pjbooks Chapter 733 You can keep the title of Crown Princess and give it to someone else. I don't care.
Chapter 733 You can keep the title of Crown Princess and give it to someone else. I don't care.
Gu Qingchen didn't care how the farce in the plum grove would end.
She and Qian Zhenyun returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and leisurely played chess at the stone table under the tree.
The black and white pieces on the chessboard were intertwined, their moves decisive and ruthless, mirroring her current state of mind.
Qian Zhenyun, playing white, displayed a steady and methodical style, always managing to carve out a space for himself amidst her fierce attacks.
As night deepened, only a dim yellow lantern illuminated the courtyard, casting long shadows of the two people.
"Snap." Gu Qingchen placed a black piece, cutting off a large group of white pieces.
Just as she was about to say "I won," the courtyard gate was violently pushed open from the outside with a "bang."
Crown Prince Zhao Chen'an, dressed in a black brocade robe and exuding an aura of coldness, strode in.
He wasn't followed by a large number of guards, only a personal eunuch, but the imposing aura of a crown prince instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.
Gu Qingchen paused in his chess game and slowly raised his eyes.
Zhao Chen'an's gaze, however, bypassed her and shot straight at Qian Zhenyun like two poisoned knives.
"Qian Zhenyun," his voice suppressed a raging fire, "you have some nerve."
Qian Zhenyun slowly put down the white chess piece in his hand, stood up, bowed slightly to the Crown Prince, and said calmly, "Your Highness."
Zhao Chen'an approached step by step, his handsome face contorted with anger.
"Who gave you the audacity to interfere in royal affairs, scheme against the princess, and stir up trouble in the capital?"
In his eyes, the mastermind behind all this must be this study companion who was plotting behind the scenes. Although Gu Qingchen was arrogant, he didn't have so many sinister thoughts.
Gu Qingchen slammed the chess piece on the board with a "smack," stood up abruptly, pulled Qian Zhenyun behind him, and met Zhao Chen'an's fiery eyes.
“Zhao Chen’an,” she raised her chin slightly, “if you’re angry, come at me! What kind of skill is it to bully Gun Gun?”
Zhao Chen'an's chest heaved violently as he stared intently at Gu Qingchen's protective face, his anger turning into a bitter laugh.
"Fine, fine, Gu Qingchen! Haven't you caused enough trouble?!" he shouted angrily. "For your personal grudge, you've driven the Yongding Prince's Mansion to the brink of ruin, causing the two families to become mortal enemies!"
"Do you know what this means? Do you want to turn the entire court upside down?"
He stepped forward, his tone softening slightly, carrying a hint of final persuasion.
"Qingchen, listen to my advice, let this matter end here. As long as you are willing to stop, I can pretend that nothing happened today."
Gu Qingchen seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. She looked at Zhao Chen'an and suddenly laughed. Her laughter was crisp, but it was also chilling and mocking.
"Stop? Your Highness, have you forgotten that it was you who wanted our two families to clash from the very beginning?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, like slaps delivered hard to Zhao Chen'an's face.
"However, this show started ahead of schedule. You saw this scene before you even sat on the dragon throne. Aren't you disappointed?"
Zhao Chen'an's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"You, what did you say?"
"What did I say? Didn't Your Highness understand?"
Gu Qingchen's gaze was sharp as a knife, staring at him relentlessly.
"Balancing the court? How high-sounding! You want to marry me because you're after my father's military power! You want to marry Jiahe because you want to win over the Yongding Prince's Mansion and appease those old nobles!"
Qian Zhenyun, standing behind her, slightly changed his expression, reached out to tug at her sleeve, and whispered a reminder: "Qingchen..."
Gu Qingchen seemed not to notice and flung his hand away.
At this point, she had nothing left to worry about.
She took a step forward, almost touching Zhao Chen'an's face, and saw clearly the shock and panic in his eyes.
"You've taken us two mortal enemies, who've been fighting since childhood, into the Eastern Palace and put us in the same backyard. Let us fight, let the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion and the Prince of Yongding's Mansion fight in the court! Fight until both are severely injured and their strength is greatly depleted, then your royal family can watch the show and keep both of us firmly in your grasp!"
