Chapter 17 Mu Yunzhu, why did you even show up...?
The Crown Prince returned to the palace with his wife on his back last night, and the next day, this story spread among everyone in the palace.
Upon hearing this, Ying intended to call Yunzhu over to give her a warning and ask her what exactly happened.
As the heir apparent of Prince Huan's household, she and her husband were deeply in love, and no one interfered. But how could she allow the servants to witness such a thing? And even let it spread? Was she utterly shameless?
With this thought in mind, she quickly summoned someone, but before she could give any instructions, Xiao Mingzhang, who should have been at the Yunzhou government office at this hour, appeared before her.
Madam Ying asked with concern, "Why are you still here? Didn't you go to the yamen today?"
"I have some things I'd like to discuss with my mother today."
Seeing Xiao Mingzhang's cold expression, Ying immediately sat up straight.
"What is it?" she asked.
—
When Yunzhu woke up, Xiao Mingzhang was already gone. It was quite rare; he hadn't even woken her up to practice calligraphy today.
She simply lay on the bed for a while longer.
Yunzhu and Xiao Ming'an had originally planned to go to the temple fair in the west of the city today, but she thought that since Xiao Mingzhang knew the truth, they probably wouldn't be able to go to the temple fair.
But... what about Xiao Ming'an? Yunzhu didn't know how Xiao Mingzhang would resolve this matter.
Last night, after returning to his room, Xiao Mingzhang explained his thoughts to Yunzhu in detail. It turned out that in the Central Plains, people did not support private engagements at all. They insisted on parental consent and matchmaker's approval for a normal marriage.
Yunzhu was helpless, realizing she had completely oversimplified the situation. Even if private betrothal was permitted in the Central Plains, Xiao Ming'an was a county princess from a royal family, her name even personally chosen by the emperor. Her marriage was not only not her own choice, but it might not even be decided by the Huan Prince's family. Yet she naively believed that as long as the scholar could achieve something in the future, he would be worthy of this county princess.
She had no way of knowing Xiao Mingzhang's next plan, only hoping that he would be a little gentler when he harmed her younger sister. After all, no matter how spoiled she was, she was still just a little girl who had only come of age last year.
After lingering in bed until the sun was high in the sky, Yunzhu finally got up and began practicing calligraphy. She practiced until noon, and sure enough, she received a message from Xiao Ming'an saying that she could not go out today.
Yunzhu suppressed her curiosity until Xiao Mingzhang returned at night, at which point she pulled him aside and asked how he had resolved the matter.
"I have informed my mother about this," Xiao Mingzhang said.
Yunzhu was somewhat surprised. She thought that Xiao Mingzhang would not tell Ying Shi and Prince Huan about this matter.
However, Xiao Mingzhang not only told Ying Shi, but also asked Ying Shi to cooperate with him in resolving Xiao Ming'an's matter.
Xiao Mingzhang explained, "Because I transferred that person away, Ming'an will inevitably be distracted for a while. Rather than hiding it from Mother Consort, it's better to tell her the truth directly. She loves Ming'an, and although she may be angry, she won't do anything to her."
It turns out he transferred that student away...
Yunzhu asked, "So where did you send him?"
"Jinling".
"Jinling?" Yunzhu exclaimed in surprise. "Why send it so far away?"
"Didn't you say he might be successful?" Xiao Mingzhang raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly joking, and said to Yunzhu, "The school leaders of each prefecture can actually write to the Imperial Academy in Jinling every year to recommend a batch of students. The school leaders of Yunzhou didn't send any students to the Imperial Academy in the past few years because Father wanted to keep them. But now, it's impossible for this person to stay in Yunzhou. Jinling is the best place for him."
“I’ll send him to the Imperial Academy in Jinling. If he can really make something of himself in Jinling, as you say, then maybe he and Ming’an will still have a chance. If not… then the Prince’s Mansion will not have wronged this person.”
