Chapter 105 Compromise
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Mingzhu’s knees were numb from kneeling for so long. Fu Mingzheng bribed the servant guarding Guanhai Residence to secretly come and see her.
Seeing her kneeling so straight, he couldn’t help but mock her, “When did you become so obedient? Father told you to kneel, but not like this. Even if you took a break, no one would dare to report you.”
Mingzhu solemnly replied, “You don’t understand my intentions.” She wanted to take this opportunity to teach herself a lesson and correct her impulsive behavior.
Fu Mingzheng teased her into laughter, “Indeed, I don’t understand your intentions. But let me tell you, even if you broke both legs, it wouldn’t make your pig brain any smarter.”
“You’re so rude!” Mingzhu looked around for something to throw at her snarky fourth brother, but unfortunately, her father’s study was too tidy, and she couldn’t find anything suitable.
Seeing Fu Mingzheng smirking, she laughed along. Even after experiencing death, she still couldn’t change her impatient and impulsive nature. This one kneel wouldn’t change much.
Seeing her laugh, Fu Mingzheng said, “See, you know I’m right, don’t you? Foolish people can’t suddenly become smarter, and you can’t suddenly change your sh*tty temper.”
That was too harsh. Mingzhu retorted, “If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll really be annoyed.”
With Fu Cong absent, Fu Mingzheng felt even more unrestrained. Moreover, he had gotten along well with Mingzhu these days, much closer than in the past decade. He lounged back in his chair and said with a smile, “I came to see you out of kindness, and you want to be angry at me? No wonder the people around Yuwen Chu call you heartless and cold-hearted.”
Mingzhu was curious, “Who’s calling me that? Have I offended them? How am I heartless? What does his cold-heartedness have to do with me?”
“Tsk, indeed ruthless,” Fu Mingzheng praised. He knew a bit about today’s matter. In the palace, the eligible princesses for marriage were only Funing and Kangning. Funing was Yuwen Chu’s younger sister, and Kangning was Yuwen Long’s. Neither of them wanted their sisters to marry, so in order to counter the Empress Dowager Min family, the great empress dowager and father had to comply with their wishes and choose a suitable royal for marriage.
It just so happened that Yuwen Xue took the initiative, which was perfect. Everyone just needed to sit back and watch the developments. In any case, the Wusun people couldn’t escape, and all of Empress Dowager Min’s fuss was just adding to the amusement. The only unexpected thing was that Mingzhu, this fool, actually chased after her and provided an opportunity. And this crisis happened to be a good opportunity for Yuwen Chu to play the hero.
Unfortunately, father turned a blind eye and hinted not to intervene too much, to let nature take its course. Then he watched Yuwen Chu’s wishes come true.
Even in the matter of Shen Ruilin last time, father probably had some intention of turning a blind eye. Yuwen Chu was probably rejoicing in his success at this moment, finally able to marry the Fu family’s daughter as he wished. But father must also be relieved now, finally able to use this matter to force the great empress dowager to agree to the marriage. In the future, Yuwen Chu would have to lower his head to father a bit more, after all, he had plotted against someone’s daughter. He couldn’t be without guilt and not bow his head.
Who knows who plotted against whom? Or were they willingly manipulated by each other? These future in-laws pride themselves on being clever, so the days ahead must be exciting. As for someone, there was no need to tell her about such complicated matters. Anyway, she wouldn’t understand, and her judgment wasn’t that great.
Fu Mingzheng stared at Mingzhu for a while, propped up his chin, and asked, “What’s your idea? Marry or not? Honestly, Yuwen Chu is much more pleasing to the eye than Yuwen You and Yuwen Long.”
Mingzhu remained silent for a long time before asking seriously, “Should I marry? He is already betrothed.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s not like he and Jiang Shanshan are in love and you forcefully intervened, separating a pair of lovebirds who are meant to be together.” Fu Mingzheng was very dismissive, his views always contradicting the majority: “In my opinion, his engagement with Jiang Shanshan is similar to your engagement with Yuwen You. It’s all a matter of willingness, one willing and the other not, being pressured together by the elders. But Yuwen Chu is much more formidable than Yuwen You. If he can’t refuse, he keeps stalling, kneeling and begging every now and then, pretending to be pitiful. He managed to refuse until now. If Jiang Shanshan wants to be a princess so badly, then let her marry Yuwen Long.”
