There were a total of six chests and cages bestowed by the Emperor. Other than a gold-lettered signboard, the rest were given to Yu Shu. Because the items were valuable, it was not easy for Zhao Hui to make a decision. After asking Yu Shu, she had people first carry these chests and cages to an empty room in the rear courtyard to be tidied up later.
He Fangzhi and Zhao Hui originally wanted to ask Jing Chen to come down to eat, but the kitchen did not have any good dishes to serve. Although they were not unfamiliar with each other, Jing Chen's status was different from the past. The husband and wife were more reserved and did not dare to be negligent. They called Yu Shu, who was sitting in the living room and talking with Jing Chen, to the back to ask how they should prepare.
Yu Shu's heart ached for Zhao Hui's protruding belly. She did not want her to work too hard, so she said, "Mother, you should go back to your room and rest. Let godfather take a look at your pulse. I am taking Jing Chen out to eat. He is not an outsider, there is no need to treat him as an outsider."
Zhao Hui's belly was getting bigger and bigger. If she continued to toss and turn like this, her body would not be able to endure it. Hearing what was said, she hesitated for a moment and then complied. She and He Fangzhi went to the living room and excused themselves to Jing Chen before returning to the rear courtyard to rest.
Yu Shu took Jing Chen out of the door and sat in the carriage that the Palace had specially prepared for Jing Chen. They did not go anywhere else and directly went to Wang Ji Lou.
The interior of the carriage was decorated very comfortably. There was a leather seat, soft mattress, a small red sandalwood tea table, and a horse lantern hanging from the ceiling. The two walls were cleverly chiseled round windows, allowing a thin layer of light from outside the carriage to enter. It was both shaded and bright.
Yu Shu lifted the curtain and looked at the armed bodyguards riding on horseback beside the carriage. She turned her head to ask Jing Chen, "Were these two people also arranged by His Majesty for you?"
Jing Chen said, "He said it's for my safety."
Yu Shu burst into laughter. Only Jing Chen would believe this kind of words. From her point of view, these two imperial bodyguards were clearly following him. It seemed that what she said yesterday was not false. The Emperor really did value Jing Chen, this nephew who had returned to court after being separated for many years. Not only did the Emperor give him face, he rewarded him with a lot of things and allowed him, a grown man, to live in the palace. Furthermore, there were people following him everywhere, as if he was afraid that he would get lost.
"Where are we going now?" Jing Chen asked as he looked at the unfamiliar street outside the carriage. A few days ago, he had been picked up by the palace to meet the Emperor and stayed in the palace for a few days. This was the first time he had left the palace.
Yu Shu said, "There's a restaurant in the north of the city. It's opened by Brother Xue. A while ago, he invited me to help out as a manager. The food there is delicious, and it's a quiet place. It's just right for us to talk."
Because there were eyes and ears on both sides, Yu Shu did not mention the topic of Jing Chen's Ketu Star and the Fate Breaker in this carriage.
Yu Shu pointed the way and let the coachman leave from the back door of Wang Ji Lou. Yu Shu knocked a few times on the door of the backyard. Xiao Die, who was passing by with a plate, opened the door.
"Miss!" Not seeing Yu Shu's shadow for a few days, the little lass was very surprised. She quickly invited her in and ran ahead to inform Lin Fu.
Yu Shu led Jing Chen upstairs. The two imperial bodyguards followed closely. Yu Shu did not say anything when she saw them. When they arrived at the door of her room, she first opened the door to let Jing Chen in. She stood at the door and waited for a moment. Then she saw Lin Fu lifting his robe and running upstairs.
"Miss, you're here. Have you had lunch?" Lin Fu put on a smile. Seeing the imperial bodyguards standing in front of the door and an unfamiliar young man in the tea room, although he was curious, he did not ask too much.
Yu Shu pointed at the two imperial bodyguards and said to Lin Fu, "Old Lin, bring these two big brothers to the front for tea and rice. Treat them well. Also, make a few light dishes and send them upstairs. No wine. Put it all on my bill."
"Yes, I will go prepare now. The two of you, please come downstairs."
Lin Fu gestured for them to go. The two imperial bodyguards were reluctant to leave at first. It was only after Jing Chen spoke that they followed Lin Fu.
After sending them away, Yu Shu closed the door and sat at the table. She faced Jing Chen and talked.
"Let's talk about serious matters. You have also seen the Major. Have you inquired about the whereabouts of the Fate Breaker?" Yu Shu said.
Jing Chen shook his head and said, "The Major told me that the time is not right. He told me not to be impatient."
Yu Shu was puzzled, "What do you mean by the time is not right? Isn't he just looking for one person? Does he not know where that person is?"
Jing Chen still shook his head, "He said that when the time is right, the Fate Breaker will appear. There is no need to go through the trouble of looking for Yu Shu. Yu Shu frowned," Then when will the time be right? "
Jing Chen still shook his head, "I also do not know."
Yu Shu said gloomily, "Isn't this the same as not asking? When you went down the mountain, what did your master tell you? He told you to come to the capital to find the Major. Did he have any other instructions? "
From her point of view, the Ten Thousand Life Funeral Oration on Jing Chen's body was something that treated the symptoms but not the root cause. To completely break Jing Chen's Innate Cursed Fate without any worries, they still had to find the so-called Fate Breaker. Daoist Qing Zheng once told her that if the Fate Breaker was not found, not only would the person who changed his fate be in danger, but the Fate Breaker himself would also die.
After being asked by Yu Shu, Jing Chen thought for a moment. After thinking for a while, he really remembered something. "Master also told me to be careful of women.
"Cough, cough." Yu Shu choked on her saliva. She looked at Jing Chen with a strange expression. She wanted to say something but could not say it. Be careful of women? This was a wide range. She was a woman, so did that mean that Jing Chen also had to be careful of her?
