Chapter 55

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Chapter 55: Title

Gu Hengbo was dazzled by the gold scattered all over the ground in her dream, making it hard for her to open her eyes. As she stuffed the gold into her pockets, it kept slipping out, causing her to sweat profusely.

Shui Yan saw that it was getting late and was about to wake Gu Hengbo when she noticed her clutching the blanket like an octopus, mumbling about something in her sleep. She walked over and gently shook the sleeping person. "Crown Princess, Crown Princess, wake up."

Gu Hengbo suddenly opened her eyes. "My gold!"

Shui Yan facepalmed; her sleeve was firmly grasped in Gu Hengbo’s hand. "Crown Princess, it’s time for dinner."

Gu Hengbo rolled over weakly, exhaling. It turned out she was just dreaming. They say you dream about what you think about, but she wasn’t really thinking about gold!

Touching her now somewhat flattened stomach, Gu Hengbo sat up and pretended to straighten her clothes. "It’s time to eat; let’s go."

Shui Yan nodded and reached out to help her; Gu Hengbo did not refuse and allowed her to help her stand up.

After finishing the last duck leg, Gu Hengbo restrained her urge to lick her fingers and wiped them with a silk handkerchief. "Where is the prince?"

The maids in the room felt embarrassed; it turned out their Crown Princess was aware that there was such a person as the prince.

Qian Yue walked in and smiled, "The prince has gone to the palace, so he didn’t keep the Crown Princess waiting for dinner."

Gu Hengbo nodded and replied, "Hmm," having grown accustomed to Lian Rong’s behavior.

Seeing her response without further elaboration, Qian Yue had to add, "The prince said he went to see the second prince."

"Huh? What?!" Gu Hengbo suddenly widened her eyes. "Why is she going to see the second prince?"

Qian Yue did not understand why she suddenly felt so excited. "The prince only said he hadn’t seen the Second Prince for a long time and wanted to chat with him. He mentioned that when the crown princess wakes up and wants to go, he would have Qian Yue send her there. It seems the crown princess is really tired. I have already prepared the water. Should she wash now or wait for the prince to return?"

Gu Hengbo was in a daze for a moment. Seeing Qian Yue still standing there, she smiled shyly. "No need to wait for her. I’m feeling sleepy again." After eating and sleeping, she had really become like a pig.

Qian Yue nodded and was about to go out when Gu Hengbo called her back. "Does the crown princess have any other requests?"

Gu Hengbo glanced around and beckoned her with her hand. With a smile at the corner of her mouth, Qian Yue walked over and leaned down, putting her ear close to Gu Hengbo’s lips. "Please speak, crown princess."

Gu Hengbo leaned closer and asked a question that made Qian Yue’s whole body stiffen. "Can I take a look at the gift that Empress Nanyin sent that day?"

"Well… alright."

Gu Hengbo thought to herself, these kinds of gold and silver treasures should be stored in some basement or behind a locked door in the bedroom. At the very least, there should be a dedicated treasure room. But what was this in front of her?

It looked like a long-abandoned woodshed, which it truly was—a woodshed. "Y-you put the jewels here?"

Qian Yue smiled slightly. "Originally, the prince had someone carry them to the stable. However, a few more horses arrived recently, so they had to be placed here."

Gu Hengbo’s mouth twitched. "Prince Rong’s residence is so big, and there isn’t even a room to spare?"

Qian Yue glanced at the boxes tossed about in a messy heap. "The prince said it takes up space."

"Space?!" Gu Hengbo was furious. "Your prince is crazy; he needs medicine."

Qian Yue: "…"

It was too infuriating. She couldn’t do anything about wasting beauty, and she couldn’t do anything about wasting food, but… this was heavy gold! Gu Hengbo felt a pang in her heart. "What about the items from my dowry?"

Qian Yue was surprised. "They are in the crown princess’s room."

"How many?"

Qian Yue thought for a moment, recalling the little box that was about the size of a head. She gestured with her hands. "It’s about this big."

"Hey, hey, you aren’t lying to me, are you? My father is so stingy?"

Qian Yue cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment. "There were a lot, but the prince sent most of them back, saying they took up space."

"Take up space?!" Gu Hengbo was totally enraged. She paced back and forth in the woodshed. "No, we must steal them back."

Qian Yue: "…"

Meanwhile, in the quiet hall, Lian Rong was playing chess with Lianyang, smiling as he put pressure on his opponent and showed no mercy. Lianyang looked at the white pieces on the board, trapped and unable to move, his face slightly blushing. "Royal nephew, you’ve lost again."

