"Then I'll be leaving. Call me if you need anything." Ling Yan drank the last sip of wine in one breath, stood up and patted Fu Yueli's shoulder.
"Wait," Fu Yueli stopped him, "Go and get ready. Come to the Master's Residence in a couple of days and stay here. That way, it will be convenient for me to discuss things with you."
"What?" Ling Yan was a little surprised. "What are your plans?"
"I have to leave Shangjing soon. You have a reason to come from Lingzhou, so we can go together then."
"Okay, little cousin." Ling Yan smiled obediently, looking very playful.
Fu Yueli wasn't at all surprised by his cousin's free-spirited nature. Lingyan's full name was Lu Lingyan, and he was the son of Fu Yueli's uncle. Fu Yueli's mother, Lu Wanzhen, was the late empress, but her family had been merchants for generations, and they couldn't match the illustrious family backgrounds of the other concubines. Therefore, aside from his current status as a prince, he possessed nothing.
Creating something from nothing requires a long time and a lot of energy. Although Fu Yueli has been planning for many years, he is still far from success.
Two days later, Lu Lingyan came to visit. He was a handsome and polite man, and he was Fu Yueli's cousin, so the Shi family warmly entertained him.
Lu Lingyan first explained the reason for his visit, "Cousin, my grandparents heard about the fire at your house and were very worried, so they asked me to come and see you."
Fu Yueli cooperated with him and asked how the two elders were doing. He then began to say that the two elders were weak and sick and missed their grandson very much. As soon as these words came out, others naturally urged Fu Yueli to go back and visit the elderly. Fu Yueli also decided to return to Lingzhou in a few days.
Shi Yuanshan and his wife have been troubled these past few days. Their son is already eighteen, and it's time for him to start a family. With Shi Mingji's elegant appearance and reputation as a young scholar, many marriage proposals have come his way, but the couple is dissatisfied with everything. They had their eyes on Huo Qiurong, the renowned and talented second daughter of the Huo family, but Mingyue claimed she already had a lover, and the couple couldn't bring themselves to separate them. Shi Mingji, on the other hand, showed no interest in the matter, preoccupied with his duties at the Hanlin Academy and spending his days in his study reading. This only made the couple even more anxious and angry.
Shi Mingyue had heard her mother nag her many times. Most of the young ladies from aristocratic families she knew in the capital were already married or about to be married, and she didn't dare introduce anyone she didn't know to her brother. She had considered Huo Qiuwen. She didn't want her to marry the Second Prince again in this life and live that miserable life. However, she knew her brother had no feelings for Huo Qiuwen, and Huo Qiuwen had no feelings for Shi Mingji either.
Qiuwen had run into Shi Mingji several times when she visited her home, but they'd just exchanged greetings, and there was no affection between them. Shi Mingyue knew that Shi Mingji favored women with a delicate, poetic temperament who could inspire his protective instincts, and Huo Qiurong fit that mold. Huo Qiuwen, on the other hand, was a gentle, generous, and well-bred lady from a prominent family. While she possessed considerable talent, she was far from being delicate.
That afternoon, Shi Mingyue and her mother were drinking tea together, while Fu Yueli went out with his cousin Lu Lingyan. Mrs. Shi had barely taken a sip of tea when she started talking about Shi Mingji's marriage again. "Your brother is an adult, but he doesn't worry about his own marriage at all. He even finds it annoying to ask him what kind of person he likes."
Shi Mingyue's ears were almost callused from listening, so she lowered her head to smell the fragrance of jasmine tea, which was elegant and refreshing.
Madam Shi kept nagging, "Yue'er, think about whether there is any woman in the capital who is a good match for your brother."
Shi Mingyue took a sip of tea and said helplessly, "You rejected some of them. Isn't Jin Xiaowan, the youngest daughter of Jin Langzhong from the Ministry of Rites, very good? She's got a good life and is talented."