Yunzhu suddenly realized.
Seeing Xiao Mingzhang's terrible expression yesterday, she thought he wouldn't let the student off the hook, but unexpectedly, he still left him a chance.
Students of the Imperial Academy in Jinling are eligible to participate in the imperial examinations. Sending him to Jinling would not only separate the two still immature individuals but also test whether he truly possesses genuine learning—a truly excellent option.
"How is Ming'an? Does she know about your decision?" Yunzhu was still worried about Xiao Ming'an.
"Not yet," Xiao Mingzhang said. "Today I asked my mother to hold her back. My mother and I have discussed it and plan to let her know about this in a few days. At that time, my mother and I will both pretend not to know, and you should also pretend not to know. Let her grieve properly on her own. She'll get over it in time."
"..." Yunzhu had just praised Xiao Mingzhang for not going too far, but now he turns around and says such terrible things.
Will things get better with time? What if they're truly in love and can't forget each other no matter what?
She secretly glanced at Xiao Mingzhang, but was caught red-handed.
"How is it?" Xiao Mingzhang asked calmly.
Yunzhu immediately shook her head, feeling that she had no good opinions to offer.
Of all the people involved, the one she least expected was Madam Ying. Despite all the bad things Madam Ying had done to her, she genuinely loved her two children.
That's wonderful. Back home, her mother had treated her just as well...
As Yunzhu pondered, her thoughts drifted away. Xiao Mingzhang stared at her for a while, and seeing that she hadn't come back to her senses, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit at the table.
The candlelight flickered on the table. As Xiao Mingzhang took out a notebook from the cabinet, he said, "If you have any free time lately, I'll trouble you to spend more time with Ming'an."
“That’s natural.” Yunzhu finally came to her senses and nodded.
Even though she and Xiao Ming'an were using each other and didn't really have much of a relationship, she had helped Xiao Ming'an a lot during this book reading, and she wasn't a completely heartless person.
"It's so late, are you still going to read?" Yunzhu couldn't help but ask when she saw Xiao Mingzhang flipping through something again.
"Didn't you ask me these questions?" Xiao Mingzhang retorted, which startled Yunzhu.
"Hmm?" Is this her notebook?
Yunzhu hurriedly grabbed the notebook and flipped through it.
Upon seeing her own handwriting, which was of inconsistent size and still resembled a dog's scribbles, she finally smiled apologetically.
She recalled the scene when she left the notebook yesterday, never expecting that Xiao Mingzhang would still keep it.
She nodded vigorously to Xiao Mingzhang again, picked up a stool, and sat even closer to him.
—
Three days had passed since Xiao Ming'an's incident. Three days later, Yunzhu finally met with her again.
In the past, Xiao Ming'an would come to her courtyard to find her, but today she came to Xiao Ming'an's residence.
"I said get out!"
But as soon as she stepped into the house, before she even saw anyone, she heard a sharp scream, followed by a fine blue-and-white porcelain plate being smashed in front of her.
The porcelain plate shattered into pieces, some of which landed directly on Yunzhu's shoes.
Yunzhu was startled and stood at the door, looking into the room in panic.
Inside the room, Xiao Ming'an's eyes were slightly red, and there seemed to be faint tear stains on his cheeks. His fierce gaze swept towards the door. When he saw Yun Zhu, he seemed surprised and impatient.
"Why is it you?"
"Otherwise, who do you think it should be?" Yunzhu carefully shook off the few pieces of broken porcelain on her shoes, stepped over the pile of mess on the ground, and finally arrived in front of Xiao Ming'an.
Following Xiao Mingzhang's instructions, she feigned ignorance and asked, "I heard you've been in a bad mood these past few days? Has something happened?"
"What's it to you?" After not seeing her for a few days, Xiao Ming'an had reverted to the sharp-tongued and mean-spirited Princess Qingyuan. She showed no kindness to Yunzhu.