Lian Rong glanced at him and pointed with his slender fingers at a spot on the board. "You could have won, but you lost because you focused too much on your opponent and underestimated yourself. It’s like going into battle; if you don’t trust yourself, how can you talk about winning or losing?"

Lianyang hurriedly stood up and bowed to Lian Rong. "Your teachings are wise, royal uncle. I have learned a lesson."

Lian Rong smiled. "Look at you. We’re just playing a game. Remember to come to the residence more often; you haven’t properly met your royal aunt yet. At that time, bring Lian Chen and Lian Yue along. Lianhua cannot leave the palace, and I haven’t seen those two little ones, Lian Fei and Lianqing, in a long time. I miss them."

Lianyang quickly agreed, but he couldn’t help breaking out in a cold sweat behind his back. Did the royal uncle not know that Gu Meisheng had stayed at his place for a night?

Lian Rong got up and patted Lianyang’s stiff shoulder. "Among you all, only little Lianqing is close to me. When she was little, she happily called me royal uncle, but now you all have nothing to say to me."

"Royal uncle!"

"Alright, alright. Your royal uncle is old and not as lively as young people. It’s normal for you to have nothing to say to me. It’s getting late; I won’t go to see your Mother Empress. If you need anything, just tell your royal uncle."

"You are too kind."

Lian Rong nodded. "Then you should rest early."

"Royal nephew will see you out."

When Lian Rong returned, Gu Hengbo was sitting on the bed sulking, her lips pushed out like she could tie a donkey up with them. Lian Rong walked over and poked her cheek, "Who upset you?"

Gu Hengbo glared at her, "Let me ask you, why did you return my dowry when I got married?" She said this while pulling out a small redwood box and dumping the few pieces of jewelry inside onto the bed. "How much are these jewels worth? Do you think I would run away with that little bit of broken silver?"

Lian Rong walked to the table and poured herself a glass of water. "I never said you would run away with silver. Since you said it was ‘broken’ silver, why do you care about it?"

"Who said I don’t care? Broken silver is still silver! It’s the dowry my father gave me; it’s more precious than my life!" Little Gu was telling tall tales without a second thought.

"Come on, returning your dowry? I’ve never seen a daughter call her own father ‘old turtle.’ More precious than life? Well, that may be true; wives do treasure gold as if it were their lives," Lian Rong said while taking a sip of water.

"Treasure it? What are you talking about? I don’t care; you have to help me get that money back!"

Lian Rong choked a bit, set down her cup, and calmed herself, looking at Gu Hengbo for a moment. "You want me to steal it back for you?"

Gu Hengbo nodded decisively, "You must go."

Lian Rong clicked her tongue, took off her outer robe, and said, "Stealing it back isn’t hard; what’s in it for me?"

The moment Lian Rong removed her clothes, Gu Hengbo jumped onto the bed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I’ll cook you noodles."

Lian Rong stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Don’t try to brush me off. I still haven’t eaten your tomato and egg noodle dish from last time; do you think I’m easy to deceive?"

"You’ve been so busy, going to the palace and rushing to tidy up your things. I haven’t had time to cook for you! If you want to eat, I can make it now," Gu Hengbo whined, leaning into her.

Lian Rong threw her onto the bed. "I want to eat you."

"Ouch, my arm!" Gu Hengbo wailed.

"You’re just pretending," Lian Rong said.

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Just help me get those boxes of jewels and silver back, and you can do whatever you want."

"Can I eat you?" Lian Rong asked.

Gu Hengbo, with a sad face, nodded. She was so cowardly, not knowing if it was the lure of silver too strong or if she was simply yielding to Lian Rong’s pressure.

Lian Rong sat up, hugged Gu Hengbo onto her lap, and pinched her rear end. "That’s more like it, but you still need to make it up to me with that bowl of noodles."

Finally, the two schemers spent the whole night planning a strategy.

While fiddling with the noodles, Lian Rong shot a look at the sly-faced person across from her. "Is he really your biological father?"

"Of course! If you don’t believe me, you can go do a paternity test."

Lian Rong replied, "…"

"By the way, can Qingfeng not enter the palace?"

Lian Rong rolled some noodles and fed them to Gu Hengbo, "If she comes, who will take care of your mother?"

"True. So, is the person you sent to protect my mother male or female?"

"Male."