Chapter 70 Falling Out
Fu Yunxiu didn't know how he got out of Zhang Mama's room. He only had one thought in his mind: to ask Madam Fu.
They were both sons, so why send him to his death?
If his father hadn't found the legendary doctor Cheng back then, he probably would have died long ago.
He had always believed that Liu was the one who poisoned her, so even when his father was furious and locked her in the woodshed, intending to divorce her and send her to the authorities, causing her to miscarry and become infertile for life, Fu Yunxiu never forgave her.
Even later, out of pity for her and out of consideration for Liu's brother, her father dropped the matter, and she even resented her father for a period of time.
So over the years, even though Fu Changze tried to befriend him, he still harbored resentment.
But now they are telling him that although Liu was wrong, she was also a victim.
The real mastermind behind it all was his own mother.
Between her brother and him, she chose to let him die.
The truth he had been seeking was so heartbreaking.
Ignoring the servants' attempts to stop him from announcing his arrival, Fu Yunxiu went straight to Madam Fu's room, pushed open the door, and went inside.
Inside the house, Madam Fu was picking up medicinal herbs. When she saw him barging in so recklessly, a barely perceptible look of disgust flashed across her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Madam, I couldn't stop the young master." The maid apologized softly. Madam Fu waved her hand, signaling her to leave.
Madam Fu put down the medicinal herbs in her hand and pointed to the seat next to her, gesturing for Fu Yunxiu to sit down. However, Fu Yunxiu ignored her and instead carefully observed the layout of Madam Fu's bedroom.
This was the first time in so many years that he had looked at the house so carefully.
The two large baskets of medicinal herbs on the table were for Madam Fu to make a pillow for Fu Yunting.
In the hot and humid summer, the medicinal herbs inside can repel mosquitoes and have a calming effect. Every year, Madam Fu would make one for him, and she never asked anyone else to do the work, from selecting the herbs to sewing.
The paintings hanging on the wall were not masterpieces by famous artists, but rather works by Fu Yunting. Fu Yunting's painting skills were poor; two of them were comparable to children's scribbles, and they seemed out of place with the furnishings in the room.
Even so, Madam Fu still solemnly framed the painting and hung it here for many years.
Fu Yunxiu remembered that he had once painted a portrait of Madam Fu as a birthday gift for his mother. However, when Fu Yunting was framing the painting, he accidentally tore off a corner and was hit twice by Fu Yunting. Madam Fu was so angry that she tore the painting in front of him and told him not to do such pointless things in the future.
As for the pen holder on the desk, Fu Yunxiu recognized it. It was the one Fu Yunting used when he first started learning, but it was accidentally broken later, so Madam Fu put it away.
I thought she had thrown it away, but to my surprise, she replaced the coral pen holder she had used for many years with this one.
A corner of the pen holder was missing, its jagged surface seemingly mocking Fu Yunxiu's insignificance.
It turned out that everything had been foreshadowed. He had clung to the occasional kindness that Madam Fu showed him, believing that his mother still loved him to some extent.
It's all just self-deception.
Fu Yunxiu's coldness deepened, and even Madam Fu, who had never cared about her before, noticed it.
Since she didn't care anymore, why would Madam Fu ask him why? She continued to lower her head and pick up the medicinal herbs in the basket.
"I heard that that bitch Liu went to see you?" Before Fu Yunxiu could reply, she sneered and continued, "Wasn't she very smug a while ago? What, now that she's fallen from grace, she can't laugh anymore? She went to see you, probably for her son, right?"
Madam Fu thought Liu Yu might have gone mad. Now that His Majesty was furious and thoroughly investigating Yu Wang's cronies, everyone in the capital was in danger; who dared to speak up for those treacherous officials? In her desperation, she had turned to Fu Yunxiu for help.
Even if he were exceptionally intelligent, a patient who rarely left his home could not defy the emperor's decree.
She said, "You don't need to concern yourself with this matter. The Liu family is guilty of treason this time, and it's fortunate that the Cheng'an Marquis's mansion wasn't implicated. If you get involved and anger the Emperor, implicating the Marquis's mansion, how will you explain yourself before our ancestors?"
"And your younger brother, he wrote to me the other day saying that His Majesty intends to reopen the palace examination. You must not let others affect him. Now that the second son has already entered, after the palace examination is over, have him inform His Majesty and have him inherit the title of Marquis of Cheng'an. I think the elders of the clan will have nothing to say then."
