Chapter 243 Chapter 243 Winning Over
Mo Yuchan breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but look around. The maids were waiting under the shade of the trees outside the pavilion, and there were not many people nearby, so she felt a little more at ease.
She knew that the fertility pill was a gift from a saint and should not be spoken of lightly.
Moreover, people in the world have great trust in the fertility elixir, and they all think that taking this elixir can make people have sons, which makes people very eager. If they heard her say this, they would definitely punish her for disrespect.
Mo Yuchan bit her lip and whispered, "Li Niang, I heard that everyone who came here today wanted to ask you about the fertility pill. You...be careful."
Today is Concubine Rui's birthday, and she came here with her mother-in-law, Lady Zhongyong.
When she went to pay a visit to Concubine Rui before, she heard many people discussing the matter of the fertility elixir. They said that the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo was coming today and wanted to ask her for advice.
Mo Yuchan couldn't help but feel anxious when she heard this.
Since she married into the Duke of Zhongyong's mansion, as the eldest son's wife, her mother-in-law respected her and her husband also treated her very well.
However, she knew in her heart that the reason her mother-in-law respected her so much was mainly because of her good relationship with Yu Li, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo. She was extremely grateful to Yu Li in her heart.
Putting all this aside, Yu Li is her friend and saved her life, so she hopes Yu Li is doing well.
When she learned that the saint had actually rewarded Yu Li with the elixir of fertility, she became extremely worried.
The fertility pill is a scam. No one knows what is mixed in it. What if it damages your body? Just like the saint in the palace, his face is terribly old, and you can tell at a glance that it is caused by taking pills.
So when she came to Prince Rui's Mansion today, she hurried to find Yu Li and asked her not to take the fertility pill.
Yu Li nodded, "I know. Just now in the flower hall, they asked me all kinds of questions. I was annoyed, so I came out for a walk."
The fertility pill was a scam, and she didn't want to say anything to those people.
But this thing was a reward from the old emperor, so she couldn't tell the truth. She had no choice but to avoid it.
Mo Yuchan smiled and said cheerfully, "I just arrived too. I heard you were here, so I came to find you." Then she lowered her voice, "Actually, when I was a child, I heard my grandfather say that many great and talented emperors in the past dynasties died suddenly after taking elixirs. He used to worry about the saints..."
She was still young at that time, and she remembered her grandfather's words deeply in her heart. She always remembered that elixirs were harmful to people. It was okay for the saint to take the elixirs himself, but he could not give them to Li Niang, as it would harm her.
I see!
Yu Li finally understood why she said that just now. It seemed that there were indeed a lot of people who didn't believe in elixirs.
Thinking back to what Fu Wenxiao had said, she had some understanding in her heart. She was afraid that some loyal ministers had advised the old emperor not to take the elixir in the past, but unfortunately the old emperor did not listen and did not like to hear it. Later, gradually no one mentioned it anymore, and some even watched the old emperor commit suicide with cold eyes.
The two sat here for a while, and when the time was about right, they returned to the flower hall.
There were more people in the flower hall, including several princes' wives, as well as some princesses from royal families, all of whom had high status.
Yu Li was not familiar with these princes' wives, and Fu Wenxiao had a bad relationship with the princes, so the princes' wives probably didn't want to associate with her and never sent her any invitations.
When meeting those princes' wives, it's enough to just appear presentable.
But she didn't expect that several princes' wives were quite enthusiastic towards her. They pulled her aside to talk. After listening to them asking about the fertility pill in both open and covert ways, Yu Li finally understood.
Yu Li naturally said nothing. If they asked again, she would say that she had just taken the fertility pill not long ago and knew nothing now.
The princes and princesses were disappointed.
Before they came, the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince had told them that when they met the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, they must find out about the fertility pill. However, they never expected that the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo was a tight-lipped person and didn't say anything.
Just when Yu Li was getting impatient, the banquet finally began.
After the banquet, the group moved to a garden to watch a play.
It was not until late in the evening that the guests left one by one.
Yu Li went to the front yard to look for Fu Wenxiao and found that not only Fu Wenxiao was there, but also the third prince, the sixth prince, the seventh prince, and Xuan Huaiqing.
The third prince and the sixth prince were talking to Xuan Huaiqing, while the seventh prince was holding a fan, as silent as ever.
