Chapter 39 Spring Hunt (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Having determined the method, Zhou Xiaoyan did not sit idle. He immediately instructed Wei Baocheng to find a clever and reliable young palace maid to train and send her to the Wan Zhaoyi Palace whenever the opportunity arose.
Wei Baocheng wasn't surprised. He had already guessed that Zhou Xiaoyan would react this way given Wan Zhaoyi's current state.
This was a minor matter for Wei Baocheng, and he readily agreed to it.
Fu Mingzi added, "We need to find someone with a simple background, who doesn't have any apparent connection to the Fifth Prince. Ideally, they should have some ties outside the palace, making them easy to manipulate. People in the palace are fickle, so it's best to be careful."
Zhou Xiaoyan had never worried about such matters before. This was the first time he had heard Fu Mingzi consider things so meticulously, and he found it interesting. However, even though he found it interesting, his expression remained indifferent. He simply nodded to Wei Baocheng and said, "Let's do as Young Master Fu says."
Wei Baocheng smiled and said, "Young Master's consideration is prudent, I understand."
**
The next day, the punishment for Lu Ding was announced. Lu Ding was dismissed from his official post and demoted to a commoner. It is said that on the day the emperor's order was issued, countless teacups were smashed in Consort De's palace, and the Prince of Yan's residence was in complete chaos. The emperor was so angry that he issued another decree to reprimand him.
Fu Mingzi found it very gratifying and told Zhou Xiaoyan about it as a joke. Zhou Xiaoyan, on the other hand, remained calm, as if he had expected it all along.
A few days later, their lecturer was indeed replaced. This time, a young scholar from the Hanlin Academy was transferred over. He was in his early thirties. Although his knowledge was not as solid as that of Scholar Duan, he was good at explaining things in a simple and interesting way. Fu Mingzi listened to a few more sentences.
When the day's lessons ended, Fu Mingzi accompanied Zhou Xiaoyan back to the West Third Palace, where they happened to run into a eunuch who came to deliver a message, which turned out to be an imperial edict.
"His Majesty has decreed that the spring hunt will be held in a few days, and the fifth son of the Emperor Xuan will accompany him." After saying this, he smiled at Fu Mingzi and added, "Young Master Fu may also come along."
Zhou Xiaoyan's indifferent face seemed to soften, and he hurriedly nodded and bowed, saying, "Your subject obeys."
Fu Mingzi also bowed his head in greeting, concealing the coldness on his face: "Your humble servant is terrified and will obey Your Majesty's decree."
After announcing the emperor's decree, the eunuch who delivered the message smiled more gently and said to Zhou Xiaoyan in a warm voice, "Congratulations, Your Highness. This spring hunt, besides the Crown Prince, Your Highness was the only prince accompanying the emperor. This shows how much His Majesty values Your Highness."
This wasn't valuing him; it was clearly putting Zhou Xiaoyan on the hot seat. Fu Mingzi sneered inwardly.
However, Zhou Xiaoyan still had to put on an expression of great honor: "I am deeply humbled by the Emperor's kindness and will do my best to repay it."
The eunuch seemed to have heard what he wanted to hear, and a smile appeared on his face: "If His Majesty knew how filial His Highness is, he would be overjoyed."
Having said this, Zhou Xiaoyan gave Wei Baocheng beside him a wink. Wei Baocheng immediately stepped forward with a smile and spoke to the eunuch: "You've worked hard to convey His Majesty's message, sir." As he spoke, he subtly handed over a purse.
The eunuch who delivered the message weighed the purse in his hand, and his smile finally became more genuine: "It's just doing a favor for His Majesty, so it's nothing to complain about."
After exchanging a few more polite words, they finally saw the messenger eunuch off.
Throughout the entire process, Fu Mingzi stood silently behind Zhou Xiaoyan. This was the first time he had ever seen Zhou Xiaoyan so polite and apologetic. He had previously thought that Zhou Xiaoyan was just clumsy and awkward in front of him, which was why he was so unremarkable. But he never expected that Zhou Xiaoyan was also good at acting and speaking politely. He even bowed his head in front of a eunuch.
