Chapter 166 What Does She Know?
Ming Luo's eyes fell on the girl opposite him.
The other person was wearing men's clothes, with no trace of makeup on her face, her hair was tied up simply and casually, and there were freshly dried water stains on her clothes, shoes and boots. She did not look like a girl at all.
Strangely enough, she had an extremely outstanding face. When she wore a skirt, her appearance was stunning. She was indeed worthy of the title of the most beautiful woman in the capital.
But once he dressed like a man, without too much decoration, he actually looked like a real young man, and his behavior and temperament did not give people the slightest sense of incongruity.
When she first met Chang Suining in Xuan Ce Mansion, she failed to recognize her identity as a girl at first.
Facing Ming Luo's silent scrutiny, Chang Suining instinctively felt a little offended by the other party's probing. Her face did not fluctuate. She just looked at Ming Luo and spoke again: "Ms. Ming, if you have anything to say, please speak frankly."
"This is exactly what I want to say to Madam Chang." Ming Luo looked into the girl's particularly calm eyes and said, "From copying Buddhist scriptures in Dayun Temple during the Spring Festival to painting in Dengtai Tower, Madam Chang has repeatedly shown her handwriting similar to that of Princess Chongyue in front of others. I wonder if you can tell me the purpose of this?"
Chang Suining's eyes moved slightly, but his gaze did not move away. Instead of answering, he asked, "From Ms. Ming's point of view, what is my purpose?"
Ming Luo's eyes were slightly cold, and his voice was slow: "Madam Chang is deliberately imitating Princess Chongyue, right?"
Chang Suining found it funny: "Can't we imitate it?"
The unfortunate guy Chongyue doesn't have anything rare or precious, so what's wrong with just imitating it?
Ming Luo seemed to be annoyed by her shamelessness and laughed meaningfully.
"Then may I ask why Madam Chang wants to imitate Princess Chongyue? Madam Chang and Her Royal Highness the Princess have clearly never met before. If you really want to establish some connection, Madam Chang was also saved by His Royal Highness the late Crown Prince, and has no connection with Her Royal Highness the Princess. But Madam Chang insists on pretending that she has a strong connection with the Princess, and even made an appointment with Madam Duan to go to the Princess's residence to offer sacrifices during the Double Ninth Festival..."
Meeting that pair of eyes filled with condescending scrutiny and sarcasm, Chang Suining revealed a hint of realization.
The other party said that "she" was saved by the former crown prince and had no connection with Chongyue...
It seems that this Ming Dynasty lady historian did not know much about her unfortunate deeds.
Chang Suining's look of realization caught Ming Luo's eyes, causing her to frown quickly - what was that expression? The feeling of being unable to see through and understand became stronger and stronger, but the other party did not respond to her question... She even felt that Chang Suining probably knew some secret that she did not know.
This feeling was not the first time she had appeared. Over the years, she could vaguely sense from the secret in the Heavenly Maiden Tower that her aunt and Commander Cui were keeping something from her about Princess Chongyue's past... Although she was puzzled, she did not delve into it further because she was cautious.
But at this moment, she suddenly realized that the blank space that was left for her was very likely to be discovered by Chang Suining!
Perhaps, that is Chang Suining's advantage?
This thought made Ming Luo feel anxious. She looked at the girl in front of her steadily: "You have gone to such great lengths to tie yourself to the title of Princess Chongyue, trying to attract the attention of the saint... What do you want to gain?" Chang Suining finally responded to her words, but asked: "What does Ms. Ming want to gain?"
Ming Luo suppressed his emotions and sneered: "Now I'm asking you a question——"
"If you ask, do I have to answer?" Chang Suining looked at the young female official in front of him and asked calmly, "Or in other words, what is the identity and position of Ms. Ming to question me? Is she the first to do this?"
Ming Luo's eyes trembled slightly, and his expression suddenly darkened: "What did you say?"
Chang Suining's eyes silently swept across the layout of the carriage.
As soon as she entered the carriage, her doubts were answered.
No wonder she felt something strange when she first met Ming Luo. It turned out that the strange feeling was that when she looked at him, it was like looking at a mirror, but the mirror was fogged up by water, which changed and distorted the image in the mirror. Therefore, the reflection in the mirror looked like her but was not her.
The person who truly imitates Chongyue is Mingluo.
Perhaps this was the reason why Ming Luo was chosen by Queen Ming and brought up by her side.
Before Ming Luo spoke, she did not think there was anything wrong with Ming Luo's behavior, nor did she feel offended, nor did she intend to expose it -
He is just a dead man anyway, and it is no big deal if someone imitates him. She has also worked hard to imitate Axiao. Everything in the world is integrated. Just use what you can find, whether it is for survival or profit. As long as it is not used for evil, there is no need to be blamed.
