Shuyi didn't react for a moment. "Not getting jealous just shows our young lady is virtuous and magnanimous, doesn't it? The Queen chose our young lady to be the Crown Princess because she thought our young lady would be able to manage the harem in the future. It's precisely this quality that the Queen values in her."
"In public, one naturally has to be virtuous and generous. But in private, His Highness the Crown Prince hopes that the Crown Princess acts and speaks out of affection. His Highness has always gotten along with the Crown Princess like this in private. But our Crown Princess is too rational. His Highness has never felt being favored. Yet he can't say it explicitly, nor can he blame the Crown Princess. So he can only sulk on his own."
As Qiluo spoke, her hands didn't stop working.
Her tone was casual, giving the impression that she wasn't particularly concerned about the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.
She just happened to notice and mentioned it in passing.
She knew very well that being too smart in front of her master wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Especially since she was extremely beautiful. If she outshone Shuyi in everything, over time, people would inevitably suspect that she had the intention of rising to power by virtue of her looks.
Even if the Crown Princess didn't mind, the Crown Prince would.
So she just needed to play her role appropriately at the right time.
Cheng Simian was dazed for a moment after hearing Shuyi's words.
She tried to think about the emotional issues between her and the Crown Prince from another perspective.
Suddenly, she saw the light.
It turned out that from the very beginning, they had different ways of thinking when it came to the issue of Jiang Xiyu.
They each thought their own thoughts and said their own things, both feeling that the other didn't understand them.
Cheng Simian couldn't help but smile.
She always thought she was clear - headed and rational about matters of the heart. It turned out that being too rational wasn't necessarily a good thing.
True to the saying, those involved are often blind, while onlookers see clearly.
Qiluo was much more perceptive than her.
The Crown Prince returned but hesitated when he reached the door of the bedroom.
The pent - up anger in his heart hadn't subsided yet.
He was happy that Mianmian had understood his hint and given him a way out.
It meant that Mianmian didn't really want to be angry with him.
But he wasn't sure at all whether he could communicate well with Mianmian once he went in.
Just when he was in a dilemma, Qiluo walked over.
"Your Highness, you're here..."
The little girl looked as if she had something hard to say.
"Is the Crown Princess asleep?" His expression was a bit unnatural.
Qiluo forced a smile. "Your Highness, perhaps you should sleep elsewhere tonight. The Crown Princess is really angry. This servant is afraid that if you go in now, you'll..."
"Is she angry with this lonely one?" The Crown Prince immediately became nervous.
Qiluo was silent, which was an implicit admission.
The personal maid of Mianmian would never lie.
The Crown Prince was no longer angry at all. All he felt was fear.
Mianmian was so kind - hearted, magnanimous, and yet he wasn't satisfied. He even lost his temper with her because of another woman!
He wanted to slap himself.
Hadn't he gotten enough from Mianmian?
The fact that Mianmian had decided to stay by his side was already a huge surprise.
Why wasn't he satisfied?
Trying to have everything might lead to losing everything in the end!
The Crown Prince was extremely remorseful.
A red glow shone through the window screen of the bedroom. The lonely figure seemed to be full of grievances. His heart was pierced like a knife.
Apologize. He had to go in immediately and apologize to Mianmian!
Qiluo chased after him and mentioned again, "This servant sincerely requests Your Highness not to use Miss Jiang to test the Crown Princess anymore. It's very difficult for her. The Crown Princess doesn't want rumors to spread that the Crown Prince mistreats the meritorious officials. But she also thinks it's too cruel to ask Your Highness to send Miss Jiang away. So the Crown Princess can only persuade Your Highness to keep Miss Jiang. But doing so has hurt the feelings between husband and wife. The Crown Princess has so much pain that she can't express."
After hearing this, only two words remained in the Crown Prince's mind.
Apologize. Apologize to Mianmian!
Throughout this whole thing, the one who was the most troubled and aggrieved was clearly Mianmian!
Where did he get the nerve to blame Mianmian for not getting jealous?
