"Yes, yes, you did the right thing." Qing'er wasn't being sarcastic; she genuinely agreed with An Ke. She remembered when she encountered the Fu brothers in the palace, she hadn't felt that Fu Erkang had done anything wrong. Now, thinking about it, could time really change everything?
"I don't need him to thank me too much. Just keep him away from me and I'll be grateful," An Ke said devoutly, her hands clasped together.
Qing'er didn't say anything more, just smiled and poked An Ke's forehead. "You!"
"Aha." Anke yawned widely. No, she was surrounded by familiar people, so there was no need to pretend to be a lady. "Hot weather makes people sleepy. Looking at my bed, I'm so sleepy." After saying that, Anke stopped caring and flopped onto her bed.
One word: awesome!
"You must be tired today, take a rest!" Qing'er covered An Ke's stomach with a blanket to prevent her from catching a cold and needing ice, which would cause her to fuss.
Anke opened her tightly closed eyes a crack. She murmured, "It's so hot outside, why are you going back to your place? Just make do here for the afternoon." After saying that, she automatically rolled over inside, making room for Qing'er.
Qing'er looked at An'an, who had rolled inside, with amusement. She didn't refuse and lay down on An'ke's bed fully clothed.
Xingxing and Shuangxi exchanged a smile. They added more ice to the water tank and gently fanned themselves, sending cool air to their two masters on the bed.
Anke seemed to be dreaming about something, a faint smile still on her face. Sometimes she was even making smacking noises with her lips, as if she were dreaming of eating something delicious.
Compared to Anke, Qing'er slept much more peacefully, not moving around or doing anything. She lay quietly on the bed taking a nap.
*
Fujia
Ertai waited in the palace until his brother had been flogged fifty times before helping him into the carriage to go home.
As soon as they reached the main gate, one of the two servants stepped forward to take the horse and lead it to the backyard to graze. The other, seeing his young master's condition, immediately rushed to the inner courtyard to inform the master and mistress.
Meanwhile, Fu Lun was still in high spirits, drinking tea with his wife in the main courtyard and talking about palace matters, when a servant boy rushed in.
"What's wrong? Why are you so rash?" Fu Lun's face showed some anger. This was his own servant, so disregarding the rules. Fortunately, no one was visiting the manor at the moment, otherwise, he would have become a laughing stock.
The princess's expression turned somewhat unpleasant upon being interrupted. However, etiquette and tradition compelled her to maintain a composed and elegant demeanor.
"Master, Madam, the eldest young master was beaten up, and the second young master helped him back." The servant quickly gave a brief account of what he had just witnessed.
"What?!" Furen no longer cared about manners and etiquette. He hurriedly stood up, even overturning the teacup in his hand. The tea fell onto Furen's clothes, soaking them.
The princess was also terrified. How could her son, who was so talented in literature, have been beaten? She rushed towards the gate, not caring about her manners at all.
Compared to his wife, Fu Lun was much more composed. His son worked in the palace, so if he was injured, it must have happened there. That meant he must have offended someone in the palace. Thinking this, Fu Lun's expression immediately changed. His usual amiable demeanor vanished.
As soon as the Fujin reached the door, she saw her eldest son, whom she was so proud of, limping in. The Fujin immediately broke down in tears. Her eyes filled with tears, she rushed forward, grabbed her son's arms, and looked him up and down, crying, "Erkang, Erkang, what's wrong with you?"
When she saw her eldest son's clothes, which were already stained with blood, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Mother, alright, let my brother go inside and apply some medicine first." Ertai first helped his mother up to prevent people outside from gossiping. Then he waved for the servant to carry his brother back inside.
Erkang felt incredibly humiliated. From childhood, he had always been a privileged individual. Today, it felt as if he had completely lost face. First, he was humiliated by the princess in the palace, and then he was beaten with a board by the servants.
