"You want me to seduce the Crown Prince? Why are you crying now that I've entered the pala

Chapter 168 She indulged him

As Qin Qionghua approached the door, she heard an angry shout from inside, a woman crying, and servants screaming in panic.

She stopped and looked at the brightly lit hall, suddenly feeling as if she were in a dream.

Seeing that her mistress wasn't moving, Hongxing couldn't help but urge her, "Miss, we've arrived."

But she still didn't move, her eyes fixed on the doorway, her thoughts seemingly drifting far away, looking somewhat dazed.

Has this ever happened before?

Even though her mother and Aunt Qiu didn't get along and there were frequent frictions and conflicts between them, her father always mediated and soothed things, and they never...

Suddenly, a familiar face flashed through Qin Qionghua's mind:
She remembered that in the past, things would escalate to this point, with people crying, begging for mercy, kneeling, and being beaten—it was clearly because…

"If Qin Sangsang were here, that would be great."

"Hmm? What are you saying, Miss?"

Upon suddenly hearing the Third Miss's name mentioned by the young lady, Hongxing paused, her expression clearly showing confusion:
Weren't we talking about the conflict between Madam and Aunt Qiu? What does this have to do with Miss Guan?

Qin Qionghua naturally ignored her; she had simply suddenly realized the importance of Aunt Xu and Qin Sangsang's presence in the backyard—

With them in the middle, the conflict between the two sides was diverted, and all the anger was directed at the mother and daughter, allowing the mother and Aunt Qiu to cleverly avoid direct confrontation, which is why they have been able to live in peace for so many years.

Because they were weak, they naturally became the victims.

If you think about it more carefully, the reason why Mother clashed with Aunt Qiu was because that quiet, tool-like mother and daughter suddenly became restless and refused to be sacrificed obediently anymore.

The clearer Qin Qionghua thought about it, the uglier her face became. Standing in the shadows, her eyes were frighteningly cold.

Even Hongxing, who served her most closely, couldn't help but feel a little scared when she saw this, and couldn't help but say, "Miss, let's go."

Qin Qionghua finally came to her senses, closed her eyes briefly, and suppressed the hatred in them: "Yes, let's go in."

After saying that, she took the lead and walked ahead. Looking at the girl's slender but straight back, Hongxing felt a lump in her throat for some reason. She really wanted to tell the young lady not to go in.
-
When Qin Su returned to the Seventh Prince's residence, the tyrant had already come out of the palace and was waiting for her there.

The man, who had been sitting listlessly in the hall, lost in thought, suddenly brightened up when he heard her voice.

By the time the servants realized what was happening, he had already gotten up and left.

"Then I'll leave it to the housekeeper. We'll discuss the rest once we find a cook..."

Qin Su was talking to the butler, asking him to help her find a cook who could cook Huizhou cuisine, when suddenly the butler, who had been listening respectfully, stopped and looked at her with a nervous expression.

She turned around in confusion, and before she could see what was going on, she heard a familiar male voice ask, "What are you talking about?"

The tyrant had somehow gotten to her side, raised his hand and placed it on her waist, pulling her into his arms in a domineering manner.

The steward then belatedly bowed and said, "This servant greets Your Highness."

Qin Su paused for a moment, then shyly pushed the person away, saying, "There are people here..."

Chu Jiang coldly glanced around: "There's no one there, I didn't see anyone."

The servants lowered their heads even further: He's dead, don't mention it.
The little girl glared at him coquettishly, but didn't push him away again.

When she looked at him, her eyes were bright and focused, as if the whole world only saw him: "Are you done with your work?"

Because they were so close, she could smell the faint bitter medicinal scent on the man.

Who would have thought that a man who always hated taking medicine would actually ask the imperial physician to prescribe it?

Chu Jiang looked at the way the little girl was looking at him, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he wanted to kiss her.

But considering they were outside, he didn't take any action, only tightening his grip on the girl's waist: "Yes, it was just a small matter, it's all taken care of."

As he spoke, he turned and led his men back the way they had come: "And you, what did you do today?"

Qin Su smiled brightly: "I went to Aunt Linghu's place to see the children, and then I went home to spend some time with my mother."

Upon hearing a certain place name, Chu Jiang's hand visibly tightened, and his eyes darkened slightly, but his tone remained casually relaxed: "Oh? Are you alone? Or is that Xie fellow also here?"

"Xie?" Qin Su tilted her head. "You mean Brother Xie? He's gone back to Jiangnan. Do you need to see him?"

