Chapter 149: Biological (2)
Mu Mingtang completely defeated Jiang Mingwei and she felt at ease. She stayed in the manor the next day, and sat by the window as she looked at the account books.
It has been getting colder and colder these days. Mu Mingtang had already put on a mid-layer skirt, with a light blue jewel-like flower brocade over her body, a yellow long skirt underneath, covered with a bright blue twill, split at the knee. The skirt that showed resembled flower petals.
She was sitting at the table, checking the account books for this month.
The moment when one spends money, it feels really good, but the pain comes when one looks at the accounts. After Mu Mingtang calculated how much she had spent, she looked at the number, and almost doubted her calculations.
Mu Mingtang’s heart ached, Xiang Nanchun hurried in: "Princess."
When Mu Mingtang heard her, she put down the pen and asked, "What's the matter?"
Xiang Nanchun was raised in the palace, and she was the most put together. It would not be a trivial matter for her to show such eagerness.
Mu Mingtang thought that the couple next door came by to disgust them again, but Xiang Nanchun hurriedly greeted her and said, "My princess, someone from the palace is here."
"The palace?"
"Yes, the imperial eunuch has come to deliver a reward, he is already here."
Without saying anything further, Mu Mingtang hurriedly changed into her princess gown to accept the royal decree. When Mu Mingtang rushed to the front hall, the imperial eunuch had already drunk a cup of tea. When he saw Mu Mingtang, he stood up and smiled with his hands folded: "Greetings to Princess An, may Princess An be at peace."
Mu Mingtang bowed and greeted: "Thank you, imperial eunuch. How is the emperor?"
"The emperor is well." The imperial eunuch smiled, and suddenly said with a serious look, "The emperor dictates."
Mu Mingtang knelt down as she lifted her skirt, her gaze lowered. The imperial eunuch then said with a sharp voice, "The emperor is very pleased to hear Princess An’s kind gesture towards Princess Jin. As princesses, you both should always be courteous towards each other and set this example for the other manors and all women. Princess An's kind gesture should be rewarded. Congratulations, and hope that you two will continue to work hard and live up to the emperor’s expectations."
No matter what the imperial edict said, one could only thank the emperor for his decisions, let alone the fact that it's to praise her. Mu Mingtang’s hands pressed against the floor and she placed her forehead on the ground for a short while, hand in hand, she bowed and said, "Thank the emperor for his kindness."
After Mu Mingtang finished speaking, the maid came over to help Mu Mingtang up. The imperial eunuch smiled and said many words of encouragement to Mu Mingtang, most of it was to praise Mu Mingtang for creating harmony within the palace and for her noble virtues. It was the first time that Mu Mingtang felt so guilty for receiving praises. She asked someone to pass some silver to the imperial eunuch for coming such a long way, but he refused to accept it, and left a huge amount of rewards behind.
After their departure, Mu Mingtang’s smile slowly disappeared, she looked at the mountain of gold and silver, she didn't know what to say.
First, Jiang Mingwei gave her a huge amount of profit, and now the emperor adds on that. Mu Mingtang went back and checked the accounts again, and found that even after she had spent so much money, the final total actually increased.
Mu Mingtang closed the ledger books, and exclaimed at the royal family’s unique way of maintaining their good relationship with each other: "Oh my God."
In Prince Jin’s manor, Jiang Mingwei wasn’t feeling well today. Bad luck always seems to last, when one thing goes wrong, everything else follows suit.
Jiang Mingwei realized that ever since that shopping day, she was constantly surrounded by problems. Her items were first taken away by Mu Mingtang, and she indirectly embarrassed her in front of her childhood playmates. After that, many problems surfaced during the banquet, and she was forced by Mu Mingtang to give away her expensive jewelry. In the past few days, she had gotten the flu too, and she didn’t seem to be recovering from it.
Jiang Mingwei was ill, so of course, she couldn't sleep with Xie Xuanji, or it would be her fault if he fell sick. Jiang Mingwei didn't have much energy, so she had to pretend to be virtuous and tidy up Xie Xuanji's bed. Jiang Mingwei was leaning against the bed weakly, she looked at the grey sky outside, thinking to herself that soon, she was going to punish all those dishonest maids.