After receiving the imperial edict, Concubine Yun always smiled in front of others, but at this moment, just like Fu Zhiyu, her face was expressionless, as if she was lost in some memories.
Fu Zhiyu felt very distressed when he saw this. He slowly moved over and held his mother in his arms.
"Xiaobao," Concubine Yun gently called him by his nickname, "What is this?"
"Don't think too much, mother," Fu Zhiyu comforted her, "Just enjoy the benefits of what he gave you. I'll take care of the rest."
When Fu Zhiyu was doing all these things before, he had never imagined that this would happen. For him, it was completely unexpected. Although he also became famous in this palace, being crowned king was considered great news.
He will have more options in the future.
All of these things produced an unpredictable butterfly effect because of his initial choice, but the person he wanted to protect in this life has never changed.
Fu Zhiyu hugged her mother tightly and comforted her, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm here for you."
"Xiaobao," Concubine Yun tightly grasped his sleeve, "When can I truly escape from all this, just like you said?"
Fu Zhiyu held her hand tightly and whispered, "Soon, I will take mother with me. When the time comes, mother can go wherever she wants and do whatever she wants, whether it's the Jiangnan water town or anywhere else."
His mother was originally the legal wife of Emperor Qingyuan, Fu Qingyan. Of course, that was before Fu Qingyan became emperor.
More than 20 years ago, Emperor Chenyang Fu Heng ascended the throne. In terms of seniority, he was the uncle of Fu Zhiyu and the cousin of Emperor Qingyuan Fu Qingyan.
The process of this young emperor ascending to the throne was extremely smooth because his father was particularly devoted to him. The empress at the time was favored by all the concubines in the harem and gave birth to a prince and two princesses. Fu Heng was the only prince. He was named the crown prince since his birth. He had a smooth journey and finally became the emperor without any surprise.
Fu Heng was not stupid. He was well-read and had great talent. However, he had lived a happy life since childhood and was very simple by nature. After the death of the retired emperor, he was unable to suppress the powerful ministers and families, and soon after, he also fell ill and died.
But a country cannot have a single ruler for a day. If the ministers directly usurp the throne, it would be unjustifiable. Moreover, Fu Heng has been mild in governing the country in recent years, with a significant reduction in taxes and good weather. The people have a very good opinion of him, and some even take the initiative to build temples to worship him. Forcing a change of dynasty would probably lead to gossip and criticism from the world.
The royal Fu family has been dwindling in recent generations. Emperor Chenyang Fu Heng has no children yet. After his lineage died out, the only family left in the royal family is Prince Rong Fu Hui's.
□□Wang was not suitable to be an emperor because he had been on the battlefield, had a broken leg and had a scar on his face.
He had two sons, the second legitimate son Fu Qingbin and the eldest illegitimate son Fu Qingyan, who were three years apart in age, one was seventeen and the other was twenty. At that time, Fu Qingyan had already married into the Yuan family and had been married to Miss Yuan Wanyun for more than a year. In terms of talent, development potential, and all aspects, Fu Qingyan, as a illegitimate son, could not compare to the high-spirited Fu Qingbin.
But in the end, Fu Qingyan won.
The reason is actually very simple. Everyone knows how Fu Heng died. Those aristocratic families were looking for candidates for the position of emperor. They were not really looking for a perfect emperor. They were looking for a puppet. At that time, Fu Qingyan looked like a poor scholar. He spoke timidly and seemed to have no ambition. Compared with the smart and outgoing Fu Qingbin, he was the best candidate for a puppet. They just needed to wait for him to marry a girl from their own family and give birth to a prince who was completely controlled by the aristocratic family.
As for the matter of being married, that is a small matter. The Yuan family is only a fourth-rank official, so how can they have the ability to resist
In this way, Fu Qingyan suddenly became an emperor. He married General Lin's daughter as his empress and Prime Minister Xue's daughter as his imperial concubine. His original wife, who was married to him through formal marriage, was only given the title of concubine at the beginning.
Not long after Fu Qingyan ascended the throne, the queen gave birth to a prince. The name Fu Lingxiao was not given by the emperor but by General Lin himself. The meaning of this name is self-evident.
But everyone underestimated Fu Qingyan.
