Chapter 115 Camel Soup
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Only then did Mingzhu notice Yuwen Chu standing nearby. She also wanted to see how Yuwen Chu would handle this matter.
Yuwen Chu looked at her calmly, took two steps forward, and said in a deep voice, “Although His Majesty asked me to judge, I cannot help but be biased.”
Yuwen Bai smiled ambiguously, “What do you mean?”
Yuwen Chu said, “It’s just a few words, not that there was no Great Empress Dowager in their eyes. But it’s true that they disturbed the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. However, the Empress Dowager is in a very good mood right now. Reporting this matter might spoil her mood. How about letting His Majesty mete out a light punishment?”
Yuwen Bai smiled, “Alright.” Then, he looked at Mingzhu’s face and said softly, “Cousin, how do you think the two of you should be punished?”
Yuwen Bai’s tone was affectionate and casual, as if he was joking with her, “Cousin, what fun things did you bring me today?” But Mingzhu couldn’t help but shudder. She remembered when he was sixteen and married, one day two favored palace concubines fought for favor, and he also asked them with the same smiling tone, “Both of you should be punished. How do you want to be punished?”
One of the palace concubines thought he was joking with them and said she wanted the other to crawl and bark like a dog on the ground, and the other said she wanted the other to climb a tree like a cat and then jump down from it.
So he let the concubine who wanted the other to crawl and bark like a dog keep crawling and barking on the ground, not allowing her to stop for a moment. If she stopped, she would be beaten; the other concubine who wanted the other to climb a tree like a cat had to climb the tree repeatedly and then jump down from it. If she couldn’t climb up, it didn’t matter. There were palace servants holding red-hot steel needles and thorn whips with them. At that time, one of the concubines was even pregnant… Even Empress Dowager Min couldn’t stop him. By the time the Great Empress Dowager arrived, one of the concubines had fallen from the tree and miscarried, bleeding heavily and was on the verge of death, and the other was scared out of her wits.
Mingzhu smiled and said, “We were wrong, Your Majesty, whatever punishment you deem appropriate, we will accept without complaint.” Even though Yuwen Bai was cruel and intelligent now, he still couldn’t match the Yuwen Bai six years later. Moreover, Fu’s power was still strong now. Even if he wanted to kill her, he wouldn’t dare. At most, he would humiliate her. She could bear it.
“Oh, Cousin agrees with me.” Yuwen Bai smiled and looked at Funing, “Aunt, what about you?”
Funing’s face turned pale with fear. She looked hesitantly at Yuwen Chu, but seeing Yuwen Chu’s stern face not looking at her, she could only say with a mournful face, “I will abide by His Majesty’s decision.”
“All right, then Aunt should run ten laps around Zhaoyang Palace.” Yuwen Bai said casually, pointing to the chief eunuch beside him, “He Zhengtu, go and supervise Princess Funing for me. Don’t let her be idle.”
He Zhengtu’s face twisted into a bitter melon, looking at Yuwen Chu in distress, “This…”
Running ten laps around Zhaoyang Palace, how could she finish it? She wasn’t even allowed to catch her breath, he was afraid that she would collapse after running, let alone losing face. Funing almost cried out loud, looking at Yuwen Chu with tears in her eyes, “Sixth Brother…”
Yuwen Chu turned his face away, ignoring Princess Funing.
“Is Princess Chang dissatisfied with me and the Empress Dowager?” Yuwen Bai’s face instantly darkened, his voice and expression stern, even refusing to call her Aunt.
Princess Funing, without a backing, felt extremely aggrieved. She dared not cry out loud but had to endure it, saying with a forced smile, “I will obey His Majesty’s command.” She glanced at Mingzhu unwillingly and asked, “What about her?”
“Cousin? I’ll tell her when I remember. Princess Chang, why haven’t you gone yet? What are you lingering for?” Yuwen Bai smiled again, then looked at Mingzhu, “Cousin, are you satisfied with this judgment?”
Mingzhu smiled brightly at him, “Whatever His Majesty decides, I am extremely satisfied.” Oh dear, now, whether it’s Empress Dowager Min, Funing, or even Yuwen Chu, they will inevitably pin this matter on her. But she didn’t care at all. Funing deserved it. This is called the wicked getting their due.
Yuwen Bai smiled and glanced around, then said coldly, “Since Cousin is satisfied, I’m satisfied too. This marriage was approved by the Great Empress Dowager and me. If anyone dares to say another word, I’ll cut out their tongues!”
Princess Funing glared at Mingzhu bitterly and left with a sob.
In the previous life, this incident did not occur. But after this incident, Funing, with her impulsive temperament, will probably become more restrained. Mingzhu was thinking about this when she heard Yuwen Bai asking, “Why don’t I see my younger brothers and sisters?”
Mingzhu became alert again, fully focused on waiting for him to make a move, but Yuwen Bai just smiled at her and said, “I heard that Second Brother is ill, so ill that he can’t even attend the Empress Dowager’s banquet. It’s a pity he can’t have his favorite camel soup. I intended to visit him, but I can’t leave right now… So, I’ll punish Cousin to deliver a bowl of camel soup to Second Brother for me, and also ask him how he’s doing.”
This camel soup might not necessarily be Second Prince’s favorite, but there’s a story behind it. When Emperor Zhengqian was still alive, he once asked his children what their favorite food was. Second Prince said he had seen a dish called “camel soup” in ancient poetry and had always wanted to know what it tasted like, but Emperor Zhengqian, being frugal, so he never had the opportunity to taste it. Emperor Zhengqian laughed and said, “I have the riches of the world, but I can’t let my children not know the taste of camel soup.” So he ordered the imperial chefs to prepare a bowl of camel soup for Second Prince, henceforth everyone said Emperor Zhengqian loved Second Prince the most.
Yuwen Bai mentioning this dish now carried a hint of resentment. By convention, the person must finish all the food given as a reward in front of the messenger. Not to mention whether Second Prince, who was sick, could finish the dish cleanly, what if the camel soup was poisoned? How could she explain it clearly?
Poisoning a prince wasn’t something that could be easily glossed over like Yuwen You’s act in her room. Even if there was insufficient evidence to kill her, her future would be ruined. Forget marrying the prince, she might never be allowed in the palace again, never to appear in front of people.
Although the likelihood of this event happening was extremely small, once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a coiled rope for three years. With her guard up, she couldn’t help but look at Yuwen Chu.
Yuwen Chu stood there calmly, his robe sleeves motionless, his gaze calm, his face serene. He didn’t need to speak or move; just by quietly looking over, Mingzhu’s heart calmed down. Unable to refuse, she agreed first and smiled as she bowed, “As you command.”
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