Chapter 145: Jade Bracelet
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“You dared to pinch me! Just wait and see how I’ll deal with you later!” Mingzhu was quite annoyed and pinched him back, even spinning around with a satisfied feeling when she felt him flinch from the pain. Then she lifted her chin, glanced at him triumphantly, and smiled.
Yuwen Chu sighed helplessly and gestured to her to look at Imperial Consort Min. Only then did Mingzhu turn her gaze to Imperial Consort Min. She saw that Imperial Consort Min seemed a bit absent-minded, not paying attention to their interaction at all. After a moment of contemplation, she approached and smiled, “Royal Mother, why isn’t the princess here?”
Imperial Consort Min suddenly came to her senses and smiled, “Her? She was just making a fuss about finding something and couldn’t wait for a moment, so she left first.”
“Royal Mother, it’s my fault for being petty. On such a happy occasion, it’s best for the whole family to sit together happily, drinking tea and chatting. It’s a pity if Sister isn’t here. You should let her come out, and I’ll apologize to her. As the elder sister-in-law, I should be more considerate to her.” Mingzhu unexpectedly smoothly spoke words that were not entirely sincere, subtly implying that it wasn’t her fault. Even if she apologized to Funing, it was because she was considerate of Funing. Seeing Imperial Consort Min relax her brows, she smugly glanced at Yuwen Chu, indicating that she could be flexible as well. However, Yuwen Chu just lowered his head to drink tea as if he hadn’t seen anything, only the corners of his lips slightly lifting.
“It’s her fault for being immature. She should apologize to you.” Imperial Consort Min patted Mingzhu’s hand and sighed softly, “It’s my fault for not educating her properly. This child is always so unreasonable. She was spoiled by the late emperor when she was young.”
Mingzhu remembered Imperial Consort Min’s past kindness to her and felt a bit embarrassed, so her tone changed slightly, “It’s not related to Royal Mother, nor is it that the princess is unreasonable… There are some misunderstandings between her and me, and both of us have stubborn personalities, so it’s inevitable that we’ll be unhappy. We’ll get along better in the future. After all, we’re family, and no one can compare to us in terms of closeness.”
“It’s good that you can think that way. As the elder sister-in-law, you should forgive her more. I only have them, siblings, and now you, so I’m happy when you all get along.” Imperial Consort Min smiled and suddenly remembered something, “I almost forgot to give you this.” She took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and affectionately put it on Mingzhu’s hand, saying, “This was given to me by the late emperor, and it’s perfect for you.”
Only one, not a pair. Presumably, the other one would be given to her when she proved herself? Anyway, she didn’t care much about it. Mingzhu laughed and thanked her, letting the matter go. While Imperial Consort Min was busy instructing the palace maids to call Princess Funing, Mingzhu sat next to Yuwen Chu, showing off the hand wearing the jade bracelet in front of him. Her fair and smooth skin, combined with the translucent jade bracelet, looked exquisite and beautiful.
However, Yuwen Chu just smiled faintly and looked away, focusing on drinking his tea. Even though Mingzhu wasn’t very familiar with him, she understood that he wasn’t very interested. So, she stopped and turned to look at a pot of chrysanthemums beside her, saying, “These are ink chrysanthemums, quite rare, and they are well taken care of.”
Imperial Consort Min said kindly, “Yes, Niang Niang rewarded them a few days ago, a total of four pots. If you like them, have two pots brought back later.” She referred to the Great Empress Dowager as Niang Niang. Mingzhu quickly waved her hand, “These flowers complement Royal Mother’s beauty. Giving them to me would be like casting pearls before swine.”
Imperial Consort Min chuckled, “You, child, always joking.”
Mingzhu continued to entertain Imperial Consort Min with a few jokes, causing Imperial Consort Min to relax her brows. Glancing sideways at Yuwen Chu, who was staring at her with a gentle expression, she raised her eyebrows triumphantly, indicating how filial and gentle she was. Yuwen Chu smiled slightly, handed her a cup of tea, and said lightly, “Moisten your throat.”
