Chapter 15 Please take care of your health, Your Highness.
However, Fu Mingzi, who was standing to the side, understood the meaning behind these words and couldn't help but wonder if Consort Wan would bully Consort Wu in the past.
Thinking of this, Fu Mingzi recalled the Fourth Prince's gentle smiling face. If it were true, then he had a mother who was bullied by Zhou Xiaoyan's mother in every way, yet he could still get along peacefully with Zhou Xiaoyan. His scheming was indeed profound.
Thinking of this, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, in that case, you should also be wary of the Fourth Prince."
Fu Mingzi was incredibly outspoken, daring to say anything that shocked Wei Baocheng so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Zhou Xiaoyan, however, was not as angry as Wei Baocheng had imagined. Instead, he glanced at Fu Mingzi indifferently, seemingly uninterested in why he would say such a nonsensical thing.
"Be careful what you say in the future." The statement was neither affirmative nor negative, just a casual remark.
Fu Mingzi smiled upon hearing this, knowing that Zhou Xiaoyan had taken his words to heart.
"Your humble servant obeys." Fu Mingzi bowed slightly.
The two of them entered the front hall, where lunch had already been prepared. There was a lot of food on the table. Zhou Xiaoyan was not a picky eater and ate whatever the imperial kitchen had on hand every day. However, ever since Fu Mingzi arrived, there had been a fish on the table every day for lunch.
Fu Mingzi didn't know about Zhou Xiaoyan's eating habits before, and only assumed that he liked to eat fish. However, she was a little puzzled because Zhou Xiaoyan only ate one bite a day and didn't eat any more. Judging from this, it didn't seem like he particularly liked fish.
Fu Mingzi couldn't understand Zhou Xiaoyan's thoughts, but since he wasn't going to eat it, she figured she might as well have it herself, and she ate it with great relish.
After lunch, tea was served again. Fu Mingzi lifted the lid and saw that it was Junshan Yinzhen, a tea he often drank.
Fu Mingzi glanced at Wei Baocheng and said with a smile, "How did Eunuch Wei know I like this tea?"
He hadn't paid attention to this before, but today he suddenly remembered it for some reason. He found that everything he ate and used in Xisan Suo was extremely comfortable, just like at home, and everything was to his liking.
Wei Baocheng smiled upon hearing this: "Since I am a servant, I naturally dare not be careless in such matters."
These words sounded nice, but they didn't give a direct answer. Fu Mingzi pondered for a moment, then didn't press the matter further, only glancing at Zhou Xiaoyan sitting at the head of the table.
Zhou Xiaoyan remained expressionless, only lowering his head to take a sip of tea.
Fu Mingzi felt a little uneasy, as if something was off.
"It's getting late, Fu Qing, you should go and rest. The martial arts class this afternoon will probably be quite tiring," Zhou Xiaoyan suddenly said.
Fu Mingzi remained silent for a moment, then rose to take his leave: "Then this humble subject will not disturb Your Highness any longer. Farewell."
Zhou Xiaoyan nodded, still sitting upright, but Fu Mingzi felt that his expression seemed a little stiff.
Fu Mingzi didn't think much of it and went out of the front hall. Xiao Yunzi, who had been assigned to serve him, was waiting outside. When she saw him come out, she hurriedly greeted him with a smile: "Young Master, have you finished your meal? Would you like to take a nap?"
Fu Mingzi nodded first, then paused subconsciously, and asked thoughtfully, "Does Your Highness usually take an afternoon nap?"
Xiao Yunzi was taken aback, not expecting Fu Mingzi to ask this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "This servant usually doesn't go to the main courtyard at noon, but I heard from the eunuchs that His Highness hasn't been resting much these past few days and has been studying in the study. He's very diligent."
Fu Mingzi frowned. It's not like he's taking the imperial examination. Why is a prince studying so hard? It's not worth ruining his health.
After thinking for a moment, Fu Mingzi decided not to go to her own courtyard for now: "You wait here, I'll go back and say something to His Highness."
