Chapter 395 Gossip
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In Yinghui Hall, Hua Yang Wangfei expressed her gratitude to Mingzhu with a smile, “I won’t need the fertility remedy from Sixth Sister-in-law anymore. Thanks to your auspicious words. The other day when you mentioned that I might be pregnant, I went back and kept thinking about it. It didn’t seem right to me, so I had someone check, and indeed, I am.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, “Don’t laugh at my foolishness. I was feeling upset before, my menstrual cycle was irregular, and we kept arguing. So even when I became pregnant, I didn’t realize it… When I talked to him about this, he was also happy. He finally told me the truth, saying that a legitimate son is incomparable, and he’s not the type to favor a concubine over his wife. He reassured me.”
Grasping Mingzhu’s hand, Hua Yang Wangfei expressed her immense gratitude, “If it weren’t for Sixth Sister-in-law that day, this child wouldn’t have been saved. Sixth Sister-in-law is so kind… Our Wangye insisted on coming to thank you personally. He also said you are a blessed person and encouraged me to interact with you more.”
Hua Yang Wangfei was in a good mood and thanked Mingzhu with a smile, “Sixth Sister-in-law’s pregnancy aid method is not needed anymore, thanks to your kind words. When you said I was probably pregnant that day, I went back and thought about it more and more, and felt something was wrong. I had been in a bad mood before, my menstrual cycle was irregular, and I often quarreled with him, so I didn’t even know when I got pregnant… When I told him about this, he was also happy. Finally, he told me the truth. He said that a legitimate son is incomparable to anything else, and he’s not the kind of person who favors concubines over his wife, which made me feel relieved.”
Hua Yang Wangfei held Mingzhu’s hand, feeling extremely lucky, “If it weren’t for Sixth Sister-in-law that day, this child would not have been kept. Sixth Sister-in-law is kind-hearted… Our prince said he must come personally to thank you and said you are a blessed person, so let me have more contact with you.”
“It’s your own good fortune.” Mingzhu was also happy for Hua Yang Wangfei. At that time, she just didn’t want the Wangfei to suffer unjustly for no reason, and didn’t expect the events that followed. But it could also be considered as good deeds being rewarded. Hua Yang Wangfei’s words clearly showed that she was leaning towards their side. Even if she couldn’t help much, not meddling in other people’s affairs was also a good thing.
Hua Yang Wangfei was in a good mood and talked to Mingzhu about the strange things happening at the Longsheng Great Eldest Princess Mansion, “Serves her right! With such talent, appearance, and character, and already so old, still secretly keeping a young lover, usually fierce as anything, refusing to admit any wrongdoing, who dares not to listen to her, she treats people like she wants to eat them alive. This is karma. For the past year or so, she can’t show her face anymore.”
It must be Yuwen Chu’s doing, really sneaky! Mingzhu’s heart blossomed with joy, but she pretended to remain calm and said, “Unexpected indeed… It’s like they say, the truth will always come out. Anyone who does evil will eventually be exposed.” She also expressed sympathy for Cui Third Master’s wife, who cried and returned to her family home, “She’s really unlucky.”
“Who wouldn’t say so? Marrying such a person is like being cursed for eight lifetimes! Instead of enduring the loneliness of widowhood and being at the mercy of others as a junior wife, it’s better to take the opportunity to go back home and live as a young mistress. This time she’s finally out of the fire pit!” Hua Yang Wangfei praised herself shamelessly, “When they got married, so many strange things happened, and they still blamed you. It’s actually a sign! What’s up with Sixth Sister-in-law?”
Mingzhu struggled to hold back her laughter, trying not to appear too smug. She hung her head as if reflecting, “My temper is still too impulsive. Even our lord scolded me and said I should be more patient. I’ll have to change in the future.”
Su Lan and the others standing by exchanged glances involuntarily. Indeed, the Wangfei was becoming more and more shameless. Seeing her pretending to be serious, she was almost no different from His Highness.
