Chapter 89 The Purpose of Princess Jiaoyang's Visit
However, before she could make another move, Princess Jiaoyang angrily ordered the female official behind her, "Go up and give him a few slaps! How dare he use me as a pawn? He must have a death wish!"
The lady-in-waiting immediately responded, took out a long, rectangular red wooden board from her sleeve, and slapped Steward He eight times across the face.
Two square board imprints immediately appeared on the child's handprint on Butler He's face.
Ah Jiu watched with shining eyes. Look at him, he doesn't even have to get his hands dirty when he hits someone.
This time, Butler He behaved himself.
He also shrank back and lowered his head, not daring to make any further rash moves.
Wu glanced at He, who was huddled up like a quail, and a sarcastic smile appeared on her lips.
Having vented her anger, Madam Min Qiao composed herself and, with a smile, invited Princess Jiaoyang into Songhe Hall.
Seeing that Madam He and Madam Wu were about to follow them in, Ajiu quickly stopped them and said in a stern tone, "The Grand Madam only invited the princess in, and did not allow you to follow as well."
Madam He frowned, raising her hand as if to call out to Princess Jiaoyang, but found that Princess Jiaoyang hadn't even looked back, and had already walked far away with Madam Min Qiao.
Wu smiled shrewdly at Ajiu, "Then I'll head back now."
After saying that, he ignored Madam He and left with Cuixiang.
Seeing that Madam Wu was leaving, Madam He had no choice but to leave with her people, feeling rather embarrassed.
When they left, they didn't forget to take Butler He with them as well.
"Serve tea." As she entered, Madam Min Qiao gave this special instruction, just in case that girl Aqi was being inconsiderate and would dawdle as usual.
Fortunately, this time Aqi was very responsive. As soon as the two sat down in the main room, Aqi brought in hot tea.
Min Qiao picked up the tea and gently smelled it. It wasn't the best or most expensive one! But a slightly inferior one. Typical of Ah Qi!
Fortunately, Princess Jiaoyang didn't come here specifically to drink tea; she didn't even touch the teacup.
Princess Jiaoyang was not one to beat around the bush. Seeing that Madam Min Qiao had put down her teacup, she quickly explained her purpose.
"To be honest, Madam, I have come to your residence today because I heard that you have a red coral ornament that you are going to sell, so I came here to see it for myself."
Min Qiaoshi thought to herself that something was wrong. Could it be that the princess was trying to use her royal power to force a sale at a low price?
Sure enough, the next moment Princess Jiaoyang said, "The Empress Dowager's birthday is coming soon. Since it's not a full birthday celebration, she doesn't want a big one. But I still want to give her a special birthday gift."
"As soon as I heard that the old lady was going to sell a red coral ornament that was half a person tall, I rushed over."
Madam Min frowned and asked tentatively, "I was just short of money and sold some valuables to make ends meet. How did it get to the palace?"
Princess Jiaoyang chuckled and said, "Isn't it easy to guess? Of course, it was Lady Annam who said it! She often comes to the palace to talk with Consort Zhao, so how could she have spread the word that the Grand Madam wanted to sell the red coral ornaments?"
Suddenly sensing something, Madam Min Qiao felt a pang of anxiety, but feigned nonchalance and asked, "Does the Lady of Annan often come to the palace to keep the Consort company?"
"That's right. This matter was approved by my mother."
"The Grand Madam doesn't know that at first, some people complained to my mother about this, saying that Consort Xian summoned Lady Annam to the palace every few days, acting arrogantly and disregarding palace rules."
"Later, Consort Zhao begged my mother for a favor. She said that she had grown up in the countryside and had been ostracized and targeted by many people after coming to the capital. Before entering the palace, she had become close friends with the Lady of Annam. Therefore, she earnestly requested my mother to allow the Lady of Annam to come to the palace often to talk with her."
"When the Empress Dowager saw how pitiful she sounded, and thought that it wasn't a big deal, she agreed."
"Therefore, if we're talking about who has visited the palace the most frequently over the years, it's definitely the Lady of Annam!"
Lady Min Qiao narrowed her eyes slightly. It was both the Lady of Annam and Consort Zhao. Was it a coincidence? Or was it deliberate?
"I see." Madam Min suppressed her doubts and said with a smile, "That's quite a coincidence. The princess is looking for a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager, and I happen to have a suitable red coral ornament for sale."
“Yes!” Princess Jiaoyang said cheerfully, “I also think it’s quite a coincidence. So, as soon as I heard about it, I came.”
Madam Min thought to herself, "I had someone spread the word the day before yesterday that the Lady of Annam had entered the palace yesterday, and Princess Jiaoyang came to see me today. No wonder she came as soon as she heard about it."
However, if you think you can make her suffer a loss by giving away the red coral ornament for nothing, then you're dreaming!
"Speaking of which, it's the Empress Dowager's birthday, and the princess really liked this ornament as a birthday gift. I should have given it to the princess, but as the princess has probably heard, I'm short of money, which is why I'm selling my beloved item. I suppose the princess wouldn't let this old woman lose both her money and her possessions, would she?"
Princess Jiaoyang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam, I'm not the kind of person who would steal by trickery or force. I came with all the savings I've accumulated over the years. I'm very wealthy."
Then, with great magnanimity, he said, "Madam, just name your price."
Madam Min felt a little relieved and was about to make an offer, but then she changed her strategy and said with a smile, "No rush. Let me take the princess to see the ornaments first, and then we can talk about the price."
“Alright. I also want to see the quality of the red coral ornaments in the Grand Madam’s collection.” Princess Jiaoyang readily agreed.
The red coral ornament was moved from the storeroom a couple of days ago and displayed in the middle of the main room for a while, to broaden the horizons of the young maids in Songhe Hall. Afterwards, it was moved to the study next door to prevent it from being bumped or knocked over.
Upon seeing the half-person-high red coral ornament in the study, even Princess Jiaoyang couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.
Tall, large, red, vibrant, and with a luscious emerald green hue, it's an absolute gem!
After the initial surprise, Princess Jiaoyang suddenly lost confidence in the several thousand taels of silver in her purse.
Princess Jiaoyang looked rather listless when she came out of the study.
She admitted honestly in a desolate tone, "Madam, I'm afraid I can't afford your red coral. I thought it was just a piece of red coral about eight or nine inches tall. I didn't expect it to be so big and of such good quality. It must be worth at least 100,000 taels of silver, right? If someone really liked it, I'd probably be willing to pay over 100,000 taels."
She sighed and said helplessly, "Never mind, I'll just pick out a new birthday gift for Grandmother."
Madam Min smiled, this time genuinely. "Actually, as long as it's a gift from the princess, no matter its value, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager will like it. After all, what Her Majesty the Empress Dowager values is the princess's thoughtfulness, not those material possessions."
“What the Grand Madam says is true.” Princess Jiaoyang nodded, her mood brightening again, and began chatting idly with the Grand Madam.
How did the Dowager Lady and Madam Zheng meet? What did the Dowager Lady like? Why was the Dowager Lady in such a hurry to need money? ...
They talked about all sorts of unrelated topics, rambling on about this and that without getting to the point. They didn't mention returning to the palace at all.
Princess Min Qiao was completely bewildered by Princess Jiao Yang's machinations.
With noon fast approaching, Madam Min Qiao couldn't very well send them away, so she had someone prepare lunch and also sent someone to inform Min Hui about the situation at Songhe Hall.
The female official standing to the side then spoke up to remind him, "Your Highness, we should return to the palace."
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