The Minister Behind the Curtain Chapter 3

Feng Lezhen gazed at Fu Zhixian under the moonlight and was momentarily dazed.

Fu Zhixian’s good looks were well known throughout the entire capital. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been called the Capital’s Number One Young Master even before his talents had truly been recognized.

In the past, when she faced this face, all she had ever felt was joy and trust. But now, as she looked at him again, she unexpectedly felt a trace of frustration.

Since the founding of Great Qian, there had indeed been two emperors ruined by their obsession with beauty. Back then, she had most despised such people.

But now, looking at herself, she realized she wasn’t so different from them after all.

…Strictly speaking, she wasn’t even as good as them—at least they hadn’t been ruined or killed by a beautiful face.

“Your Highness.” Seeing her lost in thought, Fu Zhixian called to her again.

Feng Lezhen returned to herself. When she looked at him again, her gaze was cold, though a smile remained on her lips. “What brings Lord Fu here so late at night?”

“Angry?” Fu Zhixian chuckled lightly, his beautiful eyes already misted with alcohol.

He had still been mostly sober at the Yizui Tower, but now that he’d returned to the Eldest Princess’s residence, the wine seemed to have taken hold of him.

Feng Lezhen couldn’t be bothered to deal with a drunk. She looked down at the man standing below the steps. “You reek of alcohol.”

“I know Your Highness dislikes it. I’ll take my leave now,” Fu Zhixian said softly.

The scene overlapped with one from her past life. After a moment of silence, Feng Lezhen asked the same question she had asked back then: “If you’re leaving, why come at all?”

“I missed Your Highness. I just wanted to see you.” Fu Zhixian looked into her eyes.

The same scene again. How had she responded in the previous life? Oh—he spoke sweetly, had a pretty face, and was very good at feigning retreat to advance. She’d been pleased and invited him in without a second thought.

Feng Lezhen refused to reflect on her past mistakes. She asked coldly, “Now that you’ve seen me, are you done?”

Fu Zhixian: “Mm.”

“Then leave.” She gestured toward the exit.

Fu Zhixian paused. Realizing she wasn’t joking, he stood still a moment before slowly turning to leave.

He said he was going, but his steps were sluggish. When he was nearly at the courtyard gate and still heard no movement behind him, he couldn’t resist turning back. “Your Highness?”

Feng Lezhen gave him a gentle smile—and slam—closed the door in his face.

Imagining the dumbfounded expression on Fu Zhixian’s face, her mood improved. She went back to bed and soon fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was already early the next morning. Qin Wan had been waiting outside for some time, and upon hearing movement, she entered with Ah Ye.

“Your Highness.”

The line of servants bowed as they entered. Feng Lezhen, still groggy, waved them up. Ah Ye took the robes from a maid and stepped forward to help her dress. As Feng Lezhen raised her arms, she glanced sleepily at Qin Wan. “What is it?”

Qin Wan was responsible for administration, not daily service. Showing up this early meant there was definitely something important.

“Your Highness, Shangshu of the Minister of Works Zhao Tian has sent a formal request for an audience,” Qin Wan replied.

Feng Lezhen stretched. “It’s about the canal project, isn’t it? I won’t see him.”

“Actually, he’s not the only one who’s been sending requests recently. But seeing Your Highness was in low spirits, I turned them all down.” Qin Wan bowed again. “At present, the court is in an uproar over this. They’re all waiting on your decision.”

“My decision? More like waiting for me to compromise.” Feng Lezhen said casually. As she lifted her head, she noticed a plate on the table holding two koi-shaped pastries. Her brows lifted slightly. “Where did those come from?”

“I found them on the stone table in the courtyard. The handkerchief wrapping them belongs to Lord Fu—he must have left them last night,” Ah Ye answered quickly.

Feng Lezhen paused. Suddenly she remembered that night from her past life—after they spent the night together, his discarded robe had been full of pastry crumbs. She had found it disgusting and ordered his clothes thrown out.

“They were meant for you, but I forgot when I saw you,” he had said back then, a bit helplessly.

She hadn’t expected that, in this life, she would see what the pastries actually looked like.

“These pastries are really funny—two chubby little koi, they look just like the real thing,” Ah Ye said with a sense of wonder.

