Chapter 1147 - Chapter 1147 Allies With Their Own Motives
Chapter 1147 Allies With Their Own Motives
Of course, Princess Yuyan had to wait for Chu Qing to teach Shao Wanru a lesson when he came to the Prince Chen’s Mansion tomorrow.
She firmly believed that Chu Qing would lend her a hand as long as she saw him. Even better, Princess Yuyan was thinking about using him to fight back against Shao Wanru.
Since Princess Yuyan and Infanta Yuan’an needed each other, both intended to please the other party. As a result, they talked more and more congenially in the carriage. After this trip, they became as intimate as sisters.
When they arrived at the residence, Princess Yutao jumped out of the carriage first. With sarcasm in her eyes, she looked at the two women supporting each other out of the carriage. She didn’t wait for them to catch up. Instead, she just smiled at Infanta Yuan’an and went straight to the main room.
Infanta Yuan’an was obviously an enemy of Prince Chen’s Mansion. The future Princess Zhou? It turned out that Infanta Yuan’an and Princess Yuyan were birds of a feather. Because of this, Princess Yutao felt a little contempt for Infanta Yuan’an.
Compared with Infanta Yuan’an, she had more faith in the future Princess Yue.
“Princess Yuyan, I have something else to do, so I’ll go back now!” Infanta Yuan’an said, smiling broadly. She achieved her goal of coming here today and successfully established a good relationship with Princess Yuyan. It was not appropriate for her to get too close to the two Xu State princesses at this time. It was enough for her to accompany them to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.
Infanta Yuan’an knew now was the best time to go back — there was certainly a reason why the Empress valued her.
“Please stay a little longer. I happen to have something to ask you.” Princess Yuyan took Infanta Yuan’an’s hand affectionately, not intending to let her return early.
Infanta Yuan’an was familiar with the capital city and didn’t get along well with Shao Wanru. More importantly, she might even know what had happened between Princess Chen and Prince Yue. It was rare for Princess Yuyan to find someone who knew the answers to many of her questions. Thus, Princess Yuyan wanted to pester Infanta Yuan’an for more information. It had been too short a time along the way, and she still had a lot of things to inquire about.
“Your Highness, I’m really sorry. Before I came here, my grandma told me to go back early. The next time I come, I will ask her to let me stay a little longer!” Infanta Yuan’an said with an embarrassed look.
“Are you leaving for real? Won’t you stay a little longer? How about I go to meet Ruiping Great Elder Princess?” Princess Yuyan looked at Infanta Yuan’an with expectation, feeling reluctant to part with her.
Infanta Yuan’an’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly waved her hand. “Grandma is not feeling well. I’m afraid it’s inconvenient for her to receive you now. Let’s do it the next time!”
Her grandma had told her not to take the two princesses from the Xu State to her mansion. At this time, she didn’t want to see them. After all, the situation was unclear, so Ruiping Great Elder Princess had to wait and see.
“All right then!” Princess Yuyan put down her hand with a face full of pity.
“I’ll go back first and come to see you tomorrow, okay?” Infanta Yuan’an suggested with a smile. She also had something to tell Princess Yuyan today, but it was not the best time to say it now.
Tomorrow, after Commandery Prince Qing came to see Princess Yuyan, she would come over and see if there was any chance that she could use.
Of course, if Chu Qing didn’t come, it didn’t matter. There are two sides to everything, after all.
Infanta Yuan’an and Princess Yuyan separated seemingly quite reluctantly. Infanta Yuan’an got on the carriage while Princess Yuyan watched until the carriage disappeared from view. Then her smile vanished, and her face turned cold. Princess Yuyan snorted and turned to walk inside. Infanta Yuan’an was a great ally. However, she only hoped that this ally didn’t have the delusion of getting huge benefits from her!
Chu Qing was invited to the Prince Chen’s Mansion.
He had been waiting in a reception room of the Prince Chen’s Mansion. Looking at the sky’s color outside, he knew almost two hours had passed. Several cups of tea had been served, but he was told to wait each time he asked when Prince Chen would come.
As a prince of a country, he also had something important to do. How could Chu Liuchen keep him waiting for a long time like this? They were both the sons of the deceased emperor, and no one was superior to the other. What did Chu Liuchen mean by keeping him waiting?
After finishing the third cup of tea, Chu Qing put it down with a thump. He couldn’t help standing up with a cold face. Chu Liuchen asked him to come over, but why would Chu Liuchen keep him waiting?
“Your Highness, let me add some tea for you?” The young eunuch, serving at the side, hurried forward and asked in a high-pitched voice.
“No need!” Chu Qing growled, turned around, and strode out.
“What’s wrong? Is there anything else you must do, Commandery Prince Qing?” The door was pushed open, and Chu Liuchen entered at a slow pace. He wore a loose milky white brocade robe, and his belt was untied. He appeared graceful and casual as if he had been enjoying a stroll in the woods. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised on his handsome face. Inexplicably, his expression struck a chill in Chu Qing’s heart.
Chu Qing was scared and stopped in a hurry.
“Are you leaving?” Chu Liuchen came in with a book in his hand. He shook the book and asked casually, “It’s good for you to go back. You’ll save me a lot of trouble!”
Chu Qing’s heart leaped. He clenched his fists but put up a smile. When Chu Liuchen walked in and sat down, he turned around and said, “You must have been occupied with something important, so I thought I could leave. But since you are here, I have nothing more urgent to deal with!”
Smiling, he sat on the chair aside and greeted Chu Liuchen with a fist and palm salute. “What can I do for you?”