But the way to master it is that you use it, I use it, and everyone uses it. You are good, I am good, and everyone is good. However, the other party treats what he has learned as his own and does not allow others to touch it.
This attitude is very unpleasant.
She looked at Ming Luo, whose face was pale and who was trying to suppress his annoyance: "Since we all learned it, why do you have the right to question others? If others imitate Princess Chongyue and should be ridiculed and expelled, how should Ms. Ming regard herself?"
Ming Luo forced a cold laugh from his teeth: "Are you teaching me how to do things now?"
"No, it's just that I don't intend to accept Ms. Ming's advice."
Chang Suining stood up. The carriage was spacious and tall, enough for her to stand up.
She lowered her eyes slightly, and finally looked at Ming Luo: "Ms. Ming's words today were quite impertinent, but I still want to make it clear to Ms. Ming that I have no intention of competing with you, nor do I intend to make enemies because of such absurd and meaningless things. You and I should not interfere with each other and go our own way."
"That's all I have to say. If Ms. Ming insists on treating me as an enemy, then please do as you please."
Anyone who regards her as an enemy will naturally become an enemy in her eyes, and she will show no mercy to her enemies.
Chang Suining no longer looked at Ming Luo's reaction, opened the curtain and got out of the carriage.
When the car curtain fell, Ming Luo pulled the corners of his mouth, which were trembling slightly due to suppressed anger.
Non-interference and each going their own way?
But the other party had clearly disrupted her future plans and snatched away what should have belonged to her! Now, after Cui Jing, even her aunt's eyes began to show signs of deviation...
This was something she could never allow! How exactly was Chang Suining more like her?
Could the answer be hidden in a secret she doesn't know about?
Or...
Ming Luo lowered his eyes and his gaze suddenly fixed on the teacup in front of him.
The tea on the small table had grown cold, and the clear tea soup reflected her facial features, which were sharp due to her fluctuating emotions.
She instinctively restrained her demeanor and tried her best to look calm and composed, but at this moment another thought popped up in her mind uncontrollably -
Is it because Chang Suining is young enough that she is more reminiscent of the eldest princess of that time?
The eldest princess was twenty years old when she got married, and she is already twenty-one years old this year...
The dead will not grow old, and she is destined to become more and more different from the one in her aunt's memory...
What’s more, now there is another Chang Suining!
Looking at her own reflection in the tea, Ming Luo's heart was filled with panic and anger. She suddenly raised her hand and threw the teacup away.
The noise startled the maid who had just boarded the carriage: "Madam, what is this..."
She had never seen a lady lose her composure like this before.
Is it because of the lady from the Chang family who just left?
So the maid hurriedly said, "Madam, calm down... That girl from the Chang family is young and unsophisticated, and has always been arrogant and rude. Now she probably has the support of the great governor Cui and is even more ignorant... Madam, you are the county lady, why bother to argue with her..."
However, before she could finish her words, she saw Ming Luo raise his eyes coldly, staring at her with eyes as sharp as knives.
"You mean I'm old, right?" Ming Luo asked word by word.
The maid, who saw her like this for the first time, turned pale and knelt down hurriedly: "That's not what I meant!"
Ming Luo closed his eyes tremblingly.
She didn't care about the so-called youth and beauty. She didn't seek these superficial things, but she still had to rely on this appearance to continue to stay with her aunt.
As a concubine's daughter, she stayed in a remote and cold courtyard with her cowardly and incompetent aunt. She didn't want to go back to those days where she was ridiculed, bullied, and teased by others... She wanted to stand on a high place instead of falling back into the mud.
When she opened her eyes, she slowly and silently exhaled, looked at the maid who was kneeling there in silence, and said in a calm tone: "Get up."
The maid replied "yes", knelt there and lowered her head to clean up the mess in the car.
The glance just now still made her feel frightened, and she didn't dare to look up at Ming Luo for a while.
What happened to the lady today? ...
Because of the war in Yangzhou, Emperor Shengce attached more importance to the Double Ninth Festival ancestor worship trip. Almost all the well-known clan officials and their families in the capital were among the accompanying group to show their sincerity in worshiping their ancestors.
After Emperor Shengce led his ministers to leave the capital for the imperial mausoleum, Chang Suining, who stayed behind, felt that most of the officials' mansions in the capital were empty. She even felt that the city had suddenly become quiet, as if the open and secret struggles surrounding the vortex of power had temporarily gone away.
On the eve of Double Ninth Festival, Chang Suining and Adian sat on the stone steps together to look at the stars.
Adian's belly was bulging, firstly because he had just finished a bowl of longevity noodles, and secondly because he had a cute orange kitten under his robe.