But Feng Lezhen showed no interest. “If you like them, go ahead and eat them.”

Ah Ye quickly declined. “They were for Your Highness. I wouldn’t dare.”

Feng Lezhen gave a silent chuckle and, after dressing, dismissed the others.

“Wanwan, stay,” she said suddenly.

Qin Wan halted. Ah Ye picked up her pace and quickly left. Soon, only the two of them remained in the room.

“What would Your Highness like from me?” Qin Wan asked once she confirmed all the doors and windows were closed.

“Did you find the person I asked for?” Feng Lezhen asked.

Qin Wan hesitated. “This servant is incompetent. I’ve found no trace so far.”

Feng Lezhen frowned. “Is the portrait I gave you not detailed enough? Bring ink and brush—”

“Your Highness’s drawing is very good.” Qin Wan rushed to assure her.

Feng Lezhen nodded, abandoning the idea of drawing a new one.

Qin Wan noticed her sudden silence and understood that her summons was not for that matter alone. She waited patiently.

The room’s newly replaced incense carried the light sweetness of oranges. Under the morning sunlight, it felt warm, as if a fruitful orange tree were planted right there inside.

“Fu Zhixian is due at the palace in half an hour, isn’t he?” Feng Lezhen suddenly said.

Qin Wan answered respectfully, “Lord Fu has just returned from a diplomatic mission. By custom, he should report to His Majesty within the hour.”

Feng Lezhen nodded. “It’s been a long time since we used the palace informants. I wonder if they’re still as efficient as they used to be.”

Qin Wan was startled. She looked at her in surprise, only to find calm serenity in Feng Lezhen’s gaze.

“…This servant will inform them at once.” Qin Wan quickly composed herself, asked no further questions, and left.

Feng Lezhen pinched her brow and lowered her gaze to the two little koi-shaped pastries on the table.

Another day spent behind closed doors. Though the invitation cards piled up like snow, Feng Lezhen remained unconcerned, sitting under the eaves with Ah Ye, nibbling on rose pastries.

“Your Highness, it’s really hot—shouldn’t we get the cooling chest?” Ah Ye wiped the fine sweat from her nose and looked at her in distress.

Feng Lezhen blinked innocently. “Hot? I don’t feel it.”

She really didn’t. While the maids had already changed into gauzy summer skirts, she was still dressed in spring brocade. Even with the sun beating down, she didn’t feel overheated—if anything, it made her feel grounded.

“…I really think we should get a physician to look at you. Those quacks in the palace aren’t reliable, but Retired Imperial Physician Cui is still sharp. He lives right by the east gate. If Your Highness agrees, I’ll bring him here right away.” Ah Ye looked entirely serious.

“I’m not sick—just fond of warmth.” Feng Lezhen smiled. Seeing Ah Ye’s disbelief, she didn’t argue. “So? Any interesting gossip from the streets today?”

As expected, Ah Ye stopped fussing over the matter of a doctor. “If we’re talking about news, there is one thing—do you still remember Second Young Master Hua who drank with Lord Fu last night?”

“I remember. What about him?” Feng Lezhen asked.

Ah Ye said, “After drinking, he went boating on the lake last night and drowned! Four companions drowned with him. Luckily, Lord Fu left early, or he might not have made it either.”

Just thinking about it gave her a lingering sense of fear. In contrast, Feng Lezhen remained calm—after all, she had already lived through this once in her previous life.

There had been six people drinking. All drowned except Fu Zhixian. Naturally, he became the prime suspect. If her guess was correct, he would be taken to the Dali Temple as soon as he left the palace today for questioning.

“Your Highness? Your Highness?” Ah Ye saw her spacing out again and was a bit curious. “What are you thinking about?”

“Thinking about how to pin the murder of five people on Fu Zhixian,” Feng Lezhen replied.

Ah Ye gasped sharply.

“I’m joking.” Feng Lezhen glanced at her. In her previous life, the Dali Temple concluded the case in just two days. Though it was a strange and coincidental incident, it had indeed been an accident and had nothing to do with Fu Zhixian.

Ah Ye silently swallowed her words and was about to say, “You didn’t look like you were joking,” when she caught a glimpse of Qin Wan approaching out of the corner of her eye. Startled, she quickly hid the rose pastries and stood up straight with a serious face beside Feng Lezhen.