"Where is that rebellious son?" Fu Lun paced back and forth in the main courtyard, sighing repeatedly. Upon seeing the visitor, he became even more furious, his beard bristling and eyes wide with rage. "Ertai, you tell me, did Erkang offend the Emperor in the palace? Explain everything that happened in the palace to me clearly." Fu Lun wanted to understand the situation as much as possible.
Ertai then briefly recounted everything that had happened in the palace to Fulun, giving a simple explanation.
Upon hearing this, Fu Lun flew into a rage, grabbing a teacup and smashing it to the ground. "You unfilial son! You unfilial son! How dare he insult Princess Yong'an? What right does he have to speak ill of the princess? Does he think his whole family has too many lives? Fifty strokes of the cane are far too few!"
Fu Lun waved his hand, dismissing the maids and servants serving him, and then spoke to his wife and Ertai. "Even if Ziwei is truly the Emperor's adopted daughter, she's still nothing compared to Princess Yong'an! Tomorrow you will go to the palace and visit Princess Yong'an to apologize to Erkang, but don't tell the princess you want Erkang pardoned. Just apologize and send some gifts along with you." As he spoke, he instructed his wife on what to do.
He then patted Ertai on the shoulder. "You did the right thing today. If you hadn't stopped your brother in time, the Fu family would have been wiped out. However, you must be even more careful in the palace from now on, and not make any mistakes. Be cautious while serving the Fifth Prince, and don't say whatever comes to mind. And don't be like your brother, speaking recklessly and offending nobles." Fu Lun seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He sighed, his back no longer as straight as before. Had he really misjudged his eldest son, finding him so incompetent and lacking in composure?
She glanced at the composed Ertai standing to the side. This second son, on the contrary, seemed exceptionally calm and collected, able to navigate the palace with ease. Oh well, at worst, she could just help Ertai more in the future. Whether Erkang became the emperor's son-in-law or not was no longer important. She just prayed that he wouldn't become even more disliked by the emperor.
The princess's wife stood by, fuming. Though angry, she was helpless. She was merely a lowly woman; how could she possibly obstruct the princess's decree?
——
"Ertai, go ahead, don't worry about your mother." They reached the passageway at the palace gate. They were about to take a different path. Ertai was still a little uneasy, afraid that his mother might offend the princess with her words.
But seeing how excited her mother was, she couldn't bear to dampen her spirits.
Ertai silently walked towards the Fifth Prince's Yonghe Palace. He silently made up his mind that if all else failed, he could visit the Princess at Cining Palace after his mother left.
Having figured this out, Ertai seemed to have a huge weight lifted from his heart, and his steps became lighter. He even hummed a song, skipping and hopping towards Yonghe Palace.
The guards standing nearby were also puzzled as to what was wrong with the second young master of the Fu family, who seemed unusually childish today.
Yonghe Palace
Consort Yu was still having breakfast with the Fifth Prince. Upon seeing the Second Young Master of the Fu family arrive, she quickly instructed her maid to bring another set of bowls and chopsticks. "Ertai, you're in the palace so early to see Yongqi? Have you had breakfast yet? If not, sit down and have some more with us!" Consort Yu had watched the two brothers grow up.
After all, the Fu family was related to Consort Ling, so the two brothers entered the palace relatively early and got along well with their peers. Therefore, Ertai usually followed Yongqi around, and gradually, the people in Yonghe Palace became familiar with this young master Ertai. Consort Yu also showed great kindness towards the younger generation she had watched grow up.
"I've already eaten. I mainly came to discuss with the Fifth Prince the question Master Ji left behind yesterday. I couldn't sleep well all night, tossing and turning, just wanting to know the answer, so I came early to ask the Fifth Prince for advice," Ertai said humbly from the side. In any case, Consort Yu's invitation to breakfast was well-intentioned, but he couldn't stay here for breakfast, so he could only find a good excuse to decline.
