Shen Mingshu was stunned. She didn't even notice whether the housekeeper of the Prime Minister's Mansion was still there, and looked around for him.
King Yu was grounded. Such a big thing happened, and the housekeeper didn't dare to leave. He was here to send the princess back to the palace today. If he left like this, it would be difficult to find another way to come in.
He wanted to take the opportunity to figure out the ins and outs of the matter so that he could go back and report it to Shen Mingshu. He saw the quarrel between the masters in mind, but did not speak for Shen Mingshu.
At this time, he stood up and responded: "Slave Shen Cong, I have met His Royal Highness King Yu."
Zhou Yu could be cold-faced to Shen Mingshu, but he was polite to him. Qixi was taken away by Si Yiluo. He was still a little uncomfortable for a moment, so he said, "Please come to the study to talk."
Shen Cong, a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister, followed Shen Panxing all the way. He was Shen Panxing's confidant. He was naturally more knowledgeable than Shen Mingshu and his attitude was very respectful.
"Your Highness, please."
After the two walked away, Shen Mingshu glared at Cui Tingting again and said arrogantly: "Come here, hold this bitch down for me, Princess!"
After a brief hesitation, the servants in the courtyard stepped forward and pushed Cui Tingting down to her knees on the ground.
"Alian, go slap me!"
Zhou Yu left, and no one was protecting her. Cui Tingting didn't wait for Alian to come over, broke free from the servant's grasp, crawled over and hugged her legs and explained: "Princess, please listen to my explanation. I did not seduce His Highness. Last night, After you left, I locked myself in the room and didn't dare to come out. Your Highness..."
"His Highness seemed to be in a bad mood and knocked on my door...I was forced to do so! Princess, you know, my family has already arranged a marriage for me. Although I am not satisfied, it is better to be a real wife than to be a real wife. What a strong concubine! I didn’t mean to seduce His Highness!”
"Although my father's official position is low, he still has a good reputation. I have done such a scandal, what good can it do to myself and my family? I really didn't mean it. Princess, please spare me!"
Shen Mingshu was still angry. She regarded her as a good sister, but she didn't expect that the other party would seduce her husband! She even implicated her husband...
What she was most angry about was that Zhou Yu was still protecting her just now!
"Pull away! Are you all dead?"
The servants hurriedly pulled Cui Tingting away. Alian stepped forward and slapped her on the face more than ten times. She turned back to look at Shen Mingshu.
"I did something wrong. You can beat me or scold me, Princess. I have no complaints. But, Princess, Your Highness is punished, and it's really not because of me. Jingshan Temple is dozens of miles away from the capital, and the gates of the capital are closed at night. Even if the news had wings, it wouldn't reach the palace so quickly!"
"I am just an insignificant little person. The Princess and the Queen can deal with me at any time, but you should pay more attention to His Highness at this time. Your Highness feels uncomfortable..."
Shen Mingshu was angered again by her words.
"It's not your turn to interfere in my family affairs!"
"Alian, keep slapping!"
Cui Tingting felt like stars were popping up in her eyes when the crisp slap hit her face, and the taste of blood filled her mouth.
"You dare to accuse me of not caring about His Highness before I even enter the palace. You are sowing discord. Alian, give me a hard beating!"
Alian hit her hand with all her strength until Cui Tingting vomited blood and fainted.
"Princess, please calm down." Alian walked over and squeezed her shoulders, "I think Miss Cui is right. Your Highness is so abnormal. Something must have happened. The only ones who can help His Highness at this time are our Prime Minister's Office. "
"At this point, Your Highness will definitely not wrong you. If you say a few soft words, maybe we can reconcile as before. How can there be an overnight feud between husband and wife?"
Shen Mingshu calmed herself down, and then Alian dared to continue to persuade her, "You left in anger yesterday, which did not give others an opportunity. Since Miss Cui is already His Highness, no matter how angry you are, it will not change the facts. Moreover, Miss Cui is still the official daughter of the official family, not an unknown cat or dog, so His Highness needs to talk to her about how to deal with her."
