Chapter 527: Silent Nurturing (Part One)
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Madam Cui sighed angrily, “What’s the point of telling me that forcibly marrying someone isn’t sweet? If I didn’t push him to get married, he would have listened to me. But what happens afterward, I can’t control. Listen to me, if I force him to marry someone, won’t I be harming that person?”
It seemed that the knot between Fu Mingzheng and Li Shumei needed to be untied before discussing marriage, otherwise tying these two together might not be a good idea. Mingzhu pondered for a moment and decided to set aside this matter without bringing it up again.
The next day, Fu Mingda and Fu Mingzhao left home early, each on their own path. The Fu mansion suddenly became empty, and Fu Mingzheng also stopped going out, staying in the capital to take care of the family.
After receiving feedback from Mingzhu, Qi Wang quickly invited Qian Muyi, a grand magistrate of the Dali Temple, to act as a matchmaker and formally propose marriage from Yuwen An to Wenhui. Fu Cong took charge of this marriage proposal, and regardless of Lady Su’s reluctance, the two families exchanged betrothal letters, formally setting up a marriage for the two children.
The princes from various regions who came to the capital to celebrate the birthday had all arrived. The disappearance of Zhongshan Shizi after encountering bandits also spread to the capital, causing the Great Empress Dowager to be furious. She ordered the local officials, as well as the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple, to investigate and punish the matter strictly, insisting on finding the true culprit before her birthday celebration. Zhongshan Wang also submitted various pleas and even expressed that if the court was too busy, he was willing to send people to personally investigate the matter.
The Great Empress Dowager naturally refused without hesitation, stating that such a small matter was something the court could handle. Zhongshan Wang expressed that his illness had worsened, making it impossible for him to attend to other matters. The Great Empress Dowager then suggested sending someone else to handle the military affairs in the northwest to relieve Zhongshan Wang’s worries. After shedding tears of sorrow, Zhongshan Wang once again expressed his determination not to fail the trust of the late emperor, willing to work hard for the country until his last breath, even if it meant continuing to work while ill.
After a thorough investigation by local officials, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple, a group of bandits was indeed caught, and the bodies of Zhongshan Wang Shizi and his entourage were found dead at the bottom of a cliff. There were over two hundred bandits, and apart from those who escaped, all the leaders were publicly executed.
The Great Empress Dowager issued an edict to mourn and comfort Zhongshan Wang. The young Emperor Yuwen Bai posthumously honored Zhongshan Wang’s son as a county prince, granted him some gold and silver, and sent the heads of the executed bandits preserved in lime as compensation to Zhongshan Wang.
Everyone was waiting for Zhongshan Wang to vent his anger, but he remained silent and submitted sincere expressions of loyalty and gratitude to the court.
Later, according to news from the northern regions, of Zhongshan Wang’s seven sons, besides the deceased eldest son, two more sons encountered trouble. The second son abused his concubine, who in turn poisoned him to death. The fourth son’s son got involved and subsequently fell out of favor with Zhongshan Wang. Although he didn’t lose his life, he was confined.
Among Zhongshan Wang’s remaining four sons, the sixth and seventh were still underage. The third son was a fierce general but not well-versed in political matters, and he was born of a concubine. Therefore, the fifth son, Yuwen Cong, gradually gained fame and became a prominent figure attracting widespread attention.
However, it was said that none of the people left by the former shizi, the deceased second son, or the imprisoned third son spoke well of Yuwen Cong. They all hinted that these unfortunate incidents happened because of having such a clever and powerful younger brother, suggesting he might have harmed his older brothers.
Everyone thought Zhongshan Wang would designate Yuwen Cong as his heir, but surprisingly, he never mentioned it. There were rumors in the streets that Zhongshan Wang favored his sixth and seventh sons and would carefully cultivate and select one of the remaining two underage sons as the successor.
Upon hearing this news, Mingzhu excitedly asked Yuwen Chu, “Did you do it? Did you do it?” Such sinister and divisive matters seemed like something he would do.
Yuwen Chu sat aside, reviewing official documents, his expression unchanged, “How could it be me? Clearly, there are problems between them, father and sons, and brothers. If they were united, who could shake them?”
Mingzhu helped him grind ink, “Right, so it has nothing to do with us, right?”
Yuwen Chu said calmly, “Of course, it’s their own fault. Since they are idle, they should be given something to do.” He informed Mingzhu casually, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, many horses in Zhongshan Wang’s horse farm recently died of an epidemic. I wonder if they’ve done something immoral and incurred divine wrath.”
There was a gleam of light in his eyes, indicating his happiness. He pretended to be indifferent and unconcerned. Mingzhu was fed up! She put down the ink slab and hugged Yuwen Chu’s arm, shaking it vigorously, “Don’t you get tired of acting like this all the time?”
Yuwen Chu glanced at her, “No. I’m busy. If you want me to come back early to accompany you at night, then let go quickly.”
Mingzhu let go and leaned back in her chair, watching him busy.
Indeed, they were both quite busy.
Yuwen Chu worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk, first distributing disaster relief supplies before the spring famine, and then meticulously preparing for the Great Empress Dowager’s thousand-year birthday banquet, warmly receiving the vassal lords from various regions. Typically, everyone would thank the imperial favor and the court, but this time, nobody did, because the Ying Wang’s Mansion bluntly stated that all expenses were borne by Ying Wang himself, and as a result, the mansion had become impoverished.
Mingzhu wore old clothes, removed various gemstone hairpins, and only wore a few plain hairpins. She went around crying poverty, saying that Yuwen Chu’s job was hard to handle, and all the savings they painstakingly accumulated were forced out to fill a bottomless pit. If they couldn’t do it, they would be executed. Even her dowry was lost, leaving her with no new clothes to wear, and she couldn’t afford a wet nurse for the son about to be born.
Construction in Ying Wang’s Mansion stopped, and piles of chefs were disbanded. The grains and poultry produced in the estate were sold off, and the Wangfei personally raised silkworms with a group of maidservants, looking as if they had truly become impoverished.
In contrast, the previously unknown Linan Prince’s Mansion, after experiencing two fires, quietly started building an even larger and more luxurious main residence and erected a three-story tall study. The Han language proficiency of the Linan Wangfei became increasingly fluent, and she became generous, socializing everywhere, becoming a distinguished guest in many households in the capital. Linan Wang himself also became popular in front of the young emperor, not only befriending Min, but also befriending some of the imperial family and nobles. Even the prosperous and Longsheng Great Eldest Princess’s Mansion often invited him as a guest.
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