She was now wearing going-out clothes, which were always less comfortable than her home clothes.
When she took off her hair, changed into her casual clothes and returned to the west warm room, there was a sweet smell in the room.
"Come here and drink some sweet water with me to warm my stomach." Gu Jue waved his hand and sat down by the window.
Chu Qianchen's eyes lit up and he answered "yes" happily, then walked over with light steps like a well-behaved cat.
Although Gu Jue asked her to drink with him, she knew in her heart that it was actually Gu Jue who should drink with her.
Therefore, the sugar water with ginger becomes extra sweet.
Chu Qianchen drank the sugar water slowly and asked, "Prince, do you know anything about that Prince Consort Lu?"
"Not familiar." Gu Jue said lightly.
It's not just directed at Jingle and Prince Consort Lu. In fact, Gu Jue has been in the north for many years and is not very familiar with these princesses of the same generation.
But the last time Chu Qianchen came back from Prince Li’s Mansion, he said a few words about Jingle and Prince Consort Lu.
Gu Jue already knew Chu Qianchen well enough. His little girl was a cold-hearted person at heart, and she treated people other than him very differently.
She doesn't like to meddle in other people's business and has a clear distinction between what she likes and dislikes. To her, most people are irrelevant and she won't even mention them. Since she said a few more words, it means that she cares about Jingle.
Therefore, Gu Jue had someone do a quick search. Now, when Chu Qianchen asked, he immediately said something: "The queen's great aunt is the wife of the Duke of Dongping. The prince consort is the youngest son, and the eldest son was named the Crown Prince. The Duke of Dongping's mansion has not made any achievements in the past few generations, so the title is probably passed down to the Crown Prince's generation."
"Jingle and her husband got married two years ago. After the marriage, the wife of the Duke of Dongping went to the Queen to complain about Jingle several times, saying that Jingle had difficulty in having children and that Jingle was jealous..."
"The consort is neither good at literature nor martial arts, and has failed in several jobs. Now he is idle at home, receiving the salary of a consort, but he does not take Jingle seriously."
Prince Consort Lu’s experience was so thin that Gu Jue finished telling it in just a few words, looking at Chu Qianchen with a smile, his eyes shining.
Chu Qianchen could tell that the wife of the Duke of Dongping was just as disrespectful to Jingle as Prince Consort Lu. What she said was that it was difficult to have children and she was jealous. Wasn't this just a prelude to Prince Consort taking his cousin as a concubine? !
Recalling what happened at Wanqing Restaurant that day, Chu Qianchen showed a bit of sarcasm and said, "That Lu Fu Ma's sister was not very respectful to Jing Le either."
It is obvious that Lu Xianjing's disrespect and rudeness towards Jingle is something she learned from the Lu family.
This Prince Consort Lu, who receives a salary as a prince consort and lives off the princess, acts like a self-important "guy", wanting to have his cake and eat it too.
When it comes down to it, it’s just the word “greed” that’s causing the problem.
Chu Qianchen curved his lower lip with a half-smile.
Gu Jue sighed in disappointment in his heart, and then said: "Jingle has been timid since childhood."
Gu Jue could probably imagine that with Jingle's personality, it took a lot of effort for her to muster up the courage to go and complain to the Queen, but the Queen simply blocked her move. After that, Jingle naturally didn't dare to complain again.
This is a vicious cycle. The less people support Jingle, the more the Lu family abuses her.
Chu Qianchen lowered his eyes thoughtfully, and pursed his lips with a complicated expression, as if with sympathy, and also as if with some emotion recalling the past.
She suddenly thought of her previous life, the self who had just been kicked out of home.
If I hadn't met the prince...
Chu Qianchen raised her eyes and looked at Gu Jue again. Only then did she realize, a few beats late, that there seemed to be some expectation on Gu Jue's face. She thought to herself: Is the prince waiting for praise?
As soon as this thought came to her mind, she leaned over and kissed him on the face.
“……”Gu Jue was stunned.
It was only for a moment, and then she was pulled over by him again and held in his lap.
She also wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his arms.
He kissed the top of her head tenderly, held her in one hand, and gently rubbed her small, white earlobe with the other hand. The earlobe, without the earrings, was round and full, and visibly flushed.
Gu Jue hugged her tighter, sighing helplessly in his heart: Although the little girl has the symptoms of awakening, she is still too young after all. It will take more than half a year for her to reach the age of marriage! The next eight months are really long...
As soon as this thought came up, he suppressed it.
He then thought that waiting is also a form of protection.
