She put down the teacup and once again looked towards the bamboo shed where Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen were.

Chu Qianchen and Gu Jue sat there side by side. Gu Jue held a few colorful pheasant tail feathers and a copper coin in his hands. It was obvious that he was making a shuttlecock.

Chu Qianchen stared at his fingers without blinking, his eyes clear.

The two of them were leaning head to head intimately, oblivious to the people around them.

Gu Jue's fingers are white and slender, flexible and agile, and his nails are neatly trimmed and look very beautiful. Whether he stretches his fingers or curls them, there is a kind of beauty that is pleasing to the eye.

The colorful pheasant tail feathers made his fingers look as smooth as jade bamboo, and the long tail feathers swung back and forth with his movements.

As Chu Qianchen looked at them, he couldn't help but reach out to touch the soft and shiny feathers, again and again.

How could Gu Jue not see it? A gentle smile appeared on the corner of his lips. He felt that the little girl's expression was exactly the same as the expression of her little black cat when it stretched out its claws to play with feathers.

When Gu Jue adjusted the position of the feathers, the shuttlecock was completed. The long feathers on the shuttlecock bloomed like flowers.

Chu Qianchen took the shuttlecock that he handed over, held it in his hand, and played with it over and over again, as if he was appreciating a flower.

Gu Jue said: “Let’s try kicking it.”

"I want to keep it." Chu Qianchen pushed the shuttlecock to her other hand, as if she was afraid that Gu Jue would snatch it away. She thought: What if it breaks? This is the first shuttlecock that the prince made for her.

Her thoughts were almost written on her face. Gu Jue laughed and said, "I'll make another one for you. You keep this one and play with the other one."

"Okay!" Chu Qianchen nodded hurriedly, his face beaming with joy as he said, "I'll make one with you and give it to Qi Niang."

It’s not so much that she wanted to make a shuttlecock, but rather that she liked the feeling of doing the same thing as him, even if it was just a small shuttlecock.

The two of them picked out pieces of cloth, one red and the other bright red, and started to sew the copper coins together.

Making shuttlecock is very simple, and even children can do it as long as they can thread a needle.

As Chu Qianchen was sewing, he couldn't help but look at Gu Jue's hands, thinking: The prince's hands are really skillful, and the stitches are very even! Chu Qianchen was a little absent-minded, and accidentally pierced the tip of the needle on the pulp of the middle finger of his left hand, and a drop of bright red blood appeared on his fair skin.

Gu Jue put down his needle and thread, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the blood off her fingertips, and carefully applied medicine to her.

After Amber put down the ointment, she quietly stepped back. She was no longer surprised. After all, the princess had pricked her fingertips countless times when she was making clothes for the prince.

Chu Qianchen smiled cutely, her face was as beautiful as a flower.

Gu Jue had no idea what to do with her, so he flicked her forehead lightly with his fingers and said, "Focus."

Chu Qianchen covered his forehead and smiled with his little face tilted. He was so well-behaved and adorable that it was hard to blame him.

At this time, Jing Feng came over from the direction of the palace and whispered something to Gu Jue. Gu Jue stood up and whispered, "I'll be back soon."

Chu Qianchen picked up the half-made shuttlecock again and waved his hand, meaning, go ahead.

After a cup of tea, Chu Qianchen's first shuttlecock was ready.

When Gu Jue was not around, she was not easily distracted and made the shuttlecock faster.

Chu Qianchen happily played with the shuttlecock he made. The tail feathers on the shuttlecock were even more gorgeous than the one made by Gu Jue, just like a peacock spreading its tail.

Then she handed the shuttlecock to Amber.

"Amber, give this shuttlecock to Qiniang to play with. This golden pheasant has beautiful tail feathers, and every little girl will definitely like it."

"By the way, remember to tell her that this is the shuttlecock I made myself."

Chu Qianchen smiled sweetly, thinking to herself that she had to make another one and give it to Chu Yunmu after returning to Beijing, otherwise this boy would accuse her of being partial.

"Don't worry, Princess." Amber took the shuttlecock and headed towards the palace while accepting the order.

Chu Qianchen started to pick scraps of cloth again. The next shuttlecock was to be made for Chu Yunmu, so these red scraps of cloth were not suitable, so Chu Qianchen chose a royal blue piece of cloth.

She had just picked out the cloth when she heard a sound of breaking air from the right front, accompanied by a young girl's delicate exclamation: "My hydrangea!"

Not far away, a hydrangea the size of a bowl drew a long curve in the air and flew over rapidly. In the sunlight, the hydrangea was colorful, and the golden bells on the ball were shining and ringing.

Yuan Zhitong panted and ran over after the hydrangea in the air, with a strange light in her eyes.

Chu Qianchen was sitting now, and judging from the momentum of the hydrangea, it should hit her on the head. Even if she stood up immediately, she would still be hit on the shoulder by the hydrangea.

There was a little mud on the hydrangea. No matter where it hit Chu Qianchen, it would be enough to make her lose face in front of everyone!

The girls who were playing with Yuan Zhitong also noticed this scene, and they let out nervous low cries one after another.

Yuan Zhitong felt happy, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly as he ran.

