Chapter 45: A Reward (First Published on Jinjiang Literature City)

Zhou Xiaoyan and Fu Mingzi's group turned a corner and headed north again. Fu Mingzi, observing Zhou Xiaoyan's expression, tentatively asked, "Why didn't Your Highness go over to pay your respects just now? Although His Majesty didn't see you come over, those guards are not to be underestimated." This was also an implication that with such a large group of people, it was impossible for the guards in front of the emperor not to have noticed them.

Zhou Xiaoyan chuckled lightly: "I am now just a lowly illegitimate son, how dare I compete for the Emperor's favor? If the Crown Prince finds out, I wonder what he will think of me."

Fu Mingzi chuckled inwardly. This guy was trying to play dumb. He just didn't know if the emperor, who was supporting him so generously, would allow him to be a fool.

“In that case, His Majesty will be angry again,” Fu Mingzi said with a smile.

Zhou Xiaoyan snorted coldly: "If everything went according to his wishes, I wouldn't need to scheme like this."

That's true. If the emperor wants to promote someone who aligns with his interests, these small favors aren't enough. To nurture the mind of a coward, he'll need to offer much more...

Fu Mingzi's expression was inscrutable.

They wandered around for a while but didn't find any more prey. Zhou Xiaoyan, being carefree, casually said he was tired and went straight back to the camp.

When he returned, the emperor had already come back, but the crown prince had not yet returned. Looking at the situation, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking that the crown prince was probably still there making up for Zhou Xiaoyan's deficit.

Just then, Zhao Defu, the chief eunuch in charge of the emperor's household affairs, walked over to greet them.

"Fifth Prince, by His Majesty's decree, you are summoned to the Imperial Tent for a talk." Zhao Defu had a naturally doughy appearance and spoke to everyone with utmost politeness.

Zhou Xiaoyan dared not be arrogant in front of this person, and his face was very respectful, with a hint of fear: "Did Father Emperor say what it is?"

Zhao Defu smiled and said, "This servant doesn't know about such things, but Your Highness, rest assured, it's not a bad thing."

Zhou Xiaoyan pretended to wipe his sweat and bowed to Zhao Defu with a grateful expression: "Thank you for your guidance, Father-in-law."

Zhao Defu said he dared not, and refused the purse Zhou Xiaoyan offered. He forced a smile and led the way for Zhou Xiaoyan.

Zhou Xiaoyan winked at Fu Mingzi, who smiled, nodded, and turned to leave.

Fu Mingzi roughly knew why the emperor had summoned Zhou Xiaoyan at this time, so he wasn't particularly curious and went straight to the civil officials. He hadn't forgotten Zhao Chengdong's words and Fu Mingsong's instructions from this morning, and he needed to find out the details of the matter.

When Fu Mingzi strolled over, Fu Mingsong was standing on the outskirts of the hunting grounds talking to someone. Fu Mingzi could roughly tell that the person seemed to be Fu Mingsong's subordinate, so she did not hesitate and walked over directly.

"Big brother," Fu Mingzi greeted from afar.

Fu Mingsong glanced at him, first frowning slightly, then dismissed his subordinate with a few words.

"What are you doing here at this time?" Fu Mingsong asked, his tone tinged with displeasure.

Fu Mingzi smiled nonchalantly: "The Fifth Prince has been summoned to the Imperial Tent by His Majesty. I had nothing to do, so I came to talk to my elder brother."

If there's one person in the world who understands Fu Mingzi the most, it would be Fu Mingsong. So when he heard Fu Mingzi say this, he knew that she was talking nonsense, probably about what happened this morning.

Fu Mingsong glanced around. Zhao Chengdong had not participated in the hunt due to poor health, and was probably serving in the imperial tent at the moment. Those remaining around the hunting grounds were just a few younger courtiers.

"Let's talk in private," Fu Mingsong said, then walked towards the small pine forest on one side of the hunting grounds.

Fu Mingzi naturally followed quickly.

When they finally reached a secluded spot, Fu Mingsong frowned and said, "You can't even wait a little while longer."

Fu Mingzi chuckled: "If I hadn't known today, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight."

Fu Mingsong sighed; he had expected this scene.

"Alright, it's nothing serious. A few days ago, the family reported Mingzhu's return to the capital. That old fox probably caught wind of something. He asked about your grandfather's health today because he wanted to know the extent of the matter. After all, the old man has a strong temper. If something serious had happened, he would probably be the first to suffer. But you looked natural and spoke easily, so he naturally knew it wasn't a big deal and could probably guess what was going on."

Fu Mingzi sighed. He finally understood that in a place full of shrewd people like this, his little schemes were really no match for the world. A single unrelated remark was enough for them to find out almost everything about his family.

"Even if Zhao Chengdong finds out, he won't do anything, right? I've never heard of him having any connection with the Duke of Qian." Fu Mingzi was annoyed, but he didn't let up on his words.

“Who knows?” Fu Mingsong scoffed. “On the surface, there seems to be no connection, but Zhao Chengdong is a veteran of two dynasties and has been in the central government for so many years. Who knows how many connections and influence he has behind him?”

Fu Mingzi fell silent, feeling a slight pang of guilt; he had truly been somewhat careless.

"Alright." Perhaps sensing Fu Mingzi's guilt, Fu Mingsong's expression changed, but he regained his usual calm: "We don't have any major grudges with Zhao Chengdong, nor any life-threatening conflicts. Even if he finds out, it doesn't matter. This matter is not up to him, nor is it up to His Majesty."

Fu Mingzi sensed something amiss in Fu Mingsong's words and wanted to ask more, but Fu Mingsong refused to say anything more, only saying that Fu Mingzhu would know when she arrived in the capital, and then turned and left.