"Now His Highness is imprisoned in the house and grounded. If we go too far towards Miss Cui, once word gets out, people will say that we have set up a private court and will cause trouble for His Highness."
Shen Mingshu's anger was dampened by Alian's persuasion. She really didn't expect so much. Looking at Cui Tingting who fainted on the ground, she was lucky to have Alian by her side.
"You guys, take the person down and put him in the woodshed. Don't let him die!"
The maids she spotted worked together to lift the unconscious Cui Tingting and throw her into the woodshed.
On the other side, Zhou Yu was a little embarrassed to speak at this time. He briefly explained the cause and effect to Shen Cong and gave him a letter.
"Please be sure to give this letter to your father-in-law!"
He spoke vaguely, but Shen Cong was also a human being and did not comment on this. He accepted the letter and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will personally deliver it to the Prime Minister."
Zhou Yu breathed a sigh of relief and thought of something.
"For Miss Cui's matter, could you please help me make a trip to the Cui Mansion?"
He was already in the palace, and it was impossible to hide this matter anyway, so he simply skipped the process. Zhou Yu called the housekeeper and asked the housekeeper to prepare the betrothal gift for the concubine.
"Could the butler please help me run an errand to hire someone from the Cui Mansion?"
He was grounded and no one in the palace could come or go freely, so it was expedient to let Shen Cong run errands. Shen Cong responded and left the palace with the betrothal gift.
The sunlight shines on the ground through the wide open doors and windows, illuminating the fine dust in the house.
Zhou Yu sat down and was stunned for a long time before accepting the fact that he was grounded, but even though his father did not kill him, his life would not be easy in the future.
There will be more people monitoring him. Unless all the princes are dead, it is absolutely impossible for him to become the crown prince...
All princes are dead...
He curled his lips and smiled, but then he felt helpless. His father ordered him to shut up and think about his mistakes, which was equivalent to cutting off his contact with the outside world. How could he still make small moves?
…
Cui Sheng was on duty at the Yamen. Hearing the news that Zhou Yu had been grounded, he hurried home and shouted to the inside before he even entered the door: "Madam, send someone to pick up Tingting quickly!"
There was a clear time limit for His Royal Highness Prince Rong to be banned after the Chinese New Year. Now His Royal Highness King Yu is not even allowed to have a specific time limit, and he is planning to be promoted imminently. Rather than hang himself on King Yu's tree, it is better to change to another one as soon as possible. A big tree!
Mrs. Cui came out from the inner room and asked, "What's going on?"
What Cui Sheng received was second-hand news from others. It was already too late. He urged and muttered, "If our Tingting's reputation is ruined, it will be ruined. At worst, if I give her to my boss as a concubine, she can still be exchanged for me." It’s a little bit of a benefit, but if we set it up in Prince Yu’s Mansion, I’ll be trying to fetch water from a bamboo basket and get nothing! Hurry up!”
"What reputation is ruined!" Mrs. Cui was pulled out by him and asked, "You should explain it clearly!"
As soon as the two of them walked to the gate, they met Shen Cong who came to the door with a betrothal gift.
Seeing the panic of the two of them, Shen Cong asked contemptuously: "Master Cui, Mrs. Cui, you two are so anxious, where are you going?"
Cui Sheng relied on Aunt Shen to get where he is today. Of course he knew Shen Cong, the housekeeper of the Prime Minister's Mansion. When he saw him coming to the door with gifts in a big way, his heart skipped a beat.
"Shen, Butler Shen, what are you..."
Shen Cong waved his hand, and the servants carried the betrothal gift through the door and placed it in the yard.
"What else can I do? Come and propose marriage on behalf of His Highness Prince Yu. My concubine is now an aunt in His Highness Prince Yu's house. I haven't even congratulated Mr. Cui yet."
"Aunt, aunt?" Cui Sheng didn't react. He thought the progress would not be so fast. The rumors spread outside were all deliberately smearing His Royal Highness Prince Yu. "Tingting, she..."
Shen Cong snorted coldly.
"Miss Cui followed His Highness last night. Congratulations to Mr. Cui for becoming a relative of the Emperor. I've finished my errand and take my leave."