As she spoke, Yuan Zhitong smiled sweetly at Chu Qianchen, her beautiful and elegant face full of anticipation.
In no mood--
"Not good." Chu Qianchen only gave these two words, concise and to the point.
“……” Yuan Zhitong widened his eyes, a little panicked.
She quickly calmed down, knelt down and bowed to Chu Qianchen, "Princess, forgive my rudeness, but my mother once told me that if I have the chance to come to the capital, I must pay my respects to the Queen Mother."
"It's a rare trip for me to the capital, so I'm so presumptuous..."
Chu Qianchen remained unmoved, his expression did not change at all, and he calmly repeated, "No."
Still the same two words, same tone, same volume.
After he finished speaking, the hall became even quieter, and you could hear a pin drop.
The queen and the others were silent. The princesses and ladies present were drinking tea, looking at each other silently, or playing with the handkerchiefs in their hands...
Chu Qianchen smiled, bowed to the queen, and left alone, leaving only a lingering fragrance like snowy plum blossoms in the air.
Yuan Zhitong looked at her slender back, standing there somewhat at a loss, twisting a lilac handkerchief between his fingers.
After Chu Qianchen stepped over the high threshold, the Queen said, "I have a hundred-year-old Pu'er tea that the envoy of Hao Kingdom just sent. Everyone come and taste it."
The other female relatives said politely, "I am grateful to the Empress for helping me," and "I have heard that Pu'er is more expensive than gold and has a price that cannot be ignored." Miss Yuan also said a few words and sat down again.
The hall returned to its original bustle.
After leaving Fengluan Palace, Chu Qianchen went directly to Shouning Palace.
Queen Mother Yin knew that Chu Qianchen had accepted the invitation sent by the Queen, and she had been waiting for her in Shouning Palace early this morning.
Nanny Yan tactfully dismissed all the idlers in the hall and stayed behind to guard the door for the two of them.
"Mother, don't worry, the prince is doing well." Chu Qianchen knew that the person Queen Mother Yin cared about most was Gu Jue, and this was the first sentence she said after paying her respects.
Things are different now. Empress Dowager Yin now has some spies in the palace. She also heard about Gu Jue's return to the capital, but she hadn't seen him in person, so she was always worried. She was not relieved until she heard it from Chu Qianchen himself.
Nanny He said "Amitabha" in her heart. She originally thought that it was a simple task for the prince to escort the eldest prince Nanhao back to Hao. She didn't expect that a lot of things would happen in less than two months. Fortunately, the prince returned safely.
Queen Mother Yin held Chu Qianchen's hand and asked with concern: "Ajue is a person who never takes care of himself. Has he lost weight again?"
"Yes, you've lost weight!" Chu Qianchen nodded affirmatively, without any intention of hiding anything for Gu Jue. Instead, he made Empress Dowager Yin laugh.
Queen Mother Yin looked at Chu Qianchen with kind and gentle eyes. With this little girl helping her look after Gu Jue, she could rest assured even though she was in this cage.
Chu Qianchen excitedly said that she had already prepared a daily menu for Gu Jue for the next half month, which included not only three meals a day, but also snacks, medicinal food and midnight snacks. She guaranteed that he would gain weight within half a month.
She was responsible for speaking, and Empress Dowager Yin was responsible for listening.
Empress Dowager Yin saw that the little girl was beaming with joy when she talked about Gu Jue. Anyone could see that her whole heart was for Gu Jue, and her eyebrows softened a little.
Queen Mother Yin jokingly said, "If he doesn't listen to you, just tell me."
She smiled and encouraged Chu Qianchen to come to her to report Gu Jue.
Chu Qianchen nodded seriously and said, "The prince is always disobedient."
Queen Mother Yin was amused again, and her cheerful smile made her look several years younger.
Nanny He looked at the smiling Queen Mother Yin and sighed in her heart: Every time the princess came to see the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother would be in a good mood and smile more, which was more effective than any panacea.
Chu Qianchen chatted with Queen Mother Yin for a while, and then took the opportunity to check her pulse as usual.
Although she had been to the palace only a few times, many things had become much more convenient since she had won over Nanny Jin from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For example, when Empress Dowager Yin needed pills, she could have them smoothly delivered to Shouning Palace through Nanny Jin without alerting the emperor and empress.
After taking the medicine for several months, the remaining poison in Empress Dowager Yin's body had been almost eliminated.