Her laughter grew increasingly sarcastic, but her eyes held a chilling coldness.
"This is the scheme you and the Empress have been plotting for over a decade, isn't it?"
"shut up!"
Zhao Chen'an was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. All his pretense and shrewdness were torn to shreds at this moment, leaving only the tyranny and rage of a superior.
He never imagined that Gu Qingchen would so bluntly and openly reveal these schemes hidden behind layers of veils in public!
"Gu Qingchen!" He spat out her name through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "Do you know what you're saying? You're courting death!"
"Of course I know." Gu Qingchen slowly straightened up, all expression disappearing from his face.
"From this day forward, my Zhenguo Duke's Mansion will have absolutely no connection with your Crown Prince's Palace."
She looked at his ashen face and spoke each word clearly and forcefully.
"Keep the position of Crown Princess and give it to someone else. I, Gu Qingchen, don't care for it!"
"How dare you!" Zhao Chen'an suddenly raised his hand.
Qian Zhenyun's pupils contracted, and he instantly flashed to block Gu Qingchen's path.
Crown Prince Zhao Chen'an's slap ultimately did not land.
His hand froze in mid-air, trembling violently.
Looking at the two people in front of him, one with a wary expression and the other with a resolute look in his eyes, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness and frustration.
He slowly lowered his hand, pointed at Gu Qingchen, and the last trace of warmth on his face vanished, leaving only a cold threat.
"Good, very good. Gu Qingchen, remember what you said today."
He gave her a deep look, as if he were looking at a dead person.
"I hope that you and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion behind you will not have any regrets in the future."
As soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly flicked his sleeve, turned around and left without looking back, his back view filled with boundless anger and chilling murderous intent.
The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
The night breeze rustled the leaves of the osmanthus tree.
The chess pieces on the board still maintain the unfinished game from before.
But the people who play chess can never go back to the way they were before.
A night breeze swept through the hall, causing the candlelight in the main room to flicker.
The celadon teacup in Chu Ruohan's hand had long since lost its warmth, and her delicate brows were tightly furrowed, clearly indicating that she already knew what had happened in the front yard.
Gu Junze remained calm, leisurely skimming the foam from the cup with the lid.
Chu Ruohan finally couldn't hold back and put down her teacup. "This time, Qingchen has probably really stirred up a hornet's nest."
Gu Junze took a sip of tea and gave a dismissive "hmm."
“That’s the Crown Prince, the future heir apparent. Our daughter exposed all those schemes in front of him. What’s the difference between that and pointing her finger at him and cursing him?”
"I heard that when the Crown Prince left, his face was extremely pale, and he even... even had murderous intent."
"Murderous intent?" Gu Junze finally raised his eyes, slamming his teacup down on the table with a loud thud.
Those eyes, which had witnessed mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield, held no fear at this moment, only a cold ruthlessness as if their sore spot had been touched.
"He dares!"
The two simple words carried the menacing aura of the Duke of Zhenguo's life of military campaigns, causing the air in the main hall to freeze.
“This marriage was a conspiracy between the Empress and him from the very beginning. They wanted to use the military power of my Duke Zhenguo’s mansion to pave the way for his position as Crown Prince, and they also wanted to use Chen’er to restrain me.”
Gu Junze sneered, his eyes full of contempt. "Now that the chess piece is disobedient and wants to jump off the board, he's getting angry and embarrassed?"
"But he is, after all, the crown prince,"
"We have completely broken ties with the Crown Prince, and the days ahead will likely be very difficult."
“Difficulties?” Gu Junze grasped his wife’s hand in return, his touch carrying a reassuring strength.
"Have you forgotten? The title of Duke of Zhenguo was not obtained through anyone's favor, but was earned with every sword and spear, with our lives."
"My attitude, Gu Junze, has been made clear from the very beginning."
“My daughter, Gu Junze’s daughter, is of noble birth and will only marry into a family, not marry outside the family.”
Gu Junze looked at his wife, his eyes filled with an unwavering determination.
"He, Zhao Chen'an, wants to marry my daughter? Fine. Then take off that prince's robe and come to my Duke Zhenguo's mansion..."