With the amount of intelligence that Empress Dowager Lu exuded just now, Mu Mingtang didn’t think it was her idea. Someone else probably sparked the flames of jealousy in the elder woman’s ears and incited her, which would explain why she was currently putting so much pressure on her.
Ever since Mu Mingtang made a fortune with the fruit incense, the person behind them could no longer continue their plans. They couldn’t bring up that incident directly, so they relied on euphemism and the basis of ‘extravagant expenses’ for Empress Dowager Lu to pressure her and cancel the fruit incense?
Mu Mingtang didn’t intend to argue with the Empress Dowager Lu at the beginning, but now, she wanted to understand the intentions of the people behind the scenes. Therefore, she eagerly heard what Empress Dowager Lu had to say without refuting it nor taking it to heart. A conversation could always be held when both parties exchanged opinions, so with Princess An coldly agreeing to everything the elder said for a while, she got tired and naturally halted her lectures.
The Empress Dowager and Princess An were technically engaged in an in-law argument, which was why none of the other women dared to speak. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager soon got tired of talking, so the others interjected from time to time, slowly discussing other topics.
Everyone paid attention to Princess An quietly during the one-sided conversation, but it was a pity that she, who was at the center of the topic, was relaxed from the beginning to the end. There was no shame or anger that was visible in her expression at all, which made it seem like she was merely lost in thoughts. Witnessing such a scene and her lack of reactions, the spectators were a bit disappointed.
Jiang Mingwei was very disappointed that she didn’t get to see the spectacle that she was expecting, but in the end it was a good thing that, at least, Mu Mingtang was embarrassed in public. Princess An being criticized as extravagant by the Empress Dowager would probably be the talk of the social circle for a while.
Jiang Mingwei was satisfied, so after they had remained seated for a while longer the eunuch in red came to pass word that the dragon boat was ready. He also added that the Emperor and the other ministers have already gone to the stands.
The women understood immediately as they all stood up and walked out. Because the dragon boat competition was aimed towards the people of the whole capital, the stands were at the other end, facing the water and the people who were situated on the other side of the lake. As the venue was limited, there was no distinction between male and female seats.
Mu Mingtang followed the crowd to the stands. The group of women and servants gathered together, making very slow movements towards their allocated spots. They had just turned a corner when someone from the stands looked over. Xie Xuanchen felt uncomfortable seeing the speed of their walks, so he simply strided over himself.
Xie Xuanchen was approaching them in front of everyone, so some of the women laughed when they saw him, “Prince An is here. Sure enough, Prince An really cannot bear to part from Princess An. There’s only but such a short distance left, so why the rush? Does His Highness think that we’re going to abduct his Princess or something?”
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