Chapter 137: Volume 1, Chapter 137: Husband and Wife Join Forces

Ming Yuhua and Consort Ming parted on bad terms. After leaving the palace and boarding the carriage back to the manor, Ming Yuhua finally revealed a faint smile.

She had originally thought that perhaps her family would not make her do anything too difficult, but she was still disappointed.

Her aunt thought only of Prince Qi, treating her as nothing more than a useful tool, and never once considered how she and Xiao Shen would manage their life together if Xiao Shen's plan were leaked.

Perhaps in her aunt's eyes, people like them were born to be stepping stones for Prince Qi — if told to die, they must die; if told to do something, they must do it.

But why should they?

Ming Yuhua had not previously felt that doing things for her cousin was any kind of grievance, but looking back now, she only felt she had been very foolish.

She returned to the manor and looked at Qingxue beside her, asking, "Go to the front courtyard and see — if the master is back, tell him I wish to see him."

Qingxue immediately acknowledged and went to the front courtyard.

Shantao watched as her mistress changed clothes and said softly, "Do not be angry, Madam. Now that you are married, would they still dare come to your door to pressure you?"

"You don't understand." Ming Yuhua sighed. She had not understood before either, but now she did.

Xiao Shen had just returned to the manor. Upon receiving the message, he strode directly to the rear courtyard and looked at Ming Yuhua, saying, "What matter does Madam have in seeking me?"

Ming Yuhua had everyone withdraw, then looked at her husband and said, "Today, Consort Ming summoned me to the palace."

"Oh?" Xiao Shen was not surprised at all, looking at his wife. "Then what does Madam intend to do?"

Ming Yuhua's emotions were greatly unsettled, and some of it showed on her face. She gave a bitter smile and said, "It is precisely because I do not know what to do that I asked you to come and discuss it, Husband."

Xiao Shen leaned back in his chair and stared at his wife for a long while before saying, "Since Madam has told me the matter, it seems you already have a decision in your heart."

Ming Yuhua looked up at her husband. "Yes. I will not help them harm you. You are my husband, the person I must rely on for the rest of my life, the person I chose myself. But I do not know whether you will believe me."

What if Xiao Shen suspected her motives toward him were not pure?

"Believe you? How could I not believe Madam?" Xiao Shen laughed aloud, a few traces of amusement on that handsome face. "How this marriage of ours came about, only we ourselves know. I agreed to marry you back then — as long as you do not betray me, I will naturally treat you as my wife and protect you."

Ming Yuhua had gotten the answer she wanted, but was not entirely relieved. She said softly, "Consort Ming asked me to find out why you proposed the military exercise, and why this matter was not discussed with Prince Qi. They probably feel that since you married me, you have boarded Prince Qi's boat, that you are Prince Qi's man, and that whatever you do must be reported to Prince Qi."

"How did Madam answer?" Xiao Shen asked in return.

Ming Yuhua gave a cold laugh. "I refused, of course. I told them they forced me to marry you, that I had already fulfilled my final duty as a daughter, and that I was powerless to do anything more."

Xiao Shen: …

Well now, she could even turn the tables — it seemed his wife was not as stupid as the rumors claimed.

As long as there was hope, that was fine.

"They certainly will not give up. I'm afraid my mother-in-law will be coming to the door soon." Xiao Shen smiled.

Ming Yuhua turned her head to look at her husband. "Then what do you need me to say to them?"

Xiao Shen looked at his wife with some surprise. Everyone said marrying this wife meant getting someone without a brain, but from what he could see now, that was not the case at all — was she not quite clever?

"Simple. Madam only needs to subtly let slip a single sentence to my mother-in-law — say that you vaguely heard me discussing matters with my subordinates, mentioning that the Three Great Camps show signs of defecting to the Crown Prince."

Ming Yuhua was startled by these words. Though she did not fully understand such matters, she also knew the implication behind these words was not simple. "If Mother asks me why the Three Great Camps would do such a thing?"

Xiao Shen rubbed his chin, the smile on his face turning somewhat peculiar. "Then Madam can simply say you are not clear — you only heard something about weapons and such, and do not understand the specifics. That will do."

Ming Yuhua nodded. "I understand."

Xiao Shen rose in satisfaction. As long as this news was passed to Consort Ming's side, Prince Qi would naturally grow suspicious of the Three Great Camps. Once Prince Qi grew suspicious and secretly meddled with the Three Great Camps, and with His Highness the Crown Prince offering enticements, there was no fear that the people of the Three Great Camps would not be tempted.

As for who would truly defect to His Highness the Crown Prince in the end, that was hard to say, but the Three Great Camps would no longer be a monolithic bloc. Throwing Ming Zan's arrangements into complete disarray — this time they had gained the upper hand, and the other plans could continue to be implemented.

Thinking of this, Xiao Shen looked at Ming Yuhua. He had married her initially because of His Highness's wishes — of course, he had no particular preference about whom to marry — but if the wife he brought home stood on his side, then life together would be manageable.

After Xiao Shen strode away, Ming Yuhua thought it over and decided she still needed to tell Rong Luoge. Having resolved to stand on Rong Luoge's side, she could not hesitate any longer.

If there was anything she had not fully thought through, Rong Luoge's cleverness would surely make up for it.

Inside the Dong Gong, Rong Luoge received Ming Yuhua's letter and was quite surprised after reading it, though amid the surprise, she also felt it was only to be expected.

Consort Ming's nature had always been self-serving. She naturally would not dote on Ming Yuhua as her own daughter — even Ming Yuhua's marriage was, to her, nothing more than a useful tool.

Consort Ming moved quickly — there had only been movement on that side, and already she had sought out Ming Yuhua here.

Rong Luoge wrote a reply to Ming Yuhua, telling her to rest assured and simply do as Xiao Shen said.

After much hesitation, Rong Luoge said nothing more. As for how Xiao Shen and Ming Yuhua got along in private, as long as Ming Yuhua did not speak of it, she could not pry — that was, after all, someone else's privacy.

Upon receiving Rong Luoge's reply, Ming Yuhua felt reassured. She put the letter away, and sure enough, by afternoon her mother had arrived.

Seeing her mother again, Ming Yuhua's feelings were complicated. Thinking of all the efforts she had made for her parents' reconciliation, only to find in the end that it had all been a deception — she could not let it go at all.

"Has Mother come to find me because of Aunt?" Ming Yuhua asked directly without any pleasantries.

Madam Ming had already reconciled with her husband. Seeing her daughter's cold demeanor, she felt somewhat pained in her heart and sighed, saying, "Yuhua, I know what happened before hurt you, but regarding that matter, your father and I truly had difficulties we could not speak of…"

"The matter has already passed; Mother need not speak of it further." Ming Yuhua no longer wished to hear these hypocritical words. What "difficulties we could not speak of" — it was nothing more than thinking her foolish, fearing she would ruin their plans, and so preferring to watch her grieve and watch her exhaust herself over their affairs rather than let her know the truth.

She was thoroughly disappointed.