Yu Shu only took this sentence as a joke and did not look into it. Seeing that she could not get anything useful out of him, she could not help him in any way, so she could only put aside her worries for the time being.
Not long after, Lin Fu asked Xiao Die and Xiao Qing to send food in. He then greeted outside the door and brought a few letters to Yu Shu.
When Yu Shu saw the four words "For Ashu" on the envelope, she could guess who had sent the letters. She put down her chopsticks and motioned for Jing Chen to continue eating. She opened the letters and read them one by one.
There were a total of four letters. Counting the days, Xia Mingming and Ji Xingxuan came to make trouble on the fifteenth night. In the past few days, Xia Mingming had written almost one letter a day.
The first letter was nothing special. It was nothing more than a reminiscence. He told Yu Shu that she was grounded by her father and could not leave the house. He explained why he did not look for Yu Shu and apologized for causing trouble at the restaurant during the Lantern Festival. He did not mention a single word about Ji Xingxuan. This letter was sent on the sixteenth day.
The second letter was much shorter. It was an appointment for Yu Shu to meet on the morning of the twentieth of this month at Wang Ji Lou. This letter was sent on the seventeenth day.
The third letter was interesting. It mentioned that the Ji family was in trouble and the news that Daozi had returned to the imperial court. Xia Mingming didn't know where she heard that Yu Shu was living in the Ji family and was very worried about her situation.
After reading the first three letters, Yu Shu's mood had to be said to be good. At least she could see that this girl Xia Mingming was not an ungrateful thing. Until now, she still remembered her kindness. When she heard that the Ji family was in trouble, she hurriedly wrote a letter to ask about her safety.
Putting these three letters aside, Yu Shu opened the fourth letter. This time, she suddenly frowned. 'Ashu, the Emperor wants to appoint me to the Ninth Prince as a concubine. I don't need to return to Jiangnan anymore.' It was a plain sentence. It was impossible to see the mood of the writer at the time. But when Yu Shu stared at these two lines for a long time, she could smell a sour taste.
What kind of person Xia Mingming was, Yu Shu, who had eaten, lived and gone through trials and tribulations with her, was very clear. She was a willful but naive little girl, smart but simple-minded, stubborn and affectionate. If this kind of girl married into the Imperial Family, what awaited her was definitely not happiness or beauty.
Compared to the Xia Jiang family's rule that the children of the Xia family had to enter the mountains to seek the Dao, the road of marrying into the Imperial Family was filled with thorns.
What's more, this arranged marriage was clearly not a whim of the Emperor. Yu Shu recalled that after Xia Jiangying's death, the Xia Jiang family stayed in the capital for several months and did not return. And the Ninth Prince had just recently returned to court. This was clearly an arranged marriage.
Speaking of the Ninth Prince, Yu Shu suddenly remembered that on the day of the Lantern Festival at Wang Ji Lou, there was a fair-faced girl sitting next to Liu Tan. With her experience, she could see that Liu Tan was clearly interested in that girl. At his age, he was in between a young man and a young man. His feelings were still pure. Once his heart belonged to someone, there was no room for others in his eyes. If Xia Mingming interfered at this time, even if it was against her will, Liu Tan would still feel disgust towards her.
"Xiao Yu, what's wrong? Who wrote the letter?" Jing Chen asked when he saw that Yu Shu, who was smiling just now, frowned and had a worried expression.
"It was Mingming." Yu Shu folded the letter and stuffed it back. She put the few letters together into her sleeve. She looked up at Jing Chen and remembered that he and the Ninth Prince were from the same sect. The two seemed to be very familiar with each other. She asked, "Jing Chen, how is your relationship with the Ninth Prince?"
"Are you talking about Martial Nephew Zhongyun?" Jing Chen recalled, "He entered the mountains at the age of seven. It was me and Third Shixiong who received him. Because of the Ketu Star's attack, I spent half of every month in the back mountain to cultivate. I did not often work and rest with the disciples of the same sect. Third Shixiong was responsible for bringing me meals. Sometimes, he would bring Zhongyun with him. Thinking about it, I have known him for nine years. I only found out a few years ago that he is also a member of the Imperial Family and is my cousin."
After listening, Yu Shu smiled and said, "In that case, you and Big Brother Xue are relatives."
Jing Chen thought about it and agreed. His birth mother was the younger sister of the current Emperor, and the Emperor was his uncle. Xue Rui was the nephew of the Imperial Concubine, and the Emperor was his uncle. Liu Tan was weak and had to call them cousins.
Yu Shu heard that Jing Chen and Liu Tan had a good relationship. She was about to ask Liu Tan in detail when she heard someone outside the door reporting, "Miss, Young Master is here with His Highness Ninth. Please bring the guest in the room to sit in the 'Shui' room."
Speak of the devil, and the devil appears. She had just thought of these two people, and they came.
"Got it. I will go over now." Yu Shu responded outside the door. She stood up and smiled at Jing Chen. "Let's go and meet your relatives."
"En."
The two went out the door. The yahuan in front led the way to the innermost room on the second floor. She knocked lightly on the door. When she heard a response from inside, she pushed the door open.
Yu Shu walked in first. She walked around the glass screen in front of the door. With a glance, she saw three people sitting at the round embroidered table. Xue Rui, Liu Tan, and the unidentified female that she had seen at the Lantern Festival last time.
Because of her previous thoughts, Yu Shu couldn't help but stare at the other girl a few more times. She didn't think that when the other saw her, she would suddenly stand up. A pleasantly surprised smile bloomed on her plain and white face. She walked around the table and quickly walked towards her. She jumped into the arms of Jing Chen, who had just walked in from behind her.
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