Her thoughts quickly turned to Gu Jue. Gu Jue went to the military camp today. Judging from the time, he should be back soon.

Gu Jue has been recuperating carefully for more than two months, and his health is getting better day by day. Since March, he began to go to the military camp, and Shen Qianchen would occasionally go with him. The rest of the time he would either stay in the palace or go to the Shen residence to visit Shen Zhi and Shen Yunmu.

After five days of decoration, the Shen residence with a new plaque looked presentable. The residence of Shen Zhi and Shen Yunmu, mother and son, was also decorated, with only some custom-made items left to be completed.

Shen Yunmu was very satisfied with his study room. He showed off by asking Shen Qianchen to go to his study room whenever she came. The two siblings would play Gobang for a while, Shen Yunmu would show her the calligraphy he had recently practiced, and he would show off the bookshelf of books that Duke Mu and his son had given him...

Neither Shen Zhi nor Shen Qianchen cared about the Chu family's troubles anymore.

On the sixth day of March, Shen Wan, Gu Zhiyan and their family returned from the hot spring resort in Jizhou, so Shen Qianchen began to treat Gu Zhiyan's absence disease again.

Gu Zhiyan's illness is a heart disease, and heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine. According to Shen Qianchen's idea, she advocates using the method of revisiting the old place as this "heart medicine", but Gu Zhiyan is too young, the little girl is only eight years old, and Shen Qianchen is also afraid that her medicine will be too strong, which will be counterproductive.

After discussing with Shen Wan, she changed to a more tactful approach.

On this day, Shen Wan brought Gu Zhiyan to the Shen residence and came to the west wing under the guidance of the maid.

"Qiniang, do you think this tank of goldfish is pretty?"

Shen Wan pointed to a fish tank on the table. The fish tank was as big as a washbasin. There were seven or eight golden goldfish in the fish tank. The goldfish were playing, chasing each other, or blowing bubbles in the water...

Gu Zhiyan likes goldfish and she often feeds the fish at home. She enthusiastically grabs handfuls of fish food from the box and sprinkles it into the fish tank.

The goldfish in the water smelled the fragrance and swam towards the food, swinging their tails like fans. Shallow ripples appeared on the clear water surface, and the water plants swayed with it.

Gu Zhiyan stared at the goldfishes eating with gusto, and couldn't help but smile with her lips curved, her eyes sparkling.

The little girl was immersed in her own world and didn't notice Shen Wan and the wet nurse quietly left the room, their footsteps were silent.

There wasn't much fish food in the box and it was empty in a short while.

"Mom." Gu Zhiyan turned her head and subconsciously looked for Shen Wan, but found that the room was empty, the door was tightly closed, and there was no light at all.

Shen Wan disappeared, and Gu Zhiyan was the only one left in the not-so-big room.

"Mom!" Gu Zhiyan called out again, her voice rising three points, but no one answered.

All the doors and windows in the wing were closed, and the light in the room was a little dim, as if dusk had come early.

Gu Zhiyan looked at the closed door in front of her, and she became more nervous and panicked. The terrifying scenes in her memory flashed through her mind like fleeting images...

It was the same that time, she couldn't find her mother.

She was told she would never be able to return home.

Later, she was locked in a woodshed, and no matter how she cried, no one paid any attention to her.

"Mother! Mother!"

Gu Zhiyan shouted excitedly, each shout louder than the last, her voice revealing an emotion that was close to collapse.

Shen Wan, who was hiding in the next room, also heard her daughter's screams and her heart was suddenly gripped.

To Shen Wan, her daughter Gu Zhiyan was everything to her. Every cry from Gu Zhiyan was like stabbing her heart again and again, making her feel miserable.

She wanted nothing more than to rush next door, hug her daughter tightly, comfort her, touch her, and tell her that she was the apple of her eye.

However, she only took one step when she saw a green shadow flash before her eyes. Jiang Yuan stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"Awan," Shen Zhi hurriedly grabbed her sister's hand and calmed her down, "You have to believe in Sister Chen."

Gu Zhiyan is already eight years old. Unless she can stay at home all her life and be under the protection of her parents, Shen Wan must be cruel enough to cut open the abscess and squeeze out the pus and blood so that the wound can heal. This is unavoidable.

