“Did you forget?”
Xiao Jinjing remained silent for a moment.
The system seemed to have nothing to do with her, and she couldn’t even bring herself to mention the famous statement “love is the downfall of a nation” if she wanted to save face.
The system said, “…”
At this point, Xiao Jin met Chu Shao’s smiling eyes and could only force herself to say, “I haven’t forgotten.”
“Oh, is that so? But whether your highness forgets or not doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s like this box of spring mountain wind and the rain that White Lady hated, they’re all things of the past now.”
Chu Shao closed the box of spring mountain wind, and the rain and mist that had filled the bamboo curtains dissipated, leaving only the light that leaked through the cracks in the bamboo strips.
Her tone was still calm, like a piece of warm jade held in the palm of her hand. It was like a sigh of satisfaction, with a lazy ending that carried a hint of weariness.
Xiao Jin nodded in agreement, after all, these were all problems left to her by the previous owner, and she was just an innocent victim.
Unexpectedly, Chu Shao slowly approached her, took her hand, and lightly touched the red marks on her wrist with her cool fingertips. She smiled and said, “You can forget about the past, but you can’t forget our alliance, because we are accomplices, so now you must remember me.”
Xiao Jin looked into Chu Shao’s eyes and was stunned for a moment.
The other party’s touch was very light, and it was slightly itchy, making her subconsciously want to withdraw her hand, but in the end she didn’t.
Because Chu Shao’s eyes were beautiful, when they curved up, they were like the slightly rolled bamboo curtains, revealing an inch of moonlight.
Enchanted by such a gaze, after a while, Xiao Jin withdrew her hand and nodded lightly.
Of course, most of the reason was because she knew that Chu Shao was not normal, so it was undoubtedly the best choice to go along with her words.
Besides, it was quite easy to remember Chu Shao’s face, and it wasn’t a false statement against her will.
Although Xiao Jin withdrew her hand, Chu Shao’s happy mood diminished slightly, but after hearing her words, she raised a satisfied smile.
“Now that I have your highness answer, I can focus on the play.”
The play on the stage was still ongoing, but no one could really tell what it was about, neither the actors nor the audience.
When Bai Zheng raised the statue of Prince Yan, the Fourth Prince’s face became extremely ugly.
What should he thank Xiao Jin for? Thank her for taking his bride away?
He didn’t like Chu Shao. The Emperor gave him the woman that the Crown Prince didn’t want, just to appease the Yao Country’s remnants, which was already enough to make him angry.
And now, halfway through, Xiao Jin came out and publicly stole his woman. It was simply adding insult to injury.
The Crown Prince knew the Fourth Prince’s temperament, but he felt that his actions had become increasingly arrogant lately, and it was time to suppress him.
So he said to the fourth prince, “Fourth brother, apologize to Miss Bai and come back to the palace with me. The empress Mu has also been thinking of you recently. Besides, Princess Zhao Yang is about to return to the capital, don’t make her worry.”
Although his words were gentle, the moment he mentioned the empress Mu and Princess Zhao Yang, the fourth prince’s arrogance immediately dissipated.
Considering that Princess Zhao Yang was about to return, the fourth prince gritted his teeth and reluctantly bowed to Bai Zheng, saying, “Miss Bai, today’s events were caused by my palace. Please forgive me.”
Bai Zheng smiled and said, “It was my fault for not being a good host. Thank you, Fourth Prince, for your understanding.”
With that, the matter was settled. Xiao Jin, who was watching the drama from the building, was surprised.
She only knew that Princess Zhao Yang had great power in the original text, but she didn’t know that her name was so powerful. Even the usually proud fourth prince had to back down.
The meaning behind the crown prince’s words was clear: Princess Zhao Yang is returning to the capital and if you continue to cause trouble, she won’t be pleased.
Just a simple “not pleased,” but the crown prince made it sound so serious. It’s clear that Princess Zhao Yang is indeed powerful, even more so than the emperor himself. It’s no wonder that after the marriage incident, the emperor only mildly reprimanded her.
Xiao Jin secretly marveled at how fortunate the original owner was to have such a powerful ally.
At the same time, she was also puzzled as to why Princess Zhao Hua and Princess Zhao Yang would protect the original owner.
Regardless, the outcome was good. The farce ended and the fourth prince left with a group of guards, his face dark.
In the hall, although Su Tan had been trying to reduce her presence, before leaving, the crown prince looked around the Yanyu Building and then glanced at her thoughtfully for a moment.
Perhaps he felt it wasn’t polite to stare at a young lady for too long, so he withdrew his gaze and politely chatted with Bai Zheng for a while before leaving with his guards.
