Chapter 19: Apology
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That year, it began with Fourth Brother being stabbed to death on the street, Second Brother was unreachable at the border, Third Brother was knowledgeable in the arts but lacked practical skills, Father was seriously ill and unable to handle affairs, leaving all responsibilities on the eldest brother’s shoulders alone.
Empress Min had never been aligned with them. She conspired with ambitious relatives, inciting the violent young emperor to oppose aunt. Aunt, already old and frail, lost control of the palace affairs without outside help and eventually suffered a stroke, losing the ability to speak. Eldest brother was already struggling to support the situation on his own. Just then, someone made a big fuss over Geng Momo’s son forcing a commoner girl to her death, seizing the imperial estate, and taking bribes. They accused Father and eldest brother, tarnishing Mingzhu’s reputation in the process.
Starting with this incident, the accusations against the Fu family poured in like snowflakes. Eldest brother’s beloved eldest son, Fu Lin, who was outstanding among the younger generation of the Fu family, went to visit Aunt but was falsely accused of adultery with palace maids and was stabbed to death on the spot in the palace, leaving no complete body. Father, upon hearing the news, vomited blood and fell unconscious, eldest sister-in-law committed suicide by hanging, eldest brother aged overnight, and the Fu family, overwhelmed and powerless, suffered even more devastating blows.
Later, Second Brother was forced to rebel in desperation but was mercilessly shot dead by bed crossbows. Then Father, eldest brother, Third Brother, along with several sisters-in-law, nephews, and nieces, all met untimely deaths. The clan dispersed, leaving only Mother and a young nephew fortunate enough to escape with their lives, along with her, barely surviving in Linan Wang’s residence, enduring humiliation and abuse from Yuwen You.
Thinking of the bloodshed that year, Mingzhu couldn’t help but shiver. Those days were too terrifying, and she couldn’t bear to watch it all happen again. Mingzhu clenched her fists, firmly pressing on the area where her heart was. She would no longer only enjoy the glory brought to her by the family without bearing responsibility.
The next day, Madam Fu, Lady Cui, arrived early. As soon as she saw Mingzhu, she hugged her “darling, flesh, treasure” and cried, carefully touching her face and asking if it hurt.
Lady Cui was nearly sixty years old, not young anymore. She usually lived a pampered life, but if it weren’t for her worry and love for her daughter, she wouldn’t have rushed here overnight. Seeing the love in Lady Cui’s eyes, Mingzhu couldn’t help but feel a sourness in her nose. She buried her head in Lady Cui’s arms, tightly embracing Lady Cui’s plump waist, and coquettishly said, “Mother, my whole body hurts, it hurts to death! Luckily, I’m agile, otherwise, I would have been beaten to death by him! You didn’t see how vicious he was.” Sitting up, she pointed at her swollen and bruised face, exaggeratingly said, “He actually dislocated my jaw! If there’s any true affection in his heart, how could he be so ruthless?”
Lady Cui’s heart ached terribly. She only had Mingzhu when she was in her forties, treating her like a treasure. If she could, she would keep Mingzhu in her mouth to prevent her from melting away, and hold her in her hands to prevent her from flying away. She had never been optimistic about this marriage, but Mingzhu insisted on marrying. She cried, pleaded, and even attempted suicide in front of her, making her soft-hearted and agreeing.
Now that Mingzhu was unwilling to marry, she naturally had no objection. She just hated Yuwen You for being heartless and cruel to her darling daughter, and couldn’t help but scold him, “This heartless and unrighteous villain, regardless of the kindness you showed him in the past, I’ve said before that he’s an ungrateful wretch…”
Mingzhu listened with satisfaction, pretending to be weak, nestling in Lady Cui’s arms and refusing to get up, crying softly until she heard her Fourth Brother, Fu Mingzheng, loudly outside, saying, “Mother, Linan Wang is here to apologize.” She sat up pitifully and looked at Lady Cui with a scared expression, “I don’t want to see him.”
Lady Cui didn’t care whether Linan Wang was the late emperor’s son or not; at this moment, she just treated him as an enemy. She immediately frowned and scolded angrily, “Your little sister is injured like this, where do I have the mood to see outsiders? Stop bothering me!” She cried again, “I had this daughter when I was in my forties, it was difficult at my age, and I almost lost half my life during childbirth. After raising her, seeing her grow up beautifully, I was happy, but now she’s beaten like this. If there weren’t so many people around, I don’t know what would have happened. This is taking my life away…”
Mingzhu handed Lady Cui a handkerchief to wipe her tears, consoling her tenderly, “Mother, don’t cry for such a person, be careful not to ruin your eyes, it’s not worth it.”
Seeing her daughter’s colorful face, Cui couldn’t help but feel a little scared. She glared at her and slapped her butt, “You troublesome thing! Raising you is raising trouble! If you had listened to me and your father’s teachings earlier, how could you have ended up like this? It serves you right to be beaten to death!”
Mingzhu had never been scolded by Lady Cui since childhood, so being suddenly slapped left her bewildered. When she came to her senses, she cried uncontrollably, partly out of sadness, partly out of joy, and partly out of coquettishness—being able to return to the time when she could accompany her parents was truly wonderful!
Lady Cui, seeing her daughter crying so sadly, felt upset too, and the mother and daughter cried loudly and pitifully. The sound of their crying reached outside the room, causing the two men standing there to look extremely awkward.
Yuwen You felt extremely embarrassed and regretful. As a grown man, being rejected by the woman was already shameful enough, but to come back and confront Fu Mingzhu, and then be provoked into fighting her in front of so many people—it was too much. Those who knew understood that he was driven to his limit by Fu Mingzhu’s unreasonable behavior, but those who didn’t know only heard the mother and daughter crying so miserably, inevitably thinking of him as despicable and inhuman. Not only did he ruin his reputation, but he also gained nothing from it; it was truly too impulsive.
Just as he was about to say something, Fu Mingzheng beside him smiled apologetically and bowed to him, “Mother and younger sister are both inexperienced womenfolk. When they suffer a little grievance, they only know how to cry endlessly and can’t recognize what’s reasonable. I hope Your Highness can be magnanimous and not stoop to their level.”
Yuwen You’s heart sank. Everyone in the capital knew that Fu Mingzheng had a cruel and eccentric nature; the brighter his smile on the surface, the more sinister his intentions. Originally, this matter was mishandled by himself, and his coming here was meant to apologize sincerely, indicating a genuine desire to mend their relationship. Madam Fu’s scolding didn’t faze him, nor did Fu Mingzheng’s verbal abuse or even physical confrontation; what he feared was Fu Mingzheng’s polite and humble demeanor. This indicated that the Fu family had already decided not to continue with this marriage. The more polite they were to him, the more dangerous it became. Most likely, they would quietly take his life next.
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