Chapter 58. General Yang Yue in October doesn't need to do anything. ...
The vendors outside Yanxi Gate guarded their wooden carts, squatting along the street. Even though it was still some time before the officials finished their shifts, they had already arrived early to claim their spots.
Ge Wenxue stood in front of a carrying pole, and a middle-aged man bent down to turn the contents of the basket over to show Ge Wenxue.
Ge Wenxue caught sight of Yue Shanling approaching, casually pointed to two items, counted out a few copper coins, and handed them to the middle-aged man. The man took the money and deftly tore off a piece of oil paper to pack it up.
As Yue Shanling approached, Ge Wenxue had already turned around with the wrapped oil paper package in hand. Yue Shanling continued walking without stopping, and together with Ge Wenxue, they headed towards a side alley.
"The stall owner said they were just steamed this afternoon, they're still hot, want to try some?" Ge Wenxue opened the oil paper package and handed it to Yue Shanling, inside were several millet cakes.
Yue Shanling waved his hand. Seeing that he wasn't eating, Ge Wenxue rewrapped the oil paper and asked, "General, do you understand now?"
Having naturally understood, Yue Shanling remained silent for a long time before slowly asking, "What are you trying to do?"
Ge Wenxue sneered: "The Prince of Jin was murdered, but the truth has been covered up. We must seek justice for the Prince of Jin!"
Seeking justice? How? Yue Shanling dared not think about what would happen next.
Yue Shanling's dark eyes were cold and menacing. He glanced at the people beside him and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
The man beside him didn't turn his head. He walked forward without looking to the side, with the majestic imperial city behind him. A faint smile played on his lips: "General Yue, there's nothing you need to do."
The person had already left, and the aroma of the millet cake had dissipated. Yue Shanling stood alone in the narrow, dimly lit alley, facing the dark road ahead.
He turned and looked back. The imperial city was glittering with gold and red under the setting sun, and the glazed tiles of the towering palace walls reflected the light faintly.
October is the month when local areas send tributes, and it is also the month when candidates from various regions are sent to the capital to participate in the spring imperial examinations. These candidates from the local areas, carrying their hopes of passing the examinations, are sent to the capital along with melons, fruits, and brocades.
Every October, the princess's mansion would be bustling with activity, receiving tributes from all over the country, taking inventory of the storerooms, and sorting out old goods accumulated over the years. They would be busy from October until January.
The lists of tributes from various places were piled up in thick stacks, but Fu Sui didn't even glance at them.
There are gatekeepers for receiving guests, storerooms for inventory, and clerks for registering them. With so many people employed in the household, if Fu Sui had to personally investigate everything, wouldn't all these people be wasted? If any mistakes are made, just hold them accountable according to the register.
While some servants in the manor were hired from the market, the guards were carefully selected. Whether it was the kitchen or the storeroom, whether they embezzled money or stole things, once discovered, they were handed over to the authorities and punished accordingly. As for those who were particularly audacious, the guards naturally had ways to deal with them discreetly.
The stewards above are sharp-eyed, the guards below are ruthless, and the princess's mansion offers generous monthly stipends. Even those with cunning minds can only give up after careful consideration.
The princess's mansion has a constant flow of gold and silver every year, and there has never been a major mishap.
Fu Sui lay back in the chair, looking at a list. Kou Yun, being meticulous, had made a separate list of the food, toys, and commonly used offerings for Fu Sui to choose from.
Just then, Qin An came in.
"He asked me to meet him across the mountains."
Fu Sui peeked out from behind the form, blinking twice in confusion: "Ask you?"
Qin An nodded: "He asked me to meet him alone."
This is because I don't want her to know.
Fu Sui recalled the secret letter that had been delivered that day, her lowered eyelashes concealing the emotions in her eyes.
She lay back in the chair, the sheet she held up obscuring her face, and only a faint voice escaped her lips: "Understood."
The small pleasure boat floated on the water, and Yue Shanling felt a long-lost sense of tension and trepidation.
After much deliberation, he decided to inform Qin An of the matter. It wasn't that he didn't trust what he saw, but rather that he preferred to trust Qin An rather than the dubious scholar from the Prince's mansion. Regardless of what these people were plotting, his official position and his family would not allow him to stand idly by.