Shen Wan pursed her lips and her body trembled constantly.

It has been more than a year since my daughter was abducted and finally found. Since she met my niece, she has gradually gotten better. But until now, my daughter must turn on the light when she goes to sleep at night, and someone must accompany her. If she stays alone in a confined space like now, her emotions will get out of control.

Suddenly, the next room fell quiet.

Shen Wan's heart tightened and she quickly looked next door through the small hole in the window paper.

Gu Zhiyan was seen huddled up in the corner of the room, hugging her knees and shivering.

Shen Wan clenched the handkerchief in her hand so tightly that her fingers turned white.

Gu Zhiyan buried her head in her knees and didn't notice the small hole the size of a finger poked in the window paper.

"Ding-ling, ding-ling..."

The sound of bells was heard outside, and as it approached this side, the sound became louder and clearer.

Gu Zhiyan became even more frightened, and kept shrinking towards the wall behind her. She hugged her knees even tighter with her arms, and her body was tense.

The bell stopped at the door, and then the door was pushed open. Gu Zhiyan could see a ray of light shining on the ground, and then a huge shadow appeared at the door, just as she remembered.

"Ding-ling, ding-ling..."

The huge shadow approached her with the sound of bells, a pair of malicious eyes were staring at her, and the person who came released a gloomy aura.

Gu Zhiyan felt cold all over his limbs, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

“Da, da, da…”

When the opponent's shadow enveloped him, the fear in Gu Zhiyan's heart burst out, and he screamed madly again. This time he didn't scream for his mother, but a monotonous scream:

“Ah! Ah——”

"Ding-ling!" There was another bell sound, accompanied by a loud snort. A stream of hot air sprayed on Gu Zhiyan's head and ears, followed by a scent of grass and trees.

Gu Zhiyan raised her head subconsciously.

A red pony caught her eye. It had a leather collar with a silver bell around its neck. When the pony tilted its head, the bell made a crisp sound. Its face showed the liveliness unique to a foal.

Gu Zhiyan forgot to scream for a moment. Her little mouth slightly opened as she looked at the foal in astonishment, her little face turning pale.

The foal made a "hui hui" sound towards her and rubbed against her. Gu Zhiyan didn't dare to move, but her body curled up on the ground was obviously much more relaxed. She looked at the foal curiously, her eyes lighting up.

It is so beautiful, even prettier than Muge's pony!!

At this moment, it became dark again in the direction of the door, and there was a shadow reflected from the door on the ground. Gu Zhiyan shuddered again and slowly looked up.

Shen Qianchen, dressed in a bright red riding suit, appeared at the door of the room, smiling brightly and dashingly.

"Sister!!" Gu Zhiyan blinked and shouted.

Shen Qianchen smiled with his eyes crooked, tilted his little face to look at Gu Zhiyan, pointed at the red pony with one hand, and asked: "Qiniang, this pony is for you, it just turned eight months old."

Shen Qianchen wore a longan-sized gold-carved sachet on his waist. A light fragrance wafted out of the sachet, like plum and orchid, and entered Gu Zhiyan's nose.

Really? Gu Zhiyan blinked her big eyes again.

The fragrance gently soothed her extremely excited emotions. Her originally madly beating heart gradually calmed down, but her chest was still rising and falling obviously.

"Did it scare you?" Shen Qianchen asked as he walked towards Gu Zhiyan, "Are you afraid?"

Gu Zhiyan hurriedly shook his head, his black and white eyes were as clear as a stream with a transparent bottom.

No, of course not.

Such a cute pony, who looks so much like her sister's red horse named Fenglu, how could she be afraid! ! Shen Qianchen grabbed the pony's reins, touched its slender neck, and said seriously: "Qiniang, you just scared it."

“……”Gu Zhiyan opened her eyes wide and bit her lower lip with some guilt and uneasiness.

The foal is only eight months old, still a baby. She screamed so loudly just now, it must have scared it. So, will the foal dislike her anymore?

Shen Qianchen softened his voice and said coaxingly: "You scared the pony, shouldn't you coax it?"

Yes! It should be! Gu Zhiyan nodded quickly again.

She thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she took out a pine nut candy from her purse.

She got up from the ground, put the pine nut candy in her palm, raised it carefully, and put it close to the foal's mouth.

