about what the future Princess Chen would be like. Who would have thought that the next time they met, Chu Qianchen would have another identity besides Princess Chen. She was the biological daughter of her eldest aunt.
Although she had heard the news from her grandmother for several days, until this moment, when she saw Chu Qianchen sitting next to Shen with her own eyes, Shen Congzhen still felt that it was not real.
Although the little girl looked serious, she was only in her teens after all, and couldn't help but look at Chu Qianchen twice more.
Chu Qianchen smiled at her kindly, with a bright smile, and Shen Congzhen felt that she was dazzled by this gorgeous smile again.
The Crown Prince's wife and others actually had a lot to say, but they were all concerned about Mrs. Shen and the wife of Duke Mu, so no one dared to ask Chu Qianchen more questions, for fear that any words of comfort would hurt them again.
Two cups of tea later, Duke Mu and other men from the Shen family also came back one after another.
The main hall was packed with people.
Shen Congzhen volunteered to lead Chu Qianchen to recognize his relatives one by one.
"Grandfather, grandmother."
Chu Qianchen knelt on the mat, kowtowed to the two elders of the Shen family, and offered them tea.
The two elders of the Shen family smiled so much that their eyes narrowed into slits. They said hello repeatedly and took out the gift that they had prepared long ago.
Two boxes of heavy jewelry were not only a gift for meeting, but also a dowry for Chu Qianchen. No matter what happened in the Chu family, this was their granddaughter, they would always seek justice for her and give her the best!
Next, Chu Qianchen kowtowed to Shen and offered her tea, calling her sincerely, "Mother."
Shen's mood was like a flood that broke through a dam, she was almost out of control, and her eyes became moist again.
She took the tea and helped Chu Qianchen up herself. When she looked at her daughter who was the same height as her, she gradually calmed down, as if a huge stone had been lifted off her heart.
Before, Chu Qianchen insisted on not letting the Chu family open an ancestral hall. Shen understood her concerns and agreed with her, but deep down in her heart, she always felt uneasy.
These days, she has been working hard to take care of her health, because she doesn't want Chu Qianchen to worry about her as a mother after she gets married. She knows that she is very uneasy deep down and always has nightmares. She often wakes up in the middle of the night, fearing that when she wakes up, her daughter will be gone and her daughter will not recognize her.
Until now, Shen's heart has finally settled down and she feels at ease.
All the ancestors of the Shen family should have seen that this is the daughter of Shen Zhi, and she has half of the Shen family's blood in her body.
Shen Congzhen brought Chu Qianchen to the Prince of Muguo and introduced him, "Cousin Chen, this is my father. You should call him uncle."
After that, Chu Qianchen did not kneel again. He just called out "eldest uncle", offered him tea, and went to his second uncle.
It took half an hour just to recognize the relatives.
Chu Qianchen remembered everyone and received a lot of gifts. As for the gifts she wanted to give to her cousins, she would have to owe them for the time being.
The Shen family is a family of scholars, and Chu Qianchen was thinking of giving the four treasures of the study to her cousins, and jewelry to her cousins. It just so happened that when she went to Duobaozhai with the prince last time, she ordered some small jewelry and cute gold and silver ingots. She originally wanted to please Gu Zhiyan and Chu Yunmu.
This is perfect, it can come in handy.
How come this week went by so fast? I'm so sad.
(End of this chapter)