Chapter 38 Testing the Waters (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
But as soon as he came out, he regretted it.
The old man is getting old and his health isn't as good as it used to be. It's really wrong of him to get so angry with him.
Fu Mingzi felt more and more that she had done wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. After much deliberation and agonizing, she finally decided to go back and apologize to the old man.
When Fu Mingzi returned this time, she didn't act arrogantly as before. Instead, she sneaked along the wall towards the old man's courtyard.
When he arrived, the gatekeeper was talking to someone in the background. Taking advantage of their inattention, Fu Mingzi slipped through the door and crept along the corner of the wall to the study door. Just as he was about to sneak in, he overheard people talking inside.
"That brat, all he does is annoy me all day long." This was the Duke of Jingguo's angry voice.
“Mingzi is young and impetuous, Father, please don’t take it to heart. I’ll teach him a lesson later.” This was Fu Mingsong’s voice.
Fu Mingzi paused. Why was Fu Mingsong in the study at this time? He hadn't been gone for long. This was too much of a coincidence.
“I know you well enough.” The Duke of Jingguo’s voice was slightly mocking: “You can’t wait to pamper that kid, yet you can still be ruthless in disciplining him.”
Fu Mingsong seemed somewhat embarrassed and remained silent for a moment.
Duke Jingguo broke the silence with a laugh: "Alright, I'm an old man, how could I possibly argue with a brat? This kid's temper is just like mine. That's why I don't trust him to know about Mingzhu's affairs. If he really knew everything, I'm afraid he would do something reckless."
When Fu Mingzi heard the first half of the sentence, she still had a smile on her face, but when she heard the second half, her face turned completely dark. Was there something about her eldest sister that she didn't know?
Fu Mingsong sighed inside the room: "Back then, it was really unfair to Mingzhu. Not only did she have to marry far away, but she also married such a scoundrel."
“How can we control such things?” The Duke of Jingguo said, his tone somewhat agitated. “Who knew that the late emperor, in his old age, would suddenly want to get involved in Yun’an’s affairs? The Duke of Qianguo’s family has been intermarrying with the local chieftains for generations. No one expected that they would arrange a marriage among the candidates for the imperial concubines.”
Speaking of this, Fu Mingsong's tone became even angrier: "It's one thing for others, but it's our daughter. I don't know how my little sister has managed to get through all these years."
"Alright, that's enough." Duke Jingguo suddenly said, "Duke Qianguo hates our family because you drugged that woman back then. Now that so many years have passed, I think his hatred has only deepened. Let's not talk about Mingzhu for now. You have to keep an eye on Yun'an's movements to prevent any trouble from arising. If things turn out badly and we all end up fighting to the death, it won't look good for anyone."
Fu Mingsong didn't say anything, but Fu Mingzi knew that his older brother should have nodded in agreement at this point.
Fu Mingzi had lost all interest in going in. His elder brother and grandfather's words had left him with mixed feelings. He could roughly guess what they meant by poisoning. He had been wondering how the Duke of Qian could be so ruthless as to poison his own son. Now he finally understood that it was because of a favored concubine that he hated the Fu family so much that he also hated his son.
Fu Mingzi couldn't help but secretly despise the Duke of Qian. He was truly a good-for-nothing coward who only dared to seek face through women and children. Back when the Duke of Jing's mansion made its move, he didn't even step in to stop it.
Thinking this way, he became even more wary of the Duke of Qian. This man had endured for so many years, and this time he finally couldn't help but make a move. It seemed that he had become somewhat abnormal from holding back, and abnormal people are the most difficult to deal with because you have no idea how he will make a move.
Fu Mingzi's eyes were deep and serious, and he seemed even more solemn about Fu Mingzhu's trip to the capital.
While Fu Mingzi was lost in thought, the Duke of Jingguo inside the room had already started talking about something else: "Today's morning court was really full of twists and turns. No one expected that the Prince of Yan would make such outrageous remarks, which made the Emperor speechless with anger."
"The Prince of Yan is arrogant and domineering, and is now confined to his residence. But Minister Lu, I'm afraid he won't escape this calamity." Fu Mingsong spoke of court affairs with much calmer tone.
Speaking of this, the Duke of Jingguo laughed: "That old man, he never expected that his own grandson would be such a blockhead. A few words from him angered His Majesty. Originally, His Majesty wanted to spare him for the sake of his old face, but now I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"When my son left the palace, I heard that Consort De had already removed her hairpins and was awaiting punishment in front of the Taiji Hall," Fu Mingsong said calmly.
The Duke of Jingguo laughed even more heartily: "Good, this is the result we should have. This old man is really going to suffer a serious blow this time. I wonder if His Majesty will dismiss him from his post or imprison him." The gloating in his tone was obvious.
Fu Mingsong remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Father, you should at least restrain yourself; after all, the execution hasn't been carried out yet."
Duke Jingguo snorted dismissively: "Once the Prince of Yan uttered those hurtful words, Lu Ding would never have a good ending. Anyone could see that."
Fu Mingsong sighed but did not refute.
Fu Mingzi listened with great interest from outside the door. Just as Fu Mingzi had said, the Second Prince had indeed said something he shouldn't have at the court meeting. However, no one knew exactly what he had said that had angered the Emperor so much, even implicating Consort De, who was in the inner palace.
Fu Mingzi paused for a moment, then left without lingering and without changing her expression.
He only breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the study, but he kept thinking about the two matters at hand. As for his elder sister, he could only wait until she came to the capital. As for the matter in the court, he couldn't help much, but he could still analyze some details from the development of events, which would be very beneficial for Fu Mingzi's future entry into the court.
