Chapter 209: Involuntary Feelings
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“That year, Fourth Brother didn’t tell anyone. He quietly climbed up a tree to catch cicadas. The wet nurse couldn’t find him, and she didn’t dare to tell Father or Mother, so she could only quietly search with Yiniang. Fourth Brother wanted to play a prank on the Yiniang by quietly climbing down from the tree to scare her. It’s probably because Yiniang was anxious and had a heart condition, so this scare caused a big problem.”
Mingzhu shook her head and sighed, “In short, that Yiniang never recovered. Many people said that Fourth Brother killed his own mother. He was born out of wedlock, and his birth mother’s status was low. There were many unpleasant rumors about why his birth mother was able to enter the household. For many reasons, his days at home were not very pleasant. I guess he harbors some resentment towards Father, but he treated me very well. I always hope he can have better days.” Don’t die, don’t die so tragically. At least you can enjoy a little warmth in this world.
“Do you want me to treat him well?” Yuwen Chu stroked Mingzhu’s cheek and was surprised to find tears in her eyes. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “I didn’t know you were such a crybaby. Let me ask you, how many times have you cried in front of me these days?”
Mingzhu immediately forgot her previous sadness and grievances, and said indignantly, “Your Highness, how can you say that? If it weren’t for you always teasing and bullying me, why would I cry? Why don’t you count how many times you’ve made me cry since I married here?”
Yuwen Chu smiled and pressed her head against his chest, “Stop making a fuss. Just stay like this. I promise to treat your family well.” Even if he didn’t like Fu Mingzheng very much, he wouldn’t mistreat him because of that.
These words were more pleasing to Mingzhu’s ears than anything else. She immediately wiped away her tears and hugged his neck, giving him a kiss on the lips, sweetly saying, “I knew Your Highness is the best.”
“Since you think I’m good, why don’t you reward me?”
He became less serious again. Mingzhu silently withdrew her arms, rubbing her head against the pillow, and yawning widely, “Your Highness, I’m actually a little scared. Will this poisoning leave any sequelae? I’ve been feeling palpitations from time to time these days.”
Acting shameless again, Yuwen Chu sighed softly, “I’ll find another good doctor to check on you. Now, sleep.”
Mingzhu nestled contentedly under the covers, closing her eyes. Before drifting off, she couldn’t help but ask, “How did things go today? What about Zhang Huan and the others? Are they okay? Not much injury, I hope?”
There was a moment of silence from Yuwen Chu. He responded vaguely, “It’s fine. It’s late now, let’s talk about it in the morning.”
Indeed, even if there were any issues at the moment, they couldn’t be resolved, and she couldn’t do anything about it either. So, it was best to sleep for now and discuss it in the morning. Yuwen Chu was right. The nights in autumn were getting cooler day by day. As she drifted off, Mingzhu couldn’t help but feel a bit cold. Instinctively, she moved closer to the warm body beside her.
Yuwen Chu opened his eyes and looked at her, exhaling softly. He pulled her into his embrace, gently tucking her under the covers, and tenderly kissed her forehead. He had never imagined that one day she would lie so quietly in his arms, and one day he would rightfully be able to accompany her like this.
The first time he saw her, she was still a chubby little girl, brought into the palace by Madam Fu. She was held in Madam Fu’s arms, her eyes darting around agilely like black beans. She wasn’t at all shy when she saw the Emperor. After exchanging a few words with him, she even dared to grab his beard. Everyone was sweating for her, and Madam Fu was so frightened that she knelt down and begged for forgiveness.
Having offended the majesty of the Emperor, the Emperor was probably not pleased. But just as his face turned serious, she hugged his face and gave him a loud kiss, then cheerfully called him “Dad”.
The Emperor was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. Not only did he not blame her, but he also praised her for being adorable. He even personally held her and gave her many rewards. With the benefits she received, she became even more boastful. Holding tightly onto the Emperor’s neck, she called him “Uncle Emperor” over and over again, trying her best to flatter and please him, promising to give him all the good things she had, but she refused to call him “Dad” again.
At that time, he couldn’t help but wonder if this girl had really mistaken the Emperor for her own father, or if she realized something was wrong and pretended to be silly in order to avoid punishment. Now it seems that this thick-skinned girl was definitely pretending back then.
The second time he saw her, she was crawling under the grass in the garden searching for bugs. Funing walked past and accidentally stepped on her hand. He thought she would cry and scream, and then Madam Fu would severely punish Funing. Just as he was about to step forward to resolve the matter, she showed no signs of crying. Instead, she lifted her head and looked at Funing, saying, “You stepped on me.”
Funing pretended not to hear and firmly pressed down without moving, “Huh? What did you say?”
She repeated, “You stepped on me.”
Ignoring her, Funing even rotated her foot forcefully. Without saying a word, she grabbed Funing’s foot and threw her to the ground, then swiftly straddled her and punched her several times.
Funing started crying loudly, which attracted the idle palace servants who were loafing around nearby. He had to go up and separate the two. She was as ferocious as a little cow. He had to use all his strength to hold her firmly in his arms. She kept kicking Funing. When she saw it was him, she cursed angrily, “Are you two siblings planning to attack me together? Come on, I’m not afraid.”
At that time, he couldn’t help but laugh at her stubbornness. It turns out that in the eyes of Madam Fu’s daughter, there was no distinction between them and the royal princes and princesses. How arrogant she was. But before he could say anything, she burst into tears, saying her hand hurt. He finally noticed that the hand Funing stepped on had broken skin and was bruised, and at that moment, Madam Fu and the Emperor happened to pass by.
So he naturally took the blame for Funing and was punished by Royal Father to kneel under the scorching sun. Although Madam Fu pleaded for him, thinking that the children’s matters didn’t need much interference, Royal Father thought that as a grown man and a prince, especially the eldest brother, seeing his two sisters quarreling and not understanding how to resolve the conflict, but instead helping Funing to make trouble, it was unforgivable. In short, they were not at fault, he was.
He didn’t bother to explain, because he was all too aware that it was Royal Father’s misplaced trust in Yang Zizhou that led to the bursting of the Han River, the flooding of Cangzhou, and the deaths of many people. Bandits roamed everywhere, and lamentations filled the air. Royal Father had to rely on Fu Xiang to quell the unrest, so he was unwilling to aggrieve Fu’s daughter. He also couldn’t bear to punish Funing, who was born with congenital deficiencies due to his own wrongdoing. So, he could only use his son to curry favor with the Fu family. With so many of Royal Father’s sons, there was the crown prince to inherit the throne, and the youngest son, born of Consort Zhou, who was the most favored. As for someone like him, sandwiched in between, his greatest use was to alleviate Royal Father’s worries and difficulties.
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