Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

Yanxi Palace

In the evening, Su Qianrou and Mu Jinchen were taking a walk in the courtyard. Before they knew it, they had walked to the swing.

Mu Jinchen said, "Sit down for a while."

“Okay,” Su Qianrou replied.

Then the two sat down, and Mu Jinchen put his arm around her, and Su Qianrou leaned on his shoulder.

"Look, there are so many stars."

Mu Jinchen looked up and, sure enough, the sky was full of stars.

Su Qianrou couldn't help but recall her busy life in the past and sighed, "It's been so many years since I've been able to calm down and look at the stars like this."

"Me too. The last time I saw it was in the military camp. We had won a great victory that day, so I was drinking and celebrating with the soldiers outside the tent. The sky was full of stars, but I didn't think there was anything interesting to see then. I thought it would be better to read military books, so I only glanced at it and never looked at it again."

"And now?"

"There's nothing to see these days."

Su Qianrou glanced at him and said, "You really have no sense of romance."

Mu Jinchen chuckled and explained, "There's nothing to see now because the stars in the sky can't compare to you. In my eyes, you are the most beautiful scenery, so even the most beautiful things pale in comparison to you."

Su Qianrou stepped out of his arms, looked at him, and asked, "When it comes to sweet talk, are you men also naturally gifted, or have you been secretly reading some books behind my back? Tell me honestly."

"You know what books I have in my study. Besides, I'm so busy every day, I don't have time to read leisurely books."

"Where did you learn all these words from?"

"Do I even need to learn this? I'm telling the truth."

Su Qianrou was still somewhat suspicious, after all, this didn't sound like something he would say.

Mu Jinchen pulled her back into his arms without saying anything. If it were before, he would never have believed that he would say such a thing, let alone believe that one day he would fall in love with someone and have her as his whole heart and eyes, and yet he would be happy to do so.

Su Qianrou didn't dwell on the issue. After a while, she said, "By the way, can you do me a favor?"

"you say".

"Help me arrange an official position for Liu Feng. It doesn't need to be important; a sinecure is fine, but the rank should be high, preferably the sixth grade."

"Liu Feng, a man."

"Ok".

Mu Jinchen released her and said calmly, "I can't help."

"Why? Isn't this just a matter of a word for you?"

"Yes, but I don't want to help."

Why?

"What do you think? First it was Gu Mingxuan, then Liu Chengyun, and now Liu Feng. You really know how to attract attention."

Su Qianrou then realized that he had misunderstood, but instead of explaining immediately, she teased, "What are you doing in the kitchen so late at night? Why is there such a strong smell of vinegar that it has reached Yanxi Palace?"

Mu Jinchen remained silent, looking sullen.

"Alright, stop being jealous. Liu Feng is my cousin."

"How come I didn't know you had a cousin surnamed Liu?"

“He is the old lady’s grand-nephew, so logically he is indeed my cousin.”

"The old lady of the Marquis of Anping's mansion."

"Ok".

"She contacted you."

"No, it's like this. Liu Feng has a younger sister named Liu Xiang, who is the mistress of the son of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Now she wants to use me to get into the He family. Of course, someone as good as me should help her, don't you think?"

"I think you're up to something."

"You're wrong about that. How can you say I'm harboring ill intentions? I'm clearly just seeking revenge."

"Yes, yes, so what do you plan to do?"

"People only know pain when they fall from a height, and the higher they stand, the more serious the injury. So you know what to do now."

"Yes, I'll have someone arrange it tomorrow."

"It can be arranged now."

Mu Jinchen pulled her into his arms. "Yes, whatever you say goes. I'll do whatever you say."

"You're such a jealous person."

Mu Jinchen did not refute.

Then the two snuggled together, neither of them speaking, enjoying the moment of tranquility.

Two days later, Su Qianrou was having lunch.

Juxia came in and said, "Your Highness, Madam He has sent a letter."

Su Qianrou put down her chopsticks, took the letter, opened it, read it, and said, "Not too stupid." Then she instructed, "Prepare some tonics and send them to Liu Xiang. Tell her that I heard she is pregnant and this is for her to take care of her pregnancy."

"Yes".

"Go there yourself, and also ask her why she lives there instead of at the He residence."

"Yes".

"Go ahead".

Juxia went outside.

Chunzhu asked, puzzled, "Doesn't the Princess know why Miss Liu lives there? Why ask again?"

"I know, but they don't know that I know."

Chunzhu looked blank, clearly not understanding what she meant. "This servant still doesn't understand."

Su Qianrou had no choice but to explain: "In Liu Xiang's view, I did not know that she was a mistress. Therefore, in order not to expose her, she would definitely use this to put pressure on He Qi. And when He Qi saw that I valued her and her child so much, he would be more determined to divorce her. When the young mistress of He proposed to take away the young master of He, he would not resist so much. After all, he would not be unable to distinguish between the importance of the grandson of the Minister of Justice and the child backed by the Regent's Mansion."

"As expected, the princess is very thoughtful."

Su Qianrou picked up her bowl and chopsticks and said, "What meticulousness? To put it bluntly, it's just human nature." After saying that, she continued eating.

Chunzhu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Late at night, Mu Jinchen arrived at Yanxi Palace and went straight to the bedroom.

Chunzhu was waiting outside. When she saw him, she immediately bowed.

Seeing the lights on in the room, Mu Jinchen asked, "Has the Princess not gone to bed yet?"

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort is already asleep."

"Why is the light still on in that room?"

“The princess was worried that it was too dark in the room and the prince would not be able to see the way, so she asked me to leave two lamps on.”

A warm feeling washed over Mu Jinchen. Perhaps this was the meaning of marriage: having someone leave a light on for you when you come home at night, and having someone to lean on when you're tired.

Then, Mu Jinchen went in and went straight to the bedside. Seeing that Su Qianrou was sleeping soundly, he didn't dare to make any big movements. He gently sat on the bed and then carefully lay down. Even so, he still woke Su Qianrou up.

Su Qianrou turned to look at him, her eyes still sleepy, and said, "You're back."

"Hmm, did I wake you?" he said, reaching out to pull her into his arms.

Su Qianrou hugged him, then closed her eyes and asked softly, "Why are you so late today? Is there a lot of things to take care of?"

"Xin Chen went missing in Jiangnan, so he arrived a little late."

Su Qianrou instantly snapped out of her daze and looked at him, "You said Prince Ying has disappeared."

"Yes, he found crucial evidence, so Prince Qing sent a large number of assassins to hunt him down. He was seriously injured and then fled to the dense forest. His whereabouts are now unknown."

"The dense forest is not safe, and given that he is injured, we must find him as soon as possible."

"I have already sent more people to search."

"That's good".

"It's getting late, go to sleep."

"You too, don't worry too much. Prince Ying is a lucky man and will definitely come back safely."

"Ok".

After that, neither of them spoke again. They closed their eyes and fell asleep in each other's arms.