Royal Princess Duanjia held onto Chu Lian’s arm, trying to persuade her not to go to the northern border.
While the two of them were talking inside her bedroom, Matriarch He was entertaining Princess Wei in the parlour outside.
“Chu Liu, are you crazy? Are you really going to Liangzhou? I heard my big brother say that you can’t even stick out your hands over there, or else they’ll freeze!”
Chu Lian noticed Royal Princess Duanjia’s tightly furrowed brows. Her eyes were full of worry.
Chu Lian smiled. “Princess, the matriarch has already requested this from the Empress Dowager. I have to go.”
Royal Princess Duanjia immediately stood up, indignant. “How can that old woman force you like that? Just tell me now! If you really don’t want to go, this princess will go and plead with Grandmother- the Empress Dowager right now!”
Chu Lian hurriedly tugged the agitated Royal Princess Duanjia back down. She held onto the princess’s arm and shook it. “Princess, it’s not like that, I wanted to go myself!”
“You!! Chu Liu! You’re trying to anger me to death!!” Royal Princess Duanjia’s chest heaved up and down in her frustration. Finally, she turned her head and refused to pay attention to Chu Lian.
Chu Lian was at a loss for what to do. She could only try to patiently explain her rationale. “Princess, He Sanlang is facing danger in the north. Our family can’t just sit back and do nothing. Eldest Brother can’t leave the capital and Second Brother is away in the next city on imperial business. The only one who can leave the estate is me! Also, if I’m the one to go, we won’t alert the enemy. We might even be able to snatch a victory if an opportunity comes along.”
Royal Princess Duanjia rolled her eyes without any consideration for Chu Lian’s feelings. “Chu Liu, you don’t even know a single martial arts move. What can you do if you go there?”
Chu Lian didn’t intend to hide anything from Royal Princess Duanjia. She admitted, “Actually, I don’t know what I can do. But if I don’t go and something happens to He Sanlang, I won’t be able to live with myself.” Looking at Matriarch He and Eldest Brother’s preparations, they weren’t hoping for any miracles from her. She was just meant to be a cover for the He Family to send resources to save Sanlang.
Royal Princess Duanjia knew that she couldn’t convince Chu Lian, so she stomped hard on the floor. Full of dissatisfaction, she said, “What did that He Sanlang do in his previous life to marry a wife like you?! Did he save the country or something? If I had met you earlier, I would have gotten my brother to marry you so you could be my sister-in-law!”
When Chu Lian heard Royal Princess Duanjia speak so carelessly, the corners of her mouth twitched. This princess was really daring in her choice of words.
“Princess!”
“What? Are you unhappy because I’m dissing He Sanlang? He’s a good-for-nothing in the first place. What are you defending him for? See, that title of yours had nothing to do with him!”
When Royal Princess Duanjia wanted to insult people, she went all the way.
Luckily, He Changdi wasn’t here. Otherwise, he might have choked on his anger and died!
When the princess saw that Chu Lian hadn’t answered her and was just looking down and sipping her honey water, Royal Princess Duanjia suddenly sucked in her breath. She moved closer to Chu Lian and said, “Chu Liu, have you really fallen in love with that He Sanlang?”
Chu Lian was speechless. She didn’t understand how Royal Princess Duanjia’s mind could leap to conclusions like that. Why was she suddenly asking about the feelings between her and her husband?
When Chu Lian only looked up and blinked at her, Royal Princess Duanjia became more anxious, “Chu Liu! How could you be so silly! Are you made of putty?! That stupid man abandoned you five days into your marriage, but you’ve actually set your heart on going to the northern border to save him from danger. If it were me, I wouldn’t even care if he lived or not! It would be best if he just died; this princess can still take another husband!”
Chu Lian almost spit out the honey water in her mouth thanks to Royal Princess Duanjia’s outrageous words.
She didn’t ignore Royal Princess Duanjia’s complaints and replied frankly, “I’m not going to the northern border just for He Sanlang. It’s more for the sake of House Jing’an, since I’m the Third Young Madam of House Jing’an first and foremost. As long as House Jing’an is doing well, I’ll be able to live my days well, too.”
It was only when Royal Princess Duanjia heard Chu Lian’s reply that she turned quiet.
She stopped refuting Chu Lian and remained silent for a moment. Finally, she looked up and met Chu Lian’s eyes. “Chu Liu, you have to be careful when you go to the northern border. I’ll ask my father to send some guards to protect you!”
Chu Lian smiled. “Princess, it’s not as dangerous as you think. I’m not going to the army camp, so why would anything happen to me? At most, I’ll be staying in Liangzhou City for a while. Oh yes, didn’t you say you wanted to eat hotpot some time ago? Why don’t we eat hotpot together today since we have the chance?”
Although saliva had already began to pool in her mouth, Royal Princess Duanjia still rolled her eyes at Chu Lian. She complained, “Chu Liu, you’re still thinking about food at this time?”
Chu Lian made a ‘pfft’ sound. “So~ Princess doesn’t want to eat hotpot? Then I’ll tell Xiyan and the rest to stop preparing it.”
Just as Chu Lian was about to stand up and do exactly that, Royal Princess Duanjia tugged on her sleeve and said, “Chu… Chu Liu… Since you want to eat hotpot, then this princess will do you a favour and accompany you for a meal.”
Chu Lian covered her smile and shot a look at Royal Princess Duanjia.
As expected, once food was mentioned, Royal Princess Duanjia had been successfully distracted. In an instant, she had already started to ask more questions: How was hotpot made? Could they really put all sorts of food in to cook? Would it still taste good that way?
After the meal, Princess Wei grasped Chu Lian’s hand and nagged at her for a long time. It wasn’t until after 2pm that Princess Wei and Royal Princess Duanjia finally went home in a low-key manner.
The situation in the north could change at any moment, so House Jing’an didn’t dare to tarry. They quickly set the date for Chu Lian’s departure to the north.
Very coincidentally, it happened to be the day of Xiao Bojian’s appreciation banquet in the Ying Estate.