In the carriage back to the East Palace.

Seeing that Qiao Jinniang’s face was all dark, Lu Chen threw the rag doll aside, played with Qiao Jinniang’s fingers and said, “If you hadn’t thrown this rag doll to me, I wouldn’t have accepted it. Don’t be angry, okay?”

Qiao Jinniang frowned and said, “Couldn’t you just throw it away after I gave it to you?

“In the situation just now, if you didn’t accept it, tomorrow everyone in Chang’an would say you have no conscience. I kindly help you out and throw this doll to you, but you’re blaming me?”

Lu Chen said, “I know you are angry with Zhou Sisi, but don’t be angry with me.”

Qiao Jinniang snorted. “That’s because you didn’t refuse her. Why did you nod when she asked you to take ‘good care’ of this doll?”

Lu Chen said, “If I hadn’t, she wouldn’t have left. She is a retard anyway. It’s better to give her what she wants than to be pestered by her.”

Lu Chen whispered in Qiao Jinniang’s ear. “Do you want to go to Tasty Pavilion to see Nuomi, Huixiang and the others?”

Qiao Jinniang was still annoyed. “No, they will worry about me if they see me so angry.”

She knew that Lu Chen was not to be blamed, but she couldn’t control herself and just wanted to vent on Lu Chen.

Lu Chen was very gentle to people, and a lot of women were attracted to him when he was in Lin’an.

When he smiled at Zhou Sisi, he looked so doting on her. No wonder Zhou Sisi insisted on marrying her Imperial Cousin!

Returning to the East Palace, Qiao Jinniang entered her own palace and locked the door.

Lu Chen was given the cold shoulder by her.

Although her maids felt that this was inappropriate, as the Crown Princess’ servants, they would only take the Crown Princess’ orders.

Lu Chen sighed. He had been trying every possible means to make Qiao Jinniang laugh along the way in the carriage, but failed.

The Zhou family didn’t even say that they would marry Zhou Sisi off into the East Palace, but Qiao Jinniang was already mad at him.

He had done everything he could, but she was still mad at him.

Lu Chen looked up at the white clouds in the sky and simply left Qiao Jinniang’s palace, leaving her alone to calm down.

Hongling said to Qiao Jinniang, “Your Highness, the Zhou family hasn’t asked to marry Miss Zhou into the East Palace yet. Besides, as we all can see, His Royal Highness loves you wholeheartedly.

“If you vent on His Royal Highness, you’ll only push him away. His Royal Highness didn’t do anything wrong on this matter.”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Hongling, you are my maid.”

Hongling said, “Your Highness, the four of us have been with you for more than a year. I’m not I’m not defending His Royal Highness, but I think he is probably more aggrieved than you!”

“Just now in the carriage, His Royal Highness had been trying so hard to make you laugh along the way. It is not easy for you to leave the imperial palace, but today, he specially asked the Queen to let you go out of the imperial palace to attend Young Master’s birthday banquet.

“His Royal Highness really loves you. If you vent on him for no reason, you may hurt his heart.”

Qiao Jinniang thought about it carefully, and it seemed that she shouldn’t have vented on Lu Chen indeed.

So she got up, went to the kitchen, and made a few dishes for Lu Chen.

Lu Chen liked to eat fish balls, so Qiao Jinniang made fish balls that were very troublesome to make, and then made several dishes that he liked to eat.

After she finished cooking, it was already dark.

Qiao Jinniang ordered Yuyan to invite Lu Chen to come, but half an hour later, Yuyan came back to report, “Your Highness, His Royal Highness left the East Palace soon after he returned to the East Palace. Eunuch Gu didn’t know where he was gone and had already sent people to look for him.”

Qiao Jinniang said, “I’m not waiting for him. Call Xi’er over, and Xi’er and I will eat first.”

She just cooked such a table of good dishes for nothing.

…

In the Duke Rong Mansion.

Princess Fu’an kept coughing. She heard the noise outside and asked her maid, “Why is it so noisy outside today?”

