Chapter 428: Fu Mingzheng’s Wager (Two)
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Fu Mingzheng uninterestingly said, “It’s nothing, just encountered someone foolish on the street who dared to lie in front of my horse and extort money from me. That woman, who just came from the countryside, was as ignorant as can be. With her pathetic skills and foolish mind, she dared to stand up for justice for someone else. She insisted that my horse had knocked her down, demanding compensation and threatening to report me to the central city’s military office if I didn’t comply.
I couldn’t stand it, so I decided to teach her a lesson about the dangers of human nature, to see if she was a foolish scammer or a pitiful victim. If I lost, I would kneel in front of her and call her “Madam” three times, then compensate her and send her to the doctor; if she lost, she would give me her jade pendant and swim a lap in the moat.”
Fu Mingzheng stopped there, but everyone already knew the result, of course, it was that poor Miss Li who lost.
Madam Cui scolded Fu Mingzheng, “How could you be like this? That innocent girl, even if she meant well in the wrong place, shouldn’t have to jump into the moat on such a cold day. Did you really force her to jump into the moat?”
Fu Mingzheng replied, “No, her father is the commander of the central city’s military office, Li Dazhong, and I owe him a favor, so I let it go.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Madam Cui said, “Why not do good deeds to the end and return the jade pendant to her? She’s just a young girl. What do you want with her jade pendant?”
Mingzhu said coldly, “I’ll inquire tomorrow if she’s engaged, then invite a matchmaker to propose marriage.”
Fu Mingzheng threatened her with a glare, justifying himself, “I’m helping her. Who told her to be so reckless? This time she met a kind-hearted person like me. If it were someone else, she wouldn’t be so lucky. After this lesson, she won’t dare to act recklessly again.”
Madam Cui completely gave up reasoning with Fu Mingzheng and directly discussed with Fu Zifei, “Good child, give this jade pendant to your aunt to handle. Your uncle will compensate separately for the lost item.”
Fu Zifei smiled, “No need, no need. I’m relieved to know that Miss Li is fine.” She immediately handed the jade pendant to Lady Qian and stole a glance at Fu Mingzheng, completely categorizing him as the type of person to be respected and kept at a distance.
Fu Mingzheng asked Mingzhu, “Is Ying Wang coming for dinner tonight?”
Fu Zifei and her father immediately looked at Mingzhu with interest, both wanting to meet Ying Wang who made the Great Empress Dowager so wary.
Mingzhu’s good mood was suddenly ruined, and she casually replied, “He’s busy, so he probably won’t come.”
Fu Mingzheng just smiled mysteriously at her.
Mingzhu felt uncomfortable with his smile and tried to find fault with him, “During the winter solstice, I went to the palace and was bombarded with questions about Fourth Brother’s marriage. They said even Ah Lin is getting married, so how can Fourth Brother still be single? Some even insinuated that our parents don’t care about Fourth Brother. “
Madam Cui frowned at her words, seemingly about to start nagging again, so Fu Mingzheng quickly stood up, “I suddenly remembered that Father asked me to handle something. I’ll go now.” He hurriedly bowed to everyone and left.
“This troublesome one.” Madam Cui sighed and instructed Lady Qian, “Prepare a generous gift, including this jade pendant. Go personally and apologize to the girl so she won’t hold a grudge.”
“I’ll go see Ah Lin.” Mingzhu felt the room was stuffy and got up to see Fu Lin. She saw him writing something with his left hand, and after chatting for a while, a servant came to report that Fu Mingzheng had arrived.
Fu Mingzheng brought a bottle of tiger bone wine for Fu Lin. “It’s filled with good stuff, it’s been aging for some time, and I had to put in some effort to get it. It’s good for your injury. Don’t go out in this heavy snow, or you’ll suffer from the cold in your wounds.”
Fu Lin was very grateful, wanting to express his gratitude, but Fu Mingzheng was impatient to listen. He directly called Mingzhu, “And you, why are you running around in heavy snow? Are you complaining that others have found too few things for you to do?”
Mingzhu didn’t say anything because she felt very aggrieved.
Fu Mingzheng sighed, “Follow me.”
Mingzhu had already regarded him as the most trustworthy person and immediately followed him outside. Fu Mingzheng led her to a warm pavilion and waited for her to sit down before saying, “I heard people talking outside saying that Ying Wang and Wangfei are having a quarrel. I didn’t believe it at first, but seeing you, I know it’s true. Tell me, what’s really going on?”
Mingzhu almost revealed her secret of rebirth because she couldn’t bear the burden alone. Even if she could think broadly and open-mindedly, she still felt tired. But she still didn’t say it. She lowered her eyes and said softly, “Jiang Shanshan found Ying Wang and claimed to have an improved formula for gunpowder and knowledge of even more powerful firearms. She requested to enter the mansion as a concubine. Mr. Meng told me to take the initiative and let her enter the palace, and deal with her later.”
“Is this what Yuwen Chu intended?” Fu Mingzheng sneered, “I’ve told you before, men can’t be trusted. Wasn’t I right? And you said to me, our Highness is devoted, waiting only for me…”
Mingzhu blinked, and two big tears fell and shattered on the table. Choking, she said, “Is there nothing nice in your mouth? Can’t you comfort people?”
Fu Mingzheng furrowed his brow angrily, “What are you crying for? I won’t allow it! Crying just makes people happy!”
“Why are you being so mean!” Mingzhu yelled at him, forgetting her grievances.
Fu Mingzheng stood up and walked two circles in the warm pavilion, then said very seriously, “I have a question to ask you. Whether it’s the bed crossbow diagram or the drip dew pot, you saw them in ancient texts. I know you never forget what you see, I trust you. But how did you know that Jiang Shanshan is about to make and sell the drip dew pot?”
Here it comes again! One lie leads to countless lies. Mingzhu said softly, “Because I had someone watching her every day.”
Fu Mingzheng stared at her intently, “Yes, you had someone watching her every day, so you knew what she was going to do. But how did she learn to make this pot? It couldn’t be that you deliberately let people around you leak it to her, could it?”
“That’s exactly it!” Mingzhu slapped the table, “How are you so clever, Fourth Brother?”
Fu Mingzheng looked at Mingzhu in silence. Mingzhu used the same tactics she used when she was a child, fearlessly staring into his eyes, and finally, Fu Mingzheng relented, chuckling, “Forget it, I won’t ask anymore. I had a dream once, dreaming that I died miserably, my body severed, my hands on one side of the street, my feet on the other, eyes wide open in death. I even saw the old man dying of anger on the spot. I was so anxious, but there was nothing I could do.”
Mingzhu was shocked and exclaimed, “How is that possible?”
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