That night, Fu Xiaoguan accompanied Yu Wendao and drank until the moon was at its highest point in the sky.
As Fu Xiaoguan had expected, there was no fight between Qingfengxiyu Tower and Yuhuatai. The place was indeed deserted, without a single ghost.
Yu Wendao left embarrassedly, feeling quite regretful and a little sad, because the other party didn't even have the interest to fight with him.
"I really failed!"
"Your ideal is wrong."
"So what should I do?"
"...Yu has lost his deer, and the prince should chase it together!"
Yu Wendao looked at Fu Xiaoguan meaningfully for a few breaths, "The wine is already drunk, the moon is already at its zenith, goodbye!"
He walked out with Lu Shang, and when they reached the gate of Fu's house, he suddenly said, "I think the Queen Mother will summon you to the palace tomorrow. The Queen Mother has a compassionate heart. If you want to please her, you can talk to her more about farming."
What's the point of this?
Fu Xiaoguan watched Yu Wendao's carriage leave, turned around and walked back to the mansion, still pondering Yu Wendao's words in his heart. Could it be that the empress dowager also likes farming?
…
…
The ninth day of the first lunar month of the eighth year of the Xuanli calendar was sunny.
It feels so damn good not to have to go to court!
Of course, Fu Xiaoguan did not stay in bed. He got up early as usual, did morning exercises, took a bath, meditated, and ate.
Ever since the battle on the long street, he had a vague sense of Qi when he was meditating. This feeling was very mysterious. There seemed to be Qi flowing in his meridians, but he could not grasp it, nor could he condense a cyclone in his Dantian.
In Su Jue's words, this is because of the lack of an opportunity. Once the opportunity comes, the cyclone will naturally form.
This thing sounds very mysterious, and he doesn't know what the opportunity is, so he can only continue to meditate and practice the Nine Yang Heart Sutra.
When the sun was three poles above the horizon, the feeling became more and more obvious, like a gurgling stream, but the stream seemed to be floating and still elusive.
Then he continued to write the second chapter of "The Wealth of Nations" in Taoranting: On the Relationship between Capital Profits and Taxes.
Dong Shulan did not come in the morning. She went to the small clothing workshop and decisively changed the workshop's production method to what Fu Xiaoguan said last night.
Fu Xiaoguan did not receive the summons from the empress dowager until the afternoon. He put down his pen and thought for half an incense stick before bathing again. Then he took Susu to the palace.
Susu was extremely curious about the imperial palace.
"Wow, this place is much bigger than the temple!"
"Yeah, that palace is beautiful. Is that a phoenix on the cornice?"
“…”
In short, Su Su's entry into the palace is not much different from Granny Liu's entry into the Grand View Garden.
Under the guidance of Eunuch Nian, Fu Xiaoguan and Susu came to the Cining Palace.
This is a huge palace complex located in the south of the imperial city, which looks much larger than the Dieyi Palace where Concubine Shang lived.
The Cining Palace is located in the center of this palace complex, with pavilions, towers and several gardens everywhere.
As the three of them were walking, they vaguely heard the sound of opera singing. When they listened carefully, they found that the opera was Daiyu Burying Flowers from A Dream of Red Mansions.
Could it be that the Queen Mother summoned me to listen to music?
Prince Hui must have woken up. Could he... also be in the Cining Palace?
He suddenly stopped and said to Eunuch Nian, "There is something I need you to inform others about."
"Young Master, please speak."
"Prince Hui has returned to Lingnan. I need people from Xilou to infiltrate Prince Hui's mansion in Lingnan. It would be best if they could get close to Prince Hui."
Eunuch Nian thought that whether Prince Hui would return to Lingnan had not yet been decided, so why was the young master going to make plans now?
"I'll take the young master in and handle it."
"Hmm... Also, order the Wu Dynasty's people to get detailed information about Hanling Temple, as well as detailed information about Emperor Wen of the Wu Dynasty and the royal family, and a map of the places the Wu Dynasty passed through when they arrived south. Give it to me when they arrive."
"I obey your command."
"Lead the way."
As the sound of opera became clearer and clearer, the majestic Cining Palace appeared before Fu Xiaoguan's eyes.
There was a stage in the center of the Cining Palace, with many umbrellas underneath and some tables and chairs placed under the umbrellas. At this moment, only four people were sitting under the front umbrella.
The old man with white hair and youthful face sitting at the top must be the Empress Dowager. On her right is a wealthy woman of similar age to the Shang Concubine, and on her left is Prince Hui!
Yu Wenjun was sitting next to the wealthy woman. At this moment, her gaze shifted from the actors on the stage to Fu Xiaoguan.
Some happy, some nervous.
Eunuch Nian brought Fu Xiaoguan and Susu to the Empress Dowager. He was the first to kneel down and said, "Your servant leads Fu Xiaoguan to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager!"
Fu Xiaoguan also knelt down and said, "Your Highness, I, Fu Xiaoguan, pay my respects to the Empress Dowager! May the Empress Dowager be blessed!"
The Queen Mother was stunned. What does this mean?
Good luck to the Queen Mother?
Well, I’ve been feeling pretty unlucky lately!
Su Su didn't know the rules of the palace. She looked around and knelt down, but said nothing - she didn't know what to say, she just felt that these etiquette was a bit annoying.
