Chapter 5
Yue Mingming subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Zhao Congyun leaned over, tightened her robe for her, and whispered in her ear: "Help me."
Yue Mingming's ears turned red and he felt a little at a loss.
She didn't expect retribution to come so quickly...
She could only be like a puppet, being led by Zhao Congyun all the way to the ginseng garden. However, as soon as she entered the garden, Zhao Congyun immediately withdrew his hand and resumed his usual cold and proud demeanor.
The warmth in her palm was still there, and Yue Mingming was slightly stunned. Zhao Congyun's tall and long-legged figure disappeared behind the rocks without waiting for her at all.
Yue Mingming stumbled and chased after him.
"This is my bedroom...you go to the study and wait." Zhao Congyun frowned and slammed the door shut in front of Yue Mingming.
After getting rejected, Yue Mingming finally woke up completely.
She put away her unrealistic fantasies and reaffirmed her dislike for Zhao Congyun - one day, she would beat this man up!
*
Zhao Congyun went to change clothes.
When they met again, he was wearing a black gown with gold threads, his black hair neatly tied up, looking even more high-spirited. Unfortunately, Yue Mingming hated him so much that he thought he was just a crow with golden hair.
"What did you mean just now?" Yue Mingming asked.
Zhao Congyun calmly sat down, picked up an incense pill and threw it into the purple gold furnace, then said slowly, "Do you know who has the final say in this palace?"
Yue Mingming was startled: "Isn't it you?"
Zhao Congyun sneered, "Everywhere in the palace, except for this ginseng garden, is the concubine's spies. If she wants someone to disappear, that person will never show up again the next day."
"Just because she is the queen's niece?" Yue Mingming was surprised.
Zhao Congyun glanced at her and asked, "Since you already knew this, why do you still dare to provoke her?"
Yue Mingming was a little panicked. She thought she could rest easy after dealing with Zhao Congyun, but she didn't expect that he was a useless waste.
"Is it too late for me to go and apologize and sever ties with you now?"
"You wear my robe and live in my garden, and you think you can get away with it?"
Yue Mingming suddenly understood: "You...you did this on purpose?!"
All of Zhao Congyun's actions during the banquet were intended to provoke Li Pingru's jealousy and murderous intent. He wanted to use Li Pingru to force her into a desperate situation where she would be surrounded by enemies on all sides.
"Why do you do that?"
Yue Mingming was furious: "Are you still a man? You're playing us all around, is that fun?"
Zhao Congyun didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Promise me one thing, and I'll keep you safe in the mansion... She can't even reach this garden. As long as you stay here honestly, she won't be able to do anything to you."
"Why should I promise you that?" Yue Mingming took out the letter of promise written by Zhao Congyun himself and threw it on the table: "You don't keep your word. I will never trust you again!"
Zhao Congyun extended his slender fingers and gracefully tapped the tabletop. "Take a closer look. Where have I broken my promise to you?"
He stared into Yue Mingming's eyes and said, "In a few days, I will hold a moon-viewing party on the lake. I need you to attend as my favorite concubine and perform another show with me."
Yue Mingming glared back angrily: "What tricks are you playing now?"
Zhao Congyun said calmly, "I also want to thank your good father... When the murder frame-up failed, it was rumored that I despised his lowly status as a sixth-rank official and deliberately made things difficult for you in the mansion.
"Now the entire capital is convinced that Madam Yue is being bullied in the palace, and the remonstrators are already writing memorials... Although I have a bad reputation, I don't want to be accused of bullying my colleagues for no reason."
"I really suffered a lot in the palace...how did I wrong you?" Yue Mingming said.
Zhao Congyun seemed to have run out of patience and said no more. He said coldly, "If you disagree or feel wronged, you can leave now."
Yue Mingming really wanted to turn around and leave, leaving Zhao Congyun with a dashing back view, but his body honestly stood there.
She discovered with shame that in the face of death threats, she was a coward and unworthy of being a heroine.
"Not leaving? Does that mean you agree?"
Zhao Congyun added, "You dare to take off your clothes in public. I guess you are not a shy person. It's just a play. It's not a big deal, right?"
Uncle Dong's mouth twitched slightly, and he tried to wink at Zhao Congyun.
Yue Mingming really exploded, but his lines were very spineless: "Please explain clearly, what does it mean to favor a concubine? How much cooperation do you need from me for this scene? I want extra money! My appearance fee is very expensive!"
*
The news spread throughout the palace the next day that a new concubine had moved into the ginseng garden, which even the two princesses had never set foot in!
The incident of Yue Mingming taking off his clothes in public was exaggerated and became strong evidence of his seduction of Zhao Congyun.
Little did they know that Yue Mingming, the envied one by everyone, was almost driven crazy by Zhao Congyun.
This man... actually wrote a thick instruction document overnight, and then threw her to Uncle Dong, asking her to complete the assessment within three days to become a qualified concubine.
Yue Mingming put in the same effort as if he were taking a final exam in college, and he memorized the content for the entire morning, until he was so tired that he felt dizzy and dizzy.
"Uncle Dong, help me! What does this word mean?"
Yue Mingming's knowledge of classical Chinese is still at the level of high school Chinese language class, and Zhao Congyun's writing style of quoting from classics drives her crazy.
Uncle Dong sighed. A good guard, now working part-time as a classical Chinese translator. He couldn't understand why this young lady, after all, was from an official family, could only read a few words...
Of course he could see that Yue Mingming was hiding many secrets, but his intuition based on years of experience in the underworld told him that although she acted strangely, she was harmless.
