Chapter 72 Planning (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Fu Mingzi left the study with ease, but before he had taken more than a few steps, Fu Mingsong called out to him: "Fifth brother, today's events have finally gone as you wished, haven't they?"
Fu Mingzi stopped and raised an eyebrow slightly: "What are you saying, brother?" He just smiled with narrowed eyes: "Do you think I made the Emperor's decision for him?"
Fu Mingsong looked at Fu Mingzi with a complicated expression, and after a long while said, "I just hope you know what you are doing."
Fu Mingzi chuckled softly, "Don't worry, brother, of course I know."
The two parted ways outside the study. Fu Mingbo stood there for a moment, glanced at Fu Mingzi's back, and then turned and left.
Fu Mingzi slept soundly that night and got up early the next morning, which startled Song Yan. You see, this man was usually difficult to wake up even by his servants.
"Does Fifth Master have anything to celebrate today?" Songyan asked tentatively as she dressed Fu Mingzi.
Fu Mingzi glanced at Song Yan with a half-smile: "You dog servant, you do know how to read the room."
Song Yan's heart skipped a beat, but she immediately put on a smirk: "That's all thanks to Fifth Master's good training."
Fu Mingzi didn't pursue the matter further. He simply waved his hand, signaling Song Yan to leave, and then smoothed out his sleeves.
"I'm going to the master's for breakfast today. You can share the food in my courtyard with the servants," Fu Mingzi instructed, and without waiting for Song Yan's words of gratitude, she turned and left.
It was still a bit chilly outside, and the wind was quite strong, but Fu Mingzi didn't seem to care much and headed towards the Duke of Jingguo's study.
When he arrived, the Duke of Jingguo had just gotten up, and the servants had just brought up breakfast. Upon seeing Fu Mingzi, the Duke of Jingguo couldn't help but frown: "I told you to come over this early, but I didn't tell you to come this morning. Have you eaten yet?"
Fu Mingzi grinned, "I just wanted to come and have some breakfast in your yard. I heard from my older brother that your little kitchen is much better than your big kitchen."
Duke Jing glared at Fu Mingzi: "You're so petty."
Fu Mingzi didn't take it to heart and sat down opposite the Duke of Jingguo.
Duke Jingguo waved his hand at the servants: "Go and get Fifth Master a set of bowls and chopsticks."
The servants below were quick-witted, and someone had already gone down to get it. As soon as the Duke of Jingguo finished speaking, someone brought out bowls and chopsticks, with fragrant millet porridge in the bowls, covered with a thick layer of rice oil, which looked very appetizing.
Fu Mingzi didn't stand on ceremony at all, and started eating as soon as he picked up his chopsticks. Even the Duke of Jingguo felt his eyes hurt watching him and advised him to eat slowly.
Fu Mingzi didn't care about any of that. She devoured most of the food in one go before finally putting down her chopsticks with satisfaction.
"You're truly a reincarnation of a starving ghost!" Duke Jingguo couldn't help but curse. "Even the poorest people on the street eat with more dignity than you. Do you think you deserve to eat at home?!"
Fu Mingzi didn't take these words to heart at all, waved his hand, and had someone serve him tea.
“Dad, I’m a young man, what’s wrong with eating more? You’re getting on in years, you should eat less to stay healthy.”
These words left the Duke of Jingguo speechless, his face turning ashen. He raised his hand to strike him but couldn't bring himself to do it, and in the end, he could only curse him as a "wicked child" to vent his anger.
While drinking tea, Fu Mingzi smiled at the Duke of Jingguo and said, "Father, don't worry about me. I'm all grown up now, how could I possibly skimp on myself? You eat quickly, and we'll talk about serious matters after you finish eating."
Only after appeasing the Duke of Jingguo was the matter finally settled.
After the Duke of Jingguo finished his meal and leisurely sipped a cup of health-preserving tea, Fu Mingsong and Fu Mingbai finally arrived.
When the two brothers saw that Fu Mingzi had arrived, they were quite surprised, as they both had a deep impression of their younger brother's habit of sleeping in late.
However, these were minor matters. Upon seeing their arrival, the Duke of Jingguo immediately got down to business.
"What do you think we should do in the future to ensure the safety of our family?"
