met free Chapter 218 When did I ever say I would cooperate with you?
Chapter 218 When did I ever say I would cooperate with you?
Seeing that her master had already taken matters into her own hands, Aru stopped talking and quickly bent down to work with all her might, thinking that if she did more, she could keep Fengxin from getting involved.
The burly woman glanced at the two who seemed resigned to their fate, and let out a soft sneer that sounded quite contemptuous: "Tch...you're really spoiled!"
Feng Xin's hands, carrying buckets, were bulging with veins, and her eyes held a storm, but she simply pursed her lips and remained silent, burying her head in her work.
Although Aru was resentful, she couldn't overstep Fengxin's authority and could only swallow her anger in the end.
About half an hour later.
Seeing that the other large wooden bucket she had brought was already full, the burly woman ignored the rest and turned to call out to Feng Xin and the others, "Let's go."
By this time, the air around the cart was so foul it could make one faint, let alone the wooden barrel. Aru found it hard to bear, but surprisingly, Fengxin merely frowned and stepped into the empty barrel first.
Aru was stunned for a moment, then quickly crawled inside.
As the wooden bucket lid closed, a basin-shaped chamber pot filled with excrement was placed on it by the burly woman.
The wooden cart was then slowly pushed along, and soon it seemed to arrive at the side gate of the Prince's mansion. As usual, the gatekeeper asked a few questions and then told her to leave quickly, since the smell of the excrement was truly unpleasant.
Feng Xin and the other person hiding in the wooden tub were feeling extremely disgusted, as a thin, yellow liquid kept flowing in from the gaps in the lid, and some of it even splashed onto their faces.
Fortunately, they finally left the Regent's Palace without any serious incident. After the cart drove into a dark alley, Fengxin and Aru were able to get out of the wooden tub and both of them leaned against the wall and retched.
Once the two had calmed down a bit, the burly woman took them back to the Imperial Preceptor's residence.
Finally, after the two finished washing up and successfully met Zhu Yao, it was already past midnight.
The Imperial Preceptor's Residence, Zhu Yao's Bedchamber.
The candlelight had mostly died down, and as the wisps of sandalwood smoke rose from the incense burner, one could only vaguely make out a woman dressed in a strange pink dress, her right hand supporting her head, her eyes tightly closed, her two fair legs crossed and exposed, lying seductively on the soft couch, looking as if she were asleep.
Beside the soft couch, a woman in white, Zhu Ke, was kneeling on the ground, fanning him at a fixed frequency.
Feng Xin was brought in alone, and this was the scene that greeted her, leaving her stunned.
Although Feng Xin had a long-standing relationship with the Grand Preceptor of Nanli, she had never met Zhu Yao. She had only heard that Zhu Yao was over 150 years old, so she always imagined her as an old woman in her twilight years.
All signs now indicate that the young and beautiful woman on the bed is Zhu Yao, how could she not be astonished?
So, her gaze lingered on Zhu Yao for a moment longer, especially on the satin dress that only had two shoulder straps and a piece of fabric left. The fabric was as smooth as silk, like a silk fabric, but even more lustrous than ordinary silk fabric. It must be a top-quality fabric. Now it had been cut into such a way, which was really a waste of its goodness!
If Lin Shu were here, she would surely recognize that Zhu Yao was wearing a silk slip dress from later generations.
Feng Xin withdrew her gaze and realized that although she had been there for a long time, the two people in the room treated her as if she didn't exist. It was one thing for Zhu Yao, since she had her eyes closed and was of high status, but even the maid beside her was ignoring her!
"Grand Preceptor, how have you been?" Feng Xin said, deliberately raising her voice, while bowing respectfully to the person opposite her, displaying impeccable manners.
After doing all this, she exclaimed, "Seeing is believing! I never imagined that the Grand Preceptor of Nanli would be so young and beautiful!"
Zhu Yao finally reacted, covering her mouth with her fair hand and yawning. Then she slowly opened her eyes and said in a rough voice that was quite out of character for her, "Your Highness has really kept me waiting!"
In the quiet night, Feng Xin was startled by the other person's aged voice, and was so shocked that she didn't even notice the contempt in the other person's tone. The disbelief in her eyes lingered for a long time.
"Your Highness! What are you thinking about?" Zhu Yao naturally wouldn't miss Feng Xin's gaze. Seeing that she had no reaction, she raised her voice and called out again, somewhat dissatisfied.
Feng Xin quickly regained her senses, suppressing the look in her eyes, and said:
"I apologize for my slight lapse in composure upon first meeting the Imperial Advisor. Do you have any plans regarding our cooperation?"
"Cooperation?" Zhu Yao said, slowly extending her hand to Zhu Ke beside her. Zhu Ke understood immediately, quickly put down his fan, and stood up to help Zhu Yao up.
After Zhu Yao was seated, he continued:
"When did I ever say I wanted to cooperate with you? Or what bargaining chips do you currently have to cooperate with me?"
"Didn't you say earlier..." Feng Xin wanted to clarify that Zhu Yao had previously agreed to her request, but then she realized that what the other party had said seemed to be that she would only consider cooperating if she could sabotage the marriage alliance between the Regent's Palace and Wushuang Pavilion, so she was speechless.
Looking at the aloof Zhu Yao, Feng Xin's heart sank, but she forced herself to ask another question:
"Since you have no intention of cooperating with me, why did you go to the trouble of bringing me out of the Regent's Palace?"
Zhu Yao gave a distorted laugh, seemingly mocking the other person's naivety:
"Hehe! Although you are useless, it doesn't mean you have no value at all! Besides, you delivered yourself to my door."
Upon hearing this, Feng Xin secretly felt a sense of foreboding!
Sure enough, Zhu Yao's next words plunged her heart into despair:
"Although Fengming intended to suppress the news, I still got wind of it. You—Feng Xin—failed to rebel and fled. However, you are, after all, Empress Fengming's own daughter..."
If I were to trade you to Empress Fengming in exchange for…
The conversation abruptly ended there, and the last sentence was spoken in a very low voice, as if Zhu Yao was talking to herself!
However, Feng Xin still sensed a hint of excitement in her words, and her intention was self-evident. Presumably, the other party was trying to use her as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Empress!
"Zhu Yao, are you trying to use me to threaten the Empress?" Feng Xin's tone was very confident. She never expected that after playing with the eagle for so many days, she would be pecked in the eye by the eagle.
Zhu Yao remained noncommittal.
Feng Xin sneered: "A fool's dream!"
Feng Xin did not know what Zhu Yao wanted to exchange with the Empress. The reason she made such a statement was not because she felt that she held an important position in Feng Han's heart, but because she knew that if she had to choose between herself and the country and the people, Feng Han would definitely choose the latter without hesitation.
"Whether it's a dream or not, we'll only know after we try!" Zhu Yao said, then shouted to the servants outside, "Someone, take her away."
The person outside entered upon hearing the sound and said to Feng Xin without any politeness, "Please."
Since Feng Xin stepped into Nanli, not a day had passed without humiliation. Now, she had become somewhat numb to it, only uttering a single sentence before leaving:
"Zhu Yao, instead of placing your hopes on that illusory Mother Empress, why not fully support me? Once I succeed, I will grant you any wish!"
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