Only Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen were left in the study.

Gu Jue was busy for several days and finally made the silk strings. Today he was restringing the broken konghou.

He wore a deerskin glove on his left hand to prevent his fingers from being scratched when pulling the strings.

Chu Qianchen's eyes happily moved over Gu Jue's left hand, which was wearing a deerskin glove.

This glove was made by Chu Qianchen himself. It is thinner and softer than regular deerskin gloves, and the shape of the deerskin gloves also fits his slender fingers better.

Gu Jue is now tuning the strings that he had just put on. His right hand is plucking the silk strings seemingly casually. When plucking the strings, his fingers draw a beautiful arc, which is both casual and elegant.

Intermittent string sounds rang out from time to time.

Chu Qianchen watched Gu Jue tuning the strings, his lips curved, one hand lazily supporting his cheek, and casually talking about some trivial matters at home: "This winter is too cold. Steward Sui has elderly people at home, so I asked someone to send some more charcoal over."

"In the past few days, many people in the mansion have been infected with colds, so I prepared a kind of medicinal tea and asked everyone to drink a cup every day. Your Majesty, you must drink it too."

"Guard Chen's eldest son is almost seven years old this year. I asked Steward Sui to ask him whether he wants to learn literature or martial arts. I think no matter which one he chooses, he will have to go to a private school for a few years first."

The guards of the palace are all retired soldiers from the Northern Army. They serve in the palace, so Chu Qianchen naturally hopes that they feel a sense of belonging to the palace.

"The New Year is coming soon. Some of the guards in the mansion can't go back to their hometown, so they just brought my parents to the capital. They should be here in a few days. The guards usually live in the back house. I thought it would be inconvenient for the old people to live there, so I discussed it with the steward Sui and cleaned up the house in Shizhang Hutong for them to live in."

The house in Shizhang Hutong was actually for the family's children to live in, but there were not many people in the palace, so Shizhang Hutong was basically empty.

Chu Qianchen spoke whatever came to his mind, all about trivial matters in the mansion, with a brilliant smile.

Gu Jue didn't feel annoyed at all, and there was a soft smile in his eyes.

The palace is full of grown men, and no one had paid attention to these minor details before, until Chu Qianchen took over the palace's household management.

Gu Jue could clearly feel that the Prince Chen's Mansion was changing little by little, like a steady stream, which made him have no worries.

In fact, Gu Jue also knew that Chu Qianchen was most impatient with these trivial matters.

His little girl did this just for him.

Gu Jue took off the deerskin glove on his left hand and waved at her.

Chu Qianchen thought he was going to teach her how to play the konghou again, so she happily moved closer. Unexpectedly, he put his arms around her slender waist and let her lean on his chest.

Gu Jue gently kissed the top of her soft hair, and then kissed her fair and smooth forehead.

Chu Qianchen obediently let him kiss her. Unlike the first time he kissed her forehead, she was not stiff. She leaned against him very relaxedly, like a coquettish cat, and rubbed Gu Jue's chest with one cheek.

Gu Jue smiled happily, winked, and hugged his little girl tighter.

He kissed her small earlobe again and whispered in her ear: "Our Qian Chen is so careful and capable!"

As he spoke, his warm breath fanned against the shell of her ear, and she felt her ear itchy, and her ear moved.

Chu Qianchen listened to his strong and powerful heartbeat, and his heart felt as sweet as if it was immersed in a jar of honey. His eyebrows were as gentle as water, and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

Just then, the door curtain was opened again, and Amber came in again. The scene before her made her freeze for a moment, and she didn't know where to look.

"Meow?"

The little black cat also followed in and called out in confusion, wondering why Amber was not moving.

Amber lowered her eyes and said a little awkwardly: "My Lord, Princess, Prince Li is here."

“……”Chu Qianchen raised his head from Gu Jue’s arms, feeling unhappy as if his territory had been invaded.

How annoying! Chu Qianchen frowned and pursed his lips.

Prince Li is the clan leader and the uncle of the emperor and Gu Jue.

