"..." Jingle was startled by Gu Nanzhao, and the plum branch in her hand fell to the ground, with a few small red petals falling off.

Jingle let out a low cry and squatted down to pick it up with a look of heartache.

"Isn't this Princess Chen?!" A slightly high-pitched female voice came from the other side of the warm pavilion, "Huh?! His Royal Highness the Second Prince is here too!!"

The old female voice was louder and sharper with each word, and she seemed very shocked.

Chu Qianchen slowly turned around and looked towards the warm pavilion when he heard the sound.

Nanny Shan, wearing a rust-colored jacket, walked quickly to the warm pavilion and looked at Chu Qianchen and Gu Nanzhao not far away with a frown.

Behind Nanny Shan, five princesses including Princess Li, Princess Rui, and Princess Shun also walked towards this side, startling a few birds flapping their wings around them.

Nanny Shan twisted her plump waist and took another step forward, pointing at Chu Qianchen who turned around and asked, "Princess Chen, how could you do this?!"

Her indignant expression was as if the two of them had done something that was against the will of heaven or immoral, and she secretly sighed that her timing was just right.

"No." A hint of panic flashed across Gu Nanzhao's handsome face, and he wanted to explain.

However, Nanny Shan didn't want to listen to Gu Nanzhao's explanation at all. Instead, she thought it was just right.

"Princess Li, Princess Rui, please come and take a look..."

As Nanny Shan spoke, she turned to look at the Princess of Li and the other princesses, a gleam of burning eagerness in her eyes.

According to the etiquette of Da Qi, after the princess's coming-of-age ceremony, the elders would pin flowers on her hair, and other elders would offer sweet wine to bless the third princess. This sweet wine was brewed in the year the third princess was born, and would only be consumed on the third princess's coming-of-age ceremony and wedding day.

Just now, the Queen asked Chu Qianchen to pin flowers on the Third Princess, using this as an excuse to get her away and leave her alone.

At the same time, the queen sent someone to invite the second prince to this warm pavilion in the name of Chu Qianchen.

This good show naturally needs witnesses, and the Queen chose the Princess of Liqin and other princesses, and asked these princesses to fetch sweet wine and bring people here.

As long as a few princesses from the royal family saw Chu Qianchen and Gu Nanzhao having a "private meeting" alone, and they were the emperor's aunt and nephew, and cousins, they would never be able to clear themselves of the blame even if they jumped into the Yellow River.

Princess Li glanced back and forth at Chu Qianchen and Gu Nanzhao. The next moment, she saw Jingle, who was squatting next to a clump of flowers and trees, stand up and look at them suspiciously. Only Nanny Shan, who had her back turned, had not seen Jingle.

The expressions of Princess Liqin and several other princesses became very strange.

Several pine trees around were shaking in the cold wind, creaking, and snowflakes floated in the wind.

Princess Li raised her eyebrows and asked, "Madame Shan, is there any problem with this?"

Nanny Shan also felt that the expressions of the princesses were a little strange. Her heart skipped a beat and she turned around stiffly, only to see Jingle suddenly appearing beside Chu Qianchen.

Nanny Shan's eyes suddenly widened, and she looked at Jingle as if she had seen a ghost.

Jingle was standing next to Chu Qianchen, and Gu Nanzhao was behind them. He was still a few steps away from Li Chen. This meant that Gu Nanzhao and Chu Qianchen were not alone, nor did they have any physical contact, and there was no transgression.

Gu Nanzhao was a little flustered when Nanny Shan first appeared, after all, he came here by appointment. Now, after thinking about the cause and effect, he understood it.

Gu Nanzhao doesn't like the intrigues in the harem, but that doesn't mean he is as simple as Anle.

He grew up in this deep palace and had naturally seen a lot. In the past ten years or so, many concubines, princes, and princesses had lost their lives due to jealousy in the harem. This year alone, the three-year-old eighth prince and the five-year-old seventh princess died young.

I have been plotted against, and the Queen wants to use me to plot against Sister Chen!

Gu Nanzhao felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. His whole body went cold, and in an instant, he calmed down.

Gu Nanzhao showed a gentle and elegant smile, and his appearance had returned to the usual well-behaved Second Prince.

He calmly bowed to the Princess of Li and the others and said, "Grandmother, I just saw my aunt and the Ninth Aunt here, so I came here to say hello."

Jingle is the second prince's biological aunt, an elder. It was impolite for the second prince to avoid Jingle when he ran into her in the imperial garden. He did not understand the respect between the old and the young.