However, as the crown prince passed by Su Tan, she caught a faint smell of peppermint on him. She instantly thought of the dozens of pots of peppermint that Xiao Jin had put outside the pharmacy and narrowed her eyes.
But on the surface, she had to put her thoughts aside and, along with everyone else, said, “Farewell to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
After the crown prince left, Bai Zheng’s smile gradually faded.
 She turned around and looked at every room on each floor of the building, as well as the bamboo curtains hanging in the corridor, then sighed softly.
Bai Zheng looked at Su Tan, who was sitting in a wheelchair, for a long time, and slowly said, “The weather is good today, and it is not raining outside. You can rest assured to leave.”
Su Tan was slightly stunned, then arched her hand and said, “Thank you, Miss Bai.”
…
South of Liang ciao Street, Yang Joao Alley.
It is rumored that this street used to be haunted a few years ago, so compared to other streets and alleys, the streets are a bit deserted.
Su Tan slowly shook the wheelchair and came here.
Seeing Chu Shao standing under the shade of a tree and looking at Xiao Jin, who was hugged by her, she was not surprised at all.
If Xiao Jin dared to appear in the bustling market north of Liang Qiao Street in this posture, that would be really strange.
The real master of the wheelchair came, and Su Tan no longer pretended to be disabled, and got up from the wheelchair decisively.
For her, there was nothing inappropriate about this. It just shocked the calligrapher who sold paintings. He rubbed his eyes subconsciously, thinking that he was seeing things.
Xiao Jin left Chu Shao’s arms and sat back in her own wheelchair. She suddenly felt much more comfortable.
Su Tan stood on the side, thinking about what had just happened, and was a little confused for a while.
There were too many doubts and mysteries, not to mention the meaningful sentence “The most noble person in Qi country.” If the Emperor Qi wanted to assassinate his own son, it would be too absurd.
Thinking about it, Su Tan found that all of this seemed to have nothing to do with her. It was just because Chu Shao was now Xiao Jin’s wife that she thought more about it.
Now she also wanted to know Xiao Jin’s thoughts, and couldn’t help asking, “What do you want to do next, Your Highness Yan?”
Considering that Xiao Jin’s clothes were stained with a little wine, and the weather in the capital was cold, and she was also suffering from a serious illness, Chu Shao was holding a moon-white coat that she didn’t know where she had stolen, and she was very considerate to put it on Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin did not answer immediately, but opened her hands and leaned on the wheelchair, allowing Chu Shao to put on her coat. Even Su Tan couldn’t help but fall silent.
For a while, Su Tan didn’t know whether to sympathize with Xiao Jin’s legs or admire this person’s strong mentality.
Since Chu Shao broke the door with a fan at Yanyu Building earlier, Su Tan felt that Xiao Jin was really amazing.
Xiao Jin had destroyed Yao Country and was the biggest enemy of Yao Country Princess.
Chu Shao’s martial arts were so strong, and she was staying by her side, but Xiao Jin could still be as stable as Mount Tai, which was really admirable.
After Chu Shao straightened out Xiao Jin’s clothes and covered the dark wine stains on her snow robe, Xiao Jin finally replied, “Let’s go eat now.”
Su Tan: ?
She almost thought she had misheard.
However, Xiao Jin’s tone was very serious, and she looked at the sky that was about to sink, feeling that eating now was the only option for both lunch and dinner.
She looked up and found Su Tan looking at her with a very complicated expression.
Xiao Jin met Su Tan’s gaze and felt a little confused.
Could it be true?
Do paper people really not get hungry?
…
As it turned out, paper people could get hungry too.
It’s just that Su Tan never expected that, after experiencing half a day of danger and excitement, Xiao Jin would still have the appetite to eat.
If it were her, she would have thoroughly investigated the gift from Bai Zheng, the Spring Mountain, multiple times. She would also investigate the guards involved in the matter and who informed the Fourth Prince of the secret.
However, Xiao Jin had a good attitude and felt that these things couldn’t be figured out in a short time, so she became more indifferent.
She was calm enough to put on a coat and go to Yang Joao Street to find food, wearing a snow-white robe stained with wine.
Fortunately, ordinary people rarely saw the true face of the Prince Yan, and even if they had the opportunity, they would not dare to look closely.
Otherwise, if she was recognized at this time, Xiao Jin would be very embarrassed.
The three of them walked for a long time.
The wheels rolled over the thin snow on the ground, and Chu Shao slowly pushed the wheelchair. She felt that the further they walked towards the end of the alley, the darker the sky became.
It wasn’t until she saw the row of lanterns hung by bamboo poles in the food stall that Chu Shao was slightly stunned, realizing that she had not walked too far but too long.
The business inside the store was not booming, but there were a few scattered diners.