Xiao Yunzi looked somewhat embarrassed, but he had been assigned to serve Fu Mingzi, and he dared not disobey Fu Mingzi's orders.
"Then hurry, young master," Xiao Yunzi said weakly.
Fu Mingzi nodded haphazardly and turned to walk towards the front hall where the meal was to be served.
However, as soon as I reached the door, I heard voices coming from inside.
"...He likes Junshan Silver Needle tea, but he doesn't need to have it at every meal. He needs to rest after lunch, and drinking tea will keep him awake. In the future, almond milk can be served after lunch, and Junshan Silver Needle tea can be served after he wakes up." The rambling voice was so different from the original tone that Fu Mingzi would not have believed it was Zhou Xiaoyan speaking.
Fu Mingzi stopped abruptly. Zhou Xiaoyan had told Wei Baocheng that he liked Junshan Yinzhen tea? He also knew that she liked almond milk? But where did Zhou Xiaoyan find out? Only the servants and family members who served her knew such things.
Zhou Xiaoyan, a prince confined to the inner palace, probably hadn't even left the palace gates many times; how could he know these things?
Fu Mingzi felt her mind was in a mess, her lips were dry, and she didn't know whether to go forward or retreat.
The conversation inside was about to end with Wei Baocheng's repeated promises. Fu Mingzi panicked and hurriedly retreated far away from the door. Only after watching Wei Baocheng come out did she pretend to be as if she had just arrived.
"Young Master Fu," Wei Baocheng said in surprise, "Why are you back again?"
Fu Mingzi was filled with anxiety, and her smile froze slightly: "There are some things I forgot to tell Your Highness."
"Is that Fu Qing?" Zhou Xiaoyan's voice came from inside the house, indicating that he had overheard the conversation outside.
"It is indeed your humble servant." Upon hearing Zhou Xiaoyan's voice again, Fu Mingzi felt a surge of emotion and a sense of unease, but he maintained a composed demeanor and lowered his head slightly.
"Come in," Zhou Xiaoyan said.
Suppressing her unease, Fu Mingzi stepped into the main hall.
When I went in, Zhou Xiaoyan was sitting in the seat of honor, drinking tea, his eyes slightly lowered, his expression serene.
"Your Highness." Fu Mingzi's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Is there something you forgot to say?" Zhou Xiaoyan looked up at Fu Mingzi, his eyes filled with doubt.
Looking into his clear eyes, Fu Mingzi wanted to smile to ease the atmosphere, but found that she couldn't smile. She could only stiffly tug at the corners of her mouth and said in a deep voice, "This humble subject wants to say that although Your Highness is young, you should not exhaust your mind like this. You should rest for a while at noon, otherwise you will not have any energy in the afternoon."
Zhou Xiaoyan pursed his lips, his expression gradually darkening: "You came back just to say this?"
Fu Mingzi pursed her lips and nodded in agreement.
“Your Highness, please don’t take this lightly. If you don’t take good care of your health now, you’ll regret it when you get older. Take my father, for example. Although he was a military general, he paid great attention to health. Even at his age, he is still very energetic.” Fu Mingzi gave an example so that he wouldn’t believe him.
Zhou Xiaoyan listened in silence for a long time, while Fu Mingzi stood below the hall, feeling somewhat uneasy.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Xiaoyan finally looked up at Fu Mingzi and said, "I understand."
Looking into Zhou Xiaoyan's cold eyes, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but smile: "Then this humble subject will take his leave. Please take care of yourself, Your Highness."
Zhou Xiaoyan nodded slightly.
Fu Mingzi turned and left the front hall.
Watching Fu Mingzi leave, Zhou Xiaoyan lowered his eyes, his hand holding the teacup tightening slightly. After a long while, Wei Baocheng finally came in: "Your Highness, are you still going to the study?"
Zhou Xiaoyan paused for a moment, then finally said, "Let's go back to my room. I need to take a nap."
Wei Baocheng was taken aback. He had tried to persuade this man for the past few days without success. How could he suddenly agree?
