Chapter 192: A Slight Sourness
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Bah! How dare she flirt with him in front of her? Mingzhu could see it clearly and immediately lost her composure. It’s not that she was petty, but such blatant flirtation was so rude and disrespectful! Mingzhu said with a smile that wasn’t a smile, “Who came up with this name?”
Ping Nushi’s coquettish expression dimmed a bit, and she whispered, “It was chosen by a palace aunt.”
Mingzhu continued to smile, “Ping Fufu has the meaning of drifting and floating, which isn’t very pleasant. And this name doesn’t sound good at all, Ping Fufu, did you offend the aunt who named you?”
Ping Nushi fell silent for a moment and then said sincerely, “Please give me a new name, Your Highness.”
Mingzhu thought to herself that she was already tired from managing the family’s fortune and national affairs. How could she have the energy to come up with a new name for you? Besides, she was originally just belittling you. Don’t you understand? So she naturally pushed the matter to Yuwen Chu, “I have no talent, so please, Your Highness.” With that, she smiled and looked at Yuwen Chu, waiting to see how he would handle it.
Yuwen Chu looked up, glanced at Ping Nushi indifferently, and said coldly, “Mind your own business and live a quiet life. There’s always food for you to eat. Why do you need to stir up trouble for no reason?” With that, he said nothing more.
Ping Nushi was stunned, and tears welled up in her eyes. Even Mingzhu, looking at her pitiful appearance, felt like she was a cruel mistress, tormenting such a delicate flower-like concubine. But whether Yuwen Chu was pretending or not, it suited her just fine. So she pretended to comfort Ping Nushi, “His Highness has always had a bad temper, and only I can bear with him. Don’t be sad. Crying like this makes me pity you, and I can’t bear it, and I can’t stand to see it.”
Ping Nushi was about to say that she wouldn’t cry anymore, certainly not wanting to add to the troubles of His Highness and the Wangfei. Mingzhu waved her hand decisively, saying, “I can’t bear to watch anymore. My heart aches. You should go back and rest. You’re forgiven.”
To be dismissed in such a matter-of-fact manner! Ping Nushi was surprised. Before she could say anything else, a Momo approached with a polite smile, asking her to leave. She looked unwillingly at Yvwen Chu, who was still quietly sipping his tea, completely indifferent to what Mingzhu had done.
Glancing back at Mingzhu, she noticed that Mingzhu had already shifted her attention to others, not even noticing her anymore. It was Zhou Nushi, standing quietly on the side, with a faint smile on her lips, as if what was happening had nothing to do with her, showing no intention of pleading on her behalf.
Ping Nushi lowered her eyes and quietly retreated.
Mingzhu glanced at Ping Nushi’s back and felt somewhat dissatisfied. She thought that someone chosen by the late Emperor to enlighten Yuwen Chu must be particularly gentle, intelligent, and sensible, but she didn’t expect her to be like this. No wonder she was so beautiful but in her past life, she had never heard of this person, but instead, compared to the less attractive Zhou Nushi, she stood out.
Mingzhu took another glance at Zhou Nushi’s calm and indifferent face, feeling that this calmness resembled Yuwen Chu’s, which was somewhat unlikable. When Zhou Nushi gave birth to the illegitimate eldest son, she wondered what Jiang Shanshan’s feelings were. Ah, no, the legitimate eldest son hadn’t been born yet, so why did Yuwen Chu let Zhou Nushi give birth to the illegitimate eldest son first? That’s very strange! Mingzhu couldn’t help but look at Yuwen Chu, who was still there, drinking his tea without even sparing a glance at Zhou Nushi.
Could it be an accident? Like getting drunk and losing one’s virtue? It’s really worth pondering and investigating.
“These are Su Ye and Su Zi bestowed by the Great Empress Dowager’s palace, they are twin sisters.” Su Lan noticed Mingzhu’s distraction and gently reminded her in a low voice. Mingzhu quickly regained her focus and warmly welcomed the sisters. It must be said that the Great Empress Dowager had good taste; these twin sisters were very sweet and charming, with a sense of propriety that suggested they had been carefully trained.
Thinking of the Great Empress Dowager’s instructions, Mingzhu couldn’t help but equate these beauties with spies, troublemakers, and traitors, and the more she looked, the more it seemed like it. Quietly, she had already separated these two from Yuwen Chu’s concubines and classified them as her own people and under her control.
Next came the two beauties given by Imperial Consort Min, one surnamed Zhang and the other surnamed Luo. They were quiet and reserved in nature, but they had very voluptuous figures, as the saying goes, these people were especially fertile and suitable for bearing sons.
Truly, wolves in sheep’s clothing! Mingzhu restrained herself and also rewarded them. There were still two beauties rewarded by Empress Dowager Min and various gifts from other mansions, totaling more than ten people when counted casually.
Zhou Nushi and Ping Nushi had status, so it was understandable for them to come to pay their respects. Those bestowed by the Great Empress Dowager had face and were also on her side, so it was normal for them to come to see her. But why did all the others come? Mingzhu became impatient and simply couldn’t be bothered to see each one individually. She directly had them sent away with rewards, and then looked at Yuwen Chu with a slightly displeased expression, “Your Highness, there are so many people, I’m about to faint from exhaustion. How about meeting the stewards of the mansion first?”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her with amusement, gesturing for Zhu Changsheng and Li Quanxing to bring their capable male and female stewards for Mingzhu to instruct. Mingzhu was most interested in this and didn’t need Zheng Momo and Su Lan to help her remember. She immediately displayed her photographic memory, remembering all the people, their names, positions, and duties. This was the most crucial, only by remembering these could she not be fooled and taken advantage of by others.
The audience continued until almost noon before it ended. Mingzhu noticed Zhu Changsheng sneakily glancing around at the end and after a moment of thought, she extended her hand to Yuwen Chu, pretending to be weak and asking him to help her up coquettishly, “Husband, did I do well?”
Yuwen Chu chuckled and helped her up, saying casually, “Overall, not bad, but a bit sour.”
Mingzhu quickly realized that Yuwen Chu was referring to her jealousy towards Ping Nushi, and she suddenly felt unhappy. She forgot that she had just been trying to show off to Zhu Changsheng and to warn him, “Your master loves and dotes on me like this, you should think twice and pull yourself together.” Instead, she became even more sour, “I’ll remember next time to keep her around, so people won’t say I’m sour. But with so many charming beauties in Your Highness’s mansion, both slender and plump, I can’t bear to poke anyone.”
Yuwen Chu glanced at Mingzhu for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, “Since you’re reluctant, then don’t prod anymore. After all, they were either sent by elders as gifts or ones I couldn’t refuse. They send me gifts, I send them back. Whether it’s one sheep or a whole flock, it doesn’t cost much to feed them, and it saves a lot of trouble. Your calling me ‘husband’ earlier was quite good, so I’ll transfer them to you. From now on, you’ll be in charge of them. As long as they don’t cause too much trouble, I’ll leave everything else to you.”
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