Seeing customers come, the girl in the food stall waved and smiled at them, calling out, “Miss and gentlemen, come in and sit down!”
Xiao Jin nodded, thinking that no matter what era it was, the way to attract customers was always “come in and sit down.”
There were other customers inside the store, which was actually harmless, but when Xiao Jin glanced at Chu Shao, she finally chose to sit outside.
After all, the owner of this shop seemed quite kind. If the customers inside accidentally offended Chu Shao, there might be some bloodshed today, and this business would not be able to continue.
They ordered three bowls of water tofu. Xiao Jin sat bored on the wheelchair, waiting, her hands getting somewhat cold.
She wanted to pick up the cup to warm her hands, but found that it was made of pottery. The heat conductivity was slow, and she couldn’t warm her hands. So she had to put it down in disappointment.
Chu Shao saw Xiao Jin pick up and put down the cup, and stared at the clay cup curiously, wondering what was so mysterious about it.
After staring at it for a while and not seeing anything special, when she smiled and looked up, she found that there was an extra hand and a bowl of hot water tofu in front of her.
The tofu brain in the blue and white porcelain bowl shook gently, white and bright, delicate as mutton fat jade.
A spoonful of braised sauce was poured on top, and some chili oil was added, along with scallions and salt grains. It looked great even on a snowy winter day.
The delicious food was right in front of her, but Chu Shao seemed to be stunned.
Seeing this, Xiao Jin abandoned the idea of having Chu Shao hold the bowl to warm her hands, and simply placed the porcelain bowl in front of her, saying calmly, “Eat it while it’s hot.”
Xiao Jin had confidence in this soybean curd shop.
This was because in the original novel, the male lead brought the female lead to this shop to eat water tofu. Through the author’s description, it was clear that the male lead thought it was delicious.
It should be noted that the male lead was the Prince of Qi and usually ate exquisite delicacies. If he thought it was delicious, then it must be good.
But Su Tan looked at the bowl of tofu pudding on the table and wrinkled her brows slightly, surprised, “So the water tofu of Qi is really salty?”
Xiao Jin: “…”
She fell silent, because she remembered the North-South debate about whether to eat sweet or salty tofu pudding on the internet.
So, Qi was in the north and Yao was in the south – did people in Yao only eat sweet tofu pudding?
Xiao Jin calculated and calculated, but never expected that a historical fiction would still have such regional characteristics. So the question was, did the female lead really enjoy the tofu pudding that the male lead brought her to eat?
Recalling the scene from the original novel, she vaguely remembered that it was written like this:
“It was snowing, and Xiao Yu brought Chu Shao to Yangjiaoxiang.
This was his favorite alley when he was young. Regardless of the season, he would come here for a walk, drink a cup of tea, and eat a bowl of water tofu.
Today, Chu Shao, the woman he had chosen to be his lifelong partner, the future empress of Yao, and the future queen of Qi, was sitting beside him.
So Xiao Yu placed his favorite bowl of food in front of Chu Shao.
Under the snow lantern, her features were particularly beautiful. She nodded gently and began to eat the water tofu.”
The other person’s facial features looked very attractive under the snow lantern. She nodded lightly and began to eat the water tofu.
It was snowing heavily in Northern Qi.
As Xiao Yu talked about childhood memories, Chu Shao ate her bowl of tofu pudding. She put down her chopsticks only when the bowl was empty and wiped her lips with a white handkerchief.
Xiao Yu finished the story and asked, “Is it good?”
Chu Shao smiled and replied while looking at the thin snow on the lantern, “It’s very good, but I’m more curious about the story His Highness told and the ending of that person.”
Xiao Yu shook his head and said, “There is no ending, it’s just a snowfall.”
To this day, Xiao Jin still doesn’t know what story the male lead told. But she knows that the female lead probably found it hard to swallow the food she ate during the meal.
It was really hard for Chu Shao, she ate a bowl of food that was completely unsuited to her taste and still smiled and replied to the conversation.
At that time, Xiao Jin didn’t understand how fake the relationship was between the male and female leads, but now she finally understands.
After realizing this, she not only felt embarrassed for the male lead, but also for herself.
She was thinking about how to ask the restaurant to exchange the salty bean curd pudding for sweet bean curd pudding, but she didn’t expect Chu Shao to start eating with a smile when she came back to her senses.
The effect of the anesthetic hadn’t worn off yet, so Xiao Jin could only cough to cover up her embarrassment and whispered to Chu Shao, “If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to force yourself.”
Chu Shao’s spoon was filled with soft and tender tofu pudding, and she raised her eyebrows slightly, with a smile on her lips.
Perhaps because there were other people in the restaurant and it was not appropriate to use her title, she leaned close to Xiao Jin’s ear and whispered, “Why does your highness think that this humble princess is forcing herself?”
