Chapter 81 You're not trying to force me
Because women usually wear veils when they go out, the people of Beijing don't know what all the young ladies in Beijing look like. However, Liu Mingyue's face is very recognizable.
Soon, the people of the capital city learned that the Dingbei Marquis' Mansion could not even afford to eat. Even the Crown Prince's wife, the legitimate master, had to pay out her dowry to eat out.
"The Marquis's Mansion is really outrageous. But they are nobles after all. How come they can't even pay for the basic expenses of the mansion's accounts?"
In the capital city, whether in the streets or in restaurants or teahouses, one can hear people talking about the Marquis' Mansion.
"It was said before that the Marquis's Mansion was short of money, so they wanted to take the bride's dowry. I thought it was a rumor before, but now it seems to be true. The Marquis's wife is trying to punish the Crown Prince's Consort."
Even if they don't know much about what's going on in the Marquis' Mansion, there are still smart people who can guess most of it.
People were saying everywhere that the Marquis's Mansion was shabby and desolate. The Marquis was often out and about and had to go to the palace for morning court every day, so he soon learned about this.
"This is just nonsense! Even if she did something wrong, she should have been punished in the mansion. Now the matter has been exposed and the people in the city have laughed at her. What will happen? Tell the kitchen to restore her food allowance."
The Marquis returned home angrily, and when he saw the Marquis' wife calmly trimming potted plants in the yard, he became even angrier. He didn't care what happened to Liu Mingyue, but doing this would bring shame to the Marquis's mansion.
The Marquis’ wife was not unaware of the news that had spread in the capital, but she no longer cared.
At least, it doesn't matter to her as much as punishing Liu Mingyue.
"That ugly girl has been lawless since she married into our house. Some people said that our house was short of money and was calculating the bride's dowry. It was she who spread the word to discredit our house! We must teach her a lesson!"
The Marquis's wife held an attitude opposite to that of the Marquis. In her opinion, the jar was already broken, so she might as well throw it away.
"My Lord, you don't care much about the affairs of the harem, but I think you know that little girl is very powerful. If we don't control her a little when it comes to important matters, won't she step on our heads? Anyway, her dowry is not that much!"
The woman poured the marquis a cup of tea, helped him sit down, and comforted him while expressing her thoughts.
"Her dowry is only a few dollars. If she wants to go out to eat, she can go. I wonder how long she can hold out. When her dowry is gone, won't she be quiet and obedient?"
The Marquis looked at his wife with a complicated expression and said, "Of course what you said makes sense, but have you listened to the rumors outside? It's important to punish her, but it's also important to save the reputation of the Marquisate."
Of course, she had heard the rumors, but Madam Hou had already made her plan. She had already done it, so how could she stop so easily?
"Reputation? Now that the rumors outside can't be stopped, why not just endure it and control that hoof first? It's not good to have the worst of both worlds!"
Under the impact of continuous rumors, what reputation does the Hou Mansion still have? The reputation is already very bad, so it might as well be worse. However, the Hou Mansion's reputation has deteriorated, and there is another person who is particularly troubled, and that is Tan Zhuoyan.
When the news that Liu Mingyue needed to use her dowry to dine at the restaurant spread, Qin Zhuoyan discovered that Zhou Baili was not very willing to see him. Even if she occasionally came out, her attitude was very perfunctory.
Everything started after I learned that the situation in the Marquis' Mansion was not good.
"Your Highness, as you instructed, I went to quietly deliver a letter to Miss Zhou, but Miss Zhou said she caught a cold and I'm afraid she may have passed the disease on to you, so she's been missing recently." The attendant who went to deliver the message on behalf of Tan Zhuoyan came back with a reply.
Qin Zhuoyan, who was deep in thought, heard this and her tone suddenly turned cold: "I understand, go down."
Caught a cold? Tan Zhuoyan sneered and threw the mandarin duck sachet in her hand on the table. Zhou Baihe, this woman, seems weak and considerate, but in fact she is extremely vain and hypocritical! Only that charming face makes people unforgettable.
Seeing through Zhou Baili's hypocrisy is one thing, but it doesn't prevent Qin Zhuoyan from wanting to get her.
For a man who had been disliked by all the noble ladies in Beijing for many years because of his disabled legs, Qin Zhuoyan did not want to let go even though she knew that Zhou Baili was insincere.
There will never be another beautiful woman who is willing to flirt with him. Qin Zhuoyan is aware of this.
"Zhou Baili, Zhou Baili." The man pushed the wheelchair closer to the table and picked up the sachet again.
Tan Zhuoyan clenched the sachet in her mouth and said, "Oh, do you think that besides me, there will be any other noble family son willing to marry you? It doesn't matter if you don't want to be my concubine for the time being, I can wait!"
The situation of the Marquis's Mansion was not very good, but fortunately the situation of the Zhou family was very embarrassing, and the two mansions were equally bad. To put it bluntly, the Marquis's Mansion was poor, but at least it was clean.
Zhou family? How about Zhou Junyuan's death? His Majesty has not yet expressed his position? In this situation, Zhou Baihe may not have a better choice. Tan Zhuoyan is willing to wait.
In the courtyard on the other side of the mansion, the doors and windows of Liu Mingyue's bedroom were closed. Liu Mingyue asked Huasheng, who had just come back from inquiring about the news, in disbelief: "There has been no movement recently?"
"Yes." Peanut nodded heavily, "The little maid said that the prince has not even left the house recently."
Liu Mingyue lay back on the rattan chair and slapped her forehead in annoyance.
She was only thinking about making life difficult for the Marquis's and Zhou's families, and she forgot that Zhou Baili was a thoroughly vain woman. How could she be seduced without fine clothes and delicious food?
It is difficult to make them appreciate each other and come together, so it seems that we have to find other ways to bring them together. How can we make two people be together as quickly as possible and have to do so?
"Madam, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so concerned about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Didn't you say before that a forced melon is not sweet?" Peanut didn't understand why the master was so concerned about the prince.
As soon as Peanut finished speaking, Liu Mingyue sat up suddenly and excitedly held Peanut's hand.
"I figured it out!" After saying that, she went to rummage through the boxes and found her human skin mask and men's clothes.
Since letting things take their own course doesn't work, why not just force it? Zhou Baihe and Tan Zhuoyan are hesitant and don't know how long it will take, so why not just drug them!
Liu Mingyue hurried to Zuixianlou and ran into Bai Ziyu who was about to leave after paying for the wine. She quickly stopped him and said, "Ziyu, can you please talk to me for a moment?"
She grabbed Bai Ziyu's hand and dragged him into the side room without saying goodbye.
Inside the side room, the dishes and bowls on the table had not been cleared away yet, but Bai Ziyu's eating and drinking movements were always pleasant to the eye, and there was no mess on the table after the meal.
"Hey, why are you in such a hurry today, Mr. Liu? You even dragged me into the house. Are you trying to force yourself on me?" Bai Ziyu started to speak in a non-serious manner after visiting Zui Xiang Lou so many times.
"Hey, you're right. Do you have any medicine like that? Give me some."
Liu Mingyue's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. Bai Ziyu felt his spine tremble when he saw her. He stared with shock, "You? You are so filthy!"
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