Chapter 55 and others were first published on Jinjiang Literature City.
The Empress Dowager's birthday was fast approaching, and at the same time, news spread throughout the palace that the Fifth Prince and the Fourth Prince were about to leave the palace to establish their own residences.
Zhou Xiaoyan was suddenly thrust into the spotlight, since everyone knew that only married princes were qualified to leave the palace and establish their own residences. The fact that the Fifth Prince was able to leave so early must be because the Emperor valued him.
As for the fourth prince, who also left the palace, he was somehow forgotten, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Because of these rumors, the Ninth Prince has been keeping a close eye on Zhou Xiaoyan these past few days, and he even argues with Zhou Xiaoyan in class.
Fu Mingzi found it somewhat amusing, while Zhou Xiaoyan completely ignored him, treating him as if he didn't exist. However, this attitude of ignoring him only made the Ninth Prince angrier.
The day before the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, the Ninth Prince suddenly appeared on their way back to the West Third Palace and caught Zhou Xiaoyan and Fu Mingzi red-handed.
"Fifth Brother!" The Ninth Prince called out to his fifth brother, but his tone was fierce and menacing, as if he were calling out to an enemy.
Zhou Xiaoyan stopped and looked coldly at the Ninth Prince.
"Don't think that just because you've gained a little bit of the Emperor's favor, you really consider yourself the Emperor's darling. In the Emperor's eyes, you are nothing!" As if making a declaration, the Ninth Prince glared at Zhou Xiaoyan and said in a harsh voice.
Zhou Xiaoyan remained expressionless: "Have you finished speaking? If you have, then step aside."
"I haven't finished!" The Ninth Prince was choked by the remark, his face turning red. He forced a smile and said, "Let me tell you, your mother's promotion to the rank of Consort was only possible because my mother spoke on her behalf to the Emperor. Otherwise, I'm afraid she would never have been able to reach the rank of Consort in her entire life." His words were filled with arrogant disdain.
For the past few days, there has been a lot of talk in the palace about a grand conferment of titles on the six palaces, but no information has been released about the specifics of the conferment. Unexpectedly, news came from the Ninth Prince. Fu Mingzi stood behind him, stroking his chin.
Zhou Xiaoyan remained unmoved: "Are you finished speaking this time?"
The Ninth Prince was so angry that his face turned pale; this person was simply impervious to reason.
Seeing that the Ninth Prince would not say anything more, Zhou Xiaoyan ignored him and walked around him. Fu Mingzi hurriedly followed. For some reason, Fu Mingzi subconsciously looked back at the Ninth Prince behind her, only to see him standing there blankly, talking to the eunuch beside him through gritted teeth.
Fu Mingzi withdrew her gaze and looked at Zhou Xiaoyan: "Your Highness, is the Empress really going to confer the title of Imperial Concubine?"
"Probably." Zhou Xiaoyan said indifferently, seemingly uninterested in saying more.
Fu Mingzi pursed her lips: "What about Lady Wu?"
Speaking of Wu Meiren, Zhou Xiaoyan finally turned to look at Fu Mingzi: "Are you concerned about her change in status?"
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "She is the birth mother of the Fourth Prince. I am your advisor, so of course I care."
Zhou Xiaoyan gave Fu Mingzi a deep look, feeling that there was something unspoken in his words, but he quickly looked away without delving into it.
"She should also become the head of a palace, after all, the fourth prince is also going to be granted a title. If the mother is still a beauty, it just doesn't make sense." Zhou Xiaoyan said sarcastically.
Fu Mingzi pursed her lips, roughly understanding the situation: "I see."
After Zhou Xiaoyan finished speaking, he seemed somewhat disinterested, so Fu Mingzi didn't ask any more questions and followed him back to the West Third Institute.
**
The next day was the Empress Dowager's birthday. Fu Mingzi entered the palace early in the morning with the birthday gifts that had been ordered in advance. Zhou Xiaoyan was still a bald prince, and the only person who could do things for him was Fu Mingzi. Therefore, Fu Mingzi was the one who helped order the birthday gifts.
