Chapter 111: A Show of Power and a Counterattack
Gu Huailing listened to the woman's deliberately serious voice and looked at her soft, fair face. The irritable and depressed mood that had accumulated in the court dissipated completely.
He walked over quickly, held her in his arms, and whispered softly in her ear, "Madam is the most gentle and virtuous."
The corners of Shen Yuan's mouth curled up and he coughed lightly, "Don't think that I will forgive you just because you say that."
"Madam is right. I can punish you however you want."
Chen Yuan reached out to push Gu Huailing away, and her hand accidentally touched his arm, causing the latter to frown slightly.
"What's wrong with your arm?" This subtle expression did not escape Chen Yuan's eyes.
Gu Huailing stroked her cheek and said softly, "It's okay."
Chen Yuan looked at him with scrutiny. She took a step back, quickly grabbed Gu Huailing's hand, and lifted up his sleeve.
A red whip mark appeared on the arm.
“Is this called unimpeded?”
Shen Yuan's tone was a little cold, and he turned and walked out.
Gu Huailing looked at the woman's back and pinched his brows helplessly.
The lady is angry, what should I do?
The footsteps came closer and closer, and Shen Yuan walked in again carrying a medicine box.
"Why don't you come over here?" Shen Yuan said unhappily.
A smile flashed across Gu Huailing's eyes and he walked over silently.
The unhappiness in Chen Yuan's heart had long since dissipated. Now, looking at the whip marks on the man's arm, all she felt was heartache.
Shen Yuan applied the ointment on the whip marks, raised her eyes and asked, "Why do you hit yourself?"
No one would whip him to death except himself.
But Shen Yuan couldn't understand why he whipped himself.
"I told you not to be angry."
Shen Yuan raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
Gu Huailing suddenly got a headache.
It’s over, now I’m really henpecked!
Shen Yuan put the ointment back into the medicine box.
Gu Huailing's voice was filled with helplessness. "Last night, a secret guard reported that the Fourth Prince had gone to the palace overnight and made some slanderous remarks to the Emperor. Today, during the court session, the Emperor wanted to grant me a concubine, and I could only use my wife to stop him."
Gu Huailing wanted to hold Chen Yuan's hand, but she pushed it away.
She lowered her head to organize her medicine box and said in a bad tone, "You don't take care of yourself. It seems that my husband has ignored my previous words."
"You can use me as an excuse, call me a jealous shrew, but why did you hurt yourself?"
Gu Huailing held her hand again, "The Emperor has been growing suspicious of me lately. This is the only way to silence the gossip."
Shen Yuan then raised her eyes to look at him, "Is this the end?"
Gu Huailing frowned slightly, his expression somewhat annoyed. "No, the Emperor has given two teaching maids, who will come to the mansion tomorrow to teach Madam the etiquette."
The corners of Shen Yuan's mouth twitched, and after a long silence, he asked, "Do you want to study seriously?"
Gu Huailing stared at her, "If Madam doesn't want to, I'll go and get rid of you tomorrow."
Chen Yuan sighed, "Well, let me just live up to my reputation as a fierce woman."
She thought for a moment and then asked, "It would be okay if I made Madam sick, right?"
Gu Huailing's eyes were filled with indulgence. "No problem. It's not right for the Emperor to interfere in the affairs of his subjects."
The next morning, just as Chen Yuan put down his chopsticks after finishing his meal, Taozi rushed in.
"Madam, the Emperor has given us two teaching maids, and they are waiting outside our house."
Shen Yuan straightened her clothes and said, "Please ask the two maids to come in."
Two teaching maids, about fifty years old and wearing dark brown palace dresses, walked in with their heads held high and chests puffed out.
The two of them had exactly the same hair bun, and even the gilded hairpins on their heads were exactly the same.
"This old servant, Madam Yan, greets the Prime Minister's wife."
"Old servant Ji Ma Ma greets the Prime Minister's wife."
The two old-fashioned maids spoke in steady and serious tones, and their movements were so standard that they seemed to have been measured with a ruler.
"I have come here by order of the Emperor to teach the First Minister's wife the proper manners."
Chen Yuan smiled slightly, "Thank you, Ma'am."
Nanny Yan frowned. "Madam, you are a noble lady. When you speak to servants like me, you don't have to smile. You should act like the mistress of the house."
Shen Yuan sneered in his heart, and the challenge began.
"Madam, please stand up. We will start today by standing."
Shen Yuan stood up.
"Wrong!" Nanny Yan suddenly shouted, "Madam, how can you be so dignified standing like this?"
She took out a ruler from somewhere and tapped it on Shen Yuan's shoulder, "Keep your shoulders straight, don't lean your neck forward, and look straight ahead!"
Chen Yuan glanced at Nanny Yan lightly and said, "Nanny, please put the ruler away. I hate it most when someone uses a ruler on me."
"Please be patient, Madam. I am here to teach you the rules by the Emperor's order."
Nanny Ji stepped forward with a serious and steady tone.
Nanny Yan retracted her ruler and spoke again, "Madam, your posture is not correct. You will have to stand with the teacup on your head for two hours."
She picked up a teacup on the table and was about to place it on Shen Yuan's head.
Suddenly, my knee hurt and I fell forward.
The teacup was smashed into pieces!
Chen Yuan looked terrified and covered his mouth with his hands as he cried out.
Just as Nanny Ji was about to speak, she heard Shen Yuan anxiously say, "Nanny Yan, you actually broke the teacup given by the Emperor!"
Nanny Yan looked up, and her old face revealed a look of panic rarely seen in a century.
"How can you use the gift given by the Emperor at will?"
Shen Yuan walked over, picked up a piece of broken porcelain and squatted in front of her, "Whether I use it or not, it was Mammy who broke the teacup, wasn't it?"
She casually scratched the ground with the broken porcelain twice, and suddenly said in a sharp tone, "Breaking the imperial gift is a death sentence."
She picked up the porcelain vase and said, "I know the two maids are following the emperor's orders. If they really want to teach me, I will naturally learn seriously. But if they deliberately make things difficult for me, don't blame me for being ruthless."
After saying that, she threw away the porcelain pieces and glared at Nanny Ji, "Nanny Yan is tired, Nanny Ji, why don't you help her to rest?"
Shen Yuan was trying to warn them, but the two of them happened to have been caught with something in their hands.
After Gu Huailing returned home, he heard about Shen Yuan's tactics today and smiled, "Preemptive strike, taking advantage of the weakness, Madam is indeed a good tactic."
Shen Yuan glanced at him calmly, "Who said that? Who can compare to you in terms of means?"
Gu Huailing chuckled, and slowly stroked Shen Yuan's face with his hand, pinching her cheek with his slender, slightly cool fingers.
"Itchy." Chen Yuan smiled and pushed him, then turned to look at Gu Huailing, "I've caught those two maids doing something wrong, so I'll keep them in the mansion for a few more days so I can report back to the people in the palace."
"What do you think, my Lord?"
Gu Huailing nodded and suddenly asked, "Madam, have you seen Yao'er these days?"
Chen Yuan shook her head, "You know Yao'er's temper. It would be strange if she could stay quietly in the mansion!"
Gu Huailing's expression was somewhat cold.
"What happened?"
"The Emperor is now keeping an eye on Yao'er's marriage. The Fourth Prince Qi also wants to marry her. The Emperor has done a good job on this. He asked the Fourth Prince to organize a hunting party. Whoever wins the first prize can ask the Emperor for a reward."
Shen Yuan frowned, "The Emperor has made up his mind to marry Yao'er to the Fourth Prince, otherwise he wouldn't have put so much effort into it."
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