Chapter 369: Washing Hands
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Yuwen Chu held Mingzhu’s hand tightly and gestured for her to look at Liao Guang, who was standing quietly aside. “This is the newly appointed top scholar, Liao Guang of the Hanlin Academy.”
Seeing Yuwen Chu introduce him to Mingzhu, Liao Guang solemnly saluted Mingzhu again, “I’m Liao Guang. Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Liao Hanlin, no need to be so formal.” Mingzhu raised her hand to gesture for Liao Guang to rise. She actually felt a bit sympathetic towards Liao Guang. After finally becoming the top scholar, he married a princess and couldn’t take up important positions. Not to mention, the princess wasn’t virtuous. Now Funing had gotten involved in the dispute between the Great Empress Dowager and Yuwen Chu for no reason. It was truly unfortunate.
Yuwen Chu asked Liao Guang, “Where are you going?”
Liao Guang replied, “I received an imperial decree from the Great Empress Dowager, but I don’t know what it’s about yet.”
Yuwen Chu said, “We’re also going to the palace to pay respects to the Great Empress Dowager, so we might as well go together.” Although they wanted to avoid suspicion, since they had already encountered each other, deliberately separating would only raise suspicions.
Liao Guang followed Yuwen Chu and Mingzhu without hurry. Suddenly, he whispered, “I forgot to congratulate His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness. May the little Shizi be safe and sound.”
Mingzhu was stunned. How did everyone know already? Although the Great Empress Dowager knew early on, she wouldn’t have made it widely known. And because of yesterday’s incident, she hadn’t even sent anyone to her family to announce the good news yet. So, it wasn’t normal for the news to spread so quickly.
Yuwen Chu had known since last night that the news had spread throughout the capital, so he wasn’t surprised. But even Liao Guang knew, which meant someone was spreading rumors with malicious intent. Stirring up trouble with the Great Empress Dowager wasn’t enough; now they wanted to spread the news so that their enemies could deal with Mingzhu, right? He smiled, “Liao Hanlin is indeed considerate. Thank you.”
Liao Guang’s intention was just to remind them. Seeing that they understood his meaning, he didn’t say more and walked quietly beside them. When he moved, his hands were exposed, allowing Mingzhu to see them clearly.
Liao Guang had suffered setbacks. His hands were different from Yuwen Chu and Fu Mingzheng’s delicate and elegant ones. They were large-jointed and somewhat rough.
Mingzhu suddenly thought of Liao Guang, who had risen from adversity to become a top scholar. Was he really willing to marry the princess? She knew about the encounter between Funing and Liao Guang. Liao Guang had shown interest in Funing at the time, but did he know she was a princess?
Looking at Liao Guang now, despite the broken engagement, he didn’t show any signs of sadness or despair. Liao Guang was too calm and composed. Just like when Funing cuckolded him in the past, no one had ever seen him angry or sad. He didn’t fuss or make a scene, just went about his duties in the Hanlin Academy as usual.
Mingzhu suddenly had another thought. Perhaps Liao Guang wasn’t very fond of this marriage. How could he not be upset if he really cared for someone? Maybe even Yuwen Chu had misjudged him. It was time to have a good talk with him.
With these thoughts in mind, Mingzhu followed quietly behind Yuwen Chu until they reached Changxin Palace. The Great Empress Dowager summoned Liao Guang first and had them wait in the side hall. Sang Shen brought tea and explained, “The Great Empress Dowager has state affairs to discuss with Liao Hanlin, so His Highness and Her Highness are asked to wait for a moment.”
It was expected. After all, the Great Empress Dowager was just an old lady. She could be petulant, angry, and petty. Her beloved niece had just married, and she immediately became unhappy. It would make anyone feel sad. Mingzhu expressed understanding and waited quietly.
Seeing Sang Shen bring the tea, she instinctively reached out to take it, but Yuwen Chu lightly kicked her foot. She immediately remembered their three rules, one of which was not to eat palace food indiscriminately. She had eaten enough breakfast in the morning and had drunk enough water.
How did they end up like this? They were the closest and most trusting couple, yet they had to start guarding against each other. But logically, Yuwen Chu’s caution was entirely correct. Even if the Great Empress Dowager wouldn’t treat her like this, there was no guarantee that her subordinates wouldn’t tamper with her. And there were others who might take advantage of the situation.
Feeling sad, Mingzhu withdrew her hand because she was afraid Sang Shen would notice her little movement. She glanced around and saw a tray on the table with an exquisite wooden box. She smiled and asked, “What’s that?”
Sang Shen didn’t notice Mingzhu’s small movement. Although the Great Empress Dowager was unhappy with Mingzhu, she still treated her as close as before. She immediately went over and opened the wooden box for Mingzhu to see, “Just a set of wooden cups, recently taken out from the storage room. It’s said to be made of a tree called purple fir, and it’s said that drinking water from it can strengthen the body and prevent illness. Later, Linan Wang will come to thank Her Majesty, so Her Majesty asked to give this to him, saying it was left by the late emperor for him.”
Mingzhu recognized the set of cups. They had been in Yuwen You’s hands in her previous life, but she didn’t know if they were bestowed by the Great Empress Dowager. They were already in her room when she married into Linan Wang’s mansion. Because she heard they were good, and they looked cute, both she and Yuwen You often used them to drink water.
Seeing the cups made of purple fir, she felt a sense of familiarity and fondness. Not only did she pick them up to play with them herself, she also called Yuwen Chu over to look, “This thing is very special. Your Highness, do you want to take a look?”
“No.” Yuwen Chu shook his head with a smile, then took the opportunity to scold her, “You shouldn’t touch things that the Great Empress Dowager wants to reward to others.”
Mingzhu thought he was jealous again and immediately put it back, sitting obediently beside him and teasing him softly, “I’ve never seen this thing before. It’s just curiosity, nothing else.”
Yuwen Chu didn’t bother with her words and only looked at her hands, saying lightly, “Look at how you’re doing it. There’s dust on your hands. Go wash them!”
Mingzhu raised her hands to inspect them closely. Her hands were still white, plump, and moisturized, very clean—where would there be any dirt? Just as she was about to say there was nothing wrong, Yuwen Chu stared into her eyes and slowly said, “Go wash your hands.”
Feeling a bit strange, Mingzhu didn’t ask further questions and quietly went to wash her hands. Sang Shen helped her dry her hands and joked, “Ying Wang is really attentive to the Wangfei.” Then she added, “If the Wangfei really likes that cup, I’ll tell the Great Empress Dowager, and we’ll find another set for you.”
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