Fu Wenxiao felt very bored when he saw the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince taking the opportunity to win over Xuan Huaiqing. When he saw Yu Li coming, he left with her.
Seeing this, the Seventh Prince also followed.
Xuan Huaiqing, who was being wooed by the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince, was very impatient, but he had to cheer himself up to deal with it. Seeing Fu Wenxiao leave like that, he was very envious, and he also had the urge to leave immediately regardless of the Third Prince and the Sixth Prince.
After being away from Beijing for many years, he has become accustomed to the freedom of the south, and the capital has become extremely unfamiliar.
Yu Li turned his head and took a look, and found that although Xuan Huaiqing had a smile on his face, the smile did not reach his eyes.
There is still an unrefined enthusiasm in the character of this young General Xuan. The capital city is out of tune with him, so he probably won't stay there for long.
After returning home, Yu Li sighed, "I didn't expect that Xuan Huaiqing has been back in Beijing for several days. If I hadn't seen him today, I really wouldn't have known that he had returned to Beijing."
Fu Wenxiao said: "He came to the capital under a secret decree. Before that, not many people knew that he had returned to the capital."
"According to a secret order?" Yu Li was stunned. "Didn't he come back to see the old lady in the general's mansion because she was sick?"
Fu Wenxiao shook his head and said, "Not only that, he brought back 3,000 troops from the Zhennan Army when he came to Beijing this time and stationed them outside the capital."
Yu Li didn't know what to say for a moment.
Even though she was not good at any conspiracy or intrigue, she could still sense something from Xuan Huaiqing's return to the capital.
Who is the old emperor guarding against?
Seeing her frowning and thinking hard, Fu Wenxiao pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then said with a smile, "The Saint just feels that he has been unwell recently and wants some protection."
Yu Li suddenly realized, is the old emperor afraid of death?
He did not trust his son, nor did he trust the court officials, and even did not trust the nephew he had once raised.
She looked at him, "If the old emperor doesn't trust you..."
She had heard before that the old emperor trusted his nephew the most and even gave him great power so that he could suppress the princes and court officials.
In fact, the power in Fu Wenxiao's hands was nothing. The old emperor could take it back at any time. It was the most insecure thing. In the final analysis, Fu Wenxiao used to rely more on the old emperor.
Even now, it feels like the old emperor can abandon him at any time if he wants.
However, is this really the case?
Fu Wenxiao smiled and said, "Are you worried about me, Ali?"
"Of course!" Yu Li thought he was asking nonsense, "What if I poison you again someday?"
She felt that she should keep a close eye on him in the future. Even if he was poisoned, she could rush over to save his life to prevent him from being poisoned to death.
Fu Wenxiao was choked.
He defended himself, "I will not make the same mistake again, and my mother is well now, she will return to the court soon."
"When?" Yu Li asked curiously.
Although the mother and son never avoided her when discussing things, she was indeed not good at those political games, and she was always confused and had no idea what was going on.
It was not until I accidentally heard that a minister had been dismissed or an official had been banished from the capital that I realized what was going on.
The court has not been stable in the past few months. Even those who don't pay much attention can hear that many ministers in the court have been replaced in the past six months.
The court is in great chaos now, with all parties competing with each other, one after another, and it's a dizzying sight.
The third prince and the sixth prince fought very fiercely. Not only did they fight each other, they also had to fight the suspicious emperor.
Of course, no matter how chaotic the court is, it has nothing to do with Yu Li and will not affect her.
It was when she occasionally heard some news from outside that she suddenly realized that the princess and Fu Wenxiao were discussing this matter at the time, and it turned out that the princess was the one who had secretly done the work of bringing down those ministers.
She filled the vacant positions with her own people, and even the old emperor and the third prince didn't know who Princess Yuan'an's people were.
The current situation is that the old emperor, the third prince and others are in the open, while Princess Yuanan is in the dark.
Everyone thought that she didn't have much time left and could only wait for death. No one took the emperor's legitimate daughter seriously. Little did they know that she was secretly planning and accumulating resources, slowly placing her own people in power and regaining control of the court.
She was lying in wait, waiting for the opportunity to return to the court in an open and aboveboard manner.
Fu Wenxiao looked at her with a smile and said, "It will be very quick."
Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Yu Li didn't ask any more questions, "Okay, be careful. If you feel unwell, be sure to tell me."
She had to be on guard against someone poisoning him.
