There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 317 Drinking the Potion of Forgetfulness

The two walked out of the palace.

Princess Changning held Li Shuchen's hand and whispered, "Li Shuchen, you really are just as I imagined."

Li Shuchen: "The same as what?"

Princess Changning: "Just because he's the emperor's uncle doesn't mean I'll give him floral essential oils for free."

Upon hearing this, Li Shuchen chuckled playfully, "Hehehe, I have to earn money to support my family!"

"Shu Chen, Chang Ning, what are you doing here?"

Liang Yuying's voice rang out

The two looked up at the same time

Princess Changning: "My uncle, the Emperor, is asking Li Shuchen to buy essential oils."

Li Shuchen reached out and touched Liang Yuying's hand, discovering wounds on both her right and left hands, which made him feel rather uneasy.

Liang Yuying said softly, "It's nothing, just a minor injury, it'll be almost healed."

Li Shuchen: "This kind of thing can be done by craftsmen; Yuying doesn't need to do it herself."

Liang Yuying did not respond to that question, but instead looked at the gleaming gold hairpin in Li Shuchen's hair.

"Shu Chen looks very good in it."

Li Shuchen subconsciously touched the gold hairpin: "Thank you, Yuying."

Liang Yuying: "I don't want Shu Chen to thank me, I just want Shu Chen to be happy."

Li Shuchen smiled and said, "I was very happy to receive this hairpin, and I've been wearing it for several days now."

Liang Yuying remained silent, smiling, her eyes gentle.

Li Shuchen: "His Majesty has something to discuss with Yuying. Go quickly, lest you be late."

Liang Yuying snapped out of her daze: "Okay, Shu Chen, be careful on the road."

Princess Changning: "With me here, who dares to bully Li Shuchen?"

Li Shuchen nodded: "Changning is right, goodbye Yuying."

"Goodbye"

After Liang Yuying left

Princess Changning said, "Yu Ying is so good to Shu Chen. She doesn't even give us handmade gold hairpins. Is this the benefit of having a close female friend?"

Li Shuchen tilted her head: "Maybe."

Princess Changning: "Shu Chen is also my first close confidante, and I want to treat her the best. However, my hands are not as skillful as Yu Ying's, so I can only ask the artisans of Huashang Pavilion to make another set of gold jewelry for Shu Chen."

Li Shuchen was stunned and clicked his tongue upon hearing this.

"Changning, I already have so many sets of gold jewelry, I can't even carry them all, and you still want to give me more?"

Princess Changning considered this carefully: "Shu Chen's headdress is only made of gold, which is too plain. It just so happens that a painter gave my uncle, the Emperor, a box of colored gemstones. I'd like a few to make a colored gemstone headdress for Shu Chen."

Li Shuchen: "Painter? Cai Bao? Could he be from Bo Yu Kingdom?"

Princess Changning: "It seems so, I appeared at the Hundred Flowers Banquet."

Li Shuchen smiled happily upon hearing this: "That's wonderful! They've entered the palace to serve the Emperor, and the ladies can earn a lot of money painting. That way, they can buy a house, get married, and stay together for life as soon as possible."

Princess Changning was completely bewildered: "Who will spend their whole life with whom?"

Li Shuchen: "Miss Dan Yue and Young Master Yuan Yi, they are a couple and have agreed to get married after buying a house."

"Oh, okay? Let's get in the carriage, I'll take you back to the inn."

"it is good"

With this matter on his mind, Li Shuchen went straight to Dan Yue's room on the second floor upon returning to the inn.

Before even reaching the door, I could faintly hear sobbing.

Li Shuchen was so anxious that he quickly knocked on the door.

"Pale Moon Maiden, Pale Moon Maiden"

With a creak, the door opened.

Li Shuchen looked up and saw Dan Yue's swollen eyes and her soaked veil.

"What's wrong? Were you bullied?"

"Miss Li, please come in and speak."

Li Shuchen strode into the house, closed the door, and pulled Dan Yue to sit at the table.

"You've been busy painting these past few days, so I haven't bothered you. You seemed quite happy before, so what's wrong today?"

Dan Yue wiped her eyes with her veil, sobbing, "We're not on the same wavelength at all. We've known each other for so many years, but it seems I've never truly understood him."

Li Shuchen frowned upon hearing this: "Did you have a fight with Young Master Yuanyi?"

Dan Yue: "Mm"

Li Shuchen: "Was it because he did something wrong?"

Dan Yue shook her head: "No, it's because our views are different. He changed after he painted the portrait for the Tenth Prince. He became profit-driven, power-hungry, and eager to curry favor with influential people."

Li Shuchen: "They may have been blinded by wealth."

Dan Yue: "I don't like the palace. It's oppressive, suffocating, and hypocritical. I especially dislike painting portraits of the nobles in the palace. They don't treat people like human beings; if you say something wrong, you'll be punished and beaten."

Li Shuchen: "They hit you?"

Dan Yue: "No, it's punishment for those who serve them."

Li Shuchen poured a cup of tea and handed it to Dan Yue: "If you don't like it, you don't have to go. You don't necessarily have to earn money in the palace."

“I told Yuanyi the same thing, but he said the nobles in the palace offer more money, and that I should endure it to buy a house. But Miss Li, I really can't stand it, and I really don't want to go.”

Dan Yue started crying again as she spoke.

After listening, Li Shuchen slammed his hand on the table: "Hmph, he clearly forced you and doesn't care about your feelings. Money can't be earned forever. You can save up by painting for other people. There's no need to rush. He doesn't care about you but instead makes empty promises. You're better off without a man like that."

Upon hearing this, Dan Yue sobbed, and cried even harder.

Li Shuchen hurriedly wiped away Dan Yue's tears: "I'm sorry, Dan Yue, I was too excited. Did I scare you?"

Dan Yue: "No, you're right. It's fine if we don't want it."

[Congratulations, host, for triggering the side quest: Make Dan Yue drink the potion of forgetfulness. Upon completion of the quest, the host will receive a mysterious reward.]