Chapter 29 - Grant Her To Be the Crown Princess

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lu Chen frowned. “Qiao Jinniang, just because I indulge you for old times’ sake doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want to me.”

Qiao Jinniang snorted coldly. “Indulge? How do you have the cheek to say you ‘indulge’ me?”

She went over, tore off the sachet from Lu Chen’s waist and placed it on Tuan’er’s waist before saying softly, “My little dough is fragrant now.”

Tuan’er snuggled against Qiao Jinniang’s shoulder. “Mommy is fragrant too.”

Qiao Jinniang smiled gently.

Looking at them, Lu Chen was surprised by the speed Qiao Jinniang changed her face. She treated him and Tuan’er with completely different faces!

Lu Chen said to Qiao Jinniang, “I’ve already asked my father to grant you the position of my first concubine. Your father has already known about it too. The imperial decree will be issued on June 21.”

Qiao Jinniang was stunned. Her father had known about it?

But her mother said her father told her His Majesty intended to let Ruoshui marry into the East Palace.

Qiao Jinniang thought that perhaps Duke Anyuan misinterpreted His Majesty’s words? Duke Anyuan didn’t know what happened between her and the Crown Prince, so he subconsciously thought the Emperor was talking about Qiao Ruoshui.

If this is the case, she should urge the Duchess to find her a fiancé as soon as possible.

Yes, His Majesty was wise and benevolent and wouldn’t force anyone to marry the Crown Prince, but she was different. She had a child with Lu Chen.

Moreover, His Majesty had said to Duke Anyuan that he wanted to be in-laws with him.

With Duke Anyuan’s misunderstanding, His Majesty must think that Duke Anyuan had agreed to marry Qiao Jinniang to the Crown Prince.

If the imperial decree was issued at the end of June, she could only be the Crown Prince’s concubine and there would be nothing she could do!

If the imperial decree was issued, since Duke Anyuan had already agreed to it, it would be a punishment of decapitation if she dared to refuse…

Therefore, she had to be engaged to another man as soon as possible and make it known to everyone in Chang’an before the imperial decree was issued.

Then His Majesty could only give up.

Qiao Jinniang was lost in thoughts and didn’t notice that Lu Chen had Tuan’er taken away.

In the huge courtyard of Kylin Garden, only Qiao Jinniang and Lu Chen were left.

Qiao Jinniang came back to her senses only to see that Lu Chen was only one foot away from her.

He put his dirty hands around her waist, his voice hoarse. “Since we were separated, not only Tuan’er is missing you, but I have also been thinking of you.”

Qiao Jinniang mocked. “Thinking of how to make me your concubine or how to kill me so as not to tarnish your reputation?”

“Jin’er.” Lu Chen sighed. “You didn’t grow up in an aristocratic family, so you don’t know the position of my first concubine means. Although your father is Duke Anyuan, it’s not a bad position for you.”

Hearing Lu Chen called her Jin’er, Qiao Jinniang was so disgusted that she raised her hand and slapped Lu Chen hard in his left cheek, on which the swelling had not subsided yet.

“I only know that my husband must treat me wholeheartedly, just like my foster father only loves my foster mother.

“You want to be a breeding pig and sleep more than a dozen sows, but I don’t want to be a sow!

“Your first concubine? If you have other women, even if you make me the crown princess, I’ll disdain it!”

Lu Chen covered his left face, thinking that Qiao Jinniang really went too far…

“Master.” His secret guard’s voice sounded from the darkness.

Lu Chen walked to the side, his face livid with anger. The secret guard had reported something to him, causing him to hurry away.

Only a little eunuch was left. He plucked up the courage and said to Qiao Jinniang carefully, “Miss Qiao, His Royal Highness said, if you want to see the little imperial grandson during the Dragon Boat Festival, you’ll have to make a dragon boat sachet for him.”

Qiao Jinniang clenched her handkerchief and cursed Lu Chen over and over again in her heart, but she still had to make a sachet for him!

It worked really well to threaten her with Tuan’er.

…

After Qiao Jinniang went back to the Duke Mansion, she was called over by the Duchess.

Seeing Qiao Jinniang come over, the Duchess said, “Your aunts came to visit me this afternoon. They all praised your chef’s cooking skills. What a pity, if it weren’t for the people of the Qin Family, I would have gone to taste it.”

“Mother, it’s okay. I’ll cook for you myself later.”

The Duchess held Qiao Jinniang’s hand and said, “How can I let you cook? I just want to ask you, did you see Mr. Yu in Yuanxi Temple not long ago?”

Qiao Jinniang nodded. “Yes, her younger sister had said some rude things to me, but Mr. Yu apologized for her.”

The Duchess smiled. “His Majesty was very happy that the Crown Prince who has been missing for years returned to Chang’an, so he decided to hold an imperial examination this autumn.

“Mr. Yu is confident of finishing in the top three in this imperial examination.

“Moreover, his father is a high-ranking official in the Defense Ministry. If he is promoted, he may become the Deputy Secretary of Defense in the future. You don’t have to be shy. Tell me, how do you think of Mr. Yu?”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Mother, I’ve already married once, and I know I shouldn’t be picky.

“But just because it will be my second marriage, I don’t want to marry another jerk.

“Mr. Yu seems gentle and polite but is actually very shrewd and calculating. I don’t think he is a good choice for me.

“If he speaks frankly that he wants to make a deal with me, with him giving me marriage in exchange for a career, I may admire his frankness.

“But he deliberately approached me in the temple harboring ulterior motives. I don’t think this kind of man is a good choice for me.

“I don’t want to marry a rich or powerful husband. I just want an honest and sincere man.”

At least that man must not be like Lu Chen, who said he missed her but wanted her to be his concubine.

The Duchess nodded. “Jinniang, I’m glad you think so.

“On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, there will be a dragon boat race in Chang’an. At that time, members of the royal family, children of aristocratic families, and sons of courtiers will all go to the Imperial River.

“When the time comes, we can go over there, and I’ll definitely pick a good man for you. “

Qiao Jinniang nodded shyly and left.

Back in the room, she took out the fabric left last time. If that jerk weren’t the Crown Prince, she really wanted to stuff poison instead of spice into the sachet!

Qiao Jinniang thought about it carefully. She would be decapitated if she put poison into the sachet. Instead, she should put in some special spices.

She remembered that there was a spice that was extremely fragrant at first, but as time went by, it would become extremely foul.

The jerk disgusted her so much, and she should pay him back a little!

…

In the imperial palace, the emperor looked at his beloved youngest son’s swollen face and said in anger, “You still want to protect her? You are the Crown Prince of our Tang Dynasty, how could she slap you repeatedly?

“Were you beaten by her every day in the three years when you were in Lin’an?”

The emperor had heard that the men who married into their wives’ families had a low status and would even be beaten by their wives.

Just look at the princesses, which one of them didn’t bully their husbands?

Lu Chen said, “No, she is mad at me because I want her to be my concubine. Father, if you really worry about me, can you just grant her the title of crown princess, so that she won’t beat me anymore?”

The emperor was annoyed. “What are you talking about? How can you be so spineless? You are the Crown Prince. If she beats you, can’t you punish her?”

That being said, the emperor’s face was full of worry but no anger.

Lu Chen paused and said, “If Mother slaps you, will you punish her?”

The emperor said, “As the motherly model of the entire nation, your mother is so gentle and virtuous. How could she possibly hit me?”

“But why did I hear that when I was missing, every time you went to Mother’s palace, you came out with injuries, Father?”