Chapter 114 Young Emperor
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Seeing Mingzhu’s silent and darkened face, Princess Funing, recalling her bold and unruly behavior when she was young, felt a little scared in her heart, but still boldly continued, “What are you glaring at me for? You want to hit me, don’t you? Fine, if you don’t hit me today, you’re not even considered a person!”
An Xiaogu and Changhua, sensing the situation was turning bad, each grabbed one and began persuading them in low voices. An Xiaogu also leaned in close to Mingzhu’s ear and whispered, “You mustn’t resort to violence. Many people are just waiting to see a spectacle.”
Before the marriage was even finalized, there was already discord between the sister-in-law, with the younger sister publicly insulting the prospective sister-in-law. In return, the prospective sister-in-law publicly assaulted the younger sister-in-law. And it all happened at the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet.
If this matter were to be investigated, no one would come out unscathed. It would even implicate the closest people on both sides. Thinking about it, the most comfortable person would undoubtedly be the Empress Dowager, the most embarrassed would be Yuwen Chu, and the most awkward would be the Fu family.
Mingzhu finally smiled, “His late Majesty was extremely wise, and the imperial consort and Ying Wang were quite clever. But you, being so foolish, must have hit your head on the ground when you were born. Beating you up is nothing, it’s just that beating you up would make me seem as stupid as you.”
Princess Funing suddenly became furious, her hand reaching towards Mingzhu’s face, “What did you say? Do you dare to say it again?”
Mingzhu calmly pushed her hand away and said in a calm tone, “Be civilized. A gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists. As a princess of the imperial family, a model for the world, you shouldn’t engage in such uncouth behavior. You should pay more attention to your words, lest you utter rude and vulgar words, and tarnish the royal dignity.”
Princess Funing trembled with anger, “You, you, you…” She turned around and looked at Jiang Shanshan not far away, angrily saying, “You dare to call me uncouth? Then why don’t you have an ounce of shame for snatching someone else’s fiancé?”
Jiang Shanshan stood up in embarrassment, feeling ashamed and embarrassed, tears welling up in her eyes. She choked out, “Your Highness, please don’t say that. Mingzhu didn’t do such a thing. It’s just that I…” She took a deep breath, suppressing her tears, feeling extremely embarrassed and hesitant to speak further, “It’s really because my fate with Ying Wang is not compatible…”
Mingzhu couldn’t be too assertive in front of Jiang Shanshan, so she didn’t look at her, arrogantly sneering, “Did you hear and understand? What does it mean to snatch someone else’s fiancé? I haven’t done it, so teach me?”
“Do you dare not admit it? Fu Mingzhu, although you were unreasonable before, you were still someone who dared to act. But now, you’re beyond redemption. If you have the ability to do it, you should have the guts to admit it. What’s the point of being ambiguous?” Funing hated Mingzhu’s calm and shameless appearance and wished to tear her face apart so everyone would know what kind of person she was.
Mingzhu found Funing extremely boring and lazy, yawning and smiling, “Why should I admit to something I haven’t done? Are you so stupid that if you do something foolish, you think I should be foolish too? You keep saying I snatched someone else’s fiancé. Who told you that? Your older brother? Or Second Miss Jiang? “
Jiang Shanshan quickly said, “I’ve never said such things, it’s really not me. Little Sister Mingzhu, please spare me.”
Princess Funing immediately spoke up for her, “Second Sister, don’t be afraid, it has nothing to do with you. It’s just that I can’t stand it!”
This is what real sister-in-laws should be like. Mingzhu felt that saying another word to Funing would make her nauseous, so she gave a cold laugh and turned to walk towards Empress Dowager Min. This matter had become so embarrassing, and Empress Dowager Min’s instigation had something to do with it. With both sides tearing each other’s faces apart, she couldn’t avoid asking Empress Dowager Min to publicly resolve the matter.
“Where are you going? Speak up before you leave.” But Funing didn’t let her go, holding onto her sleeve tightly and sneering, “You’re too embarrassed to stay, aren’t you?”
Suddenly, a palace servant announced, “The Emperor has arrived.” Then, a tall, slender half child figure in dragon robes walked in with a darkened face. He squinted his eyes and glanced at Princess Funing first, his gaze as cold as a venomous snake. Funing was so scared that she involuntarily recoiled, bowing respectfully, “Greetings to Your Majesty.”
This child was the young Emperor Yuwen Bai, born of Empress Dowager Min. Mingzhu quietly followed everyone in bowing. She could feel Yuwen Bai’s cold gaze on her, lingering for a while. She knew he hated her. It was strange. Despite their similar ages, when they were young, he used to follow her, calling out, “Cousin, wait for me,” and they would play together, mischief and troublemaking. When did he start hating her?
Perhaps it was shortly after he ascended the throne.
She hadn’t realized his hatred until he wanted to whip an innocent palace servant, and she pleaded for mercy on their behalf. He not only whipped the servant severely but also had them tortured to death in front of her. She still remembered the bloody and agonizing scene, feeling repulsed by his cruelty at such a young age. Naturally, she didn’t want to see him anymore.
“Do you think I am too cruel and unworthy of being an emperor, Cousin?”
She remembered when she pleaded with Empress Dowager Min to let her father and brothers be buried after the fall of the Fu family. Yuwen Bai had approached her and asked her this question.
Despite her deep hatred for them, she knew she had to endure, so she reluctantly said, “My father and brothers committed heinous crimes and deserved to die. Your Majesty is wise. Please fulfill my filial piety.”
He chuckled and said, “Fu Cong, that old traitor, deserves to die for his treachery. We’ve waited for so long, and finally, he’s dead. Guess why I chose to leave you alive alone? Not for childhood sentiment, but to let you taste this heart-wrenching feeling. Cousin…” He elongated the call of her childhood nickname, with a cold and mocking smile, his eyes filled with malice and cruelty, “Do you still remember when you pleaded for mercy for a palace servant? Originally, that servant deserved only a flogging, but because of your plea, I chose to torture him slowly to death. Do you know why? When I had him tortured, it felt like I was torturing you, torturing the Great Empress Dowager, torturing Fu Cong…”
Mingzhu recalled the scene at that time and couldn’t help but shiver, preferring not to look at Yuwen Bai again. However, Yuwen Bai smiled coldly, “Cousin, how delightful.”
The sight of a child of about ten years old wearing such a maturely cold expression felt extremely discordant. Mingzhu could only bow again and say, “Your Majesty’s grace is boundless.”
Yuwen Bai smiled again, “They told me that you suddenly became sensible and courteous, and I didn’t believe it. But now, it seems to be true. You’re even able to tolerate someone as arrogant and ill-mannered as Aunt Funing. It’s quite strange, could it be because of Sixth Uncle?” He casually pointed to the pale-faced Princess Funing beside him, then turned back and asked, seemingly casually, “Sixth Uncle, they’re all my aunts. It’s not appropriate for me to judge this case, but it’s true that they disturbed the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. What do you think should be done?”
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