Chapter 50 Dreaming (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
Unlike Fu Yunjia, Madam Wen smiled upon hearing this: "This child is mature by nature and has a good sense of planning. It is clear that she will be a worry-free person in the future."
After saying that, he smiled and looked at Madam Xu: "You raised a good daughter."
There was a smile in Xu's eyes, but she was reserved, and only a hint of joy could be seen.
Fu Mingzi ignored all of that and just stared at Fu Yunjia. Fu Yunjia seemed to realize her overreaction and quickly lowered her head, pretending to be shy.
Fu Mingzi frowned slightly; it was indeed somewhat strange.
"Alright," Fu Mingsong interrupted them, "If there's nothing else, go back. We have to get up early tomorrow."
Fu Mingzi put aside his deep thoughts and, along with Fu Zechen, got up to take his leave.
After leaving the Wen family courtyard, Fu Zechen said slowly, "Fifth Uncle, don't worry about Marquis Wu'an, there won't be any problems."
Fu Mingzi glanced at Fu Zechen and couldn't help but laugh: "What, did you discuss it with your father-in-law?"
Fu Zechen shook his head: "I know him. He's a cautious person."
Naturally, he was cautious. If he hadn't been cautious, the title of Marquis of Wu'an, one of the founding marquises, wouldn't have been passed down to this day. The reason why the title of Marquis of Wu'an has been passed down from generation to generation is probably because of this caution.
"I understand." Fu Mingzi smiled.
Fu Zechen looked at his smiling face, his expression still somewhat complicated. Ever since he learned that Fu Mingzi had made up his mind to support the Fifth Prince, Fu Zechen had subconsciously been unsure how to face him.
"Fifth Uncle, you..."
"Alright." Fu Mingzi interrupted Fu Zechen. His nephew was good in every way, except that he thought too much. "I am responsible for my own choices. You don't need to overthink it."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Fu Yunjia, who was standing in the same spot. She was standing beside Xu Shi, her hand tightly gripping the hem of Xu Shi's clothes, and she was whispering something to Xu Shi.
"Your daughter is quite intelligent," Fu Mingzi suddenly said out of the blue.
Fu Zechen was stunned for a moment before he reacted: "It's alright, he's just a kid, he's only clever."
Fu Mingzi smiled. His grandniece was more than just clever.
“Nephew, I have something I want to say to Jia’er. I wonder if you could make an exception for me?” Fu Mingzi looked at Fu Zechen.
Fu Zechen was even more surprised. What was there to talk about between Fu Mingzi and a child?
"Fifth Uncle, what exactly is going on..."
"It's just a small matter," Fu Mingzi said with a smile. "Don't worry about it, I just wanted to say a few words."
Fu Zechen felt that something was amiss, but he couldn't discern anything from Fu Mingzi's face. Fu Zechen turned to look at his daughter, who looked like a little girl and nothing special.
"Well, okay then." Fu Zechen agreed hesitantly. He was planning to ask Fu Yunjia after Fu Mingzi finished asking her questions, so although he felt it was a bit strange, he still agreed.
"Yunjia." Fu Zechen beckoned to Fu Yunjia, "Come here."
Fu Yunjia's heart skipped a beat. She looked in the direction where Fu Mingzi and the others were, and her eyes met Fu Mingzi's smiling eyes. Fu Yunjia felt even more uneasy. She looked up at Madam Xu and said pitifully, "Mother..."
Madam Xu smiled gently: "If your father calls you, go over. He probably has something to say to you."
Fu Yunjia's heart sank, knowing that she probably couldn't escape it.
After dawdling for a while, she finally managed to get up to Fu Zechen and said, "Father, Fifth Great-Uncle." She bowed hesitantly.
Seeing her like this, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but laugh out loud. His grandniece, who had just looked like a mature child, was now finally acting like a child.
"Your fifth great-uncle has something to say to you, so listen carefully." Fu Zechen knew that Fu Mingzi would not want him to stay, so he didn't bother to say anything. After giving his instructions, he watched Fu Yunjia acknowledge him and then left.
Fu Yunjia felt a pang of unease. What exactly did her fifth great-uncle want to ask her? Did he see that she had been reborn? That was impossible. Fu Yunjia was in a state of utter confusion.
Once Fu Zechen had finally walked away, Fu Mingzi slowly asked, "Jia'er, how have you been these past few days?"
Fu Yunjia's heart skipped a beat, and she felt as if she had returned to her past life. At that time, she was suffering in the Xia family, and her fifth great-uncle came to see her and asked her the same question.
What was my answer at that time?
“I’m fine, no need for you to worry, Uncle.” As if that wasn’t enough, he continued, “If you would just want to save face, Uncle, I’m afraid I could do even better.”
She transferred all her misfortune, her pain, and the torment she suffered at the hands of the Xia family onto her fifth great-uncle, as if only in this way could she fill the void in her heart, which grew more and more regretful each day.
But he remained unfazed by these vicious words. In fact, she knew that the Xia family hadn't killed her back then because of her fifth great-uncle's influence. As long as he was still a high-ranking official, even if the new emperor disliked him, he couldn't do anything to him for the time being.
"Your family will be back to pick you up in a few days. Take care of yourself." After saying this, Fifth Uncle turned and left.
It's a pity that she didn't live to see her family come to pick her up. That very night, she was drugged by her most trusted maid, her reputation was ruined, and the Xia family staged her suicide. In the end, it was her fifth great-uncle who came to collect her body and also dealt with the Xia family.
Later, she became a ghost and watched the Xia family be wiped out, feeling only satisfaction. But what happened to her fifth great-uncle afterward, she can't remember now. She only remembers seeing her fifth great-uncle receive an imperial decree and go to the place where the fifth prince was imprisoned.