Thinking this, Fu Mingzi didn't go back to her own courtyard, but went directly to Fu Mingsong's courtyard, thinking that when he returned, she could ask him what exactly happened at today's grand court assembly.
When Fu Mingzi arrived at Fu Mingsong's courtyard, it was almost like arriving at her own. The servants all knew that the master doted on the fifth master the most, so they served him very well. Fu Mingzi enjoyed this with a clear conscience, slumped in her chair, and waited for Fu Mingsong to return while eating melon seeds.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Fu Mingsong finally returned. As soon as he entered, he saw Fu Mingzi sitting slouching, and he was stunned for a moment.
"Why did you come here?" Fu Mingsong frowned as he entered the room. "Look at the state you're in. Hurry up and sit down."
Fu Mingzi ignored him and said directly, "Brother, was the morning court session quite lively today? I heard that the Emperor summoned Lu Ding last night and gave him a scolding, and even made him kneel all night."
Fu Mingsong frowned first, then looked at Fu Mingzi: "How did you know about this?"
Fu Mingzi just chuckled and said, "You don't need to worry about that. Just get to the point."
Fu Mingsong originally didn't want to talk about it, but then he remembered what his father had told him before, and finally decided to speak up.
"His Majesty originally only intended to reprimand Minister Lu, but unexpectedly, Prince Yan said that Minister Lu had made great contributions and was a pillar of the country. He said that His Majesty's actions were self-destructive and that he had been misled by treacherous officials. Therefore, he demanded that His Majesty release Minister Lu and severely punish the treacherous officials. Prince Yan was practically calling His Majesty a foolish ruler to his face. His Majesty was furious and directly refuted Prince Yan on the spot, confined him to his quarters, and then adjourned the court. As for how to deal with Minister Lu, he did not elaborate." Fu Mingsong said in a flat tone.
Fu Mingzi frowned: "It seems His Majesty still can't bring himself to be ruthless." If he could really be ruthless, he wouldn't have hastily announced the adjournment of the court; instead, he would have announced on the spot how to deal with Lu Ding.
"After all, he's been a loyal minister for decades," Fu Mingsong remarked. "His Majesty still cherishes old friendships."
Fu Mingsong couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this. He was so kind to his ministers, yet treated his own son like an enemy.
"By the way, I heard from Father that you and the Fifth Prince have become much closer. What, is the Fifth Prince to your liking?" Fu Mingzi asked casually, but he had been observing Fu Mingzi's expression.
Fu Mingzi knew perfectly well what was going on, but on the surface she pretended to be completely oblivious, and just chuckled lightly: "It's quite to my liking." It's to my liking in every way.
Fu Mingsong was unaware of Fu Mingzi's sordid thoughts; his mind was still quite simple. Therefore, he simply nodded and said, "That's good. The Fifth Prince is of a virtuous and gentle nature; you should learn from him."
Fu Mingzi nodded indifferently, but in her heart she wondered, how should I learn? Should I learn in bed?
“Oh, right, brother.” Fu Mingzi suddenly remembered what happened today: “It seems that the Xia family sided with the Fourth Prince.” Fu Mingzi repeated what Xia Zezhen had said to Zhou Xiaoyan earlier that day.
Fu Mingsong, however, did not seem surprised: "These people like to engage in these kinds of petty tricks." He said calmly, "You don't need to worry about it. The aristocratic families are already past their prime and won't be able to cause trouble for long. Even if the Fourth Prince is really supported by them, I'm afraid the first people the Fourth Prince will be wary of are them."
Fu Mingsong's thinking coincided with Fu Mingzi's: the aristocratic families had been arrogant for too many years, and now they were finally declining. The emperors of the future would never let them swagger up again.
"Then what do you think of the Fifth Prince?" Fu Mingzi asked tentatively.
Fu Mingsong remained expressionless, glanced at Fu Mingzi, his eyes calm and unwavering: "It doesn't matter. You should focus on your studies and worry less about other things."
Well, it seems the family doesn't think much of the Fifth Prince either. They're probably just showing goodwill to see how things go. They're really cautious. Fu Mingzi has a better idea of what's going on.
"I understand." Fu Mingzi stood up decisively. "Big brother, I'll take my leave."
Fu Mingsong nodded and watched Fu Mingzi leave.
**
The next day, after entering the palace, Fu Mingzi told Zhou Xiaoyan about the old Duke's plan. Zhou Xiaoyan sighed and roughly understood the Fu family's meaning. He nodded and said, "That's what I was thinking before. Now that there's no better way, we can only do this."
Fu Mingzi, however, was more cautious and whispered, "Is that Wang Chunlai easy to deal with?"
Zhou Xiaoyan glanced at Fu Mingzi, knowing that he must know about Wang Chunlai's background. He wasn't surprised and nodded, saying, "Although Wang Chunlai is Father Emperor's man, he is cunning, quick to act on rumors, and greedy and stingy. Over the years, he has missed his chance to rise in rank. Now he's just a money-grubber. If you give him enough benefits, you might turn a blind eye to some things."
"That's good." Fu Mingzi smiled. With that, sending someone in would be even simpler.
However, he couldn't help but laugh at the emperor's oversight. He had someone keep an eye on Consort Wan, but he forgot that people can change. If a servant is left to stay with an unfavored concubine forever, no matter how loyal he is, he will eventually waver if he sees no hope. And that wavering will be their opportunity.
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