His little girl has done so much for him, so why not wait a little longer?
She is worth his waiting and worth him keeping her at the top of his heart.
Gu Jue hooked his little finger around hers. Chu Qianchen didn’t understand why, but she still subconsciously hooked her little finger around his and shook it.
We made a promise and will not change it for a hundred years.
Although neither of them spoke, they were in sync with each other.
Gu Jue could feel her attachment from her little movements, and his heart was beating and burning.
Gu Jue looked at her, smiled slightly, his eyes brightening.
Chu Qianchen sensed his good mood and smiled with his eyes curved.
She liked to see him smile.
Chu Qianchen raised her hand to touch his lips, but just as her fingers touched his chin, Jiang Yuan's awkward cough came from outside the door curtain: "Princess, Princess Jingle is awake."
As soon as she finished her words, Chu Qianchen jumped off Gu Jue's lap, and the soft and fragrant girl that Gu Jue was holding in his arms was gone.
Gu Jue: “…”
Chu Qianchen adjusted her hair and clothes while turning around and said, "Your Highness, I'll be back soon."
She left like the wind, and the sound of the door curtain falling mixed with someone's sigh.
Chu Qianchen put on another new cloak prepared by Jiang Yuan, and hurried to Xieyue Pavilion where Jingle was temporarily staying.
Jingle woke up as expected, and was sitting on the couch leaning against a large pillow. Her long, thick black hair was draped over her aqua green dress, making her small and pale cheeks look even more delicate and lovely.
She heard people outside calling out "Princess", so her eyes immediately turned towards Chu Qianchen, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
Amber was still in the room. She bowed to Chu Qianchen and said, "Princess, Her Royal Highness the Princess has just taken the medicine and her fever is starting to subside."
Jingle rested for nearly two hours, received acupuncture, and drank medicine. The effect was obvious. She was in much better spirits than when Chu Qianchen saw her outside the palace.
There was light in those empty eyes again, as if a traveler who had been walking in the dark for a long time finally saw some people when he was exhausted.
"Ninth Emperor's sister-in-law," Jingle forced out a bitter smile, coughed twice, and whispered, "I came to Prince Chen's Mansion without knowing it. I guess I caused you a lot of trouble."
Her voice was weak and hoarse, empty and powerless, and her bitter smile showed a hint of dependence on Chu Qianchen.
It was already dusk, and the maid lit two lanterns. The bright yellow light shone on Jingle's pale face, but it did not reflect any warmth.
Whether it is body or mind.
Although she was in a place as bright as day, Jingle felt helpless as if darkness was approaching. She felt confused, sad and desolate, and the heavy feeling made it hard for her to breathe.
Chu Qianchen winked at Amber calmly, and Amber tacitly brought a cup of warm water and handed it to Chu Qianchen first.
"Jingle, drink more warm water." Chu Qianchen sat down beside the couch, and personally handed the cup of warm water to Jingle who was sitting on the couch. He deliberately slowed down his movements and took Jingle's pulse.
Although she was deficient in qi and blood, her pulse was much more stable than before.
Jingle took the cup of tea carefully, with a solemn attitude, as if she was holding some nectar.
When the two of them touched each other, Jingle's eyes fell on Chu Qianchen's fingers.
She knew that although these hands looked slender, they could pull a bow and never miss the target.
Her sister-in-law is not only strong in character, but also possesses enough strength.
Unlike her hands, which were sickly pale, weak, and powerless.
Her fingers were like thin willow branches that could be easily broken...
As she thought about it, Jingle seemed to hear the slight sound of a willow branch breaking, and she unconsciously held the teacup in her hand tighter.
In a trance, she heard Chu Qianchen instructing the maid to call the palace's good doctor over, and then asked her in a gentle tone: "Jingle, do you want me to take you back to the princess's palace?"
“……” Jingle’s eyes suddenly widened and she shook her head desperately, and even spilled some of the cup of warm water in her hand.
Finally, she bit her lip and spoke again: "I won't go back."
These five words are so bitter.
Seeing Jingle's frightened expression, Chu Qianchen understood what was going on. Even without asking, he guessed: It was indeed Prince Consort Lu who did it again.
Chu Qianchen didn't ask, but Jingle wanted to talk. She had kept some words in her heart for a long time. After she started talking, the rest of the words seemed to become easier to say: "Ninth Sister-in-law, I don't want to go back to the Princess's Mansion anymore."
"The Prince Consort is my husband, we should respect each other and grow old together, but I hate him."
