Chapter 10 The Ability to Bend and Stretch
The first court meeting at Nanhua Palace ended in just four words—"dismissed on bad terms."
Xiao Qing's face was already streaked with tears. But she didn't bother to wipe them away. As soon as she returned to Chengde Palace, she locked herself in her bedroom and wouldn't even open the door when Mingxiu knocked.
Fu Mingyi then arrived at Chengde Palace and quickly went straight to Xiao Qing's door, ready to go inside.
Seeing the Grand Tutor's extremely unpleasant expression, and recalling how Xiao Qing had looked like she'd seen a ghost when she ran back earlier, Mingxiu suddenly found the courage to stand in front of the Grand Tutor.
The Grand Tutor was already furious, and when he saw someone blocking his way, he naturally glared at them, his face as cold as a knife.
Mingxiu's heart skipped a beat, but she still managed to say, "Grand Tutor, His Majesty has already rested. If there is nothing urgent, you can wait until His Majesty wakes up before you pay your respects."
Fu Mingyi was surprised that the little girl he brought in was blocking his way.
But he had too many unexpected events today.
He squinted at her, but asked about something else.
"Did His Majesty change your name?"
"By the grace of His Majesty, I have been given the name 'Mingxiu'."
Which show?
“The ‘xiu’ in Wushan Xiuyu jade.”
Fu Mingyi thought for a moment, glanced over her shoulder at the tightly closed door, and after a long while said, "Your Majesty, I have urgent business to attend to."
He took out a ruler from his sleeve and said calmly, "This was bestowed by the late emperor. If necessary, you may directly meet with the emperor. You may leave."
Seeing this, Mingxiu knew she couldn't stop the Grand Tutor, so she could only kneel down and bow to the ruler. She watched helplessly as the Grand Tutor somehow pushed open the door and went inside.
Xiao Qing took a few steps back, realizing that she had oversimplified the situation.
Although in her opinion, any ambitious and powerful minister would want to take over the throne, the current situation probably wasn't a good time to find someone to take over.
Otherwise, why would Fu Mingyi refuse to agree no matter what?
Moreover, Fu Mingyi is definitely really angry this time.
Not to mention his unpleasant expression, what he did in the Hall of Diligent Governance was called...
That's definitely not something a weak, bookish scholar with no strength could do, okay?
But who is Fu Mingyi?
Everyone says he's a great talent of his time, a refined gentleman, but no one has ever said he has martial arts skills!
Her mind was a jumble of thoughts when the door opened, someone came in, and approached her with a cold expression.
Xiao Qing instinctively took another step back, feeling her tongue getting a little tied up.
"Grand Tutor..."
As Fu Mingyi closed the door and walked over step by step, a sneer was clearly visible on his lips.
Oh no, I'm really angry.
Xiao Qing retreated to the edge of the bed and sat down, then quickly sat up straight, the sound of her heart pounding almost drowning her out.
Fu Mingyi walked straight up to her before slowly bending down, and then even smiled.
"I was thinking it probably wouldn't come to that, but you're really something." His tone was somewhat sarcastic, and his eyes seemed to be narrowed, making them appear even longer.
Countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Qing's mind, but in the blink of an eye, she rejected them all. Finally, she looked at the Grand Tutor with feigned surprise and said, "Grand Tutor, what are you saying?"
She regretted it after saying it.
Even though she felt she didn't really understand Fu Mingyi anymore, her answer was clearly a rhetorical question. Xiao Qing knew perfectly well how he would interpret her words.
Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Qing finished speaking, Fu Mingyi gave a cold laugh.
"Since you're so eager, let's be frank today. That way, we won't keep hiding things and give you any illusions."
As a subject, this is already extremely impolite of me to say.
Before Xiao Qing could figure out how to respond, she heard Fu Mingyi lean closer and say in a low voice, "You are not Princess Xiao Yan of the Great Xiao Dynasty. Tell me, who are you?"
Xiao Qing was startled, though she really wanted to say: Of course I'm not Xiao Yan.
But when she saw the Grand Tutor's gaze upon her, the words that were on the tip of her tongue became: "What is the Grand Tutor saying? I don't understand."
Fu Mingyi discovered that this young emperor possessed an extremely formidable skill.
Whenever she senses danger and wants to escape reality, she unconsciously adopts the identity of "emperor," even if she originally rejected this identity so much that she wished she could throw it away immediately.
Only at this moment could she seem to accept the "meaning" of this identity.
Just like Xiao Qing's feelings in the Hall of Diligent Governance, now that Fu Mingyi has put things this way, he absolutely does not want to hear any evasive or evasive answers.
He sneered, "As the Crown Prince's tutor personally appointed by the late Emperor, I taught the late Crown Prince for more than two years. Although I did not spend every day with the late Crown Prince during that time, I still have some understanding of the two young princes' personalities. Even the princess back then was definitely not the same person you are now."
He paused. "I've observed you for a long time and realized that although you don't seem to be the princess, you have no intention of harming the country, which is why I've tolerated you until now. But now, you've acted like this... Tell me, how should I treat you?"
Xiao Qing blinked, realizing that she might have overplayed her hand.
According to Fu Mingyi, he realized that he was an imposter.
However, Fu Mingyi's way of thinking is clearly different from hers.
She was concerned about her own safety and fate, while Fu Mingyi was concerned about how much value she still had, even if her identity was questionable.
What's frustrating is that what he's saying now makes her feel that if she hadn't repeatedly confronted Fu Mingyi directly—whether it was trying to get him to agree not to be emperor or expressing her desire not to be emperor in front of the court officials—Fu Mingyi might have already predetermined their fates!
If she "obediently follows the rules," her fate might not be too tragic.
However, her attempt to communicate with Fu Mingyi in such a self-destructive manner has now thoroughly angered him, causing him to lose his tolerance and seek to expose her past misdeeds and take further action.
What will they do?
Xiao Qing's mind raced, and she felt utterly stupid.
"Grand Tutor, I don't understand what you're saying."
She instinctively objected, "Besides, I am originally a princess of the Great Xiao Dynasty. The Grand Tutor is probably overthinking it."
"Really? If so, then tell me, when His Highness was three years old, he once fell from a tree in the inner palace and injured his left or right foot?"
Xiao Qing's mind was racing.
Left foot?
Right foot or right foot?
Who the hell knows which foot he injured?
Moreover, is everything the Grand Tutor said true?
Is it possible that he didn't actually injure either foot?
Was the Grand Tutor trying to trick her into revealing information so that he could prove she was a fraud?
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