Fu Rong was about to say something when she saw Ling Shumo approaching. She quickly bowed and said, "It is so rude of you not to greet Your Highness at the door this morning."
Ling Shumo said politely, "Prime Minister Fu has made great efforts to bring down the Shen family. I should thank you."
Fu Rong turned sideways and made way for the door. "Your Highness, please come in quickly. The wine and food are ready."
The private room was spacious. The table could accommodate 10 to 20 people dining simultaneously. But there were only four people in the room: Fu Rong, Xuanming Fairy, Ling Shumo, and a young man in a pale blue dress and a silver-white veiled hat.
The young master had just heard the commotion outside and had stood up early. When he saw Ling Shumo push the door open, he quickly knelt and saluted, saying, "Your servant Yijing greets Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess."
Fu Rong gently patted Fu Yijing's shoulder and reminded her, "Xiao Jing, there are no outsiders here. You can take off your veil so that Her Highness can take a good look at your appearance."
Fu Yijing grasped the brim of his hat, gently removing it from the thin silk, revealing his stunningly beautiful face beneath the veil. He noticed Ling Shumo's eyes, fixed on him unblinkingly. A faint blush crept across his cheeks, and he looked at Fu Rong beside him, somewhat bewildered, "Mother..."
Fu Rong smiled and said, "Xiao Jing is a boy, so he is a little shy. Please bear with him, Your Highness."
Fu Rong is almost fifty years old this year, but she has taken excellent care of herself and looks only in her thirties.
When Prime Minister Fu was young, she was a famous beauty and talented. She charmed countless young men.
Her eldest son, Fu Yichen, perfectly inherited her beauty. Before he married, he was sought after by hundreds of other families, and was finally betrothed by the emperor to the eldest princess, Ling Shujiao. Later, the eldest princess was executed by the emperor, and Fu Yichen followed her to commit suicide for love. This was the end of a generation of beauty, which caused countless people to sigh and lament.
Ling Shumo looked Fu Yijing up and down, and suddenly asked Fu Rong with a smile, "If I marry the fifth son of your Prime Minister's Mansion (Fu Yijing), is it possible that I will follow in my elder sister's footsteps?"
The reason why Ling Shujiao was executed by the emperor was because she was stabbed by her partner. This matter was a secret outside, but in this box, everyone knew it.
Ling Shumo's question was so sharp that Fu Yijing's face turned pale. Fu Yichen was his eldest brother, and if something happened to his eldest brother, it would naturally affect him as his younger brother.
Fu Rong was just thinking about how to defend her youngest son when Xuan Ming Xian Gu, who had been quietly sipping tea in her seat, suddenly spoke up, "Your Highness, rest assured. Xiao Jing is not a heartless person like Fu Yichen. I have watched him grow up. Your Highness, you can rest assured about his character. He is definitely a good man suitable for a family."
Ling Shumo keenly caught the wrong point in Xuanming Fairy's words, "I heard that Fairy travels around the world and has no fixed place to live. Fu Yijing is the fifth son of the Prime Minister's Mansion. How can Fairy watch him grow up?"
Xuan Ming Fairy looked at Fu Rong and frowned, "Didn't the Prime Minister make things clear to Her Highness the Crown Princess?"
Fu Rong said awkwardly, "After all, this isn't something to be proud of. Besides, I was thinking I'd talk about it after everyone is here today."
Ling Shumo took a sip of tea and her suspicious eyes swept over the faces of the people in the room one by one. Although she was curious, she did not speak directly to urge them.
Fu Rong also poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and after moistening her throat, she sighed deeply, "They say that family disgrace should not be made public, but Xiao Jing is about to marry His Highness as his legal wife. Your Highness and I are considered family, so there is nothing I can hide from His Highness about what happened back then."
Fu Rong signaled with her eyes, and Fu Yijing stood beside Ling Shumo to serve her. Fu Yijing added new tea to Ling Shumo's half-empty teacup.
Then Fu Rong slowly said, "My original wife died of hemorrhage when she gave birth to my eldest son, Fu Yichen. Later, I married Nangong Yingshan, the son of the Nangong family, as my concubine. Xiaojing is the son of this concubine. Your Highness can also see that Xiaojing's appearance is very different from that of his elder brother, Fu Yichen..."
Before Fu Rong could finish her words, she was interrupted by a violent cough.
Xuan Ming Fairy glared at Fu Rong and said, "Can you please get straight to the point?
Just tell His Highness that Nangong Yingshan was originally my husband, but you were attracted by your brother-in-law's beauty and forced him to be your concubine.
But you could never have imagined that when Nangong Yingshan married you, she was pregnant with a child, Xiaojing.
In order to make your brother-in-law feel at ease living with you, you said you would raise Xiao Jing as your own son. He is nominally the fifth son of your Prime Minister's Mansion, but his true identity is your nephew.
Ling Shumo almost spit out the tea in her mouth. Back then, Fu Rong approached her and said that she could help her bring down the General's Mansion, on the condition that, once the plan was successful, she must marry her youngest son and become the Crown Princess.
Fu Rong had praised Fu Yijing's beauty to the heavens and earth, saying she would definitely not suffer any loss if she married him back to the Eastern Palace. Seeing him today, Fu Yijing was indeed a beauty of heaven and earth. But his complicated life story was also truly jaw-dropping.
Fu Rong originally stood firmly in Xiao Guijun's camp. She couldn't be said to be a hostile force to Ling Shumo, but they definitely had no friendship with each other.
But then again, Ling Shujiao is dead. There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. She thinks Donggong looks like a good next home.
Political matters can be put aside for now. In her heart, the most important thing is that she feels that Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and her nephew are a good match.
Fu Yijing had been carefully observing Ling Shumo's expression. His thin lips were almost pressed into a line, and he suddenly knelt in front of Ling Shumo. "Your Highness, I know that my birth is not glorious and I am not worthy of the position of the Princess, but I sincerely admire Your Highness. No matter what, I want to be by your side and serve you."
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