Thinking back to Fu Mingzi's recent visit, Wei Baocheng had a general idea of what was going on. He couldn't help but sigh. The fate between people is truly unpredictable. In just a few days, Fu Mingzi's words had become more effective than his own. Considering how His Highness had treated Fu Mingzi in the past, Wei Baocheng felt that he should be even more polite to Fu Mingzi in the future.
Lost in thought, Wei Baocheng followed Zhou Xiaoyan to the main room.
**
As Fu Mingzi left the main hall, he felt a sense of relief. The words he had heard earlier flooded back into his mind. Why was Zhou Xiaoyan so concerned about him? And how did he know his preferences? This puzzled Fu Mingzi greatly, yet he couldn't help but feel a little happy.
Zhou Xiaoyan usually seems cold and aloof, but he always treats him differently from others. Could it be that he likes him too?
Fu Mingzi was somewhat excited, but as she walked, she felt that she was being presumptuous. How could someone of Zhou Xiaoyan's status have such thoughts? Perhaps it was just because she was a member of the Fu family that he was showing her some concern.
Fu Mingzi was both excited and dismissive. When she got to her room and lay down, her mind was so chaotic that she couldn't fall asleep.
Finally, I was so sleepy that I drifted off to sleep.
But just as she closed her eyes, Xiao Yunzi called for help from outside. Fu Mingzi, feeling dizzy and disoriented, got out of bed, feeling extremely annoyed.
During the afternoon martial arts class, Fu Mingzi was listless and lacked his usual vigor, which made Zhou Xiaoyan glance at him a few more times.
Finally, seeing that he was so tired he almost fell asleep standing up, he asked, "You told me to get some rest, so why didn't you rest at noon yourself?"
Fu Mingzi had no way to express his suffering, so he could only say with a bitter face, "Your Highness, I may have drunk too much tea, so I didn't sleep well."
Seeing him like this, Zhou Xiaoyan couldn't help but chuckle softly. His originally cold face suddenly seemed to melt away like ice and snow, and he became lively. The corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, captivating Fu Mingzi completely.
However, this fleeting color vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, he returned to his usual cold and aloof demeanor, glanced at Fu Mingzi, and said in a deep voice, "From now on, I won't be able to serve you tea after lunch."
"I know, you'll make me almond milk from now on," Fu Mingzi thought happily.
However, he deliberately put on a bitter face and said, "Your Highness is wise."
A smile returned to Zhou Xiaoyan's eyes.
"What are you talking about that makes you so happy?" Just then, the voice of the Fourth Prince, Zhou Xiaoheng, suddenly came from behind.
The smile in Zhou Xiaoyan's eyes slowly disappeared.
Fu Mingzi quickly composed herself, took a half step back, and stood behind Zhou Xiaoyan.
"Fourth Imperial Brother." Zhou Xiaoyan bowed to Zhou Xiaoheng with a calm expression and a proper demeanor.
Zhou Xiaoheng smiled and said, "We're brothers, no need to be so polite."
Fu Mingzi thought that since he wasn't a brother, he should be polite, so he quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Fourth Prince."
Zhou Xiaoheng smiled and looked at Fu Mingzi: "Young Master Fu doesn't look well today, did you not sleep well at noon?"
Fu Mingzi gave a forced smile: "Not really, it's just that the sun is too strong."
Zhou Xiaoheng smiled and said, "If you feel hot, go and rest. Fifth Brother is young, so please don't blame me if I don't take good care of him." He truly looked like a loving older brother.
However, Fu Mingzi could easily understand his unspoken meaning, which was nothing more than a divisive remark to show off his thoughtfulness. So she just smiled politely and lowered her head without saying a word.
Zhou Xiaoheng was a little embarrassed, but Zhou Xiaoyan interrupted with a cold face: "Fourth brother, it's your turn to shoot arrows."
"Alright, alright, I'll go then. You guys chat." The Fourth Prince turned and left, his back looking rather disheveled.
Fu Mingzi watched and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
A note from the author:
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