“Miss Chen, I’m here,” Qingqing responded, and a young eunuch quickly led Yuzhen over. Seeing her, Qingqing hurried to say, “I apologize for troubling Miss Chen to find me; I was just about to go to the study.” Yu Zhen burst into laughter, grabbed Qing Qing’s hand, and said, “Stop calling me Miss Chen. Your father and my father are the left and right chancellors, so we should be like the left hand and the right hand, the best of friends. Just call me Yu Zhen.” Her words were filled with emotion, and the sincerity in her eyes was genuine, unlike the superficial politeness she showed when with Ya Fu. Sometimes choosing friends is like choosing a lover; there’s no particular reason, just that at that moment, I find you very appealing. Qing Qing and Yu Zhen chose each other, thus, they already considered each other friends—good friends. “Then you can call me Qing Qing.” The two blushed, turned away, and in soft voices, they compared their ages. It turned out that Qing Qing was three months older than Yu Zhen, making her the elder sister. Qing Qing asked, “Why did you come to find me?” Yu Zhen then remembered her purpose for coming: “I wanted to go out for a walk, so I came to find you before Miss Ya Fu did.” Qing Qing knew Yu Zhen was just trying to comfort her; at this moment, Ya Fu must be feeling resentful about being dragged into this, probably wishing Yu Zhen would just disappear rather than come looking for her. Qing Qing said, “The Crown Prince, he… I…” Yu Zhen suddenly furrowed her brows and said seriously, “The Emperor, Empress, and Right Chancellor Lin are all at the Eastern Palace, waiting for you to return.” Only then did Qing Qing realize the severity of the situation, which had alarmed so many people. She feared that this might implicate her father and Ya Fu, leading to unknown repercussions.
The Importance of Choosing a Wife (Part I)
