Chapter 21 The Discord: The Princess Consort originally favored the second daughter of the Lin family, the imperial merchant family...

However, as soon as she received Madam Wen, she grabbed Fu Mingzi's hand without saying a word and asked in a deep voice, "What did you think of that girl today?"

Fu Mingzi was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses: "It's alright." Although he had already planned to publicly agree to the marriage, he also knew that a sudden change in attitude was suspicious, so he tried to be as restrained in his words as possible.

Even so, a smile immediately appeared on Madam Wen's face: "Good, good, it's good that it's alright." She had been so unwilling before, but now that she had finally softened her stance, how could Madam Wen not be happy?

“Our two families should visit each other more often in the future. Over time, we may get to know each other better,” Madam Wen said tentatively, looking at Fu Mingzi’s expression.

Fu Mingzi was initially a little flustered, then turned her face away, seemingly embarrassed and annoyed, but ultimately did not refute.

The smile in Wen's eyes deepened.

On the return trip, Madam Wen did not let Fu Mingzi ride a horse, but instead pulled him into a carriage.

“It’s windy and cold today, I’m worried about you riding a horse.” Madam Wen was always very stubborn on such matters, and Fu Mingzi was unwilling to go against her on such a small thing, so he followed her into the carriage.

There was a small heater in the carriage, and it was wrapped in thick felt blankets on all sides, so it was very warm. When Fu Mingzi first came in, he thought it was quite nice, much better than riding a horse and feeling the wind.

Looking at his hands, which were red from the cold, Wen felt a pang of sympathy: "You shouldn't have ridden a horse when you came. Even if you did, you should have worn the sheepskin gloves I gave you last time. Now that they're so cold, it would be terrible if you got frostbite."

Fu Mingzi smiled and reassured her, "I'm thick-skinned, it's nothing."

Madam Wen disagreed, glaring at Fu Mingzi: "You still dare to say that? Do you know that the second young master of the Prince's Mansion fell into the water today and developed a fever as soon as he was rescued? I heard he was delirious from the fever. The Princess rushed to invite the imperial physician. When we left, the second young master was still unconscious, which shows how badly he was chilled. If you don't take good care of him, don't come crying to me when he gets sick."

Fu Mingzi was somewhat surprised by what Madam Wen said. He hadn't expected things to escalate to such a serious level, with even an imperial physician coming to the door. Yet, there was no sign of any disturbance in the front courtyard. Fu Mingzi pondered this, realizing that the Prince's heir's methods were more comprehensive than he had imagined.

"Sister-in-law." Fu Mingzi snapped out of her reverie and immediately asked, "I heard that the second young master fell into the water, and it seems to be related to a scholar's daughter. What does the Princess Consort mean by this?"

Madam Wen glanced at Fu Mingzi, somewhat curious as to why he had suddenly become interested in such gossip about the inner quarters of the household. However, thinking that the whole capital would probably know about this by tomorrow, she did not hide it from him and told him.

"The Princess Consort originally favored the second young lady of the Lin family, a royal merchant family. But now that this has happened, that Hanlin scholar's wife is not easily fooled. Naturally, she has to grit her teeth and accept it. The Princess Consort can tolerate a young lady from a Hanlin family." Madam Wen said this with a sarcastic expression.

Fu Mingzi was somewhat shocked. For a prince's illegitimate son to marry a merchant's daughter, even if she was a royal merchant, was extremely disrespectful. It seemed that this princess had no sense of shame whatsoever, and was practically ready to point her finger at people and say that she valued money over dignity.

At the same time, Fu Mingzi also admired this princess. As a princess, she didn't care about face and only cared about practical benefits. She was truly a talented person.

"Is this the Second Young Master's scheme?" Fu Mingzi realized that she had misunderstood before. She hadn't expected the Princess Consort to be so low-minded. She wouldn't play such a pointless game. She directly arranged a marriage with a merchant's daughter. It seems that the daughter of a Hanlin scholar is a good match. After all, she is an official's daughter.

In that case, the second young master actually benefited, so this matter couldn't have been caused by the heir apparent or the princess.

"Who knows?" Madam Wen shook her head. "The second young master's mother is no pushover either. Besides, I always felt that what they were plotting against today wasn't that Hanlin scholar's daughter. It was probably just a coincidence. The concubine didn't look too good at the time either."

Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow. What a mess! The Prince of Cheng's good fortune is probably not something an ordinary person can enjoy.

However, it's unclear which girl the second young master and his concubine have their eyes on. In that case, that girl is quite lucky; she didn't stumble headlong into the Prince's mansion, a den of wolves and tigers.

**

After leaving the Prince's residence, Zhou Xiaoyan wanted to return directly to the palace, but Zhou Xiaoheng said he wanted to go to the West Market and invited Zhou Xiaoyan to go with him.

Zhou Xiaoyan sat in his own carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked calmly at Zhou Xiaoheng, who had a gentle smile on his face in the carriage next to him.

"No, Fourth Brother, please do as you wish."

His tone was so cold that Zhou Xiaoheng could barely maintain his smile.

"Fifth brother..." Zhou Xiaoheng wanted to persuade him again, but he was a little hesitant. He had always had a good relationship with Zhou Xiaoyan, but ever since Fu Mingzi entered the palace, he seemed to have been distancing himself from him and his attitude had become much colder.

“Fourth Brother, there’s no need to say anything more.” Zhou Xiaoyan interrupted Zhou Xiaoheng, loosened his grip, and lowered the sedan curtain: “I’m a little tired today and want to go back to rest early.”

Zhou Xiaoheng's face twitched, and he felt annoyed. No matter how gentle he was, he wouldn't really take it lightly when his younger brother showed him such disrespect.

