Good Man Operation Guide

Chapter 126.1: Rebirth of the Black Lotus (3)

Mu Qingling fell ill the day after her marriage, and judged Lin Shiheng, the Prince of Linjiang, based on all the information she had heard before the wedding and on her own speculations on the night of the wedding.

She had thought that it would be difficult to persuade a Prince like Prince Linjiang, who had never been wronged since he was a child, to listen to her advice. She never expected that the other party would listen to her so soon after she had opened her mouth.

Mu Qingling carefully observed Lin Shiheng’s expression, and saw that he didn't look like he was acting perfunctory. She was slightly relieved.

A husband who she could communicate was better than a husband who wouldn’t listen to her words.

“By the way, Princess.”

Lin Shiheng suddenly spoke up as Mu Qingling was just breathing a sigh of relief. His tone was slightly displeased, “That third sister of yours, isn’t she a bit too unruly?”

Mu Qingling’s eyes widened for a moment, “What does Your Highness mean?”

“Just now, when I was walking along the path, she stopped me and said she wanted to speak to me alone. How can a daughter of a good family do such a thing, isn’t that too unruly? “

Mu Qingling hesitantly glanced at Prince Linjiang, who looked disgusted.

If she remembered correctly; on the night of the wedding, this man had complimented Mu Qingrong extensively in front of his new wife, had he not?

He praised her for her boldness even when she was wandering alone in the temple, unlike other women in the harem who were dull and uninteresting.

To be honest, boasting about another woman to the wife on the night of the wedding was considered a humiliating thing. Mu Qingling was so angry that her face turned red. However, he was her husband. There was no other way to deal with it than to swallow that anger and pretend that nothing had happened.

However, at that time, her heart felt cold. She was glad that although the person he liked was Mu Qingrong, fortunately, he was still willing to give her the dignity of a Princess Consort and didn’t leave after seeing her face.

Then the question was, how long had it been. Why did he suddenly dislike Mu Qingrong?

Mu Qingling’s heart was full of questions, but it was hard to sound them out. She just lowered her eyes slightly and whispered, “Third sister was brought up in the palm of her father’s hand when she was a child, and her character is inevitably naive. She didn’t mean to bump into you, Your Highness. Please forgive her.”

“She is your sister, and calls me brother-in-law. Naturally, this Prince should forgive her for your sake Princess.”

Lin Shiheng smiled gallantly, seemingly charming, “Princess, take good care of yourself. When you’re well, I’ll go with you to visit father-in-law.”

“Many thanks, Your Highness.”

Mu Qingling was still weak and couldn’t do the first return ceremony, so she could only accept it with a pale face.

(TNote: First meeting ceremony = Hui Men (HHl'j); first return of bride to her parental home after marriage.)

After she had just answered, she saw the splendidly dressed man stand up, “Then I’ll leave first. I going to have a drink with someone today, do you have anything you want? This Prince will bring it back for you while I’m out.”

Mu Qingling was still ill, how could she want anything? As she opened her mouth to refuse, she remembered that she was his wife now.

She had been in a coma since the day after she married, and was still unaware of Prince Linjiang’s attitude towards her as a Princess Consort. Now was the best time to test it.

Mu Qingling thought about it and pulled back the refusal in her throat. She whispered, “If Your Majesty is free, could you go to the Purple Cloud Pavilion and bring back some powder for this consort?"

“Hmm, I’ll bring some back.”

Lin Shiheng brushed his sleeve, “You women are troublesome, the Prince never uses powder.”

Mu Qingling smiled and didn’t reply, only watching Lin Shiheng walk out of the room. Not long after he did, she could hear a flirtatious laugh coming from outside the room.

Pu Tao’s heart was full of confidence. With a rather condescending glance at the others, she pulled the curtain open and walked in.

(TNote: rootless duckweed = floating freely; having nothing solid supporting it.)

The nanny was furious at her smug look and quickly followed her inside.

“The Princess Consort hasn’t even been informed, what are you trying to do?!”

Pu Tao was a maid that the second madam had found from outside the residence. Not having gone through any strict training in the regulations, coupled with the determination in her heart that Mu Qingling wouldn’t survive for 7 days, that undercurrent in her heart was very peculiar.

With a smile on her face, she mockingly looked at the nanny, “Nanny Liu just heard it. The Prince said he would take me into his room tomorrow. Although I, Pu Tao, am only a maid, I’m still a maid by the Princess Consort’s side, accompanying her from the Marquis’s residence to marriage. Not to mention the fact that the Prince said he wanted me to be a side consort, so at least Pu Tao would be someone by the Princess Consort’s side, so I can’t be unprepared, right?"

When nanny saw the smugness on her face. She couldn’t wait to tear her face off, so her words turned ruthless, “Even if the Prince had said he would take you into his room, that would be tomorrow. Today, you’re still a second-ranking maid at the Princess’s side!

“You barge in like that without a word from your master, have you no rules!"

The Master is going to die soon, so what's the use of this rule?

Pu Tao’s mocking expression intensified, “Nanny Liu, Pu Tao is still a maid now, but tomorrow I won’t be. I advise you to be more careful with your words, today you are reprimanding a little maid, tomorrow, if you talk to me like that again, even if I let you off, I’m afraid the Prince won’t take it well, right?”

“You!"

The nanny was furious and was about to say something in return when she heard Mu Qingling’s faint voice ringing out from the curtain, “Nanny, let Pu Tao in.”

Even though she was furious, she could only force this anger down. She glanced coldly at Pu Tao, whose smug look had intensified after hearing Mu Qingling’s voice, and coldly said, “Come in with me.”

Pu Tao smiled triumphantly and strolled in with a swaying figure, lifting the curtain.

“This maid greets the Princess.”

Her kneeling demeanor was very different from before, and she had taken on a rather delicate Tm a favored concubine’ demeanor.

Mu Qingling’s lips were still white, but she didn’t look as angry as Pu Tao and her nanny thought she would. Instead, she looked as if she hadn’t heard that her husband was going to take the maid by her side as a side consort.

“Pu Tao, as I recall, you’ve been with me for less than 10 days."

“Yes.”

Pu Tao raised her face, smiling like a flower, “This maid was originally serving the second madam, and came to serve the Princess right before the wedding.”

“You didn’t grow up beside me, maybe you don’t know my temperament.”

Mu Qingling didn’t seem to see her deliberate and coquettish smile, and only whispered on, “I liked rules the most when I was in the residence. What I disliked the most, was having unruly people around me.”

“This Prince’s Mansion is considerably larger than of the Marquis’s Residence and requires more rules. If the rules were disrupted, wouldn’t the whole mansion be in a mess? “

Pu Tao crisply replied, “This maid has never studied and doesn’t understand Your Highness’s words.”

“You have never studied, but you should know that if you do become a side consort, then you are a member of the Imperial family, a noble person, and there is no such thing as a deed of sale in the hands of another.”

Mu Qingling reached out, and the nanny, very quietly, stepped forward and handed over a cup of tea.