Chapter 185: Vicious Female Supporting Character vs. Childless Emperor 29
Princess Rong'an had completely resented Ji Yunhuan, but she endured it and did not lose her temper on the spot.
A notorious woman is not worth ruining her reputation. Ji Yunhuan is shameless, but she is very careful about her reputation.
There are many ways to deal with people. One day, she will make Ji Yunhuan pay the price for his disrespect today!
Princess Rong'an nodded modestly and summoned the eunuch to present the gift box.
After washing her hands, Old Madam Xia opened it herself, and a huge "Longevity Peach Picture" came into view.
"It looks like a painting by Mr. Bai Xuan, and there's a signature on it, but it's not a painting. It looks more like it was woven bit by bit."
Princess Rong'an stood up, her face lit up, "Madam, you have a good eye. It is indeed Mr. Bai's painting. It has been a long time since his paintings have been circulated in the world. This picture of longevity peaches was painted by him personally. He used the warp-through and weft-through weaving method, and it took him a full year to weave it thread by thread."
"The craftsmanship of kesi is extremely complicated and intricate. It is not something that ordinary craftsmen can weave. There are not many people who can weave it in Suzhou. There is a saying among the people that an inch of kesi is worth an inch of gold, which shows how precious it is. Rong An uses this to congratulate the old lady on her 80th birthday. Do you like it?"
Old Madam Xia touched the gorgeous kesi in her hand. This thing was indeed precious, but at her age, it was past the time of pursuing fame and fortune. All she cared about was the safety of her descendants.
Princess Rong'an gave away such a valuable item, which really made her feel uneasy.
"Even if it's just a needle and thread, the gift from the princess is an honor to the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion, not to mention such a precious longevity peach painting. I will order someone to properly place it and keep it well."
Princess Rong'an smiled. "It would be a pity to keep such a good thing indoors. I see that Fu'an Hall is empty and a little too plain. Why not hang up the longevity peach painting? Mr. Bai's painting will not be a disgrace to the Loyal and Brave Marquis' Mansion."
"The princess is right." The old lady immediately called the servants over and ordered, "Hurry up and prepare the incense table and offer the princess's reward. Our Zhongyong Marquis Mansion has received the emperor's grace. The princess is his majesty's niece. Her reward is his majesty's reward. We must not neglect it."
Princess Rong'an's face froze. What she wanted was for the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's Mansion to be close to the Empress Dowager. With just a few words from the old lady, it became the emperor's favor. Wouldn't she be giving this generous gift for nothing?
Xizi lay on Ji Yunhuan, in a good mood.
He could naturally see through Princess Rong'an's intentions. It was obvious that the Queen Mother wanted to win over the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. However, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery were more loyal than he imagined, and privately did not show any sign of wavering.
Long Lin would eavesdrop at the door of Prime Minister Ji's study every day. He has been missing for almost a month, and the court is in a panic. In addition to the prince's lineage, the queen mother is also ready to make a move and wants to support a young baby to take the throne. The two factions are fighting each other, making a mess!
Old Madam Xia bowed before the incense table with a pious look, as if the brocade was really a gift from the emperor.
Princess Rong'an hit a snag, but it was not easy to point it out. After all, the emperor was only missing, not dead yet. Marquis Zhongyong controlled the Imperial Guards in the name of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. No one could say a word against him, and they even had to praise him.
"The entire family of the Loyal and Brave Marquis is full of loyal and brave people. They are loyal to Your Majesty and are truly the pillars of the country..."
The ladies present would naturally follow suit and admire.
They are not fools. Old Madam Xia's attitude is so clear. After they go back, they will naturally tell their masters not to interfere. It is not easy to earn the credit of following a dragon, and if they are not careful, they will end up in disgrace.
Ji Yunhuan touched Xizi's back and whispered, "It's ridiculous to think you can win people's hearts with just a piece of brocade."
Her mother was from Suzhou and had a craftsman who made kesi silk under her. Although kesi silk was precious, it was not a rare item for her.
Grandpa Bai Xuan is an old friend of the Zhuo family. There are two paintings by Grandpa Bai hanging in her small study. Grandpa Bai will paint whatever she wants.
Combined with Grandpa Bai's painting skills, this painting of "Longevity Peach" was indeed sold at a high price. I don't know how much silver my mother finally sold it for.
Ji Yunhuan's voice was so soft that only Qiao Yue who was standing next to him heard it.
Qiao Yue had seen all kinds of good things following the young lady, so she didn't take a piece of cloth seriously.
Princess Rong'an felt the disdain of both the master and the servant. Everyone present praised the longevity peach painting to the sky, but Ji Yunhuan looked down on her!
"Miss Ji, do you have any objections to this princess' birthday gift? The Prime Minister's Mansion is also a wealthy family. I wonder what birthday gift Miss Ji prepared for Old Madam Xia? Why not take it out for everyone to enjoy."
Ji Yunhuan did prepare a birthday gift, which he placed together with everyone else's gifts. The packaging was just an ordinary wooden box, which looked a bit shabby among the many exquisite brocade boxes.
Princess Rong'an had spoken, so Old Madam Xia had no choice but to order someone to find the birthday gift from the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Princess Rong'an took one look and burst out laughing.
"I thought Miss Ji had prepared something good, but she even looked down upon this princess' birthday peach painting. It seems that the Prime Minister's Mansion did not come to congratulate sincerely. Even the birthday gift was so simple, which shows that they did not take the old lady's birthday seriously."
Xia Mengyao took a closer look at the wooden box. There were actually scratches on it, and it looked quite old. She became angry, "Where did you find this old thing? Ji Yunhuan, what do you mean? Are you just giving us some junk to get rid of? It's better not to accept such a gift!"
Old Madam Xia didn't know how many times she had sighed. Her granddaughter was really too impatient. Only a silly granddaughter like her would be fooled by such obvious provocative words.
"Yao'er, stop talking nonsense! The value of a gift is not about how expensive it is, but about the thought behind it."
Xia Mengyao muttered in dissatisfaction: "Thoughts? I don't think she has any thoughts. She has never made grandma happy since she came in."
Ji Yunhuan stood still as a mountain, just smiled and looked at Old Madam Xia, "Since you have brought it, you might as well open it and take a look. Maybe you will like it."
Old Madam Xia was somewhat curious.
He believed that with Prime Minister Ji's shrewdness, he would never allow anyone to find fault with such a small matter as sending a gift. This gift should have been chosen by Ji Yunhuan.
Old Madam Xia asked the maid holding the wooden box to come over. The wooden box was quite large, and the maid seemed a little tired as she held it with both hands.
Just as Old Madam Xia was about to reach out to open the wooden box, Xia Mengyao blocked her way. She glared at Ji Yunhuan and said warily:
"Who knows what she's up to? Maybe there's some hidden weapon or poison. What if she hurts grandma? Grandma, please step back and let me open it."
Ji Yunhuan was speechless. How stupid was she to poison the gift? Not to mention that the gifts were usually prepared by servants, even if she really hurt Old Madam Xia, what good would it do her?
In the final analysis, it was because of Long Haochang that Xia Mengyao hated herself mindlessly. Xia Mengyao was deeply poisoned and would not wake up without some drastic measures.
In comparison, Sister Mei is really smart and understands things immediately.
With a click, the wooden box opened. There was no hidden weapon or poison. Xia Mengyao looked through the gift inside and frowned, "What is this? It's just a pile of scrap metal. What's so good about it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
