Mei Qingxue looked at those around her who were pretending to be in deep meditation. Weren't they just watching her make a fool of herself? Now they were pretending to be Buddhist monks? It was too late. This was the Lingbao Pavilion, not the Lingguang Temple.
"Hey, all you big brothers and uncles, are you all asleep?" Mei Qingxue deliberately said the things they feared most.
Those guys didn't dare to answer. They all had long faces, waiting for the Sixth Princess Consort's punishment.
Gently helping Du Guqing sit in a more comfortable position, Mei Qingxue scanned the group of people in front of her one by one.
"You offended the royal dignity. What punishment do you deserve?"
Immediately, they all knelt down in a flurry. At this moment, the Sixth Princess Consort was the most powerful.
"Your Highness, spare our lives. Princess Consort, spare our lives..."
Those who had just looked down on them with disdain had now become like people kowtowing non - stop. Seeing people kowtow to her, Mei Qingxue didn't feel proud. On the contrary, she felt really uncomfortable. She had lived for nine lifetimes and had always been instilled with the idea of equality for all. She was also a kind - hearted person. Whenever she saw someone in trouble, she would surely help if she could.
Now she was simply dressed, and those people who judged others by their appearance really made her extremely angry.
Du Guqing knew that his little princess consort had another clever idea. He held back his smile and pretended to be a backdrop behind Mei Qingxue. He just wondered what she was going to do.
His eyes swept over these people one by one. Except for the person who had just left, there were still thirteen people here. Some were big business tycoons in the area, while others were prominent officials. In front of the prince, they could only act like dwarfs now.
"Hey, isn't there even a sip of water for the prince here?" Mei Qingxue was thirsty, so she had to use Du Guqing as an excuse.
Du Guqing cooperated with Mei Qingxue and quickly coughed twice.
Damn it, your cough is so fake. I really don't know if you're here to undermine me. When those guys judged people by their appearance just now, I didn't see you cough once.
The waiter from the Lingbao Pavilion quickly served the tea and waited nervously on one side for orders.
"Pfft..."
Mei Qingxue took a sip of the tea and spat it out. The person kneeling in the front was sprayed all over his face and had to endure it silently.
"Do you want to scald the princess consort?" Mei Qingxue glared at the waiter.
The waiter was complaining in his heart. It was clearly hot, and he had served cold tea. How could it be hot? Seeing Mei Qingxue's angry look, sweat broke out on the waiter's forehead.
"I'll go and change it right away!" The waiter secretly wiped the sweat off his face.
"No need. Just make do for now." Mei Qingxue thought for a moment. "Bring all the unqualified barber apprentices in the city, along with their barber poles."
Barbering? Did that mean barbers?
"Princess Consort, do you mean barbers?" The young waiter asked doubtfully.
Damn it, isn't barbering the same as shaving?
Mei Qingxue immediately nodded. "Go!"
Barber apprentices? Tools? Du Guqing understood what she meant, and a smile was hard to hide on his lips.
Those kneeling people were sweating profusely. They all thought of a saying in unison... Wasn't it said that the daughter of the prime minister's family was gentle, elegant, knowledgeable, kind, and virtuous? Weren't these the exact words in the imperial edict of the arranged marriage? Why did the corners of their mouths twitch involuntarily when they recalled it in their minds now?
Thinking of what Mei Qingxue had just told the waiter, they had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. But now no one dared to say a word. There was the sick prince sitting in the front, and although the princess consort might not be that great, she was still the daughter of the prime minister. They could only hope that she would be merciful.
It wasn't long before the waiter brought in more than a dozen apprentices. Of course, he didn't really bring all the apprentices in the city. It would take a whole night to gather them all. He just quickly gathered a dozen or so barber apprentices he could find.
Mei Qingxue counted them and was delighted. There were exactly thirteen, neither more nor less. It seemed that God was on her side, just as she had wished.
"Good." Mei Qingxue only said one word and then paused. Her eyes swept over these short, tall, fat, and thin apprentices with timid looks on their faces.
The waiter urged on one side, "Hurry up and kowtow. This is the princess consort..." Standing there stupidly without saluting, do you want to be beaten?
"Greetings to the princess consort." More than a dozen apprentices knelt down together, and there were another group of "dwarfs" on the ground.
"Get up. Stop shouting." Mei Qingxue waved her hand impatiently. It was so noisy. She really didn't understand why others liked the feeling of being surrounded by a crowd. Wasn't it lonely sitting on a high platform alone?
"You each choose a lord." Mei Qingxue didn't know who these kneeling people were and didn't bother to ask one by one. She said to the apprentices, "Shave their heads bald. They're not allowed to move until they're bald."
The heads should be shiny. But with these apprentices, it would be good if they didn't make the heads look like they had been gnawed by dogs.
Bald heads... Everyone trembled, and their hearts skipped a beat. They were all apprentices!
Plop, plop... There was a small puddle of water on the ground directly under each person's lowered head. The sweat on their foreheads was continuously dripping down.
Plop...
"Your servant obeys." With the princess consort's order, those apprentices quickly each chose a big shot.
"Start!"