"Then forget it." Zhou Xiaoheng said stiffly, turning around and getting into the carriage.

Zhou Xiaoyan sat in the carriage with his hands clenched into fists on his knees, the veins on the back of his hands clearly visible. He only let go of his hands after Zhou Xiaoheng's carriage had driven away.

Wei Baocheng, kneeling to one side to serve, naturally witnessed this scene. He was somewhat puzzled. When did the Fifth Prince become so hostile towards the Fourth Prince? Previously, because the Fourth Prince's birth mother and the Fifth Prince's birth mother lived close by, the two had a pretty good relationship...

Wei Baocheng quickly changed his mind, then put on a smiling face and said gently, "Your Highness, when Consort Zhao came out, she said that you should go to her place when you return."

Zhou Xiaoyan frowned, then his brows relaxed again: "I understand."

The carriage then fell silent. Zhou Xiaoyan frowned, seemingly lost in thought, while Wei Baocheng, long accustomed to the prince's temperament, remained expressionless.

When they were almost at the palace gate, Zhou Xiaoyan finally asked, "Was today's matter settled?"

Wei Baocheng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed his head: "Of course it's appropriate. Just as you said, the Second Young Master and the Concubine did indeed want to scheme against Miss Yang. Our people found an opportunity and sent someone else instead."

After Wei Baocheng finished speaking, he glanced at Zhou Xiaoyan.

Zhou Xiaoyan frowned: "Who did you replace them with?"

Wei Baocheng quickly lowered his eyes: "She is the daughter of Li Hanlin. She came here to climb the social ladder. She was not very respectful to Young Master Fu before, so this can be considered as fulfilling her wish." Wei Baocheng smiled, but a hint of ambiguity flashed in his eyes.

The Fifth Prince's intervention for Young Master Fu's fiancée suggests that he values ​​Young Master Fu highly, and this arrangement should be in accordance with the Prince's wishes.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan's expression softened slightly, and he nodded: "That's good."

Wei Baocheng thought to himself, "As expected," and his smile became even more pronounced: "Yes."

Zhou Xiaoyan lowered his eyes slightly. In her previous life, Miss Yang committed suicide because of two reasons: first, Fu Mingzi refused to marry her, and second, because of the Prince's Mansion's scheming. Both paths led to her death, and she died in despair. It was a sad story. However, later, somehow, it all became Fu Mingzi's fault.

Zhou Xiaoyan sneered. None of his brothers were simple-minded. Even the seemingly quiet sixth and seventh brothers were quite cunning. Looking at them, he was the only fool.

Under Wei Baocheng's surprised gaze, Zhou Xiaoyan quickly composed himself and returned to his previous calm and composed demeanor as the Fifth Prince.

**

The Fu family was very lively today. Madam Wen was a busy person, and as soon as she returned, she went to talk to Fu Mingsong and conveyed the message that Fu Mingzi had softened his stance.

Unlike the beaming Wen, Fu Mingsong was somewhat surprised.

He knew his younger brother best. He was just like his father, once he made up his mind, he would never change it. He would never turn back even if he hit a brick wall. His father had long made up his mind to force him to get married. Now that his father had suddenly changed his mind, Fu Mingsong couldn't help but be surprised.

"What exactly did Mingzi say?" Fu Mingsong asked very cautiously.

"Is this kid up to something?" Fu Mingsong thought to himself.

It must be said that Fu Mingsong understands Fu Mingzi very well, but Wen Shi has no such concerns at all. She smiled and recounted Fu Mingzi's performance, and then embellished the scene of Fu Mingzi meeting Miss Yang Liu, making it seem as if their meeting was a perfect encounter, surpassing countless other romances in the mortal world. As a result, Fu Mingsong was somewhat skeptical.

"Is that really the case?" Fu Mingsong pressed.

Madam Wen nodded with a smile: "The two of them looked so well-matched to me. When a maid from the Prince's mansion suddenly appeared, Mingzi protected her like a hawk. There's no mistake."

Upon hearing this, Fu Mingsong's doubts lessened, and he thought to himself, "This kid has really come to his senses."

However, he didn't say this to anyone else, only instructing Wen Shi: "Don't spread it outside yet, wait until it's settled before saying anything." In the end, Fu Mingsong still didn't quite trust his younger brother, fearing that he was just putting on an act to lower his guard for him, and he would only be able to breathe a sigh of relief after everything was settled.

“Of course I know that; a young lady’s reputation is important.” But Madam Wen’s thoughts were completely different from Fu Mingsong’s.

Fu Mingsong didn't say anything, just waved his hand and left.

Little did they know that, besides them, there was another person in the Wen family's house who listened to the entire event.

Fu Yunjia stood behind the green gauze curtain, her small figure filled with confusion.

How could this be? In my past life...

Fu Yunjia pursed her lips. Had something gone wrong? Or...?

Fu Yunjia lowered her eyes. In her previous life, she had squandered a good hand. Despite having a noble family background and reliable father and brothers, she ended up dying a miserable death due to the instigation of others and the alienation from her family. In this life, she originally wanted to change the fate of her fifth uncle, whom she hated the most in the previous life but who ultimately stood up for her. However, she did not expect that at the most crucial moment, a different result would occur than in her previous life.

Fu Yunjia racked her brains. Her fifth uncle was so fond of that girl, yet he never accepted the marriage proposal and even drove Miss Yang to her death. Could there be some reason behind this that she didn't know about?

Thinking about her foolishness in her previous life, Fu Yunjia was no longer sure about her judgment of people and those superficial memories. Let's see. In any case, she would not harbor resentment towards her family because of other people's gossip.