Chapter 85 Grudges (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
For the next two weeks, the capital returned to tranquility, the gossip surrounding the talent show gradually faded, and the time for Mu Xueqing to enter the Chu Prince's residence drew ever closer.
As Mu Xueqing's nominal uncle, Fu Mingzi naturally had to deal with some of the issues as well.
However, she was only a concubine, and there was no need for the grand ceremony that the principal wife would have. On the day of the wedding, only a chief secretary from the Chu Prince's mansion came to greet her. She entered the Chu Prince's mansion in a light red sedan chair with a dowry of thirty-six bearers.
Fu Mingzhu didn't show a single smile from beginning to end, while Fu Mingzi watched from the side, only sighing inwardly.
The original plan of the Wen family was to use part of the dowry prepared for their daughters to carry the thirty-six loads of dowry, but Fu Mingzhu rejected this idea. She directly spent money to buy ready-made items, and those items were kept in the Fu family for no more than three hours from the time they were ordered until they were carried out of the Fu family.
The quality and specifications were questionable, but Fu Mingzhu showed no regard for the reputation of the Duke of Qian's mansion, and even Wen Shi's attempts to persuade her were futile.
It was from this point that Fu Mingzi truly understood Fu Mingzhu's resentment towards the Duke of Qian.
“You…” Madam Wen looked at Fu Mingzhu and sighed, though the sigh was not very clear amidst the loud gongs and drums outside.
But Fu Mingzhu heard it clearly. She turned her head and looked at Madam Wen: "When she gets married, I will not shortchange her on the five thousand taels of silver that a concubine's daughter should receive. As for anything else, she doesn't need to think about it. Besides, since she already knew her future, Mu Yuanshu had already prepared the silver for her when she came."
Hearing this, Madam Wen knew that Fu Mingzhu was upset, but she couldn't comfort her. After all, although in the eyes of an ordinary matriarch of a large family, the family's reputation was more important than anything else, the Mu family had clearly broken off relations, so this matter of reputation seemed unimportant.
"Alright, let's leave it at that." Madam Wen had come to terms with it and sighed, "If he doesn't give you face, you don't have to give him face either. Anyway, your daughter is married off now, and whatever happens in the future is none of your business."
Fu Mingzhu pursed her lips, her expression complicated.
Seeing this, Fu Mingzi quickly interrupted with a smile: "Now that she's married, my eldest sister is relieved, but I can't relax. In a few days, I'll be taking Zefan to see my third brother. I promised the old man before."
"Zefan is going to see his third brother?" Upon hearing this, Madam Wen's attention was immediately diverted, and she asked with a frown.
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "Yes, when I went to see my father earlier, I saw Ze Fan going to see the old man. He said he missed his father and mother and wanted to go and see them. I thought he was too young and I was worried about him traveling alone, so I told him to wait until things in the capital were over, and then I would take him with me."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzhu frowned: "If I remember correctly, Third Brother is an official in Qinghe. It takes at least a day or two to get there from the capital. Why does Zefan suddenly want to go there?"
Unlike Fu Mingzi, Fu Mingzhu knew nothing about her only surviving half-brother. Back when she was in the Fu family, she had some contact with the third branch of the family.
Wen Shi understood this better than Fu Mingzhu, so as soon as Fu Mingzhu finished speaking, she immediately said, "Ze Fan is not a child, he should know what is important. At this time, he is making a fuss about going to Qinghe, I'm afraid there is something else going on."
Fu Mingzi was a little puzzled, not expecting that Madam Wen and Fu Mingzhu would care about this, so she said, "He is young, perhaps he really misses his parents, I didn't ask any other questions."
In Fu Mingzi's eyes, Fu Zefan had always been a silent child, almost a carbon copy of his silent third brother, so Fu Mingzi knew almost nothing about him.
Madam Wen frowned and said in a deep voice, "Ze Fan is not such a willful person. Since he made such a request while he was busy at home, it must not be that simple."
Fu Mingzi was taken aback, and immediately realized the meaning behind Wen's words.
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean..." Fu Mingzi hesitated before speaking.
Wen glanced at him and said, "Actually, you're not in a hurry to leave in the next few days. Take these next two days to see if there's anything else going on, so as not to delay anything."
These were polite words, but the meaning couldn't be clearer: Madam Wen wanted Fu Mingzi to investigate the third branch of the family.
Fu Mingzi's eyes flickered slightly, but she finally nodded: "I understand."
**
After leaving the Wen family courtyard, Fu Mingzi went straight to Fu Mingsong's study. He couldn't easily discuss this matter with the old man, since to him the old man the son of a half-brother, but to the old man the son and grandson.
When Fu Mingzi arrived, Fu Mingsong was reading a book. When he saw Fu Mingzi come in, he frowned slightly and put down the book.
"Why are you here at this hour? Weren't you in the backyard with Mingzhu?"
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "Eldest sister isn't a child, so there's no need to keep an eye on her all the time. Besides, there's still sister-in-law here."
Fu Mingsong pursed his lips, didn't reply, and instead said, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're here to gossip."
Fu Mingzi smiled. He knew that his older brother understood him best, and there were some things he couldn't hide from him. So Fu Mingzi didn't hide anything and told him about Fu Zefan's previous affairs. After he finished speaking, Fu Mingsong's expression indeed became serious.