Fu Mingzi sighed. His older brother's mouth was tighter than a clam's.

When Fu Mingzi returned to her main tent, Zhou Xiaoyan had already returned from the imperial tent and was sitting in the main seat with a serious expression, watching Wei Baocheng count the items on the table.

Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the things on the table: several pieces of fine leather, a fine lacquered wooden bow, and a plate of gold and jewels, the bright colors almost blinding Fu Mingzi.

"Are these all rewards from His Majesty?" Fu Mingzi looked at Zhou Xiaoyan with an expression that suggested he had expected this.

He could imagine that when the emperor summoned Zhou Xiaoyan, he would certainly bestow upon him a great reward, both to show his favor to Zhou Xiaoyan and to stimulate Zhou Xiaoyan's ambition. Most importantly, it would provoke the crown prince, since the emperor couldn't possibly be unaware that Zhou Xiaoyan's prey was all sent by the crown prince.

Zhou Xiaoyan nodded, but didn't even glance at the rewards. Instead, he stared intently at Fu Mingzi and asked, "Where did you go?"

Fu Mingzi was taken aback, not expecting Zhou Xiaoyan to care about her schedule, but there was no point in hiding it, so she honestly replied, "I went to see my older brother."

Zhou Xiaoyan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then frowned and said in a low voice, "Did you go to ask about what happened when Zhao Chengdong spoke to you today?"

Zhou Xiaoyan remembered that Fu Mingzi initially disliked Zhao Chengdong because of the incident with the Duke of Qian. However, at that time, he only complained a few times about Zhao Chengdong's cunning. The reason he later clashed with Zhao Chengdong was because of him.

"Don't overthink it. Zhao Chengdong is a cautious person and wouldn't risk offending the Duke of Jingguo's mansion to pull chestnuts out of the fire for others," Zhou Xiaoyan said directly without waiting for Fu Mingzi's reply.

Fu Mingzi's expression became somewhat strange. Zhou Xiaoyan's words seemed to suggest that he knew about the Duke of Qian's affairs...

Seeing Fu Mingzi's expression, Zhou Xiaoyan finally came to his senses. A hint of annoyance flashed across his face. He had been too careless and had probably aroused Fu Mingzi's suspicion.

"Your Highness, you..."

"Don't take it to heart." Zhou Xiaoyan quickly interrupted Fu Mingzi: "You mentioned before that your sister was coming back, and I had some idea of ​​what was going on. If I have offended you in any way, it is my fault."

Fu Mingzi was taken aback. He hadn't expected Zhou Xiaoyan to confront him directly and even speak to him in a conciliatory manner.

"This humble subject dares not." Fu Mingzi subconsciously declined, then paused and organized his thoughts: "The matter in my family is actually not a big deal, so it is only natural that Your Highness could guess it."

Considering his family, Fu Mingzi didn't dare to speak too frankly and could only deal with Zhou Xiaoyan in this way. Therefore, although Fu Mingzi appeared calm on the surface, he was somewhat guilty in his heart. He always felt that Zhou Xiaoyan's thoughts were no less than Zhao Chengdong's.

Zhou Xiaoyan seemed relieved: "It's good that you don't mind."

Fu Mingzi looked up at Zhou Xiaoyan and, seeing that he really didn't intend to press the matter, breathed a sigh of relief. If Zhou Xiaoyan had pressed him, he really wouldn't have known how to answer.

Wei Baocheng, who was listening from the side, was confused and did not understand what the two people meant. He just buried his head in counting the rewards and replied, "Your Highness, the rewards have all been registered and recorded."

Zhou Xiaoyan nodded: "Keep it safe."

Wei Baocheng nodded in agreement and was about to wave for someone to move the items downstairs when Fu Mingzi suddenly stepped forward, picked out a jade pendant from the pile of jewels, and took it up.

“Your Highness, since it is His Majesty’s gift, it should not all be left to gather dust in the warehouse. I think this jade pendant is quite nice. Why don’t you wear it tomorrow?” Fu Mingzi’s words were not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Zhou Xiaoyan had already offended the emperor today, and if he remained indifferent to these rewards, the emperor might do something irrational in his anger.

After all, what the emperor wanted was a compliant puppet, not a troublemaker who opposed him at every turn.

Zhou Xiaoyan had also thought of this. He frowned, reluctant to take the gift bestowed by the emperor, but he also knew that he couldn't be willful in this matter. So he could only grit his teeth and say, "You're right, let's keep this jade pendant."

Upon seeing that Zhou Xiaoyan had agreed, Wei Baocheng immediately took the jade pendant from Fu Mingzi. As for the rest of the items, they were carried out by the other eunuchs.

Fu Mingzi stood aside watching, smiling: "If the Crown Prince saw this, I'm afraid he would feel uncomfortable again."

Because of what had happened before, Zhou Xiaoyan's expression was still somewhat cold, but when he replied to Fu Mingzi, his tone was gentle: "The Crown Prince's reward will not be less than mine."

Fu Mingzi chuckled. Even if the Crown Prince's reward was more than Fu Mingzi's, it probably wouldn't be much more. If the Emperor was determined to make Zhou Xiaoyan disgust the Crown Prince, he would definitely not let this opportunity pass. Now the Crown Prince and Zhou Xiaoyan were allies, but how long could this alliance last under the Emperor's instigation?

Fu Mingzi glanced at Zhou Xiaoyan and saw that his expression had returned to calm, as if he was not worried about these things at all.

Fu Mingzi's eyes darkened. If he could think of this, Zhou Xiaoyan could naturally think of it too, but he remained so calm. Did he have a plan for this all along?