Chapter
Chapter 158: Ridicule
The master's order of course made Ye Kai bitter. Last time he laughed at Wei Zhen, and this time he got his retribution, now it was his turn to go up and offend these rich ladies. Biting the bullet and squeezing into the crowd, when he came to the fourth princess, Ye Kai saluted politely and truthfully conveyed the words given by His Highness.
"Go away?" Zhong Zheng Ying's eyes widened with disbelief. Suddenly, she whipped her horsewhip to the ground, scaring the spectators around to retreat far away. "Bengong has never given way to others when traveling."
[B: Usually the person who gives way in the street is the person with the lowest status.]
Zhong Zheng Lin had just returned to Shengjing, and they unexpectedly meet on the street. This attitude, did he know that she had come to find fault with Mu Xi Yao before, and was now taking the opportunity to avenge Mu-shi?
"Bengong would like to hear what this most upright sixth royal brother has to say." Pushing away the person in front of her, Zhong Zheng Ying strode up to the carriage, and with a wisp of wind, she pulled the curtain and sneered even more when she saw the scenery inside, "It seems that bengong disturbed my sixth younger brother's joy of traveling with a beauty."
Zhong Zheng Lin was leaning on the couch, holding a book in his hand. Hearing the sting in her words, he didn't even lift his eyelids, just pretending not to see her.
Seeing Zhong Zheng Lin's arrogant attitude, Zhong Zheng Ying was even more irritated. Didn't he just go to the middle of Shu, where the birds don't shit, and the mountain roads are difficult, what kind of powerful rebels can there be? Even the horses couldn't run, this battle was nothing more than Zhong Zheng Ming and him trying to win Emperor Yuancheng's favor and pick a bargain for nothing.
Imperial Father's heart was indeed biased toward his sons. Had he ever valued his daughters over his sons so much? The only exception was that person, but unfortunately, she was sent to the Far East to be married to Wu Zhao Da!
(B: I'm guessing ZZY is referring to a princess who was more favored than her but was married off farway. I can't recall if this character has been introduced before or is new.)
The more Zong Zheng Ying thought about it, the more indignant she became. In the end, she simply climbed to the carriage and sat in the front seat of the driver, squeezing Ye Kai out.
"Where did the sixth brother come from? And you, Consort, are you so noble that you don't even bother to make a sound when you see me?" Zhong Zheng Ying squinted at He Lian Min Min, who was leaning on the soft chair, her expression gloomy.
This woman actually dared to sit still when she saw her, without even a courtesy. Wasn't this because Zhong Zheng Lin was here to support her, and so she didn't take this royal princess into consideration at all?
Only He Lian Min Min knew her hardships. It's not that she didn't want to move, but that she couldn't. Her whole body was in pain and if her lips were not closed her teeth would be rattling, maybe even letting outsiders hear it.
Zhong Zheng Lin put down his book, only to find that He Lian Min Min's forehead was sweating. His phoenix eyes glanced at Zhong Zheng Ying, who was proud and arrogant before stretching out his long arms to hug He Lian Min Min. As he gently stroked her hair, he put his other hand into her cuff, patting the back of her hand, "She's a bit inconvenient, and thus made the Princess feel wronged." His Sixth Highness looked at his half-sister with a calm face, but his words only became sharper, "Why, does the elder imperial sister came to find bendian to finish her flesh business [1]?"
[1] 皮肉生意 - skin and flesh / superficial / physical (suffering) / bodily business. He's calling her a pimp because she supported He Lian Wei Rui idea to enter his mansion.
Zhong Zheng Ying felt wronged, and her face clearly showed her shame caused by his abrupt questioning. She had indeed helped He Lian Wei Rui behind the scenes, but her actions were definitely not as sordid that she deserved to be called such "flesh business" Zhong Zheng Lin spoke of!
"Recently, the Empress Dowager is not in good spirits. Maybe the imperial elder sister came to ask bendian to help you petition to serve imperial grandmother, let you be filial."
His words poked at Zhong Zheng Ying's sore spot. It was only recently that she was released by the Empress Dowager, before, the old ancestor kept a tight watch and let her copy scriptures. If Zhong Zheng Lin complained in front of Emperor Yuancheng, according to the usual routine, it was only she who would suffer.