As soon as the foal smelled the candy, it couldn't wait to bite the candy grains. Its tongue rubbed across Gu Zhiyan's palm, which was hot and itchy, making her laugh uncontrollably.

The laughter made the air suddenly become relaxed.

Shen Qianchen touched the little girl's head, and a fragrance wafted from her body.

Gu Zhiyan liked the scent of Shen Qianchen, which was gentle and warm, making her feel very comfortable.

"Qiniang, are you afraid of being alone?" Shen Qianchen asked, staring into Gu Zhiyan's eyes.

Gu Zhiyan lowered her head, pursed her lips tightly, and twisted the fingers of her two hands together. Children's bones are soft, and her fingers were twisted like twisted dough sticks.

Gu Zhiyan didn't say anything, and Shen Qianchen didn't urge her either. He handed the reins to Gu Zhiyan.

As the reins were handed over, the foal's eyes followed the reins curiously, looking from Shen Qianchen to Gu Zhiyan, and the bells rang.

Gu Zhiyan held the reins with one hand and tapped one of the bells with the other, and the bell rang twice again.

"Ding-ling, ding-ling..."

After a while, Gu Zhiyan suddenly whispered, "I'm afraid. I was... kidnapped by bad guys before..." Her voice was so low that it was not very clear amid the sound of the bell.

Shen Qianchen felt relieved. As long as Gu Zhiyan was willing to talk about this matter, it would be a big breakthrough.

Shen Qianchen asked her in a seductive way: "Were you scared at that time?"

Gu Zhiyan pushed the silver bell with her finger again, lowered her little face, and nodded: "They are very bad, very bad... They locked me up, beat me, and didn't let me eat."

"I'm so scared, and I'm so hungry, and my body hurts."

"But no matter how I called, Dad and Mom didn't come..."

"I kept shouting and shouting... I shouted until my voice became hoarse..."

“…”

Gu Zhiyan spoke intermittently, saying whatever came to her mind. As she spoke, her body began to tremble, and her hands tightly grasped the reins.

Shen Qianchen listened to her quietly, without interrupting her or disturbing her. After she finished speaking, he leaned over and gently hugged the girl's slender body, smiling, "Qiniang, it's all right now."

"Someone has rescued you. No one can hurt you again. Your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, your great aunt... and me, we will all protect you."

Shen Qianchen said as he gently patted Gu Zhiyan's back.

Gu Zhiyan's body trembled violently again, and tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.

At first, she cried silently.

Gradually, she began to sob and cry.

Then she burst into tears...

Shen Qianchen let Gu Zhiyan cry, crying is also a way to vent emotions.

Gu Zhiyan couldn't control her emotions. Thinking of the grievance and fear she felt at that time, she just wanted to cry. It seemed that only tears could vent such emotions.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Several images flashed through her mind in confusion. One was that she was grabbed with her mouth covered during the Lantern Festival two years ago; the next was that she was put in a sack with her mouth tightly blocked with a silk handkerchief; the next was that she was whipped in a cold woodshed; the next was that she was locked up in the woodshed alone...

Countless scenes flashed unpredictably, and then froze in the Yongding Marquis' Mansion. She huddled beside the rockery, and then she saw her sister just like today.

A glimmer of starlight appeared in Gu Zhiyan's confused eyes.

She recalled the scene when her father and mother appeared outside the woodshed. At that time, she fainted, and when she woke up, she was in the Prince's Mansion.

That's right, they found her!

Although it was a little slow, and although they made her wait a little longer, they still found her! Then, the three of them moved out of the Prince's Mansion, and lived together as a family, and went out to play together. In that manor, they were together every day! Gu Zhiyan's eyes became brighter again.

The foal shook its head boredly again, paced its hooves restlessly, and the silver bell on its neck rang again.

"It's still young and very playful." Shen Qianchen carefully wiped Gu Zhiyan's tear-soaked face with a handkerchief and asked her with a smile, "In a few days, I'm going to take Mu Ge'er for a horse walk. Qi Niang, do you want to come with us? Take it with you, too!"

Of course the baby wants to play! Gu Zhiyan quickly nodded: "Yes!"

Shen Qianchen smiled, remembering what Shen Yunmu said, that Gu Zhiyan was particularly envious of him for having a pony.

