Chen Anzhi felt a splitting headache, as if there were two little hammers in his head competing to see who could beat the drum faster. He frowned and shook his head.
"Master, you finally woke up!" The servant looked at the river with a sad face.
"Why did I rest here last night?" Chen Anyi opened his mouth and was surprised at the hoarseness of his voice.
Wang Jiang complained in his heart, "So you knew that I shouldn't have stayed here last night." But how could he dare to say this? He avoided answering and said, "Sir, the princess ordered you to go there as soon as you wake up."
Chen Anzhi propped himself up on the bed, and Wang Jiang hurried to help him. Chen Anzhi walked out of the room, and with every step he took, the chaotic scenes of last night emerged in his mind. He arrived in the outer room and took the face towel handed over by the maid. The soaked cotton towel covered his face, which made him feel much more awake.
Chen An was stunned and the wet handkerchief on his face fell to the ground.
The maid picked up the cotton handkerchief, but couldn't pass it over, so she twisted a new handkerchief and handed it over. The maid held it for a long time, and seeing that Chen Anzhi was still in a daze, she couldn't help but ask, "Master?"
Chen Anzhi took the wet towel and slowly rubbed it over his face. The absurd scenes of last night came back to him one after another. Chen Anzhi frowned: "What time is it?"
"It's the end of the Si hour." Wang Jiang said.
Chen Anzhi had a lot on his mind, so he quickly washed and changed his clothes, and immediately rushed to the Jinnan Princess. As soon as he entered the yard, Gu Ma, who was beside the princess, whispered to him, "The princess is angry, don't contradict her."
Chen Anzhi nodded randomly and continued to walk in. He stepped over the threshold, and before he could say "mother", a teacup shattered at his feet.
Chen Lingyan was startled and uttered a soft "ah".
Fang Qingyi advised gently: "Aunt, don't get angry. Be careful not to get angry and hurt yourself."
Chen Anzhi admitted his mistake very quickly. He bowed and said, "It is my son who was confused and made my mother worried."
"Worried?" The princess shook her head in anger, "You actually treated it as a trivial matter! You thought you had embarrassed her, but in fact, the whole capital was laughing at you and our Jinnan Palace! You know how this marriage came about! Your grandfather the emperor is most concerned about how to stabilize the countries, and you are causing trouble for your grandfather the emperor! If you could understand this, you wouldn't be so foolish. You play all day and don't think about making progress!"
He uttered the last sentence word by word through gritted teeth.
Chen Anzhi frowned, obviously not liking his mother's judgment that he was not enterprising.
How could the princess not see his thoughts? She was so angry that her old migraine flared up. She shook her head in disappointment, "Because of your stupidity, your father went to the palace early in the morning. You are so good that you slept soundly until this hour. Today, it is ridiculous to let the bride come alone to pay respects and offer tea."
The mother and son were not the only ones in the room, and Chen Anzhi was obviously embarrassed by the scolding. However, he knew he was wrong, and did not argue, but only admitted his mistake in a soft tone: "My son really knows he was wrong."
Chen Lingyan pulled her mother's sleeve and begged, "Brother has already known his mistake, mother, please forgive him this time."
Fang Qingyi graciously handed over the throat-soothing tea.
The princess calmed down a little, looked at Chen Anzhi and said in a deep voice: "Anzhi, things are not peaceful now. Don't ruin your father's self-preservation. You should know that in the imperial family, one wrong move will not only lead to the loss of everything, but also the destruction of the whole family!"
Chen Anzhi knelt down solemnly and said solemnly: "I made all the mistakes yesterday because of my confusion. I will go to the palace and apologize to the emperor in person. It was all because of drunkenness. I will never drink so much in the future."
After a long moment, the princess sighed.
After all, they are your own flesh and blood.
Chen Lingyan smiled and winked at her brother. Chen Anzhi hesitated for a moment before standing up.
The princess spoke again: "What do you plan to do with the two prostitutes you summoned into the palace yesterday?"
Chen Anzhi immediately explained: "They are courtesans, not prostitutes."
"I'm asking you what you plan to do with it!" The princess slammed the table, causing the tea utensils on it to make a crisp sound.