"Yun Jia?" Fu Mingzi called out again when he didn't respond for a while.
Fu Yunjia snapped out of her daze, blinked her slightly sore eyes, and whispered, "Replying to Fifth Uncle, Yunjia is perfectly fine."
Fu Mingzi nodded. He asked the question simply to start a conversation.
"Since everything is fine, why do you always look unhappy when you mention your great-aunt's cousins? Have you met two of them?" Fu Mingzi followed up with another question.
Fu Yunjia felt a chill run down her spine. She hadn't expected that he would notice even her slight change in expression. She knew that this fifth great-uncle was not someone to be trifled with.
"I, I..." Fu Yunjia stammered, not knowing what to say. In fact, when she died in her previous life, she was only a teenager and was pampered and raised by her family. Even though she suffered hardships later, she was not cunning or scheming.
"I was a little scared because I heard that guests were coming to our house." Fu Yunjia hurriedly came up with an excuse that she herself didn't believe.
Seeing her like this, Fu Mingzi couldn't help but laugh: "Don't be afraid. If there are some things you don't want to talk about, that's fine. But you should understand that we are all family. Even if something happens, family members would never harm you."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yunjia's eyes immediately stung with tears. In her previous life, she had wronged the Fu family, but the Fu family had never wronged her. Even though her father appeared angry and ignored her, her mother secretly sent people to visit her and bring her things, and her father never stopped her.
It's a pity that she was blinded by others back then, thinking that the Fu family, being of noble birth, was too unruly and vulgar, while the Xia family, with generations of officials, was a truly noble family. In the end, she ended up doing the work for others while stepping into a pit of fire herself.
“Grand Uncle…” Fu Yunjia hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to tell what she knew. After all, she was a woman from a secluded family, and she only knew many things in a vague way. But her fifth grand-uncle was different; he was intelligent and quick-witted and might be able to see more.
Thinking of this, Fu Yunjia made up her mind and said directly, "A few days ago, I had a dream in which my great-aunt brought two cousins to my house. My cousin Xi failed to be selected in the imperial concubine selection, but my cousin Qing was betrothed to the fourth prince as a concubine. My cousin Qing deeply resented my great-aunt and did many bad things. At the time, Yunjia thought it was just a dream. I didn't expect to hear about my great-aunt's trip to the capital the day after I woke up, and that's when I became a little scared."
Fu Yunjia knew that if she were to spout nonsense about being reborn, no one would believe her; they would probably think she was possessed by some evil spirit. However, if she told them about a fake dream, it would be slightly more believable than being reborn.
"A dream?" Fu Mingzi frowned, somewhat disbelieving, but if it were true, it would explain Fu Yunjia's strange behavior earlier.
"Was there anything else in your dream?" Fu Mingzi asked, frowning.
Fu Yunjia pursed her lips. Since things had come to this point, she might as well finish what she knew. As if she had nothing to lose, she told everyone she knew.
"I was persuaded by my cousin Qing to marry into the Xia family, which led to my father breaking off relations with me."
"Your fifth great-uncle, because of your discord with the fifth prince, left him to serve in the court. Later, you joined the cabinet and became a key minister of the country, second only to the emperor."
"The old emperor soon fell seriously ill and was dying. He actually passed the throne to the quiet fourth prince."
“The other princes have all lost power.”
"The Fifth Prince has been imprisoned by the Fourth Prince, and his fate is unknown."
…………
Fu Mingzi's face grew increasingly grim as he listened, until he turned pale with anger. What nonsense was this about him and the Fifth Prince being at odds, or the Fifth Prince's fate being unknown! They had just confessed their feelings for each other, and the Fifth Prince was so insightful, how could he have been schemed against by the Emperor like that?
And what about the fourth prince? Has the emperor lost his mind? How could he allow a prince supported by a powerful family to ascend the throne!
Fu Mingzi found it utterly absurd, but his subconscious told him that it was all true. An eight-year-old child couldn't have made up such a logically consistent lie, especially since the details of many things were so clear. Even the things he did in the story were consistent with his personality.
"What about the Crown Prince?" Fu Mingzi finally noticed a loophole. Fu Yunjia had said so much, but she hadn't mentioned the Crown Prince at all.
Fu Yunjia hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "The Crown Prince was murdered in a palace assassination attempt a year later. It was later discovered that Consort Luo and the Empress had conspired against him. The Empress was deposed and Consort Luo was banished to the Cold Palace."
Fu Mingzi's pupils dilated instantly; this was utterly absurd!
But upon further reflection, Fu Mingzi realized there were even more problems.
For a moment, Fu Mingzi's face turned ashen.
Fu Yunjia glanced at her fifth great-uncle with some trepidation, feeling as if the air around her was about to freeze. She hadn't dared to mention the romantic escapades between her fifth great-uncle and the fifth prince, and she didn't know what had become of them now...
"I understand." Fu Mingzi said in a deep voice, "These words have come from your mouth and into my ears. No one else should know them, not even your father."
Fu Yunjia nodded hurriedly. How could she dare let anyone else know? If her fifth great-uncle found out, she was afraid she would be treated like a wandering ghost.
"Go back." Fu Mingzi waved her hand.
Fu Yunjia breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly turned and left.
Watching Fu Yunjia leave, Fu Mingzi's gaze turned somber. He had only asked casually, but he hadn't expected to uncover such a big issue. Apart from the fact that his relationship with Zhou Xiaoyan didn't match up in Fu Yunjia's words, many other things had actually been foreshadowed.
Fu Mingzi clenched his fist. He felt that he should talk to Zhou Xiaoyan.
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