"I am a princess, but after getting married, I live worse than an ordinary citizen."
"Not only did the prince consort take his cousin as a concubine, he also said that after she gave birth to a child, he would make her his equal wife. The prince consort also gave his cousin a hairpin from my dowry. This is something my biological mother left me, but I don't even have the ability to take it back."
Her biological mother was of low status and died young, leaving her with little. This hairpin was a gift from the late emperor for her birth.
Jingle usually keeps everything to herself and rarely speaks out, but when facing Chu Qianchen, she is a little different and tells him everything, just like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
After Jingle spoke all this in one breath, she did not feel happy at all. Instead, her body began to tremble like a sieve.
It was a reaction born out of extreme self-loathing.
Her eyes turned red and tears welled up in her eyes. She felt so useless.
She is a princess, a princess in the eyes of others, but how did she end up living like this? !
In fact, Jingle didn’t explain it very clearly. She was just venting the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time. However, Chu Qianchen immediately understood the whole story after considering the cause and effect.
Not only did Prince Consort Lu disregard the princess's dignity and take his cousin as his concubine, he also favored his concubine over his wife and arbitrarily gave the princess's dowry to his favorite concubine. Jingle should have wanted to get back her mother's belongings, but instead, she was hurt by Prince Consort Lu.
As for whether it was intentional or unintentional to hurt someone, that is not important. It is impossible that he "accidentally" whipped Jingle last time and now he "accidentally" pushed her into the corner of the table, right?
Chu Qianchen's eyes were cold. She didn't like men who hit women.
The air in the warm room seemed to freeze in an instant, and the atmosphere was quiet and depressing.
After a moment of silence, Chu Qianchen suddenly moved, raised his hand and touched Jingle's head.
This is how the prince comforted her.
He always touched her head like this when he was comforting, praising, or encouraging her.
“……” Jingle’s body trembled again, and her tears suddenly stopped.
His originally confused and chaotic eyes seemed to have found their focus and began to calm down.
She stared at Chu Qianchen, her eyes becoming more and more dependent, just like a baby bird that has just broken out of its shell and opened its eyes, recognizing the first person it sees as its mother.
In the morning, when she came out of the princess's mansion, it had just started snowing. At that moment, she was at a loss, not knowing where to go. She didn't even have her mother's home. She also didn't know what to do in the future. She felt that whether she was alive or dead, it would not affect anyone.
In this huge capital city, no one would care whether there is one more or one less of her.
She wanted to die, but when she passed by Wanqing Restaurant, she suddenly thought of Chu Qianchen's recklessness that day.
She envied and admired Chu Qianchen. She wanted to become someone like Chu Qianchen.
Before she knew it, she had walked outside Prince Chen's Mansion.
So Jingle sat down at the gate of Prince Chen's Mansion. She didn't even know how long she had been sitting there until Chu Qianchen found her and called her name...
Jingle looked at Chu Qianchen with burning eyes: The Ninth Emperor's sister-in-law is so kind that she picked her up.
Amber looked back and forth between Chu Qianchen and Jingle, and always felt that Jingle's eyes were weird... How to say it, it reminded her of the look that the princess used to give the prince.
It seems that the way the princess looks at the prince is a little different now. What's different?
Amber couldn't explain it and felt a little confused.
The three people in the room had different thoughts. The silent air was occasionally filled with the crackling sound of burning candle oil.
In this strange atmosphere, a little maid came with the palace's good doctor.
The good doctor was a man in his fifties with many silver strands in his hair. He was a retired military doctor from the Northern Army, so it was no problem for him to treat minor illnesses such as colds and trauma.
The good doctor bowed respectfully to Chu Qianchen, and Chu Qianchen stepped aside, giving the space to the good doctor.
The good doctor went to check Jingle's pulse.
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He knew the princess's medical skills, so he didn't do anything unnecessary. After taking Jingle's pulse, he politely said a few words about relevant precautions, then re-applied ointment to Jingle and bandaged her wound.
The Shiquan ointment emits a very faint herbal fragrance, which cannot be smelled at all unless you smell it carefully.
Because Chu Qianchen had given Jingle a small jar of Shiquan ointment before, Jingle was already very familiar with the smell of this ointment and could tell at once that it was the same ointment.
Jingle took the small jar of ointment, sniffed it gently, and her eyes became brighter.
Chu Qianchen said gently: "Jingle, use this ointment morning and night, and there will be no scars on your face."
Jingle nodded heavily and held the small jar of ointment tightly in her hand.