Mrs. Shi sighed, "Jin Xiaowan is not bad, but her fiancé drowned right after they got engaged. Don't you think this is unlucky for her husband?"
Shi Mingyue was well aware of Jin Xiaowan's affairs, having some friendship with her. Jin Xiaowan's ex-fiancé, drunk at night, went to the moat with someone and drowned. In her previous life, she was rumored to be unlucky for her husband, and she eventually married a minor official in the Ministry of Rites at the age of twenty. As for her life, Shi Mingyue had no idea. However, Jin Xiaowan's husband was still alive and well before Shi Mingyue's death, having survived the curse.
"It was her ex-fiancé who drowned himself. It wasn't Jin Xiaowan who did it. Why are you so superstitious, mother?"
Mrs. Shi just shook her head after hearing this: "What's the point of superstition? There are still many girls in the capital. If you pay more attention, there will definitely be one that suits your brother."
Shi Mingyue stopped talking and let her mother do whatever she wanted, as long as she didn't look for Huo Qiurong.
A few days later, the Third Prince of Wutan arrived in Beijing, where a grand banquet was held. Helian Yizhuo, the Third Prince of Wutan, was the most favored of the Eight Brothers by the Emperor, and was undeniably the only choice for Crown Prince. Therefore, the Emperor of Zhao attached great importance to his visit to Zhao State.
Fu Yueli and Shi Mingyue were also invited to the banquet. Fu Yueli originally wanted to see what the third prince of Wutan looked like, so the two of them went together.
That night, the palace was almost ablaze with lights, and the sound of stringed instruments and orchestras filled the air. On the center stage, a dancer, her sleeves fluttering, danced gracefully, like a butterfly.
Although Shi Mingyue had never met the Third Prince of Wutan, she was very familiar with him. In her previous life, she lived in Xinzhou, a state in the western border region. Xinzhou and Wutan were separated by the Peacock River, a region where the two nations waged wars of varying magnitude for over a decade. Helian Yizhuo, a man of deep scheming and ruthless tactics, was the one who sent Tang Nuan to infiltrate Xinzhou and gather military intelligence. Tang Nuan was the executioner who murdered Shi Mingyue's unborn child, while Helian Yizhuo was the "real culprit behind the murder."
The dancers only danced once and then left the stage one after another. The emperor had been feeling unwell for the past few days, so he left the stage early. The second and third princes became the hosts to entertain the guests.
The Zhao Kingdom royal family had a total of four princes. Besides Fu Baiheng, Shi Mingyue finally saw the remaining two princes this time: the third prince Fu Fenglin and the fourth prince Fu Qinglang. The second characters of the four princes' names, read in sequence, formed the phrase "Yue Bai Feng Qing," presumably a design by the emperor.
Fu Fenglin didn't look as frivolous as Fu Baiheng. He was a year younger and looked a bit arrogant. The fourth prince, Fu Qinglang, was a year younger than Shi Mingyue, but he was already as handsome as his name, a handsome young man.
Fu Baiheng clapped his hands, and the musicians began playing a new piece of music. The sound was elegant and ethereal. A woman in a graceful white dress slowly walked to the center of the stage. Her face was covered by a piece of gauze as thin as a cicada's wing, and her beautiful face was faintly visible under the gauze, which was really eye-catching.
Shi Mingyue was stunned. That woman, wasn't that woman Tang Nuan?
Fu Yueli was also stunned after seeing the dancer's face clearly. Since Tang Nuan was Fu Baiheng's secret guard, why would she show up in public to dance?
Everyone in the room couldn't help but look at the dancing woman. Her every move was like a fairy dancing in the sky. Helian Yizhuo's eyes were also glued to the woman.
Until the music suddenly changed, and the sound of metal and stone was heard, and a cold shadow was seen going straight towards the third prince of Wutan, Helian Yizhuo, while the latter sat upright like a pine tree, his expression unchanged.
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