Chapter 61: Ambition for Power
Fu Heng had already prepared his troops for departure. When the treasure ship arrived in Minzhou, it only stayed for half a day before setting off with the army, heading straight for the capital region.
Since boarding the treasure ship, Meng Qingci had been thoroughly tormented by Fu Heng. Meng Qingci even thought that this old man was like a dog, never knowing fatigue. Because she was fed up with Fu Heng's incessant pestering, she originally wanted to stay in Minzhou and did not want to travel with the army. However, by the time she woke up after resting, two days had passed, and the treasure ship had long since sailed far away.
Meng Qingci naturally didn't give Fu Heng a friendly look, and said sarcastically, "You go to war, facing life and death, and you still won't let my son and me go? What? If we're forced to the front lines, do you want my son and me to commit suicide first?"
"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Fu Heng was so angry he was speechless, but his expression was resolute: "Don't worry, we will win this battle. Once we leave, we will never come back."
Upon hearing this, Meng Qingci smiled faintly: "Are you so confident?"
Fu Heng said meaningfully, "I also have to thank my wife for sending such a talented person as my junior brother to my side."
Upon hearing this, Meng Qingci showed no sign of guilt. She simply said softly, "Since he is a pillar of society, you should treat him well and not disappoint him."
Fu Heng gave a nonchalant sneer: "Fame and fortune, whatever he wants, I'll give him. I'm just afraid he doesn't care about those things, what he really wants is something I can't give him."
Meng Qingci sensed a hidden meaning in Fu Heng's words. She looked up at his expression but saw nothing unusual. She then realized she was overthinking things and nodded in agreement, "Perhaps." After all, Gu Yuchen was completely absorbed in his research, and staying here would indeed diminish his enjoyment. She didn't like it here either, but the two of them could never go back.
At this time, Meng Qingci was unaware that Fu Heng had personally and carefully examined all of her belongings in the Cen family home.
Even the things she hid in the secret compartment of the study were found by Fu Heng.
Hidden in the secret compartment was a small box containing a copy of a nautical chart, almost identical to the one tucked in his travelogue in his study, except for annotations on the details. Judging from the ink marks, it was drawn first and then added later. There were no particular painting techniques involved; the outlines alone showed considerable skill.
There was a stack of craft recipes, covered with many strange symbols that he couldn't decipher. Only one piece of paper clearly stated, "Refine iron to make steel, purity can reach..." which allowed him to guess about 70-80% of the recipe. He took this piece out separately, copied it down, and kept it.
As Fu Heng copied the prescriptions, his thin lips pursed slightly, and the corners of his lips pressed down. All of these prescriptions had one thing in common: the handwriting and brushstrokes on them were exactly the same as Gu Huaixu's current brushstrokes.
A single iron-refining formula could change the world's landscape, and even he was tempted to take three copies. One can imagine how important the other formulas must be. Yet, he casually gave all of these formulas to his wife. Who would believe there wasn't something going on between them?
Despite the surging bitterness in Fu Heng's chest, he retained a degree of clarity. He knew that if he went to confront Meng Qingci now, he would not only get nothing out of her, but would also gain nothing by going through her personal belongings without permission, and might even be falsely accused by her. Right now was the time to use Gu Huaixu, so even with a thousand doubts, he had no choice but to suppress them.
However, Fu Heng was not willing to pretend he didn't know. He could tolerate Meng Qingci's dislike for him now, but he absolutely could not bear that she had someone else in her heart. So he finally probed indirectly, "Madam seems to care a lot about my junior brother?"
Meng Qingci thought that she and Gu Huaixu could not remain strangers in the future. If they were to become too close, there would have to be a transition period. She said frankly, "He helped me a lot when he was in the Maritime Trade Office. Now that you have found me, you should know all of this."
A dark, sharp glint flashed in Fu Heng's narrow eyes, disappearing in an instant: "Is that all?"
"Otherwise what?" Meng Qingci stared directly at him with her clear, bright eyes: "Do we all have to be like you, complete hypocrites?"