He has always been good-tempered and highly respected. He has always helped the orphans and widows in the royal family. For example, the former Prince of Qing was stripped of his title and exiled 3,000 miles away because he killed the son of the Earl of Yong'an, leaving only his wife Wang and his only daughter, who lived a difficult life. Over the years, Prince Li has been taking care of them.

There were countless similar incidents, and he had a very good reputation among the royal family. It was precisely because of this that the late emperor chose him as the clan leader.

Gu Jue also respected this Third Uncle very much, and said calmly: "Please invite him in."

Amber turned around almost impatiently and left the outer study again.

This time, Amber left the cat behind.

So the kitten happily ran towards its owner.

By the time Prince Li followed Amber to the outer study, Gu Jue and Chu Qianchen had already sat down. The little black cat squatted obediently on Chu Qianchen's lap, allowing her to stroke its fur.

The couple both greeted Prince Li, "Royal Uncle."

Prince Li did not expect that Chu Qianchen was there too. He turned his eyes slightly to glance at her. After greeting the couple, Prince Li sat down on a rosewood armchair.

Amber served the three of them hot Dahongpao.

Prince Li took a sip of hot tea first, then asked Gu Jue directly: "Ajue, do you know that Gu Jin resigned from his title?"

"I know." Gu Jue nodded.

These two words opened Prince Li's mouth.

Prince Li started talking with great excitement: "Gu Jin has aged so much for nothing. He is almost thirty years old but still acts so impulsively!"

"This kid has been a riotous person since he was young. I always thought that he would become sensible after he grew up, got married, started a family, and had children. I didn't expect that he is still the same as when he was a child. When he was ten years old, he made a bet with a group of people to jump into an ice lake in the middle of winter. Now he resigns his title just like that."

Thinking of these past events, Prince Li was also emotional, then raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows.

In the past few days, Prince Li has been troubled by this matter and said, "The ice is three feet thick, and it didn't freeze overnight. The Princess Dowager of Jing County is really something. How can she be so partial? It's also my fault. I didn't keep a close eye on him... I have wronged him all these years."

Prince Li sighed with a wry smile, and his head hurt even more.

Gu Jue listened with a smile on his face and drank tea at the side, his posture was so elegant.

Chu Qianchen carelessly stroked the cat on his lap, causing the little black cat to purr in its throat and its eyes to narrow into two thin slits.

Prince Li also took a sip of Da Hong Pao to moisten his throat before really getting to the point: "Now Gu Jin said he wants to split up the family."

Prince Li was almost sighing.

As the old saying goes, as long as parents are alive, the family will not be divided.

After all, the Princess Dowager of Prince Jing is still alive, and a stepmother is also a mother.

Dividing the family now is equivalent to telling outsiders that the Prince's Mansion is not peaceful. This is a shameful thing.

Normally, for the sake of the reputation of the royal family, the clan leader would have to dissuade the family from doing so. Therefore, in the history of the Great Qi Dynasty, such premature divisions were rare.

However, Prince Li has considered it carefully these days. In addition, he went to Prince Jing's mansion to meet Concubine Yang in person that day and saw what kind of person she was. He also felt that Gu Jin and his wife had suffered a lot over the past few years.

Gu Jin was forced to give up even the title of Prince of a County. It is conceivable that he really doesn't want to stay in this Prince of a County Mansion anymore.

This family has become enemies, so it's better to split up. You can't let it end up in a life-and-death fight between the two sides.

Prince Li looked solemn, and then he told the reason for his visit today: "I came here today to ask you to go to Prince Jing's mansion with me that day to be a witness."

Of course, it is impossible for the royal family to divide up secretly. The royal family has its own rules and etiquette.

As the head of the clan, Prince Li will preside over the division of the family, and several noble and respected princes of the clan will be present to witness it. Gu Jue is the legitimate son of the previous emperor, and he has made great contributions to the Great Qi, so he was named Prince Chen. He must be the most noble son of the Gu family besides the emperor.