"Hmph! The sixth brother doesn't need to threaten. Bengong just came over to say hello, after all it's been so long and your Consort has had a lot of trouble recently. Tomorrow is the pulse diagnosis that Imperial Father and the Empress Dowager have been waiting for so long." Zhong Zheng Ying smile carried a deep meaning, and although she looked tough, in fact, she had long yielded and was now thinking of retreating. "Bengong thought that the sixth brother only favored and loved Mu-shi as the rumors said. Today bengong has found out that he also cherishes the fragrance and the jade. Hugging the left and right, enjoying the taste of all the flowers." Zhong Zheng Ying snorted disdainfully, flicked the horsewhip, and let it rolled back on her wrist. After speaking, she quickly swaggered away.
Ye Kai was now without obstacles, and he quickly stepped on the car. Before he could sit on the driver's sit, he saw the Consort He Lian-shi lying on His Highness' chest and he turned around in embarrassment. Damn it, why did he bump into this kind of scene? But His Highness seemed to be treating the Consort well, Ye Kai muttered to himself, pulled the rein, and the carriage started moving steadily.
"Rest first." Zhong Zheng Lin frowned, held He Lian Min Min's arm, and placed her on the couch to lie down steadily. "The medicinal powder is a bit strong, please bear with it for now."
He Lian Min Min arched her back, and felt her undergarments were soaked through. Seeing Zhong Zheng Lin rare concern, she suddenly felt that this pain was a good thing. How could His Highness have ever allowed her to approach him without such a painful experience?
Zhong Zheng Lin got up and returned to his seat, He Lian Min Min followed his figure with her eyes and suddenly the book on the table fell into her eyes.
"Zhuyin's Selected Works"! [2]
The warmth that hadn't dissipated in her chest suddenly cooled down. He Lian Min Min forced herself to close her eyes, not wanting to think about the man's warm chest again.
When will she ever learn... How could His Highness's warmth ever remain on her. Even in the car, he was reading gynecology books, what this dignified prince felt for Mu-shi, what else couldn't be understood?
Back at the Sixth Prince's Mansion, Zhong Zheng Lin first sent He Lian back to her yard to lie down, confirmed that she was fine, told Gui Li to take good care of her, and without staying for more than a stick of incense [3, he got up and left.
[3] A poetic way of referring to a short time span, generally 5 minutes. (Martial World Wikia - Fandom)
Feng momo waited for His Royal Highness to go out before leaning into He Lian Min Min's ear, her face and voice both filled joy. "Mistress, His Highness is so considerate to you, he has really put his heart on you."
He Lian Min Min's eyes, which were originally closed, suddenly opened. She stared at Feng momo without blinking. "Momo, what did you say about Your Highness?" The fingers under the quilt curled up slightly, and she held the silk blanket under her body in a tight grasp.
Feng momo was beside her joy and was ignorant of the strange look in He Lian Min Min's eyes, so she congratulated her Mistress again, "This old slave sees that the Mistress' good days are not far away, His Highness must have put his heart on you, this slave sees how he takes good care of you."
Yes! He took "good care" of her! Zhong Zheng Lin treated her with more care than ever before. Why? He Lian Min Min had clearly sensed that something was wrong, but was unable to figure it out, still, she couldn't help thinking things over again. She though of the people who could make His Highness bother, who else could it be in the mansion besides Danruo Courtyard's mother and son?
The more He Lian Min Min thought about it, the more awake she became, and she didn't even feel the pain in her body. After a long while, she suddenly asked the servants to back down, and even Feng momo was forced out of the yard by her.
Being sure that she was alone, the woman lying on the bed couldn't help sobbing quietly. He Lian Min Min, you are really a stupid person!
At first, she didn't understand why His Highness was uncharacteristically trying to protect her, but accidentally, Feng momo woke her mind. Following her words, she suddenly came to an understanding.
Cared about her? Some care that was!
He Lian Min Min's felt like a knife was being twisted in her heart, and the pain was so obvious that it was more than a hundred times stronger than Yu Gu's medicine! She actually relied on His Highness's protection of another woman to hold onto her Consort title. With such a silent humiliation, who else was more lowly than her?