He responded with a smile, his arms around her waist, his chin gently resting on her shoulder. It was a rare moment when he let himself go and thought about nothing, feeling peaceful in his heart.
**
A few days later, Yu Li heard that the old emperor summoned Xuan Huaiqing into the palace and asked him to lead the palace guards and become a guard by his side.
This means that they have no intention of sending Xuan Huaiqing back to the South.
Yu Li finally confirmed that the old emperor really no longer trusted Fu Wenxiao and was even wary of him.
Chu Shaoyu came over during his break and also muttered to her: "Now people outside say that the saint does not trust cousin Fu. Cousin Fu is in an awkward situation. He has done many things that offend people and was impeached. He will definitely not have a good ending in the future..."
Speaking of this, he became a little worried, fearing that Fu Wenxiao would not have a good end.
How could the old emperor do this? He made people do so many things that offended others, but he didn't protect them. It was as if he was treating people as grindstones, and he didn't know what knife he was sharpening.
Yu Li said: "It's okay, I'm here."
If anyone dares to attack him, don't blame her for beating him up and demolishing his house.
Chu Shaoyu looked at her in amazement. Beating someone was one thing, but what did it mean to destroy the house?
But when Fu Wenxiao heard this, he couldn't help but put his fist to his lips and smiled, saying, "Well, I believe in A-Li." He smiled and said to Chu Shaoyu, "Brother Yu, don't worry. I'll be fine with Li Niang protecting me."
Chu Shaoyu was suddenly fed a mouthful of dog food and almost choked.
Later, he thought about it and felt that Yu Li's words might really demolish other people's homes. Just imagine that if the Third Prince attacked Fu Wenxiao one day, she would beat the Third Prince in anger and demolish the Third Prince's mansion...
The more I think about it, the happier I become. It’s as if suddenly I don’t have to worry anymore.
If it was someone else, Chu Shaoyu felt that the other party must be bragging. No matter how powerful a person is, can he fight against the imperial power? Can he fight against the imperial court's troops?
However, if he became Yu Li, he would have a blind trust.
He even felt that even if he had an army of thousands, they would still not be enough in front of her.
She is a talented person who can smash ships with her bare hands and even scare wild beasts. Even if thousands of troops come, they will kneel down before her and be defeated.
-
Chu Shaoyu came over with a sad face and left happily.
When he returned to the palace, King Rui saw him with a silly smile on his face, which made him feel uncomfortable. He asked threateningly, "Where did you go to fool around again?"
"I'm going to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to look for my cousin Fu." Chu Shaoyu snorted, "Father, can you please not look so sullen every time you see me, as if I owe you something! I'm now an official appointed by the court, and I even made a great contribution last month by destroying a human trafficker. I'm pretty impressive."
He is no longer the playboy he used to be, and is working seriously for the court and the people.
Prince Rui's face froze. Isn't this something he's used to?
Every time I see this eldest son coming back from outside, I have the illusion that he is fooling around again, and I can't help but want to scold him.
However, a father will not easily admit his mistakes in front of his children.
Prince Rui asked, "Why did you go to Fu Xiao again? Fu Xiao is in an awkward situation right now. Everyone wants to stay away from him, but you go to him. Are you afraid that you are not conspicuous enough, or that your position as the Prince of Rui is not stable enough?"
Chu Shaoyu didn't care, "Aren't you here, father?"
What he was thinking was, even if the saint wanted to abandon Cousin Fu in the future, wouldn't he still have his cousin's wife? She would definitely not allow others to bully him.
After a trip to the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion, he is no longer worried about his cousin Fu.
"What kind of bullshit are you talking about?" King Rui said angrily, "Do you think your father can protect you in any way? What if one day...even I can't protect you, a fool!"
Although the old emperor trusted him, he knew very well that the old emperor did not trust his younger brother at all. If he made a wrong step one day, the old emperor could take back the power from him at any time.
Before Chu Shaoyu could get angry and hit someone, he pulled him aside and whispered, "Father, you also know... that he is unreliable, so you should find someone reliable."
It’s such a simple thing, why can’t father figure it out?
Prince Rui was already angry, and after being treated like this by the emperor, he was unable to react for a while.
Soon he scolded: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
He was a little anxious, and at the same time, he looked around and found that there were only the father and son here, and the servants were waiting outside. He finally breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was still beating violently.
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