Chapter 11 Doubts: Your second brother is probably quite annoyed.
Fu Mingzi did not sleep well that night. The Yuntai Camp was not a luxurious inn, so things were limited. As a member of the Fu family, Fu Mingzi was only given a small tent, which contained only a bed made of a door panel and a small stove.
This small stove was provided by Fu Mingbai's personal guards. As for the bedding, it was even rougher, basically as hard as stone. Fu Mingzi even felt a sour smell when he covered himself with it.
The personal guard responsible for serving him blushed a little and stammered that he had wronged Fifth Master.
But those were the conditions. Even his second brother, Fu Mingbai, the deputy commander of the elite cavalry, wasn't much better off, let alone him.
Therefore, Fu Mingzi did not complain and made do for one night. The next morning, she didn't even want to eat and was in a hurry to return to Beijing.
Fu Mingbai coldly escorted him out of the camp, and even gave him a piece of roasted meat and a pot of water.
"Be careful on your horse when you go back. Stay on the main roads and don't wander off. Even though this is the capital region, you still need to be extra careful. Getting home as soon as possible is the most important thing," Fu Mingbai whispered to him before he mounted his horse.
Fu Mingzi's eyes darted around, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind. He smiled at Fu Mingbai and said, "Don't worry, Second Brother, I understand." The smile held a deeper meaning.
Fu Mingbai's face stiffened slightly, as if he was somewhat annoyed. After a moment, he said, "You really are just as my elder brother said, clever and cunning."
Fu Mingzi laughed loudly: "Second brother, I'm leaving now, take care!"
Fu Mingbo nodded and said no more.
Fu Mingzi's journey back was a bit easier than his journey there. However, he remembered Fu Mingbai's instructions and stayed on the main road, ignoring all the side roads.
The fact that Fu Mingbo gave such a serious instruction suggests that things haven't been peaceful in the capital region lately, but there's no sign of this news in the capital at all.
It's unclear whether the matter was minor and therefore not widely publicized, or whether it was so significant that information was strictly controlled.
Fu Mingzi carefully considered the matter in his mind, but before he knew it, they had arrived at the city gate.
However, unlike when he came out, there were hardly any people coming in or out of the city gate. Now, there was a long queue at the city gate, with commoners who were going to the capital to visit relatives or sell goods blocking the gate.
Although Fu Mingzi was a playboy, he was also a reasonable one. Upon seeing the situation, he dismounted and joined the queue.
However, among these queuing commoners, the most eye-catching person was not Fu Mingzi, who looked like a young master from a wealthy family, but a caravan. There were three carriages belonging to the master alone, followed by three more carriages carrying goods and servants, making it look very grand.
Fu Mingzi glanced at it again and realized it was a carriage carrying women, so he dared not look any longer and simply kept his eyes down, pretending to be a virtuous gentleman as they entered the city.
Soon it was Fu Mingzi's turn. He readily revealed his identity, and the gatekeepers fawned over him and made way for him.
What puzzled Fu Mingzi was that when he introduced himself, the manager of the caravan seemed to glance at him, but by the time Fu Mingzi looked back, the man's gaze had already moved away.
Fu Mingzi thought for a moment and realized that he didn't seem to know this person, so he didn't pay much attention to it and rode directly to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.
Fu Mingzi returned to the Duke's mansion, handed the horse to the gatekeeper, and went directly to Fu Mingsong's study. However, Fu Mingsong had not yet left his office, so Fu Mingzi could only instruct Fu Mingsong's servant to inform him as soon as Fu Mingsong returned. After saying this, he returned to his own courtyard.
When he returned, Song Yan was guarding the courtyard with a bitter expression. When she saw that Fu Mingzi had finally returned, she hurriedly came to greet him.
"My Fifth Master, you're finally back! You've really put this servant through the wringer this time," Song Yan complained as she caught the cloak that Fu Mingzi threw to her.
Fu Mingzi sneered: "What, did my older brother deal with you?"
"No, not at all." Songyan chuckled awkwardly, "I was just docked three months' pay. Fifth Master, you can't do that again next time. You don't know how worried I was when you left. I didn't sleep well all night."
Fu Mingzi glared at Song Yan with a smile: "Look at your pathetic self. In the past, the silver I rewarded you was more than three months' salary. Alright, since you've been wronged this time, I'll give you three months' salary as compensation. Don't nag me anymore."
Upon hearing this, Songyan immediately laughed: "Thank you for your generous gift, Fifth Master. This servant will serve you like a slave from now on."
Fu Mingzi smiled and shook her head.
Once inside the study, Songyan served tea, which Fu Mingzi drank heartily before finally catching his breath.
Seeing his tired expression, Songyan wanted to cheer him up, so she said, "Fifth Master, you've really hit the jackpot this time. The young master was originally planning to ask for leave for you, but last night a message came from the Fifth Prince saying that he was sick and wouldn't be going to school today, so you're exempt from your duties today, thus avoiding a punishment."
Fu Mingzi showed no sign of happiness upon hearing this. She abruptly stood up, her brows furrowed tightly.
"The Fifth Prince is sick? Is he seriously ill?" Fu Mingzi's mind was buzzing, and all the joy she had felt from completing the mission vanished.
Songyan didn't know why Fu Mingzi was like this, and hurriedly said, "It's not serious, I heard it's just a minor cold."
Fu Mingzi breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in her seat.