Prince Li also knew that Gu Jue had not left the palace since the winter hunt, and fearing that he would not go, he racked his brains to persuade him: "Ajue, I see that you have been bored in the palace since returning to the capital from the north. You are only in your twenties, so you should not live a more boring life than an old man like me. You should walk around to relax and get some fresh air."

"Prince Jing's Mansion is also our relative, and we should visit each other more often."

"If you agree, I will give you a precious sword I got a few days ago. It is a rare Persian sword that can cut hair and iron like mud."

"Don't you like engraving? I have a few pieces of bloodstone that I have collected for many years and I am reluctant to move them. I will give them to you..."

Prince Li tried to persuade her at first, but later he began to seduce her, and he even took out his precious bloodstone out of pity.

Chu Qianchen chuckled when she heard that, her laughter sounded like the clear sound of a silver bell, and her cat meowed appropriately.

The voices of the girl and the cat made the dull atmosphere in the study room warmer and more lively.

Chu Qianchen's eyebrows curved into crescents as he smiled, and he sensed a familiarity in Prince Li's last two sentences.

Well, listening to Prince Li's familiar tone, she guessed that when the prince was young, Prince Li must have coaxed the prince to be obedient in this way many times.

Since she did not have the chance to participate when Gu Jue was young, every time she heard elders like Queen Mother Yin and Prince Li talk about these interesting stories, she found them particularly interesting, as if she understood Gu Jue from another perspective.

Thinking of this, Chu Qianchen's smile deepened three points, as if he was holding honey in his mouth, and honey seemed to be overflowing from the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. Even the hand that was touching the cat became more gentle.

Gu Jue glanced at Chu Qianchen, his brows softened, and he simply nodded in response: "Okay."

"Ajue..." Prince Li wanted to persuade him again, but was two beats late before realizing that Gu Jue had agreed.

Prince Li also looked at Chu Qianchen, and inexplicably felt that the reason why Gu Jue agreed so readily seemed to be related to his wife.

A harmonious couple is a sign of a prosperous family! Prince Li thought with relief and changed the subject abruptly: "Then it's a deal."

"When the date for the division is set, I will send someone to tell you. On that day, you should take your wife with you and help as much as you can."

Prince Li's last sentence was meaningful and to the point, reminding Gu Jue to help Gu Jin if he could.

Gu Jinlian no longer wanted the title of Prince, which was tantamount to giving up the largest portion of the family property. He had already retreated to this point in humiliation, and his uncles and brothers could no longer allow Concubine Yang to do whatever she wanted. The Gu family would not allow themselves to be manipulated by a woman.

After finishing the business, Prince Li did not stay any longer and said goodbye: "I still have to visit a few more households, so I will not bother you today. You two can come to my house to play some other day."

The witnesses that Prince Li wants to invite are not only Gu Jue, but also several other old clan members. He has to visit at least five or six more families today.

When he stood up from the chair, he frowned slightly and his right leg was a little stiff.

Gu Jue also stood up and said with a smile: "Uncle, I'll see you off."

Chu Qianchen also followed behind, silently accompanying him.

The cold wind outside was biting, making people feel as if their hands and feet were stuck in the snow, cold to the bone. When the cat's paws touched the snow on the ground, they bounced up as if they had touched fire and fell back into the study.

The weather was cold, and the chill wind seemed to be pushing them back, so the three of them walked very slowly.

After sending Prince Li to his carriage, he seemed to be afraid that Gu Jue would regret it, so he lifted the curtain and added, "It will probably be in these few days."

Afterwards, the carriage slowly drove out from a corner door on one side of Prince Chen's Mansion.

Looking in the direction of the carriage, Chu Qianchen stretched out a hand, grabbed Gu Jue's sleeve and pulled it.

Chu Qianchen smiled happily, like a little fox who had stolen some fish, and teased him: "My Lord, did you coax a lot of good things from the Emperor's uncle in the past?"

She deliberately lowered her voice. In fact, in this empty environment, Amber and Jiang Yuan at the back could hear it clearly.

While Chu Qianchen was speaking, he and Gu Jue had already started walking back, so the two maids deliberately slowed down their pace and silently distanced themselves from their masters.