He had to make a choice, and he could only make a choice.
He looked down at his hands. The promise made on the Double Ninth Festival was still so close, yet he had already become a despicable person.
With a creak, the door of the pleasure boat was pushed open.
Yue Shanling took a deep breath, preparing to get up and greet Qin An. But the moment he looked up, it was as if a thunderbolt struck his spine; his mind went blank, and he just stared blankly at the person who had come.
Fu Sui found a chair and sat down, then smiled at the stunned man and said, "General, you don't need to wait. Qin An won't be coming today."
He struggled to regain his breath and heartbeat across the mountains, then sat down stiffly, unsure how to begin.
Fu Sui appeared very casual. She gathered her wide sleeves and straightened the ribbons on her skirt: "Tell me, is there anything you can't let me know?"
At this moment, many thoughts raced through Yue Shanling's mind. He had many excuses, but he didn't want to deceive Fu Sui. It was precisely because he didn't want to deceive that he arranged to meet Qin An, and it was also because he didn't want to deceive that he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Once these words are spoken, they may bring about earth-shattering changes to Fu Sui's life.
Fu Sui didn't urge him, but waited quietly until he had no choice but to speak.
“A few days ago, someone came to me and told me about the Prince of Jin…” Yue Shanling paused, glancing at Fu Sui’s expression.
Fu Sui leaned against the armrest, relaxed and at ease, as if waiting for him to tell a local legend.
His hands, hidden under the table, clenched tightly, the veins on the back of his hands standing out. He tried to speak several times before finally managing to say the rest of his words with difficulty: "He said that the death of the Prince of Jin was not an accident, but a deliberate act, and that the one who murdered the Prince of Jin was none other than His Majesty the present."
That makes some sense, Fu Sui thought to herself. She gestured with her chin across the mountain ridge, indicating for him to continue.
Contrary to expectations, Fu Sui remained completely unfazed, as if listening to the gossip of neighbors. Yue Shanling looked at Fu Sui with some confusion. He had just been explaining the cause of Prince Jin's death; had she... not understood?
Fu Sui raised an eyebrow, his eyes questioning why Yue Shanling wasn't continuing.
Yue Shanling swallowed hard before continuing, "He showed me some evidence; this wasn't just empty talk."
Seeing Yue Shanling's hesitant expression, Fu Sui simply asked, "What do they want to do?"
"I don't know," Yue Shanling replied. It wasn't that he didn't know, but rather that he was unsure.
"What did they ask you to do?"
Almost every time Yue Shanling spoke, he couldn't help but want to look at Fu Sui, but he felt guilty and dared not. He was afraid to see disappointment in Fu Sui's eyes.
"They told me not to do anything."
Fu Sui adjusted his posture, stretched his shoulders and back slightly, and said rather casually, "If I were you, I would report to the Sage immediately, instead of doing nothing."
Yue Shanling felt even more ashamed. He lowered his head, feeling that he was too ashamed to face Fu Sui. Even his voice became weak and feeble due to his guilt: "I have already met the Sage."
"Heh," Fu Sui chuckled softly, "So General Yue met here today because he felt ashamed before the Prince of Jin?"
How did she know... Yue Shanling remained silent.
It's not surprising that someone wants to use Prince Jin to attack the current emperor, and that the cause of Prince Jin's death will be brought up again. It's also not surprising that Yue Shanling will choose to denounce Fu Sui to the emperor; he has the entire Yue family behind him, and he cannot be a traitor.
Fu Sui was curious as to why they would approach Yue Shanling. Even if Yue Shanling was a well-known member of the Prince of Jin's faction, what made them so confident that Yue Shanling would completely believe what they said?
"What evidence do they have?" What evidence could possibly allow these people to so brazenly instigate a rebellion against the Imperial Guard? If these people are also under the command of the Wang family, then is this evidence Wang Bochang's trump card?
"It's Emperor Taizu's political record. It records that in the twelfth month of the twenty-fifth year of Jianwu, Emperor Taizu... drafted an edict to establish Prince Jin as the crown prince." Yue Shanling was afraid. He couldn't imagine what impact this would have on Fu Sui. She was still a young girl, yet she had to face such a cruel reality, to face the bloody storm from the court.