The last strength in her body was also exhausted in this contest that no one knew about. She closed her eyes, and soon there was only a blank in her mind.
In Jiangzi Pavilion, Wan Jing Wen, who was in a trance, held the scissors in her right hand and was in a daze.
Zhu Jin was terrified seeing her. Mistress got a letter from Bi Lan, and just sat in front of the painting table alone, and now an hour had passed without her moving. She thought this couldn't continue and so she wanted to reach out to take down the gleaming scissors but was suddenly pushed away by the Mistress madly, almost scratching her arm.
(B: Bi Lan was the maid who put infertility medicine in Min Min's food for years. This was discovered in chapter 157.)
At this time, the Mistress didn't listen to the advice of others, and Zhu Jin didn't dare to leave her alone in the room, so she could only accompany her, her legs and feet feeling a little numb.
"How could this be so? How could His Highness let her go like this and seek medical care for her!"
Zhu Jin didn't expect Wan Jing Wen to speak suddenly. The entire room was dead quiet, but now she suddenly yelled. It made her heart go up in her throat. After finally calming down, seeing that her Mistress' expression seemed to have changed, she dared to respond tentatively.
"Mistress?" Afraid that Mistress was just talking to himself and she hasn't come to his senses yet.
Wan Jing Wen slowly raised her right hand, and cut the cloud silk satin rewarded by He Lian-shi into seven or eight pieces of cloth.
"How is Bi Lan?" Wan Jing Wen only stopped to ask after cutting a whole piece of fabric.
The girl hastily delivered the message, only saying that His Highness took the Consort out of the mansion for medical treatment and that something abnormal might be found. Not a single word was heard after that.
Zhu Jin buried her head very low, her voice tinged with tears. "Master, Bi Lan threw herself into the well."
Wan Jing Wen cut the cloth strip into two ends with a click, and stared at the round table, unable to move any further. After a while, she got up and swept all the things on the table to the ground, holding the table with both hands, she began to laugh.
"Okay, it's a good death. Only after she dies can she be freed from all the hardships in this world." Don't be like her, where living was more painful than dying.
"Mistress, are you okay? You have to take care of yourself, and about Bi Lan's family…"
"You can't meddle. If you meddle at this time, it's too easy to be caught. Over there, someone has already made arrangement for Bi Lan's family. You and I don't need to worry about it."
Zhu Jin didn't know who the "someone over there" in the Mistress's mouth was, but she knew that there was a force used by the Mistress who obeyed her orders very well.
"Where did His Highness take He Lian-shi, can't you find out?"
"The chief steward has arranged for a dark guard to accompany them, so there was no way to follow. If we follow forcibly, we will definitely show our traces."
Wan Jing Wen sighed and called someone to come in and clean. If she couldn't figure it out now, she could only wait to see the results tomorrow.
After Zhong Zheng Lin returned to the front yard, he entered the bedroom and asked Wei Zhen to prepare water for a bath. Wei Zhen paused, looking at the sky, that's right, it's still bright outside, why did His Highness think of taking a bath in broad daylight?
"Master, it will take at least a quarter of an hour to boil water in the kitchen, why don't you go to Mistress Yao's place?" Mistress Yao's small kitchen was extravagant to the extreme and the stove was kept on fire all day long, just in case the Mistress would get hungry.
Zhong Zheng Lin unbuttoned his robe and casually threw it on the low stool, "Just obey the orders. Why are there so many words?" If he could go back to Danruo Courtyard, why wouldn't he just let the beauty attend his bath, where was the need to take a bath in this room alone?
But since the last time where Mu Xi Yao felt uncomfortable because of the artemisia plan, when Zhong Zheng Lin had to met other women, he never directly to her. Although there was an order in the mansion to ban the dicots incense powder and incense, Zhong Zheng Lin was worried about getting dirty things on his body that would make her sick again. She didn't complain, but when he looked at her suffering, he would be pissed off.
