Chapter 146 The Best Husband in the World, This is the Betrothal Gift
However, the emperor's plan did indeed strike at Ji Qingwu's weak point.
Even if you don't care about the monk, you should consider the Buddha. If it's just for him, it's not enough to make her want to stay in the palace.
But if it's for Yuan Heng...
Ji Qingwu looked at the little girl in front of her, blinking her big eyes and smiling sweeter than candy.
She imagined seeing the two lively and adorable little ones every day.
or--
Instead of just thinking about it, she should take action and steal Yuan Heng out of the palace as soon as possible!
Ji Qingwu was considering the feasibility of this plan.
Chirp quickly climbed onto the couch, its fluffy little head burrowing into her arms, trying to get her attention back.
She shook out a few more candies from her sleeve and said in a childish voice, "Mother, one for you, one for me."
Ji Qingwu deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Chirp, you can only eat two a day. No more than that. Otherwise, you'll get cavities and your teeth will hurt so badly at night that you'll be rolling around in bed crying. Don't hold me and cry."
Her parenting philosophy is to explain the harm of things to her children, to guide rather than suppress, and not to be too controlling.
Chiu Chiu nodded obediently and said, "I won't eat too much, because this is my mother's candy."
These candies all bear the seal of the palace kitchen, so how did they become hers?
Ji Qingwu looked at her fair palm and said, "My candy?"
Chiu Chiu thought for a moment and nodded, "Is it Mother's candy, or Mother's wedding candy?"
"My wedding candy?"
Ji Qingwu picked up a pill, feeling both amused and exasperated.
She unwrapped the candy wrapper, examined it carefully, and confirmed that it was indeed a royal candy from the palace.
"What good news is going to happen to me?"
At this moment, Qiuqiu became mysterious, picked up the candy in her hand that had its wrapper torn off, and said, "Mother, eat one first, and I'll tell you."
Ji Qingwu was worried that there was something fishy about the candy, so she said, "Tell me first, then I'll eat it."
Chiu Chiu stuffed the candy into her little mouth and mumbled with the candy in her mouth, "I promised Mother last time that I would find her the best husband in the world. I've found him for you. This is the betrothal gift he paid first."
Who gives a bag of candy as betrothal gifts?!
Ji Qingwu's premonition was right; this candy was indeed a sugar-coated bullet.
What kind of best husband is he? He's clearly just a little girl with weak willpower who's been sweet-talked into giving away her own mother.
I don't know how he told Qiuqiu, Ji Qingwu bit her lip, her eyes darting around.
"Mother, do you agree? If you agree, then eat one."
Ji Qingwu reached out and pinched Qiuqiu's little face. She narrowed her eyes and said with a half-smile, "Well, little Qiuqiu, it's just a few pieces of candy, and you dare to sell your mother!"
Seeing her mother's expression was off, Qiuqiu tried to escape using both hands and feet.
But because of her short arms and legs, she couldn't run fast enough, and her mother grabbed her leg.
The mother and daughter laughed and joked, then lay down together on the tatami mat.
Ji Qingwu gave Qiuqiu's little bottom a good spanking. Only after the little girl repeatedly promised that she would always be the best friend of her mother and that the "betrothal gifts" would be returned the next day did her chubby bottom escape unscathed.
However, in order to prevent Qiuqiu from being completely turned against him, Ji Qingwu decided to keep a close eye on her and "consolidate" his own position.
She volunteered to take over half of Li Mama's tasks and would personally pick up Qiuqiu from school in the afternoons from now on.
As for why she didn't deliver it in the morning, it was because she planned to be busy with the shop, and also because she simply couldn't get up.
After returning home, she did not become as close to Old Madam Ji as Ji Qingyuan did, nor did she visit Shou'an Hall to pay her respects morning and evening. Moreover, given her current strained relationship with the old lady, she had even less reason to do so.
Mrs. Qiao indulged her, and every morning when she woke up, she had a hot breakfast to eat. Her life was incredibly leisurely.
Entering the courtyard at dawn, the first rays of the sun shine on the eaves.
Ji Qingwu got up, but there was a dark circle under his eyes.
Last night, she suffered from insomnia for the first time in a long time, and even slept worse than she had in the attic of the Lotus Pavilion.
As soon as she lay down, her mind went out of control, constantly replaying the events of the past day and night in the palace.
Regarding the matter of Prince Yong, she acted inappropriately in some ways.
If she had to choose again, she would still do the same.
She wasn't a prophet; who could have imagined that the seemingly lustful Prince Yong was once a devoted lover, with his beloved Princess Yong, whom he had married through proper channels, in his heart? He secretly kept an eye on Tao Wanyin's every move.
Regardless, Prince Yong took the opportunity to take the medicine so that his princess could conceive as soon as possible. Although it did not completely kill off his lineage, it served as a lesson for him. His body was depleted, and it would take some time for him to recover.
Ji Qingwu's head throbbed more and more; there wasn't a single simple person among the people in the palace.
She knew her own nature. In a place like the palace, where people devour each other, showing weakness and backing down would only make people bully you even more. When she first entered the palace, she felt that it was a den of dragons and tigers, and that everyone was a pitiful person living behind a mask for the sake of power and family.
She wasn't the kind of pure lotus that emerges from the mud unsullied and remains untainted by the water. After being in the palace for a long time, people's hearts are easily changed, and she would change too.
Unable to fathom the complexities of human nature, she could only choose to protect her own.
What good is it if the emperor treats her specially? How long can this special treatment last?
Falling in love is easy, but staying together is hard. Aren't there countless examples of love ending before beauty fades?
Believing that the emperor had genuine feelings was tantamount to risking her life; she wasn't that foolish.
Moreover, constantly relying on others for protection would make her feel weak and incompetent. Just as Yuan Heng heard from Emperor Wu Su, only the strong can protect those they want to protect.
All her worries stemmed from her inner timidity; she was not strong enough.
Thinking of the people she had to protect, Ji Qingwu's dejected mood instantly turned into fighting spirit.
In the latter half of the night, Ji Qingwu was as energetic as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
When she doesn't think about matters of the heart, her mind becomes exceptionally sharp.
She had already come up with several ideas for the shop that the Qiao family had given her. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. If it weren't for the fact that all the shops on the street were closed at night, she would have set off immediately.
Later, I felt a little sleepy and dozed off for more than an hour.
Ji Qingwu yawned and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. Her hair was thick and black, falling down to her waist.
Lanzhi used a wide-toothed boxwood comb to help her style her hair.
Ji Qingwu said, "No need for a complicated hairstyle, I'm going out today."
Lanzhi took out a red butterfly-shaped hairpin with pearls from her makeup box and tried to put it in her hair: "Miss is going to the palace, so she can't be too plain. Other noble ladies will laugh at her if they see her like this."
Ji Qingwu casually picked out a nanmu hairpin and put it on.
She said, "No need. I'm going to the market first and will be back later. Wearing so many things would just be a burden. You don't need to come with me."
Ji Qingwu looked around the most bustling area of Lin'an, and then went to the largest shop in the business, a traditional rice shop that sold grain.
Ms. Qiao was meticulous in her work; she had already instructed someone to give her advance notice. The manager and the staff were also honest and kind people who reported the account books and market prices to her in detail.
After learning about the situation, Ji Qingwu made a bold decision.
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