Chu Qianchen relaxed his brows and took the patient's pulse for a while longer than usual.
Judging from Empress Dowager Yin's current pulse condition, she will have no problem living another 20 to 30 years.
The early death of Queen Mother Yin in the previous life should not happen again, right? Chu Qianchen told himself in his heart, but a corner deep in his heart always felt uneasy.
If the Queen Mother was in Prince Chen's Mansion, they would be able to protect her, but she was in the deep palace, and they were out of reach...
She didn't show any emotion on her face and gave Queen Mother Yin a comforting smile, "Mother, I will change the prescription for you. If you take it for another month, your phoenix body will be completely cured."
Queen Mother Yin was well aware of how powerful Chu Qianchen's medical skills were, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely be more obedient than Ajue."
Chu Qianchen laughed with great joy and decided to go back and learn it for the prince.
She laughed for a while, then remembered the Queen's words and asked, "Mother, do you want to go see a play? The Queen just said that she wants you to go and enjoy the flowers and watch the play."
In fact, Chu Qianchen felt that it would be easy for Empress Dowager Yin to get bored and sick if she stayed in Shouning Palace all day, so it would be nice for her to go out and watch a play, which would be good for both her body and mind. However, the Queen invited many guests today, and there are many things to do when there are many people. Perhaps Empress Dowager Yin would be impatient to socialize.
Queen Mother Yin: “…”
Queen Mother Yin showed a rare look of surprise on her face.
Since the emperor ascended the throne, she moved from Fengluan Palace to the desolate Shouning Palace. Everyone in the palace knew that she, the empress dowager, was just a decoration, and existed only to show the emperor's filial piety and to control Gu Jue.
She would be ill for at least eight months a year, spending most of her time in bed, mentally ill.
Now the Queen wants to invite her to watch a play?! Did the sun rise from the west? Queen Mother Yin was not an ignorant woman in the inner house. After a little thought, she immediately tasted something.
"Qian Chen, has anything happened to the prince?" asked Queen Mother Yin.
In this palace, only the emperor and the crown prince can make the queen bow down.
It was naturally impossible for the emperor to let the empress please him. Apart from the emperor, the only source that Empress Dowager Yin could think of was Crown Prince Gu Nanjin.
Chu Qianchen then told the story of the dispute between the emperor and Gu Nanjin a while ago: "...The prince knelt in the Imperial Ancestral Temple for three days and is now recuperating in the Eastern Palace."
The Crown Princess is taking care of the Crown Prince, and Chu Qianchen estimates that the Crown Princess will not show up today.
Queen Mother Yin listened quietly, her old but not turbid eyes as deep as ink.
Although she now has some informants in the palace, they are mostly used to inquire about Gu Jue's affairs and don't care about anything else. Moreover, Shouning Palace is independent of the six palaces and has never had much presence. Empress Dowager Yin does not want to attract the emperor's attention, so naturally she will not do those unnecessary things.
Therefore, it was not until now that Queen Mother Yin heard about the prince from Chu Qianchen.
After a pause, Chu Qianchen added, "A few days ago, the emperor asked the second prince to entertain the envoys from the Hao Kingdom."
Queen Mother Yin understood and a mocking smile appeared on her lips.
The matter of entertaining the envoys from the Hao Kingdom was neither a big nor a small one, especially since the new Hao Emperor Uhaduro had just ascended the throne and this was the first time he had sent an envoy to visit. Traditionally, it was better for the crown prince to entertain them.
However, this time the emperor chose the second prince instead of the crown prince. What would the ministers think?
Queen Mother Yin said calmly: "The Queen is anxious."
Ever since the late emperor named Gu Nanjin the Crown Prince, Gu Nanjin's position has always been stable. He was naturally promoted from Crown Prince to Crown Prince. The Queen has lived a carefree life in the past twenty years and never had to worry about anything.
It is precisely because of this that now that there are some problems, the Queen suddenly becomes confused and somewhat unbalanced.
Chu Qianchen smiled and coaxed Queen Mother Yin, "Mother is still very insightful and hit the nail on the head."
Queen Mother Yin was laughed at again.
The queen had always been arrogant, boasting of her noble birth and thinking highly of herself. She looked down on her step-mother-in-law. Queen Mother Yin was not interested either, as the queen was not her daughter-in-law anyway.
She never thought that the Queen would bow to her one day.
Queen Mother Yin took a sip of hot tea, gracefully put down the pastel enamel teacup, and said, "In that case, of course we have to go see the show."
