Chapter 23 Nephew (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaoyan's eyes flashed with a cold smile. If the Grand Princess were truly so filial, then the Empress in the previous life wouldn't have died such a tragic death.
“My eldest sister is already of marriageable age, yet she still disregards the rules so much. I wonder what Father Emperor will think,” Zhou Xiaoyan said in a calm tone.
Fu Mingzi glanced at Zhou Xiaoyan, feeling that his words had a deeper meaning.
"This servant heard that His Majesty has already arranged for the second son of the Marquis of Wu'an to marry a princess, which seems like a good thing." Although Wei Baocheng still had other doubts in his heart, he also knew one thing: the Fifth Prince trusted Fu Mingzi very much, so he simply spoke frankly in front of Fu Mingzi.
Fu Mingzi was somewhat surprised. The Marquis of Wu'an was a pillar of the state and a first-class noble family. The Marquis of Wu'an's heir was a well-known talent in the capital. The fact that the emperor was willing to marry the eldest princess raised by the empress to him was simply a blatant attempt to win over important officials for the empress's faction. In this way, the relationship between the empress and the crown prince would likely become increasingly tense.
Even more importantly, Fu Mingzi's eldest nephew, Fu Zechen's wife, Xu, came from the Wu'an Marquis's mansion. Xu and the young master of the Wu'an Marquis's mansion were siblings.
"Your Majesty is really..." Fu Mingzi didn't know what to say for a moment. The emperor's actions were simply putting the empress on the spot.
Zhou Xiaoyan sneered: "What's so hard to say? The Emperor's favor has always been like oil on a hot fire. If you can withstand it, your future will be smooth sailing. If you can't, you'll only be playing with fire and getting burned."
These words seemed sarcastic, but Fu Mingzi felt a tremor in his heart. He looked at Zhou Xiaoyan, as if trying to read something from his face, but Zhou Xiaoyan quickly composed himself and remained expressionless. Fu Mingzi couldn't discern anything from him.
Even so, Fu Mingzi still harbored doubts in his heart. The sorrow in Zhou Xiaoyan's words just now truly made him feel uncomfortable.
"Let's go back." Zhou Xiaoyan turned away, avoiding Fu Mingzi's gaze, but his tone was somewhat desolate: "It's getting late, Fu Qing should go back too."
After Zhou Xiaoyan finished speaking, he took the lead and left the pavilion. Fu Mingzi paused for a moment and then followed him.
**
As time went by, the imperial examinations drew near, and students from all over the country went to the capital. Fu Mingzi's nephews also returned from the academy.
In particular, Fu Mingzi's eldest nephew, Fu Zechen, was the most valued by the old man and Fu Mingsong.
In this exam, only Fu Zechen from the Fu family is going to take the exam.
"Grandfather, Father, and uncles." Fu Zechen inherited the imposing presence of the men of the Fu family, yet he also possessed a refined and cultured air. When he bowed with his hands clasped in greeting, he appeared as a graceful gentleman with extraordinary bearing.
However, Fu Mingzi knew her nephew best. Although he looked refined, he was actually quite shrewd.
"My nephew's back. He looks like he's lost a lot of weight." Fu Mingzi, always unserious, lay sprawled on the chair like a paralyzed man, a half-smile on his face.
Fu Zechen didn't even lift his eyelids, and smiled at Fu Mingzi: "Thank you for your concern, Uncle Wu. I'm doing well."
Fu Mingsong sighed helplessly, glanced at his younger brother, and then at Fu Zechen.
"Are you confident about this match?" Fu Mingsong knew that the two would argue when they met, so he quickly changed the subject.
Fu Zechen glanced at Fu Mingzi with a smile, then turned to talk to Fu Mingsong.
"I'm fairly confident." Fu Zechen never spoke definitively, so his statement meant he was very confident.
Fu Mingsong knew his son well and nodded in satisfaction.
"That's good. Take good care of yourself these next few days, and make sure nothing goes wrong during the imperial examinations."
"Yes," Fu Zechen replied respectfully.
Afterwards, the old man tested him again and found that his grandson was indeed outstanding. He was very satisfied and rewarded him with many things before letting him leave.
Fu Mingzi, impatient to stay in the study, took the opportunity to leave as well.
As soon as they left the study, Fu Mingzi smiled and put his arm around Fu Zechen's shoulder: "Nephew, you really made us proud today. Our Fu family will have to rely on you in the future."
Fu Zechen is a few years older than Fu Mingzi, but Fu Mingzi insists on acting like an elder in front of him.
Fu Zechen wasn't annoyed. He smiled and spoke to Fu Mingzi, "I heard that Fifth Uncle has now become a prince's study companion. I haven't yet congratulated Fifth Uncle."
Fu Mingzi's face lit up with joy when she mentioned this: "Hahaha, I didn't expect you to have heard about it at the academy. It's true, the Fifth Prince is a very open-minded person."
Upon hearing this, Fu Zechen's expression changed, and he glanced at Fu Mingzi: "Oh, so you mean Fifth Uncle thinks highly of the Fifth Prince?"
Fu Mingzi was a man of great stature; he could guess what others were thinking from just a glance. Since Fu Zechen had already said all that, he naturally understood the unspoken meaning behind Fu Mingzi's words.
Fu Mingzi gave Fu Zechen a meaningful look: "My nephew has really made something of himself. He hasn't even entered officialdom yet, and he's already worrying about these things."
Fu Zechen's smile remained unchanged: "The Fu family is already involved in this matter, so whether my nephew enters officialdom or not, we should pay more attention to it."
