Chapter 19 His Highness greets the two princes
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzi was first surprised, and then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I didn't expect Miss Yang to be so interesting. My apologies."
Miss Yang remained expressionless, while the servants and maids following behind them looked on with suspicion and uncertainty.
"Young Master Fu, let's get down to business," Miss Yang said in a calm tone.
Fu Mingzi finally began to take this sixth young lady seriously: "I'm used to being free and easy. I don't think our marriage is quite right. Now that I see you don't like it either, why don't we just call it off?" Fu Mingzi thought to herself that since this sixth young lady was a smart person, she wouldn't beat around the bush.
As expected, Miss Yang remained unmoved.
"No." She uttered only these two words.
Fu Mingzi was somewhat surprised: "Didn't Sixth Miss say that I was not someone you could entrust your life to? Why are you saying it's not appropriate now?"
Miss Yang seemed to chuckle lightly: "Young Master Fu, do you know why our Yang family wants me to be engaged to you?"
Fu Mingzi frowned: "Wasn't it just something my father and your father casually agreed upon?"
Miss Yang smiled genuinely this time; it was the first time Fu Mingzi had ever seen her smile, and she revealed a hint of beauty.
"The Yang family only wants to be engaged to the Duke of Jingguo's family. What does it matter who it is? It was my idea to be engaged to you." Miss Yang looked steadily into Fu Mingzi's eyes.
Fu Mingzi's brow furrowed even deeper: "What exactly do you mean?"
Miss Yang's smile vanished in an instant, and she returned to her previous expressionless state: "My heart is now like withered wood, yet the Yang family will not let me go. I know you are dissolute and not a good man, so I am willing to marry you. No matter how promiscuous you are in the future, I will never care about you."
After saying that, as if afraid that her words were not enough to move Fu Mingzi, she continued, "You are not my good man, but I am your good match. In the future, I only need a Buddhist shrine, and I will not ask for anything else."
Fu Mingzi was completely stunned. What was this? He never expected that Miss Yang Liu would have such thoughts.
Although it sounded like a perfect excuse, Fu Mingzi felt it was inappropriate and was about to refuse when she heard a commotion coming from ahead.
Fu Mingzi frowned and looked over. Just then, a maidservant hurried over. When she saw Fu Mingzi, her expression changed, and she tried to hide, but Fu Mingzi stopped her: "Who's there!"
Miss Yang was also startled and quickly hid behind Fu Mingzi.
Seeing that her body had been seen through, the maid dared not avoid it any longer. She hurriedly walked over and bowed to Fu Mingzi: "This servant is Green Bamboo, a maid from the front courtyard of the Prince's Mansion. I greet you, young master."
She was actually a maid from the Prince's mansion, and judging from her name and attire, she must have been of high status. So why would she be running around like that?
"What happened up ahead? Why is it so noisy? And what are you doing here?" Fu Mingzi sensed something was wrong and moved her feet to completely block Miss Yang Liu's view behind her.
"This, this, the commotion in the front yard is because the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince have arrived. I've come here to report to the back yard." The maid stammered a few words at first, but then she spoke more and more fluently.
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzi was initially delighted, not expecting Zhou Xiaoyan to have come as well. Then, she became somewhat disbelieving and decided to go to the backyard to deliver the message, but she shouldn't have taken this route. However, seeing the maid's wandering eyes, Fu Mingzi decided not to interfere in the affairs of the Prince's Mansion.
"I see." Fu Mingzi still had a smile on her face, but the smile was cold no matter how you looked at it: "You, a mere maid, have taken on such a heavy responsibility, going through all this trouble just to deliver a message to the master in the backyard. If I were to ask the young master a few questions, he might even reward you."
Upon hearing this, the maid's legs went weak, and she knelt down with a thud: "Young Master!" Her face was deathly pale, knowing that Fu Mingzi must have noticed something was wrong with her.
Fu Mingzi continued to stare at her coldly without saying a word.
However, the fact that this maid was able to come up with such a story shows that she has some quick wit. Now that she saw Fu Mingzi remain silent and noticed the corner of her clothes behind Fu Mingzi, she had a rough idea in mind and immediately kowtowed to Fu Mingzi.
"I saw nothing and heard nothing today. Please, sir, spare my life! I have no intention of committing any heinous crimes. I only wanted to escape this predicament. Please, sir, have mercy on me this time." She was also ruthless to herself, banging her head repeatedly until her forehead was bruised.
"Alright." Fu Mingzi finally felt he had the upper hand and slowly spoke: "Since you're clever, I might spare you. Go now, but remember to be careful when you speak in the future, and don't say anything you shouldn't, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to spare you."
The maidservant trembled as she agreed, then rose somewhat awkwardly, her head bowed low, not daring to look at the person before her, and hurriedly left along the artificial hill.
Watching the maid leave, Fu Mingzi's coldness dissipated somewhat. He turned to look at Miss Yang, who was hiding behind him, with apology in his eyes: "Miss Yang, I'm sorry you were frightened."
At this moment, Miss Yang looked up at Fu Mingzi, her dark eyes fixed on him: "I really didn't expect that Young Master Fu is also a man of hidden talent." He had been caught out of his weakness, but in just a few moments, he caught the other party's weakness, turning the tables and making the other party fall into his trap. This man is not as useless as the rumors say.
Fu Mingzi raised the corners of her mouth: "Who am I? How could those mediocre people know? Miss Six certainly has a good eye."
Seeing this person boasting, Miss Yang's lips twitched slightly, and she lowered her eyes, concealing her expression.
