Chapter 51 Dilemma (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)

Fu Mingzi thought a lot that night, and the next morning, she woke up with dark circles under her eyes.

Songyan seemed a little hesitant to act as casually as usual, and served him with utmost care.

Fu Mingzi didn't say much all morning and entered the palace with a sullen face.

As Fu Mingzi walked along the palace wall toward the West Third Palace, she was thinking about how to bring it up with Zhou Xiaoyan later.

He had thought of many opening lines, but he rejected them all.

I have many questions in my mind right now, but I don't know how to bring them up.

Before long, he arrived at Zhou Xiaoyan's place. He stood at the door for a while to calm himself down before walking in.

Everyone in Zhou Xiaoyan's courtyard was very familiar with him. When he came in, they all greeted him with smiles. Fu Mingzi responded with a smile as usual, but only he knew that his emotions were constantly tense.

When he reached the front hall, Wei Baocheng was guarding the door. Seeing him arrive, he smiled and said, "Young Master Fu has arrived. His Highness is waiting for you. Please come in."

The words were the same as usual, but Fu Mingzi sensed something different in them. They were too intimate. Now that he thought about it, Zhou Xiaoyan had been unusually kind to him ever since he first met him.

At that time, he took a liking to Zhou Xiaoyan at first sight, and he felt very good about himself, always thinking that he was very likable, and that it was only natural for Zhou Xiaoyan to treat him this way.

But now that I think about it, it was only our first meeting, and we didn't even exchange a few words. Why would Zhou Xiaoyan, a prince, be so friendly to him?

After spending the last few days together, Fu Mingzi had come to understand Zhou Xiaoyan's personality. He was an indifferent person who was aloof to everyone. What did she have to do to make him change his nature?

Fu Mingzi dared not think about this matter too deeply, for the thought of it made him break out in a cold sweat.

Seeing Fu Mingzi's sudden change in expression, Wei Baocheng asked in surprise, "What's wrong, Young Master Fu?"

Fu Mingzi then came to her senses, looked at Wei Baocheng's puzzled expression, and gave a dry laugh: "It's nothing, I just remembered that I forgot to bring something." After saying that, she didn't dare to say anything more to Wei Baocheng and stepped into the main hall.

Zhou Xiaoyan was indeed waiting for him. He must have finished eating long ago. Zhou Xiaoyan was sitting in the main seat with a bowl of tea in his hand. When he saw him come in, he immediately stood up: "You're a little later than usual today. Have you had breakfast yet?"

From the moment Fu Mingzi entered, she stared intently at Zhou Xiaoyan's every move. Seeing his caring gaze and gentle words, Fu Mingzi felt a slight warmth in her heart for some reason.

"I've used it." His tone was somewhat low. "I'm sorry to have kept Your Highness waiting."

Zhou Xiaoyan smiled slightly: "It won't be long. Let's go now, or we'll be late."

Fu Mingzi lowered his head slightly. Unexpectedly, after seeing Zhou Xiaoyan, his originally agitated heart suddenly calmed down. Perhaps after seeing this person, he was convinced that no matter what the reason was, this person would not harm him or the Fu family.

"Okay." Fu Mingzi heard her own calm voice.

Zhou Xiaoyan, unaware of anything amiss, nodded and walked out of the house first.

Fu Mingzi followed behind him, but couldn't help wondering if she really needed to keep asking about it. Even if she knew the answer, what difference would it make?

Now that they are clearly different from those in Yun Jia's dream, what's the point of forcing ourselves to understand or explore those meaningless things?

Fu Mingzi lowered her head. "That's fine. Actually, it's not so bad. As for other things, knowing too much will only add to my worries."

**

Perhaps because of the emperor's high regard for Zhou Xiaoyan, the newly arrived lecturer also paid special attention to Zhou Xiaoyan in today's class, even asking him to answer several questions. Each time Zhou Xiaoyan finished answering, the lecturer would exclaim in praise, as if he were some kind of genius who could govern the world. This made the other princes in the Imperial Study very envious.

