Chapter 150 Nanhua
While Fu Mingyi and Xiao Qing were hurrying towards Yingzhou, several major events occurred in Nanhua.
The first thing came from the palace.
His Majesty caught a chill in the evening and fell ill in the morning. Physician He, along with another young physician, hurriedly entered the palace with their medicine chests. His Majesty then decided to rest quietly for a few days and not see any officials.
A thoughtful person, like Wang Xiang, was thinking: It's not surprising that His Majesty fell ill from the wind, but why did His Majesty have to be exposed to the cold wind, and how could he have been exposed to the cold wind?
Wang Xiang quickly learned that the day before His Majesty fell ill, the Grand Tutor had entered the palace alone, and then the two of them left the palace one after the other. When they returned, His Majesty was sullen and stayed indoors, and then... fell ill.
hehe.
Wang Xiang was secretly pleased, but still dared not be too optimistic.
Over the past three years, his relationship with Fu Mingyi has been ambiguous. Sometimes they cooperated and made progress together, and sometimes they competed openly and secretly. It was always changing, but they were always wary of each other.
Undeniably, he felt a secret thrill every time he heard that Fu Mingyi had displeased His Majesty, but what frustrated him was that these things never came to a conclusion—why was it always His Majesty who compromised?
Wang Xiang felt a mixture of envy, jealousy, and resentment, as well as indignation and worry.
He had observed Fu Mingyi's character and conduct quite a bit. Even setting aside their rivalry, he personally admired Fu Mingyi, but at the same time, he remained wary of him.
He wouldn't hesitate to trip him up if given the chance.
Although he failed each time, it did not dampen his enthusiasm.
He always believed that relationships between people could not remain constant indefinitely. Even if His Majesty trusted Fu Mingyi to such an extent today, His Majesty was still His Majesty, and Fu Mingyi was still Fu Mingyi.
He believed that as long as he kept working hard, he would find a way to separate His Majesty and Fu Mingyi.
See, she got sick from being so angry.
Wang Xiang patted the armrest and began to think about the events that had occurred recently.
The cause appears to be Jiang Tianba's arrest, but the conflict actually started a long time ago.
Young people's ideas are often naive, and sometimes they recklessly believe in ideals, which are actually unrealistic and impractical.
Although Fu Mingyi did not exhibit these characteristics of young people, those who admired him greatly occasionally showed their disapproval of tradition and authority. They believed they could change the entire Great Xiao Dynasty, as long as it underwent reforms.
How to change it? What should be changed?
Wang Xiang thought sarcastically, "How could the rules of our ancestors be changed so easily?"
Do they think they can just change the rules whenever they want? Do they think all the nobles and officials in the world are just sitting around doing nothing?
He also recalled a young man who wrote a political essay criticizing the current affairs, making outrageous claims that the Great Depression was burdened with heavy responsibilities because the country was supporting a large number of idle people and parasites, etc.
He even brought up the Northern Barbarian invasion three years ago, saying that the reason why the Northern Barbarians were able to advance unimpeded and sweep across the area north of the Xiao River, while the Great Xiao had no power to resist, was mainly due to the waste of national finances, which led to a low military strength, and so on.
That's utterly absurd.
In his opinion, such a hothead who spreads alarmist rumors should be arrested and given a good lesson, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to sentence him to prison.
However, Fu Mingyi protected this person, and in the end, His Majesty did not question him. When he was finally questioned, His Majesty even defended Fu Mingyi, saying things like, "Words of speech are like a great river; the more you try to block them, the stronger they become."
He only caught two words – cover-up.
I won't go into those details.
He said to Mr. Sun, "I wonder what this Mr. Fu is doing."
The news spread quickly, and the entire Fu residence was covered in white cloth. Fu Mingyi stayed indoors, saying he was observing mourning for his father.
Wang Xiang was startled.
I haven't heard of anyone passing away in the Fu family.
Or is it a member of the Fu family's main branch?
I haven't heard of that either.
"Have you found out who it is?"
The person who answered shook their head. "I haven't heard who it is, but logically, it should be someone close to me."
What does "close person" mean? How close?
Wang Xiang then sent someone to inquire again.
"Mr. Sun, His Majesty has fallen ill, and Fu Mingyi is observing mourning for his father, staying at home. Could there be something going on here?"
Wang Xiang suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Could it be related to His Majesty's illness?"
Mr. Sun stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and said, "It shouldn't matter."
Wang Xiang shook his head. "It's hard to say."
I have a feeling there's something going on here.
Before long, the person who went to gather information returned.
This time the information is a bit more detailed.
It is said that the Fu family's main branch sent people over a couple of days ago.
The moment they left, white banners were hung up at the Fu residence.
Wang Xiang was almost certain that someone from the Fu family's hometown had passed away.
That's a rather broad scope.
"Those who brought gifts were not allowed to enter. The steward of the Fu family personally escorted them back at the door and did not accept the gifts."
What do you mean?
"They said that although it was a time to mourn their deceased relative by whitewashing, it was inconvenient to accept gifts. This is a family matter of the Fu family, please understand."
Wang Xiang found this matter intriguing.
The matter pertains to the Fu family, and it is inconvenient to accept the gifts from a relative who has passed away…
It felt like a cat's claw was scratching at Wang Xiang's heart.
"Mr. Sun, do you think we should go to the Fu family's hometown to inquire about them?"
Mr. Sun thought for a moment and asked, "Did it say how long the mourning period should last?"
"They didn't say anything, but seeing the size of it at the entrance, it's like a very close relative."
Mr. Sun thought for a moment, then turned to Wang Xiang and said, "It's possible to inquire, but that would involve a lot of back-and-forth travel, and the news might not be timely."
Wang Xiang nodded, "There's no better way."
So the two discussed it and decided to send someone to the Fu family's hometown to inquire.
Wang Xiang thought about it carefully from all angles, but found no loopholes, so he gave up.
"Once His Majesty is feeling better, I will go to the palace to request an audience."
He got up, and then suddenly remembered something else.
"Is Prince Yan still the same as before?"
Mr. Sun found his question strange.
"I haven't heard of him doing anything particularly noteworthy lately."
Wang Xiang nodded, "That child is far more shrewd than His Majesty."
Mr. Sun stroked his beard and said, "It is truly a blessing for His Majesty to have the Prime Minister by his side."
Wang Xiang smiled and did not deny it.
Zhao Youchen strengthened the defenses of the palace.
To meet Fu Mingyi's unreasonable demand—that not even a single bird from outside the palace be allowed in—he wished he could hang his head on the wall all day long.
Thus, one was the ruler of a country, and the other was the imperial tutor and grand tutor, holding a position equivalent to the prime minister. The two of them left Nanhua City quietly and wandered far away.
This was Xiao Qing's first time traveling far from home, though it was out of necessity.
But it was this trip that truly changed Xiao Qing's mind.
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