Chapter 65 If the dragon hiding in the mountains doesn't come to me, then I'll go to the mountains myself...

What has Yong'an been doing lately?

The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Works were still waiting in the outer hall. The emperor put the book that Xue Guangting had brought into the drawer, and casually picked up the remaining half cup of cold tea on the table and poured it into the pine and rock bonsai.

Xu Asheng followed closely behind the emperor, bowing his head as he replied, "Oh dear, it was my oversight. I will send someone to inquire after the princess immediately."

The emperor glanced at Xu Asheng and saw that although he apologized verbally, he was not afraid and still had a smile on his face. He couldn't help but give a lukewarm "humph".

Xu Asheng, a shrewd woman who had worked her way up in the palace, knew that the Emperor wasn't truly angry. Instead, she joked with him, "Then shall this servant send someone to the Princess's residence right now?"

"Has a lot of fabric been sent from Jiangnan?"

"Indeed, I took a look, and they are all top-quality Suzhou embroidery, with excellent patterns and craftsmanship."

"Go and pick out some, and some more jewelry, and send them to Yong'an." The emperor gently patted the closed drawer. "Tell her that if she's really bored, she can stay home and tailor clothes and make jewelry."

Fu Sui had the fabric unraveled piece by piece to examine it. His fingertips gently brushed against the satin, feeling its silky softness, like spring water.

Suzhou embroidery is exquisite, capable of creating stacked flowers without appearing rigid. When it moves, it becomes even more radiant, with each petal reflecting a different kind of brilliance.

For this reason, the Suzhou embroidery sent as tribute from Jiangnan every year was made of soft and thin fabric, so as not to ruin the lightness of the Suzhou embroidery with the heaviness of winter clothes. Fortunately, after the palace received the fabric, it would take a lot of time for the emperor to distribute it, take measurements, and make the clothes, so that they could be worn in the spring of the following year.

The fabrics that Xu Zhiyi sent were decorated with butterflies among flowers, fish playing among lotus leaves, and green peonies, all in bright and cheerful colors.

Fu Sui fiddled with the pearl box that had been sent from the palace, the lustrous pearls rolling back and forth between his fingers, making a "swish, swish" sound.

"Wang Bochang is coming back? After several years apart, he's finally returning to Beijing. I must give him a proper welcome back party."

Kouyun thought about how the Wang family hadn't even dared to pass through the Princess's mansion in recent years, and was somewhat worried: "I'm afraid Wang Bochang won't accept the invitation."

“Of course he won’t accept the invitation.” But what does it matter whether he accepts or not? Fu Sui said with a smile, “If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.”

"Go and prepare my new clothes. I want to go to the city gate to properly welcome Minister Wang."

The carriage stopped, and the attendant knocked on the door.

Wang Bochang was lying on his side in the carriage, resting with his eyes closed. His carriage was spacious, and after a long journey, it was covered with thick bedding, and burning silver charcoal and ambergris incense. There was also a small table on one side of the carriage, with a small red clay stove for brewing tea.

He had foreseen this day from the moment Feng Man sent someone to Luoyang to see him. The Feng family was more trouble than they were worth; they couldn't even clean up their own messes, yet they still went to him for advice in such a grand manner. If the Wang family's original members in the palace hadn't been sent away, they wouldn't have approached Consort Feng at all.

Although the survey maps of Hedong caught him somewhat off guard, Wang Bochang was not overly worried.

The emperor won't touch the Wang family for now. Regardless of whether the survey maps Xue Guangting presented are genuine or fake, they are unreliable since he hasn't been to Hedong. The Wang family has prospered for centuries and is the head of the officialdom; the emperor needs a legitimate reason to deal with them. To verify the authenticity of those survey maps, they need to be verified in Hedong. Whoever comes to Hedong, the truth will ultimately be decided by the Wang family.

It's good that he's in the capital; it will make things easier for him to arrange things.

A knocking sound rang out, and his attendant called to him from outside.

"Your Excellency, someone is blocking the carriage."

No wonder the carriage stopped. Wang Bochang sat up and straightened his clothes.

Who is it?

Before his attendants could answer, Wang Bochang heard a clear, beautiful voice that he found utterly repulsive.

"Having heard that you, Minister Wang, have returned to the capital, I have come here specifically to welcome you. Would you please dismount and have a chat?"

Wang Bochang paused as he was about to lift the curtain to peek out, then quickly withdrew his hand, leaned back in the carriage, closed his eyes, and remained silent.