It is said that parents who love their children will plan far ahead for them. Every word Madam Fu uttered seemed to be part of a scheme for Fu Yunting. But had she forgotten that he had another son, right before his eyes?
“Mother always thinks of my third brother in everything,” Fu Yunxiu said with a wry smile. “Has Mother forgotten that you have another son? Has Mother never considered having me inherit the title of Marquis?”
"Are you even trying to steal your brother's title now?" Before Fu Yunxiu could finish speaking, Madam Fu rebuked him sharply, looking at him with icy eyes as if the person standing in front of her was not her own son, but her enemy.
“Rob?” Fu Yunxiu scoffed and sat down opposite Madam Fu. “Mother, why do you say that? Since ancient times, the inheritance of titles has always been from father to son, or from brother to brother. I am the eldest son and not stupid. This title should be inherited by me. How can you say that I am robbing it?”
Fu Yunxiu's words were all reasonable, and even if Madam Fu wanted to refute them, she couldn't find a reason to. Moreover, Fu Yunxiu's unusual behavior today was something she couldn't understand.
From childhood to adulthood, Fu Yunxiu had always unconditionally tolerated her whenever she used the excuse that her younger brother was still young. But today, he was acting so unusually.
Unable to fathom his thoughts, Madam Fu softened her tone, "That's not what I meant. It's just that you've never been interested in titles, so I didn't think of it that way."
"Now that I'm interested, will Mother support me?" Fu Yunxiu looked directly at Madam Fu, seemingly eagerly awaiting her answer.
Madam Fu was speechless when asked the question. She didn't know how to answer for a moment, and she didn't dare to look at Fu Yunxiu's scrutinizing gaze. She could only look away.
Just then, Granny Zhang rushed in from outside, "Madam."
Despite the pain, Granny Zhang stumbled along, her clothes soaked with mud and water. She entered, leaning against the door, and was about to speak when she met Fu Yunxiu's burning gaze, and fell silent.
"Why are you here?" Seeing Zhang Mama's disheveled state, Madam Fu quickly got up to help her. "Didn't I tell you? If you're not feeling well, you should rest and recuperate. You don't need to come and serve me."
"This servant has something to say to Madam." Zhang Mama sat down with the help of her maid.
"If there's anything, just have Yan'er inform her. Why come in person?" Madam Fu was in a great deal of turmoil about this matter and truly felt that Yan'er was making things worse.
"This servant..." Zhang Mama wanted to tell the madam that the eldest young master already knew about the poisoning incident years ago. But Fu Yunxiu's gaze followed her like a shadow, like a sharp blade pressed against her throat, forcing her to remain silent.
Fu Yunxiu was already getting impatient.
He spoke again, "My mother hasn't answered me yet."
After being questioned repeatedly by him, Madam Fu had lost all patience.
"Fu Yunxiu, did you come here today to question your mother?" Madam Fu glared at him and accused, "You've been frail and sickly since childhood, and everyone in the Marquis's mansion revolves around you. Even the Marquis himself focuses all his attention on you. No matter how outstanding and hardworking Yunting is, he has always been blind to it. Do you know how heartbroken Yunting is inside, even though he seems indifferent on the surface? You've deprived him of the fatherly love he deserves. What good is this title if you give it to him? It's what you owe him."
"So Mother's meaning is that she doesn't support it." Fu Yunxiu found the key point among her many high-sounding reasons.
“My mother has always favored my third brother. Whatever he wanted, even if I didn't want it, she always found a way to make me give it up. She doted on him, providing him with the best of everything, from food and clothing to tutors. As for her saying I stole my brother's father's love…”
Fu Yunxiu chuckled, "Father is rarely home. His only fatherly love was probably paving the way for my future career in government. But alas, my body has failed to live up to his good intentions. Apart from that, I don't feel I owe my third brother anything."
Of the three brothers, the second oldest, Fu Changze, was the one their father favored the most. He had seen his father ride on his back like a horse. It was then that he realized that the man who always appeared so dignified before him could kneel down and let someone else ride on his back.
His father's feelings towards him were primarily driven by a sense of responsibility as the heir. Even so, this was one of the few acts of care he received in this cold and indifferent mansion.
Fu Yunxiu looked at Madam Fu, his eyes filled with layers of disappointment and pain, which culminated in one sentence: "Since Mother doesn't support me, then... let's each rely on our own abilities!"
After saying that, he got up and left.