Chu Liuchen’s current status was much higher than before. In the past, Chu Qing was not courageous enough to provoke Chu Liuchen, not to mention now. Even though Chu Qing was full of anger, he had to keep a gentle smile on his face.
“Nothing important. I just want to talk to you about Princess Yuyan!” Chu Liuchen looked up at Chu Qing and said. He didn’t care about Chu Qing’s attempt to flatter him.
“Princess Yuyan’s matter? What’s up?” Chu Qing’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly calmed down and asked.
“She wondered when you would go to ask for an imperial edict about your marriage from Uncle the Emperor in the Palace. As for your previous fiancee, I think she didn’t want you to keep her, but Princess Yuyan didn’t say it clearly.” Chu Liuchen said slowly, “You want to enjoy the happiness of living with two beauties, but I’m afraid Princess Yuyan won’t agree!”
As Chu Liuchen talked about his difficult position with sarcasm, a trace of hatred flickered across Chu Qing’s eyes, and blue veins stood out on his hands. It was Princess Yuyan who pushed him into a wretched plight.
Even if he married her in the end, Chu Qing could not do anything harmful to Mo Qiuyi. They had made this matter clear, but she was still unwilling to give up.
“I’ve talked about this with her when we were in the Xu State. It’s okay if Princess Yuyan doesn’t want to marry me.” Chu Qing said, trying hard to suppress the sudden surge of anger in his heart.
“Circumstances change with the passage of time. Now, the time and the situation have both changed. Don’t you understand it? Since Princess Yuyan of the Xu State likes you, we should show our sincerity. We can’t ruin the relationship between the two countries because of a woman. Uncle the Emperor wants to get some news from the Xu State to learn about a few things.”
Chu Liuchen rolled his deep eyes with a hint of imperceptible contempt. He leaned back lazily to make himself more comfortable and said leisurely, “Actually, I’m not supposed to interfere in this kind of thing. As an envoy, I was only responsible for taking Princess Yuyan to the capital city. After that, it’s not for me to judge your relationship. It’s a personal matter between the two of you, after all. But Princess Yuyan specially came to my mansion to talk about that. If I turned a deaf ear to it, it would make us look rude and disgrace our country!”
Chu Liuchen spotted Chu Qing’s anger, and his handsome face darkened.
His most annoying thing was others disturbing Shao Wanru. Worse still, these people even planned to take advantage of her.
It turned out that Princess Yuyan took the initiative to find Chu Liuchen. Knowing this, Chu Qing gritted his teeth in anger. He had thought that Princess Yuyan was smart, but now she had caused such big trouble for him. Was Chu Liuchen easy to get along with? Usually, even Chu Qing himself didn’t dare to provoke him. He had never imagined Princess Yuyan would irritate him.
“You’d better get rid of that woman for the peace of the two countries!” Chu Liuchen said casually. He glanced at Chu Qing’s stony face and discovered the controlled anger carefully hidden by him.
“I’m afraid it’s inappropriate!” Chu Qing exhaled deeply and barely suppressed the blazing anger burning in his heart. Fury in his breast was nearly ignited.
Princess Yuyan gave Chu Liuchen a sound reason to poke his nose into his mansion’s business openly!
“Why is it improper? She’s just the daughter of a small official. I heard you hadn’t seen her before. I heard she had been living in the Yuhui Nunnery and had never met outsiders. Is that so?” Chu Liuchen asked lightly.
Of course, he meant that they had probably never seen each other. At best, they could only secretly meet each other once or twice. Since they had no strong feelings for each other, why would he feel reluctant to part with her?
Could Chu Qing say he had known Mo Qiuyi for a long time? Could he tell Chu Liuchen they had been in touch for years?
“Well… My mother said she owed them favors!” Chu Qing had to explain it in this way.
“Favors?” Chu Liuchen changed his countenance and sat up straight, keeping his slightly steely eyes upon Chu Qing. “What do you mean? Had Consort Dowager Qing secretly left the Yuhui Nunnery? Or, did this woman’s elder help Consort Dowager Qing with something when she was in the Palace?”
“You must be joking! How could such things happen?” Chu Qing said with a dry smile, feeling very uncomfortable. Secretly, he was on the alert. Chu Liuchen, a man of incalculable moods, was not to be pushed around. Thus, Chu Qing knew he mustn’t let Chu Liuchen get something on him at this critical moment.
He only hated Princess Yuyan, a foolish woman. How could she cause such a disturbance? In the Xu State, she had repeatedly promised to support him. Her support greatly disappointed him!
“Since you denied the two possibilities, you owe them nothing. However, Consort Dowager Qing never forgets them for a moment. You worship the daughter of a small official as a god.”
Chu Liuchen cracked a smile again, flicking on the table with his slender fingers. No one knew what was in his mind. Chu Liuchen shot Chu Qing a sideways glance, and his manner relaxed. “Now, this matter has come to this. No matter what favors this woman has done for Consort Dowager Qing, you should give her up. No country, no home! You should put the national interest first. If you can’t bear to do it yourself, I can help!”
…
“No… no need…” Chu Qing suddenly shot up from his seat, waving his hands randomly. Chu Liuchen’s help would mess up everything. Once Chu Liuchen took action, it would bring forth fatal disasters. During the reign of terror, he might be exposed. When the Mo Family made a last desperate effort to survive, he might even be implicated and ruined. He could take advantage of the Mo Family to some extent, but he mustn’t wipe them out.
“Really?” Chu Liuchen asked, giving him a wry look.
“No!” Chu Qing shook his head decisively again and said with cold sweat on his back. He must not let Chu Liuchen intervene in this matter.