"I only lost my composure in front of you. My wife, please forgive my infatuation and stop hating me." Seeing her cold face, Fu Heng felt guilty and smiled apologetically, not daring to delve any further. He put his arm around her slender shoulders and started the conversation: "I have found out in the past two years that you are actually the youngest daughter of Prince Meng who was lost many years ago. Do you still not remember things from your childhood?"
Meng Qingci assumed that Fu Heng's paranoia had relapsed. Seeing that Fu Heng wisely put aside his chaotic thoughts, she didn't make things difficult for him anymore, nor did she hide anything from him: "When I was born, after the massive hemorrhage, I remembered everything that happened when I was a child."
When Fu Heng heard her talk about her difficult childbirth, she pulled him into her arms. The thought of how difficult she was and how she almost died made his heart ache. He regretted his actions and felt that trying to use the child to keep her was a dirty trick. He murmured to himself, "It's all my fault. You should hate me."
Meng Qingci sneered and punched him in the chest: "Stop pretending. Selfishness is selfishness. What are you trying to hide? This isn't the first time you've done this."
To keep her, Fu Heng cut off her escape route and personally stifled her budding feelings for him. Later, he was still not satisfied, coveting her wholehearted love, and disregarded her wishes to impregnate her. To untie the incense, she would inevitably have to bear his child. His ultimate goal was simply to keep her completely by his side. In Meng Qingci's eyes, Fu Heng was simply incorrigible, a leopard can't change its spots, only knowing how to plunder for his own comfort.
Fu Heng felt a rare sense of shame, his ears turning red. He gripped her hand tightly and swore, "This is the only time! If I ever do it again, may I die a horrible death, and may I never see you again in my next life..."
Meng Qingci smiled slightly, her clear eyes meeting his deep gaze: "You said those words yourself. Write them down now, burn them in front of the Three Pure Ones, and ask the immortals to bear witness so that you will remember them well and not deny them in the future."
Fu Heng was extremely frustrated and could only plead in a low voice, "My life is in your hands, my wife. Please forgive me this time. I will never do it again. Let's not disturb the immortal's peace with such mundane matters."
Meng Qingci didn't press the matter further, but merely curled her lips slightly, her words laced with sarcasm: "You know what you've done is dirty and unspeakable? Fine, lest you offend the immortal's ears and eyes."
Seeing that she wasn't pressing the issue, Fu Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject: "Since Madam has remembered the past, why not go home? As far as I know, the Prince's Mansion has never given up searching for you all these years. After you disappeared, the Prince's Mansion even sent messages to all parties, stating that if anyone could find Madam, the Meng Prince's Mansion would reward them handsomely."
"Go back? Let them 'lose' me again? Next time, it won't just be a matter of being sold; I'm afraid I might even lose my life for no reason!" Meng Qingci glanced at him sideways and said sarcastically, "You solved the case in less than two years, so why do you think the mighty Meng Prince's Mansion has been investigating for more than ten years without any clue? Besides, even if I had been lost back then, in Shu, Prince Meng is the local emperor. If he really wanted to find me, he could dig three feet into the ground, wouldn't that be easy? But he hasn't been able to find me for more than ten years. Do you think that's why?"
Upon hearing Meng Qingci's words, Fu Heng frowned slightly, puzzled, and asked, "But I've heard that when you were young, Prince Meng doted on you greatly, often taking you under his wing to personally teach you. If that's the case... why go to such lengths?"
“He does love me.” Meng Qingci nodded. “But he cherishes his wife even more. He’s a rare romantic. You probably don’t know, but Princess Meng is an absolute brother-supporting demon.”
Fu Heng raised an eyebrow: "What is a 'brother-supporting demon'? Isn't your uncle human?"
“Not at all.” Seeing his serious expression, Meng Qingci suddenly found it amusing, her eyes flashing with a hint of mockery: “The so-called ‘brother-supporting demon’ is a woman who is willing to give everything for her brother, even if she is devoured to the bone. Sacrificing a daughter is naturally even less of a concern.”