"So it's about homework," Consort Yu said with a smile, then turned to look at her son who was still quietly eating. "Yongqi isn't as diligent as you. These past two days, he's either eating and sleeping or sleeping and eating. I haven't seen him thinking about any problems." Of course, Consort Yu's words here were just a humble way of putting it. She was only saying this about her son; if others had said it, Consort Yu probably wouldn't have been happy.
Consort Yu: Today I'll stand here and watch. Who dares to speak ill of my precious son? Only I can speak about my son. No one else can, except, of course, the Emperor.
"Mother, why do you always bring up my shortcomings?" Yongqi finished his breakfast and gave his mother a reproachful look.
Yongqi naturally knew that Ertai was talking nonsense. After all, Master Ji hadn't left any homework or difficult questions yesterday. He probably came so early because of his cousin. Look at how much his eyes were glued to his cousin yesterday. If he still couldn't see it, he would truly be blind.
I wonder when Ertai secretly developed feelings for his cousin. It seems I'll have to test the waters and give him a little nudge later.
"Alright, alright, I won't expose your shortcomings, I won't expose your shortcomings. Go quickly, don't keep Ertai waiting here." Consort Yu looked at her exceptionally handsome son and felt a sense of relief. In this deep palace, women, apart from the Emperor's favor, could only rely on their children to survive.
Fortunately, she had an excellent son. Although he had some connection with Princess Huanzhu in Shufangzhai, Princess Huanzhu was, after all, the emperor's daughter, so she turned a blind eye and let it go.
"Why are you in the palace so early today? Don't try to fool me with the same tricks you used to fool my mother. Master Ji didn't leave any difficult homework assignments yesterday. You tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. What were you thinking about?" Yongqi glanced at Ertai's expression on his right. He noticed a strange look on Ertai's face when he heard about Ertai's insomnia last night. Yongqi immediately understood.
"Could it be because of my cousin?" Yongqi's words, which had been somewhat hesitant at first, became a definite affirmation after observing Ertai's expression.
Hearing Yongqi's blunt words, Ertai's ears gradually turned a light pink. "Yes, wasn't the princess very angry yesterday? Our Fu family was all trembling with fear, afraid of offending her in any way, which is why I couldn't sleep last night." He finished speaking as if afraid Yongqi wouldn't believe him, and secretly observed Yongqi's expression, unexpectedly meeting his gaze. Seeing Ertai's expression, Yongqi understood everything. He simply smiled faintly, waiting for Ertai to speak up on his own initiative.
Ertai's explanation was worse than no explanation at all; it only made him seem like he was trying to cover something up.
"I see. Then let's hurry to the study and wait for Master Ji to answer our questions." Yongqi couldn't help but tease Ertai, who was even younger than himself.
"This." This is completely different from what I expected. Ertai thought that after hearing what he said, Yongqi would take him to Cining Palace to visit the princess.
Turning to look at Yongqi, he saw him looking at him with a mocking expression. He immediately knew he had been tricked by Yongqi, but he wasn't angry. "This morning, my mother came to the palace with me, saying she was going to Cining Palace to apologize to Princess Yong'an. I was afraid my mother would say something unpleasant, which would inadvertently give the princess a bad impression. That's why I was a little worried." This was only one reason; another reason was that Ertai also wanted to see if the princess had calmed down today, or if she was still angry because of his brother's matter yesterday.
Of course, his brother deserved it. If he angered the princess because of it, it really wasn't worth it!
Er Kang, who was recuperating at home, sneezed loudly and rubbed his nose: Who's talking about me? If Er Kang knew that his younger brother was describing him like this, he would probably wonder if he was even his real brother.
Ertai: You deserved it! You angered the princess, and you still want to be my brother? (￣?^￣??)
"I see. Then let's go to Cining Palace after class and see how the conversation between the Princess Consort and my cousin went." After hearing Ertai's explanation, Yongqi felt determined to make the trip to Cining Palace a success. He didn't want to punish Erkang yesterday and then cause his cousin to be angry again because of the Princess Consort.
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