"Don't worry about this. I'll have someone investigate. We'll talk about it after we've found out the truth," Fu Mingsong said decisively.
Fu Mingzi, however, was unwilling to be so easily fooled and asked directly, "Big brother, what exactly did Third Brother do to make you so wary?"
Fu Mingsong frowned, a dark glint in his eyes, and after a long while said, "These things have nothing to do with you, so don't ask me any more questions."
Fu Mingzi remained silent, staring intently at Fu Mingsong.
Fu Mingsong felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. He turned his head to the side and finally asked after a long while, "What exactly do you want to know?" His tone was somewhat embarrassed and angry.
"It's about Third Brother." Fu Mingzi answered quickly, but she couldn't help but feel puzzled. Her Third Brother had almost no presence in the Fu family before, and she had never paid attention to him. But she never expected that her three Fu Mingfengs would make her eldest brother, who was as steady as Mount Tai no matter what happened, so irritable.
Fu Mingsong remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly: "It's not a big deal. It's just that he failed the autumn examination that year, but when I took the spring examination the following year, he secretly threw something into my examination basket when I wasn't paying attention. Fortunately, Mingzhu was secretly following behind and saw it, and reminded me, which saved me from trouble."
Fu Mingsong's tone was calm, but Fu Mingzi was instantly enraged: "How dare he do this!" Fu Mingzi abruptly stood up from her chair: "Big brother, why didn't you tell Father!"
Fu Mingsong stared intently at Fu Mingzi, remaining silent for a long time.
After her initial anger subsided, Fu Mingzi finally regained some composure and sat down with an embarrassed expression.
Even if they had evidence, what good would it do to tell the Duke of Jingguo about such matters between brothers? In the end, it would only cause him more pain.
“Only Mingzhu saw this. How can you tell your father? Besides, your third brother’s aunt was still alive at the time, and you were still young. Even if you turned against him, it would only make things difficult for your father,” Fu Mingsong said in a heavy tone.
Fu Mingzi pursed his lips. Although he knew that everything Fu Mingsong said made sense, he still felt angry. Just thinking about how much respect he had shown his third brother in the past, and how he had done such a despicable thing, made him grit his teeth in hatred.
"So how did you do it?" Fu Mingzi suppressed her anger and asked.
He knew his elder brother well. Although he was a man who valued the big picture and the family's reputation, he was not one to suffer a loss. Since this matter had come to this, he would definitely do something.
“I naturally had a talk with my third brother myself.” Fu Mingsong said calmly, “He was quite frightened. He was originally a promising scholar, but after more than ten years, he only managed to obtain the title of Juren. I suppose he realized his mistake.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzi suddenly felt relieved. He knew that his older brother was someone who wouldn't suffer a loss.
"I see." He had previously thought that his third brother couldn't concentrate on his studies, which was why he had such a studious son as Fu Zefan. He felt lucky. But after hearing what Fu Mingsong said, he realized that Fu Mingfeng's lack of progress in his studies over the years was probably due to Fu Mingsong's considerable efforts.
"So what do you think Zefan is trying to do by suddenly going to Qinghe?" Knowing about Fu Mingsong and Fu Mingfeng's past, Fu Mingzi dared not treat this matter as a random event. Fu Mingfeng had been forced to only obtain the title of Juren for many years, so he must have resentment in his heart. However, he had disguised himself as an honest man perfectly in the past. Just thinking about his scheming made Fu Mingzi feel terrified.
"I can't say for sure." Fu Mingsong hesitated for a moment before adding, "Don't overthink it. I'll have someone investigate."
Fu Mingzi gritted his teeth and finally nodded in agreement. He knew Fu Mingsong well; once Fu Mingsong was determined not to let him get involved, he wouldn't easily change his mind. There was no need for him to argue with Fu Mingsong here.
"Then I'm leaving. Remember to let me know if you find out anything." Fu Mingzi got up and took her leave decisively.
Seeing Fu Mingzi's attitude, Fu Mingsong was taken aback at first, and then hurriedly said, "Don't do anything reckless!" Just as Fu Mingzi understood Fu Mingsong, Fu Mingsong also understood Fu Mingzi very well. He knew that his younger brother was not someone who would give up easily.
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzi turned to Fu Mingsong and smiled, "Big brother, don't forget, I'm not a child anymore. You have your methods, and I have mine. I'll let you know when I have news." With that, she waved casually, "See you later," and turned to leave.
Fu Mingsong frowned as he watched Fu Mingzi leave, but did not say anything to stop her.
Sometimes, it's a good thing that children grow up, but it can also make you feel a little lost. They are no longer the children you used to protect and who called you "brother" in their sweet, childish voices.
As soon as Fu Mingzi left Fu Mingsong's courtyard, he wanted to go straight out, but he didn't expect to see the butler pacing back and forth as soon as he reached the second gate. When he saw Fu Mingzi coming, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly came over to greet him.
"Fifth Master, we've finally found you. The Duke is waiting for you in his study, saying he has something to tell you."
Fu Mingzi's brow twitched, and he subconsciously felt that this was not a good thing, but he remained calm on the surface and smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be right there."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
