Chapter 102: No Escape
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Outside the Xiang Mansion, many guards and stewards were running in and out. Someone spotted Mingzhu and shouted excitedly, “Miss, you’re back!” Immediately, someone else loudly exclaimed, “Quickly inform Xiangye and send a message to the palace!” Then several people surrounded her, escorting Mingzhu inside like a group of stars surrounding the moon.
Mingzhu was escorted all the way into the Guanhai Residence. Fu Cong sat at the table with a stern face, looking at her coldly. “It seems you’ve grown wings.”
Mingzhu dared not speak and obediently knelt down to apologize.
Fu Cong sneered, “Why are you kneeling? Who told you to kneel? I can’t afford such a grand gesture from you.”
Mingzhu knew he was truly angry, and she knew she had acted impulsively today. She lacked the experience to handle such matters directly. When someone blocked her carriage earlier, she shouldn’t have rushed forward. She had made a mistake in her self-righteousness. Feeling more and more ashamed, she bowed her head low and said softly, “Daughter knows her mistake and will never dare again.”
Fu Cong took several deep breaths and said in a deep voice, “Reason?”
Mingzhu replied, “First, I felt the atmosphere at the palace banquet was unfavorable and didn’t want to stay long. Later, I felt something was wrong between Yuwen Xue and the Wusun people. I was afraid it would be detrimental to the Great Empress Dowager and father, so I followed to see what was going on.”
Surprisingly, she was able to discern that something was amiss between Yuwen Xue and the Wusun people. Fu Cong remained silent for a long time before saying, “How did you come back?”
Mingzhu didn’t dare to hide anything and recounted how Yuwen Chu had saved her in time and what he had said to her. After finishing, she waited for Fu Cong’s response in apprehension. When he remained silent for a long time, she plucked up the courage to sneak a peek at his expression, only to see Fu Cong looking solemn and serious. Mingzhu knew this was his usual expression before making a major decision and couldn’t help but call out softly, “Father?”
Fu Cong snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her sternly. “Your mother is getting old. Don’t tell her about this matter. I’ll go to the palace immediately to see the Great Empress Dowager. Your eldest brother and fourth brother will handle the other matters. You stay here and kneel until you learn your lesson and understand what’s important.”
Mingzhu felt extremely ashamed. She had thought she had seized the initiative and knew many things after being reborn, but now she realized that her methods were naive and laughable compared to her opponents’. To protect her family’s safety, she still had much to learn. So she obediently said, “Daughter will heed your teachings.”
Matching such a simple temperament with such profound scheming, she didn’t know if her choice was right or wrong. Fu Cong sighed softly, barely audible, and hurried out.
Back at the Ying Wang’s Mansion, the steward Zhu Changsheng greeted him with a smile. “Your Highness is back. The kitchen has prepared some top-quality chilled desserts. Would you like to have some to cool down?”
Yuwen Chu glanced at him coldly. “Just speak if you have something to say.”
Zhu Changsheng hesitated. “Your Highness’s keen eyes miss nothing. The thing is, Second Miss Jiang just arrived, and I didn’t feel right keeping her waiting outside, so I took the liberty of inviting her into the reception hall. If you don’t wish to see her, I can go tell her you won’t be back tonight and ask her to come another time.”
Yuwen Chu turned and walked towards the reception hall. “No need. I just wanted to see her.”
He wanted to see Second Miss Jiang? Was the sun rising from the west today? Zhu Changsheng thought he must have misheard and looked at Jing Song, hoping to get a hint from him, but Jing Song shook his head.
Zhu Changsheng didn’t dare to ask further and led the way respectfully, escorting Yuwen Chu to the entrance of the reception hall. Then he asked, “It’s almost dinner time. Should I prepare something?”
“No need.” Yuwen Chu walked into the reception hall alone, indicating that he didn’t want anyone to follow and serve him.
Jiang Shanshan was done for. After dragging it out for so many years, she couldn’t escape in the end.
Zhu Changsheng sighed regretfully. He had asked that question with a purpose.
If Yuwen Chu had ordered the kitchen to prepare something, it would mean he intended to have dinner with Jiang Shanshan, indicating a glimmer of hope for the situation. But since Yuwen Chu didn’t allow it, there was no room for maneuvering.
Seeing Jing Song standing dutifully at the corridor, Zhu Changsheng leaned over and whispered, “What’s going on? Who made our Highness unhappy?”
Jing Song warned him solemnly, “I know you think highly of her and owe her favors, but it’s up to the master to decide whether she’s good or not. Don’t be so agitated. Beware of being caught in the middle.”
This was really thought-provoking. Did something happen over there? Zhu Changsheng thought for a while and retreated quietly.
Inside the reception hall, Jiang Shanshan hung her head, trembling as she softly said, “What did I do wrong to make Your Highness despise me so much, to put me in such a dire situation?”
“You haven’t done anything wrong. We’re just not very compatible.” Yuwen Chu didn’t even look at her, just gently skimmed off the foam floating on top of his tea.
Jiang Shanshan looked up, her eyes shining with tears as she said, “In the early years, you didn’t say we were incompatible.” Coming from her gentle nature, it wasn’t common for her to ask such a question, so her expression also carried a hint of anxiety and vulnerability.
Such gracefulness, any normal man would feel a bit sorry, but Yuwen Chu seemed oblivious to it. “Is that so? Didn’t Lord Changxing tell you? You probably don’t remember what I said to you back then, or how you responded.”
Back then, it was my own request for my father to express the intention of marriage to Imperial Consort Min, and I did a lot to make Imperial Consort Min interested in me. When he heard about it, he subtly expressed refusal through someone to my father, and after my father declined, he found me again and subtly expressed refusal once more. At that time, I told him that I dared not disobey the words of the matchmaker and the orders of my parents. After that, he resisted the decree and kept dragging it out, repeatedly trying various excuses to dissolve the engagement, but none were successful.
This time, can’t you just stop dragging it out? Despite her efforts, he never seemed to see them. In his eyes and heart, there was only that Fu Mingzhu, who was nothing more than her appearance and family background.
Jiang Shanshan clenched her hands into fists hidden in her sleeves and asked softly, “Where am I inferior to her?”
Family background? Appearance? Talent? Personality? Character? Even if the Changxing Marquis’s mansion was not as prosperous as the Fu family, it still boasted a noble lineage passed down through generations, and she was not inferior to Mingzhu in terms of her background. Even if Mingzhu was acknowledged as a great beauty, she didn’t consider herself ugly; she had been praised since childhood. Furthermore, in terms of talent, personality, and character, where could Mingzhu surpass her? Mingzhu was just a spoiled and capricious embroidered pillow, ignorant of how to conduct herself and unaware of how many people she had offended. Whereas wherever she went, everyone liked her. Even if Mingzhu was capricious, it couldn’t be said that she was bad. Not to mention her unique abilities and insights, which were unmatched by anyone.
She had to know what exactly he liked about Mingzhu and where she fell short compared to her.
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