Chapter 69 Design (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
After finishing that matter, Fu Mingzi brought up Fu Mingzhu's visit and told Zhou Xiaoyan about her efforts to win Fu Mingzhu over.
Zhou Xiaoyan's eyes softened upon hearing this: "Thank you for your hard work."
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "This is nothing. Anyway, my eldest sister needs someone to help her now. It's better to let His Highness do it than to let someone else do it."
Zhou Xiaoyan pursed his lips: "Don't worry, I will definitely live up to your expectations."
In the previous life, the illegitimate daughter of the Mu family was betrothed to the fourth prince. The emperor even colluded with the Qian Kingdom to drive Fu Mingzhu out of the capital and then take the opportunity to kill Mu Zhenyun, so that the illegitimate son could pass the throne to her.
Later, Fu Mingzi took charge and personally escorted Fu Mingzhu back to Yun'an. They returned with a narrow escape, and just a few days later, news came that the Duke of Qian was seriously ill in bed and that his illegitimate son had also died suddenly.
At the time, rumors circulated in the capital that Fu Mingzi had personally strangled the youngest son of the Duke of Qian. Everyone said he was cruel and vicious, and he had also heard these rumors at the time.
He couldn't help but secretly resent him for disregarding his own reputation and acting so recklessly. It was bad enough that he had brought down the Duke of Qian, but he didn't even spare a young child.
After he returned, she disregarded everything and went to his house to berate him.
He still remembers what Fu Mingzi looked like back then: her face was deathly pale, she was only wearing an undergarment, and you could still faintly see traces of blood from her marriage.
Only after he finished speaking did he look at him intently and ask, "Has Your Highness finished speaking?"
He was stunned for a moment, because Fu Mingzi had never spoken to him in such a cold tone before. He didn't know what to say and could only nod dumbly.
"Now that Your Highness has finished speaking, please leave. I am no longer Your Highness's tutor, and these matters cannot be blamed on Your Highness." As he said this, his eyes and brows revealed his weariness.
He didn't see the disappointment in his eyes at that time. He was only angered by his words and felt insulted. In his panic, he blurted out: "Do you think I want to care about you? You are a despised, cruel, vicious, and lewd person. I don't even look at you!"
He knew all too well how to stab Fu Mingzi in the heart. These words were almost fatal, and his face turned even paler. However, he pretended not to see it and left the Fu family with a flick of his sleeve.
Later, he finally heard the truth about what happened back then from others. It turned out that the child was strangled to death by the Duke of Qian himself. The reason why the Duke of Qian fell seriously ill was not only because of the blow from Fu Mingzi, but also because he learned that the child he had doted on was actually born from an affair between his beloved woman and someone else.
The Duke of Qian spent countless riches to heal the hidden wounds of his beloved woman from years ago. However, while he was looking forward to their child, his woman was having an affair with his most trusted guard.
This was a fatal blow to the Duke of Qian, which is why he fell ill and never recovered. He first stabbed his concubine to death, and then strangled the child with his own hands.
When he heard the news, he was extremely uneasy. He wanted to apologize to Fu Mingzi, but he didn't know what to say. When he finally mustered up the courage, he had already been tricked by his most respected father, the emperor, and was made a rebellious son and thrown into prison.
Even until his death, he was unable to explain to Fu Mingzi that he had really made a mistake and that he shouldn't have been so willful.
Zhou Xiaoyan looked at Fu Mingzi with complicated emotions. Fu Mingzi was still full of vigor and vitality, showing no signs of the fatigue and vicissitudes of his previous life.
Zhou Xiaoyan couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. How he wished he could be this carefree forever.
"What is Your Highness laughing at?" Fu Mingzi couldn't help but ask.
Zhou Xiaoyan shook his head: "It's nothing, I just remembered some things from the past."
Fu Mingzi felt that he was probably thinking about those things in his dream again, but it didn't matter. Even if it was true, they were already very different now.
After thinking for a moment, Fu Mingzi told Zhou Xiaoyan that the emperor might send the fourth prince to reward the troops. Seeing his smiling face gradually darken, Fu Mingzi felt helpless.
If he could, he really didn't want to talk about it, but it wouldn't be good if he didn't.
“I had suspected this all along,” Zhou Xiaoyan said carefully.
“However, since Father Emperor likes it, it’s not impossible to grant his wish. But we could give His Highness the Crown Prince a hint, so he won’t keep an eye on me all the time,” Zhou Xiaoyan said softly.
Fu Mingzi nodded; this was similar to the approach he had envisioned.
“Indeed, His Highness the Crown Prince should take these matters very seriously. It would be most appropriate for him to handle them.” Fu Mingzi smiled. Right now, he and Zhou Xiaoyan were still too weak, so they could only rely on others to help them.
After a brief discussion, the two decided how to send a message to the Crown Prince. Seeing that it was getting late, Fu Mingzi turned and left the palace.
A few days later, Zhou Xiaoyan finally moved out of the palace and was officially granted the title of king and established his own residence.
On the day of the move, the entire Prince Jin's mansion was bustling with activity. Several princes and the Crown Prince came, and the Emperor even sent his personal eunuch to deliver housewarming gifts.