When he arrived, Zhou Xiaoyan had already changed into the prince's court robes and was raising his hand to let Wei Baocheng fasten the jade pendant for him.
Seeing Fu Mingzi come in carrying bags and packages, he raised his chin and said, "Please sit down first."
Fu Mingzi didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down in the head seat of the guest area, placing the gift she had prepared on the table.
“I prepared three this time. You can give whichever one you like. Keep the rest for now, so you won’t be caught off guard if you need to make any social obligations in the future.” Fu Mingzi pointed to the items on the table.
Zhou Xiaoyan glanced at him and said, "You're quite generous."
Fu Mingzi chuckled and said, "I've always been generous to Your Highness."
Just then, Wei Baocheng finished fiddling with the pendant on Zhou Xiaoyan's waist. Zhou Xiaoyan reached out and pushed him aside, then walked up to Fu Mingzi.
There were three wooden boxes on the table. These three boxes were exquisite just by looking at their exteriors, not to mention the contents inside.
Zhou Xiaoyan casually opened the first box, inside which was a jade cabbage. It looked exquisite, but because it wasn't very big, it wasn't particularly valuable, which suited his current status.
“I designed this jade cabbage myself and had someone make it. What do you think? If you like it, please send it over. The old man should like the auspicious meaning,” Fu Mingzi explained.
Zhou Xiaoyan closed the lid, his expression shifting. To be honest, he did think it was good at first glance, but after Fu Mingzi's explanation, he was less inclined to give it away.
Fu Mingzi's own design is something he hasn't done yet.
Zhou Xiaoyan pursed his lips: "You didn't design all three of these things, did you?"
Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow: "Has Your Highness learned mind-reading skills? How come you understand so quickly?"
Zhou Xiaoyan glanced at the other two boxes, quickly opened them, and saw that one was a jade plate with exquisite patterns carved on it, and the other was a white jade fish tank with small fish made of gemstones inside, which looked very vivid and cute.
Zhou Xiaoyan thought for a moment, then pointed to the first jade cabbage that had been taken out: "Then let's take this one."
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "I knew Your Highness would choose this. But Your Highness mustn't let it slip. Just say that Your Highness designed this personally, and that I even brought the design drawings I made." Fu Mingzi had a strong sense of professional ethics and pulled out a stack of drawings from her sleeve as she spoke.
Zhou Xiaoyan looked somewhat displeased: "It was clearly you who did it, why should I admit it?"
Fu Mingzi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "My Fifth Prince, what are you arguing about now? It's all just to make the Empress Dowager happy. Besides, I'm not going to be a craftsman, so what difference does it make whether it's my design or not?"
Zhou Xiaoyan still seemed a bit awkward, but Fu Mingzi comforted him again before he calmed down.
After packing their things, the two headed to the Empress Dowager's Shou Kang Palace. Since the Emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager had been a devout Buddhist and had hardly ever interfered in the affairs of the inner palace. So even though she was not the Emperor's biological mother, the Emperor still gave her face, and thus the birthday banquet was quite grand.
When Zhou Xiaoyan and Fu Mingzi arrived, many princes and princesses had already arrived, and noblewomen were already waiting outside to pay their respects.
In order to avoid the time when they paid their respects to the ladies of the court, the princes and princesses went in first to offer their birthday wishes.
Fu Mingzi didn't go in, but stood outside and waited. Not long after, she heard the Empress Dowager's hearty laughter coming from inside. She could vaguely hear that she was praising someone. Fu Mingzi thought to herself, "It would be great if it was Zhou Xiaoyan."
After quite some time, Zhou Xiaoyan and his brothers and sisters finally came out. Zhou Xiaoyan looked calm, but the Ninth Prince's gaze towards him became increasingly strange. The Crown Prince, on the other hand, was still smiling and acting like Zhou Xiaoyan were good brothers, as if nothing had happened.
