Wanhua Tower
Emperor Huanyu looked at his son with a complicated expression. After a moment, he sighed, "There is no fairness in this world."
Seeing that Chen Huanli still looked confused, he smiled and changed the subject, "If you're bored, you can go play with the prince these days."
Chen Huanli was a man of great intelligence and understood immediately that the emperor had never given up on the crown prince. But why did he give the title "Huan" to Prince Huan? Wasn't this a clear message to the world that his preferred heir was Prince Huan?
He couldn't understand all the twists and turns, so he just remembered to wait until the teacher came back and tell her about it.
Fu Huaiying was wearing white clothes at the moment, walking at the front of the team, Wen Chuyan and Fu Liusong walked beside her. Wen Shuangye's eyes were temporarily blinded by crying, so she had to cover her eyes with white cloth and walked behind them with the support of Fu Tingyun.
Wen Chuyan's face was still a little pale at this moment. He turned to look at Fu Huaiying and said softly: "Huaiying...are you okay? Were you injured before? If you are tired, why don't you go back first?"
"Need not."
She was so happy that she couldn't wait to be tired. Looking at Fu Liusong and Wen Shuangye, she felt so relieved.
The funeral custom in Beijing is that the person of high status leads the way, with the coffin in the middle, and the others follow behind, with white cloth tied on their arms, crying all the way. However, most families hire people to cry at the funeral, and the Fu family is no exception.
The sound of suona and crying from behind reached his ears. Fu Huaiying frowned and wanted to ask them to speak more quietly.
Dahu suddenly appeared not far away. Fu Huaiying looked up and knew that she would not run over for no reason. After thinking for a moment, she immediately bent down slowly.
Wen Chuyan had been paying attention to her. Noticing that she looked a little off, he immediately asked, "What's wrong, Huaiying? Are you feeling unwell?"
Fu Huaiying raised her hand and grabbed his arm, then looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "Brother... I'm hurt. I got bumped a few days ago..."
Wen Chuyan frowned, "I'll take you back."
"No need, we can't be short of people here, I'll just ask Dahu to take me back."
"...Okay, I'll come see you later."
When Fu Huaiying walked out, the weakness on her face had disappeared. She walked forward and pulled Dahu back.
"What's wrong?"
Da Hu lowered his head and leaned close to her ear, "The young marquis handed me a letter saying that the Empress's brother and some of his friends were drinking at Wanhua Tower. Perhaps they were drunk, so they started talking about those old things in public, talking about Fuyao Pavilion and Master Qiao."
Fu Huaiying was also a little surprised for a moment, "Is he crazy?"
It's really a hopeless situation. The emperor wanted to train the prince and make him a qualified crown prince, but the prince was not up to the task, and neither was his mother's family.
She asked Lin Yan'an to pass on the news about the owner of Wanhua Tower to the prince because she saw that King Huan was difficult to deal with and wanted the prince to challenge him. However, the prince handed over another handle with his own hands.
This was the first time in Fu Huaiying's life that she realized what it meant to be a rotten tree that cannot be carved.
The incident of Fuyao Pavilion was the only thing that was worthy of criticism for the emperor in recent years, and it was also a source of worry for him. There were many rumors in the streets saying that his succession to the throne was not legitimate, and others avoided these words. But the prince's uncle forced himself to get close to him, because he was afraid that the prince could ascend to the throne.
Fu Huaiying held his forehead and said, "Forget it. This matter will be reported to King Huan in a couple of days. Even if the Crown Prince finds the problem with Wanhua Tower, it is still not serious enough compared to slandering the emperor."
"Girl, what about us?"
"We'll set off tomorrow and return to the palace to muddy the waters. Where's Lin Yan'an? Let him go back with us tomorrow."
"I'm going to tell the young marquis now."
"Hey," Fu Huaiying raised her hand and grabbed her belt, "You used to call me Master Yan An, why are you calling me Young Marquis now?"
Da Hu looked at her as if she was an idiot. "Of course it's because you are my master now."
Fu Huaiying couldn't control her smile, she just tilted her head slightly and looked at her with her chin, "Go ahead."
When the team came back from the mountain in the evening, Wen Chuyan immediately rushed to Fu Huaiying's yard. He walked to the door and raised his hand to knock on it.
"Enter."
Wen Chuyan pushed open the door. Fu Huaiying had changed out of her white dress and put on a crimson one. She seldom wore such brightly colored clothes. Wen Chuyan felt upset. He didn't know why his two sisters were fighting to the death, but he had no right to ask Huaiying to share his sadness.
"Brother."
Fu Huaiying nodded, too lazy to stand up to greet him.
Wen Chuyan sat down beside the couch and glanced at the military book in her hand. "Does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Why are you reading military books?"
"Yan An gave it to me, saying it was to entertain me when I was bored."
Wen Chuyan pinched his palms hard to control himself from asking too many questions and losing control.
"Brother has some too. I'll bring you some later."
Fu Huaiying shook her head. "No need. I'll leave tomorrow and return to the palace."
"So anxious? Huairou's funeral is still..."
He stopped talking halfway because he saw the coldness in Fu Huaiying's eyes.
"Brother, if His Majesty hadn't spoken, I wouldn't have come back for her funeral."
Putting the book down, she looked at Wen Chuyan's red eyes and continued, "Brother, I know you are sad, but I don't know how to comfort people. Besides, when you come to see me, you shouldn't bring your emotions towards others with you. You should know that I am the happiest person when Fu Huairou dies."