After Meng Qingci disappeared, all the maids and servants who served her suffered the same fate. Some were beaten to death, while others were dragged to the mines to perform hard labor. Within a few years, almost none of them survived. Fu Heng went through many twists and turns before finding one of the maids who had managed to escape and was now living in anonymity.
According to the maid, she went out to serve the young master that day. When the young master went missing, they were all ordered to be reassigned to other tasks. After the young master went missing, Prince Meng was furious and ordered all the servants who went out that day to be beaten to death. The maid was beaten and then dragged to a mass grave. Later, she was found to still be breathing and was saved.
Fu Heng finally found the maid and, after repeated questioning, confirmed Meng Qingci's identity. He also learned that the incident happened when Meng Qingci was out with Shen Yunxi. What's even more suspicious is that after this incident, all the servants who accompanied Shen Yunxi that day either mysteriously "died" or were sold off far away, never to be found again.
Fu Heng had a feeling that something was amiss, and after much effort, he found one or two servants who had accompanied Shen Yunxi on her trips years ago and interrogated them rigorously.
Only then did they learn that Shen Yunxi had deliberately sent Meng Qingci's servants away, attacked her from behind when she was off guard, and then abandoned her in a deserted alley.
Fu Heng had the steward of the old mansion find the trafficker who sold Meng Qingci that year, tracing the trail all the way to Sichuan. The trafficker from Sichuan confessed that he saw the girl with a head injury and disoriented, being brought to be sold by a fat woman. He thought the child's injuries were serious and she might not survive, but he was attracted by her pretty face and wanted to take a gamble, so he bought her at a low price, and therefore remembered it very clearly.
Meng Qingci heard that Fu Heng's account was almost identical to the truth, and a mocking smile appeared on the corner of his lips, but his voice was calm and unwavering: "Until I was sold into the Marquis of Anyi's mansion, apart from the loss of my identity token, I was still wearing the clothes I wore when I left home. Tell me, why did the Meng royal family search for me for more than ten years but still couldn't find any trace of me?"
Fu Heng unconsciously clenched his fist, his anger rising instantly. He knew better than her how powerful the aristocratic families controlled the local forces, especially Prince Meng, who ruled the entire Shu region and was the king of Shu. In Shu, there were probably people who didn't know the emperor, but they would also recognize Prince Meng.
She was dressed in extremely rich clothes back then, yet she was able to be sold all the way from Shu to Minzhou without any hindrance. It must be because someone didn't want her to be found. Who was this person? Could they stand up to Prince Meng?
It's hard to imagine what she suffered back then. She was a princess of the royal family, showered with love and affection, yet she was betrayed and harmed by her closest relatives. If she hadn't lost her memory, she would probably have been heartbroken and desperate at such a young age.
Meng Qingci's gaze was cold as she continued, "I suspect that my good mother, Princess Meng, is behind all this. After all, all the servants around me are people she arranged. It would be easy for her to find out the truth. But she was afraid that Prince Meng would hold the Shen family accountable if he found out, and she didn't want her family to lose face, so she suppressed the matter. Seeing her inaction, the Shen family naturally became even more unscrupulous. After all, as long as they get rid of me, the real princess, they can easily send Shen Yunxi into the Meng Prince's mansion, substituting her for me."
"Absurd, utterly absurd." Fu Heng's voice was low and filled with barely suppressed anger. It was common for a son of a concubine to replace a son of the legitimate wife, but to so blatantly replace a daughter of the legitimate wife with a cousin was truly ridiculous.
Meng Qingci sneered, "Whether it's absurd or not is another matter. Has the Shen family's plan succeeded? Over the years, Princess Meng has not only kept her by her side but also promoted her in public. Everyone knows that Princess Meng is ill with longing for her daughter, and it is thanks to her niece's filial piety that she has some relief. They also say that she is intelligent and talented, very much like her own daughter. For the sake of his wife's 'heartache,' Prince Meng could only go along with her, which is why Shen Yunxi completely replaced me, his own daughter. The Meng family even considered betrothing her to you to form a marriage alliance. You know this better than anyone else."
Although Fu Heng had already guessed some of the inside story, he still couldn't help but sigh when he heard Meng Qingci tell it from her own mouth. Everyone said that Prince Meng was a cunning and shrewd fox, but who would have thought that he would be so confused because of his wife?
