Chapter 82 Home (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
After receiving the news, Fu Mingzi and Zhou Xiaoyan left the palace together. Zhou Xiaoyan returned to the Prince of Jin's residence, but Fu Mingzi did not go back with him. Instead, she went home.
Fu Mingzhu is still waiting for news at home; he needs to hurry back and tell her.
When Fu Mingzi returned, the atmosphere at the Fu family home was somewhat tense. Even the servants who delivered the message at the door looked very nervous and kept their eyes fixed on the outside.
Seeing him return, she finally relaxed, her tense expression easing.
"Is the master home?" Fu Mingzi asked casually.
The gatekeeper nodded: "Master didn't go out today; he should be at home."
Fu Mingzi didn't ask any more questions and headed towards the study in the front yard.
When I arrived, the Duke of Jingguo was indeed sitting in his study reading a book, but he hadn't turned a page in a long time, so he probably wasn't very focused.
"Father!" Fu Mingzi called out from outside the door.
Duke Jingguo snapped out of his daze and looked towards the door: "Why are you back so early?" Duke Jingguo stood up: "Is there any news from the palace?"
Fu Mingzi entered the study, sat down casually, and then said, "Of course there was news, otherwise I wouldn't have come back."
"Is it the same as what I heard before?" Duke Jingguo asked urgently.
Fu Mingzi chuckled inwardly. Although the old man seemed very composed just now, he was actually worried inside.
“Same.” Fu Mingzi nodded: “The emperor did indeed betroth that illegitimate daughter to the fourth prince.”
When God heard the news, he couldn't help but sigh. Although he had expected it, he was still somewhat saddened by the outcome.
"The Emperor is truly determined to put the Fourth Prince on the throne." The old man's voice was full of vicissitudes. "He can even tolerate the aristocratic families. Before, the Emperor hated the aristocratic families very much. He spent almost half his life trying to suppress them. Now, for the sake of a child, he is even digging his own grave."
Fu Mingzi sensed the sadness in the old man's tone and couldn't help but smile: "The emperor isn't senile. He only gave her a concubine. If he had given her a principal wife, that would have been truly senile."
The old man shook his head: "That's impossible. I know the emperor. No matter how much he messes around, he won't let the aristocratic families rise again. I think he's just using the Xia family this time. But things don't always go according to his plan. He's raised the Xia family up now, but it will take a lot of effort to suppress them in the future."
Hearing this, Fu Mingzi pursed her lips, understanding the old man's worries. As a prominent family, the most terrifying thing about the Xia family was not how powerful they were. No matter how powerful a family or clan was, it was still just a matter of the emperor's word.
What's most terrifying about the Xia family is the talent network they control. As the number one family in the Great Wei, the number of scholars and officials who have received favors from the Xia family is countless, and the number of talented scholars who cheer for the Xia family is even more numerous.
It is precisely because of this broad foundation that the Xia family has been able to survive to this day. Even now, the head of the Xia family still holds the position of the head of the Hanlin Academy in the imperial court, making him a benchmark for scholars in the Great Wei Dynasty.
The emperor has worked hard for so many years, but he has only managed to suppress the Xia family's power by half. Now that the emperor needs the Xia family, if he wants to elevate them, he will have to pay much more than half the price.
To suppress the Xia family once again, the effort required will inevitably be much greater than the first time.
Fu Mingzi's eyes were burning. He knew the dangers of aristocratic families. If aristocratic families, led by the Xia family, were allowed to occupy the top of the scholarly world for a long time, taking up most of the educational resources and even squeezing out the living space of other scholars, it would be extremely harmful to scholars at the bottom. A door hinge that is constantly used will not rust, and flowing water will not stagnate. Fu Mingzi understood this principle better than anyone else.
"Don't worry." Fu Mingzi said in a deep voice, "I won't let this matter come to this. I will deal with the Xia family sooner or later."
This was not only for the country or the court. Fu Mingzi remembered clearly that the Xia family also harbored deep malice towards the Fu family. In Yun Jia's memory, if he hadn't eliminated the Xia family in the end, the Fu family would probably have been the one wiped out.
The old man was unaware of Fu Mingzi's inner thoughts, but seeing his determined gaze, he believed most of what he said. He knew that his son would not make empty promises.
The old man felt a little gratified. He had originally thought the man was an ambitious schemer, but now he seemed to have a bit of a vision for the world. However, it was impossible for the old man to praise him. So the old man just glared at him and said, "You're like a toad yawning. What a big mouth you have. Alright, stop worrying about these things. Hurry up and go back to your sister. She must have been very worried today."
Fu Mingzi smiled, stopped joking with the old man, turned around and left the study, heading towards the backyard.
Fu Mingzhu had been sitting in the Wen family courtyard all morning, her eyesight sharp. As soon as she heard footsteps outside the door, she couldn't help but stand up.
Madam Wen wanted to make a few more jokes at her, but then she heard a message from outside: "Fifth Master is here."
"Let him in quickly," Fu Mingzhu interrupted Wen Shi urgently.
Ms. Wen was not angry; she understood Fu Mingzhu's feelings.
