"Nineth Emperor's sister-in-law, you have to be careful."

She reminded him in a low voice, her voice soft and gentle, with an appearance of being demure and submissive, as gentle as water, but her brows seemed to be frowned.

There were some things that the Queen didn't say directly just now, but Jingle and everyone else present could see them clearly, but they just didn't say them out loud.

The Queen clearly wanted to pass Yuan Zhitong to Gu Jue. Given Yuan Zhitong's background and her relationship with Queen Mother Yin, it is conceivable that if she really entered the palace, she would at least be a concubine.

Even if she fails this time, the queen will not give up easily.

The Queen is...

Jingle thought of something, and a complex and tangled emotion flashed in her eyes.

She pursed her lips hesitantly, gritted her teeth, and finally said, "Sister-in-law Jiu Huang, you know the wife of the Prince of Enguo, right?"

Chu Qianchen nodded.

The Prince of Enguo is the Queen's half-brother. His wife, Lady Li, also often goes in and out of the palace. Chu Qianchen has met Lady Li once or twice, but they have never spoken.

Jingle rarely talked about such gossip with others, so it was a little difficult to start. She considered her words for a while before continuing, "The current wife of the Crown Prince, Li, is actually the successor wife."

Seeing Jingle in a dilemma, her wet nurse simply spoke for her: "The Duke of Enguo's first wife was surnamed Wang. This marriage was arranged when the Queen's grandmother was still alive. The Wang family fell into decline, and the Queen has always disliked the Wang family. She said that she would give the Duke of Enguo's first wife a co-wife on the grounds that the Wang family had not given birth to a child for three years."

"As a result, within a few days, Wang committed suicide by hanging herself."

"Back then, when it was still the mourning period, the current Madam Li was carried into the Duke of Enguo's mansion in a sedan chair carried by eight men."

There was a hint of sarcasm in the nurse's tone.

There are actually quite a few rumors about this incident in the capital. Some say that Wang hanged herself because she couldn't bear the humiliation, some say it was because the queen sent Wang a white silk, and some say that the wife of the Duke of Enguo forced Wang to commit suicide... There are many different opinions.

Regardless of who is right or wrong, the wet nurse really looked down upon what the queen did. Over the years, the queen had given many beauties to other people. For example, there were several concubines and ladies in the Eastern Palace who were bestowed by the queen.

Jingle took another sip of tea, glanced in the direction of the queen, and reminded her, "You must be careful."

The Queen has been used to having everything go smoothly over the years, and there is nothing she can't do. No one knows what tricks the Queen will use next.

Chu Qianchen smiled slightly and nodded, "I'll remember it."

Her smile at this moment was completely different from the one she had when facing the Queen before. It was no longer as unattainable as the bright moon in the night sky. Instead, it was pretty, bright and radiant.

Jingle suddenly found it difficult to look at her directly.

The Ninth Emperor's wife is so nice. I wish I could live like her.

Jingle blushed, and stood up in a panic, stammering, "Sister-in-law Jiuhuang, I have something else to do. I'll excuse myself first."

She left in a hurry, as if someone was chasing her, leaving behind only the teacup on the table from which she had only taken a few sips, still emitting wisps of white steam...

Chu Qianchen: “…”

Chu Qianchen looked at Jingle's back as she almost fled in panic, and then recalled her graceful look when she was making tea just now, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Princess Jingle is quite interesting." Chu Qianchen turned and said to Amber.

Amber nodded, thinking about the rumors about Jingle and her husband, as well as the hideous whip marks on her wrists, and she felt a little sympathy for her in her heart.

The eldest princess is the emperor's half-sister after all. She was bullied by her husband, but the queen didn't come out to support her. Instead, she was thinking about these crooked ways.

"Amber, please give her a box of Shiquan ointment later." Chu Qianchen gave the order and continued drinking tea.

Since Jingle had shown kindness to her, Chu Qianchen naturally had to repay the favor.

Amber agreed.

Chu Qianchen continued to drink tea.

Such good tea certainly cannot be wasted.

After drinking the cup of tea, Chu Qianchen slowly led her horse back to her bamboo shed.

While Jiang Yuan served tea to Chu Qianchen, he whispered something in her ear.

Chu Qianchen raised his eyebrows and looked towards the bamboo shed where the emperor was.

