Fang Huaiying was the Duke of Weiguo's cousin within the fifth degree of mourning. After the Duke of Weiguo brought him home, his brothers who heard the news immediately approached him in a rage.
They joined forces with the old lady of the Duke of Weiguo's mansion who had informed her other sons, and strongly opposed the Duke of Weiguo's decision to adopt Fang Huaiying as his adopted son.
They believed that since Duke Weiguo wanted to adopt a son, he should give priority to his own brother's son rather than a distant cousin like Fang Huaiying.
They fought fiercely, each wanting their son to inherit the Duke of Wei's title and family fortune. However, the Duke of Wei felt that his brothers and nephews valued profit over loyalty, and their character and personality were truly untrustworthy.
He had a premonition that once he adopted one of his nephews, the others who were not adopted would definitely target the adopted one. Not only would his family be in turmoil, but the army under his command would also become a bargaining chip for them to win over and divide others, which would bring instability to the western border.
Not to mention whether they would treat his only daughter well after his death, as she no longer had any support or value.
With all the above doubts in mind, Duke Weiguo naturally refused to agree to the proposal of his mother and brothers. However, for the sake of Fang Huaiying's personal safety, he finally took a step back and changed his words, saying that he had no intention of registering him under his own name.
He even turned the tables, saying that his mother shouldn't have thought he was going to adopt the child when she saw him bringing a child home, so she hurriedly informed his brothers.
Duke Weiguo said that he only brought the child home to educate him carefully because he had a miserable life and a talent for martial arts, and he did not want to give him the position of crown prince.
With a stern face, he emphasized the importance of the position of the Prince of Weiguo, and said that he would never so rashly decide the future commander of an army of 200,000.
His mother and brothers were skeptical, but in order not to completely anger Duke Weiguo, they ultimately gave up the fuss.
During the stalemate between the two sides, the court suddenly issued an imperial decree ordering Duke Weiguo to adopt the heir and send the crown prince to Beijing to study. Duke Weiguo conveyed the contents of the imperial decree to his brothers and nephews, and directly asked them who wanted to go to Beijing to be the crown prince.
Of course, the brothers and nephews of the Duke of Wei were unwilling to go to the capital as hostages. They were fighting for the position of crown prince, and what they were fighting for was the power and army that this position represented. Now that the power and army are gone, whoever becomes the crown prince will have to go to the capital as a hostage. They would be foolish to continue fighting for this position.
Everyone stopped fighting and no longer fought openly or secretly. Instead, they tacitly directed their attacks at Fang Huaiying, who had lived in the Duke of Wei's mansion for three years.
Fang Huaiying was indeed a rare good boy, just as the Duke of Weiguo had first impression of him. The Duke of Weiguo and his eldest daughter Fang Huaixuan both liked him very much. The Duke of Weiguo even kept him by his side and taught him personally. If one ignored the old lady of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion who always gave him a bad look, he had a very good life in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.
However, the more he was liked by the Duke of Wei, the more his mother, brothers and nephews disliked him. Now, when they finally had a chance to kick him away, this group of people immediately opened fire on him.
They unanimously recommended Fang Huaiying to come to Beijing. If it were not for the imperial edict that clearly stated that the person entering Beijing must be the eldest son of the Duke of Weiguo, they would even want to let Fang Huaiying enter Beijing only as the heir of the Duke of Weiguo, rather than as the eldest son.
Duke Weiguo was not at all surprised by their reaction and behavior. After all, it was not the first time that he had witnessed their greed.
They move forward when there are benefits and step back when there are responsibilities. They really haven't changed at all in the past decade.
On the contrary, Fang Huaiying, a child, had no intention of shirking responsibility. After being "reminded" by the old lady of the Duke of Weiguo's mansion, he took the initiative to find the Duke of Weiguo and expressed his willingness to obey the order and go to the capital.
Duke Weiguo touched his adopted son's head and told him for the first time about his subsequent arrangements for him and Fang Huaixuan.
He has old injuries, and if he's lucky, he can live another ten years. But if he's unlucky and his old injuries suddenly flare up, he may not live more than two years.
His daughter has grown up and is ready to get married. The husband and family he chose for her are all ones he has watched for many years. He can safely entrust Fang Huaixuan to her future husband's family.
But Fang Huaiying was still young. If he passed away suddenly, it would be unknown whether Fang Huaiying could live safely to see his burial, let alone inherit his title of Duke and military power.
Duke Weiguo would not underestimate the evil and greed in human nature. Rather than letting Fang Huaiying stay in Duke Weiguo's mansion to face his brothers and nephews who were as vicious as jackals and tigers, Duke Weiguo felt that he might as well take this opportunity to send Fang Huaiying to the capital.
As long as he is alive, Fang Huaiying, the prince of Weiguo, can live a better life in the capital. If he dies, Fang Huaiying will at most lose the function of checking and balancing him and become a discarded pawn.
But even so, the Lu family would most likely not deliberately kill his distant cousin who was temporarily adopted by him.
Her life will not be threatened, and she has the family property he gave her. Even if Fang Huaiying doesn't become rich, she should be able to live a stable life in the future.
In the original book, Fang Huaiying did survive safely in the end.
Although because he was actually just a distant nephew of the Duke of Wei, many people had a preconceived notion that the Duke of Wei adopted him and made him the crown prince just to let him protect his own nephew from disaster, and they also looked down on him and excluded him openly and secretly. However, apart from these insignificant contempt and exclusion, Fang Huaiying did not experience the various sword fights that he should have experienced.
Unlike the eldest prince and the original Yu Zizhen, not only did they live a thrilling life, but their final ending was also a tragic one. It can be said that they were extremely miserable.
Of course, with the help of the system in this life, Yu Zizhen is determined not to let himself and the eldest prince follow in the footsteps of the original owner.
Time passed gradually as Yu Zizhen checked in at Zheng's restaurant every few days and spent the rest of the time leading the repetitive daily routine. She didn't mind being laughed at, and no matter what Lu Heng and Wan Jingrong said, she was as diligent and serious as ever.
It is worth mentioning that with her continuous efforts, the relationship between her and the eldest prince has gradually become closer.
It took Yu Zizhen less than two months from just exchanging pleasantries at the beginning to her secretly bringing delicacies from outside the palace to the eldest prince and pestering him about his schoolwork, to now being able to naturally help the eldest prince push his wheelchair.
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