(ZZL's referring to chapter 83, where Mu Xi Yao had an allergic reaction to He Lian Min Min's perfume. Quotes: "Send a message to Tian Fu Shan that all perfumes from dicots plants are to be classified as a prohibited item."/ "Artemisia plant is now classified as a forbidden item. People are prohibited to grow or use the perfume made by this plant." From HLifestyle's translation.)
Wei Zhen was refuted by His Royal Highness, so he hung her head and honestly went to the kitchen to deliver the message. The master's temper must have been influenced by Mistress Yao, and it had became more and more unpredictable as time went on. Even the habits that have been maintained for more than ten years have gradually changed.
Previously, the master preferred vegetarian food and basically did not touch meat. But since welcoming that person into the mansion, because Mistress Yao liked both meat and vegetables, and wasn't satisfied being the only one eating meat she thus put some in His Highness's bowl. Because of this, His Royal Highness's taste had also changed along the way.
There was no need to count the cooks in Danruo Courtyard, the number was definitely no less than two. This was without counting the two masters who were specially recruited from Shuzhong.
Wei Zhen thought of Mistress Yao's absurd liking for food and felt that His Highness had spoiled a complete prodigal. That one had also said before that she wanted to gather famous chefs from all over the world so as to not repeat the same dish in a month. She even dared to say this in front of His Highness, without any shame. It was clear she was not afraid of being taught a lesson by His Highness for being extravagant.
What's more, His Highness used to be the same as the other princes, occasionally wearing hairpins or flowers in his bun [4]. Wei Zhen still remembered the earth-shattering mess of a scene it was the first time Mistress Yao saw His Royal Highness' wearing a hairpin.
His Highness just wore a dogwood hairpin, and it wasn't even the peony that women prefer, but that aunt looked straight at His Highness's head with bloated eyes, as if she had discovered a rare thing. In the end, she couldn't help it anymore, and burst out laughing loudly, leaning forward and back and out of breath from laughing until she was made quiet by the dark-faced master. Although she gradually quieted down, everyone could clearly see the appearance of Mistress Yao just sitting there silently, with her head lowered and her shoulders trembling non-stop.
He thought this matter was over like this, but he didn't know that this careless Mistress would really find trouble. While eating fish at noon, she stared at the master's hairpin again and kept laughing. After such amusement, she got a fishbone stuck in her throat. That calmed her down pretty quickly, but her temper didn't allow her to be peaceful, and she quickly lost it again, tossing so much that they had to ask for an imperial doctor to pull out the fishbone, and then she finally stopped her tears.
After sending the imperial doctor out, His Sixth Highness got angry and scolded everyone on the spot. Who would have thought that Mistress Yao's followed cries of grievance would be the next big gossip for the whole of Shengjing? The person who didn't know whether to live or die complained, "Who made your Highness, an grown man, insist on wearing flowers like a little girl, so sissy! You are not a delicate scholar, so why are you pretending to be handsome."
Such a sentence, His Highness was made so angry that his complexion turned blue, and the veins on his forehead twitched. Men's hairpins were regarded as elegant things for nobles in the Great Wei Dynasty. How could His Highness not mind be ridiculed for being girly by Mistress Yao?
Since then, His Sixth Highness stopped using hairpins, no matter if they were fresh flowers or flowers made by artisans, when they were presented to him, he would definitely put on a face and reprimand others.
Afterwards, Mistress Yao's words, which made Shengjing lively for several days, actually made the silk flower shop's business difficult, and the number of men wearing flowers on the road became less and less. As for the delicate scholars mentioned by the Mistress, they were even more afraid of being regarded as sissy and making people laugh so when they passed by the silk flower shop, they would always walk far away, looking as manly as a soldier.
This was also what Wei Zhen couldn't figure out. Mistress Yao just cried and laughed casually like this, but just a small fuss in her own courtyard could actually affect the direction of the wind outside! This world was really weird…
Wei Zhen stood upright outside the door, secretly pondering the ways of the world, and was busy lamenting that Mistress Yao was an extraordinary person, when he heard familiar footsteps behind him.
"Commander Wei." Mo Lan looked at the closed door with doubt. "Is His Highness back?"
Wei Zhen nodded, "He is cleaning up in the room." At this time, it seemed a little inappropriate to say that he was in the bath.