Andaman was standing in front of the emperor. Crown Prince Gu Nanjin and several princes were dismissed.

From Chu Qianchen's distance, he couldn't hear what the emperor and Andaman were saying, but he saw that both of them had smiles on their faces, and at first glance it seemed that they were having a very pleasant conversation.

Chu Qianchen's gaze shifted to the eunuch Ni standing beside the emperor. Eunuch Ni, holding a silver whisk, stood aside with his head lowered and his face pleasing to the eye.

Chu Qianchen counted silently in her heart. She had only counted from "one" to "eight", and Eunuch Ni had already raised his eyes to look at the emperor at least three times, and the handle of the whisk in his hand had been turned several times by him...

good.

Chu Qianchen curled his lips, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips, he blinked, his eyes bright.

She quickly and lazily withdrew her gaze and turned to look at the dark forest in front of her. The hunting ground with overlapping mountains was like the sky filled with dark clouds before a storm, exuding a gloomy and depressing atmosphere.

The forest was still silent. No sound of horse hooves or roar of wild beasts could be heard.

No news is often good news. At least no one was seen setting off signal fireworks tonight, which means no one is in danger of life.

I don't know if the prince has listened...

Chu Qianchen ate a slice of orange and frowned slightly.

Amber thought the fruit was too cold, so she silently took away the kettle on the red clay stove, replaced it with a small steamer, and put a few plates of cakes into the steamer to steam them.

Chu Qianchen had food to eat and drinks to drink, and Jiang Yuan played Go with her to relieve her boredom, so time passed very quickly.

As the night grew darker, most of the people who were originally walking or playing returned to their respective bamboo sheds and sat down to drink, play finger-guessing games, and so on.

The Hunting Palace Square was bustling with noise and the air was filled with the smell of alcohol. Many men had a slightly tipsy look on their faces.

Around the second watch, faint sounds of horse hooves were suddenly heard from the direction of the forest, gradually approaching.

I don't know who shouted, "There are the sounds of horse hooves. Are the night hunters coming back?"

It was like a stone falling into a lake, causing ripples on the water surface.

Most of the people in the square looked curiously in the direction of the hunting ground.

At the same time, the sound of horse hooves became louder and louder...

There is still one hour left before the night hunt ends. Those who come out of the hunting ground at this time either give up the night hunt halfway or hunt a ferocious beast. There is no need to waste time.

The people in the square started to discuss among themselves, and some even started to gamble with great enthusiasm: "I'll bet five hundred taels. It's only been an hour, and it's late at night. There's no time to go deep into the forest, and it's impossible to hunt any wild animals. Someone must have given up."

"You also said it was only an hour. Even if you want to give up, there's no need to give up so early. I say, they must have hunted some tiger, leopard, bear or something like that. I bet one thousand taels."

"I support Brother Huang and bet three hundred taels."

“…”

The more those dandies talked, the more excited they became. No one could convince the other and they just wanted to bet their entire fortune on it.

In this noisy atmosphere, a 28-year-old girl in green clothes suddenly exclaimed, "Princess Chen!"

"The Princess of Chen ran away. Could it be that Prince Chen has returned?" another girl in yellow interrupted.

More and more eyes were directed towards Chu Qianchen, and some began to bet on whether the leader of tonight's night hunt would be Prince Chen.

Chu Qianchen could not hear the voices of others at all and ran happily to the exit of the hunting ground to greet people.

She could tell that one of the horse hoof sounds must belong to Jueying.

Jueying’s return means the prince is back.

really--

Soon, a black horse with snow-white hooves came out of the forest carrying a young man in a black cloak.

The black cloak fluttered in the wind, raising a chic and flowing arc, revealing the purple-red riding clothes under the cloak. In the moonlight, the riding clothes with silver threads gleamed like gems.

The man and the horse look spirited and heroic.

The young man on the horse lowered his head to look into Chu Qianchen's eyes and smiled faintly, like the spring breeze in March blowing across the willow branches and the lake.

"Your Highness!" Chu Qianchen also smiled.

She knew it must be the prince who had returned.

Jueying ran towards Chu Qianchen with a clear goal in mind, his body agile and vigorous.

Behind them, Su Mubai also came out of the forest riding a white horse. It was obvious that he came back with Gu Jue.