This person always surprised him, yet he also felt pity for him. He could see that beneath that flattered smile lay a deep anger. Zhou Xiaoyan knew better than anyone that the emperor's current high regard for him was nothing more than using him as a target to be used for his own destruction.
He doesn't know how many people will resent him once this news gets out.
"Your Highness." Fu Mingzi looked at his slightly thin back and couldn't help but speak, "You..." Fu Mingzi thought she was eloquent, but faced with Zhou Xiaoyan's lonely figure, she found herself at a loss for words.
“You don’t need to say anything more.” Zhou Xiaoyan’s voice was a little dry: “I know better than anyone what kind of person Father Emperor is. I also expected what happened today. I am not sad or upset.”
Fu Mingzi opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word. The words of comfort she wanted to offer now seemed rather pale.
"Your Majesty will regret this one day." After holding back for a long time, Fu Mingzi could only utter this one sentence.
He will regret it; he will regret treating such a bright son this way.
They will regret manipulating power and human nature for the sake of power.
He will regret it, for the prince he once hurt eventually became the emperor!
Thinking of this, Fu Mingzi felt a surge of emotion.
Zhou Xiaoyan chuckled lightly upon hearing this: "I don't need him to regret it. I just hope he dies with his eyes wide open in disbelief." His tone was casual, but it sent a chill down one's spine.
Fu Mingzi suddenly looked at Zhou Xiaoyan. He thought he had been ruthless enough, but he didn't expect Zhou Xiaoyan to be even more ruthless. Moreover, he looked as if he had some deep hatred for the emperor. Fu Mingzi frowned slightly. Was it just his imagination?
Before he could think it through, Zhou Xiaoyan had already turned around. At this moment, Zhou Xiaoyan had returned to his calm appearance, his face expressionless and without a ripple, as if he hadn't said those words.
Fu Mingzi frowned, feeling a sense of unease for a moment.
“You don’t need to feel bad for me.” Zhou Xiaoyan looked steadily at Fu Mingzi, his usually cold eyes now showing some tenderness: “If you want something, you must give something in return. If you can’t even bear this little thing, how can I talk about the future?”
Despite saying that, Fu Mingzi felt even more sorry for Zhou Xiaoyan after hearing this. He was born into a noble family and had both parents, but his father was not kind and his mother did not love him. He had to clean up his mother's messes on one hand and deal with the poisoned candied fruit thrown out by his father on the other. Is this the kind of life that a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child should face?
Fu Mingzi thought about his life. Although he did not have a biological mother, he was pampered by his whole family. When he was fifteen or sixteen, he spent his days fighting cocks and chasing dogs and staying out all night. He was so wild that he wanted to climb on the roof and tear off the tiles. But even so, his family loved him.
As for Zhou Xiaoyan, he was intelligent, quiet, and ambitious. He was practically the son of the Duke of Jingguo's dreams. However, when it came to the emperor, he was willing to use him as a tool, exploit him, and ignore him.
Fu Mingzi didn't know what to say, so she could only suppress her pity and walk up to Zhou Xiaoyan, saying softly, "Your Highness, don't be afraid, I'll always be by your side."
Zhou Xiaoyan looked at Fu Mingzi, his eyes filled with tenderness, an emotion he had never felt before.
His mother only told him to be ambitious and forced him to stand out and make a name for himself. His father never treated him as a son and only used him to achieve his own goals.
In his previous life, he knew that Fu Mingzi liked him, but he never faced this feeling squarely. Today was the first time he had to confront Fu Mingzi's emotions towards him.
The emotions were so intense that he could hardly look at himself directly. He felt a panic in his heart and subconsciously turned his face away, his tone becoming somewhat unsteady.
“I know,” he replied curtly.
Of course he knew that Fu Mingzi in his previous life had already proven this with his life.
