Chapter 103: The Dream of Becoming a Concubine and Queen Is Shattered...
The pot of Eighteen Scholars that had been cut by Princess Jin was still lying there alone on the table. Zhao Mingsheng noticed it as soon as he came in, and now it finally found a use for it.
When Zhao Mingsheng mentioned this, Princess Jin also remembered the pot of flowers that gave her a headache. This was Prince Jin's favorite pot of flowers, but she ended up cutting it down. She didn't know how angry she would be when he came back!
She scoffed, "Do you know what kind of flower this is? And you're so arrogant as to say you can give me an identical one!"
"Of course I knew the preciousness and value of this flower, so I would use it to exchange."
Facing Princess Jin's ridicule, Zhao Mingsheng spoke calmly.
"The Eighteen Scholars is a fine camellia, worthy of being called the king of camellias. However, not all Eighteen Scholars are worthy of this title. This one clearly isn't..."
Before Zhao Mingsheng could finish, Qi Shang on the side jumped up in anger: "What a joke! My father spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to get this pot. What right do you have to say it's not worthy?"
"Because the flowers in this pot are not pure in color." Zhao Mingsheng didn't even bother to give him half a glance, and walked to the pot of Eighteen Scholars.
Qi Shang, who was ignored by a woman for the first time, became even angrier. His eyes fell on that overly beautiful face, and a hint of malice ignited in his heart. He heard that she was not of the Marquis's bloodline, and was now just a commoner. If he had the chance in the future, she would be at his mercy!
Thinking of this, he finally felt a little better.
When Princess Jin heard her say that the color of the flower was impure, she burst into laughter.
"How can it be impure? This is the most noble white camellia among all camellias!"
Zhao Mingsheng pulled out a piece of white silk from his waist and said, "White is the most respected camellia, but not all whites are so noble. The purer the white, the higher its quality. Although this pot is also white, its purity is obviously not high."
She compared the white silk in her hand with the color of the petals. Sure enough, although both were white, there was a clear color difference when they were compared together. It was obvious that the white in Zhao Mingsheng's hand was more translucent.
Once, Zhao Mingsheng found some silk cocoons from the southwest at the market. Meng used these cocoons to make silk by pulping, washing, and beating. She also used the silk to weave a set of clothes and some handkerchiefs, such as the one in Zhao Mingsheng's hand.
Handkerchiefs woven from silk are not only cool, smooth and silky, making them most suitable for use in summer, but they also glow white in the sunlight.
The petals of the white camellia were pure white, and each one looked like clouds in the sky. But when compared with the silk handkerchief, the white camellia looked a little inferior.
The mother and son were speechless by the facts, and it took them a long time to find their voices.
"There's no camellia as white as silk."
"That's right, there's no white camellia of this color."
Zhao Mingsheng smiled and retorted, "Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
Hearing this, Princess Jin seemed to have found a point to refute, and quickly said:
"You speak as if you've seen it before! Fine, if you can bring me eighteen scholars of the same color as you described, I'll agree to your previous terms."
Qi Shang also sneered at the side: "How could a little girl like her have seen such a precious flower? Maybe even the eighteen scholars saw it for the first time today!"
Only Old Lady Gu standing by seemed to have thought of something.
"Sheng girl, the flowers you placed on my window coffin that day..."
"That's right, Grandma. That's the Eighteen Scholars." Zhao Mingsheng winked at Old Lady Gu. "I wonder if Grandma would be willing to part with it right now. I'll bring you a better one later."
Old Madam Gu was amused by her. She had originally only raised these flowers for fun and had not done much research on whether the varieties were rare or not. A few days ago, when she was ill, Zhao Mingsheng brought a pot of flowers and placed it on her window coffin. She was worried about Zhao Mingzhu's affairs at the time and had no intention of taking a closer look. She only felt that the flowers were pleasing to the eye and made her feel comfortable after a quick glance.
Now she was naturally willing to exchange a pot of eighteen scholars for the reputation of the entire family.
Soon, the servant of the family brought the pot of Eighteen Scholars from Old Lady Gu's room.
