At night, the Phoenix Tower was bustling with people, singing and dancing. There were lights inside the building and a sky full of stars outside. Han Bo came down from Fangfei Garden excitedly, his whole body full of joy.
Xuesong was a little confused: "Did you win the bet today? Or did Baohui treat you well? Why are you so happy?"
Han Bo sighed, put his hands behind his back and shook his head at him: "No, it's not that. It was a reward from our little prince. It's not much, just one hundred taels."
Xuesong's eyes widened, but he calmed down immediately - Han Bo came at the right time, just after Miss Wei Qi accepted the invitation of her young prince.
He patted his shoulder, determined not to tell Han Bo the reason why he received the reward, and ran upstairs to find Shen Chen.
Emperor Longqing originally wanted to keep Shen Chen in the palace, saying that he would let him return to his ancestral home after discussing it with the court officials. However, since Shen Chen was a playboy who didn't know how to appreciate good people, he naturally couldn't stand the loneliness, and ran away from the palace after less than two days of being well-behaved.
Xuesong got permission outside the door and stopped at the door. Seeing the joy on Shen Chen's face, he couldn't help but feel happy too.
He knew that Shen Chen just kept silent. Chu Jingxing's matter made him feel uncomfortable. Now Miss Wei Qi came over and made Shen Chen so happy, so he smiled and said, "Prince, you are going to set up your own family anyway. By then, you will be the Marquis of Pingxi. Why not get closer to Princess Shouning?"
Wei Qi was a pretty good mistress. She was smart and clever, and most importantly, she was very kind to the servants.
Shen Chen was a little stunned by what he said.
Close relatives? !
For some reason, after figuring out the meaning of these four words, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his ears, and his heartbeat quickened. Seeing Xuesong still smiling foolishly, he couldn't help but cough and pretended to be calm, scolding him, "Nonsense! Can you say these things carelessly? If they get out, it will tarnish Miss Wei Qi's reputation!"
But he didn't know why, but he felt that something was breaking through the soil and tenaciously starting to take root and sprout.
yes.
There is nothing wrong with being close to each other.
His thoughts jumped from here to there, and from there to here. He was struggling with this, when Xuesong approached him with a confused look on his face and shouted.
Shen Chen subconsciously dodged behind the shout and asked him unhappily, "What's the matter?!"
Xuesong glanced at him helplessly, lowered his head and muttered softly: "What are you thinking about? Are you thinking so deeply? I called you several times and you didn't respond..." Seeing that Shen Chen's expression was about to change, he smiled quickly: "The Third Master is here to see you."
Normally in private, they don't call Shen Chen and Chu Jingwu Prince, but distinguish them by their ranking.
Shen Chen said "oh" and asked Xuesong to invite the person up. He leaned back in his chair and frowned.
As soon as Chu Jingwu entered the door, he saw him sitting on the terrace in a daze and couldn't help but call him "Second Brother".
This time, Chu Jingxing’s incident made him feel sorry for Shen Chen, and his disgust towards Chu Jingxing deepened. These past few days, he didn’t even want to see Chu Jingxing.
If Princess Linjiang had not been too ill to get out of bed recently, he would not even want to stay at home.
Shen Chen responded, and seeing that he was looking listless with his head down, he knew that he was worried about Chu Jingxing, so he patted his shoulder and said, "He is him and you are you, don't think about the past anymore."
After Chu Jingwu nodded silently, he asked, "Is aunt okay?"
He couldn't call out the word "mother" anymore, but Shen Chen always remembered that Princess Linjiang was the wife of King Linjiang and also his aunt. He called her that in order to feel less resentful.
Chu Jingwu lowered his voice even more, and responded without confidence. He glanced at Shen Chen and sighed, "She is worried. Although she knows that you are just saying harsh words in front of the queen, she still feels embarrassed. In addition, father has been much stricter with my eldest brother recently, which makes her even more uncomfortable."
Shen Chen sighed.
After a pause, he smiled again: "Maybe it will be better when I go to Fujian."
Time and distance may be the best solution. When he saw Chu Jingwu suddenly raised his head, he shook his head firmly at Chu Jingwu: "I will leave for Fujian after the New Year. In fact, this is also good. It is always awkward to stay in the capital. It is better to be farther away, which is also a way to solve the problem."
Chu Jingwu knew what he meant.
Shen Chen wanted to manage Fujian well for King Linjiang so that he could support King Linjiang in recruiting soldiers and horses in his fiefdom, and use Fujian as a retreat in the future. He voluntarily stayed away from the capital and the center of power, so that Chu Jingxing would be less wary of him in the future.
He couldn't tell whether this was useful or not, so he raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, and then when he saw Shen Chen frowning, he ruthlessly revealed the truth: "Second brother, don't comfort yourself. He is not targeting you at all, he is afraid of me."
Shen Chen was somewhat speechless.
What Chu Jingwu said was true.
Perhaps what Chu Jingxing hated the most since he was a child was not this outsider, because Chu Jingxing and everyone else knew that no matter how good King Linjiang was to Shen Chen, it was useless and could not shake the foundation - because Shen Chen was not King Linjiang's blood after all.
But Chu Jingwu is.
Not only that, but he also grew up with the King of Linjiang. Because his elder brother was not around and he was the legitimate son, he was doted on by his parents, but he was not spoiled at all. He had the best teachers to teach him all the way, and he even fought in the wars - he had followed the King of Linjiang to quell the rebellion... ...
Everything Chu Jingxing did to Shen Chen now, in the final analysis, was because he was afraid of Chu Jingwu.
And Shen Chen was close to Chu Jingwu and was particularly favored by King Linjiang, so he became a target for Chu Jingxing to vent his anger.
Chu Jingwu was able to realize this. Shen Chen didn't know whether he should be happy or worried. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Now is not the time to start an internal conflict."
That's why he stopped at the right time and just tore off Chu Jingxing's mask, but did not retaliate further.
Chu Jingwu also understood this point. He sat opposite Shen Chen, took a sip of tea, and looked at Shen Chen softly but firmly with some anger and hatred that had been suppressed for a long time: "Second brother, if he still refuses to change..."
If that happens, he will no longer care about brotherhood.
Shen Chen raised his eyebrows, not knowing how to respond, when Han Bo rushed up from outside: "Prince! Someone has come to the palace. Eunuch An wants you to go in. Let me urge you to hurry up!"
Chu Jingwu stood up with mixed feelings: "Second brother, I think you should go to the palace to talk about recognizing your ancestors. It's already so late today..."
Shen Chen smiled with his hands behind his back.
He will have to support a family on his own in the future, but when he thinks about it, if Wei An can accompany him, he actually has nothing to be afraid of.