"Young Master Fu, please think carefully about my suggestion," Miss Yang said quickly.
Fu Mingzi frowned, about to refuse, but unexpectedly, Madam Wen and Madam Yang Qi came over, and Fu Mingzi swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
"What happened? I saw an unfamiliar maid leave from here?" Madam Yang frowned slightly, her tone somewhat anxious.
Wen also seemed a little anxious and quickly gave Fu Mingzi a meaningful look.
Fu Mingzi remained calm and composed, cupping her hands in a respectful bow: "That maid wouldn't speak carelessly. The commotion in front is because the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince have arrived. Madam Yang, sister-in-law, it's probably not a good time to stay here any longer. You should go to the backyard quickly. I must take my leave now."
Upon hearing that Zhou Xiaoyan was coming, Fu Mingzi felt a surge of anger and longed to see him immediately. She had no time for pretense with these people.
Upon hearing this, Madam Yang was somewhat surprised and hurriedly pulled Miss Yang Liu over to ask her questions. Madam Wen smiled and said, "Then you should go over quickly, we should also go back."
Fu Mingzi nodded and turned to head towards the front yard.
As she watched Fu Mingzi's figure disappear into the depths of the garden, a flicker of emotion crossed Miss Yang's deep eyes, and she felt a slight uncertainty about her previous thoughts.
**
When Fu Mingzi arrived at the front hall, she indeed saw Zhou Xiaoyan.
At this moment, he was sitting below the Fourth Prince Zhou Xiaoheng, holding a teacup in his hand, his face still expressionless.
"Greetings, Your Highnesses." Fu Mingzi bowed as soon as she entered.
Zhou Xiaoyan's gaze shifted over, but he felt a little flustered. He had originally planned to come earlier today, but Zhou Xiaoheng had stopped him when he was leaving. He hoped that he could still make it in time. Thinking about his previous plans, Zhou Xiaoyan felt slightly uneasy.
"Young Master Fu is here too." Zhou Xiaoheng looked very surprised. "Young Master Fu, there's no need for such formalities. My fifth brother and I are also guests this time. Please make yourselves at home."
Fu Mingzi smiled politely, but her eyes seemed to glance at Zhou Xiaoyan unintentionally.
Zhou Xiaoyan was naturally looking at him as well, but when he saw him looking over, he lowered his eyes again.
Fu Mingzi's lips curved slightly, and for some reason, she felt a little happy.
The heir of Prince Cheng took the opportunity to flatter him: "His Highness the Fourth Prince is so approachable that we are ashamed of ourselves."
With the Prince of Cheng's heir leading the way, everyone else followed suit. Fu Mingzi, however, took the opportunity to slip away to Zhou Xiaoyan's side and whispered, "Why has Your Highness come?"
Zhou Xiaoyan put down his teacup and said softly, "I already received an invitation."
Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow: "Why didn't Your Highness tell me?"
"What's there to say? You saw it when I arrived, didn't you?" Zhou Xiaoyan gently twirled the thumb ring on his thumb.
Fu Mingzi followed his movement and looked over. His pupils shrank. He was actually wearing the ring that she had given him!
Fu Mingzi suddenly looked up at his expression, only to find that his originally cold face now had an unnatural look, and his eyes hesitated as he avoided his gaze.
"Your Highness!" Fu Mingzi's voice was a little hoarse as he reached out his hand, as if he wanted to pull something.
Zhou Xiaoyan slightly withdrew his hand, forcing a cold expression on his face: "Sit down."
Fu Mingzi also realized her situation, and couldn't help but lower her eyes and smile. Listening to his words, she sat down next to Zhou Xiaoyan and picked up a cup of tea.
"This tea is quite good; the Prince's Mansion has certainly put in a lot of effort this time." Fu Mingzi said with a nonchalant smile.
Zhou Xiaoyan lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, "Of course we put our hearts into it. The Princess Consort wants to find a match for the Heir Apparent today. At such an important time, it is not too much to put in more effort."
Fu Mingzi knew that Zhou Xiaoyan wouldn't say anything useless, so she couldn't help but frown.
Although Prince Cheng was honest and simple in the court, he was not very particular about his personal life. In addition to his wife and two concubines, he had countless concubines and a large number of illegitimate children, making him one of the royal families with the most descendants.
However, few of these sons and daughters are successful. Apart from the eldest son, who is somewhat outstanding, the second son is slightly better. But more importantly, the second son's mother, who is the concubine of Prince Cheng's mansion, is said to be very much loved by Prince Cheng.
Thinking about it this way, the fact that the second young master saved the daughter of a scholar from drowning today seems to have some deeper meaning.
At the banquet where the eldest brother was being considered for marriage, he made contact with a powerless and insignificant daughter of a Hanlin scholar, which alarmed many people. It seems that this second young master is going to have a difficult time in his marriage. It is just unknown whether this is the princess's scheme or the crown prince's scheme.
Fu Mingzi recalled the prince's previous reaction. If it really was the princess's scheme, then the prince's acting skills were too good, he even fooled him.
Fu Mingzi suppressed the matter and instead asked, "I wonder which family's daughter the Princess has taken a fancy to?"
Zhou Xiaoyan glanced at Fu Mingzi, then lowered his eyes: "The Yang family, the sixth young lady."
Fu Mingzi was instantly stunned.
A note from the author:
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Everyone should stay home and take good care of themselves these next few days. Wash your hands frequently, wear a mask when you go out, avoid crowded places, and protect yourselves!
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