Volume 1 Chapter 7 Banquet (2)

  "Ah-choo!" The always silent Xǔ Wúyán turned around and covered his mouth with a handkerchief, letting out a very elegant and loud sneeze. At this quiet and harmonious dinner party, the sneeze was enough to attract everyone's attention.

  Xu Wuyan hastily stood up, trembling with fear, and left his seat to kneel down in front of Chu Hanchen. "Your Highness, please forgive me! I...I know I was extremely disrespectful! Please punish me!"

  Chu Hanchi looked at Xu Wuyan, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling all over, thinking that her old illness had relapsed. He hastily comforted her, "Wuyan! What's wrong? Is it the exhaustion of traveling that triggered your old illness again? Quickly get up and speak!" Chu Hanchi also didn't care about the distinction between monarch and subject, and hurriedly walked to Xu Wuyan's side to help her up.

  Xu Wuyan remained silent and still, maintaining a respectful distance from Chu Hanche. He glanced at Xu Qinghe and Chu Jieyu, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern. I'm just recovering from a cold, and with the special care of my mother-in-law, I lost my composure for a moment!"

  Xu's words left everyone stunned, including Chu Han, "What do you mean by that?"

  Xu Wuyan stood up straight, a layer of mist rising to his eyes. "Wuyan has been missing for five years, wearing coarse clothes outside, eating poor food! Many hardships are not feared, but the thought of loved ones is a constant occurrence in midnight dreams! Today, thanks to the king's rescue, Wuyan can return to the Jun Guo Gong Fu, Wuyan is grateful! The big lady understands that Wuyan is used to living in a poor household, carefully preparing coarse linen clothes for me, cold door and humble house! Wuyan is grateful!"

  Xu Wuyan paused for a moment, using his handkerchief to gently wipe away the tears from the corner of his eyes. He deliberately looked at Xu Qing and his family, who were dressed in luxurious clothing, and Chu Han also noticed the huge difference between Xu Wuyan's clothes and theirs.

  "However, I have a prior engagement with the prince, and I worry that dressing like this will damage the royal family's reputation in the long run. Please, Your Highness, punish me for my offense of being discourteous to you!" Xǔ Wúyán said again, kneeling down and speaking sincerely.

  Chu Han's cold eyes swept over Xu Qinghe and his family, these years Xu Qinghe and his family's harsh treatment of Xu Wuyan Chu Han couldn't have known, it was just that he didn't want to offend the Duke's face, so he didn't comment too much on this, but he didn't expect them to bully Xu Wuyan to such an extent.

  Chu Han straightened his waist and helped Xu Wu up, "You've said it all, we have a marriage contract on our hands, so there's no need for excessive courtesy between husband and wife!" Then he stared at Xu Qing and that already dark face, "Duke, if you feel that my queen is being too much of a disturbance in the Duke's manor, I can petition to the Emperor, report the facts as they are, and let the Emperor decide what is right or wrong!"

  "Your Majesty! Forgive me! Your Majesty forgive me!" Chu Jieyu hastily knelt down and begged for mercy, never expecting that Xu Wuyan would take revenge in such a way. To know that the crime of insulting the imperial dignity was punishable by extermination of the entire family!

  "The reputation of the Duke's comfort and consolation for his late brother's young daughter is well-known outside, and I don't want to make things difficult for him either! However, as the future queen, I will not be silenced. The Duke should take care of himself!" Chu Han Che said calmly and authoritatively, truly worthy of being a master of intrigue.

  "The prince's teachings are indeed extreme! I, your subordinate, will definitely remember them carefully!" Minister Xu hastily knocked his head to apologize and thank the prince for giving him a way out. If he didn't, not only would he be in trouble, but also the situation that had been painstakingly built up over many years would be ruined in an instant.

  Xu Qingyan and Xu Qingning were even more frightened, their pretty faces turned pale as they knelt down on the ground with their parents, constantly tugging at their hem, a stark contrast to their carefree and joyful demeanor just moments before.

