Chapter 557: Gold Mine, Silver Mine (Part Two)
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Yuwen Chu generously said, “Can only Zhongshan Wang have gold and silver mines? Your husband, I also have them. Go ahead and send your gifts! Be as happy as you want.” Anyway, Mingzhu had a sense of propriety, so he wasn’t worried that she would go overboard.
Mingzhu was thrilled instantly. She looked around, covered her mouth, and chuckled, “Does Your Highness also have gold and silver mines?” Oh my, she had hit the jackpot. She had always wondered how he had so much money.
Seeing her expression, Yuwen Chu knew what she was thinking. He tapped her nose and said, “Yes, but they’re all useful. So our family still relies on doing business and the output from the estate. You need to budget carefully and not waste.”
Mingzhu smiled as she saw him off. “Got it. I’m just the girl holding the gold ingot, can only look, can’t touch.”
Yuwen Chu left the Ying Mansion in a very good mood and went directly to the Fu Mansion. As he turned into the street, his guard, Zhou Jie, came to report, “There’s a palace carriage outside. It seems someone from the palace has arrived. Does Your Highness still want to go?”
“Why not? Since I’m visiting my in-laws, should I avoid people?” Yuwen Chu ordered someone to drive the carriage to the gate of the Fu Mansion without announcing it, and he walked in directly.
He had been visiting occasionally these days, and the people in the Fu Mansion were used to it. The steward, An Rushan, ran out to lead him in and quietly informed him of the situation, “The Great Empress Dowager sent Mu Gugu to bring County Prince Sien and the eldest miss to visit. They’re with the Old Madam now. Master isn’t at home, but the Third Master, Young Eldest Master, and a few Madams are there. Only the Fourth Master is free. Does Your Highness want to go to the main courtyard or see the Fourth Master?”
“Since there are many people at my Mother-in-law’s side, I won’t disturb them. I’ll go to talk with my fourth brother-in-law.”
He knew why the Great Empress Dowager sent Mu Gugu to bring these two here. After Yuwen Fu was nearly assassinated and fell ill, Yuwen Bai mocked him and threatened him in front of the Great Empress Dowager, which caused a lot of unhappiness between them.
Later, the Great Empress Dowager summoned trusted confidants like the Assistant Minister of Revenue, Peng Liang, and others for a secret discussion. After a long time, the Great Empress Dowager changed her strategy toward the Fu Mansion. She ordered Fu Cong to thoroughly investigate the assassination attempt on Yuwen Fu and continuously sent rewards to the Fu Mansion. But whether it was sincere or not, that was hard to say.
Fu Mingzheng injured his tailbone and couldn’t walk or sit, so he could only lie down all day. Because he was bored, he had someone bring a parrot to play with. Han Cheng was clever and spent a lot of money to get him a well-trained parrot, which didn’t recite poetry or praise, but spoke in the local dialect, swearing like a fishwife, with no elegance whatsoever.
As Yuwen Chu walked to the door, he heard someone shouting inside, “You little adulterous woman, I’ll strip you naked…” Immediately followed by Fu Mingzheng’s retort, “Can’t even tell if it’s a man or a woman. Am I the little adulterous woman? I’ll cut off your tongue!”
Yuwen Chu froze, couldn’t believe what he was hearing, took a step back, and looked up at the gate and courtyard, confirming that this was indeed where Fu Mingzheng lived. He hadn’t made a mistake. He waved to Wei Tiande to go in first and scout the situation. “If there are others in Fourth Master’s room, hurry back.”
Wei Tiande thought that Fourth Master had finally lost it and was playing tricks. Looking at this taste, it was really heavy, tsk tsk… He walked in with a hunched posture and shoulders slouched, casually grabbed a servant and asked, “Who’s making a fuss in Fourth Master’s room?”
The servant hurriedly replied, “It’s not a person, it’s a bird.” Then she ran to inform Fu Mingzheng, “Fourth Master, His Highness Ying Wang has come to see you.”
Fu Mingzheng, with a poker face, had someone take the foul-mouthed parrot away and solemnly bowed to Yuwen Chu on the bed. “Doesn’t His Highness want to accompany his wife and child today?”
Thinking of his ridiculous act of arguing with a parrot, Yuwen Chu couldn’t help but twitch his face. He barely held it back and said seriously, “Originally, I was going to, but Mingzhu insisted on seeing her maternal family, forcing me to make this trip.”
Fu Mingzheng became smug. “I’m not treating her well in vain. Is Zhuang Zhuang behaving?”
“He’s very good, very good. He’s also gotten fatter. He recognizes me,” Yuwen Chu was also very pleased, showing off to Fu Mingzheng, “When he hears my voice, he turns his head to find me. He’s also clean, eats well, sleeps well, and doesn’t cry much. Oh my, I’ve never seen such an affectionate child.”
“Oh, congratulations to Your Highness.” Fu Mingzheng looked at Yuwen Chu with disdain. Go on, brag. It was just bullying him because he couldn’t personally verify it. A child less than ten days old would turn his head to find his father? He would turn his head to find his Mother at most, right? Bullying him for not having children? He had seen many nephews and nieces since he was a child! Even Mingzhu, he remembered her childhood very clearly. She mostly looked for Madam Cui when she was little, hardly paid attention to Fu Cong, because his father was busy and appeared too infrequently.
Seeing his sour, incredulous, and unwilling expression, Yuwen Chu felt that the fire was not enough. He continued to blow Zhuang Zhuang’s affairs to him and boasted about how good Mingzhu was to him. “Having a child has made the temper much better. I understand how to cherish people more. When I’m tired, I lie down like this and she urges me to soak my feet and change into lighter clothes. She even combs my hair. I used to worry too much and couldn’t sleep well, but after she did this, I slept so well.”
Fu Mingzheng held back a mouthful of old blood and said unkindly, “Your Highness, just say it straight, what’s the matter?”
Yuwen Chu gloated, “Nothing much, just to inform you that Li Dazhong’s daughter is going to marry into a distant family. The groom is from Shanxi, with a good family background, emphasizing agriculture and education. You don’t have to worry about her being mistreated after marriage. Also, they owe you a debt of gratitude. You ruined their previous engagement and caused them to be in a state of limbo until now. Aren’t you planning to send a generous gift?”
At first, Fu Mingzheng’s face darkened, then he chuckled, “Okay, I’ve already prepared a generous gift for her. I’ve been saving up the leftover money from recent years. When’s the auspicious day? I’ll send it over.”
Yuwen Chu sneered, “Why do you want to send a generous gift to someone else’s daughter? What relation are you to her? You’ve harmed her once, do you want to harm her again? Give it here, I’ll have Mingzhu help you send it!”
Fu Mingzheng originally thought he was bluffing, but now he wasn’t so sure. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said, “Han Cheng! Bring all my money!”
It sounded somewhat hoarse and strained, much like the parrot that had been shouting earlier. Yuwen Chu calmly said, “Mingzhu thinks this marriage isn’t appropriate. The Li family is military, but the groom emphasizes agriculture and education. Their backgrounds don’t match, and Li’s daughter is used to freedom. She might feel constrained after marriage.”
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