青春期撞上更年期第1部

“No, nothing serious!” Zhang Qilan reached out to rub her forehead.

“It doesn’t matter, even if it’s not a big deal. Anyway, I have nothing to do!” Infanta Yuan’an said with a smile, “We are guests here. Perhaps, the two princesses invited only a few guests. So far, I’ve only seen you. If you have anything to do, I can help. I’m free anyway. It can relieve my boredom!”

There were indeed few people around them. Until now, Zhang Qilan had only seen Shao Wanru and Chu Liuyue.

“Let’s go down for a walk!” Zhang Qilan thought for a moment, stood up, and said, “We’ve been here for so long. We have to go down and see other sceneries.”

“Okay, that’s what I have in mind!” Infanta Yuan’an agreed happily.

After tidying up their clothes slightly, they went downstairs with their servant girls. Before leaving the window, Zhang Qilan looked at the pavilion again. There was still no one there. She turned to look at the rockery, where she could vaguely see a corner of the clothes. The two of them were still dating there. They were shameless to the extreme.

She could no longer hide the hatred and anger in her heart. Her smile faded, and there was only bitter hatred in her eyes.

They went out of the loft, one in front of the other. Infanta Yuan’an pointed to a place ahead, saying she wanted to have a look. Zhang Qilan parted with her because she had to send someone to deal with some trivial matters of the Prime Minister Zhang’s Mansion. Infanta Yuan’an had repeatedly said she could help, but Zhang Qilan said it was not convenient for her to intervene in the internal affairs of her mansion.

Helplessly, Infanta Yuan’an walked away.

After watching Infanta Yuan’an leave, Zhang Qilan turned around and walked to the pavilion she had seen before. No matter how kind Infanta Yuan’an was, she would be Princess Zhou. Thus, Zhang Qilan could not let her see this kind of thing. Otherwise, it might become something that Infanta Yuan’an could hold against Prince Yue. Zhang Qilan could not understand why Prince Yue would foolishly ask for trouble.

“Doesn’t he know who Princess Chen is? How dare he get involved with her? Does he forget his ultimate ambition?

“Does he like her so much that he could even let go of everything in his heart?”

Thinking of this, she became increasingly exasperated. After coming over, she went straight to the rockery. When she turned the corner, she saw Chu Liuyue standing by the pond with his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him was only Xiao Qizi, the eunuch.

She looked around but didn’t find Shao Wanru.

“Miss Zhang!” Xiao Qizi was the first to see Zhang Qilan and hurried forward to salute her. Zhang Qilan was the future Princess Yue, so he did not dare to offend her.

Chu Liuyue turned around, his face gloomy. The excitement on his face had subsided, and now there was only coldness. How could he be in a good mood after being schemed against? Even when he saw Zhang Qilan appear here, his eyes remained dull — he did not look happy when seeing her.

Zhang Qilan felt another fit of anger.

“Greetings, Your Highness!” Zhang Qilan took a step forward and bowed.

“Did you ask someone to lure me here just now?” Chu Liuyue’s sharp eyes fell on Zhang Qilan’s face. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he felt. When Zhang Qilan came over at this time, he began to doubt her motives.

“I didn’t lure you here!” Zhang Qilan shook her head. At first, she didn’t understand what he meant. But suddenly, she thought of something and became angry. “Did someone invite you here on my behalf?”

She didn’t say Shao Wanru’s name because she wanted to see Chu Liuyue’s reaction.

“Someone did it in your name, but you have no idea about it?” Chu Liuyue looked at her suspiciously.

The suspicion in his eyes made Zhang Qilan feel wronged. Although she had never thought of marrying Chu Liuyue, she accepted the marriage with him since she knew it. After all, Prince Yue was a handsome man admired by many Misses from aristocratic families in the capital city.

Prince Zhou was rough, Prince Chen was sick and terribly cool toward others, and Prince Xin was still immature. Compared with them, Prince Yue was the most eligible prince to be a husband.

“But what did he mean? Did he want to slander her and protect Shao Wanru, who had a secret date with him?”

“What do you mean? Did you see anyone coming?” Zhang Qilan’s eyes were burning with anger. With all her strength, she slightly suppressed her anger and asked.

“No one came over. I just saw you. If you have nothing to say, you can go back!” Chu Liuyue was very annoyed and reached out to rub his forehead. “It seems that it is not Zhang Qilan. Then who could it be? Who tricked me into coming here?”

He had always been cautious. If it hadn’t been for Zhang Qilan, he wouldn’t have come. Even if he had feelings for Shao Wanru, he wouldn’t believe it if anyone told him that Shao Wanru wanted to see him.

He knew very well that Shao Wanru had no feelings for him. It used to be the case, and the situation was still the same. When Shao Wanru married into Prince Chen’s Mansion, he accepted the reality, but he was still unwilling to take his defeat lying down.

However, he had gone too far just now. Chu Liuyue felt reluctant to tell others about it, not even Zhang Qilan. He wanted to hide this secret deep down in his heart, not allowing others to pry into his private affairs.

“Do you want to meet someone in this hidden place?” Zhang Qilan bit her lip and said. Though she knew she shouldn’t have said that, she couldn’t control herself. She had clearly seen Shao Wanru here, but now Shao Wanru was nowhere to be found. In addition, Chu Liuyue did not admit he had met Shao Wanru. It was evident that there was something fishy between them.

“Miss Zhang, what was that all about?” Chu Liuyue was annoyed and impatient. He waved his hand and said, “You want to stay here to appreciate the flowers, but I happen to have something to do. See you then!”