Fu Sui pondered for a while, then suddenly curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
So that's how it is; Wang Bochang's trump card was actually this.
By attributing the death of the Prince of Jin to the power struggle in the imperial court using the imperial edict of that year, regardless of whether it was the intention of the retired emperor or the current emperor's methods, the Wang family would be nothing more than innocent bystanders caught in the struggle for the throne, fighting desperately to seek justice for the unjustly killed crown prince.
Uncontrollable laughter escaped in soft, fragmented bursts. She had been worried about the Wang family's rash advances, but the key to their success had unexpectedly come to her.
Whether it's the emperor or the royal family, their plans and intentions have all been sorted out; all that's missing is the person to carry them out.
Fu Sui was very satisfied with the plan. Now no one could drag her into this mess, and even her good brother would probably need her to clear his name at a crucial moment.
Unfortunately, her father has been dead for over a decade, yet he remains a tool in their power struggles. And among these power-hungry individuals is her own daughter.
"What...what's wrong with you?" Yue Shanling's panicked voice came from behind.
Fu Sui raised a smiling face and asked him in return, "General Yue, are you hesitating because of these things?"
Yue Shanling couldn't quite understand Fu Sui's words. These were all earth-shattering events. Could it be that Fu Sui was too stimulated and couldn't accept it, which was why he was behaving this strangely?
However, Fu Sui's words plunged him into even greater shock.
“General Yue, I have known about these things for a long time. The Emperor Taizu drafted an edict, but my father did not accept it. Instead, he handed it over to the late Emperor, who was still in the Eastern Palace at the time. Later, the Prince of Jing became powerful. In order to make the Prince of Jing compete with my father and weaken the Prince of Jing’s power, the current Emperor leaked the matter of the edict to the Prince of Jing.”
Fu Sui ignored Yue Shanling, tilted his head back in his chair, and stared at the crisscrossing wooden beams on the top of the painted boat.
"The Emperor betrayed the information, the Wang family plotted, and the Prince of Jing took action. This is the truth behind my father's death. Is it more complete than what General Yue heard?"
Yue Shanling stared wide-eyed, his mouth slightly agape, unable to utter a sound for a long time. A belated sense of astonishment crept up his spine, making even his breathing tremble.
"You...you knew all of this?"
“I am not a fledgling bird sheltered by its parents in the inner quarters.” Fu Sui’s tone was as light as willow catkins, drifting aimlessly, without any foundation.
“I came to the capital with my father’s coffin. I watched him being prepared for burial and buried. My residence was bestowed by the palace, and my fief was granted by the emperor. I never had the chance to be an ignorant and naive child.”
Pain swept across the mountains, and for the first time he deeply realized the extent of Fu Sui's predicament. A dense, throbbing pain shot through his chest; she was suffering so much, in so much pain. She had never been as happy as he had imagined.
"General, you may be wondering why I am still so close to the Emperor. Of course, I could kill him with one blow, but what would happen after that? A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and the princes are young and easily manipulated. If I were to take the throne, I would probably be beheaded before the next day."
Fu Sui spoke calmly, as if she were talking about someone else's family affairs. She had thought about these things countless times, weighed them again and again, and pondered them over and over again. Now that she was speaking about them, she could face them with equanimity and confront her own desires.
"Although the current emperor is suspicious and harsh, he is still a good emperor. He is very suitable for this position, and someone else might not be as good as him. Besides... without him, who will bestow rewards upon me?"
"General Yue." The same address remained, but the tenderness and ambiguity were gone, revealing the cold indifference of royalty. "Between me and the Prince of Jin, General, how will you choose?"
Yue Shanling never considered this a choice; nothing was more important than Fu Sui's glory and wealth. Even the Prince of Jin would be happy to see Fu Sui live a peaceful and prosperous life, and so would he.
No, he was even more greedy. He wanted Fu Sui to be unrestrained and fearless, and he wanted Fu Sui to have ivory chopsticks and a jade cup.
He wanted someone like him by Fu Sui's side.
He didn't answer with his choice; instead, he asked her, "What should I do?"
Fu Sui's smile was as bright as summer flowers and as radiant as the blazing sun.
She called his name, her voice filled with the tenderness he longed for and the sweetness he yearned for.
She said, "General Yue, you don't need to do anything."
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