"..." Nanny Shan's face was embarrassed, and she felt as if her throat was being strangled. She couldn't utter a word. She was in a state of confusion and couldn't help but look in the direction of the theater in the hall.

From Nanny Shan’s position, she couldn’t actually see inside the flower hall. She could only vaguely see three or four actors in brightly dressed singing and walking around on the stage outside.

No matter how well the actors sang or how wonderful "The Xiang Fei Fan" was, the queen had no interest in watching the show today.

At this moment, there was a beautiful woman in her twenties standing next to the queen. She had a fair, plump, round face, long eyebrows, almond eyes, a delicate nose and full lips. Her jet-black hair was tied into a bun. She wore a seven-pheasant crown on her head and a pair of gold rings with cloud patterns on her earlobes. She was bright and dignified.

The queen smiled and asked the woman, "Sister-in-law, is the newborn boy in your mansion two months old? How is the child?"

The beautiful woman was the princess consort of the emperor's eighth brother, Prince Cheng.

Princess Cheng smiled with her lips bent, a warm and friendly smile on her face, and said, "Thank you, Queen, for your care. My son is very healthy and looks a lot like my prince. When the child is older, I will bring him to pay my respects to you, Queen."

Princess Cheng had a kind smile and responded appropriately.

The queen stroked her sleeves gracefully, turned around, and sighed to Queen Mother Yin: "In the blink of an eye, the eighth prince's family already has two sons and two daughters."

"My daughter-in-law, remember that the eighth brother is only one year older than the ninth brother."

Nanny He whispered something in Empress Dowager Yin's ear. Empress Dowager Yin turned her eyes slightly and sighed silently, "Eighth Wife, it seems that you came to pay your respects to me a few days ago with your son Chang'an in your arms. How old is Chang'an now?"

Chang'an is the second and legitimate daughter of Princess Chengjun. She was named Princess Chang'an at a young age.

Princess Cheng replied hurriedly, "Mother, Chang'an has just turned one year old."

After these words were spoken, some of the female relatives around who originally didn't understand what was going on also figured it out.

Princess Cheng's smile deepened, and she continued, "The second child, who just turned two months old, was born to Concubine Xu in the palace. The prince and I love him very much. From now on, the prince will have a companion."

Some insiders knew that Concubine Xu was promoted to the position of Concubine because she gave birth to Prince Cheng's second son.

Moreover, it was Princess Cheng who personally asked the Queen for the imperial decree, and for this, Princess Cheng received the Queen's praise of "virtuous and kind".

The other female members of the family occasionally looked at each other meaningfully, and now the number of people watching the stage decreased by several percent.

The Queen's eyes flickered a little, and she smiled and said, "Seeing that my Eighth Brother and his friends have established families, had children, and will have successors in the future, this palace and the Emperor are also very pleased."

After the Queen said this, Princess Cheng was very flattered and expressed her gratitude, saying that she and Prince Cheng had been blessed with the Emperor and the Queen over the years, and that she was deeply grateful for the Emperor's grace and so on. She spoke in a very exaggerated manner, as if the good life they had now in Prince Cheng's Mansion was all thanks to the Emperor and the Queen.

The Queen was very pleased to hear this, and praised the Princess of Cheng County for being a good wife and so on. Then, she frowned slightly and changed the subject: "Hey, Ninth Prince is already in his early twenties. The royal family members of the capital who are of this age already have several children."

As the Queen spoke, she glanced at Empress Dowager Yin, only to see that she was drinking tea without even moving her eyes or eyebrows, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

The Queen did not expect the Queen Mother to respond to her, and continued to speak on her own: "My Ninth Brother's Sister is a good person, well-educated, tactful, and a perfect match for my Ninth Brother. The Emperor also thought that my Ninth Brother's Sister had a good fortune and could bring good luck to my Ninth Brother, so he granted this marriage. It can be seen that this marriage is destined by heaven."

Queen Mother Yin had a blank expression on her face at first, but when she heard the words "marriage is destined by heaven", she was slightly moved.

"Empress, this is not a marriage destined by heaven, it's the Taoist Master Xuan Jing who made the accurate prediction." Princess Cheng said jokingly.

"Yes." The Queen sighed, "Ninth brother's wife is good in every way, except that she is a little young. But for the sake of Ninth Brother at that time... there was nothing we could do."

"Later, the emperor often said with emotion that this marriage was the right one, but his ninth brother's wife was too young, and he was afraid that his mother would be anxious to have a grandchild and blame him."

Princess Cheng and the Queen echoed in unison: "Mother has always been kind and generous, how could she blame the Emperor and the Queen?"