After that, he turned around and was about to leave.

He was in a bad mood and didn’t want to say anything to anyone. Moreover, he had to think about who had plotted against him. After entering this mansion, he had only drunk a cup of tea. Was there anything wrong with the tea?

“You don’t want to stay with me, but you enjoyed your time with someone else. Unfortunately, no matter how good she is, she has got married!” Zhang Qilan couldn’t stand it anymore and screamed.

Chu Liuyue stopped and rubbed his eyebrows, intending to relax himself a little. Then, he turned around, his eyes icy cold, “You are also a Miss from an aristocratic family. You should know misfortunes come from the mouth. A woman should be gentle and quiet. Don’t act like a gossip. Didn’t Prime Minister Zhang teach you this?”

After that, he swung his sleeve and left.

Zhang Qilan’s eyes turned red, and she shed tears of grievance. She wanted to reach out to pull Chu Liuyue, but he was not in the mood to pity her. After a few big strides, he was far away from her, leaving only a few reproaching remarks without warmth.

Watching Chu Liuyue leave, Zhang Qilan couldn’t help but tilt her head and cry. She knew Shao Wanru was not a decent woman. To see Prince Yue at the city gate, Shao Wanru had secretly booked a private room. Prince Yue treated her so badly even before Zhang Qilan married him. What kind of miserable life would she live if she married into his mansion?

“Miss, don’t cry!” The servant girl hurried forward to comfort her. She had been standing behind Zhang Qilan, so she also saw the scene in the pavilion and knew what Zhang Qilan was thinking about. While persuading her to calm down, she said indignantly, “Miss, stop crying. It’s useless for you to shed tears like this. You’d better think of a way. Princess Chen is utterly detestable. How can she do such a thing?”

“You also saw it, didn’t you?” Zhang Qilan asked to gain some support.

“Yes, I saw it. It’s disgusting. You treated this ungrateful woman so well in vain!” The servant girl was in a filthy mood, defending her master against injustice.

“What… what should I do? What should I do?” Zhang Qilan threw herself into the arms of the servant girl and cried.

“Miss, don’t be sad. We should never let Princess Chen get away with this. She must pay the price. Let’s think of a way to punish her!” The servant girl was loyal and supported Zhang Qilan wholeheartedly. She always put herself in Zhang Qilan’s shoes, thinking Princess Chen was a skittish woman. Because of her, Prince Yue hated her master.

“What else can I do? I… I can’t do anything about it!” Zhang Qilan wiped her tears, gritted her teeth, and said with hatred. Sure enough, she wouldn’t let Shao Wanru go. In the past, she was suspicious and didn’t want to get close to Shao Wanru. Now that she had witnessed her affair with Prince Yue, how could she swallow the insult? Fortunately, Infanta Yuan’an turned away and overlooked her. Otherwise, she would feel too ashamed to show her face.

Infanta Yuan’an would become Princess Zhou, who would only make Zhang Qilan feel inferior after this incident.

A servant girl came from the intersection. Seeing Zhang Qilan, she stepped forward and bowed.

Zhang Qilan hurriedly turned her face away, for she didn’t want others to see the tear traces on her face. She gently covered her face with a handkerchief and said lightly, “Get up!”

“I met Princess Chen just now. She asked me where you were. I said I didn’t know!” The servant girl reported respectfully.

Zhang Qilan suddenly had an idea. “Did Princess Chen look for me?”

“Princess Chen has asked about your whereabouts!” the servant girl said.

“She probably wanted to find out where I was and have a secret date with Prince Yue!” Zhang Qilan sneered and was about to ask her to leave. But when she saw the plate in her hand, she suddenly thought of something and turned her eyes to the pavilion. There were two teacups in the pavilion. It was obvious that they had just had a secret date here, but Prince Yue lied through his teeth.

“Are you going to clean up the tea inside now?” Zhang Qilan asked.

...

Usually, when there was a banquet in the mansion, some servant girls would be responsible for cleaning up the food and tea in the pavilions. If someone left, they would take the tea away. They would feel whether the tea was still warm if no one came. When the tea turned cold, they would make new tea and send it over. They would do the same with the fruit.

“Yes!” The servant girl answered. The plate in her hand was empty then, but it would be half full when she took it away later.

“Is there a tea room nearby?” Zhang Qilan looked around and asked.

The tea would get cold after being brewed for a long time. Thus, there had to be a tea room nearby for boiling water and preparing fruit. One tea room could provide tea and food for several nearby resting places. Generally, people in the mansion who held a banquet would do this. The servants couldn’t bring the tea from the kitchen. It was too far away, and the tea would be cold when reaching the resting spots.

“It’s nearby. Miss Zhang, do you need any snacks?” The servant girl thought Zhang Qilan wanted to eat something that this resting spot didn’t have. Some common snacks were placed here, but there were many more. Sometimes, different places had different kinds of snacks. What Zhang Qilan wanted to taste might not be available here.

“Are there a lot of snacks in the tea room?”

“Yes, a lot. The two princesses specially asked some people to make them. There are even some Xu State snacks,” the servant girl replied.

“Let’s go. Take me there to have a look!” A trace of coldness flashed across Zhang Qilan’s eyes. She clenched her fists and slowly unclenched them. “Shao Wanru, you are ruthless. Then, don’t blame me for being heartless.”

“Yes. Please let me take the two cups of tea!” The servant girl said. Zhang Qilan waved her hand and agreed.