Chapter 81 The Storm Begins
In a side room of Wuweiju, Fu Yunxiu and Shen Yan were drinking and chatting happily.
Shen Yan spoke of the recent situation in the capital. The new emperor would need to promote a group of officials to serve him, and Fu Yunxiu, who had been idle at home for many years, was a rare opportunity.
"It's just that the Cheng'an Marquis's mansion has indeed been quiet for too long. As the heir, it's probably difficult for you to achieve anything."
The meaning of "sinking eaves" is to let Fu Yunxiu inherit the title as soon as possible, even if the marquis is demoted to earl due to the system, he will still be receiving a salary from the court.
"Ugh, stop talking about it." Fu Yunxiu also had a headache when it came to this.
After a few rounds of drinks, Fu Yunxiu was already a bit tipsy. Now that things had gotten this far, he decided to speak his mind: "My family's situation is much more complicated than what you described, Brother Shen."
Having suppressed his feelings for so long, Fu Yunxiu poured out his heart to this man who was a few years older than him and had the demeanor of an elder brother.
From Fu Yunting to Madam Fu, and then to that group of stubborn old men in the Marquis's mansion, Shen Yan's brows furrowed more and more as he listened. Everything else was fine, but those old geezers in the clan were truly a headache.
In fact, the Shen family's situation back then was not much better than the Fu family's situation now. After their father passed away, the clan members saw that they were an orphan and a widow with no one to rely on, so they tried every means to bully them.
Even a distant branch, whose origins are unknown, colluded with the clan elders to try and seize control of the Shen family's courtyard.
He took his father's sword and chopped off the man's arm. If the elders hadn't stopped him, he would have killed the man on the spot, his blood splattering everywhere.
At that time, he was only twelve years old.
The clansmen saw his ruthlessness and became much more docile. Even during the years he was away from home, his mother was never bullied again.
Therefore, for some things, the most direct and simplest way is to draw blood.
But Fu Yunxiu clearly couldn't do that right now, because he wasn't ruthless enough. His upbringing and extensive reading made it impossible for him to kill those related to him by blood.
“In that case, it is indeed difficult.” Shen Yan raised his cup and clinked it with his. “If someone with power were to lend you a hand, it would be much easier. After all, people are always willing to change their tune depending on the wind.”
Shen Yan smiled and said, "Why don't you condescend to marry my sister? Then my General's Mansion will be your backing."
Fu Yunxiu paused in his pouring of wine, then refilled his glass. He picked up the glass, gave a bitter smile, and drank it all in one gulp. "Brother Shen, please stop joking. Your sister is of noble birth, so why would she want to live a hard life with me?"
The words of refusal were the same, but this time was clearly very different from the last.
It wasn't just that Fu Yunxiu hesitated; it was more the attitude revealed in his tone that he stopped bringing up his family and started saying he was unworthy of Shen Jiao.
Although the result was the same, Shen Yan saw an opportunity in it.
To be honest, Shen Yan still admired Fu Yunxiu's sense of responsibility when he rejected him. Although he understood that Fu Yunxiu's current compromise was forced by the complex situation, he was still disappointed.
So, no one can remain faithful to one person from beginning to end when they are not in control of their own destiny, right?
As if making excuses for Fu Yunxiu's changes, and as if making excuses for himself, Shen Yan knew that this time, it was his turn to be the villain.
The two men, sharing a mutual appreciation, drank until sunset, becoming completely drunk before finally stopping.
Mantou helped Fu Yunxiu back to the inn. Along the way, Fu Yunxiu kept clamoring to go find Aman.
"I'm looking for Aman."
Just as Mantou put the person on the bed and took a breather, the person, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly got up and ran towards the door like the wind.
"Hey, young master," Mantou, still catching her breath, grabbed Fu Yunxiu's sleeve once again to stop him from going out and going crazy, "Young master, Aman isn't here."
"No, I want Aman." Fu Yunxiu, drunk, acted like a child. "I want Aman. Take me to her."