"I see that since my ninth brother's wife married my ninth brother, his health has been getting better day by day. My mother is so happy. Today, I saw that my mother looks several years younger. I think she is happy that a worry of hers has been put to rest."

Princess Cheng was a good talker with a silver tongue. Her few words made the Queen so happy that it seemed as if this was really the case.

The Queen had been paying attention to the changes in Empress Dowager Yin's expression and felt that it was impossible for her to remain indifferent.

In this capital city, not to mention royal family members, nobles, civil and military officials, even common people are not single after the age of 20.

No matter what background a mother-in-law comes from, or whether her family is rich or poor, there is no mother-in-law who will not care about her son's offspring. This is an eternal truth.

Even if Queen Dowager Yin protected Chu Qianchen as her daughter-in-law for the sake of her son, it is impossible for her not to care about Chu Qianchen's age.

Chu Qianchen is only fourteen years old, and she still has more than half a year to go before she reaches the age of marriage. Even if she reaches the age of marriage, she is still young and it is hard to say when she will be able to have a child.

Seeing that Gu Jue is getting older, is it possible that the Queen Mother is really willing to wait like this?

When it comes to the issue of offspring, the other female relatives around are also extremely sensitive. Most of them vaguely guess what the Queen is trying to achieve by talking in so many roundabout ways.

The female relatives who were originally chatting also shut their mouths. Some pretended to drink tea, some turned their heads to look at the Queen and Queen Mother Yin, and some did two things at the same time.

The second act ended, the music stopped, and the hall became unusually quiet.

Queen Mother Yin put down the teacup and suddenly asked, "I remember that the eighth child is twenty-three this year, right?"

The queen's eyes moved, and the corners of her lips curved into a perfect arc, as if she had practiced it countless times, and nodded: "Yes."

Princess Chengjun said with a smile, "Concubine Xu just entered the palace at the beginning of this year. She is very lucky. She got pregnant right after entering the palace and gave birth to a baby boy for the prince. I thought that when I go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices on New Year's Eve, I must pay my respects to my father and ancestors."

While Princess Cheng was speaking, the Queen's eyes were subtly glancing outside the flower hall, just waiting for the "news" to come. By then, the Queen Mother would be furious, and then she could take advantage of the situation.

She only needed a word from the Queen Mother when she was angry. With so many people present, if the Queen Mother said it, it would be as good as gold. Gu Jue couldn't slap the Queen Mother in the face, right?! Thinking of this, the Queen's eyes became darker and darker, as deep as the abyss.

The queen opened her eyes slightly, and was filled with ecstasy: It's done, it's done! She barely suppressed her excitement, but her eyes were still unusually bright.

Soon, Nanny Shan walked to the queen's side, bent down and whispered in her ear, her voice very low.

In an instant, the queen's face changed immediately, turning blue, white, and red. The colors changed brilliantly, and she almost stood up losing her composure.

How could this happen?!

Obviously, she had planned so thoroughly, taking into account all factors, including the right time, right place, and right people. All she needed to do was let Princess Li and the others see with their own eyes that Gu Nanzhao and Chu Qianchen were talking alone together.

She did not want to create any scandal that would bring shame to the royal family. All she wanted was to keep Gu Nanzhao and Chu Qianchen's reputations clean and make it difficult for Chu Qianchen to explain himself in front of the empress dowager.

But how could Jingle appear there? ! How could there be an extra Jingle who was not in the plan? ! The queen was confused for a moment, and all the thoughts finally turned into one question: should she continue with her plan? !

The answer came to mind: it must remain the same.

Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. Today's opportunity is perfect and the Queen Mother has been persuaded. If I give up this time, I may not have such a good opportunity next time.

Moreover, the day of Chu Qianchen's coming of age is getting closer and closer, and the Queen Mother's mentality will also change accordingly...

Therefore, even if she had to bite the bullet, she had to continue.

The queen made a decision in the blink of an eye and regained her composure.

She said to Princess Cheng as if nothing had happened, "Sister-in-law, in a few days, bring the child into the palace for me to see. The Crown Prince's Consort is also pregnant, so it's a good opportunity to share in the good fortune and see if we can give the Emperor's eldest grandson a younger brother."

Not far away, several female relatives had strange expressions on their faces when they heard this, especially Princess Xing, who almost spit out the tea in her mouth.