“What’s there to change? As long as you’re in the right, it doesn’t matter. Many envy you greatly, never getting upset.” Hua Yang Wangfei, in a good mood, opened up, mentioning a new shop that had opened on Tianquan Street, “They sell pots, very peculiar pots, like this, and they cook food on the spot for people to taste. They say it saves water, fuel, and time, and the food tastes delicious. It’s selling at a high price. It’s called the drip dew pot! Such a strange name.”
Mingzhu calmly listened and then said leisurely, “What’s so special about it? Isn’t it just something brought over from the northwest? And they have the nerve to sell it at a high price. During the Winter Solstice, we sent you a few of them, and specifically instructed someone to explain. Didn’t you notice?”
Hua Yang Wangfei felt embarrassed, “During the festival, busy with receiving and returning gifts, then going to the palace for congratulations, and then finding out about the pregnancy. I didn’t pay attention.” It was the same situation in every mansion. During the New Year, there were many things to do and many gifts to receive, so it would take some time to sort them out, unless they were particularly valuable, otherwise, they wouldn’t care.
Mingzhu continued, “Someone from our mansion went to the northwest and discovered these pots. They found them novel and brought them back. They’re indeed very good. There are still many in the warehouse. If you find them useful, come and take them, they’re not valuable.” Then she invited Hua Yang Wangfei and her husband to dinner, “We’ll use these drip dew pots to cook for lunch today. You can try them!”
Hua Yang Wangfei and her husband, apart from expressing their gratitude, had another purpose in coming here. They were eager to get closer, so they readily agreed.
Mingzhu had already prepared a set of special recipes based on the characteristics of these drip dew pots a few days ago. Now it was time to put them to use. She made sure the well-paid chefs brought out their best skills to make Ying Wang Mansion’s cuisine famous in the capital and, incidentally, promote the drip dew pots, making it only natural for Jiang Shanshan’s shop to close down.
At lunchtime, with the table set, the two couples sat down as guests and hosts. Seeing the table full of delicious dishes and fresh green vegetables, Hua Yang Wangfei and her husband smiled, “Sixth Brother and Sister-in-law really know how to live.”
Yuwen Chu directly credited Mingzhu with the success, “It’s all arranged by your sixth sister-in-law. I didn’t even bother with these things. She likes to eat, and she knows how to eat. It’s enough to satisfy my appetite.”
Mingzhu felt a bit embarrassed. The famous chefs were invited by him, and the green vegetables were arranged by him. Her only contribution was taking advantage of her rebirth to draw the picture of the drip dew pot and then meticulously preparing this meal today.
However, Yuwen Xin didn’t doubt it at all because everyone knew what kind of person Yuwen Chu used to be. He was genuinely content with simplicity and even enjoyed eating coarse food. Once he came to find Yuwen Chu and happened to see him eating. The dishes on the table were very simple, nothing like the exquisite delicacies now.
Yuwen Xin suddenly felt that the meals at his own mansion were too crude. Hua Yang Wangfei, who was originally greedy and now even more so due to pregnancy, intentionally said to him, “I’ve had a bad appetite these days. However, seeing Sixth Sister-in-law’s table full of fresh green dishes, my appetite has opened up! I have to eat more, enough for several days in one meal.”
Yuwen Xin looked a bit embarrassed and whispered, “Without you, our household can have good food for a couple of days.”
Hua Yang Wangfei replied, “It’s not that few. We have plenty of meat and fish at home, of course, but when it comes to green vegetables, there’s always a shortage. Even if I wanted some Chinese cabbage yesterday, there were worms in the soup made from it. It was so disgusting that I didn’t even want to eat dinner.”
Mingzhu was surprised. Goodness, it’s really serious. The kitchen of the Huayang Palace is actually so dirty and chaotic that there are bugs in the soup served to the Wangfei? It’s obviously asking for trouble. Just as she was full of questions, Yuwen Chu gently kicked her under the table, hinting that she should keep her mouth shut and just listen, as this couple was playing mind games.
Yuwen Xin’s face became even more unpleasant. In a fit of pique, he said, “When we get back, I’ll have someone fix the greenhouse and grow vegetables specifically for you! Alright?”
Hua Yang Wangfei immediately smiled brightly, stood up, and elegantly gave Yuwen Xin a salute, crisply saying, “Thank you, my lord, for your reward.”
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