Chen Anzhi considered his words carefully before speaking: "The mistress will naturally decide whether to let the concubine stay. If she agrees, she can stay. If she doesn't want to, she can be sent out of the house."
There was no expression on the princess' face. Chen Anzhi took a glance and then looked away, feeling anxious because he was not sure whether his mother agreed with what he said.
There was another long silence.
Nanny Gu came in from outside and when it was time for lunch, she asked whether the meal should be served and also asked whether the prince wanted to stay for lunch.
The princess ordered Chen Anzhi: "Go to Tanxiang Yingyue for lunch."
Chen Anzhi said hurriedly: "My son had planned to do so."
—Tanxiang Yingyue is You Yuji’s courtyard.
Chen Anzhi hesitated and spoke again: "Then... I'll go over first."
The princess sighed. Chen Anzhi didn't dare to turn around and leave.
"An Lang, I am your mother. Even if I am angry with you and scold you, I always favor you. But if Youshi was my daughter, I would cut you into pieces for what you did!" Because she also has a daughter, as long as she thought about what would happen to Chen Lingyan, the Princess of Jinnan felt too much pity in her heart, "If the court had not changed the filial piety system, she would still be in mourning for her father. The country was destroyed and she left her hometown, her father died and her mother was sick, and she had no brothers or younger brothers. How could you, a man of seven feet tall, bully a helpless woman like this? She is the wife who will accompany you for the rest of your life! Fortunately, Youshi is more open-minded. If she was so upset that she threw the white silk and drank a cup of poisoned wine, you would be a murderer!"
Chen Anzhi blushed and his eyes turned red. He said sincerely again: "My son knows he was wrong. He will never drink again and will never make such a mistake again. I will treat her well and make it up to her!"
The princess had a terrible headache and didn't want to speak any more. She waved her hand tiredly. Chen Anzhi had no choice but to wipe her tears and leave.
Fang Qingyi looked at Chen Anzhi's back, and the image of him with red eyes for another woman still appeared in front of her eyes. She placed her hand on her lower abdomen, lowered her eyes sadly, and slowly bit her lip.
When Chen Anzhi arrived at Tanxiang Yingyue, he clearly felt that the servants in the yard were looking at him uncomfortably. He barely ignored it and walked into the house.
You Yuji came towards her while tidying up her hair, and it was obvious that she had just been lying down.
Chen Anzhi said awkwardly: "Are you taking a break? Sorry to bother you."
"I leaned on the couch for a while."
Chen Anzhi nodded randomly, somewhat afraid to face You Yuji. He looked at the soft couch under the window that You Yuji mentioned, with a book on one end and a thin blanket piled next to it. Chen Anzhi imagined a beautiful woman leaning against the couch and reading lazily.
"What are you reading?" Chen Anzhi walked over, picked up the book and found it was a medical book. He was a little surprised and blurted out: "You can understand this?"
He explained randomly: "That's not what I meant..."
You Yuzhi didn't say anything, just looked at Chen Anzhi quietly.
Chen Anzhi became more and more embarrassed because of You Yuji's silence. He held the medical book in his hand, and he was in a dilemma whether to put it down or not. He repeatedly rubbed the corner of the book with his fingertips.
He coughed lightly with an effort to remain calm, but the last syllable of his voice trembled a little, which made his attempt to hide his guilt even more obvious.
You Yuji withdrew her gaze.
She originally thought that she was not prepared and didn't know how to face Chen Anzhi. She originally thought that she would be angry, embarrassed and aggrieved when she met him.
She didn't expect that he was the one who felt uncomfortable everywhere. And she felt so calm in her heart.
The room was still decorated with red wedding decorations, and the mandarin duck wedding characters on the carved windows seemed to have turned into ghost faces to laugh at his predicament. Just when Chen Anzhi was about to give up, You Yuji spoke.
"Has the prince had lunch yet?"
Chen Anzhi replied hastily: "Come and eat with you."
The pillow beside him turned around and gave instructions, and another maid brought the fragrant water for washing hands. Chen Anzhi quickly washed his hands and wiped them with a handkerchief. He turned his head and looked at You Yuji, who had just been rolled up by the maid, revealing a small section of her white wrist, as white as snow. Chen Anzhi slowed down his hand-wiping movements and stared at You Yuji's pair of soft hands in the water.
