Chapter 91: You Understand
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The palace maid was surprised, “How is it not yours? I saw it fall from you.”
Jiang Shanshan, seeing Mingzhu and An Xiaogu already far ahead, felt a bit anxious, but her face showed no sign of it. She smiled patiently and kindly, “Think about it again, maybe you’re mistaken.”
“No, it’s definitely yours.” The palace maid kept insisting. The other two noble ladies couldn’t discern the truth and were afraid of getting involved in a dispute, so they said, “Second Miss Jiang, we’ll wait for you over there.”
Once the two were far away, Jiang Shanshan’s smile disappeared, replaced by a hint of severity in her tone, “This isn’t mine. If you’re not confident, you might as well take it to the Empress Dowager.”
“Second Miss Jiang misunderstood.” The palace maid put away the purse, smiled faintly, lowered her head, and said, “A noble asked this servant to tell you that Ying Wang is about to break off the engagement with you because of Fu Mingzhu.”
A flash of fierceness and hatred passed through Jiang Shanshan’s eyes, but it quickly subsided. She responded coldly and arrogantly, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You understand.” The palace maid smiled and left on her own.
Jiang Shanshan stood with her head down for a while, then raised it again, smiling as she walked towards the two noble ladies, “It’s nothing. They got it wrong. Let’s go.”
One of the noble ladies said, “I heard that the palace maids are becoming more and more cunning in trying to get money. They casually pick up something and claim it’s yours, and won’t leave until they’re rewarded with silver. Did Second Miss encounter this?”
Jiang Shanshan lightly said, “Hmm.”
The noble lady couldn’t help but feel curious, “So how much silver did you give her before she left?”
Before she finished speaking, she saw Jiang Shanshan glance at her with a cold and fierce gaze, making her step back in fear, trembling as she said, “Second Sister?” But then she saw Jiang Shanshan smile sweetly, “I didn’t give her any. I told her if she kept pestering me, I would tell the Empress Dowager, and she backed off.” Her tone, gaze, and expression were all gentle and friendly as before, as if that fierce look just now was an illusion.
The noble lady heaved a sigh of relief. She had been scared by An Xiaogu and Fu Mingzhu, how could Second Miss Jiang be like this? The three of them resumed their conversation and laughter, heading towards the Zhaoyang Palace.
Mingzhu and An Xiaogu walked slowly, finally arriving outside the Zhaoyang Palace. The eunuch led them inside, where they saw Empress Dowager Min seated high on the throne, a strange girl with a high nose, deep-set eyes, fair skin, and exotic attire sitting on the left side of the phoenix seat. Beside the girl sat Empress Dowager Min’s niece, Min Baoyun. On the right side of the phoenix seat sat a group of unmarried princesses, all still young because Emperor Zhengqian died young, leaving behind only young princesses. Below them sat the princesses from various large mansion, county princesses, and a group of young ladies from various mansions trying to please Empress Dowager Min and the noblewomen present.
Mingzhu and An Xiaogu entered, and the laughter in the hall paused momentarily. Empress Dowager Min smiled, “Oh, Mingzhu, you’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Without waiting for Mingzhu to speak, she motioned for half of the phoenix seat to be vacated and warmly waved at her, “Come here, sit with your sister-in-law.”
Everyone turned to look at Mingzhu, various emotions of envy, jealousy, and hatred evident. Why? Although Fu Mingzhu’s status was indeed noble, could she be higher than a princess? Higher than the princesses and county princesses of various large mansions? Even from the perspective of human relations, the Wusun princess and Empress Dowager Min’s niece were sitting below, why could Fu Mingzhu sit on par with the Empress?
Mingzhu touched her face, wondering if she looked that stupid? If she really agreed to Empress Dowager Min’s enthusiasm and sat down, wouldn’t it further prove her arrogance? Wouldn’t it further prove that in the commotion caused by her, she and the Great Empress Dowager bullied Empress Dowager Min together?
Look, Empress Dowager Min had been bullied by them so much that she had to vacate half of the phoenix seat. Instead of advancing, she retreated two steps, bowed respectfully to Empress Dowager Min, and said loudly, “I pay respects to the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress Dowager!”
Empress Dowager Min raised an eyebrow, looked around, and smiled, “Look at this little rascal, after a few days of absence, she understands etiquette.” The implication was that Mingzhu didn’t understand etiquette before, and those who heard it all chuckled knowingly.
Mingzhu pretended not to understand. Since Empress Dowager Min didn’t ask her to get up, she remained kneeling obediently, tilting her head back and smiling without any resentment. “Every time Her Majesty the Great Empress Dowager sees me, she always criticizes and advises. My parents also remind me constantly, saying that even though Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is kind and loving, as a subject, one must not neglect propriety. This is a major rule that must be followed.”
If she didn’t ask Mingzhu to get up, does that mean she’s not kind and loving? Empress Dowager Min smiled even more kindly, covering her mouth as she chuckled. “You child, they have their say, and we have ours. Why take it seriously?”
Mingzhu said seriously, “Take it seriously. You are the Country’s Mother, the Emperor’s birth mother, noble in status. In the hearts of us subjects, you are as amiable and respectable as the Great Empress Dowager. Therefore, I sincerely pay my respects to you, hoping for your longevity and well-being.”
They could wield a subtle knife to kill, and she could too. They could smile on the surface while wishing for the other’s demise in their hearts, and she could too. What she couldn’t do, she would slowly learn, and what she could do, she would do better.
Mingzhu’s demeanor was very dignified, leaving Empress Dowager Min with nothing to pick on. She could only say, “Get up.” Glancing at the half-vacated phoenix seat, she couldn’t help but entice Mingzhu again, “Are you really not going to give it a try? This is a unique honor. Even Baoyun hasn’t sat here.”
Sure enough, envy and jealousy appeared on Baoyun’s face. Mingzhu smiled and shook her head, “The Empress Dowager is gracious. Why not let Baoyun give it a try?”
She knew that Baoyun was beautiful and had been pampered since childhood. Although she was three years older than the young emperor, she was destined to be the future empress. Baoyun, how should she put it, was a bit more ignorant than she was when she was young, but just lacked her dominance. However, their minds were quite similar, just as mean and petty as Empress Dowager Min.
Baoyun was indeed eager to try. Empress Dowager Min smiled lightly and asked Baoyun softly, “Do you want to sit with Auntie?”
Baoyun clearly wanted to, but still lowered her head and said softly, “The phoenix seat is noble, Baoyun doesn’t dare to think about it.”
Empress Dowager Min chuckled, “Why not? If I let you sit, you can sit. Come.” Implicitly, this meant that the phoenix seat would be occupied by them, aunt and niece, all the time.
Baoyun, shy and excited, took a few steps forward, trembling as she sat next to Empress Dowager Min, unsure where to put her hands and feet.
So immature!
Mingzhu smiled and turned to find An Xiaogu, but saw Jiang Shanshan standing not far behind her. She gently said, “Little Sister Mingzhu, why didn’t you wait for me?”
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