As soon as she saw him, she came up with a smile and said, “Furen of Xuanping Marquis, what are you doing here? I was just looking to speak with you!”
Li Yue had no idea who this person in front of him was, but since she was the only one around, His Majesty thought he could still handle it. He asked, “What is it?”
The noblewoman smiled and said, “Two days ago, your manor sent us a pair of gold collars—did you send them to the wrong place? That day was my old master’s birthday.”
The noblewoman deliberately wanted to make Meng Fu look bad. Everyone said Lord Meng’s daughter was well-raised and often compared their own daughters to her. Now that she made a mistake, how could she let it go so easily?
Li Yue didn’t hear the gloating in the woman’s tone, and the matter had nothing to do with him anyway, so he directly said, “Housekeeper Xie Wenzhao is in charge now. Go ask him.”
The noblewoman’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard from the mouth of the Marchioness of Xuanping Marquis.
Xie Wenzhao is managing household affairs? Meng Fu’s excuse was far too perfunctory. But she had to admit, it really did startle her.
The noblewoman waved her hand and said, “Don’t joke like that. How can the Marquis of Xuanping be the one managing the household?”
Li Yue gave an “en” in response, expressing a certain degree of agreement with her words, then said, “Just making do. After all, the brain’s not too sharp—being able to manage it this well is already pretty good. Can’t expect too much.”
Seeing that the noblewoman seemed to have nothing else to say, Li Yue walked past her and continued on his way.
The noblewoman stared blankly at Li Yue’s departing figure. Once he walked far enough, she hurried back into the crowd to share the gossip she had just gathered with her companions.
In no time, the news that Xie Wenzhao was managing the household affairs spread throughout the entire Bai Xiang Garden.
Today, the Meng family also received an invitation from the Fifth Princess. People didn’t know why the Emperor had summoned Meng Yanxing twice, but seeing that each time he came out of the Zichen Hall safe and sound, they figured that he had caught the Emperor’s eye. Perhaps he would reenter the court soon—and if that happened, the position granted to him surely wouldn’t be low. So a formal invitation was sent to Meng Yanxing.
Meng Yanxing arrived together with Madam Meng and Meng Yu. Meng Yu had dressed especially carefully today—there wasn’t a single detail from head to toe that wasn’t perfectly in place. Though Bai Xiang Garden was filled with beauties, she still stood out among the crowd.
Everyone knew that Meng Yanxing’s youngest daughter had not yet married. Now that it seemed the Meng family might rise again, some began thinking about forming a marriage alliance. It’s just that they didn’t know the Emperor and Empress Dowager’s stance yet, so no one dared make a move for now. But Meng Yu wasn’t young anymore—she couldn’t delay for much longer.
Madam Meng’s purpose in coming this time was to find a suitable marriage for Meng Yu. Meng Yu said with her mouth that she wanted to choose someone she liked, but in her heart, she was very clear—the husband she sought had to be better than Xie Wenzhao. She simply couldn’t stand being overshadowed by Meng Fu.
Li Yue was trying to find a quiet spot in Bai Xiang Garden. After wandering around for a bit, he somehow ended up back near the main gate—just in time to see Meng Yanxing and the others entering. Inwardly, he cursed his luck.
There had been a smile on Meng Yanxing’s face originally, but the moment he saw Li Yue, his face instantly fell. He still hadn’t forgotten how his eldest daughter contradicted him that day in the study of the Meng Residence. He was afraid that if he looked at her one more time, he wouldn’t be able to hold back and would scold her. But this was Bai Xiang Garden, with so many people watching—not the place for disciplining children. So he simply turned his head and walked in the other direction, putting some distance between himself and this eldest daughter.
Li Yue was slightly surprised in his heart when he saw it—this Meng Yanxing was quite self-aware, knowing that he wasn’t likable and took the initiative to walk away.
Had the effects of writing “The Virtues of Men” already started showing this quickly?
Not bad, not bad.
If Meng Yanxing could know what was in his mind at this moment, he’d probably be so angry he’d vomit blood on the spot.
Bai Xiang Garden was extremely lively. It wasn’t until someone said that His Majesty and the Empress Dowager had already arrived and were now in the eastern section of the garden—and would be coming over shortly—that people started to restrain themselves a little. But even so, they couldn’t suppress their gossiping nature. After learning that Xie Wenzhao was now managing the household of the Xuanping Marquis Manor, they came over to Li Yue and began asking—roundabout and indirect—how that came to be. Li Yue didn’t want to deal with it and got up to leave.
Everyone knew that the Emperor was now in the eastern garden, so no one dared to go disturb him. But clearly, “everyone” didn’t include Li Yue—or Meng Yu either.