She took Gu Zhiyan's hand and shook it, then asked, "Qiniang, let's go find Mu Ge'er and let him see your pony, okay?"

"Okay!" Gu Zhiyan nodded again.

Her pony is prettier than Mu Ge'er's. Mu Ge'er must be envious!

Thinking of this, Gu Zhiyan smiled with pursed lips and her pupils, washed by tears, were sparkling.

The two cousins ​​held hands and went to the next door house to find Shen Yunmu. The little pony followed them happily, lively and active, and the sound of the horse's hooves was brisk and loud.

Ever since Shen Yunmu moved into the Shen residence with Shen Zhi, Gu Jue gave Shen Yunmu a martial arts master, but the Shen residence was too small, so Gu Jue went to great lengths and simply bought the house next door to accommodate the martial arts master.

Shen Yunmu was wearing a moon-white suit and was practicing boxing. He had been practicing this set of boxing for more than a month. He was doing it quite well. His punches were powerful and his kicks also had a sharp feel.

Gu Zhiyan looked at Shen Yunmu who was boxing with burning eyes. His eyes seemed to be shining and he was reluctant to blink.

Shen Qianchen suddenly asked: "Do you want to learn?"

"..."Gu Zhiyan came back to her senses and turned to look at Shen Qianchen.

Shen Qianchen smiled slightly and pinched Gu Zhiyan's soft little hand with one hand: "When you learn kung fu, when you meet a bad guy, you can knock him down by yourself."

She clenched her other hand into a fist and waved it demonstratively.

Gu Zhiyan's eyes became brighter, as if the morning star was reflected in her pupils.

She nodded vigorously and said, "Learn!"

Learn, learn, learn! Of course you have to learn!

Shen Qianchen rubbed the top of Gu Zhiyan's head. At this time, the martial arts master also saw Shen Qianchen, walked over, clasped his fists and saluted: "Princess."

When Gu Zhiyan saw the stranger, she subconsciously shrank her body. If it were a normal day, she would have hidden behind Shen Qianchen, but today she bravely pinched the hem of Shen Qianchen's skirt, lowered her eyes, and did not dare to look directly into Master Wu's eyes.

"Master Cao, please take some time to teach one more child." Shen Qianchen said with a smile, pointing at Gu Zhiyan.

"It's been hard work." Gu Zhiyan said like a parrot, her voice as low as a mosquito's hum.

Master Cao of course agreed, and he cupped his hands with a smile: "You are too polite, Princess. It's just a small matter."

So, Gu Zhiyan ran to stand next to Shen Yunmu, with his head held high and his chest puffed out.

Master Cao walked over and said to her, "Miss Gu, let me teach you how to do horse stance first."

Master Cao began to teach Gu Zhiyan how to do the horse stance, breaking down each movement one by one and demonstrating it to her.

Gu Zhiyan also imitated Master Cao and started to do horse stance with stiff movements.

Shen Yunmu also performed a set of punches and enthusiastically taught Gu Zhiyan how to do the horse stance.

Shen Qianchen stood aside, looking at them with a smile, and gave an order to Amber.

Soon, Amber brought the sisters Shen Zhi and Shen Wan over.

When the two sisters saw this scene, they were both stunned and looked at each other.

This nice little girl hasn't even started learning the art of music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, so why is she learning to do horse stance? ! Shen Qianchen could see what they were thinking, and said bluntly: "Qiniang lacks a sense of security, and is always afraid that others will hurt her." So she didn't dare to stay in the house alone, nor did she dare to face the noisy crowd alone.

After a pause, she said slowly and meaningfully: "Instead of relying on others, it is better to rely on yourself."

This was what the prince taught her in her previous life, and it was also something she had deeply experienced in both lives.

Only when a person is strong enough will he have enough confidence and not be afraid of others.

This truth is obvious. When you find out that the object of your fear is just an ant that can be easily crushed to death, would you still be afraid of an ant?

For example, in her previous life, she was afraid of Chu Lingxiao. To her, Chu Lingxiao was like a mountain and a ferocious beast. But in this life, when she faced Chu Lingxiao again, she found that he was just a paper beast that would break with a single poke.

