Chapter 373: The Truth About the Cypress Cup
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The palace servants were at a loss. They didn’t dare to let go of Funing’s legs, but they also didn’t dare to disobey Yuwen Chu’s orders. They all looked at Imperial Consort Min.
Imperial Consort Min naturally understood what Yuwen Chu wanted to do. Funing’s behavior was too extreme. Letting Funing know the consequences would prevent her from doing it again, making it seem like a way to eliminate future troubles. However, when she saw Funing hanging from the white silk rope, her face turning red and her eyes bulging, she couldn’t help but rush forward and scold the palace servants angrily, “Why haven’t you put the princess down yet?”
The palace servants hurriedly let Funing down, and when Funing caught her breath, she cried out, “My life is so bitter!” Then she cried again, “My cruel brother, he wishes me dead. There will be no one to anger Mingzhu in the future.”
Imperial Consort Min continued to cry and scold Funing, “You ungrateful girl! You’re trying to kill me!”
Yuwen Chu helplessly stood at the door for a while, sighed, and quietly walked away.
When Mingzhu saw him return so soon, she asked curiously, “Did you settle it so quickly?” Just as she was speaking, she heard the sound of crying and looked at Yuwen Chu in confusion, “What’s happening now?”
Yuwen Chu sighed helplessly. He wasn’t really heartless; he just wanted to scare Funing. However, Imperial Consort Min couldn’t even bear to scare her a little, so what else could he do?
Seeing him upset, Mingzhu paused for a moment and picked up a finely crafted tiger-head hat to show him. “How’s this one? Looks good, right?”
Yuwen Chu smiled, “Looks good.”
Cui Lan Gugu came over with tea. Yuwen Chu said calmly, “You’re a sensible person. Take care of Imperial Consort Min and the princess. If anything happens, remember to send a message. Offer advice when necessary and be careful.”
Cui Lan Gugu obediently agreed and quietly withdrew.
Seeing this, Mingzhu asked softly, “Who is she?”
Yuwen Chu had no intention of hiding it from her. “Cui Lan Gugu is a cautious and intelligent person. The situation in the palace is too chaotic now, so Imperial Consort Min needs someone reliable by her side. With Funing behaving like this, it’s probably only a matter of time before something big happens in the palace.”
Mingzhu’s heart stirred. Did he want to get Funing out of the palace? The idea was good, but the problem was that holding onto Funing was like holding onto half of his weakness. Whether it was the Great Empress Dowager or Imperial Consort Min, they wouldn’t easily let Funing go.
But Yuwen Chu had already made up his mind. He stood up and said, “It seems that Royal Mother won’t be coming back for the time being. Let’s go first.”
Mingzhu called Zheng Momo to carry the bundle and followed Yuwen Chu out of the palace. When they got to the carriage, they saw a wooden box inside, exactly like the one they had seen in Changxin Palace before.
Mingzhu guessed that it was another set of purple fir wood carved cups found by Sang Shen. She thought that the Great Empress Dowager might not be as angry as before, otherwise Sang Shen wouldn’t dare to send her this thing. She reached out eagerly to take it, but Yuwen Chu grabbed her hand and said, “You have no worldly experience. How can you treat such crude things as treasures!”
How is it crude! How is it crude! Let’s not talk about how rare and precious this purple fir is. Even the craftsmanship of the carvings is not something ordinary craftsmen can do. The knife skills are superb, and the layout is extraordinary. It looks pleasing to the eye. How is it crude? Even if the object is considered crude, how dare he say she has no worldly experience? Mingzhu couldn’t accept it, “Even if I have no worldly experience, I like this crude thing!”
Yuwen Chu reached out to stop her and threw the box to Wei Tiande. “You’re still not convinced that you have no worldly experience! You’re even breaking things. Why don’t you pursue improvement?”
Wei Tiande hugged the box and smiled obsequiously, then quickly got off the carriage.
Mingzhu was anxious and threatened, “Wei Tiande! Wei Tiande! You little rascal, come back here!”
Wei Tiande ignored her and walked faster. He was very discerning. He knew what he should listen to from Wangfei and what he shouldn’t. It was obvious that Wangye didn’t allow Wangfei to touch this thing, so he immediately went to bury it underground, making sure Wangfei couldn’t find it.
Unable to do anything about Wei Tiande, Mingzhu turned to attack Yuwen Chu, “Your Highness, this is too much! What’s wrong with using these wooden cups?”
Yuwen Chu stretched out his arm to hold her and said coolly, “There’s nothing wrong with them. I just want to ask Wangfei, if Linan Wang has a set, and you use another identical set, I don’t have any thoughts about it. But if someone else sees it, what would they think?”
Mingzhu blinked. She hadn’t thought of this before! She just saw the same thing and felt familiar, and then Sang Shen also sent it to her, so she didn’t think much about it.
Yuwen Chu, seeing her falter, continued, “Do you still want to use these cups now?”
Mingzhu quickly shook her head, “I don’t want to use them anymore.”
“That’s right.” Yuwen Chu lowered his eyes to conceal the coldness in them. Purple fir trees are very rare. Their leaves are like needles, with clusters of red beans on the leaf veins. Their fibers, leaves, and bark can all be used as medicine, and long-term use of their wood as cutting boards and cups can indeed improve health and cure diseases. However, few people know that this thing naturally has contraceptive properties. If you use cups made of it to hold water and soup for a long time, don’t even think about having children.
Although Mingzhu is already pregnant, this contraceptive matter doesn’t affect her, but who knows if it will have other effects on the fetus in her womb and her own body? Besides, even if Mingzhu doesn’t use it, he might, and what’s more effective than him losing his fertility? Does the Great Empress Dowager know about the special effects of this purple fir wood cup? Is it intentional or unintentional?
Mingzhu leaned in and whispered as she hugged his arm, “I told Mu Gugu about the matter at Taotie Tower, and she said she would tell the Great Empress Dowager. Give me some time, I will do my best to convince her.”
“Don’t worry too much, I’ll indulge her. Just focus on taking care of yourself.” Yuwen Chu sighed silently, deciding not to tell Mingzhu the truth until it was clear. He didn’t want to cause her more heartache. Right now, he just wished for her to have a smooth pregnancy and deliver the child happily without any complications.
The carriage passed by the long street, and Yuwen Cong leaned out from a nondescript bookstore by the street, watching the carriage with a light smile. “This time, I destroyed two nails buried for many years, but it was extremely effective. I bet Ying Wangfei is crying bitterly in the arms of Ying Wang right now, and the one in Changxin Palace must be feeling doubly lonely.”
Cui Tong sat in the corner, unimpressed. “Fu Mingzhu is heartless. She’ll be back to her usual self in a few days, happily giving birth to her son as usual. The investigations by the Fifth City Guards have been intense these days. Let’s keep quiet for a few days.”
Yuwen Cong shook his head playfully. “No, the less attention we get at this time, the better. It’s time to visit an old acquaintance.”
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