The Prime Minister Knows How to Handle Her Wife (ABO, GL) - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

“…I say, Sheng Jiu, Sheng Ancestor, Your Highness Ninth, you’ve dragged us around three times already. What exactly do you want to buy?”

The Western District remained bustling as always. All sorts of people walked through it, brushing shoulders. Silk robes collided with coarse cloth, and carriages moved slowly.

In the district stood a three-story building called the Treasure Pavilion, which was quite unique. It had no stone lions at the entrance but instead displayed two raw jade stones. The polished parts revealed a shimmering green hue, so even those who knew nothing about jade could tell they were expensive.

Five guards with staffs stood by each stone, and dozens more stood inside the threshold, not to mention the patrols coming and going.

The guests walking through showed no surprise, as this was the largest jewelry pavilion in the entire Liang Kingdom. From pearls, jade, and Hetian jade to gold, silver, agate, and chicken bl00d stone, the Treasure Pavilion had everything, and all were exquisite.

At that moment, Sheng Shiyue and her two companions were in the Treasure Pavilion.

Meng Qingxin put one hand on her hip and the other on the staircase, exhausted and bending over. She complained, “My legs are about to break.”

Xiao Jing, equally tired, leaned against a wooden pole and waved her hand. She said, “No way, I need to rest.”

Sheng Shiyue looked as if she had just woken from a dream and mumbled, “We actually walked around three times?”

Hearing this, Meng Qingxin got angry. All their talk, gestures, and praises about gold, silver, and jade had gone in one ear and out the other. Sheng Shiyue had been daydreaming the whole time!

She immediately snapped, “What exactly do you want to buy? If you don’t say, I’ll go find a teahouse to rest and stop wandering aimlessly with you.”

Feeling guilty, Sheng Shiyue coughed awkwardly twice and waved away the Treasure Pavilion maid behind her.

On this matter, Sheng Shiyue grew heavy and sighed, “I made Ning Qingge angry.”

Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing’s exhaustion vanished. They showed curious expressions and immediately asked, “What did you do?”

Everyone knew Ning Qingge was reserved and indifferent. Even when ministers opposed her or criticized her background, she rarely showed emotion, let alone anything else. Hearing that Sheng Shiyue made her angry sparked great curiosity.

Sheng Shiyue sighed again and said faintly, “I knocked over the vinegar jar, didn’t I?”

“Huh?” Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing were stunned.

Sheng Shiyue explained what happened before and sighed, “I’ve been coaxing her for days, but she keeps giving me that half-smiling look and throwing out one or two sarcastic remarks.”

She had sighed more in these few days than ever before. Last night, she removed the white cloth, and this morning, she called Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing out.

“Just this?” Meng Qingxin couldn’t understand. She scratched her head, utterly confused.

“Just this,” Sheng Shiyue replied with a helpless look.

“This matter…” Xiao Jing, who had a fiancée, touched her chin and thought for a moment but said, “I don’t know either.”

“My Huaying never gets jealous,” she said sincerely.

Sheng Shiyue, who had looked at her expectantly, deflated and waved dismissively, saying, “I knew talking to you was useless.”

Meng Qingxin grew unhappy and shouted, “If she’s upset about a jade pendant, just give her a jade pendant!”

Sheng Shiyue rolled her eyes ungracefully and said bluntly, “Nonsense, aren’t we in the Treasure Pavilion now?”

Meng Qingxin immediately scolded, “Then why aren’t you choosing?”

Sheng Shiyue replied confidently, “I’m too annoyed to look, aren’t I?”

She waved her sleeve and said, “Forget it, you two haven’t married, so you don’t understand.”

Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing: …

Sheng Shiyue turned her head to the maid standing far away and beckoned, saying, “Go tell your pavilion master to bring out the best items. Don’t show me any rubbish.”

Though the Treasure Pavilion had many treasures, the ones on display were ordinary. The truly good items were only brought out by the pavilion master and kept in a secret room on the third floor for guests to choose carefully.

Hearing this, Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing fell silent again.

They rarely came here. When they did, it was either to buy a golden box for Meng Qingxin’s cricket or a gemstone collar for Xiao Jing’s big yellow dog, or to accompany Sheng Shiyue to pick accessories for her Zhenyu. As for their own jade pendants or bracelets, their parents bought those. How would they know about a secret room?