As soon as Mei Qingxue's voice fell, a voice full of despair sounded, "Princess Consort, please be magnanimous and spare this official. This official still has to go to court."
How could he face the emperor with a bald head? He would be laughed at by his colleagues. Death was a small matter, but losing face was a big deal!
Mei Qingxue didn't even look at the person who was speaking. She knew exactly what these people were thinking.
"Regarding going to court, the Sixth Prince will ask for leave on your behalf. You're praying for the common people in the world. The emperor will surely approve! Don't worry." Mei Qingxue's light - hearted "don't worry" made the person who had spoken collapse to the ground.
Bald head... Praying... Didn't that make them like Buddhist monks?
Immediately, they heard the sound of barber poles hitting the ground. Each apprentice began to rummage through their tools. The barber tools they were used to seeing on a normal day seemed to be shining with a cold light today. It was really creepy.
"Are you tired?" Mei Qingxue asked Du Guqing softly. He had been with her outside for a long time. Usually at this time, Du Guqing would be resting. Thinking of the poison in his body, Mei Qingxue felt heavy - hearted again.
Du Guqing gently shook his head and said tenderly, "I'm fine!"
He didn't want her to worry about him. He just wanted to see a lively and intelligent girl, not her sad and frowning face.
Hearing his voice, Mei Qingxue gave a comforting smile. She wouldn't ignore him. Even if she had to fight her way to the underworld—someone shivered and looked around.
Fortunately, that unlucky guy in his nine previous lives and the fertile - offspring guy in his tenth life was in a physical body now. There was nothing they could do to him.
A certain guy named the King of Hell lowered his head and continued to make circles and dots in the Book of Life and Death with a red pen...
The sound of hair being cut kept ringing. Mei Qingxue saw tufts of hair falling to the ground. They scattered on the ground and slowly piled up. Finally, there was a pile of broken hair on the ground.
"Although you haven't completed your apprenticeship, this is a perfect opportunity to practice. Don't be afraid. If anyone of them gives you trouble in the future, tell them to come to me. I'll reason with them."
It seemed that these people were about to cry. Who would dare to reason with the princess consort?
"Yes!"
The apprentices tried to hold back their trembling hands and started to work on the heads of these big shots they usually couldn't even see. Ouch, their hands trembled... There was a cut on someone's head.
"Hiss—"
"What's wrong?" Mei Qingxue looked in the direction of the sound and saw a guy with a bitter face.
The young apprentice beside him said nervously, "My... my hand... trembled."
Even his voice was trembling.
Mei Qingxue asked the man, "Does it hurt?"
"Reporting to the princess consort, this servant doesn't feel pain." How could that man dare to say it hurt?
"You continue!"
"Yes."
Ouch... It doesn't hurt. It's not my head! Seeing the clumsy movements of these apprentices, Mei Qingxue felt a twinge in her heart. Every time she heard an "ouch", her heart would twitch.
Punishing these people was what she wanted to do, but she didn't want any blood - shed incidents.
Hiss... No... It's definitely painful. Those thirteen people had their sufferings but couldn't speak.
It wasn't long before thirteen bald heads full of wounds appeared in front of Mei Qingxue.
"Not bad. This princess doesn't really want you to become Buddhist monks. Now the country is peaceful and the people are safe, but the current emperor is worried and over - worked, and the princes are all too busy. You will go to the Lingguang Temple and pray for the common people in the world on behalf of the emperor and the princes for three months. Which one of you was the one who was going to court just now..."
Mei Qingxue pretended to forget. That man didn't dare to say a word, for fear that if he opened his mouth, he would have to pray for six months. Wouldn't that be a disaster?
It turned out to be praying. The others heaved a sigh of relief.
The image of Indian sadhus flashed through Mei Qingxue's mind.
"This year, there has been a drought in the south. You will pray for rain. This princess will set up a prayer platform in front of the Lingguang Temple. You can also soak up the Buddhist aura of the Lingguang Temple and cultivate your body and mind."
"Yes!" Thirteen despairing voices replied to Mei Qingxue feebly.
Mei Qingxue didn't argue with them. Praying for rain in the next three months wouldn't be an easy task.
"Step back for now." Mei Qingxue gently helped Du Guqing up, and the two of them walked back to the Sixth Prince's Mansion proudly with the small box in their arms.
"This is for you!" Mei Qingxue gave the trophy of the night to the man.
There was no look of joy on the man's face. Instead, his expression was very complicated.
"What? Don't you like it?" Mei Qingxue asked in surprise.
A bitter taste welled up in Du Guqing's mouth. Although he had already guessed that it was for him, when it was really given to him, he didn't know how he felt.
"I like it!" He replied awkwardly.
He could only carry the Nine - Pattern Blood Dragon Jade close to his body. It was too eye - catching. Maybe that person didn't expect that a useless person like him would appear there. He must be very disappointed.
"Why do I feel that you're so reluctant?"
At the Lingbao Pavilion, those people seemed to have said that this was some kind of imperial jade. But she didn't care. She only heard two pieces of information: an ancient jade and a jade that was a holy object for treating injuries. Mei Qingxue looked at the jade pendant happily but didn't notice the doting look in the man's eyes.
"I just... feel flattered!"