Queen Mother Yin looked graceful and calm, as if she was talking about an irrelevant matter.
The two talked for a while, and then Chu Qianchen personally supported Queen Mother Yin and went towards Changyin Pavilion.
In fact, Queen Mother Yin is not even forty years old, but she has been ill for the past few years since the death of the previous emperor, so she looks a little haggard. After these few months, under Chu Qianchen's care, her complexion is much better than before.
Whenever the empress dowager traveled, she was accompanied by people from Shouning Palace. A group of maids, eunuchs and palace maids followed behind the empress dowager Yin and Chu Qianchen, creating a majestic atmosphere.
The queen arrived at Changyin Pavilion earlier and got the news at the first time. She personally brought several princesses and a group of ladies to meet Queen Mother Yin.
"Greetings, Mother."
"Greetings to the Imperial Grandmother."
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen Mother."
The shouts of the women overlapped.
The entrance door of Changyin Pavilion was suddenly crowded with people. At first glance, all the people were well-dressed and wearing jewels. All of them were surrounding Empress Dowager Yin and the Queen.
Before today, who would have thought that the queen would be so respectful and attentive to the queen mother! "Mother, you came at the right time. Your daughter-in-law was about to send someone to Shouning Palace to invite you over." The queen's face was full of smiles. As she spoke, she looked at Chu Qianchen next to her, "My ninth brother's wife is so filial that she personally invited you over."
Other people including Princess Li also said a few words to join in the fun, and everyone was talking and laughing.
At this moment, Yuan Zhitong took two steps forward and knelt down to greet the Queen Mother Yin, "Your humble servant pays respects to the Queen Mother. My father, Yuan Youjie, may I know that the Queen Mother..."
"Are you Ji Lan's daughter?" Queen Mother Yin interrupted Yuan Zhitong, with a look of sadness and nostalgia on her face.
Dong Jilan was the daughter of her fourth aunt. When she was young, she also lived in the Yin family and kept company with the Empress Dowager Yin, who was unmarried at that time.
Queen Mother Yin corrected her with a kind smile: "Zhitong, you should call me cousin."
Yuan Zhitong smiled appropriately, and with just the right amount of flattery, "Empress Dowager... my cousin still remembers my mother."
Meeting the daughter of an old friend reminded Empress Dowager Yin of many past events in her boudoir.
Queen Mother Yin asked again, "How is your mother?"
Yuan Zhitong's face froze, revealing a bit of sadness, "Aunt, my mother passed away last July."
As the saying goes: "When the father is still alive, one should mourn for the mother." Yuan Zhitong's biological father is still alive, so she only needs to mourn for her biological mother for one year, and now she has passed the mourning period.
Queen Mother Yin opened her eyes slightly, unable to hide her shock and grief, and sighed: "Your mother is only thirty-three years old..."
The last time she saw Dong Jilan was eight years ago.
The past is still fresh in front of my eyes, but I don’t expect that the old friends are gone.
Queen Mother Yin felt a little sad and heartbroken, and closed her eyes.
She took Yuan Zhitong's hand and said a few words of advice: "Zhitong, please accept my condolences. Your mother will rest in peace when she sees you grow up to be such a beautiful girl."
Yuan Zhitong smiled softly, "Thank you for your care, aunt. I will remember it."
She rubbed the handkerchief in her hand and said, "Before my mother died, she was always thinking about my aunt. She said that you treated her like a sister and asked me to come to the capital to pay my respects to you if I had the chance."
"Just now I wanted to go with the princess to pay my respects to you, but the princess did not agree..."
Her eyes wandered, as if she had spoken out of turn.
Then, she smiled nonchalantly and said, "I think the princess has something private to say to her aunt."
The sixteen-year-old girl stood gracefully with a gentle smile.
Queen Mother Yin frowned slightly.
Chu Qianchen had a smile on his lips.
The other female relatives present were also paying attention to what was happening here, with different expressions on their faces.
The atmosphere around was a bit stiff.
The Queen smiled and said, "Mother, the play is about to start. Why don't you go in and reminisce about the past?"
So, everyone surrounded Queen Mother Yin and the Queen and entered Changyin Pavilion, and quickly went up to the second floor of the theater.
Yuan Zhitong followed Empress Dowager Yin like a shadow, never leaving her side, and personally helped her sit down on the phoenix throne.
