After another stick of incense had passed, the maid brought the medicine back and hurried to boil it.

In the meantime, Chu Qianchen asked Amber to go back to the palace and told her to tell the prince that he would be back later.

By the time Chu Qianchen left Duke Mu's Mansion and returned to the Prince's Mansion, it was already 3 p.m. and there was still a drizzle outside.

Chu Qianchen had been busy for most of the day and went to the outer study room to find Gu Jue, feeling a little tired.

There was no need to alert everyone and she went in by herself. Gu Jue was sitting in a rosewood armchair by the window, with bundles of snow-white silk on the coffee table beside him.

Chu Qianchen walked over quickly and asked with interest, "My Lord, are you making silk strings?!"

As the name suggests, silk strings are naturally made of twisted silk.

Different from other strings, the sound of silk strings is warm, pure, beautiful and unique.

"Yeah." Gu Jue looked up at her and responded softly.

He was making new strings for the broken konghou.

Chu Qianchen smiled brightly, his eyes shining.

The prince really knows everything! Chu Qianchen also likes the sound of silk strings. He once made silk strings for her zither and helped him with great interest.

To make the best silk strings, you have to use the best materials, choosing those silks that are white, shiny, and uniformly thick. A silk string is made of hundreds of silk threads twisted together, and the production process is very complicated.

While helping Gu Jue select silk, Chu Qianchen chattered about what happened in Duke Mu's Mansion today.

Facing Gu Jue, Chu Qianchen had no concept of keeping family disgrace secret, and told him the whole story, including the fact that Prince Jing resigned from his title, and only omitted the fact that she drank the talisman water.

Of course you can't talk about something that will obviously get you scolded, so try to hide it if you can.

Chu Qianchen's eyes wandered for a moment, he put down some silk he had just picked, and went to pick up the teacup.

Almost at the same time, Gu Jue also put down the small bundle of silk that he had just sorted out in his hand, and looked at Chu Qianchen steadily. His narrow eyes were like the calm surface of a lake, reflecting Chu Qianchen's figure clearly.

Gu Jue already knew Chu Qianchen very well. He could tell what was in her mind at a glance and narrowed his eyes.

This girl must be hiding something.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and looked over with a half-smile.

"..." Chu Qianchen's heart skipped a beat and he hurried to drink tea.

She slowly took two sips of tea, raised her head again, and met Gu Jue's smiling eyes again.

Her eyes wandered for a moment, and she stammered and quickly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, do you...do you think the silk I picked is okay?"

When she changed the subject, her guilty look became even more obvious.

Gu Jue was certain that this girl must have done something in Duke Mu’s Mansion.

Gu Jue raised his right arm across the small coffee table between them and lifted her small chin with his slender index and middle fingers.

He looked at her and smiled gently, his smile was warm and his eyes were as bright as stars.

This smile of his was a little different from usual, and Chu Qianchen felt more and more uneasy.

Chu Qianchen changed the subject again in a very abrupt manner: "My Lord, are you hungry?"

"How about I make you honey-roasted venison?"

She stood up suddenly, dodged the two fingers that were tickling her chin, turned around and tried to run.

However, before she took a step forward, her right wrist was grabbed by Gu Jue's right hand.

"etc!"

Gu Jue gently pulled her wrist, but his force was not very strong.

But Chu Qianchen had just turned around and hadn't even stood firmly when he pulled her like that. She staggered back two steps and fell into his arms with a low cry. His other hand gently rested on her slender waist to steady her body.

“…” Chu Qianchen’s whole body stiffened, and he sat firmly on his strong and powerful thighs, with his back pressed against his broad chest.

His warm breath enveloped her, and she could feel his left hand on her waist sliding slightly downward.

Chu Qianchen dared not move at all, like a stone sculpture, and felt a warm touch on his head.

Chu Qianchen was stunned for a moment before she realized that he was kissing the top of her head. She raised her head and just in time, his second kiss landed on her forehead.

It was like she was putting her forehead to his lips.

Chu Qianchen froze again, dumbfounded.

Then, she heard his low laugh, which seemed to be very pleasant. Chu Qianchen suddenly felt her scalp and forehead were unusually sensitive. The skin that he kissed seemed to have a tingling sensation spreading, as if it was lightly touched by a small spark.

She only felt a heat rushing to her face, and her cheeks and ears were slightly flushed.

The outer study became quiet.

Boom boom boom! Chu Qianchen could clearly hear a strong heartbeat echoing in her ears, and she herself didn't know whether the heartbeat belonged to her or his.

“Huahuahua…”

The rain outside the window became louder and heavier.

The continuous rainy weather is annoying and there are few pedestrians on the road.

But Prince Li had to go out, and that afternoon he personally visited Prince Jing's Mansion.

Prince Li thought that the reason why Gu Jin resigned his title was because of the bad habits he had when he was young. He was just impulsive and talking nonsense. Therefore, he wanted to ask Princess Yang, the Dowager Consort of Prince Jing, to persuade Gu Jin not to be impulsive.

However, when Concubine Yang heard that Gu Jin was going to resign his title, she began to sigh helplessly and complained to Prince Li: "Ah Jin is a child with a strong personality. He always has his own ideas and does what he wants. It's hard for a stepmother to deal with him. I really can't control him."

"Look, over the years, has he ever listened to me?"

As she spoke, Concubine Yang held up a handkerchief and pretended to wipe her tears.

Prince Li: “…”

Prince Li wanted to say something, but Concubine Yang put down her handkerchief and spoke before him, "Prince Li, Ah Jin proposed to resign his title because he felt that he was not worthy of the position."

"As the saying goes, a melon picked by force is not sweet. Since he has made the decision, we, as the elders, should follow his wishes. Why force him to do things against his will?"