He pushed open the door. Cheng Simian was sitting on the small couch, playing with the candle flame. When she saw the Crown Prince, she quickly turned her back to him.
She only showed him an angry back.
The Crown Prince almost didn't hesitate at all. He took a big step forward and hugged her from behind.
At this moment, the words that Liang Yuzhou often said came to his mind.
"In the face of love, especially when facing the woman you love the most, you can't be too concerned about your dignity."
"I'm sorry, Mianmian. It's all this lonely one's stupidity that has made you suffer such grievances."
He put aside his pride, but Cheng Simian didn't seem to appreciate it. She turned her head to the side, cold and stubborn, not looking at him.
The arm around her waist tightened a bit. The man's face got closer, with a bit of careful flattery.
Cheng Simian moved her neck slightly, avoiding his intimacy.
"Your Highness came here for the Mingxi Poetry Collection, didn't you?"
The bright - eyed and white - toothed woman became even more charming under the flickering candlelight.
But her eyes were full of resentment, as if she had endured for a long time but hadn't received understanding and consideration. Finally, her grievances overflowed.
Even more wonderful was the glint of tears in her eyes.
It tugged at the Crown Prince's heart, making him feel more pain and self - blame.
"This lonely one is ungrateful. Mianmian can say whatever punishment this lonely one should receive. This lonely one will have no objections!"
"Your Highness is so noble. How dare this subject's wife punish Your Highness? Isn't that overstepping one's bounds?"
The polite and distant tone was almost tearing the Crown Prince's heart apart.
Subject's wife!
When had Mianmian ever referred to herself as a subject's wife when they were alone?
She was really angry!
The Crown Prince even had the thought of kneeling down.
Qiluo knocked on the door. "Crown Princess, the midnight snack is ready."
"Bring it in," Cheng Simian said.
Eight maids filed in, carrying plates and bowls.
The yellow pear - wood dining table was soon filled.
At a glance, there were all light and crispy side dishes, no greasy and hard - to - digest big fish and meat.
"Your Highness, this subject's wife didn't eat much at dinner. I'm a bit hungry now. You don't mind if I eat something first, do you?"
The Crown Prince's lips curled up happily. "This lonely one will eat with you."
It wasn't that Mianmian wanted to eat the midnight snack. It was clearly that she still cared about him.
All the dishes on the table were his favorites.
As soon as he came back, they had an argument.
He had gone to review memorials in a fit of anger and hadn't even eaten dinner.
Cheng Simian didn't refuse.
The Crown Prince sat down first. Just as Cheng Simian was about to sit opposite him, he grabbed her.
He used a bit too much strength. Cheng Simian staggered and sat on his lap.
Her cheeks burned. She quickly struggled to get up, but the man held her down tightly.
"Why go so far away? Just eat here."
The dignified Crown Prince actually behaved like a playboy.
If there weren't so many servants inside and outside the room, she really would have thrown the words "shameless" in his face.
It was really indecent to sit on a man's lap and eat.
The Crown Prince refused to let go, so she had to sit next to him.
"This lonely one will punish himself to drink three cups to apologize to Mianmian."
The wine Cheng Simian had prepared tonight was grape wine. It had a mellow taste but wasn't strong. It was most suitable for a little drink before going to bed.
After three cups, the Crown Prince finally saw a trace of a smile in his lover's eyes.
"To have a wife like this is this lonely one's greatest fortune. It's this lonely one's ungratefulness that has hurt Mianmian's feelings."
Now that everything had been said, Cheng Simian couldn't act aloof anymore.
Actually, she wasn't really angry.
Everything just now was just a play she and Qiluo had acted out.
The Crown Prince really thought she hadn't eaten enough and picked a lot of dishes for her.
A soft little hand covered the back of his hand.
The Crown Prince stopped what he was doing. "Mianmian?"
Cheng Simian looked at him sincerely and affectionately.