Yunzhu paused for a moment, but ultimately didn't hold a grudge. Observing the moisture in the corners of her eyes, she asked again, "Didn't I promise you before that I owed you a few outings? Now you still have three more chances, why haven't you come to see me?"
"I don't want to go out now, is that not allowed?" Xiao Ming'an was still quite impatient.
Alright, she is a dignified princess of a royal family. If she says she doesn't want to go out, then so be it.
Once Yunzhu sat down beside her, she had no intention of leaving for the time being.
Xiao Ming'an looked him over again, and seeing that this person had come uninvited and sat down, he frowned and asked, "What exactly do you want from me today?"
"I just heard you were feeling down and wanted to keep you company!" Yunzhu said innocently, her big eyes wide open.
"...I don't need you to accompany me, get out right now!" Xiao Ming'an gave him the order to leave.
“That won’t do.” Yunzhu sat upright on the stool, her posture unmoving.
Xiao Ming'an glared at her angrily.
After a moment, Yunzhu finally softened her tone and said, "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. It was your brother who asked me to come and keep you company today. Otherwise, do you think I would have come here willingly to coax you?"
Elder brother? Xiao Mingzhang?
Yunzhu was fine as long as she didn't mention Xiao Mingzhang, but as soon as she did, Xiao Ming'an would get furious.
She had heard it all; she had heard everything. The person who made the decision to send Liu Fanqing to the Imperial Academy in Jinling was her elder brother, Xiao Mingzhang.
Xiao Ming'an didn't know what had gotten into Xiao Mingzhang. They hadn't sent anyone to the Imperial Academy in Yunzhou for so many years, so why did they have to send Liu Fanqing now?
Could it be that because of the marriage alliance with the Western Regions, my brother has lost hope in the Prince's Mansion and feels that Yunzhou no longer needs to support its students?
Overwhelmed with grief, Xiao Ming'an felt increasingly distressed. Her small face was filled with sorrow, resentment, and dissatisfaction, her emotions piling up until finally, she turned and saw Yunzhu.
"You, it's you!" Xiao Ming'an suddenly jumped up and pointed at Yunzhu.
"Me?" Yunzhu was confused, not knowing how she had become the target of criticism.
"If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened today!" Xiao Ming'an's voice almost pierced the sky, but Yunzhu was still completely confused.
She stood up with Xiao Ming'an and asked, "What exactly are you talking about? I'm trying to give you some advice out of kindness, and you don't appreciate it..."
"It's all your fault! It's all your fault!" When Xiao Ming'an went crazy, no one could stop her. She pointed at Yunzhu, and tears streamed down her face like a river.
Yunzhu was never a very patient person. At this moment, she was half impatient with Xiao Ming'an, but also half heartbroken.
She wanted to just leave, but after staring at Xiao Ming'an for a while, she finally leaned forward and hugged him.
The moment he collapsed into her arms, Xiao Ming'an's tears flowed like a burst dam.
"It will be alright, everything will be alright..." Yunzhu had nothing to say, she could only comfort her again and again.
Xiao Ming'an's tears soaked her clothes. She collapsed into Yunzhu's arms, crying uncontrollably, for an eternity. Finally, she had no more strength left to throw a tantrum. Huddled in Yunzhu's embrace, she murmured, "Mu Yunzhu, why did you end up in our house? If you weren't here, everything would be different… You could have your own child, and I wouldn't have lost anything I wanted…"
"What... a child?" Yunzhu suddenly froze, looking down at Xiao Ming'an, unsure of what she had heard.
"What child did you say?" She turned Xiao Ming'an's shoulders and asked her in an instant with utmost seriousness.
A note from the author:
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Ahhhhhh, I'm here just before midnight! Sorry I'm late again, waaaaaah! There's a red envelope in the comments section for this chapter! [Let me see!]
By the way, I saw the nutrient solution everyone sent yesterday! Thank you all so much for your support! I'm so grateful! [hugs]
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