The flower petals in the porcelain basin floated with the waves, sticking to the back of her fair and smooth hand, and then slid down slowly as she washed, sticking to her slender fingers.
Chen Anzhi withdrew his gaze, but the wet bright red petals were still in front of him, unable to be shaken off.
He listened to the servants setting up the meal outside, thinking that he should take the initiative to say something to her. He knew that he had gone too far yesterday, but the words of apology were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.
Seeing You Yuji walking out, Chen Anzhi followed her and whispered beside her, "If you need anything, just tell me. If you don't like something, you can always ask the people below to buy it for you."
You Yuji nodded. Chen Anzhi looked at her, but saw no other expression, and felt something indescribable.
The two sat down. Chen Anzhi glanced at the food on the table and frowned, "How can the cook fool people with these things? Don't you know that the Crown Prince's wife came from Sidi and prepared more beef and mutton?"
You Yuji took a sip of scented tea, slowly turning the teacup with her slender fingertips, and said, "Although the filial piety system has been changed, my father has been dead for less than a year. I should continue to be a vegetarian for a while. It is indeed wrong to let the prince sit at the same table with me."
Chen An was startled, and immediately felt annoyed, blaming herself for forgetting her late father. But what did she mean? Was she telling him not to come over and dine with her in the future
Chen Anzhi lowered his head and ate the vegetable porridge, feeling more and more unhappy.
He knew he was wrong and came here in a humble manner, but why did she treat him like this? On the way here, he felt uneasy, thinking about how she would cry and blame him, but he never thought that she would treat him like this.
He couldn't tell what was wrong, he just felt uncomfortable all over.
Chen Anzhi's grip on the silver chopsticks gradually tightened until his knuckles turned white.
You Yuji put the bamboo shoots into her mouth and ate them slowly. There was no bamboo shoots in Sidi, but she liked the taste after coming to Chen State.
"There is something..." Chen Anzhi coughed lightly, "I want to keep the two people I called back to the mansion yesterday. They all know that I called them into the mansion, and if I drive them out again, it would be too disrespectful to them..."
How dare you talk about your dignity? Bao He's eyes widened, and he was so angry that he wanted to scratch someone.
"Okay." You Yuji had almost no hesitation.
"What?" Chen Anzhi thought he had heard it wrong.
"Did you arrange the accommodation, or did I?" You Yuji looked at him calmly.
Chen Anzhi opened his mouth and was speechless for a moment.
Wang Jiang came in hurriedly, looking unhappy. He whispered something in Chen Anzhi's ear, and Chen Anzhi's face changed drastically. He put down his chopsticks, turned around and walked out, almost tripping over the threshold.
You Yuji slowly ate another piece of green bamboo shoots.
After finishing her lunch, she told Lady Jing to settle the two prostitutes from last night, then went back to her bed to take a nap. After waking up, she leaned lazily on the soft couch under the window and continued reading the book she had not finished in the morning. In the evening, she left the courtyard with her pillow and walked around the palace to get acquainted with the road.
“Madam!” Bao He came after her breathlessly, “The prince… the prince brought back another concubine!”
You Yuji was surprised. Chen Anzhi left in a hurry at noon, and brought back a concubine in the evening? This is the prince of Chen State who looked down on the behavior of grassland people? You Yuji suddenly found it funny.
She said nothing and continued walking forward, climbing up the stone steps to the pavilion on the rockery, feeling the cool breeze of late autumn and remembering the wind on the grassland.
You Yuji didn't expect to see Si Que.
He was dressed in a snow-white coat, holding a harp, and walking slowly, as elegant and aloof as ever.
You Yuji was a little confused. She knew she would not make the mistake, but she hoped she would. She lifted her skirt and hurried down the steps. A few pieces of gravel fell along the steps and rolled to Si Que's feet.
She stopped halfway and said softly: "Your Highness..."
Si Que stopped, glanced at the stones at his feet, and slowly raised his eyes to look at You Yuji who was standing on the stone steps halfway up the mountain. The cool breeze blew her layers of red skirt backwards, and slowly merged with the red clouds embroidered all over the sky into a vivid picture.
Si Que squinted his eyes against the light and said, "We meet again."
In fact, what he wanted to say was something else.