When Li Yue arrived, he saw Meng Yu standing in a flowerbed. This spot was on the only path from the eastern garden to the main hall. Meng Yu was looking around furtively, clearly up to no good. Li Yue took two steps back and hid in a spot where Meng Yu couldn’t see him.
Not long after, Meng Fu walked over in this direction. As soon as she appeared, Meng Yu immediately put on a lost and confused look, then stumbled and fell into the flowers. When Meng Fu passed by, she lifted her tear-filled eyes, with a pitiful expression that evoked sympathy.
Upon seeing Meng Fu, she instantly showed a surprised yet timid expression, her voice soft and coy as she called out, “Your… Your Majesty?”
Meng Fu saw through Meng Yu’s intentions at a glance. She was too impatient—hadn’t picked the right time or place—and her acting was mediocre. But there were indeed men who liked this kind of performance.
Meng Fu didn’t want to have too many entanglements with this younger sister of hers in her current identity, so she pretended not to see her. With a cold expression and her eyes straight ahead, she walked past. When she reached the rockery, she saw Li Yue standing there and stopped in her tracks.
Li Yue directly ordered Eunuch Gao: “Go and remove Meng Yu.”
“Wait,” Meng Fu stopped Eunuch Gao, “Send someone from the Princess’s residence instead.”
If Gao Xi were the one to go, Meng Yu might get the wrong idea and think His Majesty was interested in her. There was no need for that.
Seeing that His Majesty and this lady seemed to have something more to say, Eunuch Gao tactfully stepped aside and kept an eye on the surroundings. Meng Fu asked in a low voice, “Your Majesty, why are you here?”
Li Yue didn’t immediately answer her question but instead touched his chin and said, “That Meng Yu…”
Meng Fu thought he had seen through Meng Yu’s ploy, but what she heard next was His Majesty asking: “Does she have some problem with her legs?”
Meng Fu: “?”
His Majesty thought his conclusion was quite reasonable. He immediately shared with Meng Fu the posture Meng Yu had when she fell, seriously saying: “You should observe it—no normal person would fall like that.”
Meng Fu pressed her lips together and smiled, then nodded: “Maybe there is something wrong. Why are you here?”
Li Yue let out a breath and began complaining to Meng Fu about how he had just been surrounded and tormented by noblewomen. Actually, he had faced ministers arguing like ducks in court before, so gossiping noblewomen weren’t really much. But in front of Meng Fu, he couldn’t help but portray himself a little more pitifully.
Meng Fu saw the weariness on his face and truly felt a little sorry for him. She comforted him, “Just endure it for a bit. Later I’ll think of a way to have the Empress Dowager change your seat.”
Li Yue, consoled, returned to the main hall. Soon after, the Emperor and Empress Dowager formally arrived. The noblewomen finally lost interest in gossip, and Li Yue’s ears finally got some peace and quiet.
Not long after the Empress Dowager sat down, Gugu Chen walked over. Although Meng Yu and Li Yue weren’t seated at the same table, they weren’t far apart. She recalled the rumors she had heard in the past few days. Although the Emperor hadn’t even looked at her earlier, she’d heard that he never liked women and was always indifferent—such a cold reaction was normal. Perhaps the Empress Dowager had her in mind to enter the palace.
But then she saw, with her own eyes, Gugu Chen walk right up to her older sister and say: “Madam Meng, the Empress Dowager asks for you to come over.”
The handkerchief in Meng Yu’s hand was nearly torn apart from her wringing.
Li Yue stood up and, under the gaze of many kinds of curious eyes, walked over to the Empress Dowager. As soon as he approached, the Empress Dowager grabbed his hand, smiling as she said, “Good child, haven’t seen you for a few days and you’ve gotten even more beautiful.”
Li Yue: “……”
Although the Empress Dowager was praising him, could these kinds of compliments be just a little less?
At the beginning, the Empress Dowager indeed took notice of this Furen of Xuanping Marquis because the Emperor had shown some interest. But now, the more she looked, the more she liked her—even to the point where she felt that she and the Emperor truly were mother and son. Their eye for people was astonishingly alike.
Everyone in the garden had their own thoughts. Today, Minister Meng’s younger daughter was also present. If there really were intentions of bringing her into the palace, the Empress Dowager could have directly summoned Meng Yu in front of her. But it appeared the Empress Dowager had no such intention.
For a moment, the crowd couldn’t make sense of it—could it be that the Empress Dowager simply and purely liked Meng Fu?
There were quite a few people having such thoughts. Meanwhile, the dark guards were scattered about searching for suitable hiding spots. By chance, one of them overheard the old madam of the Marquis’ household instructing Xie Wenzhao, saying: “I think the Empress Dowager truly likes Meng Fu. In the future, you should have her think of some way to make more visits into the palace.”
Dark guard: “……”
Wow! The old madam thinks the green hat on the Xuanping Marquis’ head isn’t green enough yet?