Her guarding posture was like a person with nothing holding a rare treasure, or like a dying person seeing hope, with her eyes shining like gems.
Looking at Jingle like this, Chu Qianchen couldn't help but soften his heart and once again overlapped her with his previous life self.
Sometimes, all a drowning person needs is someone to reach out and pull her out.
The good doctor came and left again. When the door curtain was opened, a gust of wind blew in. The wind playfully sneaked into the lampshade, causing the flame inside to flicker, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, adding a solemn feeling to this warm room.
Chu Qianchen was sitting next to the lantern, the light and shadow flickering on her face.
She looked deeply at Jingle on the couch and asked, "Do you want to divorce? If you are not living well, why do you want to continue living together?"
Apart from the Shen family, this was the first time Chu Qianchen persuaded someone to divorce.
If Jingle was not Gu Jue's younger sister, if Jingle was not kind to her, if Jingle did not remind her of herself in her previous life, Chu Qianchen would never have said these words.
Jingle's eyes widened in shock, her mouth slightly open, obviously in extreme shock.
After the shock, she recovered a little, and her face and eyes dimmed again, as if the fire in her eyes had been extinguished.
She said hesitantly, "My brother will not agree."
Her voice was very soft and lacked confidence, and by the last word it was almost inaudible.
Although she had never asked the emperor, nor did she dare to ask, everyone knew that the emperor was very concerned about his reputation. He would definitely not agree and would punish her. Even the prince was punished for displeasing the emperor.
Besides, Prince Consort Lu is the Queen's cousin, so the Queen would not agree to it either, even...
More importantly, there has never been a princess who divorced in the history of Da Qi, so how could she be the first one?!
The more Jingle thought about it, the more she felt it was impossible. She bit her lower lip and almost drew blood.
She must have disappointed the Ninth Emperor's wife. Jingle felt ashamed, her eyes slightly moved, and she looked down, not daring to look directly at Chu Qianchen.
Jingle's thoughts were not difficult to guess. Chu Qianchen could guess what Jingle was afraid of at the moment just by using his toes, and sighed in his heart.
In her opinion, Jingle's best choice is of course to divorce that Prince Consort Lu and kick this heartless guy away as far away as possible.
It is natural for a prince consort to be a gigolo, but the problem is that he took advantage of her and even worse, he turned around and bit Jingle.
What's the point of keeping this ungrateful person around? Are you keeping him around to celebrate the New Year if you don't want to divorce?
However, Chu Qianchen cannot make decisions for other people's lives.
As the saying goes, a three-foot-thick ice lasts only a day.
There is no way a little white rabbit can turn into a leopard just because of a few words from others.
Chu Qianchen drank a sip of tea slowly and said lightly: "Since we can't divorce, let the prince consort obey."
"You live in the princess's mansion, and all your food, clothing and expenses are supported by the princess. You also use the princess's money to take a concubine. Ha, even if you keep a concubine, he knows how to make you happy."
Amber was standing a few steps behind, nodding her head in agreement, sighing in her heart: What is a son-in-law? In the folk, isn't this just a son-in-law who marries into the wife's family and wants to have three wives and four concubines, so that the children born to him and the concubines will inherit the family property of the principal wife? Why don't they just rush into other people's houses and rob them openly? It's so shameless!
"..." Jingle clenched his hands into fists, his eyes flickered slightly, an extremely complicated expression emerged on his face, and he raised his head to look at Chu Qianchen again.
Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Seeing Jingle seemed to be somewhat interested, Chu Qianchen smiled and said, "This is very simple."
"If they don't obey, I'll beat them. If they still don't obey after one beating, I'll beat them twice."
"..." Jingle looked at Chu Qianchen without blinking, her eyes as bright as if reflecting the starry sky on a summer night.
The Ninth Emperor's wife is so pretty! She has a white jade face, curved eyebrows, bright phoenix eyes, and a faint smile on her face, revealing her confidence, calmness, wisdom and boldness.
The Ninth Emperor's wife was like a pearl or jade by her side, making her feel ashamed of herself.
Jingle's lips twitched. She believed that if it was the Ninth Emperor's wife, she would be able to do what she had just said.
Not like her.
If only she could be like the Ninth Emperor's wife.
Jingle stared at Chu Qianchen for a long time, and her fair cheeks gradually turned red, from her cheeks to her ears.
She lowered her eyes again, got off the couch somewhat at a loss, and said hurriedly: "Ninth Emperor Sister-in-law, I'll take my leave first."
Chu Qianchen: “???”
amber:"???"