The moment the silk cloth was removed, everyone's eyes were fixed on the Eighteen Scholars.
Just as Zhao Mingsheng said, white is the most respected color, but white also has different levels. The difference between the two pots of flowers placed side by side is immediately apparent.
The petals of the pot I just brought were as delicate as mutton-fat jade or fine white porcelain. When placed indoors, it seemed as if a layer of white light was lingering around it. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a fairy-like object.
The color alone is far superior to the one that King Jin had before, not to mention the size of the petals and the number of flowers, which is an even more ruthless crushing defeat.
Princess Jin and Prince Qi only felt the sound of being slapped on the face.
There really are such perfect eighteen scholars!
Princess Jin naturally wanted to keep the Eighteen Scholars plant. She had just used this as compensation for destroying Prince Jin's precious plant. She now secretly regretted that she had never said those words. She could have paid for it right now. But now...
Princess Jing stole a glance at Zhao Mingsheng's expression. She was sure that if she asked to buy it with silver now, this girl would definitely not agree.
Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world, and as the mistress of the family, it would be embarrassing for her to go back on her word.
But she really looked down upon Zhao Mingzhu, who, despite having the blood of Pingyuan Hou, was not even as good as a commoner's daughter. Even the princess was worthy of her son's wife, so how could she let such a woman who grew up in the countryside get her?
Seeing that Princess Jin was somewhat relenting, Zhao Mingsheng used both soft and hard tactics: "In fact, it would be beneficial for both families to settle this matter. Zhao Mingzhu lives in the mansion without a name or status. Even if you don't acknowledge her, if her existence is exposed in the future, which family would dare to marry their daughter to the Prince of Qi?"
Her words really touched Princess Jin's heart. Zhao Mingzhu was a time bomb. If she was not given a status, it would be difficult for her Shang'er to get married in the future.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. Zhao Mingsheng only said that the Prince Jin's Mansion should give Zhao Mingzhu a title to smooth things over, but he did not say that she must be the legal wife.
Princess Jin spoke with an attitude of giving it a try.
"Leave this pot of flowers here, and I promise to give Zhao Mingzhu the status of a concubine."
To put it nicely, she is a concubine, to put it bluntly, she is still a concubine!
Zhao Mingsheng had no say in this matter, so she looked up at Old Lady Gu standing beside her.
Old Lady Gu, who had taken good care of herself over the years, now looked exhausted. When she heard that Princess Jin wanted Zhao Mingzhu to be her concubine, she felt no emotion at all. This was a result she had expected long ago.
The Prince Jin's family is wealthy and powerful, and Prince Jin's power in the court is at its peak. The future wife of Prince Jin's son will definitely not be someone who can't help him at all.
Although the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion looked bright and beautiful on the surface, it had actually long been in decline. After the old marquis died, several of the family's sons were nearly forty years old and had never made any achievements in the court. The only one who was quite talented in his official career, Sanlang, died young due to God's jealousy. Whenever Mrs. Gu thought of this, she couldn't help but sigh.
What if she didn't agree? Old Lady Gu nodded palely. Whether to be a wife or a concubine was Zhao Mingzhu's own choice. As her grandmother, she could only help her so far.
Since Old Madam Gu nodded, the matter was settled.
Princess Jin was overjoyed. She had thought that they would continue to argue for a while. It seemed that the old lady of the Zhao family was also a sensible person. It was impossible for their family to give the position of principal wife to Zhao Mingzhu. They would give her the position of concubine instead. This would be good for both families.
After seeing off the old lady of the Zhao family, she looked at the eighteen scholars on the stage and liked them more and more. It could be said that their family had made a profit!
Zhao Mingzhu was still waiting happily over there, and when she saw the prince coming back, she hurried to greet him.
Qi Shang put his arm around her waist and kissed her on the lips.
"You've done well today. Tell me what reward you want."
If it weren't for what Zhao Mingzhu said, today's matter would not be so easily resolved. Qi Shang stared at Zhao Mingzhu's face, which was still quite pretty, wondering whether she really loved him.