Fu Mingzi curled her lips. This nephew of hers still has so many tricks up his sleeve.
"Don't worry." Fu Mingzi patted Fu Zechen's shoulder: "It hasn't come to that yet. Even if the Crown Prince were still alive, there are still many other people. Someone as insignificant as the Fifth Prince probably wouldn't have much of a chance."
Fu Mingzi's words carried a lot of meaning, and Fu Zechen's gaze towards him deepened.
"Does Fifth Uncle mean that the position of the Crown Prince is unstable?" Fu Zechen asked in a low voice, which was only heard clearly by Fu Mingzi who was closer.
Fu Mingzi didn't respond, but smiled meaningfully: "Think about it yourself."
After saying that, he ignored them and left with a hearty laugh.
Fu Zechen smiled and stood there for a long time, watching until he could no longer see Fu Mingzi's back before walking towards his own courtyard. However, the look in his eyes was more cautious than before.
After all, he had been in the academy for so long, and he only knew a little about what was happening in the capital from the letters Fu Mingsong had sent him in the past. Naturally, he didn't know as much as Fu Mingzi, who had been in the capital all along. He also took Fu Mingzi's seemingly improper words today very seriously because he already knew what kind of person his fifth uncle was in essence.
The days leading up to the imperial examinations drew ever closer, and at the same time, the imperial court and the inner palace fell into a strange silence, as if the previous competition for the chief examiners was just a dream, and now that the dream was over, it seemed that nothing had happened, no matter which side it was.
But Fu Mingzi knew that this was just the calm before the storm.
It is precisely because of this that Fu Mingzi is even more worried about this year's imperial examination, and has been very anxious these past few days.
Zhou Xiaoyan noticed that something was wrong with him, and finally, after school one day, she couldn't help but ask, "What are you worried about?"
Fu Mingzi frowned. He hadn't wanted to bother Zhou Xiaoyan with these matters, but since Zhou had asked, he didn't want to lie to him. So he could only say something unimportant: "I'm thinking about whether to have Zechen participate in this year's imperial examination. I just feel like something's not quite right."
Zhou Xiaoyan glanced at him and thought to himself that this man was indeed very sensitive to the political situation.
However, Zhou Xiaoyan knew about the dirty business that followed, so he hurriedly said, "As long as you keep a straight body, how can anything happen? Father Emperor would never make a mistake in such matters, so you can rest assured."
Fu Mingzi found this somewhat amusing. If the emperor wouldn't make a mistake in this matter, wouldn't that mean the emperor made a mistake in other matters?
However, he didn't intend to expose him, and just smiled and nodded: "That's true, I was overthinking it."
This was also because Fu Mingzi was too concerned. Fu Zechen was, after all, a member of the Fu family. If he hadn't done anything wrong, this kind of thing wouldn't have implicated him. However, he still had to remind Fu Zechen to prevent him from being harmed even though he hadn't made any mistakes.
Zhou Xiaoyan shook his head slightly. He knew very well that Fu Mingzi was not actually overthinking things.
**
Two weeks later, the time for the imperial examination finally arrived.
Early in the morning, everyone in the Duke of Jingguo's mansion woke up, especially in the eldest young master's courtyard. From the eldest young mistress down to the young ladies and young master, everyone was dressed neatly, their expressions trembling with fear, and the room was full of people.
Fu Zechen, on the other hand, remained very calm, having a meal with his wife while smiling, and occasionally teasing the children.
Among them, the eldest daughter, Fu Yunjia, was the one most favored by Fu Zechen.
"Jia'er has really grown up; she looks quite mature," Fu Zechen said with a smile.
Fu Zechen's wife, Madam Xu, smiled and said, "Having been by your side all this time, you've certainly made some progress."
Upon hearing this, Fu Zechen raised an eyebrow slightly. Previously, Fu Yunjia did not like to get close to the old lady, but he did not expect that she would change so much after he left for a few days.
Fu Zechen looked his daughter over and saw that she had her eyes slightly lowered, a smile on her lips, and her manners were very proper. He nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad. If you can learn some of Madam's skills by staying by her side more often in the future, that will be your blessing."
"I know." Fu Yunjia looked at her father with a face full of filial piety. In her previous life, her father was the heir of the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, and later inherited the title. He was also a close minister of the emperor. What glory that was! But she was instigated by people with ill intentions, changed her temperament, and became obsessed with her own ideas. She ignored her family's objections and married that treacherous man, which angered her father. He cut off contact with her and ended up in that situation. Now, when she thinks about it, she is filled with resentment.
"Father will surely pass the imperial examination with flying colors this time!" Fu Yunjia thought of the past, but her tone was unusually firm, because these words were not empty wishes, but a fact that was about to happen.
Fu Zechen was unaware of his daughter's thoughts, taking it as just auspicious words. However, he couldn't help but smile upon hearing it: "Good, good, good. Now that we have Jia'er's words, it's sure to work out!"
Madam Xu smiled faintly, "This child is honest and doesn't talk much usually, but he's quite sweet-talking today. I'm sure he's telling the truth."
Hearing this, Fu Zechen felt even more that his daughter was wonderful, and gently stroked her hair.
After Fu Zechen and his family finished their loving and filial breakfast, Fu Zechen took the prepared examination supplies and stepped out of the courtyard. Madam Xu accompanied him all the way to the second gate and watched him get into the carriage with Fu Mingsong and Fu Mingzi before turning back.
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