Fu Mingzi lifted the curtain and came in. She glanced at Fu Mingzhu, who had stood up and looked anxious, and chuckled softly, "Big sister, what's wrong?"
"How is it? Has the news come out yet?" Fu Mingzhu took two steps forward anxiously and grabbed Fu Mingzi's hand tightly.
Fu Mingzi felt a little pain from being grabbed, but she still gently patted Fu Mingzhu's hand: "Big sister, don't worry, Xi-jie'er has been dismissed, she should be back this afternoon."
Fu Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
Madam Wen sensed something was amiss and hurriedly asked, "What about Qing'er?"
Fu Mingzi looked at the puzzled Wen Shi. He had forgotten that Wen Shi seemed unaware of the discord between the Emperor and the Mu family.
Fu Mingzi organized her thoughts before saying, "Qing'er has been betrothed to the Fourth Prince as a concubine."
"Ah?" Madam Wen was startled and got up from the bed. "How can this be? Qing'er is..." Madam Wen was speechless for a moment. She looked at Fu Mingzhu, but found that Fu Mingzhu's face was calm.
Madam Wen glanced at Fu Mingzi again and found that he didn't react either. Madam Wen's heart skipped a beat, and she roughly understood something. Then she immediately composed herself and smiled: "That is a good future. I heard that the Fourth Prince is gentle and refined, and he and Qing'er are quite a good match."
Fu Mingzhu sneered, "Sister-in-law, you are kind-hearted, but you don't know the sordid things involved."
Wen's heart skipped a beat, but she managed to suppress her emotions and said in a low voice, "No matter what, it's settled now, and there are some things I dare not say."
Fu Mingzhu's eyes remained indifferent, but she understood that Wen's words were for her own good, so she suppressed her anger and nodded.
Seeing that her task was complete, Fu Mingzi didn't want to stay any longer and said directly, "Since there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
Fu Mingzhu nodded. Wen Shi was somewhat distracted at the moment and didn't have time to pay attention to him, so Fu Mingzi got away very smoothly.
After leaving the Wen family's courtyard, Fu Mingzi began to have some doubts. She hadn't expected her elder brother to be so tight-lipped, managing not to reveal anything about this matter.
**
That afternoon, the sisters Mu Xueqing and Mu Xuexi returned to the Fu family as expected. Mu Xuexi looked calm, while Mu Xueqing was beaming with joy. They were accompanied by three or four maids, all of whom were bestowed by the palace.
The head maid had a cold expression and seemed to be in charge. As soon as she arrived at the Fu family, she bowed to Madam Wen and said, "Madam, I am here on the orders of the Empress Dowager and the Empress to take care of Miss Mu. From today until Miss Mu leaves the Fu family, she will have to learn palace etiquette from me. Please forgive me, Madam."
Wen Shi listened without changing her expression. She had been through a lot and knew this kind of thing very well. She nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Granny. But since you are all here, we can't neglect you. Before, Qing'er lived with her younger sister. Now that you are all going to live with us, I will have Xi'er move out and give that courtyard to Qing'er alone. Do you think that's okay?"
Lady Wen was very polite to these palace people, and she would ask them more questions about such matters.
The old woman knew immediately that the master of the house was easy to talk to, and she quickly nodded: "Madam's arrangements are excellent, thank you very much, Madam."
Wen smiled, then glanced at Mu Xueqing. Although Mu Xueqing still kept her eyes down and looked no different from her previous honest self, the slight upturn of her lips had already betrayed her emotions.
Madam Wen frowned, then glanced at Fu Mingzhu. Seeing that Fu Mingzhu was holding Mu Xuexi with a cold face and had no intention of speaking, she knew that she probably couldn't count on Fu Mingzhu. She could only sigh and speak herself: "Qing'er, you must follow the nanny's instructions to learn etiquette these next few days and not slack off."
Mu Xueqing stepped forward gently and bowed, saying, "I will obey my aunt's instructions."
Madam Wen nodded, taking it as a reprimand, and then nodded to the head maid behind her: "Go and help the matrons settle in."
The people around Madam Wen were all shrewd. As for Teng Courtyard, Madam Wen had already made preparations after receiving the news. Therefore, the maid accepted the order and smiled as she led the several matrons towards the direction where Mu Xueqing had lived before.
After everyone in the room had left, Madam Wen looked at Fu Mingzhu and her daughter and sighed, "As the legal mother, you should have said a few words just now."
Fu Mingzhu snorted coldly: "She's so opinionated, it's not my place to lecture her."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xuexi grasped Fu Mingzhu's hand with a worried expression.
Fu Mingzhu patted Mu Xuexi's hand reassuringly, and her expression softened a bit.
“Sister-in-law, you don’t know, I only found out before she entered the palace that she already knew about her future. As her legal mother, I was kept completely in the dark. I don’t think being a legal mother is very interesting anymore,” Fu Mingzhu said in a fit of pique.
Now that Madam Wen knew the whole story, she couldn't persuade Fu Mingzhu any further. She just sighed and said, "At least you have to save face. As for anything else, I won't force you."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzhu reluctantly nodded.
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