"That's quite a coincidence." Now that some of his worries had subsided, he was thinking more deeply. The Fifth Prince's cold had come at just the right time, so coincidentally that he was starting to have his doubts.
However, his sending the letter was not something he had anticipated, but rather something he did by chance. The Fifth Prince could not possibly have known about it, so this matter must really be a coincidence.
Fu Mingzi stopped thinking about it. He was exhausted from the day and went to rest there.
Fu Mingzi slept until the afternoon. When he woke up, Song Yan was pacing anxiously in the outer room. Hearing the noise inside, she hurriedly came in.
"You're finally awake! You must be starving. You haven't eaten anything all day."
Fu Mingzi got up groggily, and sure enough, she felt a little hungry. She ate a delicious meal before remembering her business.
"Is my older brother back?"
"I'm back already." Songyan hurriedly replied, "I sent someone to tell you earlier, but seeing that you were asleep, they said they would talk to you when you woke up."
Fu Mingzi nodded and went straight to Fu Mingsong's study without delay.
When Fu Mingzi went back this time, Fu Mingsong was finally free, so he didn't waste any time and replied directly.
After listening, Fu Mingsong pondered for a moment before saying, "Aside from being a bit stubborn, your second brother is a reliable person in other matters. However, he can still listen to what I say. In our family right now, besides him and me, your place is the most dangerous. But you are clever, so I won't give you this advice for nothing. Just be careful."
Fu Mingzi agreed and then recounted Fu Mingbai's subsequent instructions to be careful, along with his own analysis.
“A man like my second brother wouldn’t say anything useless. Since he told me to be careful on the road, I’m afraid the area around the capital must be unsettled. But I’ve never heard anyone say this before. Does that mean the matter is not serious?” These words were Fu Mingzi’s way of testing Fu Mingsong.
Others might not know, but Fu Mingsong, as a close advisor to the emperor, must have.
Fu Mingsong glanced at Fu Mingzi with his sharp eyes, then suddenly laughed: "Mingzi, you really are a smart one. Your second brother must be very annoyed."
Thinking of Fu Mingbai's expression, Fu Mingzi felt very smug and nodded with a smile.
"Alright, this has nothing to do with you, so don't bother asking about it. Just go back and do your job well."
Fu Mingsong dismissed Fu Mingzi with a few words, and Fu Mingzi came out feeling dizzy and confused. Only then did she realize that Fu Mingsong seemed to have said nothing about the matter of the capital region.
Fu Mingzi couldn't help but feel annoyed. He had been careless and had inadvertently changed the subject.
The next day, Fu Mingzi went to the palace to perform his duties as usual, but this time he brought a few ginseng roots with him.
“Your Highness, I heard you were ill yesterday. These few ginseng roots are a small token of my appreciation. Please accept them.” Fu Mingzi carefully examined Zhou Xiaoyan and found that apart from being a little pale, he seemed to be otherwise normal, which put her at ease.
When Zhou Xiaoyan saw him offering ginseng, he was taken aback at first, and then a hint of gentleness appeared in his cold eyes.
"I'm fine, just a slight cold, I don't need these things," he said calmly.
Fu Mingzi was at a loss for words and didn't know what to do. Wei Baocheng stepped forward and said with a smile, "Since it is Young Master Fu's kind intention, Your Highness should accept it. Otherwise, Young Master Fu will probably feel uneasy."
Zhou Xiaoyan frowned and looked at Fu Mingzi.
Fu Mingzi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Wei Baocheng was really perceptive; otherwise, he would have been in an awkward situation.
"Then accept it." Zhou Xiaoyan looked at Fu Mingzi's relaxed expression and felt a little annoyed.
Wei Baocheng smiled and stepped forward to take the ginseng from Fu Mingzi's hand.
After finishing this task, they walked together toward the Imperial Study.
Fu Mingzi had regained her previous liveliness and kept telling Zhou Xiaoyan about her journey to the Yuntai Camp on horseback the night before.
He boasted about his skill as a horseman, saying he rode swiftly all the way, and that he chatted and laughed with the soldiers as soon as he entered the camp, making everyone think he was a great talent.
Anyway, he boasted that he was like Guan Yu reincarnated, and his imposing figure made people immediately bow down and worship.
This amused Wei Baocheng, who couldn't stop laughing, while Zhou Xiaoyan merely curved his lips slightly, his eyes softening.
"Was your journey peaceful? I heard that things have been rather unsettled in the outskirts of Beijing lately," Zhou Xiaoyan suddenly asked.
Fu Mingzi was taken aback and looked at Zhou Xiaoyan. His expression was calm, as if he had just said something ordinary, but the strange feeling in Fu Mingzi's heart resurfaced once again.
The unrest in the outskirts of Beijing was completely unknown in the capital. He only heard about it from Fu Mingbai's words. Who told Zhou Xiaoyan this? Could it be that some close minister of the emperor had defected to Zhou Xiaoyan?
That can't be right. It's not that he's trying to belittle Zhou Xiaoyan, but given Zhou Xiaoyan's current status, let alone being a close advisor to the emperor, even a spoiled brat like him probably doesn't have many people who think highly of him.
Despite having many thoughts on her mind, Fu Mingzi immediately replied, "I have had a peaceful journey and nothing has happened."
Zhou Xiaoyan nodded slightly after hearing this and did not ask any further questions, as if he had just done it casually.
However, Fu Mingzi had even more doubts in her heart.
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