Chapter 122 - This Gigolo Is the Crown Prince

Translator: Henyee TranslationsEditor: Henyee Translations

Qiao Jinniang said, “But when you went to investigate those illicit salt dealings, didn’t Xie Yun block a knife for you? He saved your life.”

Lu Chen said, “It was fake. He did it to see what his cousin would do. If he saved the Crown Prince’s life, his cousin would definitely not be able to sit still.

“At that time, when I was investigating the illicit salt dealings, the merchants under Xie Yun could provide some key evidence, so I made a transaction with Xie Yun.

“Lput on an act with him, and he provided me with evidence to help me check the accounts. ”

Lu Chen pinched Qiao Jinniang’s nose. “But you weren’t worried about me at all, asking about him and scolding me in the letter!”

Qiao Jinniang sensed a trace of grievance in Lu Chen’s words, and shook off his hand. “That’s because you didn’t tell me anything. You were not like this when we were in Lin‘an.”

Lu Chen was helpless, “I want to tell you, but you have to give me a chance.

“You are not in the East Palace, so how often can I see you every day? How do I have the time to say this?

“If you are in the East Palace and are always by my side, I will not hide anything from you if you want to know.”

Qiao Jinniang listened to his explanation and asked, “Isn’t Xie Yun in great danger?

“Once it’s exposed that he is actually a man, I am afraid that His Majesty will definitely not choose Xie Yun, who is very scheming, and choose his cousin.”

Lu Chen nodded. “Princess Jinghua thinks so too. She also knows that Xie Yun is a man, so she came up with this plan.”

Qiao Jinniang had a childhood friendship with Xie Yun, but she wouldn’t try to persuade Lu Chen to help Xie Yun.

She knew that politics should not involve personal emotions.

“Xie Yun is right. I really don’t fit in Chang’an.”

Qiao Jinniang sighed.

Lu Chen clenched Qiao Jinniang’s hand and said, “No, you will be the crown princess. You can just be yourself.”

“It’s true that people in Chang’an are mostly snobbish, but you don’t need to cater to them.

“Because in the future, no one will be higher than you in status except my father and mother!

“You don’t have to cater to anyone, but everyone has to cater to you.

“Besides, you have me standing in front of you, don’t you”

Lu Chen held Qiao Jinniang’s hand. “I took the blame for you, but you don’t even have the confidence to be my crown princess?”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Yes, I do. I just got emotional.

“You don’t want to let me go, so you can only make me, this out-of-place commoner woman, your crown princess!

“And you’ll have to be my scapegoat from time to time!”

Lu Chen said in an ambiguous tone, “Then can the crown princess enter the East Palace earlier?”

“It’s almost October, and it’s only three months away. Don’t think about those kinds of things whenever you see me, okay?”

Lu Chen blinked at her. “No, there are still three months. I don’t want to bear it for a single day.”

“Ahh!”

Caught off guard, Qiao Jinniang was suddenly picked up by Lu Chen, and she quickly put her hand around his neck.

Lu Chen gently placed her on the wooden couch and kissed her red lips.

Qiao Jinniang finally broke free from his embrace and complained tenderly,

“Are you crazy? This is in the daytime… Besides, we’re still in the restaurant, and there are many people downstairs!”

“They know that you and I are here and will not come upstairs.”

In the end, Qiao Jinniang didn’t refuse Lu Chen… Although Lu Chen was not as capable in bed as those heroes described in novels, he made her.

“It’s here. The sign reads Myriad Taste!”

“Qiao Jinniang, is Qiao Jinniang here?

“Is the rumor true that Qiao Jinniang has become the daughter of Duke Anyuan?

“How can she be so ungrateful as to forget us, her uncles and aunts?”

“Qiao Jinniang, come out!”

Hearing the familiar voices downstairs, Qiao Jinniang pushed Lu Chen. “Don’t, listen to the voices downstairs…”

Hearing the scolding voices below, Lu Chen paused and helplessly helped Qiao Jinniang fasten the belt that he had just taken off.

Qiao Jinniang said, “They sound like my adoptive father’s clan members. They have come all the way to Chang’an?!”

‘When she left Lin’an, she didn’t want to waste her time with those clansmen. Anyway, she would not returm to Lin’an, so she simply ignored them.

But she didn’t expect that they dared to come to her!

Lu Chen listened and said, “Yes.”

The people downstairs were the people of the Qiao family in Lin’an, headed by the current Qiao family patriarch, Qiao Yu’s elder brother, Qiao Ergou!

Qiao Ergou and the others didn’t know that Qiao Jinniang had actually returned to the Duke Mansion until the order that Qiao Yu was conferred to the title of Earl Lin’an was announced in Lin’an. They had thought it was a play that Qiao Jinniang hired a group of people to perform.

After all, it was incredible for her to change from the daughter of a shopkeeper to the daughter of a duke.

After Qiao Jinniang left, they kept smearing Qiao Jinniang’s reputation in Lin‘an, and someone like an official came to look for Qiao Jinniang. They were afraid of causing trouble and said that she eloped with a man.

Later, someone came to check on Qiao Yu, but they still didn’t believe that Qiao Jinniang was actually a duke’s daughter.

It wasn’t until the imperial decree that Qiao Yu was conferred the title of Earl Lin’an arrived that they realized that everything was true. No wonder she was willing to give up Myriad Taste.

They went through a lot of hardship and finally reached Chang’an, but they couldn’t find Qiao Jinniang. Fortunately, before they could find Duke Anyuan Mansion, they happened to see the sign of “Myriad Taste” sent to this restaurant.

Qiao Ergou’s son-in-law was literate, so they followed the sign all the way to Myriad Taste.

Qiao Jinniang straightened the bead hairpins in her hair, and helped Lu Chen wipe the rouge on his lips before going downstairs.

There were about twenty members of the Qiao family standing at the door and shouted, “Qiao Jinniang, you ingrate! Did you forget how we helped you after your parents died? Now you become rich and want to ignore us?”

“We had thought that you had no brothers, so we wanted to inherit Myriad Taste. Now that you’re not even the daughter of Qiao Yu, quickly spit out the money you earned from Myriad Taste over the years, and hand over the land deed of Myriad Taste!”

Qiao Jinniang opened the door and looked at everyone at the door. “Hi, long time no see.”

Seeing that Qiao Jinniang was dressed much more luxurious than before, and her husband beside her even wearing a python robe, they hesitated.

Qiao Jinniang said to them, “Do you think that it’s Lin’an here? Do you think you can still bully me? Since you know that I am the daughter of Duke Anyuan, how dare you come to Chang’an?”

These people had never seen a duke, and the highest-ranking official they had ever seen was just a prefect.

Hearing what Qiao Jinniang said, they were indeed a little scared.

Qiao Ergou’s son-in-law Xiucai Li said, “Qiao Jinniang, even if you are the daughter of a duke, you can’t just ignore your poor relatives!

“And since you’re not Qiao Yu’s daughter, then Myriad Taste shouldn’t be yours. You can’t refuse if we want to take it back!”

Lu Chen said to Qiao Jinniang with a dark face, “Don’t waste time on them. I’ll have my guards turn them over to the government.”

Qiao Ergou said, “You lowly gigolo, do you have the right to speak here?”

1

Qiao Ergou hated this man the most. If it weren’t for this man, they would have already obtained Myriad Taste!

Qiao Jinniang smiled… “Uncle, do you know that this ‘gigolo’ is the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty?”