The gift from the emperor was quite precious, and thus attracted the attention of many people. Several princes were even green with envy, especially the ninth prince, who was younger and couldn't control his emotions. He immediately spoke up: "Father really loves Fifth Brother. When Fourth Brother established his residence, the gifts he received were not as valuable as this."
Zhou Xiaoyan remained calm as he accepted the gift: "Ninth Brother, you are mistaken. Although the things Father Emperor bestowed upon Fourth Brother do not seem valuable, they are very useful. Fourth Brother is an outstanding calligrapher and is very sensitive to heat, so Father Emperor gave him a set of the Four Treasures of the Study, as well as cooling devices. It seems that Father Emperor truly cares about Fourth Brother's daily life."
As soon as Zhou Xiaoyan said this, the surroundings fell silent. Even the Fourth Prince looked over, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He had also thought the reward was nothing special at the time, but now, hearing Zhou Xiaoyan's words, it was...
The emperor was not allowed to give valuable items, but he gave the fourth prince something that perfectly matched his daily routine. This shows that the emperor paid close attention to the fourth prince's daily life. This may just be a coincidence, but everyone present was shrewd. Who would believe that it was just a coincidence?
The Crown Prince's subtle gaze swept across the Fourth Prince's face. The Fourth Prince, at this moment, also managed to suppress his expression, inwardly groaning. This Zhou Xiaoyan, who seemed so quiet, was actually a silent dog that could bite without barking; with just one sentence, he had stirred up a lot of hatred for him.
"Fifth brother is joking. Father Emperor works so hard, how would he know about my little affairs? It must have been delivered by accident." The fourth prince said this with a little guilt, and his smile became somewhat stiff.
The Crown Prince stared at him for a moment, a hint of doubt lingering in his heart, but he didn't voice it. His expression remained gentle: "Alright, it's all from Father's heart, there's no distinction between them. It's getting late, let's take our seats."
With the Crown Prince stepping in to smooth things over, the other princes didn't dare to say anything more, so they all hurriedly took their seats and exchanged pleasantries with smiles.
As the host, Zhou Xiaoyan toasted each of his elder brothers with a cup of wine, and was then given a few more cups by his younger brothers. When he finally saw his brothers off, Zhou Xiaoyan was walking unsteadily, his face was flushed, and he looked bewildered.
The Crown Prince was the last to be escorted out. Looking at Zhou Xiaoyan like this, he couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, Fifth Brother, hurry back. You don't need to see me off like this. Go back and rest well."
Zhou Xiaoyan shook his swollen head and looked at the Crown Prince with some helplessness: "I have indeed neglected my elder brother."
The crown prince smiled and said, "We're brothers, there's no need for such formalities."
Zhou Xiaoyan looked grateful.
After escorting the Crown Prince to the outside of the flower hall, Zhou Xiaoyan was helped back by Wei Baocheng.
Fu Mingzi took over Zhou Xiaoyan's job and escorted the Crown Prince out.
Halfway there, Fu Mingzi's pageboy, Songyan, suddenly ran over: "Fifth Master, Second Master, he..."
"Shut up!" Fu Mingzi suddenly stepped in front of the Crown Prince: "His Highness the Crown Prince is here, how can you be so insolent?"
Songyan was startled, her face turned pale, and she hurriedly knelt down before His Highness the Crown Prince: "I...I am a commoner..."
"Alright." The Crown Prince waved his hand, his expression gentle. "There's no need to apologize. I'm not so easily frightened. No need for further words, step down."
Song Yan breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly kowtowed to the Crown Prince with profuse thanks, and then retreated in a panic.
Watching Songyan leave, Fu Mingzi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and hurriedly apologized to His Highness the Crown Prince, saying, "It is my fault for not disciplining you properly, which has frightened you."
“There’s no need for that.” The Crown Prince said kindly, “I’ve already said that I’m not one for many rules. There’s no need to apologize repeatedly for such a small matter.”
Fu Mingzi stammered in agreement.
The Crown Prince, however, asked seemingly casually, "I just heard that page mention the Second Master. Could it be that Commander Fu has returned from the Yuntai Camp?"
Fu Mingzi was initially startled, but then pretended to calm down and said in a deep voice, "Yes, I came back a few days ago, and I guess I'm back again today."
"Has the Yuntai Camp been so quiet these past few days?" The Crown Prince glanced at Fu Mingzi and then asked.
Fu Mingzi gave an awkward smile: "Well, I don't know. Maybe I've been quite free these past few days."
The Crown Prince smiled at Fu Mingzi and said, "Don't be nervous, I was just asking casually."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand." Fu Mingzi replied sheepishly.
The Crown Prince smiled again, but said nothing more, and silently left the Prince of Jin's residence under Fu Mingzi's guidance.
Once the Crown Prince's figure disappeared from the spot, Fu Mingzi's smirk gradually faded, and she returned to her usual calm demeanor.
He slightly curled his lips, turned around and returned to the Prince of Jin's residence. It seemed that today's performance had not been in vain.
Just then, Songyan approached again: "Young master, was what I said just now correct?"
"Not bad." Fu Mingzi nodded at Song Yan. "I didn't expect you, you lackey, to have such acting skills."
Songyan smiled obsequiously, looking smug.
That's right, Fu Mingzi designed all of this to get the Crown Prince's attention to the Yuntai Camp. He believed that as long as the Crown Prince paid attention, the Emperor's little tricks wouldn't escape his notice.
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