They followed Sheng Shiyue to the third floor in a daze and were invited into a tea room by the window.

Meng Qingxin finally spoke, “Sheng Jiu, this is…”

Sheng Shiyue glanced at her, her eyes showing some surprise, “You’ve never been here?”

“How would we know?” Meng Qingxin slapped her thigh in frustration.

Sheng Shiyue said, “Oh,” and added, “I thought you knew.”

Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing couldn’t help but suspect that Sheng Shiyue, having been rebuffed by Ning Qingge, was now taking it out on them!

But Sheng Shiyue remained glum and said, “Pick something later, it’s on me.”

Her generosity was impressive.

Their anger faded, and they clasped their hands, smiling, “Your Highness Ninth is generous.”

Yet Sheng Shiyue stayed glum, her brows nearly forming a “1.” She sighed, “Help me think of something, quick.”

The two dandies, who usually only knew how to eat, drink, and play, exchanged a glance.

“Since Ning cares about these things, just give her a few more pendants,” Xiao Jing suggested.

Sheng Shiyue glanced at her listlessly and said, “I gave them already. That day, I gave her everything—jewelry from my body and my storeroom. I nearly gave her the collar around my neck.”

Meng Qingxin stepped forward and suggested, “Then just apologize honestly to Ning and say you won’t do it again.”

That’s how she apologized to her mother and sister.

Sheng Shiyue gave her a deeply scornful look, “You think I haven’t? I nearly knelt to apologize, but Ning Qingge just smiled and said, ‘Your Highness pities the weak, how could you be wrong?’”

Xiao Jing and Meng Qingxin gasped.

Finally, Meng Qingxin gave up and said, “What about all the stuff you bought? If you can’t convince her, just sleep with her…”

She winked, her usually gentle and refined face taking on a sleazy look.

Sheng Shiyue pursed her lips, hesitating, “Would that work…”

“Why not!” Meng Qingxin clapped her hands and blurted, “That’s how my mother coaxes my mother!”

Hearing this family secret, Sheng Shiyue and Xiao Jing showed shocked expressions and said, “Lord Meng and Madam Meng…”

Meng Qingxin immediately continued, “Sheng Jiu, just listen to me. My mother did it like this: buy some gold and silver jewelry, then some good food, beg once, coax twice, and then…”

She suddenly squinted, suspicious, “Can you handle it? If you go soft and fail to coax her, and an angry Ning kicks you out of bed, you’d lose more than you gain.”

Whether she could or not, in front of friends, she had to. Sheng Shiyue straightened her back and shouted, “How could I not handle it!”

Meng Qingxin slapped her thigh, delighted, “Then it’s settled!”

Xiao Jing laughed and said, “Sheng Jiu, just do it.”

Sheng Shiyue forced a smile, but it was stiff.

But she might, probably, definitely couldn’t handle it…

How did those items work? She hadn’t dared to listen closely back then, just bought them, took them home, and stuffed them in a cabinet, forgetting about them. Now, she couldn’t even recall what they were.

Asking Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing now?

That would expose that she never dared use them. If they dug deeper and found out she always let Ning Qingge take the lead, a Qianyuan always pinned under a Kunze, where would she, Bianjing’s top dandy, put her face?

But without those, how could she “sleep” with her? Ning Qingge was a top-tier Kunze, and Sheng Shiyue didn’t even know her own pheromone scent.

Sheng Shiyue’s vision darkened. It’d be easier if Ning Qingge were the Qianyuan and she the Kunze—just lie on the bed naked!

As she thought, the pavilion master knocked and entered, followed by attendants carrying wooden trays with rare treasures. Even Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing couldn’t help but gasp.

But Sheng Shiyue looked listless and casually picked up a mutton-fat jade pendant.

The pavilion master quickly introduced, “Your Highness has good taste. This material is rare, brought from the Western Regions after much effort, and carved by Master Lin himself…”

Before he finished, she said, “Note it.”

It meant she liked it and would buy it on credit.

