The queen is spoiling the king and madly criticizing him for spoiling her

Chapter 428: No Way Forward

"The steam pot chicken that Her Majesty asked the imperial kitchen to make is really fresh." The wife of the Minister of the Central Secretariat couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Since Madam finds it fresh, then drink more. This chicken soup has nourishing effects." Gu Jianchu said gently.

The lady only dared to have a casual chat with Gu Jianchu.

The ministers on the other side had no choice but to pull King Dongli aside to chat.

Among them was Taifu Yan, who was old and held a high position. After all, he was the teacher of the late emperor and a respected old minister in the court. "I heard that Prince Dongli is still unmarried. Would you like me to help arrange a marriage for him?"

Now that Taifu Yan is old, he has fallen in love with matchmaking. Many marriages for noble families in the capital are arranged by Taifu Yan and Madam Yan.

Prince Dongli picked up the wine glass beside him and poured the wine directly into his mouth. "Grandmaster, you are kind, but I already have someone I like, and I will marry her in this life."

The news about Dongli Middle School is now spreading like wildfire, and they know a little about it. However, they don’t know whether the news about the person they like is true or false, or just an excuse to reject them. Regardless of whether it is true or false, they have been rejected.

Master Yan was reluctant to mention this matter again.

Just at this moment, the eunuch's voice came from outside the door, "Princess Rou has arrived."

As a sharp voice fell, everyone looked towards the entrance, only to see Xie Qingrou appear in the hall wearing a goose yellow dress. The dress was embroidered with scattered dandelions. As she walked, the dandelions looked as beautiful as flying in the sky.

Xie Qingrou was followed by two palace maids.

At that time, Xie Qingrou returned to Beijing with nothing. The two palace maids around her were also picked by Gu Jianchu from his surroundings. Two capable ones were temporarily assigned to serve Xie Qingrou.

When Xie Qingrou came in, King Dongli's eyes were fixed on Xie Qingrou, his eyes filled with deep affection.

Gu Jianchu didn't look at Xie Qingrou, but naturally looked at King Dongli.

She was very familiar with the look in King Dongli's eyes. She had seen it when Xie Ci'an looked at her. It was a clear expression of love.

Gu Jianchu couldn't help but sigh that fate was so cruel. If the old King Dongli had arranged for Xie Qingrou to marry the Second Prince, and the Prime Minister's daughter to the King Dongli who had passed away earlier, perhaps these things would not have happened later. Perhaps they could have lived happily together, and perhaps Xie Qingrou would not have to endure the pain of losing her child.

But there aren't so many possibilities.

What happened happened.

It can't be saved.

If these two people could put aside their past grudges and choose to be together, it might be another beautiful story.

It is not difficult to see that King Dongli has Xie Qingrou in his heart.

It’s just that this love is hidden deep in my heart.

It was not spoken out loud.

If Xie Qingrou marries King Dongli, King Dongli will definitely respect, love and protect her for the rest of her life.

I will definitely not go forward.

Even though she knew some things in her heart, she would not say them or do them. If she said them, outsiders would not know and would think that she could not tolerate her sister-in-law. Besides, Xie Qingrou had sacrificed herself for the entire Jin State once before. Even if there was love between them, the people would not think so. They would think that she and the emperor were forcing Xie Qingrou to sacrifice herself for the second time.

Therefore, it depends on whether her fate with King Dongli can support them to reach that step.

It depends more on whether King Dongli can open Xie Qingrou's heart, get her out of the haze of the past, and then win Xie Qingrou's favor.

Now the situation between the two countries is stable, and Xie Ci'an has done them such a great favor, so the two countries do not need to rely on marriage to maintain their relationship. Xie Qingrou naturally has a choice. She does not need to think too much about the marriage. She only needs to consider whether she likes it or not. The difficulty in the middle is still a bit great for King Dongli.

Xie Qingrou's hearty laughter quickly brought Gu Jianchu back to his senses. "I had a drink at the mansion last night and slept until now. I'm so sorry I'm late."

Except for the time when she lived in the Queen's Palace, she was relatively safe. Since leaving the palace, Xie Qingrou has been drinking almost every day. Almost everyone in the capital knows about it, but no one says anything.

They had more or less heard some rumors about the Dongli Kingdom. Those crazy women killed Xie Qingrou's child, so it was reasonable for her to be unhappy.

"It's okay, please sit down, sister." Xie Ci'an did not blame her, but just asked her to sit down.

Gu Jianchu asked with concern, "Sister, you've drunk so much. Are you feeling unwell? Do you want the palace maid to make you a bowl of sobering soup?"

Xie Qingrou sat proudly at the table, rubbing her swollen brows with her hands. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. No need for the hangover soup. I'd like a glass of honey water instead."

Gu Jianchu hurriedly asked someone to prepare some honey water for her.

After Xie Qingrou came over and this little episode ended, the banquet continued.

However, since Xie Qingrou came over, although King Dongli continued to talk to the ministers, his eyes seemed to glance in Xie Qingrou's direction, with an undisguised charm in his eyes.

That look only flashed for a moment before King Dongli immediately retracted it and continued to speak gently to the ministers.

If his feelings were discovered by the ministers, it might be a pressure for Xie Qingrou.

If something goes wrong, Xie Qingrou's reputation may be damaged.

He could slowly get along with Xie Qingrou and make her fall in love with him. He didn't want to use these external factors to force Xie Qingrou. If it was involved in the affairs of the two countries, Xie Qingrou would be coerced and forced to be with him as before. Although it would be what he wanted, they were afraid that they could not be together in their hearts, even if this misunderstanding would be resolved later. But he wanted everything between them to be clean, without any external factors.

If Xie Qingrou doesn't want to, then the matter can be resolved.

If you don't let everyone know, it won't be too ugly.

Xie Qingrou had been drinking all day these days, so much so that her head was dizzy and she didn't notice anything unusual about King Dongli.

In addition to the honey water, Gu Jianchu also had someone serve Xie Qingrou a bowl of chicken soup. "Your Majesty, this chicken soup is really well cooked."

"That's right, just drink more." Gu Jianchu replied gently.

Xie Qingzhi, who was sitting at the same table with Xie Qingrou, covered his nose with a look of disgust, "Can you drink less? The smell of alcohol on you is even worse than that drunk on the street. Who are you trying to stifle?"

"If you don't like me, you don't have to sit at the same table with me. I'm not forcing you. Besides, I'm drinking in my house, how can it bother you?" Xie Qingrou argued back without any humility.

Gu Jianchu was already used to the noisy relationship between the two, but he regretted not letting them sit separately.

King Dongli, who heard the noise, looked over immediately, his eyes full of concern.