If Prince Meng had been kept in the dark from the beginning, he would have figured it out long ago after ten years. He also thought: No wonder Prince Meng pretended not to hear when he wrote to explain the whole story. Even tigers don't eat their cubs. This couple, one muddle-headed and protective, the other cold-hearted and indulgent, is truly beyond comment.
The image of his father-in-law, who doted on his young daughter, had now quietly shattered and could no longer be pieced back together.
Fu Heng knew that although Meng Qingci was not narrow-minded, she was by no means the kind of person who would repay evil with kindness. How could he miss such a good opportunity to curry favor? So he asked, "The way they treated you is enough to make them deserve to die in my eyes. How does my wife want to deal with them? I will decide for you."
Meng Qingci had known him for a while and was well aware of his intentions. She sighed and said, "For now, let's focus on the bigger picture and not worry about them."
Meng Qingci had no idea that Fu Heng, while saying he cared for her, would act so cruelly at night. He first said he was afraid she would be saddened by the past, so he brought her a pot of sweet wine and tricked her into drinking the whole pot. Unexpectedly, the sweet wine, though it tasted like little alcohol, had a very strong aftereffect.
Meng Qingci was so dizzy that she couldn't even lift her eyelids. She only knew that she was in Fu Heng's arms. Her mind was spinning, and she didn't know what day it was. She felt like a small boat adrift on a vast sea, being battered and crashed by the waves.
When she came to her senses, she realized that her wrists had been tied to the carved bedposts with a belt by that scoundrel Fu Heng, and she was kneeling in a shameful position, with the dark patterns on the curtains in front of her.
Meng Qingci was already very drunk, her mind was hazy, and the candlelight flickered through the green gauze curtains in front of her. She had a terrible headache and just wanted to sleep for a while.
But Fu Heng, that bastard, wouldn't let her go. She knew he'd become suspicious again during the day and wouldn't give up easily. Sure enough, he always found a way to get his revenge on her.
Meng Qingci gritted her teeth, finally fed up with Fu Heng's insatiable greed, and wanted to say something back to him, but then she heard Fu Heng's hoarse voice: "Qingci, you know you like me too, have you forgiven me? I know I was wrong, don't leave me again."
He seemed to be pleading, or perhaps lamenting, a stark contrast to his usual cold and aloof demeanor. Meng Qingci wanted to turn her head to look at him, but Fu Heng refused no matter what.
Ever since Fu Heng found her, he would always say similar things in bed. Meng Qingci had become numb to it and didn't want him to become even more suspicious and crazy by making excuses. She wanted to just brush him off and get it over with quickly.
She felt as if her heart was being gripped, and something seemed to explode in her previously dazed mind. It was only for a moment, leaving her feeling incredibly empty inside, yet she couldn't grasp even a trace of it. At that moment, she really wanted to become a bell-ringer.
Just as she was lost in thought, she heard Fu Heng's slightly unsteady breathing and his voice, sometimes clear and sometimes faint: "Qingci, do you already have someone in your heart? Who is it?"
Meng Qingci's waist went limp, and she stiffened and resisted for a moment. Fu Heng's slender eyes deepened, his pupils as black as an abyss, and his thin lips pressed tightly together.
Her beautiful back was as smooth as silk and as supple as grease, making Fu Heng want to drown in her gentle embrace. But the thought that she still had someone else in her heart made his eyes turn bloodshot, and he wanted to kill her.
Fu Heng held his breath, suppressing his sinister and violent emotions, and remained silent. He simply repeated the process once more, and Meng Qingci felt as if she had fallen from the clouds into the mud, finding it unbearable.
Fu Heng remained unhurried and indifferent. Only after this happened several times, and seeing Meng Qingci crying and begging for mercy, did he ask again, "Who is that person?"
Meng Qingci gripped the carved bedposts tightly with both hands, biting her lower lip, her anger rising: "You already know, why are you still asking?"
