"How could the young lady possibly want the Marquis of Changping's mansion?"
Lady Changping spoke indifferently, glancing at Madam Yang and the Crown Princess: "This matter is beyond my control; we must wait for the Marquis to arrive, since the eldest daughter and the Marquis are family."
"If that's not possible, then we can send someone to inform the Imperial Concubine, so that she may know what the eldest daughter looks like. The Imperial Concubine has always doted on the eldest daughter the most. If I interfere, the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine may think that I have harmed the eldest daughter, and the eldest daughter may not even listen to me."
She had always looked down on Fu Yunning, and naturally didn't want to be the bad guy, so she simply used her status as a stepmother to push her away.
She looked at Fu Yunning with disdain, whose expression was unclear. When she first married the Marquis, she had treated this young lady with all her heart. However, the young lady was arrogant and almost caused her two young children to freeze to death in the cold winter. She hated this young lady to the extreme.
She's just a vain little girl who pretends to be reserved. If she makes me unhappy, then she won't be happy either. Lady Changping concealed the look of satisfaction in her eyes and said nothing more.
Besides, although she was the second wife of the Marquis of Changping, she knew some things about the previous dynasty. The Marquis had said that if the Consort had a prince, the world might not necessarily belong to Chonghua Palace.
Even if Madam Fan didn't know the truth, she realized that what had angered Prince Xu must be related to her master. Almost in the blink of an eye, she forcefully pulled her daughter to her side and scolded her sharply.
"Look what you've done! Hurry up and apologize to the Xu family, or your father should really beat your mouth to a pulp and see if you'll ever learn your lesson next time."
Without looking at Miss Fan, Madam Fan stepped forward and respectfully said, "It is my fault for not teaching my daughter well. Please forgive my daughter this time, Your Majesty. I will never let her talk nonsense again."
"Mother!"
Miss Fan regained her senses and tried to stand up. But Madam Fan wouldn't allow it. With a glance, the maid behind her forcefully pressed her down, making her kneel on the ground, unable to move.
Seeing that no one responded, Madam Fan looked up at Xu Lingyu and Madam Yang, but they avoided her gaze. A sudden chill ran through her. Madam Fan glanced at the only man present, his eyes holding a mocking smile, and Madam Fan felt her face burn.
Closing her eyes and hardening her heart, Madam Fan raised her hand high and slapped the Second Miss Fan across the face with a loud "smack," catching everyone present completely off guard.
"You have no right to cry and make a scene after doing something wrong! Go and apologize right now!"
Miss Fan covered her face, seemingly in utter disbelief, and remained stunned for a long time. Meeting Madam Fan's angry gaze, she covered her face and dared not cry out again.
"Alright, let's discuss this again once Vice Minister Fan and Marquis Changping have arrived."
Xu Lingyu glanced at Xu Yunci. She roughly understood that Xu Yunci's sudden outburst, and his insistence on having Vice Minister Fan come in person, meant that the matter was probably not as simple as it seemed.
"Your Majesty is right. However, since both Vice Minister Fan and Marquis Changping are men from outside the family, we would appreciate it if you could bring over a screen."
Madam Feng, being quite shrewd, ignored the Fan family mother and daughter and readily agreed with a smile. Soon, two screens, one on the left and one on the right, separated the Xu family from the women of the Fan and Fu families.
It's not a matter of public morals, but rather Xu Lingyu's own selfishness. If word got out that she was dressed inappropriately, it would ruin her reputation.
The screen was large, perfectly concealing the young women. Xu Yunci withdrew his gaze, quite satisfied with the arrangement. If his elder sister hadn't spoken up, he would have.
As soon as Vice Minister Fan entered, he saw Xu Yunci. He had a lot on his mind when he came, but when he saw Xu Yunci's ambiguous smile, he swallowed all his words.
He couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe away the unexplained sweat from his forehead, and when he came to his senses, he couldn't remember what he wanted to say.
"Minister Fan, it's been a long time."
Xu Yunci raised his hand, without even getting up.
Although he had seen her at the morning court yesterday, Minister Fan only dared to complain in his heart, while putting on an apologetic smile: "I have already heard the whole story before I came. It was my fault for not teaching her properly. I beg Your Majesty to calm down and forgive my daughter this time, considering that she has just come of age."
He was behind the screen and couldn't see the marks on Miss Fan's face, which were from being slapped by Madam Fan. Even Xu Yunci's address of "Vice Minister Fan," seemingly a greeting, actually interrupted the Fan family's chance to offer a reminder.
Xu Yunci's hand rested on the handle, and his seemingly amused gaze suddenly sharpened into a cold blade, cutting through the air with chilling force.
“The first time she made a mistake, we can give her a chance to forgive her. But Miss Fan’s words involved not only Shi Niang, but also the Yichang County Princess, who was personally appointed by the Emperor. If she has any objections to the Xu family, that’s still understandable.”
"I wonder if Miss Fan's words today are due to dissatisfaction with the title of Princess of Yichang bestowed by the Emperor, or with the Emperor's decision."
Vice Minister Fan clenched his hands, his smile growing more earnest: "It's all just a joke from the lady's family, don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously."
"Is that so? If a subject doesn't know how to share the emperor's burdens and be loyal to the country, should Vice Minister Fan also worry about his own private affairs?"
Xu Yunci's smile grew even wider: "It's not that I'm so concerned, but I'm worried that with so many people around today, if this gets back to the Emperor, people might think that the Fan family has objections to the Emperor's decision."
"After all, we are all subjects who are loyal to the Emperor. Naturally, we should follow the Emperor's wishes, eat the Emperor's food and do our duty to the Emperor. Although you and I are both officials of the third rank, Vice Minister Fan is much older than me. I am sure that Vice Minister Fan knows this better than I do."
Upon hearing this, Vice Minister Fan felt a sudden unease creep into his heart. When he raised his eyes and met Xu Yunci's ambiguous smile, his heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran through him.
This wasn't about his wife's nonsense at all; it was clearly a warning to him. Could it be that his loyalty to the Prince of Yan had been discovered?
Vice Minister Fan hesitated, but failed to notice the triumphant smile in Xu Yunci's eyes.
The next one is the Marquis of Changping. Scouts have learned that the Marquis of Changping's family intends to form a marriage alliance with the Prince of Yan and is trying to persuade Consort Fu to acknowledge a prince as her own.
"Lord Changping, what do you think? Is there anything I have said that is untrue? If so, Your Excellency, you may add a few words for me."
Marquis Changping appeared to be not much older than Vice Minister Fan, and with his tall and upright figure, he must have been a handsome young man in his youth. The man listening nearby showed no outward change, but his reddened earlobes betrayed him; clearly, both of them had understood the implied meaning in Xu Yunci's words.
It's unclear whether the Crown Prince spoke these words through the Xu family, or whether Xu Yunci himself sensed something.
Xu Yunci went to see the Crown Princess and nodded almost imperceptibly. He had said everything he needed to say; he just needed to see if she could understand him.
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