sjar Chapter 712 He's the Crown Prince; kicking him out would be a loss of face for the Emperor.
Chapter 712 He's the Crown Prince; kicking him out would be a loss of face for the Emperor.
Gu Qingchen paused, then slowly turned around. In the shadow cast by the artificial hill, Princess Jiahe was walking slowly towards him.
"So it's Princess Jiahe," Gu Qingchen said, his tone unreadable. "What is it?"
Princess Jiahe chuckled lightly, "I'm just curious, what kind of seductive tricks did Miss Gu use to bewitch His Highness the Crown Prince so completely?"
Gu Qingchen raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "The princess is leaving the border, which is perfectly fine, and insists on traveling all the way to the capital. Anyone who doesn't know better would think that the princess of the Yongwang Mansion can't get married because of the border."
“You!” Princess Jiahe’s face instantly turned bright red.
"You ill-mannered wild girl! You only get the Empress's favor because your father is the Duke of Zhenguo and a confidant of the Emperor!"
"Why can you be the Crown Princess while I can only be a concubine? In what way is my Prince Yong's Mansion inferior to your Duke Zhenguo's Mansion!"
So this is the crux of the problem.
Princess Jiahe grew angrier as she spoke, and recalling what had happened at the banquet, she sneered, "An Qing'er is right, you're just a crude brute who could kill a bull with one punch! His Highness the Crown Prince was temporarily blinded by your novel appearance, but once he comes to his senses, he will definitely despise you!"
"Oh?" Gu Qingchen chuckled in exasperation. She slowly lowered her arms from her chest and approached Princess Jiahe step by step, her eyes like those of a wolf eyeing its prey. "Where did you get the idea that I'm someone to be trifled with?"
Just then, a series of light footsteps came from not far away. It turned out that An Qing'er had brought several noble ladies over, clearly wanting to see a good show.
Gu Qingchen's gaze swept over them, finally settling on Princess Jiahe, who had instinctively retreated due to her approach.
"Perfect timing, everyone's here." Gu Qingchen's lips curled into a cold smile. "Didn't you want to see me kill a bull with one punch?"
"Today I'll show you what's what, I'll start with you... this purebred cow!"
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qingchen's figure swayed!
Princess Jiahe felt a blur before her eyes and had no time to react before she received a solid chop to the abdomen! The force wasn't enough to seriously injure her, but it made her groan in pain and bend over.
Before she could straighten up, a foot had already kicked her hard in the back!
"what!"
With a short scream, Princess Jiahe flew straight out like a kite with a broken string, and with a "plop," she crashed into the lotus pond next to her, splashing up a huge spray of water.
In the autumn, the lotus pond is icy cold.
"Help! The princess has fallen into the water!" An Qing'er and the others were stunned at first, then burst into piercing screams.
In an instant, the entire Imperial Garden was in an uproar. Princess Jiahe thrashed about in the icy pool, choking on several mouthfuls of water, her magnificent palace dress completely soaked.
The guards who rushed over at the sound stood by the pool, looking at each other in bewilderment, but none of them dared to go into the water.
This is the legitimate princess of the Yongwang Mansion. If they were to go into the water to save her and, in the ensuing struggle, ruin her reputation, that would be a capital offense.
Most of the palace servants were not good swimmers and could only watch helplessly from the shore.
"Make way! Make way!" A hurried male voice rang out, and Crown Prince Zhao Chen'an pushed through the crowd and rushed over.
When he saw Princess Jiahe struggling in the water, his expression changed, and he immediately prepared to take off his outer robe and jump into the water to save her.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm.
"Are you sure you want to save her?" Gu Qingchen's voice was as cold as water in a pool, and there was not a trace of a joke in his eyes.
The Crown Prince grew anxious. He struggled, but couldn't break free from Gu Qingchen's grasp. "Qingchen, don't be reckless! Jiahe is the legitimate daughter of the Prince of Yongding; she absolutely cannot be allowed to suffer any harm in the palace!"
His words contained a weighing of pros and cons, the most rational judgment of a crown prince.
But to Gu Qingchen, this was the choice.
She slowly released her grip, watching the prince's back as he prepared to enter the water without hesitation.
Well, what a wise and considerate Crown Prince!
Since his desire to marry Princess Jiahe is so obvious, she will grant their wish.
Amidst everyone's horrified gazes, Gu Qingchen raised his leg and delivered a clean and decisive kick to the Crown Prince's back.
"Since His Highness the Crown Prince is so chivalrous, then he may go down and keep her company!"
Caught off guard, Zhao Chen'an cried out in surprise and followed in Princess Jiahe's footsteps, falling into the water in a similarly disheveled manner.
The whole place was dead silent.
Everyone was stunned by Gu Qingchen's actions.
The next moment, the Crown Prince, who had fallen into the water, stood up on his own amidst the splashing sound of water.
Upon closer inspection, everyone realized that the seemingly deep pool water only reached his waist and was not enough to drown him.
The icy pool water soaked through his magnificent princely robe, his hair ornament tilted to one side, and water droplets dripped continuously down his handsome cheeks.
He stared incredulously at the indifferent woman on the shore, his anger and shame making him momentarily speechless.
"you!"
Gu Qingchen simply stared back at him coldly, her eyes showing no fear or regret whatsoever.
"Isn't Your Highness in a hurry to save people? I'm just helping you out, there's no need to thank me."
"Cough cough... Your Highness..." On the other side of the pool, Princess Jiahe coughed weakly, shivering in the water, her face as pale as paper, looking like she was about to cry, a pitiful sight.
