Chapter 69 Zhong Dongshuang's unique feelings should be remembered for a lifetime...
When Feng Man and Feng Xianyi were taken away from their home, the Feng family managed to maintain a semblance of calm. Fu Sui originally wanted to go to the Feng family to see what was going on, but out of consideration for Feng Xiang'er's feelings, he ultimately did not go.
The emperor needed to use Xue Guangting to warn the Wang family and remind them to "be pragmatic."
Without that register concerning Hedong, the Feng family would have taken all the blame, the Wang family would have found a plausible reason to defend themselves, and they would have pledged their loyalty to the emperor, relinquished some power, and acted as a dutiful subject in name only.
Unfortunately, Wang Bochang wouldn't surrender like the Gao family, and Fu Sui couldn't bear to see the Wang family with no way out. So, when the emperor lit the fire, she poured oil on it.
Once the Wang family's falsification of tax payments and their competition for state profits were exposed, the relationship between the Wang family and the emperor became an irreconcilable deadlock. Since the Wang family would never relinquish control of Hedong, only one path remained.
In a way, Xue Guangting could be considered to have taken the blame for Fu Sui.
Wang Bochang resented that someone had interfered in Hedong affairs without the Wang family's knowledge, and he urgently needed to regain the attention of the officials through strong measures. Xue Guangting became his pawn to make an example of him.
"Those people in the Ministry of Justice, they wouldn't secretly kill him, would they?"
Upon hearing that Xue Guangting had been taken away wearing only a single layer of clothing, Fu Sui's first reaction was one of extreme distrust of the Ministry of Justice's moral standards.
This wasn't without precedent; the servant arrested in the forged document case eventually died quietly in the Ministry of Justice prison. Of course, whether he truly died suddenly in the Ministry of Justice or was carried in horizontally, Fu Sui was too lazy to investigate.
Qin An placed several kinds of nuts into a small mortar and pestle to make tea for Fu Sui.
Distracted by matters concerning the Ministry of Justice, Fu Sui noticed a misknot in the knot of the knot in his hand and slowly untied it with a gold needle.
Qin An glanced at it and casually said, "Why bother weaving that thing? There are plenty of embroiderers in the manor who can make any kind of knot. Why do you need to do it?"
Fu Sui disagreed and teased him, "You don't understand. What I want is a unique gesture, so that he will remember my kindness when he sees it. I condescend to give him this, so he must remember it for a lifetime."
Seeing Qin An's disdainful sneer, she asked, "There are many purses sold on the street. If you bought a purse, how would you treat it? What if it was a purse sewn by Doumiao?"
Qin An would discard any purse he bought on the street, even if it was dirty or old, or even if it was only slightly worn. But the purse that Doumiao gave him, even if it was so old that it had lost its original color, he would carefully keep it.
Qin An felt a little embarrassed when the princess teased him about bean sprouts, but then he thought that Yue Shanling was not worthy of the princess's kindness.
Qin An had seen Yue Shanling as a clever and sensible young man, and when he met him again, he seemed calm and composed. Now that he knew that Yue Shanling actually coveted the princess, Qin An had a million reasons to dislike him.
Born into a noble family who rose to power through military prowess, he had no real background whatsoever. Having spent years guarding the border, he exuded the bandit-like air of the frontier and was also quite old.
Qin An's father-in-law was as picky as Yue Shanling when it came to his new son-in-law, finding fault with him more and more as he pounded the pestle in his hand with a loud thud.
The mis-woven thread was picked out by the golden needle, and Fu Sui straightened the thread again and continued weaving: "If you don't like Yue Shanling, go and beat him up. Don't take it out on my mortar."
Qin An slowed down. Even if he was picky, he had to admit that there was no one more suitable than Yue Shanling in the capital. At least Yue Shanling was someone he knew well. If he dared to treat the princess badly, he would send him to see the Prince of Jin.
"Let's not talk about that. Think about it, is there any way to get Xue Guangting out of the Ministry of Justice?" If he stays in the Ministry of Justice with no one paying attention to him, even if he comes out alive, he'll be a useless person.