  Xu Wuyan saw that it was good to stop, and Chu Han bowed deeply, "Your Highness, please calm your anger! The madam did this also to cater to my preferences, and had someone send me the brocade clothes to pay respects to Your Highness. It was my mistake that I dirtied those clothes, so I had no choice but to wear these! Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

  I didn't intend to harm Xu Qing and his family, I just couldn't bear seeing them bully others too much, so I spoke out in anger, but not to the point of putting them to death; besides, a Duke's status isn't something that can be shaken by a few words; for future coexistence, it's better to stop while ahead.

  Chu Han looked at Xu Wuyan, nodded, and knew that she had no malicious intention to bring trouble to the Jun Guo Gong Fu; it's just that Xu Wuyan's treatment in the Jun Guo Gong Fu was really worrying, and this Jun Guo Gong probably wouldn't appreciate it anyway!

  "Get up, everyone! Duke Jun, I'm grateful for your care of Wuyan over the years. In two more years, when Wuyan comes of age, I will marry her and bring her to my palace. Afterwards, I will still rely on you, Duke Jun, to take care of Wuyan, and I will be eternally grateful!" The words were spoken with a pleading tone from Chu Han's mouth, but they came out as an unyielding command.

  Xu Qing nodded hastily, "Yes, Your Highness is right! Your Highness is right! I will definitely take good care of the princess with all my heart and might!"

  Chu Jieyu then glanced at Xu Wuyan, her eyes full of resentment. Chu Hanchen naturally didn't dare say anything to her; however, Xu Wuyan knew that a grudge had already been formed and was afraid that the days ahead wouldn't be easy!

  Later, everyone ate some more food and drank some tea in a very strange atmosphere. Afterwards, Chu Han Che ignored Xu Qing He's dissuasion and insisted on sending Xu Wu Yan back to her room. He looked around Xu Wu Yan's room, his eyes suddenly cold, but he didn't say anything else. After saying a few words to Xu Wu Yan, he left the Jun Guo Gong Fu.

  After Xǔ Qīng and her husband sent Chǔ Hánchè away, Chǔ Jiěyú's face immediately turned cold and furious. "That dead girl is deliberately trying to harm us! After her parents died, we kindly took her in, but not only did she not show gratitude, she even tried to frame us!"

  "Milady! She will be the Princess of Jing in the future, let's be more careful!" Xu Qing and others knew that the Prince of Jing held a position in the imperial court that they couldn't afford to offend.

  "Empress Jing? Hmph!" Chu Jieyu coldly snorted, unwilling to accept. Aren't there still two years left? Who knows what will happen by then? I, Chu Jieyu, have never been unable to get what I want!

  Chu Jieyu composed her emotions, and supported Xu Qinghe, "Alright! We don't need to be bothered by a wild girl, Master, it's getting late, we have an early court session tomorrow, let me escort you back to your room to rest!"

  Xu Qing glanced at Chu Jieyu beside him and smiled, and the two walked towards the room...

  The next morning, Xu Wuyan was woken up by Zhu Mo. The two walked into the courtyard and saw that the things sent by the King of Jing's mansion had arrived, filling the entire courtyard. After paying their respects to Xu Wuyan, the servants began to bustle about.

  Half a day later, Xu Wuyan's room was completely renovated. The bed, dresser, wardrobe, and table and chairs were all replaced with high-quality purple sandalwood. Even the mosquito net was replaced with top-grade South Tianyue blue Suzhou silk gauze, which not only repelled mosquitoes and mice but also emitted a natural fragrance that could calm the mind and promote a good night's sleep.

  On the whole purple sandalwood carved dressing table, a crystal mirror is inlaid, and the grid below is filled with various pins, rings, pendants and other head ornaments, rouge, powder and other objects.

  "Look, miss!" In the wardrobe that Zhu Mo had opened, there were all sorts of high-quality silk fabrics, each one finely made and elegant in style.

  "Unexpectedly, the prince is so thoughtful towards the young lady!" Zhu Mo poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xu Wuyan.

  Chu Han Che is indeed such a meticulous person. If Chu Han Che and Xu Wu Yan were originally a deeply in love couple, why does Chu Han Che behave like this, yet Xu Wu Yan doesn't have the slightest sense of familiarity?