Princess Xing couldn't help but glance at the Crown Princess's face. The Crown Prince didn't have a legitimate eldest son, and the Queen kept saying that she wanted the Crown Prince's Consort to enjoy the blessing of a bastard son of the Cheng Palace. Was she dissatisfied with the Crown Princess? ! The Queen's words were simply incomprehensible! Queen Mother Yin raised her eyebrows and asked lightly: "The Crown Prince's Consort is also pregnant?"

The queen heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the queen mother talk to her, and nodded quickly, "Yes. This prince's concubine is also a blessed one. She comes from a scholarly family, has a gentle temperament, and is good at giving birth."

"The Crown Prince has only one grandson. The Crown Princess is virtuous and has taken the initiative to propose to fill the East Palace for the Crown Prince and have more children."

The Queen praised both the Crown Princess and the Crown Princess highly with many flattering words.

The more the Queen praised, the more eyes were cast towards the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess, dressed elegantly, sat upright in her seat with a gentle smile.

The third act began with the mournful and ethereal sound of the erhu.

There was an extra bed on the stage, and the actress who played the elder sister lay on the bed with a haggard look, looking sick, sighing and complaining that she was weak and could not leave a child for her husband. The younger sister held her elder sister's hand beside the bed, crying sadly and comforting her sister, performing a touching scene of sisterly love.

Others were looking at the Crown Princess, while the Crown Princess was looking at the stage. Her dignified face seemed to be wearing a mask called a smile. Under the projection of the mottled shadows of the trees outside the window, her eyes were empty and lifeless, and her mood was changeable.

"The Crown Princess and the Crown Princess are both good. The Queen has indeed made good choices." Queen Mother Yin praised in a flat tone, and began to tap her knuckles lightly to the music. "I heard that the Queen also picked a few concubines for Anle?"

"..." The queen's face froze, and she cursed the queen mother for bringing up such a thing. It was not the queen's idea to choose a concubine named Teng for the third princess's dowry, but the emperor could not refuse the envoy of the Hao Kingdom.

The queen's heart was in turmoil. She felt unhappy but could not say anything in defense. She could only smile to hide her feelings.

She still remembered her purpose, thought about it, and followed the Queen Mother's words and said, "It is said that the Crown Prince of Hao Kingdom, Wuhetuna, is about the same age as the Crown Prince and already has a son and two daughters. Anle is still young. If it weren't for the marriage between the two countries, which is of great importance, my daughter-in-law would also like to keep her by her side for a few more years."

"But the marriage between the two countries is imperative. The offspring of Anle and Prince Wuhe will affect both countries and cannot be delayed. Besides, it is the duty of a wife to help her husband's family to expand."

The queen's implication was that she chose two concubines for the third princess because she wanted them to give birth to children with the blood of the Great Qi as soon as possible. This was a major event for the country.

The queen's words were so righteous and well-reasoned that she almost tied the future of Qi and Hao to the bellies of Anle and the concubines.

Queen Mother Yin nodded, lowered her eyes and fell into deep thought.

Some of the female relatives around were moved by what they heard, and felt that the queen was truly worthy of being the mother of the country and was very understanding of righteousness.

"Mother?" When Anle heard her name, she turned to look at the queen, but she didn't understand.

Anyway, she often didn't understand what the queen said, so she immediately turned her head back and looked at the pair of sisters on the stage who were hugging each other and crying.

At this time, there was some movement at the entrance of the flower hall, and Chu Qianchen, Princess Li and others came back talking and laughing.

Chu Qianchen was still carrying the small basket filled with plum blossoms, and Princess Li and the others also brought sweet wine.

Anle waved to Chu Qianchen cheerfully: "Aunt Jiuhuang, you are back. You have already sung one act. Do you want me to tell you what happened before?"

"Don't worry." Chu Qianchen smiled slightly and picked the best red plum blossom from the basket. "Let me put the flower in your hair first."

Anle responded crisply and quickly sat down, sitting upright.

Chu Qianchen personally inserted the red plum blossom on Anle's hairpin crown. Next, the Princess of Li took the sweet wine poured by the host and said a series of blessings. At the prompting of the head palace maid, Anle took the sweet wine, poured half of it on the ground, and then took a sip.

Normally, girls would only touch their lips with the sweet wine symbolically, but Anle actually took a sip, and her little face suddenly wrinkled.

It was only until Chu Qianchen put his finger on his lips and made a "hush" gesture that Anle shut up obediently and did not spit out the wine.

The last step of the coming-of-age ceremony was also over.

The palace maids distributed sweet wine to everyone present today, so that everyone could share in the Third Princess' joy.