The Queen Mother waved her hand, and a maid followed her to the stage. The actors bowed and retreated, and the place suddenly became quiet.
"Are you Fu Xiaoguan?"
"This minister is Official Fu."
Fu Xiaoguan thought that the empress dowager would call him to get up soon, but there was no movement. So he looked up and met the empress dowager's eyes. He lowered his head again, but his heart was in turmoil.
Because he saw murderous intent in the Queen Mother's eyes!
Yu Wenyun was a little unhappy. She looked at the Queen Mother, but the eldest princess lowered her head and grabbed her hand.
After a few more breaths, the Queen Mother took a deep breath and uttered three words lightly: "Get up!"
"Thank you, Queen Mother!"
The three men stood up, Eunuch Nian bowed and retreated, and Fu Xiaoguan and Susu stood side by side.
"If I want Lin Daiyu to live, can you please change the book?"
Fu Xiaoguan was silent for five breaths. "Lin Daiyu's life is a pain. It's better for her to die!"
"But I want her alive!"
The voice was in a high tone, showing the Queen Mother's anger and her inviolable majesty.
Fu Xiaoguan suddenly smiled. "Even if Lin Daiyu were alive, she couldn't change the fate of the Jia family, let alone she's already dead. In such a huge family, those who should have died didn't, while those who shouldn't have died did. May I ask, Queen Dowager, whose fault is this?"
"How dare you!" the Queen Mother roared, but Fu Xiaoguan bowed again and said, "Good luck to the Queen Mother!"
Yu Wenjun held the eldest princess's hand tightly, but the eldest princess gently patted the back of her hand without any worry on her face.
Prince Hui, who was sitting next to the Queen Mother, had already been brimming with anger. He stood up and pointed at Fu Xiaoguan, "You evil villain! How dare you be so rude in front of the Queen Mother? Someone, come here...!"
At this moment, another old eunuch entered. He bowed before the Queen Mother and handed her a document, whispering, "Your Majesty, this is... a complaint filed by the fourth victim against Prince Hui for condoning the Third Prince's evil deeds."
Upon hearing this, Prince Hui angrily shouted, "They are slandering me! They just want to kill my three sons! They just want to bring ruin to my reputation!"
"Shut up!" the Queen Mother yelled again. Prince Hui's face flushed red and his chest heaved.
The Queen Mother did not look at the petition, but looked at Fu Xiaoguan.
"Fighting bloody battles in the streets, drinking in the snow—that's quite a bold move. I summoned you here today just to see you and ask you, how do you think the matter of Prince Comet will end?"
That's right.
The previous blow of intimidation did not scare Fu Xiaoguan. At this moment, the empress dowager's tone was obviously much calmer.
"Your Majesty, I believe that if a prince breaks the law, he shall be punished just as severely as any commoner!"
"What did you say?" The Queen Mother frowned, and her already cloudy eyes became sharp.
"I believe that every nation has its own laws and every family has its own rules. The Third Prince committed a crime in public, witnessed by all the people. Moreover, he has a long criminal record and the Jinling government is investigating. If the Queen Mother shields the Third Prince because of his status, I dare to ask, where does the Queen Mother place the laws of the nation? Where does the Queen Mother place the majesty of Your Majesty? Has the Queen Mother ever considered how the people of Dayu would evaluate her if they knew? Would they still respect the laws of Dayu?"
Fu Xiaoguan asked a series of resounding questions, and Prince Hui's face suddenly changed. "My son is young and has never hurt that woman. How dare you use the national law and the majesty of Your Majesty to force the Queen Mother! You are committing treason and disrespecting the majesty of the royal family! Come, beat this boy to death with clubs!"
Fu Xiaoguan was happy, with a sunny face.
"Prince Comet, do you want to vomit blood again?" As he said this, his face suddenly became cold and frosty. His eyes stared at Prince Comet and he took a step forward.
"The criminal offenses committed by your son will be tried by the Jinling Prefecture's Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. I must tell you that a poorly educated son is the fault of his father, and I must also say, 'Like father, like son!' Far from reflecting on your actions, you've resorted to the empress dowager's authority to try to beat me to death... Are you foolish? I thought you understood the truth, but I didn't expect you'd still try to drag the empress dowager into this abyss!"
"Do you really think everyone in the world is blind? Do you really think the Queen Mother is too old and dim to see through your tricks? Your existence is a complete waste of food. You are the epitome of the despicable, shameless, filthy, vile, vicious, sinister, and cunning scoundrels in this world!"
"you……!"
"What do you mean by 'you'?! If you had any self-awareness, how dare you again put the Queen Mother in such an unkind and unjust position! If you understood even a little bit of filial piety, you would kneel before the Queen Mother, confess your evil deeds, and beg for forgiveness. But what did you do? Not only did you not reflect on your actions, you even attempted to use the Queen Mother's power to bully me... I grieve that the Queen Mother has a son like you, and I sympathize with His Majesty for having a brother like you. You... should just cut yourself off from the world!"
“You…Pfft…!”
Prince Hui was so angry that he spat out another mouthful of blood. He pointed at Fu Xiaoguan and said tremblingly, "You, you, mother...you must be a minister to me..."
"Shut up!"
The Queen Mother stood up, and Prince Hui knelt down with a thud. However, the Queen Mother did not look at him, but slowly closed her eyes.
"You go down now."
"Mother!"
"Ai Jia, I told you to get off!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