“Aman isn’t here,” Mantou pushed him down again, “Be good, Aman will be back when it’s light tomorrow.”
What a joke! If we let him out now, he'd be riddled with bullets by the Imperial Guard patrols.
Fortunately, Fu Yunxiu, being drunk, had little ability to discern right from wrong. Upon hearing his words, his large, wet eyes darted around, "Really?"
"Really, I'd be a dog if I lied to you," Mantou said with absolute certainty. "Go to sleep now, and you'll see Aman when you wake up."
Seeing that Fu Yunxiu obediently closed his eyes and finally stopped making a fuss, Mantou let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground with a thud.
He was exhausted.
He had no idea that the young master would be so difficult to deal with when drunk.
However, Mantou was quite happy about the young master's actions towards Aman, which shows that the young master still cares about Aman.
Two more days passed quickly, and the capital city welcomed its most bustling time.
The elegant music of the imperial city resounded through the sky, and the cannon salutes shook the earth. Outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a group of officials knelt down to welcome the new emperor to the throne.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The shouts of obeisance rose from all sides, majestic and solemn. Xie Chen, now the Emperor, sat on the dragon throne and raised his hand to signal, "My beloved ministers, rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The crowd rose to their feet with a clamor, and the chief eunuch stood on the high platform, took out the imperial edict, and read out the decree of investiture.
Fu Yunxiu's identity this time was merely that of the heir of a marquis's mansion, and he had no real power. Therefore, he stood far away, and apart from being able to faintly hear the eunuch's voice announcing the imperial decree, he could not hear anything else.
But it doesn't matter, those who stand so far back usually have nothing to do with being conferred titles.
The scorching sun beat down, making everyone dizzy, but the group still stood respectfully, their expressions solemn. Only the two people standing to the side and in front of Fu Yunxiu stood out conspicuously.
The man in purple winked and hissed occasionally, trying to attract the attention of the man next to him. Soon, the man in brown next to him was also drawn to him and turned his head to look at him.
"Hey, after the ceremony, let's go to Chunfeng Tower. I heard they have a new courtesan, she's extremely beautiful. How about we give her a massage?" the man in purple said.
The man in brown didn't speak, but he clearly agreed with his idea. The two looked at each other and smiled lewdly.
The two were speaking loudly enough that almost everyone nearby could hear them, and they all cast disgusted glances at them, but the other party clearly didn't care.
“The one in brown is Gao Zhao, the eldest son of the Left Chancellor Gao Shu, and the one speaking to him is Li Yu, the second eldest son of the Vice Minister of Works Li Tan.” After Fu Yunxiu withdrew his gaze, Xing Zhao, the son of the Minister of War standing next to him, spoke up.
The two met that morning due to a slight misunderstanding, and happened to be standing next to each other. Xing Zhao had misunderstood Fu Yunxiu that morning, and upon learning that he was not from the capital, he offered to be his guide.
Fu Yunxiu didn't know the names of the Left Prime Minister and the Vice Minister, but he knew the names Gao Zhao and Li Yu very well. He often heard Fu Yunting mention these two people, saying that they were uneducated, often late or leaving early, and that they were extremely arrogant because they relied on their family background to talk back to the teacher and bully their classmates.
To say such things in such a serious setting, and to do so without any restraint, shows that they are not only ignorant and incompetent, but also extremely despicable in character.
Fu Yunxiu didn't speak, but glanced at Xing Zhao and nodded slightly in response. Xing Zhao also knew that it wasn't appropriate to speak in this situation, so he smiled at him and turned away.
The investiture ceremony on the high platform continued, and the two people's hushed conversation never ceased.
After the investiture ceremony concluded, a group of high-ranking officials went to the Hall of Preserving Harmony for a banquet, while those not officially appointed, like Fu Yunxiu, went home.
After leaving the imperial city, Fu Yunxiu went to the horse parking area to retrieve his horse and encountered Xing Zhao again.