“His Royal Highness has come. Young Master is accompanying His Royal Highness to have a meal. They have invited a few famous opera actors to perform. Would you like to go and have a look, Princess?”

Princess Fu’an coughed. “No, I’m just a medicine jar. I may ruin the atmosphere if I go there, cough, cough.”

“Princess, please don’t say that. Didn’t the imperial doctor say that as long as you can eat the thousand-year-old Tianshan snow lotus as medicine, your illness will be cured? Princess Xiliang will be your sister-in-law soon. It won’t be difficult to ask her to give you a thousand-year-old Tianshan snow lotus, which grows in Xiliang.”

Lu Pianran, who was known as Princess Fu’an, coughed and said, “How can it be so easy? How is it possible for Princess Xiliang to be willing to marry my brother?”

Junior Duke Rong said angrily, “What’s so bad about me? Why did you disdain your own brother so much?”

Fu’an rolled her eyes at Junior Duke Rong. “Cough, cough, Brother, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to accompany His Royal Highness?”

Junior Duke Rong said, “They are drinking too much. Mo’er doesn’t like me drinking, so I don’t want to drink like them.”

Fu’an smiled. “I finally found one good thing about you, Brother.”

“Don’t think that I won’t beat you just because you are seriously ill.” Junior Duke Rong gave her a fierce look, but when he heard Fu’an’s uncontrollable coughing, he said, “I will help you get the Tianshan Snow Lotus.”

Fu’an said, “Forget it, the thousand-year-old Tianshan is a well-deserved national treasure in Xiliang and is not so easy to obtain. Don’t make things difficult for Sister-in-law.”

Junior Duke Rong said, “No, Mo’er told me that the Tianshan Snow Lotus was stolen in March last year, and that it might be in Chang’an now.”

Princess Fu’an’s eyes brightened. If she could live, she certainly wanted to live!

She wanted to live as happily and carefree as Fulu!

…

Qiao Jinniang had been waiting for Lu Chen in the East Palace, but it was already 11pm, and Lu Chen still hadn’t returned to the East Palace.

At this moment, the palace gate had already been locked. Although the East Palace had a separate door, Lu Chen probably wouldn’t return today since it was already so late.

Qiao Jinniang flipped through a novel and felt bored.

She was a little worried about Lu Chen.

She called over Gu Ming and was told that Lu Chen was drunk in Duke Rong Mansion, so he would stay there tonight.

Qiao Jinniang frowned.

Then she went to Lu Chen’s study, opened the secret channel, and after coming out of the Qiao Mansion, she went to the stable.

Old Wang who was in charge of the stable was brought to Chang’an by her from Lin’an. Seeing her here, he was surprised but didn’t ask anything.

Qiao Jinniang went straight to the Duke Rong Mansion and knocked on the closed door.

When the concierge saw Qiao Jinniang coming over, he was stunned. “Who are you? How dare you knock on the door of the Duke Rong Mansion at night!”

Qiao Jinniang took out the pass of the East Palace and said, “I am here to ask His Royal Highness to return to the East Palace on the order of the Crown Princess.”

When the concierge saw the pass, he quickly opened the door and asked Qiao Jinniang to enter. “Please come in.”

…

In a courtyard of the Duke Rong Mansion.

Although Lu Chen drank a lot, he was still sober. He didn’t go back to the East Palace because he wanted to see if Qiao Jinniang really cared about him.

It was already so late, but Qiao Jinniang hadn’t sent anyone to look for him yet.

“Your Royal Highness.” Two maids entered, their voices very gentle and seducing.

Lu Chen frowned and looked at the two women. Why did Junior Duke Rong arrange such maids for him?

“Your Royal Highness, the Duchess sent us two over to serve you to sleep.”

The two maids were tall and beautiful, and looked from the side, they even resembled Qiao Jinniang a bit. The Duchess must have purposely sent them over.

“Leave. I don’t need you to serve me.”