Chapter 443
~ YUE WANG’S LITTLE BLACK ACCOUNT ~
Mu Yunyao hurriedly sat up and smiled at the Grand Princess Yi De. “Imperial Concubine De is too great. My mother and I are too weak, so we can only use this method to temporarily avoid the danger. Otherwise, who knows how much pain we’ll suffer. Look, my hand still hurts badly now.”
Mu Yunyao hugged her bruised fingers as she lightly blew on them and instantly pursed her lips in pain.
The Grand Princess Yi De hurriedly stopped her from moving around, “Imperial Concubine De has been doted upon in the Palace all these years and has gradually lost her sense of propriety. Today, she should also be taught some lessons. Yunyao, can you blame me for not taking action against her just now? ”
Mu Yunyao hurriedly shook her head. “How could I blame the Grand Princess? The siblinghood between you and the Emperor has been over the past few decades, and Imperial Concubine De was the Emperor’s favorite concubine. Just based on this point alone, it’s impossible easily offended.”
The Grand Princess nodded her head, “This is only one reason, and another reason is that Imperial Concubine De just wants you to kneel down and pay your respects to her. In terms of status, she is respected, and you are humble. Under the difference between respect and inferiority, her request is not excessive. Moreover, although she stepped on your finger, your injuries are not too serious. If I gave her a punishment, naturally cannot be too heavy. Otherwise, it would seem that I am not magnanimous enough, and would provoke some gossip for you. It would be better to let the Emperor handle the matter. Just like you said, he and I have been together for decades. I just took a fancy to you as my granddaughter, and then you were bullied. Isn’t this directly cause me to lose face? In order to protect me, the Emperor will definitely teach Imperial Concubine De a lesson.”
Aware that Grand Princess Yi De is teaching herself, Mu Yunyao nodded hurriedly. Indeed, sometimes, when she did it herself, she fell behind.
Before long, Qu Mama walked in with the Imperial Physician.
The Imperial Physician went forward to treat Mu Yunyao, prescribed many prescriptions to recuperate her body, and urged her to rest properly before respectfully leaving.
Qu Mama brought the teacups forward and said softly, “Imperial Concubine De was punished by His Majesty to kneel at the place where she met Young Miss. His Majesty said that she would wait an hour for the Grand Princess to take care of Miss Mu before letting her follow you to the great hall. Imperial Concubine De was probably regretting things in her heart. First, she sent people to find the Imperial Physician, hoping that Imperial Physician Mu could treat Miss Mu properly and then send someone to deliver a gift. She said that she felt guilty and wanted to apologize to Young Miss.”
Grand Princess Yi De smiled as she looked at Mu Yunyao. “Since this is a gift for your apology, do you want someone to bring it in?”
“I just fainted. I suffered some minor injuries, but Imperial Concubine De had already sent someone to apologize. I naturally can’t accept a gift like that because I have to. The gift must be accepted respectfully, so I’ll go out now to express my gratitude and accept it personally.”
The smile in Grand Princess Yi De’s eyes intensified. She looked at Mu Yunyao with praise in her eyes. “Yao’er, do you feel wronged?”
“Imperial Concubine De is my elder. Not to mention she just made things a little difficult for me. Even if she get someone to teach me a ruthless lesson, I’ll still have to respectfully accept it. Where is there anything to be wronged?”
“Alright, then go out and receive the gift.”
When Mu Yunyao went out to receive the gift, Su Qing looked at Grand Princess Yi De with a puzzled expression. “Grand Princess, did Yao’er’s actions just now have any deeper meaning?” The people she came into contact with were limited, so there were many things she could not understand. She could only watch more and ask more questions.
“Do you know why the Emperor punished Imperial Concubine De to kneel for an hour?”
“Wasn’t it to help Yunyao vent her anger?”
“Yunyao has already fainted. How can kneeling for an hour be enough to withstand Imperial Concubine De’s fault. Also, His Majesty can directly make Imperial Concubine De return to the Palace or go to the front hall after finish kneeling, so why His Majesty specifically point out to let her go with me?”
Su Qing thought about it carefully and said tentatively, “Could it be that the Emperor did this to help Yunyao establish her prestige?”
The Grand Princess Yi De smiled and nodded. “That’s right. Imperial Concubine De chose that place to punish Yunyao, but many people who came saw this. Even if the Emperor severely punished Imperial Concubine De, he would throw away his face as well. Those people dare not say it, and they will inevitably look down on Yunyao a little bit in their hearts. But if His Majesty punished Imperial Concubine De first, then His Majesty sent her to the main hall with us, that would be Imperial Concubine De and the Meng family who would be ashamed.”
