Chapter 65 Picking Up People (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Fu Mingzi returned to her room with deep apprehension. After thinking it over, she decided to tell Zhou Xiaoyan about it after she brought Fu Mingzhu's family back the next day.
It's not a good thing either. Even if we tell him now, it will only make him feel bad. Neither the Crown Prince nor the Emperor will allow Zhou Xiaoyan to go and reward the troops.
Later that afternoon, Fu Mingbo returned as expected, much to the delight of the second wife's family. Fu Mingzi could even hear the commotion from her own room.
A smile crept onto his face. His second sister-in-law was truly miserable, practically living the life of a widow. They could only see each other once a month; it was truly agonizing.
The next morning, Fu Mingzi got up very early and met up with Fu Mingbai outside the Fu family's gate.
Fu Mingbo was dressed in riding attire and looked very energetic, while Fu Mingzi was lazy and casual, wearing a scholar's robe.
Fu Mingbo scrutinized him from head to toe with a critical eye, then frowned and said, "What kind of look is this? We're going to pick someone up, not go on a picnic. Dressed like this, it's inappropriate."
Fu Mingsong came out to see them off and quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Second brother, it's our first meeting after all, so you should dress more presentably. Besides, Mingzi is a good rider, so he won't be in the way."
Fu Mingbo glanced at Fu Mingsong with a look of disappointment and anger, but said nothing. He just thought to himself that the fifth brother was really spoiled by his eldest brother.
Unaware of his younger brother's thoughts, Fu Mingsong, having managed to persuade Fu Mingbai, turned to Fu Mingzi and gave him a long and detailed lecture, telling him to be careful while riding, to wrap himself up in his cloak so as not to catch a cold, and to be sweet-talking when he saw Fu Mingzhu.
She was like a mother hen, practically leading Fu Mingzi there herself.
Fu Mingbo grew increasingly impatient and said directly, "Brother, it's getting late, we should go."
Fu Mingsong then stopped talking, still feeling a bit unsatisfied. After watching Fu Mingbai and Fu Mingzi mount their horses, he couldn't help but say, "Be careful, both of you. And Mingzi, when you get back, we still have to go to the Yang family to propose marriage tomorrow."
Fu Mingzi was stunned. He had almost forgotten about this matter. But the Yang family was really something, managing to keep it a secret until now. Could it be that he was really going to propose marriage? Where would the Yang family conjure up another Miss Yang from?
Fu Mingzi frowned subconsciously, then quickly regained her composure and nodded lightly: "Understood."
Fu Mingsong didn't notice Fu Mingzi's momentary unease, so he didn't take it to heart and waved his hand with a smile.
Fu Mingzi and Fu Mingbo rode their horses out of the mirror. Fu Mingbo was not a talkative person, so the journey was quiet.
Just as they were about to leave the city gates, Fu Mingbai suddenly asked, "Are you really going to marry Miss Yang?"
Fu Mingzi was taken aback and looked at Fu Mingbai: "What do you mean by this, Second Brother?"
Fu Mingbo pursed his lips: "You are not someone who is easily restrained, nor are you someone who accepts fate."
Fu Mingzi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Second brother knows me so well?"
Fu Mingbo frowned but remained silent.
Fu Mingzi stopped laughing in time and said softly, "I was indeed not satisfied with the Yang family before, but after meeting Miss Yang once, I think she is not bad. Marrying her would be a good choice. Anyway, I will get married in the future, so it doesn't matter who it is."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingbo's expression relaxed slightly: "No matter what, once you marry her, you must treat her well."
Fu Mingzi smiled and nodded, "I know, don't worry, Second Brother." I'll never marry her...
Fu Mingzi dared not voice her unspoken meaning, nor did she dare to reveal it on her face.
Fu Mingbo was not a scheming person after all, and he couldn't see through Fu Mingzi's concealment, so his mood returned to calm.
The two of them passed through the city gate without any trouble, and then rode their horses all the way to the post station outside the city. They handed their horses over to the innkeeper to lead them away, and then ordered a pot of tea and sat down at the post station to wait.
"Mingzhu should arrive in another hour. If you're hungry, you can order some food," Fu Mingbo said.
Fu Mingzi shook her head as she sipped her tea: "Forget it, what's so good about this?"
Fu Mingbo frowned: "You've picked up all the spoiled brat habits. What can't you eat here?"
"Okay, okay." Fu Mingzi quickly made a gesture of surrender: "It's my fault. If I'm hungry, I'll eat it no matter how bad it is."
Fu Mingbo shook his head and sighed. This younger brother was really spoiled by the old man and his older brother. If he had been raised by him when he was a child, he wouldn't be like this now.
Regardless of Fu Mingbo's thoughts, the two of them chatted casually while waiting for Fu Mingzhu to arrive.
Fu Mingzi deliberately steered the conversation toward the garrison at Yuntai Camp, and Fu Mingbai, who was not on guard against him, naturally said quite a bit.
One of the things that Fu Mingzi valued highly was that the commander of the Shenji Battalion had been replaced by the emperor's cousin and confidant, Duke Cheng'en Zhao Xiangde.
Fu Mingzi had heard of Zhao Xiangde before. The emperor's biological mother was an unfavored concubine with a very ordinary family background, but she was lucky. As soon as she entered the palace, she was favored and gave birth to the eldest son of a concubine. Unfortunately, her luck ended there. When the emperor was five years old, her biological mother passed away, and the emperor was taken to be raised by the then empress, who is now the empress dowager.