"How about we put in a word with the Ministry of Justice?" Qin An asked tentatively.
"I asked the Ministry of Justice to take care of him?" Fu Sui laughed. "Wang Bochang hates me so much that the Ministry of Justice originally wanted him to die tomorrow, but after I took care of him, he won't even live tonight."
She urged Qin An, "Think of something serious and useful."
Qin An actually came up with a plan. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Why don't you tell the emperor that you've taken a liking to Xue Guangting and ask him to release him so you can be his son-in-law?"
Fu Sui grabbed the flower pattern from the table and threw it at Qin An: "Even if you look down on Yue Shanling, you don't have to give Xue Guangting to me, do you?"
Qin An kept calling out "tea," "tea," and covered the mouth of the mortar, holding it high to prevent any paper from falling in and wasting his efforts.
After putting down the mortar and pestle, Qin An bent down to pick up the few pieces of paper scattered on the ground and muttered reluctantly, "His temperament is not as good as Yue Shanling's."
Fu Sui leaned forward and took the paper pattern from Qin An's hand. After thinking for a moment, he instructed, "Go and find out what Xue Guangting is eating in prison. If it's not spoiled leftovers that could starve someone to death, then don't worry about it."
Given the relationship between the Ministry of Justice and the Wang family, if no one took care of him, Xue Guangting would probably have to beg for a drink of water.
Before Qin An could agree, she added, "If his food is still palatable, tell those people in the Ministry of Justice. I don't care how they interrogate him or what tortures they use, just one thing: they mustn't hurt his face. If his food is inedible, then we'll have to think of another way."
Since there were no injuries on his face, it wouldn't prevent him from serving in the imperial court in the future. After all, Xue Guangting's current predicament was somewhat related to her, so she couldn't just leave him to his fate.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Qin An returned.
"Is everything arranged?" Fu Sui asked.
Qin An nodded, his expression displeased: "Someone is looking for you outside."
Seeing that Qin An's annoyance was written all over his face, Fu Sui asked curiously, "Who is it?"
Qin An grumbled and rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky: "People from the Prince Mu's mansion."
Fu Sui immediately understood, and asked knowingly, "A handsome young man?"
Qin An avoided Prince Mu like the plague, and consequently gave a cold shoulder to everyone associated with him. He urged Fu Sui, "Hurry up and chase him away, he's dirtying the ground in front of the mansion."
Fu Sui, however, did not do as he wished: "Let him in."
Prince Mu has been suspended from his post and is under house arrest pending investigation. All the people and items in the palace need to be thoroughly examined. Who would come to her at this time?
Soon the person was led to her. He was a man of medium build, with fair skin, thin eyebrows, and long eyes.
He wore a long robe of pine-colored silk, with a gray squirrel fur cloak over it. Judging from his attire, Prince Mu was indeed very generous to his guests.
Behind the man followed an old woman, hunched over, wearing a coarse cloth jacket, carrying a small bundle in her arms, holding the man's cloak with one hand as she walked with him, not looking up at anyone, but staring at the ground.
Upon seeing Fu Sui, the man bowed respectfully: "I have come to pay my respects to Your Highness. It is my fault for disturbing Your Highness so abruptly."
Fu Sui's gaze swept between the man and woman, the old man and the young man, and he asked indifferently, "What are you here for?"
Feeling somewhat embarrassed by the cold reception, the man quickly composed himself, having spent years using his looks to please others. He smiled and replied, "With Prince Mu suspended from his duties, his residence receives visitors daily. I had a minor disagreement with the Duke of Shen's household, and Prince Mu, concerned for my safety, sent me to seek help from the Princess."
It turned out that he was the man Tian Ganyou had mentioned who had argued with the carriage of the Duke of Shen over the road. Prince Mu and the Duke of Shen had a grudge over this incident. The Duke of Shen was beaten and harbored resentment, so he used the conflict between Xue Guangting and the Feng family to drag Prince Mu into it.
However, Mu Wang's so-called "rebellious intentions" were probably just Wang Bochang's way of "going with the flow" in order to crush Xue Guangting.
