Transmigrated as the Princess Consort of a Fallen Nation-Chapter 76

Chu Chengji rinsed his hands in the basin, then took a clean cloth to wipe the water off his hands, saying, “Empress Lu likes her, what does it have to do with me?”

Qin Zheng choked.

Lu Empress and Lu Jinyan were aunt and niece.

How could their relationship be bad?

She also guessed that he was not the original Crown Prince, otherwise, he would have called himself the Empress Lu, and Qin Zheng would have silently criticized him for being rebellious.

When Chu Chengji put the cloth on the edge of the basin, he suddenly realized something and looked at Qin Zheng, his tone teasing, “Are you jealous, Ah Zheng?”

Qin Zheng lowered her head to look at the book, “Your Highness is overthinking. I’m just thinking about meeting the two Misses from the Lu family tomorrow, fearing any neglect, and asking Your Highness for advice.”

He even called her Ah Zheng, showing that he was holding back his anger.

Chu Chengji walked over and sat down beside her.

The space on the low couch was not large, and there was a low table in the center.

After Chu Chengji sat down beside Qin Zheng, it was inevitable that it would be a bit crowded.

When he leaned over to see what she was reading, his warm chest was directly against her back.

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The weather was getting hotter day by day, and the summer clothes were thin.

Feeling his breath enveloping her, Qin Zheng felt uncomfortable.

She pointed to the other side of the low table and said, “Your Highness, sit over there.”

Chu Chengji’s long arm encircled her waist, and his big hand covered her hand holding the book, lifting the book a little higher, trapping her between his chest and the low table. “Let’s read together.”

His chin was almost resting on Qin Zheng’s shoulder.

She struggled a bit but couldn’t break free, so she said, “Your Highness likes this book, ‘Records of Wu Di,’ so take it.”

She tried to loosen the grip on the book in her hand, but Chu Chengji’s palm on the back of her hand showed no signs of loosening.

The strength was not great, but it was very dominant.

“When the Lu family was at its peak, Empress Lu did indeed want to establish the legitimate daughter of the Lu family as the Crown Prince’s concubine.

However, Emperor Chu Yang, in his old age, was confused and sought the elixir of life, deceived by the Taoists, and believed that I had taken away his fortune.

If he killed me, he could live longer.” Chu Chengji’s voice was calm as he narrated the past events of the Crown Prince seizing a courtier’s wife.

Qin Zheng’s eyes flashed with a trace of astonishment.

She couldn’t focus on the book in her hand and leaned on his chest to listen to the story.

Chu Chengji gently stroked her long hair, as if stroking a cat, “To get rid of me, he first had to deal with the Lu family behind me. Empress Lu fell out of favor, and the Lu family’s officials were suppressed in the court.

Although the Grand Tutor Lu was still standing, he also saw that the Lu family’s mansion would fall one day.”

“Since birth, I have been criticized by the Heavenly Monitoring Institute as having the same fate as Emperor Wu Jia.

When I said this, Chu Chengji’s expression was strange, but unfortunately, Qin Zheng, leaning against his chest, couldn’t see it.

Chu Chengji continued, “Regardless of the people or the court, there has always been a high praise for me.

This made Emperor Chu Yang deeply believe that I had taken away his fortune to become emperor.

To protect myself, I did all sorts of absurd things and became notorious.”

“But the officials of the Heavenly Monitoring Institute also said that Emperor Wu Jia had never been near a woman in his life.

If I wanted to maintain this fate, I must never approach a woman before achieving great accomplishments.

Empress Lu and the Lu family believed in this fate and made me pretend to be asleep and unable to eat, sleep, or engage in sexual activities.

To test me, Emperor Chu Yang sent many beauties to the East Palace.”

When he said this, Chu Chengji pressed his brow as if he felt absurd, but he really did reincarnate into this body after his death, which was a bit mysterious.

He continued, “He tried to push me away several times, but with more than a dozen beauties sent by Emperor Chu Yang, how could I find an excuse to push away every time?

Empress Lu let me pretend to be sick, bribed the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital, and said that I had been exhausted by women and that medication alone could not help.

So, I was secretly seeking medical treatment.”

