Chapter 19

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The Crown Prince walked up to Qiao Jinniang and said, “I finally found you.”

However, Qiao Jinniang put down Tuan’er, raised her hand, and heavily slapped the man’s face.

At that moment, she exerted the greatest strength she could muster in her life.

“You b*stard!”

Being slapped abruptly, Lu Chen frowned. “You…”

Qiao Jinniang asked Nuomi to take Tuan’er aside. Tuan’er still remembered Nuomi and followed her away obediently.

Qiao Jinniang tried to slap Lu Chen again, but this time Lu Chen was prepared and grasped Qiao Jinniang’s hand.

Her wrist was much slenderer than when she was in Lin’an.

And she was a lot thinner.

Lu Chen asked, “What are you doing? Do you know how long I’ve been searching for you? How can you leave Lin’an without even leaving me a message?”

Qiao Jinniang tried to break free from Lu Chen’s hand huffily. “Not leave you a message? You had given me a divorce letter. Why should I leave you a message? I just didn’t expect you to be so heartless!”

Lu Chen’s brow furrowed deeper. “A divorce letter? I never gave you a divorce letter.”

“What a lame excuse! I can recognize your handwriting. And you also snatched Tuan’er from me. Do you know how hard I tried to find him for the past month?”

Lu Chen said, “Calm down. Listen to my explanation… I didn’t know the situation in Chang’an back then. You know, my identity is special, and I was afraid you might not adapt if I rashly took you to Chang’an.

“But if I left Tuan’er in Lin’an, he might be in danger if someone found out he’s my son.

“Therefore, I took Tuan’er away and left you in Lin’an.

“As soon as I returned to Chang’an, I begged my imperial father to give a decree, marrying you to me as my Second Concubine, but when the decree arrived at Lin’an, you were gone. I didn’t know that you are actually the daughter of Duke Anyuan…”

Hearing “my imperial father”, Qiao Jinniang was finally certain of his identity. It turned out that she had not guessed wrong. He was the Crown Prince!

That “Crown Prince” Nuomi saw must not be the true one.

His Second Concubine…

Lu Chen, this b*stard, how dare he make her his concubine…

Qiao Jinniang sneered. “You said you didn’t write the divorce letter. I can believe you for the time being. But what do you mean by your Second Concubine? You’ve married into my family, haven’t you? Do you want to demote your wife to a concubine?”

Lu Chen got a headache when he heard Qiao Jinniang mention he had married into her family. “My Second Concubine will be recorded in the genealogy of the royal family. It’s different from ordinary concubines…”

“It’s still a concubine, isn’t it?” Qiao Jinniang roared in a low voice, “In Lin’an, I am your wife! But now you want me to be your concubine?”

Lu Chen said, “Qiao Jinniang, calm down. Since your identity is different now, I’ll ask my imperial mother and imperial father to grant you to be my First Concubine…”

A teardrop rolled down from the corner of Qiao Jinniang’s eye. “No need.”

“Your Royal Highness, if you think it is a disgrace that you had married into my Qiao family when you were in Lin’an, then just grant me death. Then no one will know about this.”

“But you can’t force me to be your concubine.”

Lu Chen said, “If you want to be my crown princess, it’s not impossible, but it will take some time!”

Qiao Jinniang sneered. “I don’t want to be your crown princess. Since you said that the divorce letter was not written by you, okay, I’ll give you a divorce letter instead, and we’ll have nothing to do with each other from now on!”

Lu Chen refrained from his anger. “Don’t push me too hard. I’ve already agreed to make you my crown princess…”

“I don’t care!” Qiao Jinniang bit her lower lip. “When you left Lin’an, you didn’t even tell me your real identity. Do you even have the slightest bit of respect for me?”

“Why do you think that you can make me your Second Concubine?”

“Why do you think that I want to stay in your harem and become one of your future countless concubines?”

“When you married into my family, you had promised that you wouldn’t take a concubine in this life!

“Now, why do you think I will share my husband with other women?”

Lu Chen was silent.

Qiao Jinniang wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, “Your Royal Highness, for the sake that I once saved your life, please pretend you don’t know me at all from now on. I’ll just take that divorce letter as your writing.

“As for those properties in Lin’an, let’s split them fifty-fifty…

Tuan’er…”

When it came to Tuan’er, Qiao Jinniang didn’t know what to do. Everyone knew Tuan’er was an imperial grandson, and it was literally impossible for her to get him back…

“If you still have some conscience, let Princess Fulu take Tuan’er to the Princess Mansion from time to time so that I can go visit him.”

When Qiao Jinniang finally stopped, Lu Chen clasped her wrist, his eyes full of rage. “So you have it all planned out?”

Qiao Jinniang looked at Lu Chen unyieldingly. “In this way, no one will know that the Crown Prince has once married into a merchant family, and you don’t have to see me, an eyesore, anymore.”

Lu Chen was annoyed. “When did I say you were an eyesore to me?”

“If not, why do you think I’m only worthy of being your Second Concubine?” Qiao Jinniang said, “I’m afraid that even the position of the Second Concubine is to buy me to shut up and not to expose your secret, right? But let me tell you, you can just rest assured.

“I will never tell anyone that because you make me sick. ”

Lu Chen’s face was livid. “Make you sick?”

“Isn’t what you did sickening enough?”

He gave her a divorce letter but didn’t admit it. He demoted her to his concubine but still put on that condescending attitude. He was utterly disgusting.

Now Qiao Jinniang really regretted not listening to the advice of others. A handsome man who was willing to marry into your family could never be a good choice!

Lu Chen lowered his voice and said, “If I am really disgusting, considering your disrespect to me today, you would have died a few times.

“I’ll give you some time to calm down.

“It’s getting late. I have to go back to the East Palace.

“When you calm down, if you want to see me, just send a message to Princess Fu’an.”

Qiao Jinniang said, “Tuan’er… is he going back too?”

Seeing her face was still streaked with tears, Lu Chen gently wiped her tears off with his thumb. “I’ll leave Tuan’er with you for a while, and Junior Duke Rong will send him back to the East Palace later.”

After Lu Chen left, Nuomi brought Tuan’er over. “Miss, he is wearing a python robe. Only the Crown Prince can wear a four-clawed python robe…”

After seeing Qiao Jinniang, Tuan’er threw himself into Qiao Jinniang’s arms and stretched out her chubby little hand to wipe the tears from Qiao Jinniang’s face.

“Mommy, don’t cry.”

Qiao Jinniang hugged Tuan’er tightly and forced a smile. “Okay, I won’t cry. I’m gonna be seeing a lot more of you from now on.”

When Lu Chen left the Kirin Pavilion, Junior Prince Rong stepped forward only to see a red handprint on the handsome face of the Crown Prince.

“Miss Qiao is really fierce! Not only can she catch a snake, but she can really slap!”

Only then did Lu Chen notice the burning pain on his face. With this handprint on his face, he couldn’t meet anyone temporarily.

Lu Chen said to Junior Duke Rong.”Take Tuan’er back to the East Palace in an hour. Don’t tell anyone about Qiao Jinniang’s identity.”

Junior Duke Rong nodded. “Okay, but your face… shall I get you some medicine?”

Lu Chen covered his face and nodded.. Without applying medicine, he might not even be able to see the Emperor now.