Chapter 31: Nonsense
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Dim light, whispering with Fourth Brother indoors about how to eliminate all traces and kill someone with one blow… Mingzhu had never thought she would experience such a scene one day. She instinctively lowered her voice with Fu Mingzheng, “Yuwen You can’t die for now. Otherwise, if he dies right after I break off the engagement, it’ll seem like I had sinister motives, which won’t benefit the family. As for Yuwen Chu, I really want to shut him up. I have a feeling he’s definitely up to no good; he might be the most cunning and malicious of them all.”
“But it’s just a torn blueprint.” Although Fu Mingzheng knew that the bed crossbow drawn on the blueprint was very powerful, he couldn’t realize its importance for the future of the Fu family, or even for his own future and fate, “If he wants it, let him have it.”
It was just a torn blueprint for now, but in a few years, that unnamed person might draw the full picture. Or perhaps that person had already drawn it in this world, and she just didn’t know yet. What if this blueprint was leaked and alerted that person, causing this invention to emerge prematurely? If she slackened even a little, she would lose the initiative.
“No!” Mingzhu shouted anxiously. Seeing Fu Mingzheng’s probing expression, she restrained herself again, trying to speak calmly, “Fourth Brother, as you said before, our family is not living an easy life. Perhaps the entire Yuwen family harbors hatred towards us. If we make one wrong move, we’ll lose everything. With hundreds of people in the family, shouldn’t we have means of self-preservation?”
Fu Mingzheng didn’t speak anymore, just stared at her. His gaze had a sharpness that seemed to pierce through her heart. Mingzhu gritted her teeth, sat up straight, and tried to appear more composed, “Don’t my words make sense?”
“It makes sense,” Fu Mingzheng withdrew his gaze. “Tell me about all the interactions between you and Yuwen Chu, don’t leave anything out.”
Mingzhu started from the encounter and confrontation on the empty corridor that night, all the way to tonight’s private meeting, naturally skipping the part where Yuwen Chu lifted her veil, and laughed carelessly, “He threatened me with this and that at first, and I took it seriously. I really felt bad, but then I thought about it carefully and understood. I threatened him back, saying I would tell the Great Empress Dowager that I liked him, and that embroidered shoe was proof of our mutual affection…”
“Truly, old habits die hard. Only you would be shameless enough to do this and think you’re capable. If you weren’t a daughter of the Fu family, you would’ve been drowned in a pig cage long ago.” Fu Mingzheng scolded her disdainfully, stating a cold fact, “Since this thing passed through Yuwen Chu’s hands, if he’s not a fool, he would have left behind a copy in advance. Otherwise, it’s impossible for you to just casually take away the original scroll. His preemptive action is meaningful, so your idea of killing him won’t succeed. If I’m not mistaken, he must have prepared many talented people around him, waiting for us to fall into his trap. You must know, you’re the daughter of the Fu family, and having such an important thing in your hands is equivalent to the Fu family having such an important thing.”
Mingzhu finally understood the sinister role Yuwen Chu played in this matter and couldn’t help but ask, eager to learn, “So what is he thinking?”
Fu Mingzheng smiled indifferently, “What’s he thinking? Probably that we’re hiding weapons and planning to rebel.”
Why not? The Fu family was just one step away from the throne. Mingzhu thought deeply, imagining the young emperor growing up in a few years. He would become increasingly uncontrollable and would come to hate the Great Empress Dowager and the Fu family more and more. Instead of being at the mercy of others, why not take the initiative? Unless there was a change in the person sitting on the throne, and that person had to be close to the Fu family, otherwise it would be a dead end.
“Alright, let’s stop here. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head back to the capital. We’ll discuss the big matters with Father when we see him. You should rest.” Fu Mingzheng rolled up the blueprint and asked Mingzhu, “Do you still remember?”
Mingzhu nodded, and Fu Mingzheng burned the blueprint over the lamp into a pile of black ashes. Just as he was about to call someone in to clean up, he heard Mingzhu ask very softly, “What if… I mean, what it’s like to be a princess?”
Fu Mingzheng suddenly paused, unable to believe it, and looked at her. After a while, he chuckled softly, “You really must have been possessed by demons and ghosts. Don’t say such nonsense in the future. Throughout history, how many powerful ministers and imperial relatives have rebelled? How many have succeeded? Father once said that the Yuwen family’s fortune is not yet exhausted.”
Mingzhu fell silent. Her father and brothers had never rebelled to the end. Only her second brother, who commanded the troops, had risen up with the idea of burning the bridges, but he was ruthlessly killed by weapons like the bed crossbow that emerged out of nowhere, and she had searched for his remains for a long time but couldn’t find them. Since the Yuwen family’s fortune was not yet exhausted, there was only one way left: to change the person on the throne.
Early the next morning, under the personal command of Lady Cui and Fu Mingzheng, a large group of maids and servants carried Mingzhu onto the carriage as if she were a rare and precious treasure, handling her with extreme care. Indeed, she was being carried, because Mingzhu had been seriously injured by Yuwen You.
Mingzhu laid peacefully in the carriage, eating fruit, enjoying Su Lan’s massage, and worrying about Ban Jian, the awkward child. “Is he following us? Make sure to keep an eye on him. Coax him if necessary, scare him if needed. In any case, we must bring him back.”
Su Lan lifted the curtain of the carriage for her to see. Not far away, Fu Mingzheng was speaking kindly to Ban Jian, who looked unhappy and resentful but didn’t resist Fu Mingzheng. He nodded occasionally in agreement. As soon as he noticed someone looking at him, he quickly turned his head, and when he saw Mingzhu, his eyes reddened, glaring at her with resentment.
Mingzhu quickly pretended to cough weakly and cover her mouth, looking like she was seriously injured. She didn’t know what Fu Mingzheng and Ban Jian had said, but Ban Jian glanced at her, then quickly turned his head, his eyes flashing with tears.
Seeing Ban Jian getting on the carriage with the steward, Mingzhu signaled Su Lan to lower the curtain and whispered softly, “Am I too heartless?” This young man, so bright and innocent, living freely his own life, was going to be forced into servitude by her and taken away from Jade Emperor Temple. It seemed excessive.
Having spent a long time with Mingzhu, Su Lan understood her the most and comforted her, “What else can be done? Ban Jian has deeply offended Linan Wang. Linan Wang is petty and vicious. If Miss doesn’t take care of Ban Jian, I’m afraid he won’t even wait for us to leave the mountain before Linan Wang finds some excuse to kill him.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