Seeing that the princess did not respond, the man continued to flatter her: "Prince Mu said that the princess's residence is the safest place in the entire capital. I only ask that the princess have mercy and give me a place to stay."
Fu Sui listened to the man's words, but his eyes were fixed on the old woman behind him.
The old woman hadn't looked up since she entered. The princess's mansion was crowded with people, and servants and maids came and went, so there were bound to be some noises as they passed by. Whenever there was a sound, the old woman would slightly turn her head toward the source of the sound.
"Is the person beside Young Master Yu also someone from the Prince Mu's household?"
Upon being addressed by the important person, the old woman instantly stopped all her movements, exuding caution and even seeming to tighten her body.
Yu Langjun glanced back at the old woman before replying, "She is someone who serves me and is related to me in some way."
Fu Sui curled her lips into a cold smile: "A blind old woman, who is serving whom, Young Master Yu or she?"
The man remained calm even after being exposed, and explained gently, "Please forgive my rudeness, my relative had nowhere else to turn but to me. Please rest assured, my lord, we will not cause you any trouble. We only ask that you grant us a roof over our heads, considering that we are both members of the royal family with Prince Mu."
Even if Prince Mu feared that Duke Shen would take the opportunity to mistreat his wife, would Duke Shen really go and make things difficult for a blind old woman who had nowhere to go? This young master Yu even took this old woman with him when he was "fleeing". Between the two of them, who is the one who really needs protection?
Fu Sui pointed at the old woman: "Your relative, was your ex-husband's surname Lü?"
Yu Langjun's expression changed, and he opened his mouth to deny it, but when he saw the coldness in the princess's eyes and the servants standing guard beside her, he swallowed the words that were already on the tip of his tongue, and after thinking for a long time, he finally answered, "Yes."
If that's true, it seems that Xue Guangting's trip to Prince Mu's residence wasn't to contact Prince Mu at all, but rather to find Lady Lü's old mother who had been taken away by her wealthy nephew.
She wondered how Xue Guangting, being unfamiliar with the place, could hide Lü's mother and the Tian family so well, but it turned out that it wasn't Xue Guangting's doing at all.
"Where are the Tian family members? Didn't they come with you?" Fu Sui asked him.
Yu Langjun shook his head: "There is no Tian surname servant in Prince Mu's mansion that the princess wants to know."
If not at Prince Mu's residence, then where are they? Aren't Xue Guangting and Prince Mu afraid that the Princess will find them and silence them?
Yu Langjun continued, "There is no Tian family member in the capital that the princess wants to know about."
It seemed he had no intention of revealing the Tian family's whereabouts, or rather, he didn't know their exact location. Since they were confident they could save the family's lives, Fu Sui was happy to save himself a troublesome matter.
"There are a few empty rooms in the southwest corner of my residence where you can stay for a few days, Mr. Yu." If Madam Yu had come to ask for her own stay today, Fu Sui would not have allowed him to stay. However, since he brought Madam Lü's mother with him, Fu Sui could not stand by and watch her be discovered by the Feng family.
Upon hearing that the princess was willing to take him in, Yu Langjun's face lit up with joy, and he thanked her profusely. Mother Lü, also discerning the direction of Fu Sui, bowed tremblingly.
"I have something to say to Prince Mu," Fu Sui warned Yu Langjun. "Prince Mu says that my residence is the safest place in the capital, but I don't think so."
Although she was willing to protect Lady Lü's mother, it didn't mean that just anyone could be sent into her household.
Yu Langjun, spoiled and arrogant, got into a fight with the servants of the Duke of Shen's mansion. Fu Sui didn't believe that Prince Mu had just learned of Lü's mother's identity. He interfered in the Feng family's affairs and was outmaneuvered by the Duke of Shen and Wang Bochang, so he was counting on his niece to clean up the mess.
"In my opinion, there is no safer place in the world than Xianling. If you throw people into my residence without even a word next time, don't blame me for sending them all to Xianling to keep my ancestors company."
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Author's Note: The court drama has finally come to an end. With my IQ, writing these chapters really made me scratch my head.
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