Unfortunately, the prince didn't believe it.
Zhao Congyun had been surrounded by wolves for too long, and had already developed an airtight defensive heart.
The harder she tried to make herself known, the more suspicious he became.
"Uncle Dong, tell me the truth, is your prince playing tricks on me again?" Yue Mingming said aggrievedly.
"Madam, you're joking... This lake cruise is no ordinary family banquet. All the high-ranking officials in the capital have received the prince's invitation and will definitely attend. Madam, you will be the center of attention, with so many eyes fixed on you, and so many girls envious... If something goes wrong, wouldn't it be a waste of the prince's efforts?"
Yue Mingming didn't believe it: "He made such a big fuss just to prove that he treats me well and doesn't look down on my family background?"
She felt that there was something fishy going on.
How could Zhao Congyun, this cunning fox, have such simple and straightforward thinking!
Sure enough, Uncle Dong hesitated for a moment and whispered, "My lady, do you know that the piece of paper you gave to the prince has far-reaching implications in the court. If you are not careful, it will cause a huge uproar."
Yue Mingming was stunned: "Isn't he the emperor's biological brother? Why would he be afraid of these things?"
Uncle Dong smiled bitterly, "Because of his status and position, he has to be more cautious. The Censor can investigate this matter, the six ministries can investigate it, but he alone cannot!"
"Because the emperor needs him, to be an idle prince who doesn't care about court affairs. If he shows the slightest interest in the court, it would be an overstepping of his bounds."
Yue Mingming seemed to understand something.
Throughout history, stories of fathers and sons turning against each other, and even internal strife, are not uncommon among emperors. To avoid the emperor's suspicion, Zhao Congyun could only serve as a mascot of the royal family, doing nothing.
But with his kind of personality, would he be willing to do that?
Uncle Dong continued, "Recently, your father has been deliberately instigating things, both overtly and covertly. He's probably trying to test you to see if you've handed over the records... They're probably already suspecting that the prince is secretly investigating the grain transport issue."
"Can't he just ignore it?" Yue Mingming asked naively.
Uncle Dong shook his head. "Hundreds of thousands of refugees in Jiangzhou, starving to death everywhere, exchanging their own children for food... He has such lofty ambitions and a deep devotion to his country, how can you expect him to just ignore it?"
Yue Mingming fell silent.
She had always thought that Zhao Congyun hated her father and that it was just a simple official struggle, but she had no idea that the life and death of hundreds of thousands of people were involved behind the scenes.
"So... he arranged this lake cruise in order to dispel the emperor and my father's suspicions?" Yue Mingming said slowly.
Uncle Dong saw that she understood everything and nodded, "That's right. Only a dandy prince who only knows how to spend money can make everyone feel at ease."
At this point, he suddenly bowed deeply and said, "Madam, please remember the prince's good intentions and help him!"
"Don't worry, Uncle Dong, I won't hold you back!"
After Yue Mingming made a bold promise, he opened the document and buried his head in it.
*
After dinner, Yue Mingming was studying in his room when he suddenly heard a noise coming from the garden, mixed with the faint sobbing of a woman.
Yue Mingming had observed carefully over the past two days. The ginseng garden was secluded and quiet, with few servants and she was the only woman. How could there be the sound of a woman crying?
...Is this place haunted?
The more she listened, the more uneasy she became. She simply grabbed a heavy inkstone from the desk and leaned towards the source of the crying.
When I got there, I saw that it was an acquaintance!
Li Pingru was leading several maids and surrounding the entrance of Shenyuan, arguing with Dong Shu about something.
Seeing Yue Mingming appear, Li Pingru's eyes flashed with hatred, and she cried even more pitifully: "I know the prince has ordered that outsiders are not allowed to enter the garden. But with my good intentions, can't Uncle Dong be flexible?"
It turned out that when this person learned about the moon-viewing boat trip on the lake, he specially sent a young maid who was good at makeup, saying that she wanted to present her to Lady Yue.
Yue Mingming felt amused. This weasel had no good intentions when paying New Year's greetings to the chicken!
But the method was too blatant, and she couldn't figure out what the deeper meaning was...
Uncle Dong was also an old fox. Even though Li Pingru cried her heart out, he remained unmoved by her words and replied, "Your Highness won't allow it. Please don't embarrass me."
"Uncle Dong, don't you trust me?"
Li Pingru found that crying was useless, so he immediately changed his tactics. He pulled the little maid in front of Uncle Dong and ordered her sternly, "Take off your clothes!"
"Uncle Dong, feel free to check if she's hiding anything shameful... And these rouge and powder were given by the Empress herself, so check them out too! I couldn't bear to use them myself, so I gave them all to Madam Yue just to save face for the Prince, and yet you've humiliated me like this!"
Uncle Dong's expression finally became serious——
Li Pingru threatened the maid and brought up the Empress, using both soft and hard tactics, and it seemed that he was determined to send the man to jail.
The little maidservant didn't dare to disobey the order. She could only shrink her thin body and take off her clothes one by one tremblingly.
Soon she had nothing left to take off. If she took off this last piece of clothing and people saw her body, no matter what the outcome, she would have no choice but to jump into the lake.
"Why don't you continue taking it off? What are you dawdling for?"
Li Pingru looked at Uncle Dong provocatively. This method of hers was inspired by Yue Mingming last night.
During the stalemate, Yue Mingming suddenly stepped forward, took the little maid's cold hand, and asked with a smile:
"May I have your name?"
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