Feng Lezhen was amused by her swift reaction and was just about to make a teasing remark when she met Qin Wan’s disapproving gaze.

She gave a light cough and stood up as well.

“Your Highness is the Eldest Princess. How can you sit on the ground like some countryside bumpkin?” Qin Wan scolded seriously.

Feng Lezhen replied innocently, “The Feng family patriarch was a countryside bumpkin before becoming emperor.”

“Your Highness…”

“How did it go?” Feng Lezhen quickly interrupted, afraid she’d start lecturing.

Qin Wan paused, then dismissed Ah Ye before quietly replying, “Only Li Gonggong remains inside the Imperial Study to attend the emperor. Our people can’t get in.”

The emperor was a suspicious man. Even when meeting members of his own maternal clan, he wouldn’t dismiss his guards. Yet today, when seeing Fu Zhixian, he left only Li Gonggong. That showed just how much he trusted him.

Such trust wasn’t earned overnight. Which meant that Fu Zhixian’s betrayal happened even earlier than she had estimated.

Even with such a significant discovery, Feng Lezhen remained unmoved. “Assign people to monitor Fu Zhixian and the Fu family. I want detailed reports of when they enter the palace, how long they stay, and everything else. Also, see how many of the old retainers from the late emperor’s time are still around—select a few reliable ones. I have questions.”

“Yes.” Qin Wan bowed her head.

Just like in her previous life, Fu Zhixian was taken by the Dali Temple as soon as he left the palace. He wasn’t released until two days later.

By evening, the Eldest Princess’s carriage was parked outside the Dali Temple.

“Your Highness, you said you wouldn’t receive Lord Fu, but look at you now—first to arrive,” Ah Ye teased.

Feng Lezhen curved her lips. “What can I say? I’m all talk and no walk.”

“Your Highness, Lord Fu is coming out,” Ah Ye said quickly.

The carriage curtain was lifted. Feng Lezhen looked up and met Fu Zhixian’s eyes just as he stepped out in his official robes.

In the Great Qian Dynasty, court officials wore either red or blue. Civil officials like him wore red. The round-collared robe embroidered with golden thread fit him perfectly, making his jade-like face even more striking.

Feng Lezhen let her gaze roam over him twice before picking up her teacup and taking a sip.

“Your Highness isn’t angry anymore?” he asked as soon as he got in.

Feng Lezhen asked in return, “Why would I be angry?”

“Naturally because I delayed my return to the capital and didn’t come to see you first,” Fu Zhixian said with a smile, not mentioning the two days he’d just spent being interrogated as a suspect.

Feng Lezhen didn’t think being held for questioning was worth mentioning either. A Hua family heir had died—dead was dead. Whether by accident or murder, it wasn’t that big a deal.

“It’s not like you betrayed me. Just a small matter. I was angry for two days and got over it. Can’t stay angry forever,” she said lazily.

“Then I must thank Your Highness.” Fu Zhixian extended his right fist toward her.

Feng Lezhen paused, then held out her hand. When he opened his fist, a piece of osmanthus candy fell into her palm.

“I took it from the Dali Temple’s Shaoqing’s desk. It tastes good. You’ll probably like it,” he said.

Feng Lezhen looked at the candy in her hand and suddenly remembered the first time they met—he had also given her a piece of candy. From that day on, no matter where he went, whenever he came back to see her, he always brought her something—sometimes pastries, sometimes candied fruit, sometimes something else. Year after year.

“Your Highness?”

Feng Lezhen returned to her senses and met his gaze. “When you were in the palace, did the emperor mention the canal?”

In her previous life, he had only brought it up two days after being released. This time, she deliberately asked first.

Fu Zhixian seemed surprised by the question but answered after a pause, “He did.”

“What did he say?” she asked.

“He repeated again and again how much benefit the canal would bring to the realm. He wanted me to come back and persuade Your Highness to convince the opposing ministers, not to be shortsighted and give up long-term benefits for short-term interests.”

Feng Lezhen gestured for the carriage to pull over. Once Ah Ye and the others had secured the area, she smiled and asked, “So, are you planning to persuade me?”