Gu Jue's lips curled up, but he smiled without saying anything. He just felt very happy when he heard her naturally following him to call him uncle.

"Guess." Gu Jue finally said three words.

These three words were already a big hint to Chu Qianchen.

Since she was asked to guess, it was definitely not a random guess, which means that there should be some things in the outer study that were "given" by Prince Li.

Chu Qianchen thought about it, and the first thing that came to his mind was the rhino horn bow hanging in the study, "That bow?"

The size of the bow was obviously too small for Gu Jue's current stature. Chu Qianchen only knew that it was the bow he used when he was a teenager, and at this moment she just had a sudden inspiration.

Gu Jue nodded, confirming her guess.

He narrowed his eyes, as if recalling the past: "In my study, there are several calligraphy and paintings, a set of white jade chess pieces, and the jade paperweight with a crouching leopard sculpture was also 'given' by the emperor's uncle."

Prince Li has always been kind to others and is very good to the younger generations of the royal family. When Gu Jue was young and frivolous, he often took advantage of this to extort some good things from this uncle.

Chu Qianchen burst into laughter again, and his cheerful laughter seemed to dispel the coldness around him.

Her two fingers had already climbed to his elbow, and then she took his arm, raised her soft chin, and asked delicately, "My lord, what good things do you have?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

She blinked twice with a smile in her eyes, and almost said, I want to blackmail you too.

Gu Jue laughed. This time, a bright laugh escaped from his throat, and his face showed a bit more youthful liveliness.

He paused and gently scratched the tip of her nose with the fingers of his other hand. "That depends on your ability."

What he meant was, as long as you have the ability, go ahead and blackmail me! Chu Qianchen opened his eyes wide, looked into his eyes, and said seriously, "I'm very capable!"

Gu Jue: “Isn’t that right?”

The two of them walked and talked, and returned to the outer study room laughing.

The cat, who didn't want to go out, had been waiting impatiently. When it saw them coming back, it clinged to Chu Qianchen and rubbed against her skirt.

As soon as Chu Qianchen entered the room, he "extorted" the guzheng that had just been strung up.

Gu Jue agreed with a smile and even gave himself as a gift.

"Sir, let's learn "Three Variations on Plum Blossoms" today. It's suitable for the occasion." Chu Qianchen smiled coquettishly at the "sir" who had just taken office in front of him, "You play it first."

After a while, the elegant and ethereal sound of the guzheng was heard from the outer study, echoing in the courtyard.

As for Amber, she hurried out of the outer study room after a while and returned to the main courtyard. Chu Qianchen asked her to get a box of black dog-skin plasters from the pharmacy and asked Sui Daguanshi to deliver it to Prince Li's mansion.

By the time Prince Li dragged his old arms and legs to run around the various princely palaces and returned to Prince Li's palace, it was already afternoon.

He ran almost half of the capital in half a day. When he returned to the main courtyard and sat down, he couldn't help but sigh tiredly. A little maidservant massaged his legs at the order of Princess Li.

An old maid with gray hair held a box and said, "Your Highness, this is sent by someone from Prince Chen's Palace... it's a dog-skin plaster. They said to paste the plaster on oil paper and then stick it on."

When the old nanny mentioned the four words "dog-skin plaster", her expression was a little strange, but the steward said that these four words were indeed said by the person who delivered the ointment from Prince Chen's Mansion.

Dog skin plaster?! Prince Li raised his eyebrows in surprise, and said to Princess Li with some satisfaction: "Ajue has grown up and is really very careful. He can actually see that my legs and feet are not good. Unlike Gu Jin, who is a few years older than him for no reason."

The old nanny had already prepared the oil paper, and as soon as Prince Li gave the order, she opened the box. A strong smell of medicine immediately filled the air.

The old maid smeared the black ointment on a palm-sized piece of oil paper and then stuck it on the knee joint of Prince Li's right leg.

Prince Li felt a coolness where the ointment was applied, and his skin and muscles contracted reflexively.