It sounded so reasonable as he spoke. She wanted to marry Yuwen You, although she was scolded for being foolish, nobody doubted she genuinely liked him. Jiang Shanshan wanted to marry Yuwen Chu, but when she came to her fourth brother, it seemed like she just wanted to be a princess. In any case, even though she was heavily criticized and often seen as foolish, deep down, he felt that nobody could compare to her.
Mingzhu’s heart softened and she retorted, “Do you think it’s that easy? Will Yuwen Long listen to our manipulation so easily? Will Jiang Shanshan agree to our arrangement?”
She remembered the faint scent of agarwood on Jiang Shanshan and the shy yet proud expression on her face when Empress Dowager Min mentioned Jiang Shanshan as the future Ying Wang Consort. It left a bitter taste in her heart.
Honestly speaking, Yuwen Chu’s conditions were indeed good. He was tall, handsome, capable, and stable, not losing out in any aspect. Jiang Shanshan must really like him, which is why she persisted even after his repeated refusals.
Fu Mingzheng yawned, “Don’t worry about these things for now. Focus on whether we can successfully get through this ordeal.”
“Do you think it’s possible, Fourth Brother?” Mingzhu’s worries resurfaced. It was impossible to escape to Wusun, she really didn’t want to leave her family, there were still so many things she wanted to do.
Seeing her troubled expression, Fu Mingzheng chuckled maliciously, “You finally have a taste of this day, I’m sure Yuwen You will be very pleased when he finds out.”
“Are you deliberately trying to annoy me? You invite people’s hatred like this, no wonder no one wants to marry you.” Mingzhu couldn’t help but provoke him, itching for an argument.
“No one wants to marry me? Don’t I frequently have matchmakers coming over? It’s just that I don’t fancy those mediocre women.” Fu Mingzheng sneered.
The two siblings argued and bantered, time flew by quickly. It wasn’t until a servant whispered outside the door, “The Lord is back,” that Mingzhu realized it was already midnight.
With her Fourth Brother engaging her in arguments, she was so preoccupied with wanting to win against him and vent her frustration that she forgot to worry about the Wusun matter and the messy situation involving Yuwen Chu. Even her knees didn’t ache as much anymore.
Seeing Fu Mingzheng stretching lazily to leave, she stopped him and whispered, “Thank you, Fourth Brother.”
Fu Mingzheng glanced at her, saying venomously, “Thank me for calling you a pig’s brain? You truly are a pig’s brain, destined to be foolish. I’m leaving, lest Father sees me and scolds me again.” With that, he briskly walked away.
Mingzhu was infuriated, swearing never to indulge in such sentimental conversations with Fu Mingzheng again. He deserved to be scolded all his life.
Fu Cong entered the room, seeing her kneeling obediently, feeling somewhat touched but didn’t say much. Instead, he sat down at the desk, drank the hot tea brought by the servant to ease his fatigue, then said, “You may rise.”
Mingzhu respectfully kowtowed to him before standing up. She had knelt for too long, her legs were numb, and she wobbled as she tried to stand straight. Fu Cong watched coldly, not asking anyone to support her. He waited until she steadied herself before saying in a deep voice, “Your aunt and I have discussed it, and this is how it will be.”
What would it be? Mingzhu was somewhat puzzled, but also had a faint understanding, nervously asking in a low voice, “What?”
“Originally, this marriage couldn’t have been easily agreed upon. However, with the current situation being so complicated, the imperial family is watching closely, afraid of missing an opportunity. If Wusun people are involved, then Yuwen Chu marrying you is the only solution, coupled with compensating Jiang Shanshan with a decent marriage. This is to completely silence the mouths of the Wusun people and the Zhaoyang palace. The reason? We can’t let the Wusun people’s plot succeed and affect the court’s layout.” Fu Cong was extremely tired, showing signs of aging, “By now, I believe the households of Linan Wang and Changxing Marquis have already received the decree.”
Mingzhu was dumbfounded, feeling a sense of emptiness and confusion. “Father, I…”
“Don’t say anything. I’m very tired.” There was a disagreement between the Great Empress Dowager and Fu Cong on this matter. Although the Great Empress Dowager eventually had to compromise due to the situation, she was very unhappy and dissatisfied, believing that Fu Cong and Yuwen Chu were colluding against her. However, there was no need for Mingzhu to know about this. Knowing it would only add to her worries.
Having exhausted himself in careful planning, Fu Cong hoped Yuwen Chu wouldn’t disappoint him. He rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse, “Just focus on preparing for the marriage. Yuwen Chu is not bad. At least, he has some genuine feelings for you.”
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