“It is all my fault. Because of me, Chumu fought against Lu Qi. Now that he is Lu Yunji’s assistant general, Lu Yunji must be bullying him.”
“That is not true.” Consort Han rebutted, “Even if the battle had not occurred, the Lu family is not on good terms with the Sheng family. I am just worried for Chumu since this is his first time in the battlefield.”
“The Duke of Lu holds a high position in court. Did he not ask anyone to take care of Chumu?”
When it came to Sheng Chumu, Fu Rou was willing to try anything.
Consort Han told her that their family had already tried. However, Lu Yunji was extreme and transferred all of her father’s friends to other battalions. He even came up with excuses to send away the guards that the Duke Lu sent to Sheng Chumu. Chumu could only rely on himself now.
Fu Rou had expected things to be difficult but did not expect it to be so difficult.
Fu Rou’s eyes reflected her concern and Consort Han continued to console her. “You don’t have to worry too much. My brother is smart and he can take care of himself. Although he did not mention you in his letter, I know it is because he doesn’t want us to tell you anything and make you worry. All you have to do is take good care of yourself in the palace; that would be his greatest wish.”
Fu Rou broke into a smile and nodded. Fu Rou left Consort Han and was heading to the main hall when she heard someone call, “Sister-in-law”. Sheng Chuling jumped out in front of Fu Rou. Fu Rou was startled.
“Sister-in-law, come with me.” Sheng Chuling pulled Fu Rou to the side. Acting secretive, he fished out a peace knot. “Sister-in-law, you are a palace lady and can walk around freely. Could you help me give this to Princess Xinnan?”
Chapter 15.2: Depth
A few days ago, Sheng Chuling and Princess Xinnan caused a commotion at Qinglou Winehouse. The Empress found out about it and wanted to punish Sheng Chuling. However, Princess Xinnan took responsibility and was caned.
Fu Rou heard that Princess Xinnan went to Qinglou Winehouse and was disguised as a guy. Sheng Chuling happened to be there at that time and stood up to protect Xinnan. Eventually, he fought with others. By the time she heard about this issue, the situation had already been resolved and she did not have a chance to ask what happened. Now, she was interested.
“This peace knot is so ugly, I bet you made this yourself. What is going on between you and the Princess?” The fact that the both of them were in the same place could not have been a coincidence.
“Sister-in-law, you are such a smart person and can definitely guess what is going on. Don’t make fun of me.” Sheng Chuling was awkward.
“Oh, hearing you say that made me think of another thing. Recently, there have been a few cases of kites flying into the palace after getting cut off from their string. There were words written on the kites and Princess Xinnan said that the kites were all hers. Anyone who picked up a kite has to send it to her palace. She would even reward them. Are you the cause of this?” There was definitely something going on between these two.
“Really? She really said that all the kites belong to her?” Sheng Chuling was overjoyed. “Then she definitely must have seen the…”
Sheng Chuling tugged on Fu Rou’s sleeve. “Sister-in-law. Please help me. You have to help me give this peace knot to her.”
Fu Rou laughed, “How old are you? You are still trying to act cute. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Sheng Chuling was unfazed. His skin was too thick. “Elder Brother said that he would definitely marry you. Since you are my future sister-in-law, there is a saying that an elder sister-in-law’s is like another mother. Therefore, you are like a mother to me—"
Fu Rou could not bear to listen to him any longer as she grabbed the peace knot and walked away. The three Sheng brothers all like to depend on others. They all spoke too well and no one could win against them. She had no idea that someone had already leaked out that Prince Zhou snuck her out of the palace.
Sun Lingshu carried a bowl of ginseng soup as she entered the Crown Prince’s study. Sun Lingshu sat by the side quietly until the Crown Prince was done giving his instructions before serving the ginseng soup to him.
When she first entered the palace, she did not feel anxious and believed that she would take things as they come. Other than their wedding night, the Crown Prince had never once been to her palace. She did not know what to do and did not know whether it was a problem with her or the Crown Prince was simply too busy. The Crown Prince finally looked up and smiled at Sun Lingshu. “I am sorry for making you wait, Crown Princess. It smells amazing.”
Sun Lingshu told herself that the Crown Prince must be too busy. He smiled warmly towards her and must like her.
She smiled back warmly. “Drink it while it is hot.”
Yet, just as the Crown Prince was about to drink the soup, his attendant handed him a slip of paper.
When the Crown Prince looked through it, he snorted. “Just because my Imperial Father dotes on Third Brother, he does whatever he wants. He actually brought a palace lady out of the palace. Let’s see what he has to say for himself when I report this to my Imperial Father tomorrow.”
Sun Linghus heard this and thought to herself. Isn’t that Fu Rou?
She thought about how she still owed Fu Rou and said, “Your Highness, pardon me for asking but will that be too harsh? Prince Zhou has the Emperor’s favor and although it is not appropriate, it is also not a crime. When the Emperor hears about this, he will reprimand Prince Zhou, but will also start to think that you are narrow-minded and want to drive a wedge between him and your brothers. You will win a little but stand to lose a lot. Moreover, Head Seamstress Fu caught the Empress’ eye and was brought into the palace. If she gets into trouble, Mother will lose face and the Han Mansion will also be implicated. We will stand to lose a lot.”
The Crown Prince nodded. “Not bad, I will listen to you and drop this matter.” As he said this, he brought the spoon to Sun Lingshu’s mouth. “Crown Princess, you are bright and it is my good fortune to have you by my side.”
Sun Lingshu giggled shyly and drank the soup. “It is my fortune to be able to accompany you, Your Highness. The sky is turning dark, we should rest early.”
The Crown Prince lowered the spoon. “I still have some things to settle before I can head to bed. You can go first. If you stay here, I will be distracted and may not be able to finish my work before the sun rises.”
Sun Lingshu was disappointed. It was always this lukewarm attitude that made her feel helpless.
Sun Lingwei noticed that her sister’s mood was not great after she had returned from the Crown Prince’s place. Without saying a second word, she brought her sister out into the Imperial Garden to play hide-and-seek. Sun Lingshu started to feel happier once again when someone coughed --
“Who is making such a big commotion?”
Sun Lingshu turned around and immediately hid her smile.
Official Situ walked up to Sun Lingshu. Her expression did not change as she greeted, “Your Highness is the official wife of the future leader of this country. You are the owner of the Eastern Palace. Your words and actions have to abide strictly by the rules. You should not laugh loudly or conduct yourself so ungracefully. You are ruining the reputation of the Eastern Palace.”
“You are just a servant. How dare you speak to my sister in such an insolent manner!” In Sun Lingwei’s eyes, her sister was perfect. She even managed to become the Crown Princess and will be the future Empress. She married into the Royal Family so gloriously and everyone should respect her.