“Your Highness handles everything thoroughly. I needn’t worry,” Fu Zhixian replied, then paused again. “But if you insist on opposing, I fear the emperor will hold it against you. Times have changed—he’s no longer the mediocre prince constantly suppressed.”

“Mm. Now he’s a mediocre emperor,” Feng Lezhen nodded.

Fu Zhixian gave a helpless smile. “In any case, offending him won’t benefit you.”

Feng Lezhen looked at him calmly, the smile on her face slowly fading.

In her past life, this conversation hadn’t happened in a carriage, but the content was much the same. Back then, she hadn’t taken it seriously. Now, having lived through it once, she knew that regardless of whether he was fulfilling the emperor’s mission or genuinely worried for her, everything he said was true.

After all, in her past life, it was precisely because she insisted on opposing the canal construction that it failed to go through. The dates on the evidence used to accuse her of treason were all after the emperor gave up on the canal—clearly, it was this very struggle over the canal that pushed him to finally strike her down.

With the experience of her previous life, if she were smart, she should take a step back and let things go.

But…

“This Eldest Princess,” Feng Lezhen curved her lips, her brows and eyes full of willful defiance, “just insists on offending him.”

In the late emperor’s time, a well-built official road already stretched from Lingnan to the capital. At most it took half a month to travel, with post stations and towns all along the way. Building a canal now was redundant. That man had sat the throne for five years without a single worthwhile achievement, and now, for the sake of padding his own resume, wanted to waste manpower and resources on such a useless project—foolish to the extreme.

As long as she lived, she would never allow the emperor to carry out such a foolish act.

Fu Zhixian knew her well. Upon hearing this, he wasn’t surprised, only slightly helpless: “Your Highness, why must you?”

“Ah Ye, back to the manor,” Feng Lezhen raised her voice.

“Yes.”

Fu Zhixian had no choice but to fall silent.

The carriage began to move again, and the interior fell back into quiet.

Fu Zhixian poured a cup of tea and gently offered it to her lips. “I’ve been idle lately. If Your Highness is willing, shall we go out for a few days’ leisure?”

“You want me to leave the capital, to avoid the canal dispute?” Feng Lezhen pushed away the teacup.

Fu Zhixian looked innocent: “I simply wanted to go out with Your Highness for a stroll.”

“Until the matter of the canal is settled, this Eldest Princess is going nowhere,” Feng Lezhen said with visible displeasure.

“Your Highness…”

“Fu Zhixian,” she interrupted him lightly.

She had always been taught by the late emperor to keep her emotions off her face. For her to call him by full name like this already meant she was angry.

Fu Zhixian knew she was upset, but still wasn’t willing to give up. He could only remain silent. The carriage was heavy with tension, the air pressed down like a weight—but both of them kept their expressions calm, as if unaffected.

The carriage continued west, and before long arrived at the gate of the Eldest Princess’s manor. Just as they were about to enter, it suddenly stopped with a jolt. Feng Lezhen’s body swayed, and in the next second, Fu Zhixian had pulled her behind him in protection.

“What’s going on?” Fu Zhixian asked in a low voice.

“Replying to Lord Fu, some blind servant tripped up front and startled the horses,” Ah Ye answered from outside the curtain.

Fu Zhixian let out a breath and turned back to look at Feng Lezhen.

She kept her gaze lowered and lifted the curtain to get out of the carriage. Ah Ye quickly stepped forward to assist her. As her foot landed on the final step, she casually looked up—and in the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted among the kneeling servants a figure standing tall and straight, like a young cypress.

She paused, stopping right at the edge of the step.

“Your Highness?” Ah Ye whispered to her.

Feng Lezhen lifted a hand, motioning for silence.

Among the kneeling servants dressed in coarse gray garb, one slender and upright back stood out—a strip of bamboo hidden in the crowd.

Everything around was quiet. The young man knelt with his eyes lowered, seeing only the two floor tiles before him. Then, in the silence, a hem of a lavish skirt entered his field of view.

“Raise your head.”

Her steady, clear voice sounded from above. The young man’s back immediately tensed. After a pause, he slowly looked up, his quiet, clean features laid bare before her.

Feng Lezhen stared at him for a moment, then the corner of her lips curved.

So it really is you… life always finds a way for paths to cross again.