Chapter 477: Writing Couplets (Part Two)
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“It’s not suitable for gifting anyway!” Yuwen Chu refused to comment but also firmly refused to show the couplets Mingzhu had written to anyone.
Zheng Momo guessed the truth and suppressed a smile as she took the couplets and left. Mingzhu was unhappy and shouted for Su Jin and the others to take the couplets she wrote and stick them around the mansion. She was determined to challenge Yuwen Chu and let everyone judge whether her writing was good or not.
After a while, Yuwen Chu reluctantly agreed to let her stick these couplets in the inner courtyard. Mingzhu was still not at ease, afraid that he would play tricks behind her back. She personally went to supervise Su Jin and the others in sticking the couplets. When she found that there was still a missing big couplet at the main entrance of their residence, she ran back to write it again.
Yuwen Chu teased her on the side, “It seems like you’ve never written such big characters before. Don’t write them crooked, let me do it.”
Mingzhu was dissatisfied and vowed to write a good one to dazzle him. Yuwen Chu sat aside with a smile, watching her make a fuss, feeling satisfied.
Wei Tiande came in to report, seeing the scene, he didn’t have the heart to disturb them.
Mingzhu noticed Wei Tiande first, “Since you’re here, come in, why are you hiding outside?”
Wei Tiande timidly came in, trying to smile, but he really couldn’t smile, so he forced out a smile that looked even worse than crying, whispering, “A message came from the palace.”
Zheng Momo and the others immediately left sensibly, and Mingzhu put down her pen, sitting quietly on the side to listen.
“…The Great Empress Dowager ordered the princess to move to Chunyi Pavilion with Miss Min Baoyun, and they moved there overnight. Everything inside was arranged freshly. The princess resides upstairs, and Miss Min resides downstairs. They had a dispute the same night. Because there is no underfloor heating, they used charcoal braziers for warmth. Miss Min felt very cold and ordered ten braziers to be lit at once. She also complained that there was a strong musty smell in Chunyi Pavilion and threw a lot of spices in.
The princess found the smell too strong and felt dizzy, so she asked Min’s people to put out the braziers. Min’s Momo disagreed, leading to a dispute. The princess then hit Min’s Momo, who fell down the stairs and got injured. Min wanted to leave the palace, refusing to stay. The Zhaoyang Palace sent someone to reprimand the princess, saying she was unruly and disgraced the royal family’s face. The princess cried and said she wanted to return to Guangming Palace to find her mother, but the Great Empress Dowager sent someone to block her at the door and didn’t let her out. When the Imperial Consort heard about it, she went to see the princess, but didn’t see her. She suffered from the difficulties of the two empress dowagers.”
As Wei Tiande spoke, Yuwen Chu felt a headache and toothache. Princess Funing’s fussiness, the obvious face-slapping by the two Empress Dowagers, and the Great Empress Dowager’s relationship as Wangfei’s aunt, this year would not be easy to pass.
Yuwen Chu calmly told Wei Tiande, “Have someone send a message to the Imperial Consort, saying that the two Empress Dowagers care more about the epidemic than anyone else and will definitely not act recklessly. Let Funing calm down. Since she’s sick, she should rest well. Ask Tang Chunlai to come over.”
“Yes.” Wei Tiande handed another letter over, “This is a letter from the Xiangye in the capital.”
Yuwen Chu opened it and saw that Fu Cong was inquiring about the epidemic. He immediately wrote a brief reply, explaining the situation, asking Fu Cong to help cover up, and take care of Imperial Consort Min and Funing.
Mingzhu felt uneasy, “I originally wanted to use this opportunity to get Funing out of the palace, but I didn’t expect to push her into a fire pit instead.” Using the epidemic to bring Funing out of the palace was her idea for Yuwen Chu, and after a series of arrangements, it had reached the current effect. The palace did take the epidemic seriously and isolated people, but she didn’t expect the Great Empress Dowager to be so ruthless, wanting to kill two birds with one stone.
Funing was healthy, but she could only pretend to be infected with the epidemic’s effects with the help of medication. Min Baoyun might actually be infected with the epidemic. The two of them causing trouble together every day, if Funing wasn’t sick, she had to fake being sick.
Mingzhu still didn’t like Funing, but because of Yuwen Chu’s relationship, she didn’t want Funing to really die or have an accident. She also feared that Yuwen Chu would blame her if something went wrong with the plan she suggested. After all, they were close relatives. Despite Yuwen Chu’s strictness towards Funing, he really didn’t neglect her when something happened.
“So what? You have to be prepared for the worst in everything. I had already thought of this situation. It’s not that the epidemic this time is severe. It’s not easy to really make people sick, is it? She’s been taking sedatives for a long time, which is very harmful to her. Staying in the palace will eventually lead to her death sooner or later. It’s better to take a gamble. If she really loses, then it’s her fate.”
Yuwen Chu smiled faintly, “Do you think there are so many counselors under my command, and every idea they come up with is correct? Not really. They come up with ideas, but I have to make the decision. If I blame every mistake on the person who came up with the idea, how can I do anything? Rest assured! Don’t overthink it.”
Mingzhu had a generous disposition, and when he said he didn’t blame her and it wasn’t her concern, she truly believed it. She didn’t forget to flatter him, saying, “That’s why His Highness is wise, worthy of everyone’s trust and follow.”
Yuwen Chu calmly accepted her flattery, “Funing has always been arrogant, it’s impossible for her to suddenly change. If she suddenly changes her attitude, no one will believe it. Let her make trouble, when it gets too much, Min Baoyun won’t be able to stand her and will naturally find a way to escape. Then I’ll have Tang Chunlai come and give her some medicine to make her condition seem worse and scare Min Baoyun.”
If Princess Funing’s condition worsens, Empress Dowager Min will be shocked first. Now the entire Min family is relying on Min Baoyun to challenge Fu Zifei. Of course, Min Baoyun cannot afford to make any mistakes. If the Great Empress Dowager wants to use someone else to kill someone, it depends on whether the Min family agrees. There’s the saying that when troops come, the general blocks them, when water comes, the soil covers it. That’s the principle.
Mingzhu relaxed and quietly finished writing the couplets, not disturbing Yuwen Chu. When he and Tang Chunlai had finished discussing, she invited him to write a few “福” characters and coaxed him to stick them himself, saying, “Do you want someone to send a few back to the palace to stick?”
Yuwen Chu smiled, “Let’s just play in our own mansion, the palace will provide words and couplets.”
After chatting for a while, it was time for the evening ritual of worshipping the kitchen god. Men don’t worship the moon, women don’t worship the kitchen god, so Mingzhu stayed away, only arranging dinner with her people on the side. After Yuwen Chu worshipped the kitchen god, the two of them ate facing each other, chatting about the matters in the mansion. Because the atmosphere was right, Mingzhu cautiously mentioned the matter she had discussed with Li Bochun before, “…This was discussed before Jiang Shanshan talked to you about gunpowder. I plan to open a charitable hall, and also do a few small businesses. After the New Year, we’ll start.”
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