The pavilion master’s face lit up. Seeing Sheng Shiyue pick up a hairpin, he immediately introduced, “This hairpin is special. I went to Jiangnan three times to get a master craftsman…”

“Note it.”

The pavilion master swallowed his words. Before he recovered, Sheng Shiyue picked up a crescent comb.

The pavilion master said, “This comb is made from a single piece of golden nanmu wood…”

“Note it.”

The pavilion master’s smile stiffened, “Your Highness, the earrings you’re holding…”

“Note it.”

“Jade bracelet.”

“Note it.”

“Concentric lock.”

“Note it.”

The pavilion master went from beaming to numb, even thinking he’d offended Sheng Shiyue, prompting her to mess with him. He pleaded with a forced smile, “Your Highness Ninth, what are you doing? If I’ve done something wrong, just say it. Why torment me like this?”

Sheng Shiyue was surprised, glanced at him, then pointed at a ring behind him, saying, “Note that too.”

Then she added, “How am I tormenting you? By the way, do you have scented pouches here?”

Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing gave up speaking. Seeing Sheng Shiyue’s demeanor, she clearly planned to buy every betrothal item on the market and present them to a certain Prime Minister.

“Scented pouches…” The pavilion master wiped sweat from his forehead, stumped for the first time.

Seeing his expression, Sheng Shiyue knew they didn’t have any. She waved and said, “Forget it, just these then.”

Her tone held some dissatisfaction, as if she hadn’t bought enough.

The pavilion master could only give a bitter smile. In the Liang Kingdom, probably only this ancestor could spend so lavishly. Any single item here cost over ten thousand taels.

Sheng Shiyue was about to say something but paused and asked, “Do you have abacuses here?”

The pavilion master was stunned but said, “We do have some…”

Since Meng Qingxin, that oddball, appeared in the capital, every silver or gold shop had a specially made abacus to show off. Otherwise, picky customers would complain, saying even a useless dandy had a golden abacus at their waist, so how could a proper shop not have one?

Over time, the abacus business boomed. No matter how other shopkeepers grumbled, they had to buy abacuses, or customers would ask endlessly, driving them mad.

“What kind of abacus does Your Highness want? Gold, jade, or something else?”

This item had nothing to do with what Sheng Shiyue was buying, so the pavilion master hesitated, unsure what to say.

Sheng Shiyue pondered. Since kneeling on the bedboard didn’t work, she’d kneel on an abacus. Ning Qingge couldn’t bear to let her kneel too long.

If Ning Qingge still acted the same, Sheng Shiyue would kneel on the uneven abacus. Even if she was furious, it would dissipate. Then, she’d shove the items into her arms, cry with red eyes, and Ning Qingge would surely feel sorry.

Her eyes gleamed with smugness. This was much easier than “sleeping” with her, and she wouldn’t fear Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing asking later.

“Gold abacus,” Sheng Shiyue paused, then hesitated, feeling a silver abacus might be more comfortable to kneel on.

But gold was softer than silver, and a silver abacus just looked more comfortable. As for wooden ones, Sheng Shiyue didn’t consider them. To play the victim, she needed something that looked hard to make Ning Qingge pity her suffering.

But was a gold abacus better to kneel on, or a silver one less painful?

Why not get both?

She’d try them at home.

Sheng Shiyue nodded thoughtfully, ignoring the meaningful glances around her, and said, “One gold, one silver.”

The pavilion master hid his complex emotions and agreed.

Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing, unwilling to expose Sheng Shiyue further, gave her a stiff, awkward smile.

Saying she wasn’t henpecked? Bah! She even bought her own abacus for kneeling!

Sheng Shiyue ignored their disdainful looks and said, “You two pick something before we go. It’s on my tab.”

She glanced out the window, saw it was nearly dusk, and grew anxious to leave.

The martial exam was already arranged, and Ning Qingge wasn’t too busy these days, leaving the palace with other ministers. Sheng Shiyue estimated the time and wanted to find her.

But before she could go downstairs, someone shouted “Prime Minister.” Sheng Shiyue looked out the window and saw the familiar carriage squeezing through the crowd.

Without thinking, she grabbed the noted Hetian jade pendant and hurriedly said, “Send the rest to my mansion. Aunt Qu will pay. I’m leaving.”