Meng Qingci gasped for breath, thinking to herself: "He's so jealous, I might as well kill him. That scoundrel can't change his ways, he's so despicable."
Fu Heng was breathing heavily, trying to maintain a sliver of clarity so as not to lose his strength and hurt her, but he was almost driven mad with jealousy: "Who exactly are you? He is definitely not Gu Huaixu!"
Meng Qingci hated him for humiliating her. Unable to break free, she roared in humiliation, "Fu Heng, you will die from your paranoia sooner or later. Go to hell, go to hell!"
"With you by my side, I wouldn't want to die." Fu Heng gently stroked the back of her neck, and when their emotions were running high, he chuckled softly, "Qingci, it's alright if you don't say anything. Guess how many of my good junior brothers could withstand such torture?"
Meng Qingci shuddered, and almost instantly burst into tears. Although she no longer loved Gu Yuchen, her brotherly affection for him had not diminished in the slightest; otherwise, she would not have forgiven him so easily. She knew Fu Heng was not joking. She hiccuped, her whole body turned ice-cold, and finally, her delicate body went limp.
"I'm lying to you, I'm lying to you, please don't hurt him, he is... he is my brother." Meng Qingci closed her eyes. She knew that she was no match for Fu Heng in terms of ruthlessness. If Fu Heng was still angry and did something to Gu Yuchen without her knowledge, it would be too late to regret it then.
Meng Qingci's voice was cold and harsh, revealing a rare ruthlessness in his bones: "Fu Heng, if you hurt him, I will hurt myself. Don't think I wouldn't dare to kill myself."
The last time Fu Heng saw her like this was when she was drugged and, in despair, grabbed a knife and stabbed Fu Hongxuan with a crazed expression.
After the treasure ship arrived in Minzhou, Fu Heng summoned Master Xuanming of Qingyun Temple and showed him the transcribed formula for smelting refined iron.
Xuanming examined it for a long time, and although he couldn't understand it either, he told Fu Heng a strange story from hundreds of years ago, which was the story of the only founding empress in history to have two emperors ruling simultaneously.
Legend has it that the founding empress was an unparalleled and rare genius, who not only helped her husband establish his dynasty and set a precedent for "two emperors ruling simultaneously," but also, when her husband broke his vows and took a concubine, she decisively deposed the emperor and became the first female emperor in Chinese history. During her reign, she strongly advocated for women to study and enter officialdom, and at one point abolished the corrupt practices of brothels, ushering in a golden age of prosperity.
Her civil and military achievements were unmatched by later emperors. However, her glorious legend was deliberately erased by later historians, relegated to unofficial histories and forgotten history, her reputation as a hen crowing at dawn was tarnished.
“I once found a fragment of a scroll in the temple, which contained a passage written by this empress. It was very different from what ordinary people wrote, but it bore a slight resemblance to the prescription in the book, my lord.”
Xuanming stroked his beard and said, "Let this humble Taoist perform a divination."
He then took out several copper coins that looked quite old and began to fiddle with them. Before long, he excitedly slapped his thigh and exclaimed with joy, "These are treasures from beyond the mundane world, from a land beyond the mundane world, yet they can help my lord achieve a prosperous dynasty!"
Fu Heng asked again what the place of release was, but Xuan Ming knew it was against the will of Heaven and refused to say more. He only warned Fu Heng with a prophecy: When the mind is divided, inner demons are born; when Yin and Yang are broken, fate will turn against you.
Fu Heng knew from the fact that Meng Qingci had been able to remain anonymous in the Marquis of Anyi's mansion for more than ten years that, given Meng Qingci's mindset, she would not easily reveal her secrets. That's why he thought of pushing her when she was in a vulnerable state of mind, but he did not expect her to protect Gu Yuchen so much.
Seeing Meng Qingci's condition, Fu Heng absolutely did not believe that the two were siblings, but he dared not press her any further. He untied the belt on her wrist, wanting to hug her and comfort her.
Unexpectedly, Meng Qingci suddenly shoved him away. Caught off guard, Fu Heng stumbled and fell backward onto the bed. Before he could even get up, he saw her, disregarding her barely clothed state, grab the silver candlestick from the bedside, pull out the candle, and point the gleaming, sharp handle at his heart, suddenly thrusting it forward.