"……I……"
Wen Chuyan lowered his eyes, feeling powerless.
Fu Huaiying knew that her words were too harsh, so she raised her hand and held his. "I'm sorry, I said something harsh, but brother, you should understand me."
Wen Chuyan raised his head and subconsciously raised his hands to hug her, "You don't have to apologize, it's my fault. I said I would put you first, but I still came to see you with emotions. It's my fault."
Fu Huaiying did not break free from him, her eyes were a little dazed. When she was young, she was pushed into the water by Fu Huairou. She had a fever for three days and thought she was dying. When her brother came back from the border, the first thing he did was to soak her in an ice bucket and hold her to cool her down.
Wen Chuyan is a very gentle person. Fu Huairou has a vicious mind, and he will only think that he did not teach her well. She has no blood relationship with him, but he will protect her everywhere.
Fu Huaiying gently pushed him away and said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. It's been raining these past few days, so remember to bring an umbrella when you go out."
Wen Chuyan nodded, and when he saw that Fu Huaiying's eyes had softened a lot, he breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she was no longer angry.
Early the next morning, Lin Yan'an was already waiting for her at the gate of the mansion.
Ji Yuan followed Fu Huaiying out. When he saw him, he frowned and glanced at Fu Huaiying. Seeing that she didn't look surprised at all, he didn't say anything.
"Thank you for protecting me." Fu Huaiying smiled and took Lin Yan'an's hand to get into the carriage.
Ji Yuan stood aside and climbed onto the horse. "I can protect you by myself."
When Lin Yanan heard this, he immediately looked up and happened to meet Ji Yuan's cold eyes.
He sneered, another one trying to steal his girl. "I've already troubled the commander by sending Huaiying back. I'll treat you to a meal when you return to Beijing in a while."
Ji Yuan sneered, "No need."
Fu Huaiying smelled the smoke of war between the two and lifted the curtain. "Let's go?"
"good."
"good."
It was six days later that they returned to the palace.
As soon as Fu Huaiying got off the carriage, she saw a figure rushing out quickly. She subconsciously took two steps back. When the person came closer, she realized it was Chen Huanli.
"...Fourth Prince?"
"Teacher, you're back..."
Chen Huanli was unable to hold the baby in his arms, so he had to stand up straight and bow.
Ji Yuan looked at the Fourth Prince's visibly happy face and raised his eyebrows slightly, but Lin Yan'an was not surprised.
Fu Huaiying took his hand and walked forward, "Have you been reading well these days?"
Chen Huanli tried hard to hide his emotions so as to appear more calm, but when the teacher held his hand, he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips.
"Yes, I've been studying and practicing calligraphy during the past few days when the teacher was away. My father asked me about my homework a while ago and praised the teacher for his good teaching. He also said that the teacher's literary talent is even better than the top scholar."
Fu Huaiying paused, raised her eyes and found several vague gazes around her. She smiled, knowing that it was Chen Huanli who was helping her establish her authority.
"Your Majesty Liao Zan."
"But there are still some things I don't understand. Can you explain it to me?"
"Okay, let's go."
The palace is very large, and the lilies by the lake are in full bloom, filling the air with a fresh fragrance. It rained again last night, and the petals fell on the ground, making it look like a flowery path.
After entering the palace, Chen Huanli was relieved to see Dahu guarding outside and asked, "Teacher, does he prefer the crown prince?"
Fu Huaiying touched his head and said, "Even you noticed it? But the prince didn't notice it."
Chen Huanli nodded. "Teacher said before that as the crown prince, one must be able to stand firm and maintain one's position. But when I look at the prince, it seems... a few days ago, when Teacher was away, the Emperor told me to go and play with him when I was bored. Only then did I understand what he was thinking."
Fu Huaiying nodded, "If the Crown Prince can't stand up on his own, then no matter how many whetstones Your Majesty has, it will be useless."
"Last night, Prince Huan entered the Xusheng Palace. I don't know what he said, but the one above him was furious. Within half an incense stick of time, he summoned the Crown Prince. After Prince Huan came out, the commotion inside became even louder."
"What did you hear?"
Chen Huanli recalled, "...Hmm...I couldn't hear clearly. I only heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. It must have been the inkstone. Because when the prince came out, I saw blood on his forehead and his face looked very bad, but I don't know what happened specifically."
Fu Huaiying knew that the matter of Wanhua Tower had been reported to His Majesty.
"You don't know yet, it was the prince's uncle who made the reckless remarks about that past event in Wanhua Tower."
Chen Huanli lowered his eyes, tears seemed to be in his eyes. No one knew that old story better than him.
He raised his head, "Then the prince should be anxious now."
Fu Huaiying shook her head. "No, the one who's most anxious right now is King Huan."
Chen Huanli was puzzled. "Why? Talking nonsense about the emperor is a capital offense. Even if it wasn't the Crown Prince's instigation, he's still his uncle. If it's more serious, he could have been the one who ordered it."
"You're right, but the premise is, to put it more seriously, what if His Majesty suppresses it? You said that Prince Huan and the Crown Prince entered the palace one after another last night, and no one else was summoned afterwards. In other words, His Majesty doesn't intend to bring this matter to light, and he wants to let it slide."
Fu Huaiying took the tea handed to her by Chen Huanli, took a sip, and continued, "When Prince Huan finds out that even this kind of imperial concern can't shake the status of the Eastern Palace, he will realize that all his efforts over the years have been in vain."
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