"Together?" Xing Zhao blinked. Xing Zhao had a fairly good impression of this heir of the Marquis of Cheng'an. Just like this morning, even though he had misunderstood him and even spoken rudely, he was still kind and gentle, neither humble nor arrogant, truly a gentleman of integrity.
“Since we have nothing to do right now, why don’t we go have a couple of drinks? It’ll also be a way of apologizing for what happened this morning,” Xing Zhao said.
“Okay.” Fu Yunxiu knew the saying that having more friends meant having more options, so he did not refuse.
At this time, there were many people on the main street, making it inconvenient to ride a horse. Fu Yunxiu asked the coachman to lead the horse back to the inn first, while he and Xing Zhao walked.
Although Xing Zhao had a fiery temper, he was also straightforward and said what he meant. He was not scheming, and Fu Yunxiu had a good first impression of him.
The two followed the crowd slowly forward, and as they chatted, they started talking about Gao Zhao again.
Gao Zhao was the only son of the Left Chancellor and was pampered from a young age, which fostered his arrogant and domineering nature. Almost all the sons of officials of the same age were warned by their families not to play with him, for fear that they would be led astray.
Li Yu's father was promoted by the Left Chancellor, and the two younger brothers were both unruly and reckless. They were like-minded and hit it off immediately, so they were inseparable every day.
But in reality, Gao Zhao never considered Li Yu a friend; at best, Li Yu was Gao Zhao's lackey. He had even witnessed Gao Zhao beating Li Yu up because he was upset about losing money.
"Anyway, be careful. That guy is a mad dog. Anyone who messes with him will not have a good ending," Xing Zhao warned.
Fu Yunxiu wondered why he had provoked him for no reason, but before he could speak, he heard a commotion behind him.
Amidst the throng of people, Fu Yunxiu didn't even realize what was happening before he saw a tall horse charging straight at him.
"Watch out." Just at this critical moment, Xing Zhao, who had already flashed to the side, reacted and pulled him back.
Fu Yunxiu fell to the ground, a searing pain shooting through his right arm, making him gasp in pain.
"Are you alright?" Xing Zhao hurriedly sat up and asked him. Before Fu Yunxiu could answer, Gao Zhao, the culprit, whipped his horse past, saw that he had almost hit someone, and cursed, "You short-lived thing, get lost."
This clearly demonstrates his arrogance.
Fu Yunxiu shook his head. Xing Zhao helped him up. Gao Zhao had already walked far away, but there was still a commotion ahead. It seemed that someone had been hit again.
"Pah! They really don't respect the law at all." Xing Zhao couldn't help but spit.
Because Fu Yunxiu's right arm was injured, they ultimately couldn't drink the wine. Xing Zhao took Fu Yunxiu to see a doctor, who said that Fu Yunxiu's right arm was severely sprained and he needed to rest for a few days.
Instead of rushing back, Fu Yunxiu took advantage of his rest time to visit his father's old friends. Upon learning that his legs were healed, several old men wiped away tears, saying that if Fu Xuan were still alive, he would be overjoyed to hear this news. They also said that if Fu Yunxiu ever needed anything in the future, he should just ask, and they would do their best to help.
During this time, Fu Yunxiu received a letter from Fu Changze. It said that while she was away, her second uncle, Fu, had once again conspired with the clan chief and a group of elders to try to establish a new head of the family.
When Madam Fu learned of this, she went to stop them, even going so far as to commit suicide by hitting her head against a pillar, saying that she wanted to give an explanation to her deceased ancestors.
Fu Changze said that if his mother hadn't stopped her, Madam Fu would probably still be bedridden and unconscious.
"What a good mother." Fu Yunxiu sneered. She didn't even care about her own safety for the sake of her youngest son.
Fu Yunxiu couldn't quite describe his feelings. He felt like a bystander, watching a farcical scene of maternal love and filial piety unfold. He felt no emotion, only amusement.