"What do you mean?" Madam Fu was so angry that she trembled and picked up a teacup, throwing it at Fu Yunxiu.
The teacup landed on Fu Yunxiu's back, scalding hot tea soaking him, before falling to the ground and shattering.
The piercing pain spread from his back, but it couldn't compare to the pain in Fu Yunxiu's heart.
Because he heard Madam Fu say, "Fu Yunxiu, if I had known this would happen, I would have preferred never to have given birth to you."
Fu Yunxiu slowly turned around, looked at Madam Fu, and said in a calm voice, "I would rather not have a mother like you."
Fu Yunxiu spoke slowly and deliberately, and then left.
"You, you..." Madam Fu was furious and picked up the teapot on the table to throw it at him again, but was stopped by Zhang Mama. "Madam, please don't be angry anymore. Young Master already knows everything."
Upon hearing this, Madam Fu paused in her actions. "What do you mean?"
Zhang Mama knelt down with a thud. "It's all my fault. Just now, when the young master came to ask about the poisoning incident, I blurted it out to him."
Now it was Mrs. Fu's turn to panic. "Which one did you mention?"
"..." Zhang Mama didn't understand her meaning for a moment, but she still told the truth, "I thought I would take this opportunity to ease the relationship between you and the young master, so I told the young master about all the hardships you have endured over the years."
I already said...
In other words, he knew everything.
Madam Fu let go.
No wonder, no wonder he came so rashly today, and spoke in a sarcastic and probing tone. So he already knew everything.
“Madam,” Zhang Mama knelt down and grabbed her sleeve, “you must quickly send someone to invite the young master back and apologize to him properly, so that the misunderstanding doesn’t escalate. The young master is filial and will surely understand your good intentions.”
“It’s no use,” Mrs. Fu slumped into her chair. “It’s no use… He hates me, he hates me so much.”
The true story behind Liu's poisoning incident was known to no one except the mother and her two children. Even Zhang Mama only knew that she had replaced the croton seeds Liu intended to put in Yun Ting's food with the poison, intending to use the same trick to get rid of Liu Yu.
The bowl of steamed egg custard was originally meant for Yun Ting, but she couldn't bear to give it to him and instead gave it to Yun Xiu, who was peeking in from outside the door.
Even after many years, she still clearly remembers the bright and warm smile on Yun Xiu's face because of that bowl of steamed egg custard.
But she never expected that her poison would clash with the medicine Yun Xiu was taking, creating a deadly poison that nearly cost him his life.
After that, whenever she saw Yun Xiu, that smile would always appear in her mind, like a mirror, revealing her ruthlessness and cruelty as a mother.
Driven by guilt, she could only avoid seeing Yun Xiu. But even so, she couldn't hurt Yun Ting; Yun Ting was innocent.
"It's alright, it's alright." Madam Fu forced herself to calm down, almost tearing the handkerchief in her hand to shreds. "I am, after all, his mother."
Even if he hates her, she is still his mother.
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"The Painted Lady Ming Zhao"
Folklore blogger Ming Zhao wakes up to find herself transformed into Ming Jiu Niang, the youngest daughter of the Ming family in the Great Feng Dynasty.
The Ming family was a renowned lacquerware family, but unfortunately, this line had nine daughters in a row, and there was no one to carry on the family line. The grandfather, Mingde, died with resentment in his heart.
Mingzhao received a favor from her grandfather, and to fulfill his last wish, she and her childhood sweetheart and fiancé Zhou Yuanqing searched through countless books and studied diligently. Finally, they created a set of exquisite ancient lacquerware to use at the World Trade Center.
Zhou Yuanqing said that the two of them would get married when he returned this time.
Mingzhao, awaiting marriage, received not the joyous news of her fiancé, but the news that he had been ambushed and killed on the way, and that the lacquerware had disappeared without a trace.
The newly appointed magistrate, Shen Tingsi, was in charge of investigating the matter and eventually discovered that the murderer was a Japanese.
*
Mingzhao said that at first, he just wanted to fulfill his grandfather's last wish and let him rest in peace. Later, he wanted to find a way out and pass on this skill.
Shen Tingsi: When I first met Mingzhao, I thought she was just a young lady living in the shadow of her parents. Later, I found that she was just like her name, wise and intelligent, and dazzling.
[The wise enlighten others with their own wisdom.]
It's probably the story of an inspirational young lady and her loyal magistrate.
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