Mingyu thought there was something wrong with her ears, so she blinked and looked at the bright and flamboyant girl opposite her, "What are you doing?"
The girl snorted, her voice tender and soft, and she patiently repeated it, every word clearly saying, "I'm going to cause trouble for your young master Xu Mingye, and tell him to come out and take the fight if he's brave enough!"
Mingyu's brain was still disconnected, and it started to work independently and frantically. The scene jumped from Xu Mingye molesting a good girl and being sought revenge by the victim to Xu Mingye picking up a dropped purse and refusing to return it...
Seeing Mingyu standing there in a daze without saying a word, the girl looked Mingyu and Lixiang up and down. Mingyu was not going to go out today. In order to practice calligraphy, she only wore a plain old high-waisted skirt and had no jewelry on her head. Her little face was bare. The girl who came to "challenge" her obviously mistook Mingyu for a maid from the Xu family.
"Each of the maids they use are so pretty..." the girl muttered angrily, looking at Mingyu with eyes full of regret and pity, as if she was looking at a fresh flower stuck in cow dung. "That Xu villain is so lucky!"
"Xu Mingye is not here." Mingyu came back to her senses and said, agreeing with the girl's behavior of calling Xu Mingye "Xu Xiaoren".
The girl was obviously skeptical. "Don't tell me you don't dare to come out!"
Mingyu spread his hands and said with a smile: "He's really not at home, but if you want to punish him... I have a good way." Looking at the girl, Mingyu smiled like a mouse that stole oil.
The girl was stunned for a moment, and quickly asked, "What's a good idea?"
Speaking of the evil Xu Mingye, Mingyu couldn't help but twist her face into a hideous look. Ever since her brother finished the imperial examination, he had returned to his previous state, controlling everything she did and making sarcastic remarks at every turn. She had been unhappy for a long time! Since someone wanted to discipline him, Mingyu naturally wanted to help enthusiastically.
"He hates eating chili peppers the most. He can't eat anything spicy at all." Mingyu said gritting her teeth. "If you have a chance, put chili peppers, dried chili peppers, chili oil, chili powder in his food and water when he isn't paying attention... I guarantee he will vomit and have diarrhea after eating just a little bit. It would be best if he can't get out of bed for a few days!" He no longer had the energy to bully her!
The girl looked at Mingyu in astonishment. This positive attitude of cooperation made her think that it was the pretty maid in front of her who wanted to cause trouble for Xu Mingye, not her. "Xu Mingye is not a good person..." She sighed, "Even the maids who serve him hate him so much!"
Mrs. Xu didn't see Lixiang come back to report for a long time, so she left the main house. Seeing that there were two strange girls coming, and the leading girl was pretty and likable, she liked them a little bit, and stood under the eaves and smiled, "Mingyu, who is coming?"
Mingyu turned around, not knowing how to tell her mother. She introduced herself as the girl who claimed to be looking for trouble with Xu Mingye, and said crisply, "Aunt, my name is Fu Lemei. This is my maid Cui'er."
"Hey." Mrs. Xu responded and said with a smile, "Mingyu, why don't you invite Miss Fu in and sit down." Mrs. Xu thought that Fu Lemei was a friend of Mingyu.
Mingyu was a little stunned, and looked at Fu Lemei hesitantly. Fu Lemei was also a little embarrassed in front of the kind and friendly Mrs. Xu. She said shyly: "Aunt, I... I came here to cause trouble for Xu Mingye..."
Mrs. Xu was stunned. After she came to her senses, she immediately pulled Fu Lemei into the house. She nervously stuck her head out to look around the door, making sure that no one had noticed her door, then slammed the door shut.
Mingyu squinted her eyes and watched Madam Xu's nervous movements. She was extremely sure and certain that Madam Xu thought the same thing as her. They both thought that Xu Mingye had done something to let the girl down.
"What's going on?" Madam Xu took a breath nervously, took Fu Lemei's hand, and said kindly: "Miss, just tell your aunt if he has done anything bad."
Fu Lemei nodded, muttering to herself that this Xu Mingye, whom she had never met, was really not a good guy. Even her mother knew that he was a repeat offender and guessed that he was in trouble as soon as he arrived.
"It's like this." Fu Lemei said, "I saw a petition signed by the tribute scholars in my second uncle's study yesterday. I glanced at it and only saw one sentence..." Fu Lemei's cheeks were puffed with anger, "saying that the Honglu Temple was not doing anything."
Madam Xu and Mingyu looked at each other. This year's tribute candidates were particularly restless. In order to stand out and add weight to their qualifications, they might do things like signing a joint petition.
"There seem to be quite a few signatures..." Fu Lemei muttered as she recalled, and then said angrily, "But I only saw the three words Xu Mingye clearly!"
The more Mrs. Xu looked at Fu Lemei, the more she liked her. Fu Lemei looked only two years older than Mingyu. She was enthusiastic and cheerful, and spoke clearly and crisply. She completely matched the image of her daughter in her mind. Unlike Mingyu, who was too quiet. She could sit there without saying a word all day long if no one spoke to her.
"The Honglu Temple is not doing anything..." Mingyu interrupted and asked, "What does it have to do with you?"