Fu Heng swiftly grabbed Meng Qingci's wrist, but the passing blade still managed to cut a gash on his arm, causing blood to gush out immediately. Fu Heng, however, paid no heed and subdued Meng Qingci, pinning him down.
He used a clever trick to snatch the candlestick and flung it off the bed, where it landed deep in the doorpost, demonstrating the immense strength he possessed.
Both of them had bloodshot eyes, remained silent, their breaths audible, and faced each other in silence. Fu Heng's blood-stained hand touched Meng Qingci's cheek, and Meng Qingci turned her face away in disgust.
His thin lips were tightly pursed, his lean and powerful waist was like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, determined to conquer. His long, narrow black eyes stared intently at Meng Qingci, as if he were some kind of ferocious and terrifying monster, each time with increasing force.
The beauty's hair was disheveled, her black hair spread out, her delicate eyebrows were furrowed, and her stubborn red lips were bitten tightly by her pearly teeth, staining them with a bright red color, refusing to show the slightest weakness, as if she was determined to prove herself.
The blood from Fu Heng's arm flowed down her neck, staining her snow-white, delicate skin. He was also determined to be intertwined with her, as if he wanted to be inseparable from her, and he was determined to be entangled with her to the death.
Meng Qingci didn't know how much time had passed, so long that she was almost unable to hold on and wanted to faint, before he finally took pity on her and let her go.
He held her hand down, still imposing and threatening without any attempt to hide it: "You actually want to kill me, but I can't bear to hurt you. However, I'd rather be a romantic ghost. I just don't know if you'd be willing."
Fu Heng outwardly maintained a tough exterior, but inwardly he felt endless bitterness. He had thought she was indifferent to everyone, that she didn't care about him, and he could comfort himself with that. But he never expected her to risk her life for Gu Huaixu. Why? Because they came from the same place? Or because she had feelings for him?
When did it begin? That day at the residence of the Grand Princess of Le'an, Meng Qingci preferred to believe herself and did not go out to meet Gu Huaixu. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Fu Heng, and he remembered that after he left the capital, Gu Huaixu seemed to have been ill and then transferred to the Ministry of Rites.
Fu Heng smiled bitterly to himself: He seemed to have messed up again. But this time, no matter how angry she was, no matter how she punished him, he couldn't escape. He thought she had prepared a 'golden cage' to support him with the resources of the world. How could he not see her ambition for power?
Meanwhile, the governors of Datong Prefecture, Shandong Prefecture, and Henan Prefecture jointly declared themselves kings and attacked the capital. However, just over a month later, the newly enthroned Crown Prince had not yet secured his throne when the imperial city was breached, and his head was used as a sacrifice to the flag.
The three parties, unable to divide the spoils evenly, all harbored treacherous schemes to become emperors. They lingered in the capital for two months, wreaking havoc within the imperial city. The people in the city suffered greatly, living in constant fear, yet unable to leave the city.
Just then, Fu Heng's army, under the cover of Fu Chenghuai, approached the city in the dead of night, coordinating with the Fu family's assassins left inside the city to reap the benefits of the situation.
When the city wall was blown up, a series of deafening sounds rang out. The incredibly sturdy city wall was breached, with a hole more than ten feet high. Flames shot into the sky, and the sounds of fighting pierced the dark night.
Besides Fu Heng's army, the soldiers defending the cities of Datong, Shandong, and Henan were terrified. Many of the soldiers panicked and fled in disarray, shouting cries of divine punishment. In their panic, they fell from the city walls, their thuds drowned out by the cries of horns, completely lost in the smoke of battle.
The guards on the city wall snapped back to reality amidst the shouts. Just as they were beginning to calm their shattered courage, a series of deafening roars erupted from the direction of the imperial city, so loud they seemed capable of shaking the earth.
The city wall beneath the guards' feet seemed to tremble. Some who couldn't hold on immediately collapsed to the ground, their legs giving way. A foul stench wafted out, and they abandoned their armor and scrambled down the city wall, crying and begging for help.
