Ming Ru, triumphant, was proud of herself as she said, "The Ming family is very strict and if the rumor spread outside that two sisters are serving one husband, it would be a very unpleasant thing to hear."
Chapter 15
(5.4)
Ming Ru finished her tea and stood up. She looked deeply at her. No matter how long it had been, she still hated this beautiful face which made others feel jealous that her concubine-born sister had.
Her words were contemptuous, "A mere plaything, I'll see how long you can keep up this display of prestige."
Ming Zhu did not take her words seriously at all, if she wanted to insult her then that was it, what could a person who died once not be able to hear ?
Very soon the events of the afternoon reached the ears of the crown prince.
Ming Zhu heard Biying say that Zhao Zhi, for the first time in a long time, had lost his temper greatly.
After listening to the guard's report, the man was silent for a long time as the atmosphere in the study dropped to a freezing point. Suddenly, the man raised his palm and threw a heavy slap over, his voice was overcast with rage as he said, "Didn't I say she was not allowed to see outsiders?"
The guard's mouth was bleeding and half of his face was numb.
The prince looked gentle and weak, but the strength of his palms wasn't weak at all and it was a pair of decisive hands, so when he used them to slap people, it was extremely painful.
The study was not far from the main bedroom, and when Zhao Zhi returned, Ming Zhu was sitting under the window making lanterns, surrounded by several maidservants.
He ordered everyone else to withdraw and looked at her face in silence.
Her face was extremely attractive, with red lips and white teeth, she looked beautiful and delicate.
When Ming Zhu saw him suddenly come over, she put down the things in her hands and slowly stood up. In her little head, she began to panic and have wild thought.
Why did Zhao Zhi come over? And why did he look a bit angry?
Ming Zhu had a request to make, but as she was unsure of his mood, she held back and didn't say anything.
"Your Highness, would you like to eat?"
"You're hungry?"
"A little."
"Tell them to prepare the food."
"Mmh."
After eating the evening meal and resting for a while, it was time to bathe and change clothes.
Ming Zhu endured the embarrassment and changed into his favorite liuxian dress. Bashfully sitting on the edge of the bed, she waited for the man who had finished bathing and changing to come over.
She slowly lifted her eyelashes, her face who was illuminated by the candle flame was flushed red and her ears were hot and soft as she looked at the man with a shy and timid look. Taking the unprecedented initiative to hook his fingers, she said, "Your Highness, there is something I want to talk to you about."
Zhao Zhi wrapped her black hair around his fingers, winding it round and round. His voice was calm and soft: "Hmm."
Ming Zhu boldly said, "I want to go home for a visit."
She was going to seize this opportunity to sell her jewelry for money.
Zhao Zhi's hand paused and his fingers entwined in her hair clenched absently, without hurting her, and he asked, "Who do you want to see?"
Her ex-fiancé whom she couldn't forget?
(6.1)
Ming Zhu was stunned by the question, the hand holding her waist increased its strength, and the man's clear voice fell on top of her head, "Tell me."
Ming Zhu whispered softly as she told a lie, with very little energy, "I miss my sisters at home a little."
As Zhao Zhi was standing with the light on his back, his face was like a transparent white jade. He said in a bland voice: "Wasn't your relationship with your sisters at home not good ? "
His voice was warm, his tone light and he spoke with a gentle expression, but the words that came out of his mouth were somewhat sharp.
Ming Zhu did not expect him to say such a thing, the tone of his voice was as usual, and maybe it was her being overly sensitive, but she felt as if she heard in his words some hidden mockery.
What Zhao Zhi said wasn't entirely accurate. Her few legitimate sisters indeed didn't treat her very well, but the relationship she had with her other concubine-born sisters could be considered okay.
Usually, they would often gather together to embroider pouches with lotus patterns, and when she secretly sneaked out to meet Wei Chiyu, her two little sisters would cover for her.
Ming Zhu said cheekily, "Your Highness may have misunderstood, I have a good relationship with several of my sisters."
Zhao Zhi naturally didn't believe her. He had very early on ordered a thorough investigation of her living conditions in her family and never heard that she had any close relationship with any of her sisters.
Zhao Zhi did not speak for a long time, and Ming Zhu, from the bottom of her heart, started feeling flustered. She didn't want to miss such a good opportunity. She bit her lower lip, her ears and cheeks reddening further as she lied, "Today, I saw sister Ming Ru, she said that people at home miss me, Your Highness, do me a favor and let me go back to see them."
Zhao Zhi still had his mouth pursed. His expression looked calm, as if he was thinking about what she said, and yet at the time he looked as if he wasn't moved by her words.
Ming Zhu's slender arms took the initiative to wrap around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed the corner of his mouth, "I haven't returned home for over a year, so I'm really a little homesick."
Zhao Zhi was silent for a moment and said slowly, "Don't try to get a mile after getting an inch."