Back in Jiangnan?

It was an unexpected delight. Chu Jiang didn't say it explicitly, but a slight smile appeared in his eyes and brows.
"No, I don't care why he's asking. I was just asking casually."

Then, he didn't forget to put down his rival: "A businessman who doesn't focus on his own business and spends all his time doing other things is not doing his job properly."

After he finished speaking, he realized that he had said something wrong, or that he shouldn't have said it.

I looked over nervously, afraid that the little girl might be suspicious or angry.

But she just smiled at him and didn't ask any further questions.

Chu Jiang's tension and anxiety were inexplicably soothed, and his emotions calmed down again: "What did you want with the butler just now?"

The steward, who had been quietly following behind his master and waiting for orders, suddenly heard the Seventh Prince mention his name. Instead of being moved, he felt a strange tightness in his scalp.

He sensed a hint of dissatisfaction in the man's tone, as if he would punish him if the girl said anything negative.

housekeeper:?
Fortunately, although the master is unreasonable, the girl he likes is very polite.

Qin Su explained, "I've been away from home these past few days, and Chunfeng has had to take care of Mother, do housework, sweeping, grocery shopping, and cooking. It's been exhausting. So I'd like to find a cook for Mother, and I'm asking the housekeeper for help in finding one..."

The girl spoke gently, about something that was clearly a trivial matter, but the man, who was usually impatient, listened with great interest.

No matter how many times people see it, they are still amazed.

If the Seventh Prince had half the patience he showed to outsiders as he did to Miss Qin, his reputation would be unimaginably better.

However, these thoughts were only kept to themselves; no one would be so foolish as to say them to His Highness.
-
Qin Su personally went to the kitchen to direct the dinner.

Although she didn't cook anything herself, the dishes were all arranged by her, and the taste was determined by her.

Chu Jiang originally didn't want her to go to the kitchen. Although the food was still unpalatable, it was at least edible. However, she still managed to soothe him like a child.

The system, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but sigh: "Who would have thought a tyrant would be so clingy when in love? Host, don't you find it annoying?"

After arranging the dishes, Qin Su did not leave immediately, but stayed to personally cook a side dish that suited the tyrant's taste.

Although she shares the same body as the Crown Prince, the two personalities have different tastes.

For example, the Crown Prince prefers light flavors and cannot eat dishes with strong flavors, and prefers vegetarian dishes; while the Tyrant prefers sweet flavors and sweet and sour pork ribs are his favorite.

However, because the tyrant's anorexia was so "earth-shattering" before, it left a deep shadow on the royal chefs. They would refuse to eat or replace the chefs at the drop of a hat. Therefore, the kitchen knew his tastes better than she did.

So in most cases, it was actually made according to the prince's taste.

For example, yesterday she saw the man look disgusted at a carefully prepared vegetarian dish on the table.

Qin Su: "What can I do if I find it annoying? Can I just not do it?"

System: [Of course not!] We finally found a genius strategist, and we've come this far—both of her personalities are interested in her—how could we possibly fail!
Chu Jiang was left in the dining room to wait for the young girl to return, with only two servants by his side.

Without Qin Su by his side, the man's lazy and relaxed demeanor completely disappeared.

He was dejected, gloomy, and dangerous. Just sitting there made people tremble with fear, afraid that they might accidentally anger him and lose their lives.

Chu Jiang was thinking about today's consultation.

He believed that he had been very frank and had not concealed anything when facing the imperial physician.

But he didn't get the answer he wanted at all.

The respected old imperial physician, who was over fifty years old, said to him.

His health has been improving recently, and some of his old ailments are getting better. As long as he continues to take care of himself in the current way, he will get better and better.

As for the "hysteria" he emphasized from the very beginning, he did not find it.

"But if Your Highness insists on saying this, we can prescribe some calming medicine for him to take first, and advise him to calm down and think less. We can see if the symptoms can be changed after his sleep improves."

Chu Jiang felt that his mood might have really improved. After all, when faced with the imperial physician's obviously perfunctory and distrustful words, he didn't fly into a rage like before and want to kill him. Instead, he actually drank the calming medicine brewed by the medicine maker.

Chu Jiang felt that his temper had improved a lot, but the servants around him did not think so.

Although they were standing on the sidelines, they were secretly watching His Highness's expression.

Watching him grow increasingly pale as if he were thinking of something, his back was almost soaked with cold sweat, and he was on the verge of collapsing under the pressure and begging for mercy.