As the eldest brother, Fu Mingsong was the first to speak: "Now that His Majesty wants to promote the Fourth Prince, we should let the Crown Prince know about this as soon as possible, and then find suitable investments among the princes."
Fu Mingsong is mature and prudent, and he never speaks with absolute certainty.
Fu Mingbai frowned: "Brother, what are you saying? Now that the foundation of the nation has been decided, we should naturally support His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Duke Jingguo sighed and looked at Fu Mingzi: "And you?"
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "I don't think I need to say anything; I'm sure my brothers understand what I mean."
Fu Mingsong pursed his lips and remained silent, while Fu Mingbai frowned even more deeply: "It is even more inappropriate for the Fifth Prince to be neither the legitimate son nor the eldest son."
Fu Mingzi looked at Fu Mingbai: "Second brother, if possible, I would also like to support His Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. However, nowadays, all of His Majesty's attention is probably on His Highness the Crown Prince. If we show even the slightest intention to pledge allegiance, the entire Fu family will probably be buried with him. Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince is lenient on the outside but harsh on the inside, and he has no good master."
Fu Mingbo gritted his teeth and remained silent.
He naturally understood this as well. The Crown Prince was like a powder keg. If the Emperor wanted the Fourth Prince to ascend the throne, the first person he would deal with would be the Crown Prince. They didn't have any strength to confront the Emperor directly. If they really wanted to support a prince to ascend the throne, they could only find an opportunity and take a shortcut in the conflict between the father and son.
“Mingzi is right.” Duke Jingguo finally spoke up: “Right now, the easiest person for our family to get close to is actually the Fifth Prince. Whether it’s the Crown Prince or the other princes, we don’t have a chance to get close to them. Moreover, most of them already have powerful backers. Even if we go, I’m afraid it will only be secondary, which is also very disadvantageous for us.”
When Duke Jingguo said this, he looked at Fu Mingsong.
Fu Mingsong immediately realized something and hurriedly nodded: "You're right, supporting the Fifth Prince is indeed the easiest and most advantageous thing to do."
Duke Jingguo nodded, then looked at Fu Mingbai.
Fu Mingbai was still angry. He had been raised with the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues and was straightforward in nature. Now, not only was he rebelling against the emperor, but he was also supporting another second prince to seize the throne. Even if he had expected it, he was still not at peace.
After a long while, he finally suppressed his resentment and lowered his head dejectedly: "You are right."
The Duke of Jingguo nodded calmly. He knew that his son, once he spoke, would do his best to fulfill his promise, even if he was unwilling, and would never hold the family back.
Therefore, the Duke of Jingguo did not mince words and directly gave Fu Mingbai detailed instructions on how to conduct himself in the Imperial Guard.
In essence, there are only a few points: first, to win over the elite cavalry; and second, to keep a close eye on Admiral Zhou Mingguang.
Zhou Mingguang was originally the old man's confidant, but judging from his behavior in recent years, he has become estranged from the old man. According to the old man's own guess, he has most likely sided with the emperor.
“Zhou Mingguang is not someone to be trifled with. Back then, he made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion in the Northwest, protecting the ancestral lands of the royal family from invasion. He was bestowed the imperial surname by the emperor. Although I promoted him myself, he is a shrewd and opportunistic person. Given his imperial favor, I was unwilling to entrust the Imperial Guard to him. Unfortunately, the emperor overruled all objections and chose him from among my many deputy generals. Now, he only cares about the Fu family out of politeness. In the future, you must be careful of him, no matter how important or trivial your actions may be.”
The Duke of Jingguo spoke of Zhou Mingguang with great caution, which shows that he was truly wary of this man.
Fu Mingbo nodded: "I understand."
After saying this, the Duke of Jingguo looked at Fu Mingsong and said, "I won't give you any more instructions since you're in the Ministry of War. Just stay put. Those two vice ministers under you are not easy to deal with. One is the emperor's man, and the other is the crown prince's man. You can just sit back and relax."
Although the Duke of Jingguo had faded from the court, he was still fully aware of all the turmoil and disturbances within it.
Fu Mingsong nodded: "Son understands."
Duke Jingguo finally looked at Fu Mingzi: "As for you, just serve His Highness well. If you have time, you can invite His Highness to come to our home for a visit."
This meant he wanted to build a relationship, and Fu Mingzi knew it perfectly well. She quickly smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, I will definitely convey your good intentions."