Concubine Yang's words sounded high-sounding, but her real intentions were already obvious.

Prince Li was not a fool. How could he not see that Concubine Yang was eager for Gu Jin to give up his title?

Prince Li was so angry that he left after saying "goodbye".

After Prince Li returned home, he got the news that right after he left, Concubine Yang had someone invite a Taoist priest from Yuanqing Temple to perform a ritual. It was said that Concubine Yang had dreamed of the deceased former prince last night, and the former prince had appeared in her dream and denounced her second son Gu Jin...

At this moment, Prince Li seemed to understand why Gu Jin wanted to resign his title.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

He had known that there was chaos in Prince Jing's Mansion, but he had not expected the internal strife to reach this point. If this continued, it would sooner or later bring about a catastrophe for the Mansion!

Prince Li was no longer able to take care of this matter.

In the next few days, with the instigation of Concubine Yang and Gu Lao San, rumors about this matter spread like wildfire, becoming more and more exaggerated and outrageous. In just a few days, everyone in the capital knew that Prince Jing Gu Jinde was unworthy of the position and would be stripped of his title by the emperor.

This news also reached the ears of Chu Qianhuang who was in Yongding Marquis Mansion.

The one who told her was the head maid Baoqin.

"What did you say?!" Chu Qianhuang blurted out in disbelief and almost dropped the teacup in his hand.

Clearly everything was going according to her plan, but when the time came, Prince Jing was stripped of his title by the Emperor.

Chu Qianhuang took a deep breath, calmed down a little, and asked, "Baoqin, what's going on? Tell me in detail."

Baoqin swallowed and said, "Today, I happened to hear two maids talking outside the Prince's Mansion. From their tone, it seemed that Prince Jing had made a big mistake. For this, the Emperor angrily rebuked Prince Jing in court two days ago and wanted to strip him of his title. At that time, he was persuaded by Prince Li and the decision was temporarily put on hold."

Baoqin looked at Chu Qianhuang somewhat nervously.

The purpose of her going to the Prince's Mansion today was to follow Chu Qianhuang's orders to "inquire" about Gu Zhiyan's illness. Unexpectedly, before she knocked on the corner door of the Prince's Mansion, she heard two old women at the entrance of the alley saying that Prince Jing was going to be stripped of his title.

At that moment, Baoqin was stunned and finally did not enter the Prince's Mansion.

“…” Chu Qianhuang clenched his fists, then unclenched them, fidgeting.

Baoqin continued, "Miss, I also heard them say that Concubine Yang drove the Prince and Princess out of the Prince's Mansion, and now they are temporarily living in Duke Mu's Mansion with the sick Princess Hui'an."

Chu Qianhuang: “!!!”

Chu Qianhuang was startled again, his face as gloomy as water.

Her nails began to pinch her fingertips subconsciously, again and again.

After a moment, she asked again: "Have you found out what mistakes Prince Jing made that made the emperor so angry that he wanted to take away his title?!"

Baoqin didn't know so much, so she shook her head and said, "I didn't know if this was true or not, so I went to a teahouse I often go to to get some information. I heard the waiter and the guests in the teahouse all talking about the prince's title being stripped, so I guess it's true, but there are all kinds of reasons."

"Some people say that the former prince appeared in the emperor's dream, accusing the prince of being disrespectful and having no moral integrity or talent; some people say that the prince did not do his job well; some people say that the prince's words and deeds were frivolous and offended some noble..."

Baoqin then told all the rumors in the market, and the more she told them, the more outrageous they became.

Chu Qianhuang was skeptical and didn't say anything for a long time, then suddenly stood up.

She must go find Shen Wan and ask. She has put so much thought into this and it must not go to waste.

It is conceivable that if Prince Jing Gu Jin was really stripped of his title, even if he barely kept his job in the Ministry of Rites, he probably would not be able to take on the task of arranging the marriage for the princess, and the emperor would definitely choose another prince from the royal family.

But thinking that Shen Wan was currently in Duke Mu's Mansion, Chu Qianhuang sat down again, looking hesitant.

If she went to the Duke Mu's Mansion, she would definitely not be able to hide it from Shen's eyes and ears. Now she was confined to the Marquis' Mansion and could not go out. She "should not" know these things.

Chu Qianhuang bit her lower lip repeatedly with her jade teeth, making the edge of her lips red and almost bleeding, and her brows were slightly furrowed.

After thinking about it for a whole incense stick of time, she sighed helplessly, but ultimately did not get up.

She told herself, just wait, now all she could do was wait.

Last time, she only gave Shen Wan a piece of talisman paper. With Gu Zhiyan's current condition, she has become addicted to drugs. Such a piece of talisman paper can only sustain her for five days at most. This means that Shen Wan will come to find her sooner or later.

Then, the initiative will be in your own hands.

Thinking of this, Chu Qianhuang calmed down a little.

She held back for another day.

She spent the whole day restlessly, and tossed and turned at night, fearing that Shen Wan would not come to see her, and fearing that Shen Wan would bring bad news that Prince Jing had lost his job, and also fearing that Shen would discover her plan...

A long day and night passed like this. Finally, when Chu Qianhuang's anxiety was about to reach its peak, the maid came to report that Princess Jingjun had arrived.

Upon hearing the report, Chu Qianhuang was shocked at first, then ecstatic.

She immediately calmed down and ordered, "Please bring the princess in."

Baoqin personally went to invite Shen Wan to the east room. Shen Wan was wearing a honey-colored jacket with cloud patterns and an amber-colored Xiang skirt embroidered with gardenias, and three hairpins inlaid with southern pearls in her hair.

Her face was sallow, her brows were furrowed, and she looked haggard and tired, like a blooming peony that had faded and was beginning to wither.

It is obvious that Shen Wan has been living in dire straits over the past few days.

(End of this chapter)