Before Xiao Jing and Meng Qingxin could react, she vanished out the door, her steps echoing loudly on the stairs.

The two exchanged a helpless glance and slowly followed her downstairs.

Meng Qingxin said as she walked, “You’re not going back yet, right? Let’s eat together.”

In the past, if the three went out early, they’d dine at Fan Tower. Now that Sheng Shiyue left early, Meng Qingxin could only ask Xiao Jing.

Xiao Jing, who usually agreed, shook her head. As she reached the bottom, she picked up a jade hairpin she’d secretly eyed for a while and smiled, “I promised Huaying I’d meet her at Shuntian Prefecture’s gate today.”

That familiar sour stench hit again.

Meng Qingxin wanted to cry but had no tears, saying, “Boring! You’re all henpecked. Soon, we won’t even go to Yicui Tower!”

Xiao Jing laughed and said, “Isn’t your mother busy finding you a wife? In a few days…”

“Forget it! She thinks Sheng Jiu became more obedient after marrying, so she wants someone to tame me too.”

On this topic, Meng Qingxin got angry and cursed, “A bunch of love-struck fools who ditch their friends.”

As her voice faded, the carriage outside paused briefly before moving slowly with the crack of a whip.

The breeze lifted the curtain, faintly revealing the person inside.

The abacus just bought was already in use.

The dandy who was just laughing, cursing, and spending lavishly now knelt on the silver abacus, looking pitifully at the person opposite, pleading, “Ning Qingge, don’t be mad. I really know I was wrong…”

The person opposite wore a palace dress, playing with the Hetian jade pendant, her refined face silent, making hearts tremble.

Sheng Shiyue couldn’t help but grab her skirt hem, swaying it and whining, “Why aren’t you answering me?”

Her apology was genuine, but so was her spoiled temper. Barely kneeling a moment, she started fussing.

Ning Qingge looked up, half-smiling, and asked, “So, what ideas did Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing give you?”

Somehow, though the carriage hadn’t gone ten meters, Sheng Shiyue spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube. The jade pendant was in Ning Qingge’s hands, the abacus under her knees, and she even ratted out her accomplices.

If Meng Qingxin and Xiao Jing heard, they’d chase her down and scold this useless henpecked fool.

Sadly, they couldn’t hear. Sheng Shiyue lifted her eyes, her clear, moist eyes covered in a misty sheen, looking even more pitiful, and said, “It was all their idea.”

Ning Qingge nodded slightly, unclear how much she believed.

“I couldn’t think of these things. It really has nothing to do with me,” Sheng Shiyue continued, laying the groundwork.

Ning Qingge grew impatient and urged, “Speak quickly.”

Sheng Shiyue’s expression drooped, and she said, “Meng Qingxin told me to buy some gold and silver jewelry, take you to eat good food, beg once, coax twice, and then…”

“Oh?” Ning Qingge showed a curious, faint smile.

Sheng Shiyue stammered, finally squeezing out, “Sleep… sleep with you.”

To her, this was embarrassing, but Ning Qingge wouldn’t let her off and asked, “How do you plan to sleep with me?”

She knew what happened before, clearly teasing Sheng Shiyue on purpose.

Sheng Shiyue’s face flushed red, crumpling the fabric she held. Then, in a tiny voice, she said, “I… I went with them to a place called Anxiang Pavilion and bought… bought some things…”

She was mortified, wishing she could hide in a crack in the carriage.

But Ning Qingge responded calmly, “I know.”

What?

When did Ning Qingge know?

How did she know?

Sheng Shiyue’s mind filled with questions, but she blurted, “Ning Qingge, listen to me! They tricked me into buying it out of curiosity. I’d never misuse it on you. Trust me, that stuff is useless just thinking about it! Who’d use it?”

As the saying goes, sacrifice your friends, not yourself. Sheng Shiyue didn’t care about the whys, speaking quickly, fearing Ning Qingge would get angrier and make her situation worse.

Ning Qingge looked up, half-smiling, and said, “How do you know it’s useless?”

Huh?

Sheng Shiyue froze, staring at her in shock.

“I think her advice is good. It’d be even better if reversed, don’t you think, Your Highness?”