But he didn't want to do that in this life. He had never been loved in his life, nor had he ever loved anyone. Faced with such intense feelings, his first instinct was to run away. But now, looking into Fu Mingzi's eyes, he knew clearly that he probably couldn't escape.
**
The emperor is going to hold a spring hunt, which is a major event. The Ministry of Rites has been preparing for it for a month. Now, five days before the spring hunt, the matter has finally been put on the table. The emperor will stay at the Yuntai Palace for three days. He will have to bring servants and the princes and concubines who will accompany him.
Consorts were easy to find. The emperor, citing the empress's pregnancy and the need for her to move around easily, did not allow the empress to accompany him. Instead, he appointed the Imperial Concubine to act as empress. This order gave many people a new sense of how much the Imperial Concubine was favored.
The Empress seemed to have long been accustomed to this treatment and showed no sign of objection. For her, the most important thing now was, of course, her child.
With the Imperial Concubine in tow, the others seemed less important. The Emperor casually selected a few concubines. Consort De was still under house arrest, so she was naturally excluded. Consort Xian and Consort Shu were never favored by the Emperor, so he naturally wouldn't bring them. After much deliberation, the Emperor only brought a few of his more favored lower-ranking concubines. What surprised everyone the most was that he actually brought Consort Wan.
If Consort Wan was still considered favored a few years ago, she has long since lost the emperor's favor. Let alone taking her on spring hunts, even in the palace on ordinary days, she would be grateful if her name was chosen once or twice a month.
This time, the sudden appearance of Consort Wan and the Fifth Prince immediately changed the atmosphere in the court.
The princes' gazes towards Zhou Xiaoyan changed, especially the Ninth Prince. He was already furious because he was too young to be among those accompanying the emperor, and when he heard that Zhou Xiaoyan had been brought along, he looked at Zhou Xiaoyan as if he were an enemy, his eyes red with anger.
Although the sixth and seventh princes did not dare to be as openly hostile to Zhou Xiaoyan as the ninth prince, their attitude towards him was much colder, and sometimes they would say sarcastic things.
The fourth prince, on the other hand, remained the same gentle older brother he always was, tirelessly trying to get closer to Zhou Xiaoyan despite his cold attitude.
This left Fu Mingzi somewhat puzzled. If he didn't know they were brothers, he would have thought the Fourth Prince had taken a liking to Zhou Xiaoyan.
Of course, this was just a joke. The Fourth Prince is the kind of person who won't do anything without a reason. For him to lower himself to befriend someone like this, he must have some ulterior motive.
Logically speaking, even Fu Mingzi, an outsider, found all this commotion and gossip annoying, so Zhou Xiaoyan should have been affected to some extent as well. However, Zhou Xiaoyan seemed to be the most heartless person, remaining completely unmoved. Not only did he maintain a detached demeanor, but his actions also remained unchanged.
Even later, the Crown Prince couldn't help but offer a few words of comfort and advice, fearing that he might lose himself amidst these voices, fail to find his place, be blinded by the Emperor's sweet words, and forget his own worth.
This shows that Zhou Xiaoyan was a very determined person. Even with his mind unchanged, he could still put on a show with the Crown Prince, making solemn vows of loyalty and sending off the satisfied Crown Prince.
Fu Mingzi watched this scene unfold, her feelings a complex mix: "Your Highness, will the Crown Prince really believe you?"
Zhou Xiaoyan remained calm: "The Crown Prince is a smart man. Even if he doesn't believe it, he will pretend to. After all, he knows in his heart that the Emperor's high regard for me is nothing but a mirage. If I were to foolishly believe it, I would only end up harming myself."
Fu Mingzi was speechless for a moment, but felt a little heavy-hearted. She felt that Zhou Xiaoyan's words carried a hint of self-mockery.
As Fu Mingzi watched Zhou Xiaoyan's retreating figure, she felt as if she understood this person less and less.
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Author's note: I woke up at 9:30, so I'm sorry for the late post.
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