Chapter 20: Fourth Brother
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If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have let his anger get the best of him against Fu Mingzhu. Yuwen You regretted it deeply, but then he remembered that noble dragon’s blood flowed in his veins. If he were to bend his waist, he would despise himself, even if it meant facing death standing tall. So, he straightened his back and reluctantly supported Fu Mingzheng, saying against his will, “No need for excessive courtesy, I don’t blame them.”
Fu Mingzheng, naturally, wasn’t sincerely offering his respects. Taking the opportunity, he straightened up and smiled faintly, “Seeing how troubled Mother and Sister are, perhaps it’s not a good time for guests. Your Highness, what do you think…?”
Fu Mingzheng had a soft and fair appearance, with long narrow phoenix eyes that slanted upwards. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into two slits, making him appear harmless. In reality, he was ruthless and cunning, unmatched in his ruthlessness. Yuwen You felt uncomfortable under his scrutinizing smile, so he said, “Then I’ll come back another time.”
As Yuwen You turned to leave, his aide quietly tugged at his sleeve, indicating that he should take the opportunity to say a few soft words through the window to persuade Fu Mingzhu to change her mind. Yuwen You ignored him, standing even straighter, and walked out without looking back. The aide sighed helplessly, following him out with waning enthusiasm.
“This official respectfully escorts His Highness, Linan Wang,” Fu Mingzheng bowed slightly, showing a respectful expression, then straightened up when Yuwen You was far away, staring at his retreating figure with malice and ridicule in his phoenix eyes. Turning around, he lifted his chin towards the maid guarding outside the door, “Stop crying, it’s bad for your heart and liver. Go in and persuade Madam and Miss. The person has already left, so there’s no need to cry anymore.” Without going far, he strolled to the side and looked up at the wall, observing the painting of a zither riding a red carp.
The maid reported inside, and Lady Cui wiped her tears, saying, “Invite Fourth Master to come in for a talk.”
“I’ll go.” Mingzhu slipped on her shoes and walked to the door, enthusiastically calling out to Fu Mingzheng, “Fourth Brother, come in quickly.”
Fu Mingzheng turned to look at her face, then suddenly sneered, “You’re really something. Usually, everyone in the family wants to please you, but you’re just wasting away like this, squandering all these years of rice and meat.”
If it were in the past, Mingzhu would have retorted immediately, but today she remained remarkably calm. Because she knew that although this illegitimate brother had a bad temper and always treated her like she owed him money, speaking to her in an unpleasant manner, his care for her was no less than anyone else’s. So Mingzhu looked at Fu Mingzheng with a pleasing smile and softly said, “Fourth Brother is right, I was wrong.”
In the past, the fierce cat suddenly turned into a docile little rabbit. Fu Mingzheng was very surprised but didn’t say much. He silently walked into the room and greeted Lady Cui, “Mother’s accommodation has already been arranged by this son. Mother has endured a bumpy journey and mental exhaustion. Would you like to rest for a while and have some soup and food?”
Lady Cui suddenly felt exhausted. She leaned on the maid to stand up and said, “No need for soup and food. My feet are a bit swollen, and my head feels dizzy. I just need to lie down.”
Fu Mingzheng approached and helped Lady Cui out with Mingzhu on one side and himself on the other, saying softly, “Mother, just rest assured and relax. Your son will take care of things here, and nobody will dare to bully little sister again.”
Lady Cui said, “I trust you to handle things, but I don’t trust your sister.” She glared at Mingzhu and was about to scold her, but when she saw the bruises on her face, she sighed again, “Forget it, don’t embarrass yourself by following. Just rest assured here.”
Mingzhu playfully stuck out her tongue. Indeed, she only accompanied Lady Cui to the door and then stopped. After watching Lady Cui enter another room to rest, she slowly approached Fu Mingzheng and handed him a cup of tea, “Fourth Brother, have some tea.”
Fu Mingzheng glanced at her, took the tea, and placed it on the table. He said blandly, “Did the sun rise from the west today? What merits and abilities do I have to have the privilege of having the Fu family’s precious daughter personally serve me tea?”
Mingzhu felt embarrassed. She was the legitimate daughter, with both parents alive, and she had three full-blooded brothers. She was showered with love and favoritism. On the other hand, Fu Mingzheng was born of a concubine, with a very low status for his birth mother, who couldn’t even be buried in the family tomb after her death. He was also looked down upon by relatives and servants, and his gloomy and solitary nature made him unlikeable. Her older brothers mostly ignored him, and even his father disliked him. With such a stark difference in treatment between siblings, and neither being of gentle disposition, their relationship was naturally strained. Now, her sudden show of respect for him naturally aroused Fu Mingzheng’s curiosity and prompted him to ask.
Fu Mingzheng, seeing her discomfort, didn’t easily let her off. He sarcastically remarked, “Could it be that you’ve been hit on the head and gone mad? Otherwise, your brain has never been good, or else you wouldn’t have reached this point.”
Seeing another dispute about to arise, the maidservants, including Su Lan, were all sweating nervously. They secretly looked at Mingzhu’s reaction, but saw her just hanging her head low and softly saying, “Fourth Brother, you’re right. I really did lose my mind before.” So they collectively gasped, thinking they were hallucinating.
Fu Mingzheng was also surprised, but he was always calm and composed, and he followed Mingzhu’s lead without hesitation, saying, “Knowing that it’s broken means there’s still hope. Tell me, what trouble do you want me to take for you this time?”
The way he said it made it seem like he had taken so much trouble for her before, which surprised Mingzhu. She indignantly replied, “Am I so malicious? Haven’t I already apologized to you? That incident from before wasn’t my doing; it was someone else’s mischief.”
In truth, she wasn’t to blame for that incident. When she was young, she sneaked into Fu Cong’s study to play and accidentally spilled tea, damaging an important document. The bookboy who guarded the study, fearing the blame for letting her in, and not wanting to offend her, shifted the blame onto Fu Mingzheng, who had been sent earlier to fetch some letters. Fu Mingzheng, being stubborn, didn’t speak much in his defense. He let Fu Cong punish him without begging for mercy, almost angering Fu Cong to the point of killing him. Fortunately, Lady Cui intervened upon hearing about the incident, preventing a major mistake. Since then, Fu Mingzheng had harbored resentment toward her, and he never had a kind word or look for her.
Fu Mingzheng lowered his eyes, expressionless as he said, “Yes, of course, it’s not your fault at all. It’s all someone else’s fault. The servants are looking down on people. How could it be your fault?”
Mingzhu felt powerless, but she didn’t expect that a casual smile or soft words would improve her relationship with Fu Mingzheng. She boldly said, “Anyway, this matter started because of me, so I’ll apologize to Fourth Brother again.” With a solemn expression, she bowed and Fu Mingzheng frowned and stepped aside, becoming even colder, “What exactly do you want me to do?”
Mingzhu didn’t hesitate. She stood up and sat down beside him, whispering, “These days, I’ve been staying in the temple. I heard some rumors about Geng Momo’s family. It’s quite unpleasant. Last night, I took the opportunity to detain them and I’m asking Fourth Brother for help to investigate all the good deeds she has done.”
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