The seats in the theater were arranged in advance according to status. On both sides of the Empress Dowager, one was the Queen's phoenix throne, and the other was reserved for Chu Qianchen, the Princess of Chen. There was no seat for Yuan Zhitong.
However, Yuan Zhitong had already asked the palace maid to bring a small stool over, and said affectionately: "Cousin aunt, I want to talk to you again."
"Before my mother passed away, she was bedridden for two years. At that time, she kept thinking about some past events and told me a lot about her relationship with my cousin's mother."
"Mother said that my cousin's aunt's calligraphy is very beautiful, and is not inferior to Madam Wei's. Her calligraphy is also beautiful after your guidance."
When she talked about Dong Jilan, Empress Dowager Yin showed a bit of nostalgia and sadness on her face, and sighed: "Your mother was very smart, she could learn things quickly, and she was especially skillful, she could embroider double-sided embroidery, no one could match her."
Yuan Zhitong pursed her lips and smiled, looking up at Queen Mother Yin with her small face, "My mother taught me how to embroider and write hairpin calligraphy, so am I considered half a disciple of my cousin aunt?"
"Okay!" Queen Mother Yin was amused by her.
The two of them were talking and laughing happily.
At this time, the play script was first delivered to the Queen, who then handed it to Queen Mother Yin, "Mother, please perform the play first."
Empress Dowager Yin casually selected a piece of music called "Mu Guiying Takes Command", and the piece of music was returned to the Queen's hands.
The queen smiled slightly, with a look of calmness that showed that everything was under control.
She also selected a play, and then the play was handed to the Princess of Li.
Soon, a slow sound of stringed instruments came from the direction of the stage below. The actors began to appear on stage, each one wearing heavy makeup and bright clothes, and began to sing in a singsong voice.
The play script was passed among the female members of the family according to their social status. After a while, it was delivered to Chu Qianchen by the Princess of Rui.
Chu Qianchen nonchalantly pointed at the playlist with his slender index finger and selected a play. He then told the palace maid to replace a cup of new tea for Queen Mother Yin, with a graceful demeanor.
She didn't notice at all that Princess Rui and Princess Li were watching her every move and exchanging glances with each other.
Yuan Zhitong was so cordial with the empress dowager that the empress dowager looked at her with a different eye.
They had originally thought that Princess Chen might be ashamed and angry because of the Queen Mother's poor treatment, and might even be eager to compete with Yuan Zhitong for favor. Unexpectedly, Princess Chen was so calm that she ignored Yuan Zhitong.
Princess Chen is the princess of a royal family. If she were to compete with a mere court lady in public, she would be lowering herself and degrading her status.
Regardless of whether Princess Chen's previous external behavior was due to Prince Chen's suggestion, it now seems that she is not like an ordinary concubine's daughter.
From time to time, scrutinizing eyes fell on Chu Qianchen, but Chu Qianchen seemed unaware of it. His every move was always elegant and calm. I remained unmoved.
After the play was over, Chu Qianchen took Jiang Yuan out of Changyin Pavilion to change clothes.
Two cups of tea later, she returned to Changyin Pavilion again. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she bumped into the third princess who had just come out of Changyin Pavilion.
"Sister Chen!"
The third princess, Anle, wore a scarlet jacket and a pink lace skirt. She had a lovely double spiral bun on her head. Her smile was as pure and innocent as usual, and as clear and bright as a gurgling spring.
Next to Anle was a girl wearing a bright red silk jacket with a pattern of hundreds of butterflies, and it was Chu Qianhuang.
Chu Qianhuang pursed her cherry lips tightly, her willow-leaf eyes were as deep as a bottomless abyss and extremely complex.
As soon as she saw Chu Qianchen, she remembered the slap he had slapped her hard in the face at Prince Chen's Mansion last month.
Chu Qianhuang felt her left cheek starting to hurt again.
"Third Princess." Chu Qianchen greeted Anle with a smile, pretending not to see Chu Qianhuang.
Anle smiled brightly and said innocently, "No, I should call you Aunt Jiuhuang. You look so beautiful today!"
Then, she pouted and complained, "You haven't come to the palace to play with me for a while!"
"Aren't I here?" Chu Qianchen looked at Anle with a bright smile.
She likes the third princess, and hopes that the little girl can always maintain her current innocence and happiness, but there are too many things in this world that are beyond one's control.
Anle was easy to coax. With a smile on her face, she said happily, "Then I'll go play with you after I change my clothes."
