bayedsolid Chapter 229 Trembling with Fear
Chapter 229 Trembling with Fear
The banquet passed in a state of trepidation for the Mu family. Apart from Jin Shi, who was heartless and only knew how to curry favor with noble ladies, everyone else was somewhat alarmed by the arrival of the Crown Prince and the Prince of Ming.
The Crown Prince's position is now secure, but the power of Prince Ming should not be underestimated. In particular, Prince Ming and the Crown Prince are brothers born of the same mother. With such brothers vying for power, it would be painful for the Emperor and Empress to favor either of them.
However, the arrival of Prince Chang Le today has reduced the tension of the birthday banquet somewhat. Firstly, because he is young and speaks casually, his two elder brothers cannot say anything to him and can only protect him in every way.
Secondly, during the banquet, Prince Chang Le did not seem to explicitly indicate whose side he would side with. This eased the atmosphere considerably, at least preventing a direct confrontation between Prince Ming and the Crown Prince.
In the backyard, after the Crown Princess and Princess Ming exchanged a few words of subtle and overt rivalry due to Duanmu Jing's arrival, they dared not be too casual anymore, lest the news reach the Empress's ears, which would directly affect their image in the Empress's eyes.
The banquet finally ended without major incident. Mu Xin Nuan only breathed a sigh of relief after the last group of guests had safely departed. Such a banquet was certainly no easy task!
This is just the beginning. He's only been granted the title of Earl. If it were a Duke's mansion, who knows how much more trouble it would cause!
In the evening, it was a family dinner. Relatively speaking, it was simpler and quieter.
"Today's banquet was very well arranged, and the Crown Prince and Prince Ming were quite satisfied, especially Prince Chang Le, who repeatedly praised it. Excellent! Thank you for your hard work, eldest daughter-in-law and A Nuan."
As soon as the old master finished speaking, Li Shi and Mu Xin Nuan naturally had to be humble, while Jin Shi was unhappy.
Mu Changping was somewhat better off, since most of the guests today were indeed there for his elder brother! But Madam Jin felt that everyone knew what was going on, so why did the old master have to say it out loud? Did he have to embarrass the second branch of the family to make him happy?
"By the way, I heard that the Emperor usually bestows a mansion upon those who are granted a title. I wonder when the Emperor will bestow this mansion upon you, brother?"
What Mr. Jin said is correct; logically, that is indeed how it should be.
Mu Chang'an shook his head and said, "My Mu family has received great favor from the Emperor, how dare we ask for any more mansions?"
"Shouldn't we all follow the rules?" Jin asked, somewhat puzzled. Why not take something that's given away for free?
Madam Li laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, are you perhaps confused? This Mu residence wasn't originally this big. In reality, only your west wing is the main family's property. The rest were all bestowed by the Emperor. Later, it was because the Old Master felt it would be more lively if everyone lived together that the residence was connected. Otherwise, how could our Mu residence be several times larger than before?"
Mu Chang'an echoed, "That's right. I have already informed the Emperor that there is no need to bestow any further rewards upon this mansion. Now that the border war has just subsided, there are many places where money is needed, so it's best to save where possible."
The old man frowned, "The eldest son is right. Why do we need to build a new mansion? Isn't this place perfectly fine for us?"
"The Ministry of Rites has already finished making the plaque, but the paint is still a bit dry, so it will probably be a couple of days before it can be hung on the door," Mu Chang'an said, picking up his wine cup.
“Father, Second Brother, although I have been granted the title of Earl, I am still a member of the Mu family. As long as we, the Mu family, can unite as one and work together, we will surely be able to bring the Mu family to an even greater height.”
The old man laughed heartily upon hearing this, "Good! Well said! Come on, cheers!"
Both Madam Jin and the old lady looked rather unpleasant. If Madam Li hadn't mentioned it, they would have forgotten that the Mu family's current size was only possible because the Emperor had bestowed such a large courtyard upon them several times.
What was the Mu family mansion like before? At this moment, neither the mother-in-law nor the daughter-in-law seemed to remember very clearly, especially when Jin left the capital. Although the Mu family mansion was not as big as it is now, it seems that the emperor did indeed bestow a three-courtyard house upon them. Could it be the Jin Courtyard that is now?
Mu Xin Nuan was somewhat absent-minded, thinking about what Duanmu Chu Ze had said during the day, and couldn't help feeling uneasy!
She was confused about her own heart. She clearly felt that this was wrong, but why did she still have such a tiny bit of expectation? Didn't she think it was a shameful and embarrassing thing?
"Anuan, what's wrong? Are you tired?" the old man asked with concern.
Mu Xin Nuan suddenly came to her senses and realized that she had only one chopstick left in her hand.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things the little princess said to me during the day, and I was a little distracted."
Mu Xinyao smiled slightly, "The little princess is fond of Young Master Chu, does eldest sister feel torn between the two?"
Mu Xin Nuan frowned slightly. How dare she say such a bold thing?
"What nonsense are you spouting, sister? What do you mean the little princess has feelings for someone? She's a princess of noble birth, how dare we speak ill of her? If someone overhears this and adds fuel to the fire, do you think anyone in our household could be more convincing than the little princess?"
Mu Xinyao was stunned. She had just said it casually, only intending to embarrass her. She never thought of this.
Madam Li was also somewhat displeased and said, "Anuan is right. Xinyao, you must never say such things again. There are too many people talking, and even in our own residence, we must be careful. The little princess is the most favored by the Empress. If anything were to happen to her, we would be in no position to bear the responsibility."
When the old lady saw that the atmosphere had become somewhat tense, and then saw that Mu Xinyao's eyes were also somewhat flustered, she knew that she must have said those words without thinking!
"Alright, Xinyao, be more careful in the future. Luckily, this is your own residence. If you were to spread rumors outside, that little princess might skin you alive!"
"Yes, Grandmother." Mu Xinyao knew this was an attempt to save face, so she quickly replied.
The old lady returned to her Rongyuan Courtyard. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Liu Mama instructing everyone to leave. She herself knelt in the middle of the room and said, "Your Majesty, it was all my fault. Seeing that the situation was not right today, I changed the plan at the last minute. Please punish me, Your Majesty."