In the blink of an eye, the hydrangea flew closer, only about two feet away from Chu Qianchen.

Yuan Zhitong seemed to see the hydrangea hitting Chu Qianchen's bun, making her hair messy, the pearls crooked, and her face pale.

The next moment——

A silver sword light flashed, as fast as lightning, and the sword rose and fell, cleanly splitting the hydrangea in half in mid-air.

The hydrangea that was split in half fell to the ground. The bright red hydrangea was decorated with golden bells and bright red tassels, and was embroidered with carp and peony flowers in gold thread. It was so exquisite that it looked like a work of art.

Yuan Zhitong gasped in pain, and looking carefully, she found that there was a long sword in Chu Qianchen's hand. Chu Qianchen casually performed a sword flower, and the long sword returned neatly to the scabbard on Jiang Yuan's waist.

The series of actions from wielding the sword to putting the sword away were as smooth as flowing water, without any drag, and each movement was fast and precise.

Anyone can see that it is impossible to achieve this without just a few years of practice.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The noble ladies around were all dumbfounded.

Their expressions varied. Some were more frightened than surprised, and frowned slightly; some looked at each other in shock; there were also two or three girls in riding clothes who exclaimed "Wow", their eyes shining like stars.

"..." Yuan Zhitong froze in place, eyes slightly opened, looking at Chu Qianchen with an unbelievable look, as if to say, how could you do this! Her hydrangea!

A faint mist was visibly gathering in Yuan Zhitong's eyes. Her slender body was trembling slightly like a fallen leaf in the cold wind. She looked so weak and helpless that I felt pity for her.

She looked like she was about to cry at any moment.

Finally, she took a deep breath and resolutely took a few steps forward.

"My hydrangea..." She bit her lower lip with her neatly braided jade teeth, her eyes half closed as she looked at the hydrangea that was split into two on the ground.

Her eyes gradually turned red, and she looked more pitiful and aggrieved.

Yuan Zhitong was really heartbroken.

This hydrangea was given to her by the Queen half a month ago as a tribute from Yanzhou.

When she was in Qingzhou before, she was the daughter of the governor, and everyone flattered and respected her. But after coming to the capital, she realized how big the world was. Their Yuan family was nothing in the capital, neither a noble family nor a family of noble birth.

The things she once thought of as proud of were now nothing in the eyes of these noble ladies in the capital. She had also seen from afar the noble ladies pointing and commenting on her jewelry and clothes.

She was the eldest daughter in the family, and her father had never treated her badly in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, but it was impossible for him to be as careful as his mother was when she was alive. This was the first time she owned something as exquisite and precious as the tribute hydrangea.

It was precisely because of this that she brought out this hydrangea on purpose.

Yuan Zhitong bent over and picked up the hydrangea that was split in half, then looked at Chu Qianchen again, her expression showing reluctance and heartache.

She bit her lower lip again and explained, "Princess, I was just playing with Miss Liu and Miss Li. I played too hard and the hydrangea flew over here..."

"I was at fault in this matter..."

Yuan Zhitong looked frank, with red eyes.

Chu Qianchen looked at Yuan Zhitong with a half-smile, "Since you know you are wrong, just step down."

The noble ladies who had just played with Yuan Zhitong were watching this scene from a distance. They couldn't hear clearly what Yuan Zhitong and Chu Qianchen had just said, but at least they could tell from their expressions that their conversation was not going smoothly.

A girl in a red riding uniform wanted to say a few words on behalf of Yuan Zhitong, but just as she took a step, she felt her sleeves tightened, and a girl in a purple riding uniform with a heroic appearance grabbed her.

"Sister **?" The girl in red blinked in confusion.

The purple-dressed girl smiled and shook her head.

The other girl in green took the other arm of the girl in red, patted her gently, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Little cousin, don't be silly. I am just a servant, and I offended the princess. It is only natural that I should be slapped in the face."

The other noble ladies did not move either, and all looked in the direction of Chu Qianchen and Yuan Zhitong.

"..." Yuan Zhitong's face froze again. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Gu Jue walking towards her from the southeast, and her eyelashes trembled.

She did not retreat, but took a step forward, skillfully blocking Chu Qianchen's sight with her body, preventing her from seeing Gu Jue.

"Princess." Yuan Zhitong called softly, staring into Chu Qianchen's eyes, and holding the hydrangea in her hand tighter.

She was clearly standing while Chu Qianchen was sitting, much shorter than her. She was the one looking down at her, but at this moment Yuan Zhitong felt as if she was the one being looked down upon.

The other person's cold phoenix eyes seemed to be able to see through everything, making her feel that nothing inside and outside could escape her.

Yuan Zhitong's eyes flickered, and she lowered her eyes to avoid the other person's gaze, and said helplessly: "Do you have some misunderstandings about me..."

"I don't understand why the princess is targeting me? I shouldn't have offended the princess, right?" She asked two questions in a row, and then seemed to have thought of something and guessed, "Could it be because of the Queen Mother?"

"The Empress Dowager is my cousin. I respect her, so I go to Shouning Palace to pay my respects from time to time..."

"It's not what you think, Princess."

Yuan Zhitong talked to herself for a while, looking weak, excited, and strong.

(End of this chapter)