Prince Li has had this chronic cold leg for more than ten years. Whenever it rains, snows or is windy, he gets afflicted with soreness, pain and numbness. When it gets serious, he not only cannot walk, but he often cannot sleep all night.

Princess Li looked at the box of ointment that looked like mud, frowned, and sighed, "Your Highness, I don't know how many imperial physicians and famous doctors you have seen for your legs over the years. You have taken medicine, acupuncture, medicated wine, and applied ointments. You have tried everything you can, but nothing works."

“I don’t know where Gu Jue got this ointment from.”

The name "Dog Skin Plaster" sounds like a prescription written by a traveling doctor in the market. If it makes Prince Li's illness worse, it will only make things more troublesome.

Princess Li actually wanted to persuade Prince Li not to use it, but Prince Li waved his hand and said with an open-minded smile: "Stop talking so much. Whether it is useful or not, it is Jue's love. Just use it casually."

Princess Li was not annoyed, and she grumbled a few more words: "You always say that I am long-winded, but I am long-winded for your own good..."

"Eh?" Prince Li interrupted Princess Li's chatter, with a surprised expression on his face, "The ointment is starting to heat up, warm, hot..."

Prince Li carefully felt the heat coming from his right knee joint where the dog skin ointment was applied, and the heat became more and more obvious.

When the heat started to intensify, the pain and numbness seemed to be suppressed a little...

"Oh, by the way, the steward said that people from Prince Chen's Mansion said that this ointment will cause fever after application, which is a normal phenomenon." The old nanny remembered it, slapped her thigh, and said excitedly.

Princess Li frowned, "Your Majesty, you should tear off the ointment..."

Princess Li thought that he just wanted to express his gratitude to Gu Jue for his kindness, and he could also let the elderly people in the mansion who had cold legs try the ointment first.

"Tear it? Why do you want to tear it?" Prince Li looked at Princess Li with a puzzled expression.

As the heat in his right knee joint gradually spread, he felt the stiffness and numbness in his right leg gradually subsided, just like the warm sunshine dispelling the thick haze.

Prince Li widened his eyes in disbelief, "It doesn't hurt anymore!"

He touched the area below his knee again, pinched himself as if he didn't believe it, and showed a painful expression.

Then he tried to get off the kang and stand up. The old lady next to him subconsciously wanted to help him, but he waved his hand in disgust, indicating that she didn't need to.

Prince Li stood there for a while and tried to move his right foot to make sure that the pain in his right knee was gone. Only the warm feeling was flowing along the meridians.

He walked back and forth slowly for a few more steps, and then walked faster and faster...

"..." Princess Li opened her mouth slightly, she was completely stunned, her jaw almost dropped.

As his wife, she knew best how serious the old man's cold legs were. In recent days, the old man had been limping when walking.

But now, seeing how freely he moves, it seems as if he has a new leg.

Prince Li couldn't help but walk back and forth several times. He felt it most deeply personally.

Compared to the previous few days, he felt so comfortable now. His legs and feet felt more relaxed than ever before this winter, as if he was reborn.

When Prince Li looked at the box again, his burning gaze was as if he was looking at some rare treasure, and he wished he could enshrine the wooden box.

He quickly said to the old lady, "Quick, bring me this ointment!"

Prince Li was completely impressed by the effect of the ointment. He carefully took the box handed to him by the old nanny and refused to let go.

He exclaimed as if he had found a treasure: "What a good thing! This is really a good thing!"

"For such a good thing, why not give it a name like magic ointment, but call it dog-skin plaster?"

Prince Li was smiling from ear to ear, and the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together like chrysanthemums.

He has been suffering from chronic leg pain for many years. No doctor or medicine has worked for him. It hurts when it rains, it hurts when it is windy, and it hurts even more when it is cold. A few days ago, when the wind and snow were the worst, he almost couldn't even attend the morning court.

"This is simply a life-saving miracle drug!" Prince Li caressed the wooden box lovingly and said to Princess Li in a very proud manner, "I told you, Jue is a good child, so the gift must be good."

He completely forgot that he just said to use it casually.