Chu Qianchen returned to sit beside Queen Mother Yin, pointing to the flower basket she brought back and said, "Mother, I have arranged the flowers for An Le. Here are some plum branches. I will take them to Shouning Palace to put in a vase later."

Queen Mother Yin pretended not to hear and said nothing, slowly twisting the sandalwood Buddhist beads in her hand.

After thinking for a while, Queen Mother Yin suddenly said, "It's not easy to find this candidate."

Chu Qianchen raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"..." The queen was delighted and her brows relaxed. This was the first time she saw the queen mother ignore Chu Qianchen.

Sure enough, the Queen Mother was moved!

If you think about it carefully, the empress dowager has been staying in the deep palace since the death of the late emperor, and she has been fasting and chanting Buddhist scriptures for Gu Jue who is stationed in the north. Before this, the empress dowager only hoped that Gu Jue could return to Beijing safely, and naturally she did not think about the issue of offspring for a while.

Now Gu Jue has been married for almost half a year, but there has been no movement from Chu Qianchen.

Seeing that other families all have children, for example, Prince Cheng is only one year older than Gu Jue, and he already has two sons and two daughters. Among so many brothers, only Gu Jue has no children. It is impossible for the Queen Mother to have no grudges about this.

The mothers-in-law in this world, no matter how different their personalities are, all have the same goal when it comes to offspring.

At this moment, the queen felt that she had been too cautious and had too many concerns when she wanted to use the second prince to anger the queen mother at the beginning.

This matter is actually very simple. Isn't it just taking a concubine?

Apart from the common people, which wealthy family in Beijing doesn't take concubines? Although the Queen Mother seemed to like Chu Qianchen very much, a daughter-in-law was an outsider after all, and could not compare to a son who was related by blood. Moreover, she was only proposing to take a concubine for Gu Jue, not asking him to divorce his wife.

With one more person living in Gu Jue's room, the Queen Mother can also have a grandson sooner. Isn't this a good thing for everyone? The Queen Mother has no reason to refuse!

Thinking of this, the queen suddenly felt relieved, as if she had taken some magic medicine and became more energetic.

The Queen smiled and said, "My daughter-in-law thinks this selection is both difficult and easy."

The other female relatives around couldn't help but prick up their ears, and some of them looked at Chu Qianchen with sympathy.

Anle leaned close to Chu Qianchen's ear and whispered to her the background of the play. She said that after her sister married her brother-in-law, she had no children for several years, and after she fell ill, her health deteriorated. When her younger sister came to visit her elder sister, the two sisters hugged each other and cried bitterly.

The Queen was helpless with her daughter, so she focused her attention on the Queen Mother. Anyway, as long as she could convince the Queen Mother, the matter would be settled.

The queen considered her words carefully and continued, "I want to pick a girl who is decent, beautiful, intelligent, gentle and respectful. It would be best if I know her background well and she must not be a troublemaker. Of course, the most important thing is that you, mother, like her."

The Queen did not mention Yuan Zhitong at all, but every word she said seemed to refer to Yuan Zhitong.

She guided Empress Dowager Yin's gaze towards Yuan Zhitong not far away.

Yuan Zhitong had already put some makeup on her face and had done her makeup again. She wore a lotus-colored jacket with honeysuckle and grape patterns and a lilac-colored horse-faced skirt. She had fair and delicate skin, a peach face and almond eyes. Although she was not as beautiful as Chu Qianchen, she was dignified, beautiful, quiet and graceful, which made people like her at first sight.

Yuan Zhitong seemed to know that the Queen and Queen Mother Yin were looking at her. She lowered her eyes slightly, her eyelashes trembling, her cheeks flushed, and she looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. She was very charming.

Yuan Zhitong's heart beat faster and faster, and she couldn't help but glance at Chu Qianchen's expression out of the corner of her eye, and she felt much better.

So what if Chu Qianchen is the Princess of Chen? Even the Queen has to give the Queen Mother some respect in public. Does Chu Qianchen dare to make trouble with the Queen Mother? ! The Queen Mother is Gu Jue's biological mother.

Chu Qianchen dared to ask him to kneel down, but in front of the Queen Mother, the one who needed to kneel down was Chu Qianchen.

She has the support of the empress dowager, and she believes that even Gu Jue will look up to her. So what does it matter even if she is just a concubine?

As long as I can give birth to a baby soon...

Boom boom boom! Yuan Zhitong bit her lower lip slightly, and the expression of Gu Jue looking at Chu Qianchen yesterday appeared in her mind again. Her cheeks became even redder, and her eyes seemed to be filled with spring water, shimmering and charming.

(End of this chapter)