Zhuangzhuang and Millet were watching Yuwen Chu nearby. “So this is what Father looks like when he’s drunk.”
Yuwen Chu held his forehead. “You’re giving me a headache.”
Hmm, talking about being fat made him out of breath. Mingzhu helplessly signaled for the children to go first. “It’s late. Go back and rest.”
The children refused to leave, one hugging her neck and the other tugging her arm, whispering, “Can we go see the little horses General Shen gave us tomorrow morning?”
“Of course.” Mingzhu hugged them tenderly one by one, then gestured to Yuwen Chu, “Go say goodbye to your father.”
The two children immediately ran up, affectionately hugging Yuwen Chu’s arm, then smilingly bowed and retreated. In the room, only the couple remained. Yuwen Chu reached out to Mingzhu, “Help me drink the sobering soup.”
Just as Mingzhu sat down, he immediately leaned against her, drinking the sobering soup from her hand, then lying down beside her, holding her hand tightly and closing his eyes to rest. The moonlight gently fell on his face, adding a touch of handsomeness to his features. Mingzhu, filled with love, couldn’t help but lower her head to lightly kiss his lips. He chuckled softly, embracing her in his arms and laughing softly, “I’ve heard that under the lamp, one sees a beauty, but under the moon, one sees a handsome man. So, Your Majesty, who is more beautiful, me or General Shen?”
Hmm, could a drunk person say such things? It was clearly jealousy speaking. Mingzhu couldn’t understand. She guarded against Zhu Yingying because Zhu Yingying was indeed aiming for the position of a concubine, while she and Shen Ruilin were truly innocent, with no possibility at all. Why was he jealous? But this question had to be answered seriously. Mingzhu caressed Yuwen Chu’s face and focused on his eyes, whispering, “Is Your Majesty saying I’m beautiful, or is Ji Hui more beautiful?”
Yuwen Chu blinked, “How can this be compared? Ji Hui is Ji Hui, and you are you. No one can compare to you.”
Mingzhu bent down to kiss his eyes. “My answer is the same as Your Majesty’s. In this world, no one can compare to you. In my eyes and heart, Your Majesty stands tall and unique. No one can match you.”
“Haha…” Yuwen Chu couldn’t help but laugh softly, but then said, “Don’t blame me for being petty. You treat him differently after all. You once wanted to marry him. He gave you fur coats he personally made, he gave you rare night pearls, willing to fight to the death for you without complaint…”
Mingzhu raised an eyebrow. “And then?”
“And then you gave him specially crafted sleeve arrows…” Yuwen Chu recalled stumbling upon Shen Ruilin’s precious items when he first arrived in the Northern Territory. He was once again immersed in the vinegar jar, pretending to be generous. “You gave them, but why didn’t you tell me?”
“I forgot.” Mingzhu casually pointed to her head. “With so many trivial matters, Your Majesty can’t really expect it to be like a book, remembering every little thing. It remembers Your Majesty and the children’s matters, and only remembers major events of others.”
“You…” Yuwen Chu was speechless, but then he smiled and said, grinding his teeth, “You’re getting better at speaking.”
“A good teacher produces a good student.” Mingzhu saw that he was going on and on, knowing that he was really drunk, but didn’t want to continue this topic that hurt their feelings. Seeing Su Lan peeking her head at the door, she got up and said, “It seems there’s something. I’ll go see. Your Majesty, rest for a while.”
Yuwen Chu wouldn’t let her go. “You can’t go anywhere. Just stay here with me.”
Su Lan stood there, wiping her neck and glaring. Mingzhu guessed that something big had happened, but she couldn’t care about that much. She hastily pushed away his hand. “I’ll be right back.”
It was Funing who caused the trouble.
Everyone thought she had come to her senses, but who knew that even a fool could occasionally be shrewd? On the surface, she obediently followed Empress Dowager Min back to the palace, but secretly had someone intercept Zeng Yaqiu under the pretense of giving her a reward, directly taking her to the remote Zhaochun Pavilion. Lady Zeng was alert. As soon as her granddaughter was taken away, she managed to find someone to beg Mingzhu for help.
Logically, Funing’s matter should have been handled by Yuwen Chu, but Mingzhu saw his condition, thought about how he toiled day and night, and couldn’t bother him with such a trivial matter. So she ordered a sedan chair to be prepared and went straight to the Zhaochun Pavilion.
Inside the Zhaochun Pavilion, Funing was sitting coldly on a chair, looking disdainfully at Zeng Yaqiu, who was kneeling on the ground. “You only have one chance. Think carefully before you speak.”
Zeng Yaqiu, escorted by several palace attendants, with disheveled hair and swollen cheeks, showed no fear. She spoke loudly, “In response to Princess Funing, the engagement between this humble servant and General Shen was ordered by decree. To break off the engagement would be to defy the decree, and defying the decree is a grave disrespect. This humble servant is not worth living, and to burden one’s family and elders is unfilial and unjust. Please forgive this humble servant’s weakness, unable to bear such pain. Please grant this humble servant death, Your Highness.” With that, she bowed heavily, as if truly begging for death.
Funing had initially thought that such a delicate little girl could be easily dealt with through a bit of scolding and intimidation, but she had not expected her to be as resilient as an unbreakable bronze pea, articulate and sharp-tongued, leaving her speechless. Enraged, Funing pointed a trembling finger and said, “Fine! Since you’re so eager to die, this princess will fulfill your wish!”
With a signal, the palace attendants grabbed Zeng Yaqiu by her hair and pressed her head into the nearby copper basin. The basin was filled with water, and Zeng Yaqiu struggled desperately, thinking she was going to die. However, she was pulled out by the palace attendants just as she was about to drown. Funing smiled as she blew on her nails, “How does it feel to face death? Have you truly thought it through? You’ve only just met Shen Ruilin, a rough man nearly ten years older than you. What’s so special about him? It’s time to come to your senses. I will speak to His Majesty on your behalf. I’ll find you a clean and handsome young man from a respectable family and send you a generous gift. How does that sound?”
Zeng Yaqiu, still in shock, gasped for air, gritting her teeth, “My father taught me to be loyal to the emperor and love my country. Following Your Majesty’s orders is loyalty to the emperor. Princess, go ahead and kill me!”
“You ungrateful dog!” Funing exploded in anger, extending her long, sharp nails and pressing them against Zeng Yaqiu’s eyes. “Do you believe I’ll blind you?”
Zeng Yaqiu trembled but remained silent, gritting her teeth.
Funing, enraged, forcefully pressed down, but suddenly, an unidentified object flew through the air and struck her forehead heavily, causing her to stumble backward and fall heavily. As she got up, she touched her forehead and found it covered in blood, screaming in terror, “Assassin! There’s an assassin!” The palace maids rushed over, surrounding her and shouting, “Assassin! Protect the Princess!”
“The assassin is here. Come and arrest me,” Mingzhu signaled for the sedan chair to be stopped and instructed Su Lan, “Go pick up my shoes.” It turned out that the hidden weapon that hit Funing’s forehead was her shoe, embedded with jade stones on the sole, which packed quite a punch.