The vehicles and horses were facing each other, neither willing to give way, so travelers had to walk along the side of the road.

The wide avenue slowed down due to this small obstacle and gradually became congested. There was a hint of discontent among the crowd, but because of the two people's seemingly prominent status, they didn't even dare to mutter curses. They could only keep their heads down and move closer together.

It had snowed the day before yesterday, and there were still traces of white snow under the south wall. It was cold, so Fu Sui didn't ride horses. Wang Bochang didn't come out, so she didn't go out either, staying cozy in the warm carriage.

"Prime Minister," a servant of the Wang family whispered to Wang Bochang across the carriage, "the traffic outside is terrible."

Wang Bochang sneered inwardly. It was Fu Sui who blocked his carriage and wouldn't let him leave. Even if the whole street was blocked today, what did it have to do with him?

Unfortunately, Fu Sui clearly wasn't going to give him the chance to linger in the car any longer. Another sound came from outside, this time a clear and loud male voice.

"Why did the princess personally greet him, yet Minister Wang refused to see her and instead lingered in the streets, causing the long road to be blocked and making it difficult for the people to travel?"

The man's voice was so loud that Wang Bochang's ears were ringing even while sitting in the car. A surge of anger welled up inside him. What a Fu Sui! She was the one who stopped the car, yet she turned around and accused him of deliberately blocking the road.

"Lord Wang." The voices outside the carriage kept coming, not stopping until they called out Wang Bochang. "Please, Lord Wang, understand the hardships of the people and do not stop the carriage for so long. The princess has been waiting for a long time. Why do you have to make excuses and act coy?"

"Enough!" Wang Bochang flung open the carriage curtain and leaned out, shouting, "What exactly do you want to do!"

To his surprise, there was no arrogant Fu Sui outside, only a few guards riding tall horses standing in the street.

A few horses wouldn't take up much space, and Fu Sui's guards were all handpicked experts; they naturally knew how to position themselves without obstructing the flow of people. In comparison, the street congestion became entirely Wang Bochang's fault.

Passersby only knew that the carriage was luxurious and took up a lot of space, but they didn't know who was inside. Dissatisfied glances were constantly directed at the carriage, and when the person inside leaned out, they stared at them even more brazenly.

Wang Bochang hated being watched like a monkey. Noticing the gazes from the crowd, he immediately wanted to retreat into the carriage to block out those mocking looks and have his servants drive them all away.

He leaned against the carriage, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. The Wang family was currently in the eye of the storm, and countless eyes were watching his every move. He had just arrived in the capital and had not yet fully grasped everything; he couldn't afford to leave any incriminating evidence at this time.

He lifted the carriage curtain again and asked coldly, "Where is the princess?"

The carriage turned into the neighborhood, but was stopped again after only a few meters. Fu Sui's carriage was parked in front, and the guards from the Princess's residence ordered Wang Bochang to get out and come forward.

There were only a few people blocking the road, but once inside the neighborhood, they discovered that there were other guards waiting there.

It was too late for the Wang family to turn back their car. Several young men suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked the alley entrance.

Wang Bochang was caught in a dilemma, knowing that if he didn't get out of the carriage to meet the guards today, things wouldn't end well. He got out of the carriage, slowly straightened his clothes, and walked straight past the guards without looking to the side, heading directly to the double-drawn carriage.

Before Wang Bochang could even stand up straight, a face that could be both angry and happy suddenly appeared in the car window, startling him so much that he jumped.

A sweet laugh immediately rang out, and Wang Bochang's face grew even more unpleasant.

He spoke first: "Princess, what is your purpose in mobilizing so many troops?"

Fu Sui leaned against the car window, blinking innocently: "I always travel with such formalities, how could it be so fussy? It's just that Prime Minister Wang has been away from the capital for a long time, and upon his return, he was greeted by crowds lining the streets, blocking Zhuque Avenue. Back then, Prime Minister Wang was revered by thousands on Zhuque Avenue. Now that he's revisiting this place, has Prime Minister Wang greeted the people?"

Wang Bochang almost ground his teeth to powder. Back then, Fu Sui made him lose face and caused the Wang family to lose their prime ministership. Now she still dares to bring it up!

"We both know the truth of what happened that day. Why must you bring it up again, Princess?"

After years of training abroad, Wang Bochang discovered that both Fu Sui and the Sage were harsh, cold-hearted, and ruthless, the complete opposite of the late Emperor and the Taizu Emperor.