The unrest spread like ripples, once again disrupting the morale of the guards on the city wall. Their morale collapsed instantly and they could not be regrouped.
Fu Heng already controlled the three prefectures of Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, giving him an advantage in both manpower and financial resources. With the help of powerful weapons like gunpowder, he launched a night attack that routed the other prefecture armies. He stormed the capital city overnight, and the governors of the three prefectures, who had declared themselves kings, were rendered powerless by Fu Heng's weapons and surrendered without any thought of resistance.
Overnight, the capital city and its surroundings were reduced to ruins. Everywhere one looked, there were broken walls and corpses strewn across the land. The people were terrified, and every household kept their doors shut. The streets and alleys of the capital were a scene of utter devastation.
The eldest prince murdered the emperor and usurped the throne. To consolidate his power, he first slaughtered all the loyal ministers of the late emperor and the crown prince. Because he did not have an edict of succession and his accession was illegitimate, the old-fashioned officials felt that he was not worthy of the throne, so he slaughtered another group of them.
Before they could catch their breath, the three rebel princes stormed the capital and killed the eldest prince. In the ensuing power struggle, in order to eliminate their rivals, they slaughtered a number of officials in the capital within two months.
The officials who had survived the ordeal saw Fu Heng as if he were their savior. Without Fu Heng uttering a single word, they knelt and begged him to ascend the throne quickly and bring peace to the land.
What a joke! The emperor's direct line is now extinct. Is this Fujian and Guangdong governor, who holds a large army, really so kind-hearted as to travel thousands of miles to the capital to clean up the mess? Or is he some kind-hearted philanthropist willing to do the work for some collateral branch of the royal family during the Zhaode era?
That deafening roar that night nearly deafened these pampered officials in the capital. Leaving aside the imperial city walls, even the thick walls of the capital itself sent shivers down the spines of those who went to investigate, their hearts pounding with fear. What terrifying weapon could possibly breach such a thick wall? To punch a hole in it in an instant—it was unthinkable!
To save their lives and secure their futures, all the officials in the court, recognizing the opportune moment, hailed Fu Heng as the "true dragon emperor who obeys the mandate of heaven" and a living bodhisattva who saves the people from suffering. Some shrewd individuals even composed catchy folk songs praising Fu Heng's great achievements and circulated them among the common people.
They wished Fu Heng would immediately ascend the throne and end the bloodshed and turmoil of the past few months.
Meng Qingci had no interest in the bloody siege. For three days, she stayed on the treasure ship with her young son until the city was cleared up. Only then did Fu Heng personally board the ship and welcome the mother and son into the palace.
Since that night, no matter how much Fu Heng humbled himself and apologized, Meng Qingci never gave him a kind look.
Even though Fu Heng repeatedly assured him that he would not harm Gu Huaixu in the slightest, Meng Qingci remained indifferent to him and forbade him from coming to her bed at night, leaving no room for negotiation.
Fu Heng had no choice but to endure it and dared not push her any further. However, he was naturally suspicious, and the more Meng Qingci treated him coldly because of this matter, the more his suspicion of Gu Huaixu grew like weeds, gnawing at his mind day and night. He was truly tormented, tossing and turning, unable to sleep at night.
After much agonizing, he steeled himself and came up with another absurd, lewd idea. That day, he summoned Gu Huaixu to the Imperial Garden for a meeting.
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Author's Note: Fu Heng: My wife can only love me.
Meng Qingci: If you can't live a good life, then you're just asking for trouble.
Author's note: To clarify, the female lead didn't compromise for the sake of the child. Chapter 59 describes the beginning and end of their relationship. Although it was a case of forceful acquisition and the presence of incense, the female lead did develop feelings for the male lead emotionally, albeit briefly. Therefore, compared to the male supporting characters, the female lead harbors more resentment towards the male lead. After all, none of the male supporting characters had any physical or emotional connection with the female lead. However, the male lead's self-destructive tendencies are beyond redemption.
Although the intervals between updates are long, I'm sure I have enough words per week on the charts.
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