Chapter 475: The Big Painted Face
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“Okay.” Mu Gugu walked out of the main hall and saw Fu Zifei standing outside with a shocked expression. Even when she saw Mu Gugu, she didn’t think to avoid her. Knowing that Fu Zifei had just heard her words, Mu Gugu didn’t know what to say. She just nodded slightly and quickly walked away.
Fu Zifei looked at the thick clouds in the sky, feeling icy cold all over. No one had told her that the little emperor sitting on the throne in the Chongzheng Hall, who would smile when he saw her, would actually be such a cruel person. Although she occasionally heard news of palace servants dying since entering the palace, she had never heard of such a brutal and cruel method of death.
She felt like she had been deceived and became a sacrifice. She tightly gripped her handkerchief, trying to find a way out for herself.
On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, it was the Little New Year, a day for worshipping the kitchen god, sweeping away the dust, and eating kitchen candy.
The festive atmosphere in the Great Temple Manor was much stronger and livelier than in the capital. In the capital, whether it was the imperial palace, the prime minister’s mansion, or the royal mansion, the festival seemed like finely crafted jade, luxurious but lifeless, following a set pattern with rules and regulations for every move. Unlike in the Great Temple Manor, where everyone was lively, children and adults alike were cheerful, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of wine and meat, and occasionally there would be the crisp sound of firecrackers from the fields. Even the chickens, ducks, and livestock seemed to be happier than usual.
Mingzhu watched Zheng Momo and the others cutting paper window decorations. Feeling inspired, she wanted to join in, but everyone stopped her, saying that pregnant women couldn’t handle knives or scissors. She could only sit aside and watch.
Yuwen Chu saw that she was bored and called her over, “Get paper and pens ready, let’s write couplets for everyone.”
Mingzhu became happy and quickly had people prepare two sets of paper and pens. She wanted to compete with Yuwen Chu to see who could write more and better couplets. Seeing this, Zheng Momo signaled to Su Jin and withdrew with a smile, informing everyone in the manor about it. In no time, everyone knew about it, and there were countless people asking for couplets. Altogether, there were at least a hundred people.
Mingzhu was shocked by the situation but had already boasted, so she could only grit her teeth and write. Yuwen Chu didn’t mind and remained calm.
The two of them competed to see who could write faster. Yuwen Chu was used to writing, with good wrist strength, so he wrote quickly. Mingzhu had relied on her good memory before, remembering all the couplets she had seen, but after writing several in a row, she realized something was wrong. They weren’t as good as Yuwen Chu’s, not as fast, and the content wasn’t as enjoyable. She immediately sat down on the chair and complained, “I can’t write anymore, I can’t write anymore.”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her, knowing what was going on. He smiled and pushed her to the table, handing her the pen, “So many people are waiting. You boasted, now you want to back out? Aren’t you afraid of disappointing them?”
Mingzhu pouted, “My hand is sore, I had a stiff neck last night.”
Yuwen Chu asked, “Where does it hurt? Let me massage it for you. Or should I have Tang Chunlai come and give you some acupuncture?”
Mingzhu couldn’t escape and could only roll her eyes and pant, “There are too many, how can I finish writing them all?” Then she hugged Yuwen Chu’s arm and acted cute, “Your Highness, you write. Your Highness writes better than me, and they will definitely prefer Your Highness’s writing.”
Yuwen Chu pretended to have a stern face, “Nonsense! They want what Wangfei writes. Don’t believe me? Go ask them.”
Zheng Momo and the others knew he was teasing Mingzhu to make her happy, so they joined in, saying, “That’s right, at least we maidservants want what the Wangfei writes.”
“See, I didn’t lie to you, did I?” Yuwen Chu neatly arranged the paper and ink.
Mingzhu had no choice but to say, “Then I’ll write as much as I can, and you can finish the rest, Your Highness.”
Yuwen Chu smiled, “Okay.”
Mingzhu wrote more than a dozen more couplets, feeling tired. She slipped aside to drink water and watch Yuwen Chu write couplets.
At this time, the sky outside the window was blue, the clouds were white, the sunlight was brilliant, the fire basin in the room burned brightly, fresh citrus emitted fragrance, and Yuwen Chu sitting at the desk reflected the light from the sky, making him even more handsome and steady, as reliable as a mountain, inspiring trust and admiration.
The more Mingzhu looked, the more she felt she couldn’t get enough. She simply put down the water cup and supported her cheek, openly staring at him.
Zheng Momo noticed and smiled, waving her hand to let the maidservants all quietly withdraw. With no one else around, Mingzhu stood up to help him grind ink and dry the couplets.
Yuwen Chu wrote very seriously. After writing a thick stack of paper, no one came to hand him paper in time. He said, “Bring me some paper.” Turning his head to look, he saw Mingzhu squatting on the ground, busy organizing the paper. Seeing him looking over, she smiled embarrassedly at him, “Uh, I accidentally slipped, and all the cut paper fell to the ground.”
“What about the others?” Yuwen Chu walked over to help her tidy up the paper, seeing red paper and ink stains on her hands and sleeves. He teased her, “Wipe your face, it’s got paint on it.”
Mingzhu believed him without question, raised her hand to wipe her face, and ended up smearing red and black colors on her face, still unaware, and asked him, “How is it? Is it better now?”
“There’s still some here.” Yuwen Chu very seriously pointed to her forehead and the other side of her cheek.
Mingzhu wiped her face again, ending up with a painted face. She smiled at him, “How about now?”
“It’s okay.” Yuwen Chu neatly arranged the paper on the table and called her over, “Come, continue to grind ink for me. Let me also enjoy the taste of ‘a beauty helps with ink, adding fragrance to the sleeve’.”
Mingzhu teased him with a big smile, “You’re the beauty. Wasn’t I the one who was grinding ink and handing you paper the whole time? You didn’t even notice.” Before she finished speaking, she saw Yuwen Chu looking at her mysteriously and couldn’t help feeling curious, “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing, I just think you look good.” Yuwen Chu hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
Mingzhu blushed and boldly hugged him, kissing him on the lips. After kissing him, she wanted to say a few more sweet words to coax him, but she saw him looking at her mysteriously again and couldn’t help feeling strange, “What are you laughing at?”
Yuwen Chu adjusted her hairpin for her and said, “I think you’re beautiful, beautiful in your heart.” Then he continued to write couplets while solemnly instructing her, “Take this couplet over there to dry.”
“Okay.” Mingzhu trotted back and forth, occasionally flattering with a sycophantic tone, “Our Highness writes really well.” or “How can His Highness come up with so many couplets? They’re not from books, he thought of them himself, so amazing…”
Yuwen Chu enjoyed her flattery and teasing, feeling extremely happy. This was probably the most relaxed moment he had had in these days.
Zheng Momo brought freshly cooked candy and was shocked to see Mingzhu’s appearance. She quietly pointed it out to Mingzhu. Mingzhu reacted and felt extremely annoyed. She sent Zheng Momo away and brought the candy over to feed Yuwen Chu, saying, “Freshly cooked candy, it’s delicious, Your Highness, have a taste.”
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