AD (QT) Chapter 145

Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu widened their round, dark eyes and looked at Shen Mingya. Their expressions seemed to say: We are just waiting to see whose side you are on.

Shen Mingya sensed their gaze, and a flush of indignation rose to her cheeks. She harbored a deep resentment toward Han Ze—resenting him for putting her in such an embarrassing position, and resenting that even though it was that little brat who bumped into her, he didn’t scold the girl. Instead, he wanted her to scold her own personal maid and apologize to the child. Wasn’t that essentially admitting she was in the wrong?

She hadn’t even married into the Prince’s Mansion yet, and she was already being shamed by these two little brats. How could she ever discipline these children in the future?

Han Ze’s bright, dark eyes looked at her with confusion as he asked, “Miss Shen, what’s wrong? Your face looks a bit pale.”

Shen Mingya bit her lip and forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

Xiaozhu stood by her father’s side, blinked her large eyes, and asked, “Is Miss Shen unwilling to scold her maid?”

Xiaoxing added, “It makes sense. That maid was able to be brought out by you, so she must be a favored one. You must be reluctant to part with her.”

Xiaozhu glanced at her brother. “Brother and I are outsiders. How could it be worthwhile for you to scold your own maid for us?”

Shen Mingya’s face grew uglier with every word from the siblings. If it were possible, she wished she could sew their mouths shut immediately so they could never speak another word.

Han Ze looked at Shen Mingya in bewilderment. He asked, “Miss Shen, are you really that attached to that maid? But she is just a servant; if she is disobedient, just replace her. Like my head maid, Diejin—she was disobedient, so I stopped using her. There are plenty of obedient servants in the mansion.”

Shen Mingya’s expression flickered. Forgetting her own maid for a moment, she asked, “What happened to Diejin?”

Han Ze looked thoroughly displeased. “The Nanny in the mansion was bullying Xiaozhu and Xiaoxing, and Diejin actually sided with that old woman and pleaded for her. She was on the Nanny’s side, so I replaced her.”

Shen Mingya said hurriedly, “Is it possible you misunderstood her? Diejin has served you for so long; her bond with you is different from others. Why don’t you forgive her?”

Han Ze frowned, his face full of dissatisfaction. “But Diejin sided with that old woman! That old hag hit Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu until their hands were swollen. I don’t want to forgive her, and don’t you plead for her either.”

As he spoke, the gaze he turned on Shen Mingya carried a hint of blame, as if he were in disbelief. It was as if he were saying: Why are you also siding with that old woman? Are you on her side too?

That look of dissatisfaction from Han Ze choked the words right out of Shen Mingya’s mouth. She didn’t dare say another word. The pawn known as Diejin was wasted; she would simply have to set up another. She had worked hard to gain Han Ze’s favor and couldn’t afford to make him dislike her over a mere servant.

Han Ze continued, “Miss Shen, Xiaozhu is a master. Your servant insulted her—why haven’t you scolded her? Are you really on the maid’s side? Or have you been deceived by your servant?”

His eyes looked hurt, as if saying: Miss Shen, you shouldn’t be siding with a maid.

“How could that be possible?”

Shen Mingya took a deep breath, telling herself: Don’t get angry. I won’t get angry. He’s just a fool; why should I argue with a fool?

However, facing Han Ze’s dissatisfied face, she knew that if she didn’t punish her maid today, Han Ze’s good impression of her would surely plummet. To marry Han Ze smoothly, she could only let her maid suffer. In the future… she would surely repay this humiliation a thousand times over.

The little maid finally panicked. She knew her lady’s temper and didn’t dare beg for mercy. To appease the Prince’s anger, she had to endure this punishment.

Shen Mingya looked at the maid. “Go back and receive the boards.”

Han Ze snorted. “Fifty strokes.”

Shen Mingya was annoyed. She gritted her teeth and said, “Fifty strokes.” How many she actually receives back at the manor will be up to me.

Han Ze added, “I have two eunuchs in my mansion who are experts at the boards. I’ll have them go and do the hitting.”

Shen Mingya squeezed out a single word: “Fine.”

The maid turned pale, trembling with fear. She only remained standing because another maid supported her.

Han Ze was very satisfied. He looked at Xiaozhu and said, “See, Xiaozhu? I told you Miss Shen was on our side.”

Shen Mingya forced a smile, but in her heart, she hated Xiaoxing and Xiaozhu.

The siblings nodded in satisfaction, but they were thinking to themselves: Miss Shen may have said she’d punish the maid, but that doesn’t mean she’s on our side. Her face is as black as the bottom of a pot. Only our silly Dad would foolishly believe she’s for us.

Han Ze looked at Shen Mingya and said, “We are going to look at jewelry. What about you, Miss Shen?”

Shen Mingya forced a natural smile, but just as she was about to speak, Han Ze said, “Miss Shen was probably just passing through, right?”

Shen Mingya stood there with her mouth open, stunned. Han Ze gave a silly laugh. “Miss Shen doesn’t like pretty jewelry. She only loves the zither, chess, books, and paintings. She definitely wouldn’t care for anything in this jewelry store.”

Shen Mingya clenched her fingers. If I didn’t like jewelry, why would I come to a jewelry store? Furthermore, even if she didn’t like gold and silver, given her relationship with Han Ze, shouldn’t he buy her a set or two to please her?

Han Ze gave a grand wave of his hand. “Miss Shen, you go back to your manor first. Xiaoxing, Xiaozhu, and I are going inside to look.”

Shen Mingya: “…”

Behind her, the other two maids felt aggrieved for their lady. This Prince was too stingy! Meeting their lady in a jewelry store, he didn’t even pick out one or two items for her—yet he claimed to like her? Could this even be called love?