Just as the two servants felt the danger was growing, a sudden noise came from outside—

Chu Jiang stood up the moment he heard the sound.

In an instant, the gloomy and terrifying aura around him vanished, and his gaze became focused on the person walking in through the door.

A young girl in a green dress gracefully emerged from the doorway, her expression gentle and smiling, like a fairy descending to earth to save the world.

The two servants felt the pressure on their bodies suddenly ease, and their eyes were filled with gratitude as they looked at Qin Su.

Qin Su, oblivious to anything amiss, walked towards the tyrant: "We'll be able to eat soon, are you hungry?"

Chu Jiang walked over and took her hand. He didn't answer, but his eyes showed a hint of grievance.

She actually understood and apologized softly, "Okay, I didn't mean to come back late. I just suddenly felt like cooking something for you. Try it and see if it's good. Consider it my apology."

Chu Jiang looked at her and tightened his grip on her hand.

The maidservant beside him stepped forward and placed the dishes from the tray on the table.

He looked in that direction, his eyes brightening slightly, before giving a somewhat arrogant "hmm" and pulling the girl over.
-
"What does Mother plan to do?"

Qin Qionghua sat at the head of her mother's bed, looking extremely tired.

"What are you going to do?"

Zhang coughed a few times, but couldn't hide the sarcastic sneer in her eyes: "Since you say I did it, then go report it to the authorities and ask them to investigate. Cough cough cough..."

She coughed a few more times as she spoke.

Qin Qionghua remained silent, looking at her mother whose haggard appearance couldn't be concealed even by makeup, and suddenly asked, "Is this interesting?"

Zhang frowned: "What did you say?"

"I say, is it worth it to fight with a concubine for a man who doesn't love you, and even make yourself this sick?"

Qin Qionghua's calm words were like a sharp knife piercing Zhang's heart.

Her already exhausted face twisted into a grimace: "Qin Qionghua, do you know what you're saying! You..."

“Of course I know what I’m saying, but does Mother know what I’m doing? Do you really think Father is so stupid and the government is so useless that they can’t find anything out?”

"No, you only did that because your uncle came to the capital and you know you have someone backing you up..."

"Snapped--"

Qin Qionghua's face was turned to the side by the slap, and her mouth felt a little numb; she didn't know if she was bleeding.

"Shut up! I'm your mother!"

Madam Zhang was trembling with anger, her breath catching in her throat. The nanny beside her quickly stepped forward to hold her down, saying, "Madam, please don't be angry, please don't be angry. Drink some water and calm down..."

"Miss……"

Hongxing, worried, stepped forward to pull her mistress away, but Qin Qionghua dodged her.

"I will ask Father to bring Aunt Xu back to the mansion. Until then, Mother, please behave yourself and stop making trouble."

"What did you say? Who gave it to you...?"

"Mother doesn't know why my two uncles have come to the capital, does she?"

Qin Qionghua's words silenced Zhang's frantic roar: "Something has happened to my maternal grandparents' family, and my uncles have come to ask my father for help."

"What?" Zhang's strength seemed to have suddenly halved: "Impossible, how could I, the Zhang family of Qinghe, need that old scoundrel's help? You must be lying to me."

"Whether it's a lie or not, Mother will know when Uncle arrives."

Qin Qionghua closed her eyes briefly: "Mother, please rest early. I'll head back now."

"Stop right there! Don't go! Explain yourself!"

Despite Zhang's rage behind her, Qin Qionghua did not stop.

It wasn't until she reached the door that she seemed to have all her strength drained away, and she swayed unsteadily.

Hongxing hurriedly helped her up: "Miss, are you alright?"

"I will not become like her, absolutely not."

The girl, pale-faced, murmured, "I don't want a man's love, I only want power, only power..."
-
"The weather has been cool these past few days, perfect for boating on the lake. We've already arranged for pleasure boats and musicians outside the city, and we'll set sail as soon as Your Highness and Miss Qin arrive."

The steward assigned to the tyrant was indeed capable; the person was sent to Chongxian Lane on the very day Qin Su made her request.

Not only that, but because they felt the house was too small, they directly "invited" Aunt Xu to move into a three-courtyard house across the street.

Even the servants, guards, maids, and cooks were all arranged.

If Qin Su hadn't spoken up beforehand, Aunt Xu would never have dared to dream that she would be in this situation today.

But the system felt its host was far more capable: [The host only hired a cook, yet the butler arranged so much more. Doesn't that mean you've already seen through people's hearts?]

They knew that the tyrant's subordinates would always strive for "perfection."