Chapter 66 Making a Move
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Actually, it was Empress Dowager Min’s selfishness that didn’t want these children to appear before the Great Empress Dowager, intending to ruin their prospects.
Everyone understood this, and it was rare for the Second Prince not to express his grievances and instead admit his own faults. It seemed that the Yuwen family was not to be trifled with. Even such a young child understood these things. Mingzhu became even more interested and stared arrogantly at Yuwen Fu, saying, “Although you are of royal blood and have a noble status, I am still your cousin. If you do something wrong, I’ll tell you off. Since you admit to being unfilial, you should correct it immediately. Remember, your younger brothers are following your example!”
Yuwen Fu lowered his head and murmured, “Auntie is right.”
Mingzhu pressed on, “It’s settled then. Tomorrow, all of you, including the youngest, must go and pay respects to the Empress Dowager. Otherwise, I’ll let your teacher know, and he’ll teach you what filial piety means.”
At this point, one of the attendants accompanying the princes caught on and stepped forward cunningly, “Your Highnesses, the sun is strong. Be careful not to get sunburned.”
Mingzhu glared and pointed at the palace attendant who spoke out, scolding, “You lowly servant, when is it your turn to interrupt when we, relatives, are talking? Twenty strikes of the paddle for you!”
The palace attendant usually had some status, knowing Mingzhu was formidable, but didn’t expect her to be this fierce. They were tongue-tied, but still subtly defiant, forcing a smile and saying, “This servant serves the princes. Naturally, the safety of the princes is paramount. Is it wrong for this servant to speak a few words?”
Their eyes glanced at the palace attendants from Changxin Palace who accompanied Mingzhu, signaling them to intervene.
Mingzhu didn’t give them a chance. With a frown, she said, “Who gave you the courage to interrupt when I’m conveying the Great Empress Dowager’s orders? Twenty more strikes! Beat him immediately!”
The palace attendant was resentful, seeing that the palace attendants from Changxin Palace remained silent. They felt both angry and resentful. They didn’t accept Mingzhu’s authority since she wasn’t a prominent figure in the palace. Why did she dare to beat and scold the palace attendants at will?
He can only resist and refuse to react. The attendant wanted to see if the Changxin Palace attendants dared to intervene. If they did, it would mean that the Great Empress Dowager intended to confront Empress Dowager Min. Although the Great Empress Dowager was formidable, Empress Dowager Min was not to be trifled with. She was the current emperor’s birth mother and was likely to outlive the Great Empress Dowager.
However, Mingzhu never intended for the Changxin Palace attendants to act. With a wicked smile, she rolled up her sleeves and approached the attendant, delivering a slap to their face with a resounding “smack”. Before the attendant could react, she landed several more slaps. Everyone watched in shock, but dared only to advise, not to interfere.
Mingzhu enjoyed herself thoroughly but stopped after a few strikes when her hand started to hurt. However, seeing the excitement on the princes’ faces, she gathered her spirits, took off one of her shoes, and used its sole to hit the attendant’s face. She scolded loudly, “Disrespecting the Great Empress Dowager! Being arrogant! Relying on power! Ignorant of the rules!”
She learned to be clever, not mentioning herself but always pulling the banner of the Great Empress Dowager. Suppressing them this way, if the palace attendants disrespected the Great Empress Dowager, they deserved to be punished. She would be well-known for her actions, and outsiders would at most criticize her for being overbearing, but they couldn’t use moral principles to suppress her.
Her shoe soles were inlaid with jade stones, so when she walked, they made a crisp and pleasant sound against the floor tiles. It sounded nice, and when used to hit someone’s face, it was even more satisfying.
After a while, the attendant was beaten into bruises, crying and begging for mercy. Second Prince Yuwen Fu watched with satisfaction, wishing she would beat the malicious palace attendant to death or cripple them. But because others were watching, he had to step forward and plead, “Aunt, spare him this time. He didn’t mean it. He won’t dare next time.”
Mingzhu’s hand was sore, and she had had enough. She stopped, snorted, and said, “Consider yourself lucky. This time, I’ll spare you for the princes’ sake. If you dare to do this again, I’ll tell my Empress Dowager sister-in-law and have your whole family punished. I’ll pluck your heads off.” She looked like a spoiled child who didn’t know her place.
The attendant crawled on the ground, crying and begging for mercy. Mingzhu glanced at the Second Prince and others, letting the palace attendants serve her. She put her shoes back on, turned around, and left. From today onwards, she officially declared war on Empress Dowager Min. If she was arrogant and didn’t understand, then what?
On the way, Sang Shen and the others were unusually silent. Mingzhu knew they were afraid of being punished when they returned. She said nonchalantly, “I’ll take responsibility for my actions. I won’t drag you down.” But she was somewhat uneasy. How would the Great Empress Dowager view this incident?
Mingzhu walked to the outer gate of Changxin Palace but was about to enter when she saw a purple figure kneeling stiffly outside the palace gate. Upon closer inspection, it was Yuwen Chu, who had just left from there. She couldn’t help but feel amused. One thing after another. He, Yuwen Chu, had his turn today!
Thinking of her embarrassing situation in front of him earlier, she felt she needed to regain some face. She approached him with a mocking smile, “Who could it be? It turns out to be Ying Wang.”
Yuwen Chu raised his eyes, glanced at her indifferently, then lowered his gaze again. The intense sunlight shone down on his head, causing sweat to form on his forehead and nose, and his lips became dry. Nevertheless, he remained calm and composed, showing no signs of resentment or regret, or perhaps he couldn’t stand it anymore.
Mingzhu had intended to tease him, but seeing his demeanor, she lost interest. She crouched beside him and whispered, “With such intelligence, how did you manage to anger the Great Empress Dowager? Since you’ve helped me several times before, do you want to tell me what happened? I could plead for you.”
“No need for you to bother. Just mind your own business.” Yuwen Chu didn’t look at her, his tone decisive.
“Who said I wanted to meddle? If you want to kneel, just kneel!” Mingzhu felt rebuffed and stood up to leave. After a couple of steps, she turned back, “Do you know what I did?” His nose couldn’t be that sensitive, right? Would he know what good deeds she had done in such a short time?
But Yuwen Chu didn’t respond to her. He half-closed his eyes, concentrating on kneeling.
Helpless, Mingzhu turned and entered the palace. Changxin Palace was unusually quiet. Mingzhu felt a little guilty and dared not enter the hall. She waved to call a palace attendant and whispered, “What is theGreat Empress Dowager doing?”
Before the attendant could answer, they heard the Great Empress Dowager shouting from inside the hall, “Who’s outside?”
It sounded angry. Mingzhu quickly turned to leave, but before she could take two steps, Mu Gugu came out and said, “Miss, please stay. The Great Empress Dowager requests your presence.”
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