However, the fourth prince was excluded from these people.

After being bombarded with information yesterday, this was the first time Fu Mingzi had truly taken the Fourth Prince seriously. In the past, he always thought that the Fourth Prince was just wasting his time and that no matter how muddle-headed the emperor was, he would not entrust the country to a prince pushed out by a powerful family.

But now he realizes that perhaps the emperor really is so confused. So the question is, what magic does the fourth prince possess that makes the emperor ignore the threat from the powerful families?

Fu Mingzi observed the Fourth Prince carefully all morning. He seemed to be just an ordinary person, with average looks, a gentle temperament, and no conflicts with anyone. He always had a smile on his face, and even when his younger brother received the emperor's favor and his teacher's praise, he remained unfazed, as if it were only natural.

Before, one might have called it kindness and generosity, but now it can only be described as cunning and scheming.

The Fourth Prince was no ordinary person. Fu Mingzi knew this the first time she met him, and today she was certain of it once again.

The Fourth Prince waited until the morning's literature class ended without revealing any flaws, nor did he show any resentment or annoyance. He simply watched quietly as Zhou Xiaoyan shone brightly in class.

Fu Mingzi lowered her head and sneered. She really was a very composed person.

After class, the teacher left. The other princes all looked at Zhou Xiaoyan with disdain and ignored him, turning around and leaving. Only the fourth prince came over and said to Fu Mingzi with a smile, "My brothers are young and don't know any better. Fifth brother, please don't mind them."

Zhou Xiaoyan said calmly, "Fourth Imperial Brother, you flatter me. I will not take it seriously."

The Fourth Prince smiled, seemingly not taking Zhou Xiaoyan's retort to heart.

"That's good, then I'm relieved. Fifth brother must have improved a lot in riding and archery this time accompanying the emperor on the spring hunt. We brothers should have a friendly spar sometime." He spoke very frankly, without a hint of sarcasm. If an ordinary person heard this, they would probably think that the brothers had a very close relationship.

But Zhou Xiaoyan remained cold-faced: "Fourth brother, you flatter me." He didn't say a single polite word.

The fourth prince's expression immediately stiffened, and he decided not to try to get closer to the prince any further, turning around and leaving directly.

Fu Mingzi watched this scene from the side, her gaze deep and thoughtful.

**

After everyone left, Fu Mingzi followed Zhou Xiaoyan out of the study. However, Fu Mingzi was unusually quiet the whole way. Even when they reached the West Third Palace, she did not chat with Zhou Xiaoyan as usual.

Zhou Xiaoyan himself felt something was off, and couldn't help but look at Fu Mingzi the whole way, but Fu Mingzi didn't notice at all.

It wasn't until they reached the courtyard gate that Zhou Xiaoyan couldn't help but ask, "Are you sick? Or are you feeling unwell?"

Fu Mingzi snapped out of his daze: "Huh?" He glanced at Zhou Xiaoyan with some confusion and found him looking at him with a worried expression. Fu Mingzi immediately realized what was wrong with him today and hurriedly said, "Oh, I'm fine, I was just thinking about some things."

Zhou Xiaoyan frowned, somewhat disbelieving, but ultimately said nothing more, nodded, and the two entered the courtyard together.

The lunch was eaten quietly. Wei Baocheng set out the dishes with trepidation. The two people who used to chat and laugh together were suddenly silent, and Wei Baocheng couldn't help but wonder.

Could it be that they had some kind of conflict?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Wei Bao shook his head. It was unlikely. He knew that the Fifth Prince was very tolerant of Young Master Fu, so how could they have quarreled? Besides, Young Master Fu didn't seem like the type to take advantage of the prince's favor.

So what exactly went wrong?

Wei Baocheng felt uneasy, thinking that he would have to give Xiao Yunzi a few instructions later.

Zhou Xiaoyan ate less than usual during this meal. Fu Mingzi noticed this, opened her mouth but didn't say anything, and put down her chopsticks as well.