Everyone in the square was looking at Gu Jue and Su Mubai, wanting to see their haul, but they saw that Gu Jue had empty hands and nothing on his horse's back; whereas Su Mubai returned with a full load, with the basket on his horse's back filled with heavy prey.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

Chu Qianchen was completely unaware of the commotion around him. He stared at Jueying without blinking as she stopped in front of him, her ponytail swinging, as if she was still not satisfied.

The next moment, Gu Jue jumped off the horse.

Before he could stand still, he felt his left wrist being pinched by a small white hand.

Chu Qianchen took Gu Jue's pulse under the cover of his cloak and finally smiled with satisfaction.

Well, the prince is very obedient!

Chu Qianchen looked Gu Jue up and down, and made sure that there was no blood on his body, so he smiled even more happily.

"Are you satisfied?" Gu Jue looked at her with a smile.

Before the night hunt, the little girl had repeatedly warned him not to take action during the hunt and asked him to be obedient.

He is no longer the competitive 15-year-old boy he used to be, and there is no need for him to fight for the first place.

As long as the little girl is happy.

"Satisfied!" Chu Qianchen nodded seriously.

Given Gu Jue's condition, it would be best if he moved as little as possible. Every time he got injured, it would take three times as long to recover.

As the winter gets shorter, Chu Qianchen is starting to feel a little worried.

Gu Jue held Chu Qianchen's hand with his left hand, and they walked side by side towards the bamboo shed, completely forgetting about Su Mubai.

Su Mubai in the back smiled slightly.

Perhaps only the princess can control the prince.

Even if he were given another chance, he would still choose to make this marriage happen at all costs.

There were a few drops of blood on his smooth chin, which made his originally elegant face look more dangerous and evil.

Jiang Yuan looked at Su Mubai expressionlessly.

Su Mubai seemed to be aware of Jiang Yuan's gaze. He raised his hand and wiped his chin. His fingertips were stained with blood. He explained, "It's not my blood."

Jiang Yuan curled his lips coldly, turned around and followed Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen.

She didn't even think that the blood belonged to the dead fox! "My Lord, it's very cold in the hunting ground, isn't it?" Chu Qianchen handed his sleeve stove to Gu Jue, "Warm your hands quickly."

Chu Qianchen was glad that he had prepared ginseng tea in advance. As soon as he sat down, he served Gu Jue a cup of ginseng tea.

Ginseng tea exudes a unique aroma of ginseng.

Gu Jue drank the ginseng tea slowly.

The hot ginseng tea went down my throat and into my stomach, and my whole body suddenly felt warm.

Ginseng tea is not bitter, but has a hint of sweetness, just right.

After swallowing, saliva will form at the bottom of the tongue, the aftertaste is long, and a fresh fragrance fills the mouth.

"Did you cook it?" Gu Jue savored the sweet aftertaste in his mouth and asked in a questioning tone, but his expression was very certain.

Perhaps only what she cooked could suit his taste so perfectly, both in terms of cooking temperature and taste.

If you add one point it will be too much, and if you subtract one point it will be too short.

"Yeah!" Chu Qianchen's eyes suddenly lit up and he smiled brightly.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The prince is still so careful.

He always sees what others do for him, and remembers it carefully in his heart...

Chu Qianchen suddenly had an idea.

Yes, if it was the prince of the past, even if he found out, he would not say it out loud. The prince would just do it silently.

So, in her previous life, when she first met the prince, she was afraid of him.

It was a long time later that she gradually understood his good intentions.

But the current prince is a little different from his previous life and from when he first met March. Some subtle changes have taken place in him...

By the way, the prince has become more frank, not like before, when he was like a taciturn person.

Chu Qianchen pursed her lips and smiled, tilting her little face to look at Gu Jue's handsome face.

Under the illumination of several lanterns above, Gu Jue's cold facial features appeared softer than usual.

He was drinking ginseng tea, so his eyelids were slightly lowered, making his eyelashes look thick, dense and curled, forming a beautiful arc along the inward and outward curved corners of his eyes.

His forehead is smooth and full, his nose is high and straight, his thin lips are slightly upturned, and his facial features are delicate and elegant.

This is the face engraved in her memory, this is the person engraved in her heart.

But when did the prince start to change? Chu Qianchen recalled silently, and his mind flew away without him noticing when the teacup was empty.

Amber, who was standing by, watched helplessly as the prince took over her job and easily changed the tea for the princess. The princess was completely unaware and no one knew what she was thinking.