The founding emperor was swayed by the voices of the court and officials, the late emperor was influenced by his close associates, but the current emperor can greet you with a smile one moment and then immediately cut off a piece of your flesh the next.

Such a person, if out of control, is better left alone than to be entangled in. Upon seeing Fu Sui again, Wang Bochang had a plan in mind.

“I know that the princess deeply hates the Wang family, but I really don’t understand why the princess despises my Hedong Wang clan so much. Although my Wang clan has some political enemies in the court and has used some means, we have never harmed the princess’s interests. Why does the princess have to be so aggressive?”

Fu Sui coldly sized up Wang Bochang. After being away from the capital for several years, this old man's ability to make up lies had grown. Knowing full well that her grudges with the Wang family could not be discussed openly, she simply wiped her face and pretended to be confused.

She smiled and said, "Prime Minister Wang, you are mistaken. I did not have a good time in Hedong for those two years and I harbored resentment, so I targeted your Wang family in Hedong in every way. What's wrong with that?"

The carriage was taller than a person; Fu Sui, who was crouching low in the carriage window, was half a head taller than Wang Bochang, who could only look up at him. Apart from the emperor, the Wang family had never looked up to anyone else. Wang Bochang squinted, carefully calculating in his mind.

“I know that the earthquake frightened the princess that day, but earthquakes are natural disasters, not man-made disasters. The Wang family did indeed let the earthquake run its course, but that was because the will of Heaven could not be defied. In the end, the earthquake was caused by the dragons turning over, so how can it be entirely blamed on those who stood by and did nothing?”

Wang Bochang observed Fu Sui's expression and continued, "Instead of wasting your time on the Wang family, Princess, you should think carefully about who actually benefited from the earthquake, so as not to hate the wrong person and disturb the spirit of Prince Jin in the afterlife."

Wang Bochang didn't care whether Fu Suixiang believed him or not. She was just an orphan girl, and everything she did relied on the emperor's power; she was nothing to fear. What Wang Bochang needed was for her to behave herself and not to repeatedly provoke the emperor and ruin his grand plans. As for the future, he could simply find a pretext to get rid of her.

Fu Sui found it amusing. Was this all Wang Bochang knew? He used this trick to sow discord between Yue Shanling and her. Unfortunately, Yue Shanling was no longer the young man who would go through fire and water for Prince Jin. She was no longer some heartless, selfless woman who only spoke of justice and vowed to avenge her father. Naturally, the Wang family could not extricate themselves from Prince Jin's death.

As for the source of all this, the truth and wealth, Fu Sui has his own choice.

She leaned closer to Wang Bochang, looking down at him with a half-smile: "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Mr. Wang. As for whether it's profitable or not, or the truth, all I know is that Hedong is your Wang family's territory, and I will only question your Wang family regarding matters in Hedong."

Wang Bochang wanted to say something more, but she didn't want to listen anymore. The cold wind stung her face, so she pulled down the curtain and spoke to Wang Bochang through the three layers of curtains, some thin and some thick.

"I have come today to welcome Prime Minister Wang back. The people have been missing Prime Minister Wang for a long time. With your return, the people will surely be excited for a long time. Prime Minister Wang's honesty and integrity are evident to all. Why not be honest again? It is not too late to tell me when you can say these words to the millions of people on Zhuque Street."

A shadow fell over Wang Bochang's eyes. This bastard was just as despicable as her ungrateful father. He had even tried to "win her over." It seemed he wouldn't need to be polite to her in the future.

But it's not the right time yet. Wang Bochang glanced around at the guards in the alley. If he made any move out of anger, these guards would probably swarm him immediately and hastily accuse him of plotting to harm a member of the imperial family.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly mock Fu Sui for being so young and naive, actually coming up with such a childish trap. But thinking about it, it made sense. Wasn't the incident of killing the horse and dismantling the cart years ago also extremely absurd? It was just a pity that he was completely unprepared and was ambushed by a mere child.

Wang Bochang cupped his hands in farewell: "Now that the princess has met me, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave." Having seen through her scheme, there was no need to waste any more words with her; leaving this place was the priority.

There was no response from inside the carriage, but the guards scattered throughout the alley made way. Wang Bochang was secretly alarmed. How could it be so easy? Did she have another trick up her sleeve?

He looked back hesitantly and saw the carriage curtain being lifted again.

A sweet, berry-like voice wrapped around his neck and crawled into his limbs.

Fu Sui, half-hidden behind the curtain, waved to him with a smile in her eyes: "Prime Minister Wang, take care."