Qin Zheng thought to herself that they had escaped from Bianjing that night on the boat, and one of the passengers had mentioned that he had a relative working in the Imperial Hospital, who revealed that the Crown Prince had a hidden illness and was seeking medicine everywhere.

“The Lu family is already a target of public criticism. If I were to marry another Lu family girl as the Crown Prince’s concubine, it would only push the Lu family to the forefront.

However, with my reputation for liking women and the beauty of the Lu family’s legitimate daughter in Bianjing, second only to you, if I were to remarry, it would only be you to avoid arousing suspicion from Emperor Chu Yang.”

Qin Zheng naturally understood the interests involved.

The original body had an engagement, and the Crown Prince’s reckless disregard for the rules of the court and his subjects by proposing to marry her would only disappoint the courtiers and the people even more.

This was also the situation that Emperor Chu Yang was happy to see, after all, the Duke of Qin was a pure courtier, and if the Crown Prince married a Qin family girl, he would not gain any support.

She suddenly raised her head, “So, you didn’t originally intend to marry me? With my engagement, you embarrassed yourself in the Golden Luang Hall and just needed to satisfy Emperor Chu Yang.

After the Qin family refused the marriage, you then proposed to marry my sister as your true purpose?”

A complex look flashed in Chu Chengji’s eyes as he nodded.

That was indeed the original Crown Prince’s plan.

But who could have expected that the original Crown Prince’s reputation was too scandalous, and the Qin sisters were deeply attached.

The eldest Qin sister thought that she had brought unwarranted disaster to her sister and voluntarily annulled the engagement, marrying into the East Palace to the Shen family.

The original Crown Prince wanted to let the Emperor Chu Yang die, but he didn’t dare to tell the Duke of Qin everything, after all, if the Duke of Qin knew everything, with the Duke of Qin’s upright character, he would probably remonstrate before the court and let him kill the Taoist who spoke nonsense.

This would only make Emperor Chu Yang more eager to directly eliminate the original Crown Prince.

In the end, this confused marriage became a fact, and the scandal of snatching a courtier’s wife was firmly pinned on the head of the original Crown Prince.

But in the final analysis, it was still the original Crown Prince who, for the sake of self-preservation, dragged down the Qin family and broke up the marriages of the Qin and Shen families.

Later, when Shen Yanzhi betrayed, the original Crown Prince defended the city and died.

It was probably also because of cause and effect.

Qin Zheng didn’t expect that behind the cruel love story in the original book, there were so many hidden secrets.

She couldn’t come back to her senses for a long time.

Chu Chengji looked down at her, “I have little to do with the legitimate daughter of the Lu family in the capital.”

After revealing so many secrets, adding this sentence was self-evident.

Qin Zheng, however, had no intention of arguing with him anymore about those things and sighed, “I’m not feeling too good.”

At first, she thought that the Crown Princess and Shen Yanzhi were just a tragic couple oppressed by imperial power.

After sorting out all the roots behind it, that sense of unfairness was not as sharp as it was at the beginning, but rather heavy.

Fate has its crossroads, but at this crossroads, avoiding it, at the next crossroads, the same choices will still appear, and they cannot be avoided.

Qin Zheng had also investigated a lot about the Crown Princess’s past in the past few days.

The Crown Princess gave up Shen Yanzhi for her sister.

Qin Zheng had also imagined what would happen if the Crown Princess knew and did not marry the Crown Prince, but married Shen Yanzhi.

But the result would undoubtedly be more tragic.

The calamity of the country is never caused by one person.

In the battle of Qingxiang Pass, the Shen family framed Shen Yanzhi.

Whether he lived or died, the only news that would come back would be that Shen Yanzhi betrayed.

The difference is that if he chose to die at the hands of General Luo Xian, her younger sister would die with him in the enemy camp.

The message sent back to Bianjing would be: Shen Yanzhi betrayed and was executed on the battlefield in front of the army.

The imperial guards won and defended Qingxiang Pass. The Shen family and the Qin family, who had a marital relationship, were all captured as rebels.

If he made the same choice as now, before General Luo Xian had the evidence to kill him, he would escape to the enemy camp with the defense map.