Amber tactfully stepped back a few steps and obediently went to watch the stove for her masters.

The cold wind was howling, and the forest became even colder late at night.

Not far away, a wailing horn sounded, deep and long, and carried to the distant mountains and forests with the cold wind...

The sound of the horn is a signal to those who are still in the hunting grounds that the night hunt is about to end.

After a while, a series of chaotic horse hoof sounds came from the direction of the forest, heading towards this side.

The military generals and sons of nobles who participated in the night hunt returned on horseback one after another.

Their relatives and friends came forward to greet them and asked about their night hunting gains. The square became more noisy and was filled with a strong smell of blood.

After a cup of tea, all the returning young men gathered on the hunting platform to pay their respects to the emperor, and the eunuchs began to count the prey.

Everyone couldn't help but look at a wild boar in the northeast corner of the hunting platform.

This wild boar was as big and heavy as two strong men, with needle-like gray bristles all over its body. A pair of white fangs appeared between its long furry mouth, which made people shudder...

An arrow shot through its long beak, and two arrows hit its eyes, but other than that, there were no other wounds on its body.

It was not the only wild boar on the hunting platform, but the largest of the other wild boars was only half the size of the wild boar king.

This wild boar king is undoubtedly the most ferocious prey in tonight's night hunt.

Eunuch Ni was also looking at the wild boar king. He looked expressionless, but in fact, cold sweat had already appeared on his neck.

He knew that the emperor just liked this result.

This wild boar king was the prey brought back by Su Mubai.

The emperor's face was so ugly that ink seemed to drip out of it. However, the third princess Anle was not good at reading his expression. She asked with innocent curiosity, "Ninth Uncle, did you hunt this wild boar king?"

“No.” Gu Jue shook his head calmly, “This is Commander Su’s prey.”

“……” The emperor’s thin lips were pursed into a straight line, and his expression became increasingly gloomy.

For the emperor, it would be better for Gu Jue to take the lead in the night hunt rather than letting Su Mubai steal the limelight. Anyway, Gu Jue always takes the lead in the night hunts every year, and everyone is used to it.

Now that Su Mubai has become the leader of the night hunt, doesn't this encourage Gu Jue's arrogance?

Everyone knows that Su Mubai is Gu Jue's man, which is equivalent to telling others that even if Gu Jue looks down on the champion, the champion will still be in the pocket of Prince Chen's Mansion!

The emperor forced out an unnatural smile, seemingly chatting casually with Gu Jue, and asked, "Ninth brother, why didn't you gain anything tonight?"

As early as the moment Gu Jue left the hunting ground, someone went to report to the emperor, saying that Gu Jue returned empty-handed tonight.

Gu Jue made a fist with his right hand, put it to his lips, coughed twice, and said calmly: "I'm not feeling well."

The other people on and off the hunting platform were shocked at first, but then they calmed down, with a kind of sigh of accustomedness.

"..." The emperor's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Gu Jue also said the same thing at the palace banquet in Hanyuan Hall last night, and it was hard to tell whether it was true or not.

If Gu Jue was really not feeling well, he shouldn't have participated in the night hunt tonight.

The emperor suddenly remembered that before the night hunt began tonight, Gu Jue had told the generals that he would not compete with those guys.

Could it be that for this reason, Gu Jue went to the hunting ground for a feint? The emperor tightly grasped the armrest of the chair, unable to grasp the current state of Gu Jue's health.

In just a moment, the emperor's mind had turned several times.

Anle didn't know what the emperor was thinking, so he looked at Gu Jue and said, "Uncle Nine, if you're not feeling well, you should rest more and drink more water."

emperor:"……"

The emperor felt a more severe headache the more he listened.

If the person who said this was the crown prince or one of the princes, the emperor would have been furious, but it was Anle.

The emperor's mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts, making his chest feel stuffy, painful and tight.

He just wanted to end this "farce" as soon as possible, so he called out: "Su Mubai!"

Su Mubai took a few steps forward and walked to the center of the hunting platform. He clasped his fists towards the emperor and said, "I am here."

This is only the first day of the winter hunt, and the people from Prince Chen's Mansion have already won two championships in a row.

Everyone had a different expression. Except for Anle, probably everyone could guess that the emperor was not happy.

The emperor was not only unhappy, but also felt extremely embarrassed. He didn't know how to reward Su Mubai.