He was not willing to be a puppet. He secretly planned and constructed, and slowly cultivated his own power in the court. Xie Ke's father Xie Lin was promoted by him. Gradually, he formed an opposition with the Lin family and the Xue family, and even suppressed one of them. When Fu Zhiyu was recording, Emperor Qingyuan was already in power. No one in the court dared to put on airs in front of him. He was no longer a mere emperor, and he truly sat firmly on the throne.
However, the Lin and Xue families still had some influence, and the power of the aristocratic families was complicated, so it was difficult to damage their foundation. Emperor Qingyuan still couldn't cover the sky with one hand, and he didn't plan to abolish the prince. He still had some fears about the aristocratic families, and there was no need to tear them apart now.
To sum up, Fu Qingyan’s road to counterattack is really satisfying.
Back then, this illegitimate son of Prince Rong was not favored. He had some talent but was not outstanding. When the legitimate son grew up and inherited the throne, he was nothing after the family was divided.
Although Miss Yuan Wanyun's father is only a fourth-rank official, she is the most beautiful woman in the capital, and her zither-playing has been praised to the sky by countless literati and poets. It is no exaggeration to say that it is so beautiful that it lingers in the ears for three days. I don't know what's wrong with such a girl that she actually fell in love with such a man.
After Fu Qingyan married the beautiful woman, he swore to heaven during the wedding ceremony that he would never take a concubine and only wanted to keep Miss Yuan as his true love. However, this oath was no longer valid after just over a year.
After all, that is the throne. Now many people don't think that Miss Yuan has lost out. What's the point of being a good-for-nothing? It's not as glorious as the most favored Concubine Yun in the harem. Oh, now she is the Imperial Concubine Yun, and the Yuan family has been promoted from the fourth rank to the third rank. She has got a job that is neither tiring nor lucrative. It's really a great deal.
Fu Zhiyu knew these things in his previous life, but it was only after he read the original book that he understood the specific circumstances of the time.
Yuan Wanyun, his mother, when she was still a young girl, did not ask for wealth or status, but only for true love.
She was still naive at that time, always with an extremely innocent stubbornness. She didn't like those young men from wealthy families who were chasing after her. Instead, she fell in love with a relatively ordinary boy who was quiet and careful, but seemed able to do anything for her.
During the more than one year after her marriage, she was indeed very happy and could completely ignore the disturbances in the outside world.
She was playing the piano in the yard while her husband was reading in the study. However, when she was playing the piano, her beloved husband was always not paying attention. He always couldn't help coming over to kiss her forehead and praise her as the most beautiful and lovely person in the world.
More than a year later, Yuan Wanyun finally became pregnant, but her husband, who had been looking forward to having a child, looked unhappy when he heard the news, which was unusual for her.
The day after the doctor diagnosed the pregnancy, the nanny brought her a bowl of pregnancy-maintaining medicine. After drinking it, she was woken up by the pain at night and bled heavily. The quilt was stained red, and the child died that night.
Her body was damaged by this incident and she almost passed through the gates of hell. When she woke up, she heard that her husband had ascended the throne and become the new emperor, and married another woman as the queen and concubine. She was carried into an unfamiliar palace and given a new title, Concubine Yun.
She seemed to understand something overnight. Fu Qingyan would never let that child be born. He wanted to be a puppet. If he had a first son at this time, it would be very embarrassing and he would not be able to do anything.
When Fu Qingyan first became emperor, his life was very difficult. He was restricted in his hands and feet, and there was little he could do. He had not been to the Liuli Palace for several years. Later he explained that this was a kind of protection for her. But only Yuan Wanyun knew what kind of life a concubine with no background, a "legal wife" who had been demoted, led in a palace that the emperor did not visit, where people flattered the powerful and bullied the weak.
She couldn't even live a low-key life. The concubines in the palace, led by Concubine Xue, targeted her like a thorn in their eyes, and her husband did not protect her forever as promised.
When Fu Qingyan gradually gained some power, her life became easier. She became pregnant with another child and gave birth to the child smoothly. After that, she was named a noble concubine. The concubines gradually dared not offend her anymore, but everything was no longer the same as before.
She used to be a carefree girl, doted on by her family and loved by her husband. But now she is a fake person who always wears a mask of disguise. Whenever she raises her head, she has to act, pretending to be gentle and virtuous, pretending that she never holds a grudge. Only in front of her son can she get a moment of rest.
"Mother, don't be afraid." Fu Zhiyu hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, as if speaking to her, or to himself, "Trust me, I will take you away from here. From now on, mother can be a carefree person again. I can do all the things he promised you but failed to do in the end."