When the imperial army was defeated, he could save her younger sister and the Qin family and the Shen family.

However, with the high righteousness of the Duke of Qin, even if Shen Yanzhi could not be killed, the Qin family would certainly be regarded as rebels.

No matter how deep the original body’s affection was for Shen Yanzhi, this path could not be taken.

After considering all the possibilities, Qin Zheng sadly realized that for both of them, the original body’s regretful marriage into the East Palace was actually the best outcome.

“What we have left for each other is the best of our past selves. When we recall the past, there won’t be so many insurmountable sorrows.”

Chu Chengji listened to her saying that she was not feeling too good, stared at her for a while, and asked, “Are you thinking about Shen Yanzhi?”

Qin Zheng nodded, sighed deeply, and added, “It’s not just him. I suddenly feel that all the people involved seem to be unable to escape this fate...”

Chu Chengji’s eyes cooled slightly when she nodded, and he said, “Break and then stand.”

Qin Zheng knew that this was what he said, but she suddenly found it difficult to get out of this heavy emotion.

Chu Chengji, seeing her always looking melancholy, lips slightly pursed, suddenly clutching his chest, frowning slightly, looked somewhat painful.

He was originally holding Qin Zheng, so this action naturally caught Qin Zheng’s attention.

She quickly turned to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

It had started raining lightly since the evening, and there was still a drizzle outside the window.

Her concerned words were like the candle burning on the corner of the table on a rainy night, peeling away layers of cold and gloomy haze.

Chu Chengji seemed unwilling to let her inquire too much, just saying, “It’s nothing, it’s rainy, and the arrow wound in my chest is aching a bit.”

His tightly furrowed brow never relaxed.

Of course, Qin Zheng knew how serious the arrow wound that almost took his life was.

Along the way, the wound healed and reopened several times.

Every time she helped him change the dressing, it looked painful.

She hurriedly got up, “You lie down on the bed first, I’ll have someone fetch the doctor.”

Chu Chengji was “weak” and was helped by her to lie down on the bed. “There’s no need to call the doctor. It’s just that my body feels better when it’s warm.”

The summer bedding was thin, so when Qin Zheng heard him say he wanted to be warmer, she quickly went to the bamboo chest and brought out a thick winter quilt to cover him.

She also asked someone to bring a hot soup.

In the summer, when some high-ranking officials felt cold, they would have someone prepare hot soup.

Therefore, when Qin Zheng suddenly asked someone to prepare hot soup, no one thought it was strange.

After the hot soup arrived, Qin Zheng immediately stuffed it against Chu Chengji’s chest to keep him warm.

Covered with a large winter quilt and holding a warm soup, Chu Chengji said, “I feel much better.”

He tried to take the soup out with his hand, but Qin Zheng pressed it down with her hand, “No, keep it warm for a while. Later, I will still have to find a doctor to prescribe a tonic for you.”

Until sweat beads the size of beans covered him, Qin Zheng finally took the soup away.

However, she refused to let Chu Chengji change back to the thin quilt he used in summer.

And the usually dead-asleep Qin Zheng seemed to awaken her potential to care for the sick.

Although his breathing had been long and even, whenever there was a slight movement from Chu Chengji’s side, she would immediately sit up.

Chu Chengji had quietly moved aside the blanket several times, but Qin Zheng covered him back each time.

Tired and afraid he would catch a cold, Qin Zheng muttered with her eyes closed, “You’re such a grown man, why do you keep kicking the blanket...”

Chu Chengji, who was pretending to be asleep, remained silent.

She usually slept soundly and woke up at dawn, not knowing what Chu Chengji’s sleeping habits were like.

But because of tonight’s discovery, Qin Zheng inexplicably felt a closer bond with Chu Chengji.

Her sleep was usually not very good, and Chu Chengji kicked the blanket too.

Neither of them should be disgusted with each other.

Afraid that Chu Chengji would throw off the blanket again in the middle of the night, Qin Zheng, who was exhausted, used both hands and feet to hold him tightly through the blanket.

In the darkness of the night, Chu Chengji looked at the dark tent top and let out a shallow sigh.