Chapter 325: The Hardship Plan
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Although the steward of the Ying Wang Mansion was polite and smooth in his speech, Cui Tong still felt Mingzhu’s deep malice and contempt. He stared at the gift box and refused to accept it. What was this about? Who didn’t know she was suspiciously ill? Pretending to be bedridden, too weak to see guests? Fooling ghosts! Not even letting them in the door, showing no face, what kind of nonsense!
The steward of the princess’s mansion, seeing his displeasure, quickly took the ceremonial box over, thinking they were about to leave immediately. But to his surprise, Yuwen Cong smiled without changing his expression and said, “We are foreign men. If the princess does not wish to see us, it is understandable. However, this token of respect should still be accepted by the Wangfei as a gesture of goodwill.”
The steward of the Ying Wang’s mansion, seeing his unfamiliar face, couldn’t help but ask, “Who is this?”
Cui Tong felt unhappy, thinking that this embarrassment was caused by his clever cousin. Knowing that the other party would not give a good reception, yet still eagerly came to invite criticism, what kind of illness was this? Therefore, he pretended not to hear and kept a straight face without introducing Yuwen Cong.
Yuwen Cong didn’t mind. He smiled and said, “I am Cui Zhang, a distant relative of Princess Consort Cui.”
At that time, many declining branches of the family would attach themselves to the wealthy and powerful main branches, claiming to be relatives, but in reality, they were no different from the stewards and managers. They were even less respected than the stewards who were favored by the main family.
The steward of the Ying Wang’s mansion carefully scrutinized this “Cui Zhang.” Although he was dressed plainly, his hairpin and jade ornament were of high quality. Seeing that he dared to speak directly to Cui Tong, he guessed that he couldn’t be compared to ordinary declining family members. Therefore, his smile became even warmer, and his tone more tactful, but he didn’t give in at all. “It’s not that the Wangfei is unreasonable, but His Highness has instructed that the Wangfei’s illness needs quiet rest. Ordinary trivial matters absolutely cannot disturb the Wangfei. Otherwise, we will all be punished. Please pity us servants and don’t make it difficult for us again.”
Anyway, let’s just blame it all on His Highness. If he has the guts, let him go to the palace gate and confront His Highness there. Let’s see how His Highness doesn’t scold him to the point where he can’t lift his head. The steward of the Ying Wang Mansion calculated well, but his smile became more and more sincere and pitiful, making people feel like forcing him would be a crime.
Cui Tong couldn’t bear it anymore and said angrily, “Forget it! Let’s go!”
However, Yuwen Cong was a person with a high self-esteem. The more difficult it was, the more he wanted to challenge. Just as he was about to retort, a loud voice interrupted him, “Quiet! Make way! Wangfei’s carriage is about to come out!”
Immediately, the gates of the mansion opened wide, and a few nimble servants rushed forward to remove the door latch. At the same time, several carriages for the servants and a group of splendidly dressed attendants rushed out from the side door and stopped on both sides of the entrance.
Cui Tong’s face twisted with anger. This was the Ying Wangfei, who was bedridden and needed to recuperate quietly without being disturbed by trivial matters? Then why such a grand display? It was a direct slap in the face of Longsheng Great Eldest Princess! He immediately caused trouble for the steward of the Ying Wang Mansion, “Am I mistaken? Is this the carriage of the Ying Wangfei? Isn’t she bedridden and needs to recuperate quietly?”
The steward of the Ying Wang Mansion remained calm, but he looked at Mingzhu’s carriage with a concerned expression and said, “The guest may not know, but there are always many people coming to visit every day, whether they know Wangfei or not. Some people are polite and just greet her and leave without causing much disturbance; some people are rude and insist on pestering her. It’s better to avoid people. Our Wangfei, such a noble lady, has never suffered any hardships since she was a child. Now she has to endure bumps even in her illness, which is truly pitiful. I hope she doesn’t suffer too much on the way.”
Every sentence was an insinuation. Cui Tong was furious. He couldn’t afford to provoke Fu Mingzheng, Yuwen Chu, Fu Mingzhu, or even a mere dog servant?
“You lowly dog servant with dog eyes, who are you insulting!” Cui Tong raised the whip in his hand and fiercely lashed out at the steward of the Ying Wang Mansion. Why lash out at him? To show it to Yuwen Chu.
The steward of the Ying Wang Mansion was caught off guard but didn’t step back. His expression was panicked, but he calmly waited for Cui Tong’s attack. Ridiculous, he had served in the Ying Wang Mansion for so many years and had never heard of anyone being bullied in the mansion without the Ying Wang asking about it.
However, Cui Tong’s whip didn’t land. Yuwen Cong grabbed the whip in time, ignoring the pain in his palm, and frowned as he advised, “Elder Cousin, don’t be so aggressive! It’s just a misunderstanding between the speaker and the listener.”
He really knew how to think. The ones losing face weren’t the Zhongshan Mansion but Longsheng Great Eldest Princess Mansion and the Cui family. Cui Tong wanted to spit in Yuwen Cong’s face, but he didn’t dare. He could only reluctantly prepare to withdraw.
However, when he saw Yuwen Cong’s stern look, he suddenly realized what he meant. He forcefully pulled the whip from Yuwen Cong’s hand and lashed out fiercely, aiming directly at Yuwen Cong’s face. Yuwen Cong skillfully dodged, just avoiding the whip, which landed squarely on his back, tearing a large hole in his plain sky-blue robe, and his white undershirt quickly soaked with blood.
The steward of the princess’s mansion exclaimed and rushed up to separate the two, anxiously saying, “Sir, calm down!”
The steward of the Ying Wang Mansion was also a bit dumbfounded. What was going on? Someone wanted to hit him, and this distant relative of Wangfei’s Mansion suddenly appeared and blocked for him?
Yuwen Cong frowned in pain, but his expression remained firm as he said, “It’s okay.”
Cui Tong was dumbfounded. He acted according to Yuwen Cong’s hint, but he didn’t expect to have such great strength to beat Yuwen Cong like this. He immediately wanted to apologize to Yuwen Cong, but Yuwen Cong glared at him fiercely, scaring him so much that his courage wavered. He pretended to be angry and raised the whip to curse at Yuwen Cong, “When did our mansion’s affairs become his business! It’s good to have food to eat, yet he dares to meddle in our affairs!”
The more fierce Cui Tong was, the more the steward of the Ying Wang Mansion couldn’t ignore this “Cui Zhang”. After all, he had been injured while trying to help him. Earlier, he thought this “Cui Zhang” was different, but now it seemed that he was just a pitiful person. So, he felt a little sympathy and said, “If this young master doesn’t mind, we still have some medicine for injuries in our mansion.”
Before Yuwen Cong could speak, Cui Tong started to curse, “Who are you…” He hadn’t said anything ugly yet when a luxurious carriage with a vermilion canopy came out steadily from inside. It was Mingzhu’s carriage.
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