Chu Qianchen nodded in response.
The three of them crossed paths. Anle and Chu Qianhuang went to the small courtyard where they changed clothes, while Chu Qianchen continued to walk towards Changyin Pavilion. However, they had not walked far when they heard Chu Qianhuang's voice: "Second sister."
Chu Qianhuang walked quickly towards Chu Qianchen and blocked her way.
Chu Qianhuang walked in a hurry, her breathing became rapid, and her cheeks were flushed, and it was unclear whether it was from walking or the wind.
"Second sister, I want to talk to you." Chu Qianhuang stopped three or four steps away from Chu Qianchen.
The two looked at each other, and it was not until this moment that Chu Qianhuang realized that Chu Qianchen had become an inch taller than her without her noticing.
Now, she actually had to look up at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of her.
Chu Qianchen remained silent without comment.
Chu Qianhuang smiled bitterly and said, "We are sisters after all. Those things are not something I can control... I believe that I have never treated you badly in the past."
Chu Qianchen still looked at her quietly.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the treetops above, casting mottled shadows on the sisters' faces. The expressions in their eyes were completely different.
Chu Qianhuang stared into Chu Qianchen's eyes and continued with a sincere expression: "When I was in the Marquis' Mansion, I would have someone bring some to you and the other sisters. I always treat sisters equally."
She had never mistreat Chu Qianchen just because she was a concubine's daughter. Whenever she got something good, she would share it with her sisters fairly and generously.
She is the eldest sister, and her words and deeds are role models for the other girls in the Chu family. Everyone in the Marquis's Mansion can see it.
"So?" Chu Qianchen asked, his expression still as calm as a pool of winter lake water, cool and clear, reflecting everything.
"..."Chu Qianhuang clenched the handkerchief in her hand.
To her ears, these three words uttered by Chu Qianchen sounded like dissatisfaction and resentment.
Chu Qianchen shouldn't blame her.
As a human being, no one can choose his or her own parents. This was true for the original owner and it was also true for her.
She traveled from another world to this distant and strange world. Although she had long known that her and Chu Qianchen's identities had been swapped by Aunt Jiang and Chu Lingxiao, this matter had been a fait accompli fourteen years ago. She could not go back in time, so she could only take advantage of the situation to find a bright future for herself.
She believed that she had done nothing wrong and had done nothing wrong to Chu Qianchen.
Even though she knew the truth about their life experiences, even though she knew that Chu Qianchen was the biggest threat to her, she did not kill him.
But what about Chu Qianchen?
She was chasing after me aggressively!
“Bang!”
The loud slapping sound clearly rang in Chu Qianhuang's ears again.
That day, Chu Qianchen kept saying that she was slapping Yi Ge'er because of him, but in fact, she was doing it for herself.
A cold light flashed across Chu Qianhuang's eyes.
Anyway, she was about to leave Da Qi, so she could give Chu Qianchen whatever she wanted.
Chu Qianchen turned his head and asked, "You said you have never treated me badly?"
"You said you would share whatever you have with me?"
"You said that you always treat sisters equally?"
As she spoke, she took a step closer to Chu Qianhuang.
With just this one step, Chu Qianhuang felt a tremendous pressure, and felt that Chu Qianchen's eyes were so dark that they seemed to suck her in.
Chu Qianchen only took this step. She stared at Chu Qianhuang's eyes without blinking, and then continued: "But, if you are not the eldest daughter of the Chu family, will these things you have still be yours?"
Chu Qianhuang: "..."
Chu Qianchen curled his lips and smiled, his smile was open-minded and transparent, his eyes were as sharp as a sword, "To be generous to others is like you."
If the substitution had not happened, Chu Qianhuang would have been nothing more than a concubine's daughter. All a concubine's daughter could have was the share of the marquis' mansion, which was completely different from the eldest legitimate daughter. As a concubine's daughter, she had no right to say things like "treating Chu Qianchen poorly" or giving things to Chu Qianchen.
Chu Qianhuang could only adopt such a condescending attitude because she was the eldest daughter of a legitimate wife. Otherwise, even Madam Chu would not even look twice at a mere concubine's daughter, let alone think of entering the palace to be a companion to the princess.
Everything she has is based on the premise that she is the eldest daughter of Chu Lingxiao and Shen.
Chu Qianhuang's face froze, as if she had been slapped in the face again.
Under the mottled light and shadow, the dark eyes are bottomless.
(End of this chapter)