The voice she spoke was very soft, but in the cold winter, her breath felt a bit hot.
Xiao Jin felt uneasy and subconsciously leaned to the side and coughed again. “It’s difficult to please everyone. If you don’t like it, you can change it to a different flavor.”
Chu Shao smiled at Xiao Jin. “But this flavor seems quite unique and intriguing to me, and it makes me very excited.”
Xiao Jin couldn’t help but start to wonder if Chu Shao had changed her nationality or if she was a different person altogether.
Su Tan ate two spoonfuls and her expression became somewhat complex.
She swore to defend the dignity of sweet tofu pudding, so she said to Chu Shao, “If you eat a few more spoonfuls, maybe you won’t be looking forward to it anymore.”
Xiao Jin agreed. “Why don’t we change it to something sweet then?”
Chu Shao refused with a smile. “No, I like it salty.”
Xiao Jin: “…”
She stopped struggling and couldn’t understand Chu Shao’s thought process. In the end, she just said, “As long as the princess is happy.”
The girl scooping tofu pudding next to them had a smile on her face and thought that today’s guests were strange and couldn’t quite understand what they were talking about.
The sky had completely darkened, and the lanterns outside the eatery had flickered on one by one.
After finishing the tofu pudding, Xiao Jin felt warm all over and temporarily forgot about her remaining lifespan of less than a day and the still ongoing clipped tone.
It started snowing at night. Perhaps because it was close to the new year, the girl from the eatery was carrying a stool and hung a bright-colored lantern on a bamboo pole.
The lantern and a few snow lanterns were tightly packed together. Although there were no candles placed in them, the colors were vibrant enough to be pleasing to the eye.
Xiao Jin wiped the corners of her mouth and looked up at the unlit lantern, asking, “Miss, when will this lantern light up?”
The girl from the eatery stood on the stool and smiled at her. “It will light up during the new year. But it won’t be long now, and the lanterns will light up everywhere on New Year’s Eve. You can go up to the mountain and look down. It will look like the Milky Way has fallen from the sky. It’s really beautiful!”
Xiao Jin, as a transmigrator, also had some yearning for the scene described by the girl from the eatery.
It was just a pity that in the original work, the lanterns in the Northern Qi palace were decorated with tassels and ropes.
And they were exquisitely crafted and expensive palace lanterns, not the simple and plain colored lanterns.
Because the original owner’s identity was a prince, she would definitely be spending the new year in the palace.
It would be beautiful to see that colored lantern light up, but she probably wouldn’t have the chance to see it again.
Xiao Jin felt a little regretful, but when she moved her gaze away, she noticed that Chu Shao was still staring at the dim colored lantern.
The night and the candlelight inside the lantern merged together. Chu Shao turned around, and her lips still curved deliberately, but her eyebrows and eyes were so beautiful that they seemed unreal.
While Xiao Jin was lost in thought, Chu Shao smiled gently and whispered, “Let’s go back.”
After Xiao Jin snapped out of her trance, she nodded and said, “Let’s go back.”
However, when Chu Shao held onto the cold bamboo joint of the wheelchair, Xiao Jin said to her indifferently, “There will be another chance, come and see it next time.”
The wheelchair paused for a moment.
After a moment, a smiling voice came from behind the wheelchair, “Alright, I believe you.” Chu Shao knew this was a lie, so she smiled and said another lie.
That was fair.
…
At night, the snow in the capital became heavier.
The palace maids and eunuchs shivered outside the palace, their hands stiff from the cold, but they could not go back to their rooms to warm up because Princess Zhao Hua was standing in front of them wearing a fox fur coat. They did not dare to leave first.
They were waiting for two people to come back.
In fact, everyone in the capital was waiting for one of them to return.
It wasn’t until the snow was about to cover the umbrella surface in the eunuchs’ hands that the sound of horseshoes came from outside the palace. The eunuchs and palace maids did not dare to look up at the smiling face of Princess Zhao Hua.
They knew that both carriages had a shiny silver pearl on their roofs, a power and glory that they could not reach in their lifetime. Therefore, the only thing they could do was to kneel down on the snowy bricks and shout at the two carriages, “Welcome back, Your Highness Zhao Yang, and welcome back, Lady Shu Fei!”
Author’s note: Happy Lantern Festival to everyone!
(P.S. In ancient China, the emperor’s daughter was called a princess, and his sisters were called “long princess.” His aunts were called “great long princess,” and the “long princess” was just a title for the emperor’s sisters and was not related to their birth order.)
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution between 2022-02-1423:59:35~2022-02-1523:58:06.
TO BE CONTINUE…
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