"It's just right. Mistress asked this servant to come and ask, does His Highness like steamed crabs, or stir-fry crabs?"
Wei Zhen was about to reply that His Highness didn't like to eat crabs, when he heard his master's voice from the inner room, "Who told her to eat crabs?"
Zhong Zheng Lin changed into light and simple clothes, and pushed the door out with a very stern face, "The imperial doctor told her not to eat crabs, even if the master forgot, you servants, don't know how to remember?"
Crab was cold food, and Mu Xi Yao was not allowed to touch it.
Mo Lan was taken aback, and quickly explained the matter clearly. "Returning to His Highness, it was the Zhuangzi who sent two baskets of crabs into the mansion. The master said that this is the right time, and she ordered the chrysanthemum wine made by herself for His Highness to taste. It is the most delicious to drink with crab meat."
The Sixth Highness was very easy to talk when he was in front of their Mistress, but to them, the servants in the mansion, sometimes he was really frighteningly harsh…
Zhong Zheng Lin then eased his face, "Steamed." Better to eat something light, so as not to make her greedy and pester him coquettishly. "Where is cefei?" According to the usual schedule, the little woman would not be in the study at this time, so she should be in the room to accompany Cheng Qing to read pictures and characters.
"Mistress called the Manager Tian Fu Shan to ask questions in the main room." In a few days, it will be the little master's first birthday and her Mistress finally remembered to ask about the banquet.
Zhong Zheng Lin was walking towards to Danruo Courtyard, and he knew what Mu Xi Yao was asking after hearing Mo Lan's reply. Let her take the initiative to call Tian Fu Shan to come to her, either it was to eat or to remember important things in her heart.
"Wei Zhen, ask Yan Cheng Zhou to carry the box and cage brought back from Shuzhong to cefei's courtyard." When he left Beijing, he promised that he would definitely bring Cheng Qing back a good gift, and this must be fulfilled as soon as possible. The little woman was impatient, and she must be wishing for it.
Mu Xi Yao carefully read the guest list and circled the name of the fourth princess as an unwelcome guest. She also wanted to cross Zhong Zheng Chun and the Crown Prince, but unfortunately these two were still Zhong Zheng Lin's elder brothers and she couldn't stop them. As for Zhong Zheng Ying, although the big boss also needed to call out the "imperial sister", but this was a princess after all, not as difficult to dismiss as the Crown Prince, and she could still get her wish by using her hands and feet.
Tian Fu Shan took the guest list from Mistress Yao's hands, and after a quick look, he found that the fourth princess was circled in red ink. The chief steward's mouth twitched, and he felt the urge to wipe his sweat. Cefei, your rank seems to be lower than that one. Isn't it inappropriate to be so obviously unruly?
Mu Xi Yao didn't care at all, looking at the person in front of her who hesitated to speak, she couldn't understand his worry. "Give the list to His Highness, the rest is up to him. You can go without worries, Steward."
Go without worries? Tian Fu Shan thought the words were familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he almost didn't get scared by the one above. Every time Eunuch Gu of the palace bestowed concubines who committed crimes with poisoned wine, didn't he always end up saying the same thing?
Tian Fu Shan looked at this unruly master with a bitter face. Hey, aunt, can you be a little more careful with what you say?
Relationship Diagram (by Sith Kazar)
Footnotes
[1] 皮肉生意 - skin and flesh / superficial / physical (suffering) / bodily business. He's calling her a pimp because she supported Wei Rui idea to enter his mansion.
[2] 渚氏濟陰選錄. Fictional work inside the novel, I couldn't find any information about it but it's a gynecology book.
[3] A poetic way of referring to a short time span, generally 5 minutes. (Martial World Wikia - Fandom)
[4] "Hair ornaments became especially popular in the Han period (206 BC – AD 220). Both men and women wore hairpins. The principal hair ornament used by women in the Han period was the zan, a decorated hairpin which protruded from the top of the hair arrangement." (Rethinking Pitt-Rivers). "As early as the Jin Dynasty, the ancients put dogwood on their heads to ward off the cold and keep out the cold. By the Tang Dynasty, the custom of planting Cornus officinalis on September 9 was very common." (Sohu.)