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  Chapter 16: The Cost

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  ——————

  In the evening, Zhu Yichen and Zhu Yihuan said that he wanted to take Chu Keqi out for a walk.

  Zhu Yuhuan immediately shouted in opposition, but Zhu Yuzhen said that Ke'er was uncomfortable staying here and being watched by the mother-in-law all day. She didn't like listening to scriptures or meditation, and it wasn't a good idea to keep her cooped up like this, or she would get sick after two days of being cooped up.

  "Zhu Yi Huan waved his hand and said, 'Why speak so eloquently? One person taking a beauty out alone, doesn't it go against propriety for a lone man and woman to be together? Moreover, this young master didn't have good intentions from the start, how could I agree? Absolutely not agreeing!'"

  Zhu Yuheng painstakingly explained, trying to persuade Ke Qian to go take a look... That Xue E, I say she's not even Xue E, that scoundrel. Thinking about it, this matter must be firmly opposed by Ke Qian, or else if she hesitates for a moment, Old Lady will pressure her and she might just agree. We're far apart, out of reach. Moreover, Old Lady is not an easy person to deal with, anything can happen.

  "Zhu Yi Huan: Don't waste your breath, I won't respond even if you speak to the heavens."

  Zhu Yichan pursed his lips and remained silent for a while before saying, "And who's going with us?"

  Zhu Yuhuan didn't think much and waved his hand again "Good"

  Zhu Yuchen was so angry that he almost died.

  On this side, Chu Ke and Liu Niang also spent half a day's effort to finally persuade Liu Niang, and then hurriedly ordered the maidservant to prepare and help conceal the truth from the Meng family. Originally, they had wanted to bring Bai Guo along, but fearing that the Meng family would become suspicious if one of their maidservants was missing, no one was brought along.

  The next day at 3 o'clock, Chu Kei got up, hastily washed and dressed, had breakfast, and it was already the beginning of Mao Shi. The Madame Door and her several maids had been getting up at the end of Mao Shi for the past few days, and they also learned to be lazy, so they could only get up half a moment earlier than her every day.

  Chu Kei-hui changed into a lotus green silk short-sleeved shirt with wide sleeves and a soft smoke-colored long skirt, Liu Niang got up to help her tidy up, repeatedly reminding her, Chu Kei-hui also instructed several maids to respond to the Meng family before coming out.

  Zhu Yichan was already waiting at the gate, wearing a blue linen long shirt, standing elegantly at the entrance. Although he was dressed simply, his handsome appearance still attracted attention, and several young nuns sweeping the floor couldn't help but steal glances at him.

  The originally dull and listless handsome man suddenly lifted his spirits, and then the sparkle in his eyes flowed and changed, dazzling the little nuns who were sneaking a peek into a daze.

  Zhu Yichan didn't notice at all, smiling as he looked at Chu Kejie walking out, saying in a low voice "Kejie."

  Chu Ke nodded and looked at his back, "And where is Fifth Brother?"

  "Waiting at the gate of the temple." Zhu Yichen said, looking at the maidservants following behind her, "Are all these people coming with you?"

  Just as he was about to say that there might not be enough room in the car, Chu Ke had already said not to bring them... otherwise the women would have been suspicious.

  Zhu Yichan felt relieved and happy in his heart, and quickly turned around and left.

  Chu Ke turned around and said to Jing Er, "Let's go back."

  Quiet and peaceful, with good fortune and blessings for the body.

  Zhu Yichen's mouth corner carried a drunk smile, turned around, the several little nuns around were five confused and three lost, one of them followed and twisted her body, bumping into another nun behind, the two let out a small scream, attracting everyone's attention on this side, the little nuns immediately lowered their heads with shy faces.

  Zhu Yichen glanced at him inexplicably and turned away, but Chu Keji looked at the several thinking spring nuns, coughed in confusion, and then turned around, calling Jing'er to his side and whispering "Remember to tell those little nuns not to be reckless"

  Jing Er hastily nodded her head, but in her heart she was thinking, how can they be stopped?

  Chu Xue followed Zhu Yuxuan out of the temple gate, and Zhu Yuheng was holding a small bundle at the door, waiting. Seeing Chu Xue, he smiled and said, "Are you all packed? Let's go."

  The three of them walked down the mountain laughing and arrived at the foot of the mountain. Zhu Yuhuan hired a horse-drawn carriage, and the three of them got on board and headed towards Huaiyuan.

  "Yi Chen, can Xue E leave the house today?" Zhu Yi Huan asked in the car.

  Zhu Yichan ignored him.

  Zhu Yuhuan didn't think so, still smiling and asking "Or does Xue E have a usual place to go?"

  Zhu Yichan still ignored him.

  Just as Zhu Yuhuan was about to continue asking, Chu Kui opened her mouth and said, "The two of them..."

  Zhu Yicheng looked at her on horseback? Ke Qi?"