After folding the letter and putting it into the envelope, Fu Yunxiu instructed Mantou, "Reply to the Second Young Master and tell him that I will be back the day after tomorrow."
As for why it was the day after tomorrow, it was because he had arranged to have tea with Shen Yan the next day.
Having been in the capital for some time, Fu Yunxiu had truly come to understand the benefits of power. With power, many thorny problems become simple, and obstacles can be removed for you without you even having to lift a finger.
My father's old friends were clearly unreliable, not to mention that they were all quite old and most of them had already taken up official positions. Even those who hadn't taken up official positions held positions that were of no benefit to him whatsoever.
Therefore, a sunken eaves design seems more suitable.
The question is how to make the other party a help to oneself.
That night, Fu Yunxiu didn't sleep a wink, and when he woke up in the morning, his right eyelid kept twitching.
Fu Yunxiu felt a strange sense of unease. "Mantou, did anything happen today?"
“Nothing’s wrong,” Mantou said as she helped him wash up. “Didn’t you have an appointment to meet General Shen, young master?”
"Is that so?" Fu Yunxiu seemed to be deep in thought. Then why did he feel so uneasy?
After the two finished washing up and went downstairs, they saw that the people who were having breakfast in the hall were crowded at the door, making a lot of noise, and they didn't know what they were looking at.
Fu Yunxiu had no interest in these things. He called over a waiter and ordered a basket of steamed buns, two bowls of porridge, and a serving of pickles.
Before long, the people who had come to watch the commotion returned. Fu Yunxiu continued eating quietly, but Mantou couldn't resist his curiosity and went over to ask, "Brother, what happened? Why is it so lively?"
The man in black at the next table was also a busybody. Hearing someone ask, he hurriedly shared, "Hey, didn't you hear? They say there was a murder at Yunshang Academy, and the dead man was the son of a high-ranking official."
When Fu Yunxiu heard the other person say that a murder had occurred at Yunshang Academy, he subconsciously stopped chewing. However, when he heard that it was the son of a high-ranking official, he immediately returned to normal.
Not to mention that Fu Yunting has always been kind to others and would not easily get into conflicts with people, the fact that he is the son of a high-ranking official is completely the opposite of Fu Yunting.
The Marquis's mansion might still have some influence in Yongzhou, but in the capital city where even a falling tile could kill several fourth-rank officials, it's really not enough.
Although Madam Fu's behavior angered Fu Yunxiu, he still cared about his younger brother, Fu Yunting.
That's enough. How could he blame Fu Yunting for the grudges between him and Madam Fu?
When I have some free time tomorrow, I'll go to the academy to see him, so he won't think that his older brother is heartless.
After having breakfast, Fu Yunxiu went to the restaurant where he had arranged to meet Shen Yan.
Perhaps because of the murder, armored soldiers could be seen hurrying by on the street from time to time, their sharp spears gleaming silver, which made people feel terrified.
"Such a big commotion, what kind of high-ranking official must have lost his son?" Mantou muttered under his breath, only to be scolded by Fu Yunxiu, "Don't talk nonsense."
"oh."
When the two arrived at the restaurant, the manager recognized Fu Yunxiu and hurriedly greeted him with a smile, "Young Master Fu, you've arrived. A private room has been reserved for you. Please come upstairs."
"Has General Shen arrived?" Fu Yunxiu asked.
"Not yet, please have a seat and I'll have the waiter serve you tea."
After the shopkeeper left, Fu Yunxiu looked down at the bustling scene below through the open door. It was a completely different sight from what he had seen on the street just moments before.
Sure enough, no matter what happens, only ordinary people panic and become flustered like startled birds.
Fu Yunxiu chuckled and instructed Mantou to close the door.
After waiting in the room for a while longer, past the agreed time, Shen Yan still hadn't appeared. Fu Yunxiu grew impatient and was about to inform the innkeeper that he was leaving when a man in black suddenly approached him.
"Young Master Fu, something terrible has happened! Your brother is in trouble!"
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