However, the late emperor was a shrewd man who was wary of the powerful family behind the empress dowager. Therefore, he never registered the emperor under the empress dowager's name; she was merely his adoptive mother.
Later, when the emperor became emperor, the empress dowager naturally became the Empress Dowager Mother. However, the emperor's maternal family was also granted an imperial decree and became the Duke of Cheng'en.
However, the Zhao family has never been able to gain any real influence. Even though the emperor trusted the Zhao family a great deal, he dared not give them too much power, for fear of causing trouble. This time, however, the Shenji Battalion was handed over to Zhao Xiangde, which is quite interesting.
Fu Mingzi's mind was racing with thoughts when, just then, Fu Mingbai, who was sitting opposite her, stood up.
"They're here," he said in a deep voice.
Fu Mingzi was startled and turned around to look. Sure enough, a carriage was coming from afar towards them.
Fu Mingzi hurriedly stood up, straightened his appearance, and watched as the carriages approached.
They walked until they reached the post station before stopping. A woman who looked like a wife greeted them with a smile and said to the carriage road, "Madam, Second Master and Fifth Master have arrived."
"Fifth brother is here too?" A clear, melodious woman's voice came from inside the carriage. Then, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a beautiful woman's face appeared before Fu Mingzi.
Fu Mingzi knew at a glance that this person must be her older sister, because her appearance was truly unique to the Fu family.
She possessed the aloofness characteristic of the Fu family, yet was undeniably beautiful, especially her eyes, which were exactly the same as Fu Mingsong's.
"Elder sister." Fu Mingzi hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.
Fu Mingzhu looked at Fu Mingzi, smiled, and stepped forward to help him up: "When I saw you before, you were just a child. Now you've grown up so much. Time really flies."
Fu Mingzhu's words are clear and crisp, making them very pleasant to listen to.
After saying that, she looked at Fu Mingbo, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes: "Second brother, I'm so sorry to have troubled you to come and pick me up."
Fu Mingbo looked at Fu Mingzhu with a sigh and said gently, "Mingzhu, you've lost weight."
Fu Mingzhu smiled and shook her head: "Second brother is always trying to make me happy. How could I lose weight? I'm already a mother of two." She managed to steer her words of concern in a different direction, doing so with great tact.
After saying that, he waved to the people behind him and said, "Xi-jie, Yun-ge, come out and greet your two uncles."
As soon as she finished speaking, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a girl stepped down from the carriage. She looked somewhat thin, but her face was very generous. She had round almond-shaped eyes and a smile on her face. She was not as beautiful as Fu Mingzhu, but she had a unique cuteness.
Then a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old dismounted and came over. He looked a little shy and resembled Fu Mingzi.
"Second Uncle, Fifth Uncle," the girl said, bowing to them.
"Greetings, uncles." The boy bowed to them.
Fu Mingbo nodded seriously, while Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "These two children of yours are really lovable. No wonder they were raised by you."
Fu Mingzhu chuckled and said, "You're so sweet-talking. Children don't deserve praise. At least they're obedient, which makes me worry less."
Fu Mingzi smiled and didn't refute.
Fu Mingbo glanced at the time and said in a deep voice, "It's getting late. Let's go home and talk about it first. Father and my elder brother are looking forward to your return."
Upon hearing this, Fu Mingzhu's eyes reddened: "It is my fault for being unfilial and causing Father to worry."
Fu Mingbo shook his head: "What nonsense are you talking about? You're my sister, do you think the family would abandon you?"
Fu Mingzhu couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this: "Second brother, you're still the same as before."
Fu Mingbo didn't understand the deeper meaning behind her words, and just waved his hand: "Alright, stop talking nonsense, let's go." He was not good at these tender things after all, and always felt a little uncomfortable.
Fu Mingzhu naturally knew Fu Mingbo's temperament, so she didn't make things difficult for him and obediently nodded.
Fu Mingzi, being the younger one, didn't have much right to speak. She just smiled at Fu Mingzhu and followed Fu Mingbai to get the horses.
The two men mounted their horses, and the caravan headed towards the capital again. Mu Zhenyun was still a child, and upon seeing his two uncles, he couldn't help but want to come over and get close to them.
"Second Uncle, I heard from Mother that you are the Grand Commander in the Valiant Cavalry. Could you teach me riding and archery? That way I can protect Mother!" He looked at Fu Mingbai with a sincere expression.
Fu Mingbo sighed inwardly, but nodded outwardly: "When we get back, I will teach you personally, but you are not allowed to complain."
"Of course!" Mu Zhenyun gestured with his arm: "I'm a man, why would I complain?"
Fu Mingzi, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Don't speak too slowly. Second Brother's training is no ordinary person. Even I almost lost my life back then."
Mu Zhenyun, however, did not back down at all: "What's the big deal? I rode my horse for three days straight without sleep since I came out of Yun'an. All the guards under me were exhausted, but I was fine. I'm not afraid!"
Fu Mingzi's gaze darkened, and he gripped the reins in his hand. The Duke of Qian deserved to die! To make a child suffer such pain.
Fu Mingbo noticed Fu Mingzi's odd behavior and quickly glared at him before turning to Mu Zhenyun, his tone softening: "Don't listen to your fifth uncle's nonsense. As long as you persevere, you will definitely succeed."
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Author's note: I almost lost the manuscript, thankfully I found it again.
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