  Chu Ke looked at them with a puzzled expression, feeling that there was something strange about the two of them.

  Zhu Yichen turned and looked at Zhu Yihuan, his eyes suddenly becoming fierce and menacing, warning "be honest today"

  Chu Xue heard this and raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had never seen Zhu Yuxuan speak to his brother like that before. What was strange was that Zhu Yuhuan didn't get angry at all, but instead looked at Zhu Yuxuan with a deep meaning, not harboring good intentions, and smiled slyly.

  It was still early, the road outside was quiet, and the sky had not yet fully brightened, with some darkness remaining. Chu Ke'er got up early in the morning, but after being jostled by the carriage, she found it hard to keep her eyes open, and soon became drowsy.

  Zhu Yichan moved to the entrance of the carriage and handed over the backrests that he and Zhu Yihan were leaning on as pillows for her. "You can also squeeze in at the door and sleep for a while," said Zhu Yihan.

  "Chu Qian hurriedly shook her head, 'No, no, don't...' "

  Zhū Yì Zhēn thought it was because they were in the carriage, and hastily said "I'll go sit outside." Before Chǔ Qiè Huì could react, she had already lifted up the curtain and gone out to sit on the side of the carriage. Zhū Yì Huàn tidied up the cushions inside the carriage, then opened up her bundle and took out a piece of clothing to hand over to her, covering herself slightly to avoid catching a chill.

  Chu Ke had a bit of an awkward expression as he accepted, then lay down in the carriage. Zhu Yi Huan also went out and squeezed between Zhu Yi Zhen and the coachman, speaking softly to Zhu Yi Zhen.

  Chu Xue fell asleep as soon as she lay down, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

  When she heard the call and got up, she felt that the carriage had already stopped. In front of her was Zhu Yuhuan's smiling face, softly calling out to her, and she hastily got up and arrived?

  Zhu Yuhuan smiled and nodded, "Just ahead is Huaiyuan City." Seeing Chu Ke rise to his feet, he tapped the door frame with his hand, "Come in, Yuhuan."

  Zhu Yichan hastily drilled in and looked at Chu Keqi who was still rubbing her eyes, smiling and saying "Asleep?"

  Chu Kei nodded off to sleep.

  It feels like it's already bright outside, and the noise of human voices has increased. I couldn't help but gently lift the curtain to take a look, and saw that the horse carriage was walking on a main official road, with many small vendors carrying poles and pushing carts walking alongside, looking like they were entering the city to sell goods.

  Looking further ahead, a small gate tower appeared before his eyes, with two large characters written on it: Huaiyuan.

  Is this Huaiyuan? Is the old lady's hometown really here? Chu Ke thought to herself, taking a closer look at the city gate of Huaiyuan. What kind of family is the Xue family that can raise such an awesome person like the old lady?

  "Where are we going?" she asked.

  "There is a lake inside the city of Huaiyuan, called Yuehu Lake. Next to Yuehu Lake, there is a building called Xiyuelou. Let's go rent a big boat on Yuehu Lake and have some fun first. At noon, we'll eat at Xiyuelou." said Zhu Yuhuan.

  Chu Ke nodded in confusion, so she could see Xue E? Wasn't it to take a look at what kind of person Xue E was? Feeling her puzzled gaze, Zhu Yi Chen smiled and nodded, but didn't.

  Chu Xue understood, and maybe this way she could see that Xue E. In fact, thinking about it, whether or not she saw Xue E had anything to do with her, she didn't care what kind of person Xue E was. She never thought about following the old lady's wishes and marrying Xue E. Saying she came to see him, in reality a big part of the reason was that she wanted to come out and take a walk, and a small part of the reason was that she wondered, what was the old lady's hometown like?

  The horse carriage continued moving forward and entered the city, following the streets until it stopped at a certain place. The driver said from outside, "We have arrived, sir."

  Zhu Yicheng lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Chu Keji saw a large piece of Neicheng Lake in front of her, which was quite big. There was also a small island in the middle of the lake, and many large and small boats were moored along the lake shore.

  Zhu Yichan handed a few silver coins to the cart driver and said, "Just drive around nearby for now, and come back here at noon to wait."

  The coachman nodded in response, and Zhu Yichen had already jumped off the carriage. On this side, Zhu Yihuan also jumped off the carriage, turned around to support Chu Kui coming down, and the two walked towards the lake. Zhu Yichen had already gone ahead to hire a large boat and ordered the boat owner to set up two wooden planks.

  The boatman had just put up a plank, and Chu Kei had already walked to the front, looked at the plank which was about three feet wide, and smiled as he went up first.

  Zhu Yichan let out a soft "ah" and saw that she had already boarded the boat very steadily. He quickly followed suit, jumping onto the boat. The boatman, holding another oar, asked the passenger, "Do you still need to pole this branch?"