As for the other princes and princesses, they all wore expressions of envy.
Fu Mingzi curled her lips. So it really was Zhou Xiaoyan? It seems the blueprints she had worked on for several sleepless nights were quite useful after all.
After leaving the palace, the group parted ways. The Crown Prince was in a hurry to go to the front court to hold a grand banquet for the officials with the Emperor. As for the other princes, they dared not speak when they saw Zhou Xiaoyan's cold face. The Fourth Prince wanted to come over and talk, but was pulled away by the Sixth Prince.
Zhou Xiaoyan successfully reunited with Fu Mingzi.
"Would you like me to join you at the banquet up ahead?" Zhou Xiaoyan asked in a low voice.
Zhou Xiaoyan wasn't stupid; he could tell that Fu Mingzi wasn't quite focused today, so he figured something might be wrong with him.
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "I have something to attend to, Your Highness. Please go ahead, I'll be right back."
Fu Mingzi didn't want to bring up his affair with Miss Yang too much in front of Zhou Xiaoyan. Although he had already made it clear that he wanted to deal with the matter, bringing it up too much might cause Zhou Xiaoyan to have some reservations.
Zhou Xiaoyan pursed his lips, but didn't ask what it was about. He just said in a low voice, "Then I'll leave Xiaoyunzi with you. Be careful with these things, and come back as soon as you're done."
Fu Mingzi nodded, feeling somewhat comforted.
Fu Mingzi was waiting for Miss Yang, so he couldn't just wait openly at the entrance of Shou Kang Palace. He found a secluded spot and stood there.
Before long, the wives of the noblewomen all came in. Fu Mingzi saw his eldest sister-in-law and several other sisters-in-law. He raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but hide back a little. After waiting a while, he finally saw the figures of the Yang family.
Fu Mingzi knew that today, while the ladies of the court paid homage to the emperor, these young ladies and gentlemen would be entertaining the princesses. Most of them would be strolling around the Imperial Garden, and then they would have time to themselves.
A quarter of an hour after the ladies-in-waiting went inside, the young ladies indeed followed the princesses out. The eldest princess looked the most imposing, walking arrogantly at the front, while the other princesses, who had little status, appeared more low-key.
As for the young ladies, they naturally each had their own circles. Miss Yang, being new to the capital, didn't know many young ladies from prominent families, so she walked alone at the very back.
Fu Mingzi pointed to Xiao Yunzi beside her: "Find a moment and tell the lady at the back that Fu Wu is waiting for him by the lotus pond ahead."
Xiao Yunzi was stunned. Was this some kind of secret affair?
Seeing his expression, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but smile: "What are you thinking? That's my fiancée."
Xiao Yunzi was taken aback. He took another look and breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had heard people describe what Miss Yang Liu looked like before, and now that he saw her, she was exactly the same as described.
"Yes, Your servant obeys." Xiao Yunzi replied obediently. Since she was Young Master Fu's fiancée, meeting her once was nothing.
Fu Mingzi remained silent and turned to walk towards the lotus pond. This lotus pond was located in a remote corner of the Imperial Garden, and the flowers in the pond had not yet bloomed, making the surrounding area even more desolate.
Fu Mingzi waited for more than a quarter of an hour before Xiao Yunzi finally led Miss Yang over.
Miss Yang breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw him: "It really is you. I was watching you stray further and further off course and thought I was being tricked."
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "Sixth Miss is so bold, why would she be afraid of this?"
Miss Yang glared at him, but didn't say anything.
Fu Mingzi glanced at the maid and Xiao Yunzi who were following Miss Yang, and said in a deep voice, "You may all leave now. I have something to say to Miss Yang."
Xiao Yunzi naturally obeyed and left, but Miss Yang's maid hesitated.
Even Miss Yang herself waved her hand, saying, "You may leave now, I'll be there in a bit."
The maid then followed closely behind and left.
After everyone left, Miss Yang finally looked at Fu Mingzi directly: "So? Have you taken care of everything to see me off?"
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