"Lu Sihong, I've never doubted the purity of your love for me. The promise of favoring only me in the harem has deeply touched me. My husband, Lu Sihong, has given me such a promise, and I believe he will love only me seriously. But the Crown Prince can't do that. In the future, if the harem is imbalanced, the court will be even more chaotic. As Lu Sihong's wife, I hope we can be a loving couple for a lifetime. But as the Crown Princess, I can't bewitch the Crown Prince into exclusive favor. Otherwise, when you ascend the throne in the future, I will become the evil queen condemned by people."
She clearly distinguished between emotions and reason.
Although she had thought about these words countless times in her mind, when she really said them in front of the Crown Prince, her heart was filled with bitterness.
She knew that this time, she was really jealous.
"The night of an emperor never belongs to any single woman."
"This lonely one doesn't care about other emperors, but this lonely one's night belongs only to Mianmian."
"Lu Sihong..."
"Mianmian, this lonely one knows it's easy to say this but difficult to do. But this lonely one has been serious from the very beginning. It's not just empty talk.
In the past, to balance the forces of the great noble families and maintain the relationship between the noble families and the royal family, it was really necessary for the daughters of these noble families to enter the harem. But this lonely one has already thought that if a new dynasty is established, many academies will be set up, and more talents from the imperial examinations will be recruited, so that the children from poor families will also have the opportunity to study and take the imperial examinations.
The noble families have monopolized high - ranking official positions for too long, and there are many drawbacks. Father Emperor's greatest worry is also that the power of the noble families is too great. But he is no longer able to carry out reforms. This heavy burden has been handed over to this lonely one by Father Emperor.
This lonely one can't let down the will of heaven above, nor the common people below. And this lonely one can't let down his lawfully - wedded wife either."
Cheng Simian was extremely shocked.
She didn't expect that the Crown Prince had already made up his mind to reform the court.
Every step of his growth was down - to - earth and goal - oriented.
He had already made the best arrangement for exclusive favor in the harem for her.
"The power of the noble families is deeply rooted. I'm afraid the road to reform will be full of difficulties."
The Crown Prince held Cheng Simian's hand tightly. "With Mianmian accompanying this lonely one through thick and thin, what else does this lonely one have to fear?"
...
Liang Yuzhou hadn't gone out much recently. He had been recuperating from his injuries.
Song Wanchu accompanied him in Yunshen Alley.
When changing the dressing today, the wound on his shoulder had healed about 70%.
"Liang Yuzhou, promise me that this is the last time you get injured for me."
He could have dodged that knife, but he had rushed forward on purpose.
It was to make Lu Ningzhen's crime even more heinous.
The truth about the incident of the heart's blood had been revealed, which actually cleared Song Wanchu's name.
Since then, there had been no more rumors about her in the capital.
Liang Yuzhou stared into Song Wanchu's eyes and solemnly swore, "I will use my life to protect you."
Song Wanchu sighed.
Forget it. It was like talking to the wind.
"Brother's letter has arrived again. Winter comes early in the northern border. It has already snowed twice."
The letter also mentioned a lot of other things.
Yaoguang had returned to the Gaochang Kingdom and gathered her former subordinates.
The army for restoring the country already had 30,000 people.
They had successively recaptured some important cities.
The Hu people were afraid but reluctant to give up the ruling power of the Gaochang Kingdom. They were gathering troops and constantly hoarding food.
There would surely be a great battle in the spring of next year.
The two chatted for a while. Yinglan and Xiahe, who had gone out, came back.
"Has Yu Huiyan been sent away?"
Yinglan replied, "Replying to madam, everything has been arranged properly. She will first take a carriage to Suzhou and then take a waterway to Yuhang. The people there will receive the letter and settle Miss Yu well."
After hearing this, Song Wanchu felt relieved.
The feud between her and Yu Huiyan had finally come to an end.
For the last time, Yu Huiyan had seized the opportunity for redemption.
"There's also something. Miss Yu asked this servant to give it to madam."
Yinglan took out a small brocade box from the parcel.
"Miss Yu said that this thing doesn't belong to her. She wants to return it to the person who really deserves it."
Song Wanchu took it and opened it.
It was that bright - red agate bracelet.