Fu Lemei pouted and said, "The Minister of the Ministry of Rites is my father! They wrote to the emperor and reported my father's crimes. They are so evil!"
Mrs. Xu was secretly surprised. She didn't expect that this cheerful and lively girl actually came from a noble family. Fortunately, her son did not do anything bad to the girl, which made her feel relieved. Otherwise, at the critical moment of the palace examination, if some bad rumors about Xu Mingye's work style were spread, Xu Mingye's career would be ruined.
Seeing that Miss Fu was angry with her own son, Mrs. Xu quickly patted her chest and said, "Oh, that bastard boy Xu Mingye is really too much and too bad. Don't worry, when he comes back, I will punish him and let you vent your anger!"
Fu Lemei stayed at Xu's house for a long time before going back. She sat at the stone table under the shade of the tree and chatted happily with Mingyu, Madam Xu. She was originally a cheerful and talkative person, and Mingyu always listened to her quietly with a smile and responded at the right time. But at the beginning, she didn't expect Mingyu to be the sister of the annoying Xu Mingye. Seeing Mingyu dressed in ordinary clothes, she thought she was a pretty maid.
When they got on the carriage to go home, Fu Lemei pulled Cui'er and sighed, "Oh, Cui'er, you said Madam Xu and Mingyu are such good people, why is that Xu Mingye so annoying!"
After Fu Lemei left, Mingyu still sat there, holding up his head for a long time before he suddenly jumped up, scaring Mrs. Xu, who hurriedly asked what was wrong.
Mingyu smiled awkwardly and shook her head, "Nothing, nothing!" She felt that the name sounded familiar when Fu Lemei introduced herself. Now she remembered that Sima Lian's fiancé was Fu Leqian, and his father seemed to be an official in the Honglu Temple. She didn't know what the relationship was with this Fu Lemei. Since Miss Fu was a second-generation high-ranking official, why didn't she see such a wonderful person at the last gathering at Gao's house
Fu Lemei has a straightforward and generous personality. Although she is a little impulsive, she is generally reasonable and does not have the arrogance of a rich girl. Mingyu likes her.
Xu Mingye didn't come back until the afternoon. As soon as he entered the house, Mrs. Xu, who was waiting there, twisted his ears and dragged him into the house. Xu Mingye screamed in pain, and his image as a handsome and witty new scholar was completely gone. "Mom, are you going to kill your son? Be gentle, be gentle!"
Mingyu watched the whole process with a smile on her face, feeling extremely gloating. She only regretted that she didn't have a camera to take some pictures as a souvenir.
"Why did I give birth to such a troublesome bastard like you!" Mrs. Xu hated him so much, but she couldn't bear to do anything cruel to him, so even though Xu Mingye was screaming miserably, he was actually not in much pain at all.
Xu Changqian was already waiting in the room with a serious face. To be honest, he thought he knew his son quite well and didn't quite believe that Xu Mingye would do such a stupid thing, so he waited for his son to explain.
After listening to Mingyu's exaggerated report, Xu Mingye's face turned green. He suddenly felt that heavy snow was falling in front of him. He was the poor Ms. Dou who was wronged in the snow.
"That ten thousand word letter was just one or two sentences written by one person. It was an activity initiated by the top few candidates, and almost every candidate wrote one. I just followed the trend and wrote two irrelevant sentences to save face. The words about the inaction of the Honglu Temple were not written by me at all! How could I write such words? Wouldn't it be obvious that people would hold a grudge against me!" Xu Mingye explained.
"Is that it? It really wasn't written by you?" Mrs. Xu asked worriedly.
Xu Mingye touched his ears which were reddened by his mother's pinching, nodded heavily, and gritted his teeth, "It's my bad luck. There were so many people signing, how come Miss Fu only saw my name?!" This is not the point. The point is that the rich lady actually came to the door openly. Fortunately, he was not at home, otherwise he would have been grabbed by the shrew and beaten up? He is a man, it's not easy to fight back!
Mingyu was hurt from holding back her laughter, which added fuel to the fire. This was a good opportunity for revenge. She said slowly, "Who told you to sign that ten thousand word petition? Without your signature, how could people see your name? In the final analysis, it's all your fault!"
Mrs. Xu felt that her daughter's words made sense, and nodded, "Mingyu is right. Only by being careful can you sail for a thousand years. Flies..." She wanted to say that flies don't bite eggs with cracks, but she swallowed the words back. If she said that, her beloved son would become a rotten egg with cracks. Isn't Fu Lemei, who she had a good impression of, that...
Xu Mingye was so angry that he jumped up and down, "Almost all the candidates have signed!" Seeing that Madam Xu and Mingyu both looked disdainful, he quickly emphasized, "Qi Su has also signed."
Xu Changqian was relieved, stroking his beard and nodding, saying, "Forget it then. Since Master Qi has signed, there must be no problem. Today's incident is probably a misunderstanding of Miss Fu." He smiled at Madam Xu and said, "Master Qi has always been prudent, Madam, don't worry..."
Xu Mingye was miserable and extremely angry. He silently returned to his room with tears in his eyes. You guys are too much. Actually, he is an adopted child. Qi Su is your biological son and brother! (To be continued.