"Su Mubai, you are the champion of today's night hunt," the emperor looked at Su Mubai solemnly, and said in a faint voice, "I will reward you with a Ferghana horse, a sword, and ten thousand silvers..."

Su Mubai maintained his fist-cup posture. Before he could express his gratitude, Gu Jue's nonchalant voice sounded first: "I remember that the emperor promised that the winner of the night hunt would be promoted to a higher rank and join the imperial guards, right?"

As soon as Gu Jue said this, the hunting platform fell into dead silence.

Everyone held their breath, probably only Prince Chen dared to challenge the Emperor openly.

According to convention, in addition to these regular rewards, the leader of the night hunt can also be promoted to a higher rank, join the Imperial Guard, and have a bright future.

It is precisely because of this that so many young people rush to take part in dangerous night hunting, just to try their luck for a better future.

But the leader of tonight's night hunt is Su Mubai, and it is impossible for the emperor to use Su Mubai.

Su Mubai is now a second-rank official. If he is promoted one level, he will be a regular second-rank official. This rank is enough to allow him to lead an entire guard in the imperial army.

There is no way the emperor would hand over a guard of the imperial guards to Prince Chen's Palace.

Everyone knows this.

"..." The emperor glared at Gu Jue fiercely, his brows furrowed so tightly that they could almost pinch a mosquito to death. He felt that Gu Jue had clearly been coveting the Imperial Guards for a long time and wanted to get Su Mubai into the Imperial Guards first, and then devour him step by step.

Last time, Gu Jue had already placed a deputy commander in the Jinyiwei. This time, he must not let anyone from Prince Chen's Mansion join the Imperial Guard.

It’s better for Su Mubai to stay in Wucheng Bingmasi.

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said with a fake smile: "Ninth brother, Su Mubai has only been in the Five Cities Military Department for a few months. He has done a good job. Now he is suddenly transferred to the Imperial Guard. Isn't it a waste of all his previous efforts?"

"Your Majesty, a second-rank imperial guard can lead a guard of 5,000 people. Each of the Five City Military Departments has 500 people, and the total number of the five city departments is only 2,500." Gu Jue said with a smile, "Your Majesty's reward is unfair."

Upon hearing this, the emperor's face darkened again.

The establishment of the Wucheng Bingmasi was indeed only 2,500 people, but in fact each department had its own hangers-on, and the number of hangers-on was far more than this.

Wait! The emperor had an idea and said in a deep voice, "Ninth brother, watch your words."

"I haven't finished yet. I have long felt that the Five Cities Army is understaffed and it's time to expand the manpower."

As long as the hangers-on of the Five Cities Army were added to the establishment, the number would be almost enough. The emperor roughly calculated in his mind, curled his lower lip in satisfaction, and secretly felt proud of this idea.

Everyone else was silent, watching the Emperor and Gu Jue engaging in a spark-filled game of chess, thinking that it might not be so easy for Prince Chen to give up.

really--

"So, Your Majesty thinks that the Imperial Guards can be compared with the Five Cities Military Department?" Gu Jue asked back indifferently.

Everyone knows that the Wucheng Bingmasi is just a place to get by, while the Imperial Guards are the emperor's personal guards. The two certainly cannot be compared.

The emperor's gaze was fixed on Gu Jue's face, his eyes were deep and full of certainty.

Sure enough, Gu Jue asked Su Mubai to win the title of Night Hunting Leader because he was targeting the Imperial Guards!

Even though the emperor tried hard to control his emotions, that sinister aura still emanated from him faintly.

The emperor said in a high-sounding manner: "Whether it is the Imperial Guards or the Five Cities Military Command, they are all responsible for guarding the capital, so there is no distinction between high and low."

"If you are worried, Ninth Prince, then Su Mubai will be in charge of the recruitment. That should put your mind at ease, right?"

The people in the Five Cities Military Department are all freeloaders. People with abilities will not join the Five Cities Military Department, so Su Mubai can't make any waves there.

After the emperor said this, several military officials present felt relieved. They did not want to join the struggle between the emperor and the prince.

Su Mubai finally spoke at this time, clasping his fists and accepting the order: "I obey your command!"

An unusually bright light flashed across his eyes.

It's February now, so please ask for a guaranteed monthly ticket~~~ 　　 　 (End of this chapter)