Shen Qianchen looked at the little girl who was doing horse stance seriously not far ahead, his eyes were deep and his smile was bright.

Shen Zhi: “…”

Shen Wan: “…”

Shen Wan was stunned, and inexplicably thought of the young Gu Jue from her niece. A thought came to her mind: Could this be the case of "birds of a feather flock together"?

Shen Qianchen turned to look at Shen Wan and said seriously, "Third Aunt, as long as Qi Niang can persist, let her learn. You and Third Uncle should not interfere with her."

Shen Wan blinked, then finally reacted and said in a sonorous voice: "Learn!"

In the Great Qi Dynasty, it was rare for girls to learn martial arts, but for Shen Wan, it was not a big deal. She wished she could give her daughter everything she could. As long as her daughter liked it, she could learn anything, even martial arts!

Shen Wan also noticed the red pony next to her and took a few more glances. The pony was playing happily, chewing willow leaves, playing with butterflies, frolicking, and then coming to its owner to ask for petting.

Shen Qianchen stroked the pony's slender neck twice and said with a smile, "This pony was delivered to the palace two days ago. I gave it to Qi Niang. It's just right that Qi Niang can learn horse riding and archery at the same time."

Shen Wan nodded again and said, "Learn!"

Anyway, her daughter is no longer a county lady, so there is no need for her to follow rules and regulations. She can do whatever she wants.

Shen Wan smiled carefreely and said, "My home is just next street anyway, so it will be convenient for me to come here in the future. I can accompany Qinnan here every day." Now she doesn't have to take care of the financial affairs of the Prince's Mansion, so she has nothing to do every day.

Shen Qianchen smiled sweetly: "Then I will also give Qi Niang a bow and arrow."

"I've made a set of riding clothes for Qi Niang." Shen Zhi said jokingly, "Little girls should dress beautifully."

Shen Wan agreed with this and thought about making a few more sets of riding clothes for her daughter, changing one every day so that she wouldn't wear the same one for ten days.

The two sisters became interested in talking about clothes and chatted for a long time about materials and patterns. Shen Qianchen had no chance to get a word in.

After a while, Shen Wan looked at Shen Qianchen again, with a somewhat uneasy look on her face. She took a deep breath and said, "Sister Chen, Qi Niang's illness..."

Shen Qianchen looked at Gu Zhiyan who was still doing horse stance, and smiled, "Don't worry, auntie, today's progress is good, and Qi Niang's illness is half cured. Qi Niang is finally willing to tell me about 'that time', but we still have to take it slow from now on, haste makes waste."

Shen Wan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved.

Shen Qianchen added: "I will prescribe a prescription later and let her take it for a few more days."

"Normally, don't take her to crowded places, so as not to accidentally provoke her emotions. Just go along with her in everything..."

“The most important thing is to take your time.”

Shen Qianchen gave several careful instructions, and Shen Wan wrote them down carefully, wishing she could take a pen to record them.

Seeing Shen Wan was so nervous, Shen Qianchen simply asked Amber to write it down and give it to her.

Shen Wan was relieved. After thinking for a while, she said to Shen Zhi, "Sister, I want Qi Niang to stay with you for a while."

Shen Zhi raised her eyebrows in confusion.

Shen Wan frowned her pretty willow-shaped eyebrows, not hiding her disdain at all, and said, "After we returned to Beijing, the imperial concubine came over every few days."

"I heard that the Jing County Prince's Mansion is about to go out of business. The money has been spent, but the emperor is still ill. Until now, he has not received the title, and the concubine is starting to get anxious."

"They were reluctant to sell off their property, so they instigated the clan members to say that the previous division of the family was invalid and that they needed to divide the family again."

"Although Prince Li ignored them, it's always annoying!"

Shen Wan was not afraid of trouble, nor was she afraid of the imperial concubine, nor was she afraid of others saying that she was unfilial. She was only afraid that the imperial concubine and her son would cause trouble again and irritate her precious daughter.

Shen Zhi held her sister's hand and responded softly, "Leave Qi Niang to me. Brother Mu will accompany her and take care of her."

Shen Wan said "hmm", her eyes still looking at Gu Zhiyan in the field.

In the sunshine, after doing horse stance for a while, Gu Zhiyan's face turned red and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but she still persisted.

(End of this chapter)