  "Everyone's on board, why are you still hesitating?" With a smile, he jumped onto the boat in two or three strides and said to Chu Kei, "You're quite bold, aren't you?"

  Chu Xue raised an eyebrow and pointed at the plank, "It's so narrow, who dares to cross?"

  Zhu Yichen and Zhu Yihuan both smiled, Chu Keqian turned her head to look at the boat, this boat is a common type of painting boat in the south, some are double-decker, some are single-decker, this one is single-decker, but the cabin is very spacious, on the left side of the cabin there is an eight-immortal table, two chairs, on the table is a set of Song kiln white porcelain tea set, on the right side is a beauty backrest fixed on the ship's side, leaning against it can see the water outside, the windows of the boat are all very low, but there are diamond-shaped lattices blocking them, and there is another layer of outer panel outside, all for safety.

  She sat down on the beautiful shore, her line of sight lowered a bit, and the water's surface was much closer. At this time, the sun had already come out, shining on the water's surface, sparkling with glittering waves.

  Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Yu Chen also came in, the boat slowly moved, leaving the shore to the middle of the lake.

  "What kind of family is the Xue family?" Chu Ke asked.

  Zhu Yicheng also leaned against the beautiful woman beside her, looked at her and asked, "What's going on? The Xue family... will never have anything to do with you."

  "I was thinking about the old lady's matter... otherwise, the old lady will have some difficulties in doing things in the future that I don't understand."

  Zhu Yichan felt relieved after hearing this, and was about to speak when Zhu Yihan interrupted him. "The Xue family is a declining household," he said. "Only the old lady's father held office, and that was the highest position they ever reached. It was because of this that they had connections with the Chu family's ancestors. The old lady married into the Chu family and took advantage of their status to help her own family. Her husband rose to become the Taizi Shaoshi, but unfortunately, the people in our household are not capable, and those who were promoted were all useless."

  Chu Xue was laughed at by the old lady, even if she didn't want to argue, but she couldn't bear the old lady's high spirits, and insisted on turning the dead fish pond into a lotus pool.

  "What about the one with the surname Xue? I think she's always going to be a dead fish, and Old Lady is propping her up. Who knows, maybe she'll drag her down too." Zhu Yichen also chimed in with a smile.

  Chu Ke was delighted, clapping her hands in approval. "Good idea! I've made up my mind. If the old lady hadn't provoked me, that would be fine, but now she's targeted me, I won't let her off lightly."

  "What's going on?" Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Yuquan asked in unison, their smiles disappearing from their faces.

  "Chu Xue smiled and said, 'Don't worry, I've been watching you for so long, aren't you reassured? I have a good sense of proportion. If I don't make a move, it's fine. But once I do, she will never be able to turn the tables.'"

  "Go ahead and blow it," Zhu Yuhuan sneered.

  Chu Xue didn't think much of it and pointed at a boat on the lake, asking if the person sitting on that boat was Xue E.

  As soon as the voice fell, both of them looked over there, and saw that four or five people on the boat were looking this way. Zhu Yuxuan was closer, and quickly swept a glance, saying "No one is there, let's close the window."

  Zhu Yuhuan also understood that those people were looking at Chu Keqian, and quickly closed the window across from them. Chu Keqian looked at the paper on the boat's windows, which was a type of paper that could be seen through from the inside but not from the outside. This type of paper was often used in the palace to make screens to block the view of the empress dowager or imperial concubines when they needed to face officials or outsiders.

  Close the window and look at the people on that boat again. They have all turned their heads. Zhu Yuhuan asked, "Yuheng, do you recognize them?"

  Zhu Yichan shook his head and didn't recognize any of them."

  "Xue E should be able to come, right? Can't be sure with just a few words?" He couldn't help but ask.

  Zhu Yuchan furrowed his brow for half a day before slowly and reluctantly saying, "I heard that he used to like coming here to boat on the lake... Has he changed this habit or not?"

  "Oh," Zhu Yuhuan glanced at Chu Qianxun and didn't say anything else.

  Chu Xue looked out the window with an expressionless face, what kind of medicine were these two selling in secret? Can't they just say it outright, why do they have to be so mysterious and sneaky?

  Just then, the sound of commotion came from the shore, and a row of horse-drawn carriages drove by on the road. The boatmen who had not been hired yet all swarmed up to solicit business, attracting a crowd of onlookers. After watching for a while, Zhu Yuxian and Zhu Yuhan almost simultaneously called out someone's name: "Xue E".

  Chu Xue heard and immediately asked, "Which one is it?" Her eyes scanned the crowd on the shore.

  Among the group of people who came, there were men riding horses and women sitting in carriages. At this time, one was getting off the carriage, with two small maids supporting her. A man wearing a sapphire blue brocade long shirt walked towards one of the boats, gesturing to someone behind him. Chu Ke looked at him for a moment, feeling that he seemed familiar.

  It is by.

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