Both the master and the servant were confused. Chu Qianchen looked at Jingle who was hastily putting on her shoes and asked, "Where are you going?"
“……” Jingle was speechless, feeling awkward and flustered.
She had nowhere to go.
When a girl from Beppu gets married, she can at least go to her parents' home, but she...
Jingle swallowed and stammered, "I...I have another house. I'll live there."
At this time, she finally put on her shoes, bowed to Chu Qianchen, and quickly ran out in small steps.
Chu Qianchen: “…”
Chu Qianchen did not stop her and stood up as well, saying, "Jingle, I'll see you off."
The snow outside has stopped. At a glance, the ground, walls, and branches are all covered with a thin layer of snow. The snow weighs down the branches, making the winter colors more intense.
Chu Qianchen escorted the person straight to the outer ceremonial gate of the palace and watched Jingle go out from the west corner gate.
After a while, the corner door closed with a creaky sound.
But Chu Qianchen did not leave immediately. Instead, she stood quietly in the distance. She raised her head slightly, staring at the gloomy sky through the snow-covered branches.
She was not wearing a bonnet, and when the wind blew, a few strands of her black hair fluttered playfully in the wind.
Amber was afraid that Chu Qianchen would catch a cold, so she called softly, "Princess."
Chu Qianchen finally reacted, slowly retracted it, threw it at the corner door, and said, "Let's go."
Before she finished her words, she had already taken a step forward, but she did not go to the inner courtyard, but to the closed corner door.
As soon as the corner door opened, Amber saw a familiar figure standing next to the stone lion outside the door.
Jingle, wearing her new cloak, huddled in her old spot by the door and sat down again.
A few strands of hair were scattered on her paper-pale cheeks, and her whole body exuded a sense of sadness and confusion.
Chu Qianchen and Amber, the master and servant, saw Jingle at the first sight, but Jingle, who was in a state of disarray, was completely unaware and had a dull look in her eyes.
It was not until Chu Qianchen walked in front of her and blocked the light that Jingle realized that it had darkened in front of her eyes and she looked up stupidly.
The two looked at each other, and time seemed to stop at that moment.
Chu Qianchen smiled at her, a faint smile.
Jingle: “…”
Jingle felt like a thief who was caught red-handed. She was embarrassed and ashamed. Her little face turned from snow-white to red, then pink, then bright red... and finally to blood red.
Jingle was like a mute, unable to speak, and her hands hidden in her cloak were tightly wrung together.
The person who broke the silence was Chu Qianchen: "Jingle, why don't you stay in the palace first."
Jingle's response was to shake her head vigorously.
She was afraid of her Ninth Brother.
Whether it is the Ninth Prince from the past or the Ninth Prince now.
When he was young, the Ninth Prince was the kind of person who could catch snakes and play with them without batting an eyelid. If the Queen Mother hadn't objected, he would probably have kept a snake as a pet. Now the Ninth Prince is more taciturn than before, but Jingle finds him even more terrifying.
If she saw the Ninth Prince, she would definitely not dare to even raise her head, let alone leave the house. After all, the chance of "accidentally running into" the Ninth Prince in the palace was too high.
Looking at the invisible pair of rabbit ears on Jingle's head drooping down, Chu Qianchen couldn't help laughing.
She was certain that Jingle was unwilling to return to the Princess's Mansion, nor was she willing to live in the Prince Chen's Mansion.
It couldn't be simpler.
Chu Qianchen suggested, "I have a dowry house on the next street, Jingle, do you want to stay there temporarily?"
Most of Chu Qianchen's dowry was the dowry that Shen had prepared for Chu Qianhuang in the past, but this house was not one of them. It was bought by Shen specifically for Chu Qianchen after the emperor's decree of marriage was issued.
Shen told Chu Qianchen at that time that if she had any disagreement with Prince Chen and did not want to go back to her parents' home, she could come to this house to relax.
Chu Qianchen never thought that there would be any unpleasantness between her and the prince, but he also thought that the location of this house was good, so he let Jingle live there first.
Jingle's eyes sparkled and her face flushed when she heard this. She almost blurted out, "Is it true?"
When Jingle thought about living in the Ninth Emperor's house, she smiled happily. Her heart was as happy as a sparrow flapping its wings and flying. She was so happy that she didn't know what to do.
She pursed her lips and nodded vigorously, very honestly.
At this moment, all the haze in her eyes disappeared, as if spring had arrived early, and the bright and warm spring sunshine had dispelled the winter haze.
(End of this chapter)