Princess Li had forgotten what she had just said. She cleared her throat and said, "That's right. Jue has been in the army for so many years. There are so many wounded soldiers in the Northern Army. There must be some miraculous medicine to treat external injuries, old cold legs, etc.!"

The more Princess Li thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case.

Prince Li laughed even more wildly, and hurriedly ordered the old maid, "Go, call the chief steward to me."

So the old nanny quickly called a maid to ask for help, and soon the steward came panting.

Prince Li asked sternly, "Does anyone in Prince Chen's Mansion have anything else to say about this ointment?"

In fact, the steward had already told the old nanny everything that needed to be said, but since Prince Li asked, he naturally patiently explained it again, starting with how the ointment should be applied on oil paper, and that it was enough to use it once a day, and to apply it for an hour at a time. He also said that the root cause of old cold legs was that the cold, dampness, and heat toxins accumulated in the body could not be metabolized away, and that the old nanny should avoid these foods on a daily basis.

Finally, the chief steward added, "Sui also said that if the prince uses it well, he will send some more ointment in a few days."

Prince Li listened attentively, memorized it firmly, and wished he could chew every word carefully three or four times.

Especially the last sentence of the steward made him smile with joy.

After Prince Li dismissed his chief steward, he smiled and sighed to the Princess of Li: "From the age of three to the age of old, Jue has been a good child since he was young, and he always thinks about me, the Emperor's uncle."

Princess Liqin had recovered from her ecstasy and habitually bickered with the old man: "For example, did you coax the chess piece of Baiyao Xuanyu?"

She still remembered how Gu Jue coaxed her away with the set of Bai Yao Xuan Yu chess pieces. The old man grumbled about it for half a month and even lost the desire to play chess.

Prince Li: “…”

Princess Li couldn't help laughing.

A family like theirs certainly wouldn't harbor any grudges over a mere set of chess pieces. They just thought that these boys were naughty when they were young, and had done a lot of ridiculous things.

Considering Gu Jue’s age, he was not much older than their eldest grandson, so the old couple were naturally more tolerant towards the young Gu Jue.

At that time, who could have imagined that the Ninth Prince who "rode his horse at a gallop in the spring breeze and saw all the flowers in Chang'an in one day" would grow up to be the world-famous Prince Gu Jue.

Prince Li smiled and said, "I'm playing the long game to catch the big fish. Now it's my turn to collect the interest."

Princess Li was amused by him and laughed so hard that she fell forward and backward, with tears in the corners of her eyes.

The old couple were talking and laughing when the Prince of Li came in through the curtain.

The Prince of Li was about forty years old, of medium build, and wore a black fox fur coat, which made him look a little bloated.

He had obviously just come back from outside, his face was still weather-beaten and his expression was very solemn.

When Prince Li saw his expression, he felt that something had happened and asked.

Laughter suddenly broke out in the room, and the relaxed atmosphere just now became stagnant.

The Prince of Li sat down on an armchair, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.

He sighed and said with a headache, "Just now, Prince Andaman of Hao Kingdom came to the palace to see the emperor. After he left, the emperor got furious again and smashed a lot of things. Even Eunuch Ni had a burn on the back of his hand when he came out."

"I asked someone about it and heard that the Prince of Andaman mentioned that Da Qi had a tradition of giving concubines as dowries, so he specifically asked the emperor who would be the concubine of the third princess in Da Qi and what kind of ceremony would be required."

Prince Li and his wife looked at each other. In the previous dynasty, it was customary for princesses to marry and bring concubines as dowry, but there was no such custom in the Great Qi Dynasty.

Princess Li frowned in confusion and asked, "What is there to be angry about, Your Majesty?"

Prince Li sighed, "The Emperor always cares about his reputation."

After he said this, Princess Liqin also figured out what the emperor was angry about. The emperor felt that Nanhao looked down on Daqi. The marriage between the two countries should have been equal for both parties, but the people of Nanhao not only wanted to marry the princess of Daqi, but also wanted Daqi to send a noblewoman as a concubine.

This is not like going to the vegetable market where you buy vegetables and ask the vendor to give you some onions and garlic.

(End of this chapter)