Chapter 593: Facing Positively
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Yuwen Chu quietly pointed to Mingzhu’s ear, and Imperial Consort Min sighed, “It’s late. You should go back now. It’s not safe to stay in the palace for too long.”
Mingzhu and Yuwen Chu got up to leave. As they walked outside, they could still see Imperial Consort Min standing at the door. Mingzhu waved at her and shouted, “Mother, go back soon!”
She couldn’t hear now, and her voice was louder than usual, which made Su Mei worry that His Highness would find Wangfei rude. However, Yuwen Chu remained calm, just as before.
A palace maid approached and whispered a few words to Yuwen Chu. Without changing his expression, he took Mingzhu’s hand and wrote a few words in her palm, informing her of the situation regarding the relatives of the deceased at the Fu Mansion lodging a complaint. Mingzhu had been anxious at first, but seeing his confident demeanor, she calmed down. This was something her father and brothers were best at handling, so she would let them handle it. She only needed to do what she could. It was just inconvenient not being able to hear; it always made her anxious.
As soon as the two got into the carriage, Mingzhu leaned into Yuwen Chu’s arms and sighed, “I’m so tired. It’s like they won’t let me live.”
Yuwen Chu lifted her feet onto the cushion and smiled, “Seeing you so imposing when you beat someone up, I thought you were energetic.” Then he remembered that Mingzhu couldn’t hear and stopped talking, lowering his head to massage her temples, pretending nothing had happened.
Mingzhu was sensitive and immediately knew what he meant. She said frankly, “I can’t hear. Your Highness, you have to write for me to see.”
Yuwen Chu had been looking for an opportunity to have a serious conversation with her and comfort her properly, but seeing her so open, he suddenly felt that it might not be necessary anymore. Directness was better. He called Wei Tiande, “Bring what I asked you to prepare.”
Wei Tiande quickly brought a bag and a square white board about a foot long on each side. Yuwen Chu smiled as he took out a piece of charcoal from the bag and wrote on the white board for Mingzhu to see: “This is what I had prepared for you. The charcoal can be used as needed. From now on, you can communicate with people more conveniently.”
Mingzhu picked up the charcoal with interest and looked at it. “Isn’t this what Jiang Shanshan made? I remember she used this to draw.”
Yuwen Chu wrote, “Yes, I find it quite convenient and easy to use, so I had them prepare it for you this morning. It’s a bit crude. Will you mind?”
“I’m not that picky.” Mingzhu laughed. She wasn’t picky at all. As long as it was useful, she didn’t mind at all. She even wished she could have things like gunpowder, but unfortunately, she couldn’t get her hands on them.
“It’s just that this whiteboard isn’t very useful. After writing on it, it’s hard to clean. I’ll have someone try brushing it with tung oil or something,” Yuwen Chu fiddled with it for a while, then wrote, “Don’t worry, we’ll take our time to treat it, and there will be a time when it gets better. Don’t just sit idle. I know some people can roughly guess what others are saying just by looking at their lip movements. Learn that. I’ll arrange for a smart and reliable person to work with you. After you’re familiar with it, when someone talks to you, she can gesture to you, making communication easier for everyone.”
Mingzhu smiled, “Your Highness is really considerate. Should we have her accompany us when we talk?”
Yuwen Chu wondered, “Why should she accompany us? Don’t I know sign language and writing?”
Mingzhu said seriously, “As the illustrious Ying Wang, wouldn’t it be embarrassing to gesticulate wildly?”
Only then did Yuwen Chu understand what she meant. He thought she was strong and tough enough, but in reality, she cared a lot. After all, she was just a young girl in her teens. Suddenly losing her hearing, how could she not care? He sighed lightly, hugged Mingzhu, and wrote, “How could I feel embarrassed talking to my own wife? I’ve tried so many methods just to tell you that being deaf is not a big deal. There are so many ways to communicate. I have people who can act as your ears.”
Mingzhu nodded, “As long as you don’t feel embarrassed, I won’t either. If anyone dares to provoke me, I’ll still fight back.”
“Just go ahead and fight. Do whatever makes you happy. I’ll cover for you if there’s any trouble,” Yuwen Chu finished writing this sentence and smiled at Mingzhu. They both felt it was quite interesting.
Talking about fighting reminded Mingzhu of Fu Zifei, “Your Highness, guess, did my niece really faint just now, or was it a fake?”
Yuwen Chu shook his head, “I was too far away to see clearly, but I think it was fake.”
Mingzhu asked, “Why do you think it was fake?”
“Because women with the surname Fu are never fragile,” Yuwen Chu wrote quickly, “Whether it’s the Great Empress Dowager or you, you’re all tough. Others would almost faint from anger caused by you two.”
So that’s the image she had in his mind! Mingzhu thought of Fu Zifei’s appearance at the time, feeling a bit depressed for some reason. “That’s possible. I could faint too. Don’t believe me? I’ll faint for you to see.”
Yuwen Chu ruthlessly exposed her, “You’re pretending. Your niece is just as scheming as you.”
Mingzhu said coldly, “I wonder who she’s faking it for. Anyway, it shouldn’t be for me.”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her and wrote calmly, “Is it important who she’s faking it for? It has nothing to do with me.”
Mingzhu was silent for a moment, suppressing the irritation in her heart. Yeah, whether Fu Zifei faked it or not was her business. What did it have to do with Yuwen Chu? If he understood, as someone like him didn’t need her to say much; if he didn’t, there was no need to remind him.
As for the things the Great Empress Dowager said to her, she didn’t plan to tell Yuwen Chu anymore. After all, they had already discussed this matter before, and Yuwen Chu wanted her to believe him. If she said more, it would mean she didn’t trust him, and there was a hint of coercion and difficulty in it. If the Great Empress Dowager just wanted to use her mouth to convey wrong information to Yuwen Chu and then hit him hard when he relaxed his vigilance, then she wouldn’t get involved. She just needed to do what she had to do.
Back at the Mansion, Yuwen Chu first sent Mingzhu back to Yinghui Hall, then went outside to arrange things. He wanted to make the matter of the Mei family lodging a complaint as big as possible, to mobilize the various noble families and officials in the capital to start a grand investigation, and with the help of those people, to pull out all the nails that were planted in the capital by Zhu Wenhan. Let’s see who benefits more from this.
After Mingzhu went back, she slept soundly for a while, then called Tang Chunlai, “Your acupuncture skills are very good. Come and give me some needles. Do it boldly, don’t be afraid, I’ll cover for you.”
Tang Chunlai was excited, “Thank you, Wangfei, this is a very rare opportunity!”
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