"Your Highness...I'm so cold..."
She was clever; she didn't cry for help, but instead did her best to play the role of a frightened and vulnerable person.
This weak and helpless posture instantly made Gu Qingchen appear like an unreasonable bully.
Soon, the commotion alerted everyone at the banquet.
The Emperor and Empress, surrounded by eunuchs, hurried over. When they saw the disheveled Crown Prince and Princess in the pond, and Gu Qingchen standing upright on the shore with an expression that said, "So what if I did it?", even the Emperor and Empress, who were used to grand occasions, turned ashen-faced.
"Outrageous!" Emperor Zhao Yunci's voice was filled with thunderous rage. "What exactly is going on?!"
Gu Junze and Chu Ruohan had also arrived. Chu Ruohan saw that her daughter was safe and sound, but her fearless attitude made her sigh helplessly.
She tugged at Gu Junze's sleeve and whispered, "Whoever offends our daughter will be in trouble."
Gu Junze's gaze swept past his daughter and landed on the Crown Prince and Princess in the pond, his expression unreadable.
He said nothing, but stepped forward and stood precisely to the side and in front of Gu Qingchen, a posture that was clearly a silent protection.
"What are you all standing there for! Quickly help the Crown Prince and the Princess up!" The Empress was the first to react, and she sternly reprimanded the palace servants and guards around her.
After a flurry of activity, Zhao Chen'an and Princess Jiahe were finally pulled ashore.
Zhao Chen'an was alright, but he was disheveled and looked unwell.
As soon as Princess Jiahe stepped ashore, her body went limp, as if she could no longer support herself, and she collapsed towards the Crown Prince, weakly calling out, "Your Highness..."
The palace maids quickly helped her up, but this scene, seen by everyone, only confirmed that she had suffered all kinds of grievances and that the Crown Prince was her only support.
The Empress's brows furrowed tightly.
A sense of displeasure rose in her heart, not for Gu Qingchen's recklessness, but for Princess Jiahe's foolishness.
The Prince of Yongding must have repeatedly instructed his daughter to act with composure when he sent her to the capital alone.
But she did something quite different. On her very first night in the palace, she caused such a huge scandal because of jealousy.
With such impatience and such clumsy methods, if she were to enter the Eastern Palace in the future, could we expect her to behave herself?
Gu Qingchen is troublesome enough, what about her?
This is likely to throw the entire Eastern Palace into chaos!
"Gu Qingchen!" The emperor's anger was directed at the instigator. "Do you know your crime?!"
Gu Qingchen raised his eyes, meeting the emperor's angry glare without any fear.
She stepped forward, curtsied to the Emperor and Empress, and said in a clear and resounding voice, "Your Majesty, I am innocent."
“Princess Jiahe provoked us in the Imperial Garden. I acted in self-defense.”
"As for His Highness the Crown Prince," she paused, turning her gaze to Zhao Chen'an, her sarcasm undisguised, "it was His Highness who, without distinguishing right from wrong, was eager to stand up for the Princess."
"I just think that since Your Highness and the Princess are so in love, why don't they become a couple and calm down together in the water?"
These words plunged the entire room into dead silence once again.
How dare they speak ill of the Crown Prince in front of the Emperor! And they did it with such self-righteousness!
Zhao Chen'an was trembling with anger, pointing at Gu Qingchen, but he couldn't find a single strong word to refute her.
Because everything Gu Qingchen said was true.
"Enough!" The Empress interrupted the farce in a deep voice. She turned to the palace servants beside her, "Summon the imperial physician to examine the princess and the prince, and then send them back to change out of their wet clothes so they don't catch a cold."
She arranged everything in a few words, then turned to the emperor and said softly, "Your Majesty, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is common for children to have some minor conflicts."
"In my opinion, it would be better to let them go back first, and discuss this matter later. Let's not let such a small matter spoil the festive mood."
This is the most typical example of trying to smooth things over, and it's the only solution at the moment.
On one side is the Duke of Zhenguo, who holds a large army, and on the other side is the Prince of Yongding, who guards the border. Neither of them can be touched.
The emperor looked at Gu Junze with a gloomy expression, then at Princess Jiahe, who was being supported and was still trembling, and finally gave a heavy snort, which was taken as tacit approval of the empress's suggestion.
"Duke Zhenguo, keep your daughter in check!" the emperor warned before turning and leaving.
What should have been a joyous palace banquet ended in discord.
Gu Qingchen left the palace with her parents and boarded a carriage to return home.
Her earth-shattering kick not only sent the Crown Prince and the Princess flying, but also cemented her reputation as the "Little Devil of the Capital."
From then on, when the noble ladies of the capital mentioned Miss Gu of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, they felt not only jealousy but also a genuine sense of fear.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat somber.
Looking at her daughter's stubborn face, Chu Ruohan couldn't help but reach out and tidy up the stray hairs by her temples.
"Relieved?"
Gu Qingchen was taken aback. She looked up and met her mother's gentle yet somewhat helpless gaze. She pursed her lips and nodded.
"Ah."
"Next time, don't kick the Crown Prince." Gu Junze, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and spoke calmly.
Gu Qingchen thought her father was going to punish her and was prepared, but she was stunned when she heard this.
Gu Junze continued in his calm and even tone, "He is the crown prince. If we kick him, the emperor will lose face, and there will be a lot of trouble later."
He paused for a moment, then added.
"The rest is up to you."