Zhao Mingzhu leaned shyly in Qi Shang's arms, "I don't want any reward, I just want to marry you quickly. When will the prince marry me?"
Qi Shang thought about it and said nonchalantly: "Then you will have to endure it for a while. When my wife comes home, I will take you as my concubine."
Zhao Mingzhu's expression suddenly changed and her voice became sharper.
"Concubine?!"
Qi Shang hadn't noticed her tone was wrong yet, so he continued, "Yes, she is a concubine, but don't worry, you are the only one I love the most."
He is the best at deceiving women.
But Zhao Mingzhu didn't buy it. She pushed Qi Shang away and asked with red eyes, "What's going on? Why did you take me as a concubine?"
Qi Shang just felt that she was a little baffling.
"I never said I wanted to marry you as my principal wife."
Zhao Mingzhu was speechless for a moment. She thought about it carefully and realized that Qi Shang had indeed never made any promise to her about becoming his wife. All this was just her own beautiful fantasy.
Zhao Mingzhu is obsessed with becoming the queen, but now she can't even be the main wife and can only be a concubine. If Qi Shang marries a main wife in the future, what role will she have in becoming the queen? At best, she can only be an imperial concubine.
Seeing that her dream of becoming queen was about to be shattered, she anxiously asked, "What about my grandmother? Did she agree too?"
"Your grandmother naturally agreed. They should have left by now."
Qi Shang felt a little annoyed by Zhao Mingzhu's questioning tone, and his attitude became cold.
He said coldly, "Don't you know your own status? If you want to be my wife, ask yourself if you are worthy."
This direct feeling of humiliation made her tremble uncontrollably.
"If you don't believe me, go ask Madam Zhao yourself. They shouldn't have gone far."
Hearing that his grandmother and the others had not gone far, Zhao Mingzhu turned around and chased after them.
Fortunately, the old lady had difficulty moving, so they didn't walk fast. When they ran to the door, the coachman was just about to leave with the carriage.
She ran out of breath and reached out to stop the carriage.
The carriage had to stop, and someone inside lifted the curtain, revealing a stunning face.
Zhao Mingsheng looked at the breathless man in front of him and frowned, "Why did you chase him out here? There are so many people here."
Zhao Mingsheng originally meant to kindly remind her that it was not appropriate for her to show up in public given her current status, but this was misinterpreted as him thinking she was embarrassed.
Zhao Mingzhu stared at her fiercely with red eyes: "I have nothing to say to you, I want to see my grandmother!"
"Don't you want to go home with me? Why are you chasing me out at this time?" Old Lady Gu asked in a hoarse voice through a curtain.
Although she said this, she still secretly hoped that Zhao Mingzhu would repent and go back with her.
Zhao Mingzhu finally couldn't hold back her tears and cried, "Grandmother, why did you agree to let Princess Jin grant me the position of concubine? Why didn't you fight for the position of princess for me?"
It turned out that she didn't think it through, but felt aggrieved that she only got the position of a concubine.
Old Madam Gu was so angry that she laughed: "Oh, you still want to be the principal wife, but you know that even your position as a concubine was bought for you by little girl Sheng with treasures."
Zhao Mingzhu was stunned. When she came to her senses, she stared at Zhao Mingsheng and angrily asked, "Is all this your fault? Is it because of you that I can only be a concubine?"
Seeing that she was still blaming others even at this point, Old Lady Gu was extremely disappointed in her.
"This is all your own choice, you can't blame anyone else! No need to say more, from now on, the Marquis' Mansion will sever all ties with you, you should just stay in Prince Jin's Mansion."
After saying this, Old Lady Gu coughed lightly due to her excessive excitement, and Zhao Mingsheng quickly patted her on the back. She ignored Zhao Mingzhu's impotent rage. Sometimes, the more you cheered on a clown, the happier he would be.
Zhao Mingsheng whispered to the driver, "Let's go. Grandmother's medicine time is almost up."
The carriage carrying the Marquis's Mansion emblem went further and further away.
"Just wait! One day I'll make everyone regret looking down on me!"
The only sound left on the entire street was Zhao Mingzhu's sharp roar.
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