After entering the palace, Shen Hechuan sped all the way to Shou Kang Palace.
As soon as he appeared, he attracted the attention of all the noble ladies present, and some of the bolder ones even pretended to fall down in front of him.
But Shen Hechuan didn't move an inch, as if he couldn't see anything, and went straight to the Empress Dowager's main hall.
When the Empress Dowager saw Shen Hechuan enter, her tense expression finally eased a little.
"I thought it was someone else, but it's our Crown Prince!"
The Empress Dowager joked:
"His Highness the Crown Prince is a very busy person now. He's so busy that I, his grandmother, rarely get to see him."
"If it weren't for my birthday today, I probably wouldn't be able to see our Crown Prince today."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hechuan sighed with amusement.
Seeing that there was no one else in the room, he stepped forward and approached the Empress Dowager, his stern face softening considerably.
"Your Majesty, why are you teasing your grandson too?"
The Empress Dowager saw the weariness on Shen Hechuan's face and sighed with some heartache.
"Don't think you can fool me like that!"
"You can easily delegate the tasks you have to others. Why do you have to run errands yourself? I think you're just trying to avoid people."
Seeing that nothing could escape the Empress Dowager's eyes, Shen Hechuan did not refute, but simply smiled gently.
"This matter is very important, and I'm worried that my subordinates might not handle it well."
The Empress Dowager also understood Shen Hechuan's current predicament.
He simply hoped to do things better so that the emperor wouldn't find fault with them.
Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager decided not to say anything more and changed the subject.
"I met an interesting person today. If you had returned earlier, you might have run into them again!"
The Empress Dowager recalled Chu Qianlan's low, hoarse voice when she asked for her leave, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"He was a capable person, it's just a pity."
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Shen Hechuan knew that it was yet another woman chosen by the Empress Dowager, and he immediately lost interest.
He was about to get up when the Empress Dowager quickly explained.
"Don't worry, it's not for you to be set up. She has already been betrothed to the Luo family by your father."
Upon hearing this, Shen Hechuan became somewhat interested.
"Luo Ziqian?"
He had only not seen him for a few days, and this guy had already pulled this stunt?
Shen Hechuan couldn't help but recall the time he had seen Luo Ziqian with a woman at the teahouse some time ago.
Could it be related to her?
Shen Hechuan frowned slightly.
The Empress Dowager nodded upon hearing this and then told him everything that had happened that day.
Shen Hechuan couldn't help but sigh after hearing this.
It all happened so coincidentally.
He wouldn't believe it if you said it had nothing to do with Gu Jingchun.
Moreover, there's probably more to the story behind her arranged marriage to Luo Ziqian.
It seems he needs to find a way to meet Luo Ziqian.
The fact that Luo Ziqian was his good friend was known to very few people in the entire city.
To be precise, very few people in the entire world knew that Luo Ziqian was one of his men.
In the eyes of others, Luo Ziqian was an idle and good-for-nothing playboy who spent his days indulging in pleasure and frequenting various brothels.
In reality, he was Shen Hechuan's most deeply hidden pawn.
It is also the source of many of Shen Hechuan's stories.
As Shen Hechuan was pondering this, Tianji appeared anxiously at the door.
Seeing this, the Empress Dowager waved her hand and dismissed Shen Hechuan without him having to speak.
After Shen Hechuan came out, Tianji immediately said:
"Your Highness, news has just come from the Jingzhao Prefecture that your jade pendant was found on a child."
“The Prefect of Jingzhao is one of our men. He saw the jade pendant on you before, and now that it has inexplicably appeared on a child, he secretly sent someone to the palace to inquire about it.”
What Tianji didn't say was that the sensation caused by the Crown Prince appearing in the capital with a child today had made the Prefect of the Capital wary. He claimed to be there to inquire, but in reality, he was there to deliver a message.
She's quite clever.
Upon receiving the news, Shen Hechuan immediately left the palace in a hurry.
After he left, the nanny next to the Empress Dowager immediately came over.
"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has already left."
After she finished speaking, she observed the Empress Dowager's expression and added another sentence.
"You left in a hurry. This old servant has not seen His Highness the Crown Prince in such a hurry for a long time."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately turned to look at Granny Li.
"But what did you hear?"
"Nothing can escape the eyes of Your Majesty."
As she spoke, Granny Li immediately stepped forward and lowered her voice, saying, "This old servant just happened to be passing by and only vaguely heard the words 'child' and 'jade pendant'."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow and stared intently at Granny Li.
Seeing this, Granny Li dared not hide it any longer and continued:
"This is also news that just came in. It is said that the Crown Prince returned from outside the city today with a child in his arms. He was very caring towards the child, which has attracted a lot of attention."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager abruptly stood up.
"What child?"
"This old servant doesn't know either. I only know that the child is about four or five years old. It was because of this child that Your Highness was delayed in returning to the palace."
"Whose child is that? Why is the Crown Prince so concerned about him?"
The Empress Dowager exclaimed in surprise.
Although the crown prince appears gentle, he is indifferent at heart and rarely cares about people, let alone a child.
He was so concerned about a child he had only met once. Upon hearing news of him, he even forgot about the birthday banquet and left the palace.
This gave the Empress Dowager some other thoughts.
"Have someone secretly follow the Crown Prince to see what exactly happened?"
"Be vigilant, and make sure Tsurukawa doesn't find out."
Granny Li agreed and quickly went to make the arrangements.
Jingzhao Prefecture.
The Prefect of Jingzhao looked at Gu Jinxi in front of him, so worried that his hat almost fell off.
Just now, after Gu Jinxi arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture with the people, the man named Li San knelt down tremblingly, saying that Gu Jinxi had hit him.
Of course, no one present believed it. After everyone talked at once, the prefect understood what had happened. He then had Li San beaten ten times and imprisoned for the crimes of attempted robbery and framing others.
Once everything was settled, everyone dispersed.
It was at this moment that Gu Jinxi quietly stepped forward and took out the jade pendant.
"My lord, may I enter the palace with this jade pendant?"
The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture originally didn't want to pay attention to the child, but he was immediately surprised when he saw the jade pendant.
He carefully examined the child before explaining, "You can use this jade pendant to see the Crown Prince and have him take you into the palace."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jinxi nodded obediently, thanked him again, and then prepared to leave.
The more the Prefect of Jingzhao thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was not simple, so he wanted to keep Gu Jinxi and secretly sent someone to the palace to "inquire".
I never expected that this child, who looks so young, would be so stubborn. No matter what I said, he insisted on leaving and kept shouting that he wanted to save his mother.
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