"What? Are you full? Eat some more." Zhou Xiaoyan could tell that Fu Mingzi was eating significantly less than usual today, and couldn't help but ask.

Fu Mingzi shook his head: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but I am already full."

These words sounded a bit awkward, and Zhou Xiaoyan's tone faltered. He felt increasingly distressed, as he sensed that Fu Mingzi was different today than usual.

"What's wrong with you?" He frowned as he looked at Fu Mingzi.

Fu Mingzi looked at Zhou Xiaoyan's concerned eyes and felt a little uneasy, but he still lowered his head and said in a low voice, "This humble subject is fine."

Zhou Xiaoyan felt a little stifled and didn't know what to say for a moment. Yes, even in his previous life, it was Fu Mingzi who would come closer to him. When Fu Mingzi stopped talking, he didn't know how to communicate with her.

"Then go and rest," Zhou Xiaoyan said sullenly. "We still have martial arts class this afternoon, don't be late."

"Yes," Fu Mingzi replied respectfully as she stood up.

Zhou Xiaoyan felt increasingly frustrated.

**

Fu Mingzi left the front hall, and Xiao Yunzi led the way. Xiao Yunzi was clever and realized something was wrong at this moment, so she didn't dare to say anything along the way and just obediently led the way.

But before he could speak, Fu Mingzi asked, "Do you know what the relationship was like between the Fifth Prince and the Fourth Prince before?"

Although Fu Mingzi gave up on asking Zhou Xiaoyan, he found that he could not truly ignore Fu Yunjia's words. Fu Yunjia had said that in her dream, the Fifth Prince and the Fourth Prince had a very good relationship, as close as brothers, which contradicted Fu Mingzi's understanding.

However, after seeing how hard the Fourth Prince tried to please Zhou Xiaoyan today, he became somewhat uncertain. If someone always acts like this, how could the people around him truly disregard him?

“The Fifth Prince and the Fourth Prince used to have a very good relationship.” Xiao Yunzi answered with a smile when asked this question, after all, it was not a secret: “Because Consort Wu and Lady Zhaoyi lived together, the two princes grew up together since childhood, so they have always been like brothers, but…” Xiao Yunzi looked a little puzzled when she said this.

“But since some time ago, the Fifth Prince hasn’t been interacting with the Fourth Prince much.” After saying that, Xiao Yunzi realized that what she said seemed a bit off, so she quickly added, “However, I suppose it’s because he’s getting older, and he can’t be the same as when he was a child.”

Fu Mingzi frowned. He said that she was old, but it had only been a few months. Could a person's behavior change so drastically?

"Young Master." Xiao Yunzi felt a little uneasy. He had been too presumptuous just now, how could he say such things? "This servant was just saying that casually, please... please don't take it seriously..."

"Don't worry," Fu Mingzi waved her hand calmly, "I won't tell anyone."

Xiao Yunzi breathed a sigh of relief, but her feelings for Fu Mingzi grew even stronger.

As expected, Fu Mingzi sighed inwardly. The change must have occurred before and after she entered the palace. If there hadn't been this change, things might have really turned out as Yun Jia dreamed. But what exactly happened? Did Zhou Xiaoyan also dream something?

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoyan was sitting at the dining table with a dejected look on his face, watching the servants clear away the leftover food.

Wei Baocheng sensed his displeasure and, after thinking for a moment, tentatively suggested, "Your Highness, how about I have the kitchen prepare some porridge and side dishes? When Young Master Fu gets up, if he's hungry, he can have something to eat."

Zhou Xiaoyan frowned and waved his hand: "Go ahead." Then he added: "Leave him a bowl of soup and some snacks too. The martial arts class this afternoon won't be easy."

"Yes." Wei Baocheng carefully accepted the order before turning and leaving.

In his heart, he couldn't help but sigh that this young master Fu was even more precious than the Fifth Prince, as he had to worry about everything.

Hmm, it seems I still need to contact Xiao Yunzi later. I can't keep the Fifth Prince so worried and upset.