That was the birthday present Chang Suining had given him today. He would take it out from time to time, rub his face against it and sniff it, unable to let it go. He was extremely happy: "Little A Li, how did you know I like cats!"
"You told me last time." Chang Suining sat on the stone steps, his hands on his sides, tilting his head back slightly and looking at the stars in the night sky.
Ah Dian laughed and said, "Really? I don't even remember it."
But the cute kitten moving around in his robe quickly attracted his attention. He didn't have time to think about it and said proudly: "...Now I have a little kitten slave too!"
"By the way, what did General Cui give you?" Chang Suining asked casually.
After she handed the box to Xier that day, she forgot to take a peek on the way.
"That's it!" Adian turned to face her and stretched out his hands to her like a big dog, with the backs of his hands facing up.
Only then did Chang Suining see that he was wearing a pair of black wrist guards.
"It looks good, doesn't it? Look, there are cat's paw prints on it!" Adian showed off to her.
Chang Suining smiled and nodded: "Yes, very majestic, very suitable for you."
Adian is good at boxing and practices it every day. Cui Jing gave him this pair of wrist guards with great care.
"With this, I can do one more set of boxing every day."
"How many days will it take for Xiao Sui'an to go home? I want to test his shooting skills."
"Little A Li, after your birthday, what are we going to do tomorrow?"
Adian held his little kitten in his arms and talked non-stop.
Chang Suining: "Tomorrow is Double Ninth Festival, we should plant dogwood."
"What about the dogwood branches?"
"Eat breakfast."
"Breakfast is good, I also want to eat sweet porridge! What should I do after eating the sweet porridge?"
"After eating the sweet porridge, I need to go out for a while." Chang Suining said.
…
Early the next morning, Chang Suining and Duan went to Princess Chongyue's mansion.
When getting off the carriage outside the Princess's Mansion, Chang Suining, wearing a sky-blue cloak, was holding a few branches of dogwood in her arms. The leaves were green and the fruits were red, each one like a red bean.
Duan ordered the servants to carry down the large box they had brought: "Be careful..."
Looking at the box, Chang Suining fell silent.
All the household items were prepared.
Duan had someone carry the box containing the sacrificial items into the Princess's mansion.
The maid of the Princess's Mansion had already received the news that Duan would come to offer sacrifices today, and she led them to the sacrificial hall.
Duan personally placed half of the offerings he had brought, and as usual, he knelt down on the mat and kowtowed.
Chang Suining followed his instructions, and since it was not the first time, he remained generally calm.
"Madam Duan, I wonder what to do with the rest..." The maid from the Princess's Mansion asked as she looked at the remaining half of the sacrifice in the box.
"I want to put the rest in your Highness's courtyard." Duan wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. "Maybe it's because the Double Ninth Festival is approaching. These past few days I've been dreaming about the days when I used to stay in the courtyard with your Highness and study, so I wanted to go over and take a look."
The tears were real, and the desire to dig the box was also real.
But reading in the yard is ridiculous.
Chang Suining watched her quietly as she prepared.
A Xiao once told her that when Duan Zhenyi was not in the study, whenever he held a book in his hands, he was reading a storybook, and sometimes he would secretly change the cover of the book.
Duan had come to offer sacrifices with the permission of the Holy Emperor. She suggested going to the eldest princess' residence, and the maid naturally had no reason to stop her.
The maid led the way and took Duan and his party to Chongyue's residence.
The scene brought back sad memories and Duan started to cry again. After placing the offerings, she said she wanted to walk around the yard.
The maid stopped following and waited outside the courtyard.
After avoiding the maid, Duan wiped her tears, pulled Chang Suining around to the back wall of the courtyard, and whispered, "Let's quietly get out of here and look around so you can see which garden it is..."
Looking at her sneaky appearance, Chang Suining finally understood that Duan Zhenyi came here as a thief today.
She thought Duan Zhenyi would use the excuse of retrieving old things to openly dig out the box.
It would be better to be a thief now. If she could conceal the truth and take the things away smoothly, she would not attract any attention, including the Queen. If she was found out later, it would be Duan Zhenyi who would be responsible for the shame. After all, it was Duan Zhenyi who took the things, and it had nothing to do with her, a junior.
If you think about it this way, it makes sense.
Chang Suining felt very at ease, after all, she was paying for the job.
The two of them, along with a servant holding the empty box, sneaked out through the back door.
Before going to bed today, I recommend my sister's book to everyone, "After breaking off the engagement, she went to the countryside and was pinched by a rough man and loved by him fiercely". Ahem, although the title of the book is a bit embarrassing, the content is very good. Give it a try~
(End of this chapter)
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