The tea was just right in temperature and happened to be Mingzhu’s favorite, Green Phoenix Marrow. After taking a sip, she couldn’t help but return Yuwen Chu a sweet smile, feeling that her efforts to please Imperial Consort Min just now were worthwhile.
Suddenly, a palace maid came in and reported, “Princess Chang is not in the palace, and we don’t know where she went.”
Imperial Consort Min frowned unhappily, “She’s still so immature.” Before she could discuss this matter with Mingzhu, Yuwen Chu spoke up, “Royal Mother, is it time for the meal to be served here? Your son is hungry.”
“It’s indeed time for lunch.” Imperial Consort Min quickly arranged it and smiled, “You’re considerate, deliberately coming to accompany me for lunch. It was arranged yesterday, all your favorite dishes.”
She specifically smiled at Mingzhu, “I remember Mingzhu’s favorite pearl jade balls and chrysanthemum carp.”
Mingzhu quickly stood up to express her gratitude, then went through the motions of setting the table, arranging the utensils, and serving the food and soup for the Imperial Consort Min. However, Imperial Consort Min declined, saying, “We are not like commoners. We rarely have the chance to dine together. When we do gather, there’s no need for such formalities. Come, sit beside me.”
Mingzhu smiled and replied, “Because I rarely have the opportunity to serve you, you must give me this chance.”
But the Imperial Consort insisted and pulled her down to sit, though her mood seemed slightly better than before. Mingzhu glanced at Yuwen Chu, noticing that although he adhered to the rule of silence at meals, his eyes and expression were softer. She understood that she had made the right decision earlier—Yuwen Chu did hope for a friendly relationship between her and his Royal Mother, just as she had longed for Yuwen You to reconcile with his father and brothers.
“You give me an inch, I’ll give you a foot, just reciprocity.” Mingzhu laughed heartily, enjoying her meal with a good appetite. Seeing her enjoying the food, Imperial Consort Min also felt happy, saying, “I just love watching you eat, even though I can’t taste it myself, it looks and smells delicious.”
Mingzhu felt a bit embarrassed. “I woke up early and didn’t have time for breakfast.”
Yuwen Chu picked the most tender part of the grilled fish and put it on her plate, saying lightly, “Royal Mother means you can eat however you like.”
“Yes, that’s the idea.” Protecting like this… Imperial Consort Min glanced at Yuwen Chu, then at Mingzhu, smiling as she picked up another meatball for Mingzhu. “Royal Mother is getting old and can’t eat much. Help me finish this.”
Mingzhu immediately, without hesitation, polished off the fish and the meatball, then proudly declared, “Even though I eat a lot, I never gain weight.”
Yuwen Chu couldn’t help but smile, calmly continuing his meal. He had good eating habits, never taking more than three bites of any dish, unlike Mingzhu who ate as she pleased. Mingzhu, feeling happy from eating, began to think a bit more. After staring for a while, she finally figured something out: he actually liked sweet things! She hadn’t expected that at all. How had that Momo misled her? Saying he didn’t like sweets. These bad influences were really ruining everything!
After the meal, Princess Funing still hadn’t appeared, but an attendant from the Changxin Palace arrived to invite Mingzhu. “Her Majesty, the Great Empress Dowager, invites the Ying Wangfei for a private conversation.”
Imperial Consort Min happened to have something she wanted to discuss privately with Yuwen Chu, so she instructed Mingzhu, “It’s been a while since you visited the palace. Her Majesty is quite concerned. Perhaps you should spend some more time with her. After all, it won’t be as convenient to come to the palace in the future.”
Mingzhu nodded understandingly, smiling politely as she excused herself and followed the attendant to the Changxin Palace.
As they reached the palace gate, they nearly collided with someone rushing out. Thanks to the quick reflexes of the attendant, they avoided a collision. Just as the attendant was about to reprimand the person, they bowed respectfully and said, “Forgive me for any offense. Please don’t take it to heart, Sixth Sister-in-law.”
It was Yuwen You.
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