Then, the mistress and servants watched as Han Ze pulled out a stack of silver notes. Whichever piece of jewelry the little girl pointed to, he bought. The way he threw gold around like it was nothing showed none of his usual stinginess. They looked at the huge pile of gold, silver, and jade ornaments they bought—among them were a bracelet and a hairpin that Shen Mingya had liked but had been reluctant to buy.

Shen Mingya didn’t want to admit it, but at this moment, she was jealous of that little girl. But thinking of the future, once she married into the Prince’s Mansion, everything there would be hers, and she felt a little better.

…

In the palace, Emperor Mingzheng looked at the memorial in his hand, his face full of rage. He said sharply, “Tell the Marquis of Yongchang and his ‘good’ daughter and son to crawl over here to see me!”

“Yes.” Hu Deyang silently lit a candle in his heart for the Marquis. Of all the people to plot against, they chose Prince Chun. Prince Chun was the Emperor and Empress’s reverse scale; plotting against him was like an old man seeking a rope to hang himself because he was tired of living.

Emperor Mingzheng slammed the memorial onto the floor. “Hu Deyang, you go personally. I want to see who gave the Marquis of Yongchang’s house the audacity to plot against my son!”

“Yes.”

After Hu Deyang withdrew, the Emperor’s anger had still not subsided. He instructed a nearby eunuch, “Tell the Empress and the Crown Prince to come to the Hall of Clear Hearts.”

When the Empress and Crown Prince arrived, they saw the memorial on the floor. The Empress frowned and asked, “What’s wrong? Why such a great fire?”

Emperor Mingzheng took several deep breaths. With a dark face, he pointed at Crown Prince Han Wei. “You, go look at that memorial.”

The Empress glanced at the Crown Prince and said with feigned anger, “Did the Crown Prince do something to make you angry? Let me scold him. Don’t let your anger harm your health.”

Han Wei rubbed his nose and picked up the memorial as ordered. Seeing the Empress, the Emperor’s expression softened slightly. He shook his head and said, “You think too much. It wasn’t the Crown Prince who provoked me. It’s those petty people outside who can’t stand to see us living well.” He spoke the last sentence through gritted teeth.

The Empress frowned. “What happened?”

The Emperor sighed. Since it concerned Han Ze, he truly didn’t know how to handle it.

Han Wei had finished scanning the memorial. After reading it, he was also enraged. His tone was sharp and laced with killing intent. “The house of the Marquis of Yongchang deserves to die.”

The Marquis of Yongchang? The Empress’s gaze turned cold. Isn’t that the family of the girl Aze likes? Is it about Aze? Is that girl deceiving him? Does she not truly want to marry him?

Han Wei handed the memorial to the Empress. When she saw the contents, her fingers trembled with rage. “What a ‘pure and kind’ Miss Shen!”

Clutching the memorial, she looked at the Emperor with a dark face. “We cannot be lenient with this family.”

The Emperor sighed softly. By now, much of his anger had dissipated. He said, “The Marquis of Yongchang’s house is easy to deal with, but Aze finally found a girl he likes. In his heart, that Miss Shen is the best. How do we tell him?”

The main issue was Aze’s innocent nature. If he found out that everything Miss Shen did was a calculated plot, how could he bear it?

Han Wei said coldly, “Tell him the truth. The world has just stabilized, and the court faces internal and external troubles. We can protect him for a time, but not forever. He needs to know the wickedness of the human heart.”

The Emperor was hesitant. For any other son, he could steel his heart, but for Aze, he couldn’t bear to do it.

The Empress sighed. “This must be done step by step. If Aze stops liking that hypocritical Miss Shen, and then we tell him the truth, perhaps he won’t be so heartbroken.”

Aze is such a simple child; those people actually dared to plot against him. They truly deserve to die.

Han Wei sneered from the side. “Aze’s nature is straightforward; things are either black or white to him. Let Miss Shen do things that Aze finds loathsome. Let him see that she isn’t as perfect as he thinks. After a few rounds, his affection will turn into disgust.”

The Empress was hesitant. “Will that work? Will Miss Shen agree to it?”

Emperor Mingzheng snorted. “She won’t have a choice.”

The Empress could only accept this plan. In her heart, she loathed Miss Shen for causing this. She said unpleasantly, “Once Aze starts to dislike her, we must not let them off.”

“They dared to plot against my son,” the Emperor said. “How could I ever let them off easily?”

…

When Shen Mingya returned to her manor, her anger was still boiling. However, she always prided herself on being calm and elegant; she wouldn’t let herself act like a madwoman throwing a tantrum. She could only bottle up her raging fury. Suddenly, a maid came to report: “The Emperor’s Head Eunuch, Hu Deyang, has arrived at the manor.”

Shen Mingya stood up abruptly, her expression excited. “Could it be that the eunuch is here to announce the marriage decree?”

The maid’s face was also full of joy. “Miss, do you want to change your clothes so we can go out and receive the decree?”

Shen Mingya looked at her clothes. They were presentable enough. She said hurriedly, “Oh, there’s no time! This will do. Let’s go quickly!”

“Yes!”

When she got outside, she ran into Shen Jiaqing. His face was also beaming with joy. He smiled and said, “After today, sister, you will be a Princess Consort.”

Shen Mingya’s face turned red, and she said bashfully, “Brother, don’t talk nonsense! Until I marry into the mansion and am formally conferred the title, I cannot be counted as a proper Princess Consort.”

Shen Jiaqing laughed loudly. “Fine, fine, I won’t say it. But it’s as good as settled.”

Shen Mingya’s cheeks heated up. Although Han Ze was a bit stupid, when she thought of what she would gain by marrying him, she felt it was all worth it.