Duke Jingguo nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, I have nothing else to do here, you may all go."
Fu Mingzi then left with her two older brothers.
Once they were outside the old man's courtyard, Fu Mingbai couldn't help but ask, "Did you already have your mind to push the Fifth Prince up there?"
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "Otherwise what? Does Second Brother think I'm staying by the Fifth Prince's side because I'm bored?"
Fu Mingbai was dumbfounded. He really thought that Fu Mingzi went to the Fifth Prince's side just because his family couldn't stand his idleness and wanted to give him something to do.
"Second brother, oh second brother," Fu Mingzi shook his head with a smile, "You're still too naive. Both eldest brother and father know what's going on in this matter. It was just a casual move, but now it's come in handy. Isn't that great?"
Fu Mingbo looked at Fu Mingsong in shock. Although he was dull-witted, he could still understand the deeper meaning in Fu Mingzi's words. Could it be that sending Fu Mingzi out was just a setup? If it weren't for today's events, Fu Mingzi's future would have been ruined.
Fu Mingsong said calmly, “Everyone has to make sacrifices for the family. I gave up martial arts for literature, and my second brother practiced riding and archery hard, all for the sake of the Fu family. My fifth brother has been idle since childhood and has no intention of serving in the court. He is the best candidate to do this.”
When Fu Mingsong said this, there was no longer any warmth as before, but rather the cold-bloodedness of a head of the family.
Fu Mingbo gritted his teeth, looking incredulously at his elder brother whom he had always respected.
After saying these cold words, Fu Mingsong suddenly looked at Fu Mingzi, who still had a smile on his face: "Besides, Fifth Brother knew about the family's plans from the beginning, right? Since he didn't refuse, he must have been willing."
Fu Mingzi finally burst out laughing: "Brother is right. Ever since Father told me that His Majesty might choose someone from the family to be a prince's study companion, I have known about the family's plans. I did not refuse. Firstly, I am very interested in these princes myself. Secondly, of course, it is also to satisfy my own ambition. My brother has taught me for many years, which has made me who I am today. If I cannot make use of my own abilities, I will be somewhat unwilling."
Fu Mingbo could hardly believe what he was seeing. To him, his family, which he considered to be harmonious and loving, had actually been plotting against him all along. Although these plots were all for the good of the whole family, and both sides had a tacit understanding, it was still a heavy blow to him.
“You, you all…” Fu Mingbo took two steps back, his eyes wide open.
Fu Mingzi turned her head and looked at Fu Mingbai with a gentle expression: "Second brother, the Fu family has become the prestigious family it is today. We don't know how much effort and planning our ancestors put in. Now that it's our generation, we can't just rest on our laurels. If we want to go further and continue the glory, we have to make sacrifices. And I am very willing to sacrifice for the family."
Fu Mingzi spoke the cruelest words in the gentlest tone, as if it were nothing more than a trivial matter to him.
"Besides," he smiled, "aren't I doing just fine now? If I were to follow the Fifth Prince's lead and become a pawn, I'd probably just stay at home, living a life of debauchery and wasting my life. Now that I have this opportunity, what's wrong with that?"
Fu Mingbo tried to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, glanced at Fu Mingsong standing calmly behind Fu Mingzi, gritted his teeth and said, "Do whatever you want, I'm leaving!" He then left angrily.
Watching Fu Mingbo leave, Fu Mingzi didn't turn around, but just chuckled softly: "Big brother, why did you have to provoke second brother like this today?"
“I just don’t want him to still have any illusions about this cruel world. He’s too straightforward. Some things have to be laid bare before him so he can understand the gravity of the situation,” Fu Mingsong said calmly.
Fu Mingzi smiled again, turned around and looked at Fu Mingsong: "Then eldest brother doesn't need to push the heavy burden of the family onto himself. I imagine second brother will be very uneasy when he goes back tonight."
Fu Mingzi was well aware that the reason Fu Mingsong was provoking Fu Mingbo today was to let him know how much the family had sacrificed for its future, thereby stimulating Fu Mingbo to give up his last bit of obsession with orthodoxy and serve the family's future wholeheartedly.
“He’s been so naive all these years, it’s time for him to grow up.” Fu Mingsong said this almost with a sigh, then turned and left.
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