The official report on the suppression of the pirates was delivered to Emperor Wenqing by the Marquis of Qingyang, which greatly pleased the emperor.
The magistrate of Guyang County devised a plan to defeat the pirates. In order to protect the people from unwarranted disaster, he was honorably wounded in the battle against the pirates, and his contribution was invaluable!
This news did not spread in the court. So when Consort Zhen, the birth mother of the Third Prince, went through many twists and turns to whisper in the emperor's ear that the eldest son of the Minister of Works was disobeying ancestral teachings, refusing to return home to care for his ailing mother, and was disloyal and unfilial, the emperor clicked his tongue, did not give Consort Zhen a second glance, and went to the Empress's palace instead.
Unexpectedly, the same topic came out of the Empress's mouth again. The Empress was much more direct, and her meaning was completely different from that of Consort Zhen.
The Empress's main point was: I heard that His Majesty's top scholar student has made great contributions in suppressing bandits and should be richly rewarded? Perhaps we should pardon him first, otherwise people will say he is disloyal and unfilial, which would damage His Majesty's reputation.
The emperor was furious. After pressing for details, he learned that the wife of Fu Ting, the Minister of Works, was ill and missed her son but could not see him. The newly appointed censor was Fu Ting's elder brother and knew the inside story. On his way to court, he accidentally let it slip, and that's how the news spread.
A high-ranking official, no wonder!
An uncle digging a pit for his nephew—normally, he might praise the official for his integrity, selflessness, and loyalty. But what's going on here? Doesn't the uncle have a brain? Foolish!
Even the emperor didn't take it seriously, and the matter was dropped.
It wasn't until news of Fu Qiyuan's reward reached the Minister's residence that Madam Cheng felt a wave of fear.
After the messenger left, in front of all the servants in the mansion, Fu Ting rebuked Cheng Shi without reservation for being foolish and ignorant, for pretending to be sick and putting her son in a difficult position, and for the unimaginable consequences if her son had listened to her and come back to take care of her.
The son chose to be loyal to the emperor and love the people, protecting the peace of the region. He almost lost his life, but his reputation was maliciously ruined behind his back. This is the good thing a mother does!
Ms. Cheng was panicked and frightened. While feeling extremely wronged, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards her mother.
After much deliberation, Madam Cheng humbled herself and pleaded with Fu Ting in a roundabout way, "My lord, Yuan'er is injured, and I am worried about him. Please allow me to take some people to Guyang County to take care of him!"
Fu Ting didn't even bother to look at her, and said coldly, "You still have the nerve to see Yuan'er? Or have you already decided to sever ties with the Cheng family? Have you forgotten how your mother cursed Yuan'er? You brat! She called your son a brat! A brat who is disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unjust. You, as his mother, are truly magnanimous, not uttering a single word in rebuttal!"
Cheng's face turned pale and then red. Back then, her mother had been provoked and humiliated by her son, and in a fit of anger, she had spoken up to him. She was so angry at the time that she hadn't been able to speak up for Yuan'er.
But how did Fu Ting know what his mother said?
"Yuan'er... did Yuan'er tell you? He wrote you a letter?"
Fu Ting did not answer her question, but coldly said, "The Cheng family's fate is about to end. You'd better watch yourself!"
Is the Cheng family's fate sealed? Is it over? What does that mean?
My elder brother has just been promoted to the fourth-rank official position. The Cheng family has been receiving many guests lately, and my brother is also in high spirits. The Cheng family is clearly on the rise. How could their fortunes be coming to an end?
He clearly wanted to deliberately suppress the Cheng family and get revenge on his mother for arranging for her to marry him!
Thinking of this, Madam Cheng said with shock and anger, "Fu Ting, you deliberately suppressed my brother. How can you face my father? My father retired early for your sake. You not only don't appreciate his kindness, but you also target the Cheng family at every turn. You are ungrateful!"
Fu Ting smiled, a cold smile tinged with disdain. "The Cheng family's kindness? Yes, the Cheng family has been kind to me. I am ashamed of my mentor's cultivation and my teacher's wife's care for me like a son. But what does all this have to do with Lord Cheng? Do you really think my position as Minister was given to me by your father? Go back and ask your father. I'm afraid he has completely disgraced you without even realizing it!"
This made Mrs. Cheng so angry that she almost fell backwards.
On the day the imperial edict bestowing honors upon Fu Qiyuan departed from the capital, Fu Qiyuan finally got out of bed and could take his son to bask in the sun in the courtyard.
Jiang Huai hardly needs anyone to take care of him now. He can play with his toys all day long and never gets tired of it. Fu Qiyuan just needs to prepare water and snacks, ready to feed him whenever he is hungry or thirsty.
Don't be fooled by its simplicity; it won't work if you change the person leading it.
Jiang Huai is still young, and some of the toys have mechanisms. When he can't find the mechanism or can't turn on the switch, he can't ask others for help. Only Fu Qiyuan can solve the problem.
Occasionally, when Fu Qiyuan wasn't around, he would shout "Daddy!" at the top of his lungs, sweating profusely with anxiety.
Jiang Shan was very dissatisfied, and one time when Fu Qiyuan was not around, she went to find her mother's presence.
There was a small, eight-legged spider made of wood. For some reason, its left front leg was immobile, causing it to tumble when it tried to run. After tumbling twice, Jiang Huai realized the problem and frantically shouted for his father.
Jiang Shan took the spider and, under the expectant gaze of Jiang Huai's dark eyes, gritted his teeth and fiddled with it for a few minutes. Not only did he fail to make the spider run, but he also broke off one of its legs.
Jiang Huai was stunned, then tilted his head back and let out a loud "Awooo" with his belly sticking out in a powerful manner, which startled Jiang Shan so much that he almost pulled off the spider's other leg.
This is outrageous!
Everyone in the room rushed out, silently watching the culprit raise a spider leg in his hand, awkwardly but politely explaining, "Sorry, I used a little too much force..."
No, that's not the point. The point is that she, a liberal arts student, doesn't understand the intricacies of science and engineering at all!
"Father... Mother... Father!" Jiang Huai pointed at the landscape and then at the little spider with his little hand, tears streaming down his face.
It wasn't until Fu Qiyuan appeared that she finally took her short legs and rushed over, hugging his legs and calling him "Dad" repeatedly.
Fu Qiyuan's heart broke from hearing those cries.
Jiang Shan shrugged and handed the little spider, legs and all, to Fu Qiyuan.
But then Fu Qiyuan skillfully twisted his leg a few times and put it back in place.
Jiang Huai burst into laughter in an instant.
To express his gratitude, Jiang Huai leaned close to Fu Qiyuan's face and covered his face with snot, tears, and his little mouth.
"Thank you, Daddy!"
The whole country is so sour!
After everyone had left, Jiang Shan walked up to Jiang Huai and said seriously, "Son, what you did was wrong. It made your mother lose face!"
Jiang Huai looked up at her, pouted, and ignored her.
I'm still angry!
"This is my first time being a mother to you, I don't have much experience, I need to slowly explore, learn and accumulate experience, you have to give me a chance, right?"
Jiang Huai pouted and remained silent, fiddling with the spider's leg with his little hands. Then, Jiang Shan watched as he removed the spider leg!
The opportunity has arrived!
(Please, shamelessly, I'm begging for votes! It's the last day of the month! Amen...!)
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