Su Qing thought for a while, and this is indeed the truth. She could not help but come to a realization. “So that’s how it is. The gift that Imperial Concubine De sent over just now?”
“Would she dare not give a gift? If she doesn’t give me a present to satisfy me, I won’t be going to the main hall to participate in the Palace Banquet today. The Emperor has said that she would only be punished for kneeling on the ground for an hour., But if she doesn’t wait for me to go to the front hall together, would she dare to get up? My identity is the Grand Princess, and I am in the Capital now, but I don’t go to the Palace Banquet. Tomorrow, the official’s notes will be sent to the Emperor. If Imperial Concubine De doesn’t want to be criticized, she must come and ask for Yunyao’s forgiveness.”
“Then Yao’er will personally go out to receive the gift?”
“This point is even simpler. Didn’t Yunyao say it just now? No matter what, Imperial Concubine De was her elder. If she didn’t accept this gift, it would cause others to be speechless. People would just say that Yunyao disrespected the elder, and her suffering would be wasted. But when they heard that Imperial Concubine De had sent her a gift, Yunyao did not care that she was still sickly and went out to welcome her. This will show her filial piety and etiquette. The more well-mannered Yunyao was, the more arrogant and domineering Imperial Concubine De, who had deliberately troubled her before, would appear. As a result, the thought of Imperial Concubine De wanting to use the gift as a way of redeeming her reputation, which directly reduced most of the effect.”
Su Qing couldn’t help but sigh, “I really didn’t expect that there would be so many methods inside.”
The Grand Princess Yi De sighed softly. “It’s such a pity that Yao’er didn’t born as a man.”
Mu Yunyao accepted the gift and accompanied Grand Princess Yi De to talk and chat in Yuhua Palace. After waiting for almost an hour, the three finally stood up and headed towards the main hall.
Imperial Concubine De was, just as Grand Princess Yi De had said, she was still kneeling on the ground.
Seeing Grand Princess Yi De and Mu Yunyao walk over, she hurriedly struggled to stand up. “This concubine greets Your Royal Highness, Grand Princess.”
“There’s no need to be so courteous. Let’s go to the front hall.”
When Imperial Concubine De saw that the expression on Grand Princess Yi’s face didn’t loosen the slightest bit, her heart couldn’t help but sink: It’s just a little Mu Yunyao. She had not only seen the Grand Princess a few times, but the Grand Princess actually didn’t give her any face even after making things a little difficult for me. Just what ability does this Mu Yunyao have to make the Grand Princess have done this for her?
Mu Yunyao felt Imperial Concubine De’s scrutiny and looked back with a smile. “Many thanks for the gift from Imperial Concubine De. I like it very much.”
Imperial Concubine De’s expression stiffened before she smiled, “It’s good as long as you like it.”
The Grand Princess Yi De arrived late, and everyone saluted before taking their seats.
Yue Wang looked at Mu Yunyao worriedly. Seeing Mu Yunyao’s pale face but in good spirits, Yue Wang heaved a sigh of relief as he secretly made a note for the Meng family in his heart. He kept an account book that recorded all the things related to Mu Yunyao in his heart, the ones that were good to her and the ones that were bad to her. These accounts have to be liquidated slowly.
The Emperor invited Grand Princess Yi De to take her seat, completely ignoring the awkward face of Imperial Concubine De. “Imperial Elder Sister arrived a little late. The princes have all given their gifts, and the children are exceptionally filial this year, especially Jin Wang. His days were not in vain at the Ministry of Engineering, and he even actually modified the curved plow. Let’s try it out in the spring of the year. If it can be successful, it will be a great good deed for the common people.”Did he modify the curved plow? Mu Yunyao raised her head to look at Jin Wang. She really didn’t expect him to think of an idea so quickly and turn it over.
The Grand Princess Yi De nodded. “Then the Emperor must reward Jin Wang properly.”
“That’s natural. Yue Wang also has been doing well recently. The Laba Porridge during the New Year Festival has been well-received. This time, he gave a painting of Laba Porridge, which can be considered as him taking advantage of us and saving us some of our annual gifts.” Mu Yunyao was surprised. Yue Wang had presented a painting, and when she thought about what Yue Wang had said before, she couldn’t help but think carefully. Could this person really be so poor that he couldn’t even open a pot?