Fu Zhiyu believed that among all the people in the palace, the person Fu Qingyan loved the most was his mother, but this so-called love was also based on comparison. If compared with power, these were nothing.
But Fu Qingyan couldn't be truly cruel, as he did like her in his heart, so his feelings towards Concubine Yun were extremely complicated, with love mixed with guilt, but he didn't dare to be too presumptuous, for fear that this unique emotion would be exploited and break the balance he maintained.
Especially when Fu Zhiyu grew up and showed different talents and abilities, he was happy for this child. After all, he was the son of himself and his most beloved woman. Who wouldn't want his favorite child to perform well? But he didn't dare to be too partial to him.
Everyone wants to leave the most precious things to his favorite son, including the throne. But if Fu Qingyan really shows it too obviously, the Lin and Xue families who still hold power will not let it go and will bring him endless troubles.
Maintaining balance is a result of his personality and is also something he must do as an emperor.
Emperor Qingyuan couldn't help thinking that it would be nice if Fu Zhiyu was a princess. He had given this name to her before Concubine Yun's baby was born. Zhiyu Zhiyu, it sounds like a delicate and exquisite girl. If she looked like her mother, it would be even better. He would definitely pamper her and make her the most noble woman in the world. However, this baby was born against his wishes and was a boy.
This child really looks very much like his mother, and even has the same little temper. Sometimes he even resembles the image of Yuan Wanyun, who was famous in the capital when he was young, which could make Emperor Qing Yuan stunned for a long time.
But Fu Zhiyu's cleverness sometimes made him feel scared. This was the emperor's instinctive vigilance. Fu Qingyan's throne was hard-won, and he cared too much about this position, so that he always had an lingering guard against the iteration of positions.
He learned from the failures of the last two emperors and did not favor one of them exclusively. He treated the harem equally to avoid the same thing that almost caused the Fu family's imperial power to fall due to insufficient offspring. Now there are more than ten children in the palace, including seven princes. The oldest prince is 21 years old this year, and the youngest, the sixteenth prince, is only six months old. This finally relieved his worries, but with more children, new worries came again.
When Fu Zhiyu saw the two imperial edicts, he had already guessed Emperor Qingyuan's mental journey. He was a person who had read the original text and was very clear about the twists and turns in Emperor Qingyuan's mind. Although he thought this person was completely overthinking, Fu Qingyan was indeed such a person.
It is very tiring for a man to always be on guard and worried, especially in front of the woman he loves.
The fact that Fu Zhiyu had turned stupid finally allowed Emperor Qingyuan to temporarily let down some of his guard. Or perhaps, he finally found a reason to let it go.
He finally felt that this child and his beloved woman were completely under his control, and would not cause any instability in the future, nor would they have any impact on the balance. He could be unrestrained for once, so it was okay to pamper them a little more.
Concubine Yun also knew Fu Qingyan very well. She could think of everything Fu Zhiyu could think of. After she calmed down, she whispered, "The Crown Prince and the Xue family still have doubts. I think those spies planted in our palace are ready to find out if you are really stupid. Although the Emperor has tried to test you, he believed it directly. He..."
"People always believe what they want to see," Fu Zhiyu said. He reached out and gently wiped the tears from his mother's face. "Let's not talk about him anymore. Let's talk about something else.
The ceremony for the Imperial Concubine will begin in three days. I will keep an eye on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and sew the most beautiful clothes for my mother. By then, my mother will be the most beautiful woman in the world."
Concubine Yun laughed, touched her face, and said, "I'm already old, so what's good-looking or not good-looking?"
"If I say it's beautiful, then it's beautiful," Fu Zhiyu held her hand and said gently, "Mother, please believe me."
Concubine Yun stopped talking and just looked at him and smiled.
Ever since her first miscarriage, she was almost disheartened and felt that life was bleak. Even though Fu Qingyan spoiled her to death a few years later, she still felt that this man was extremely disgusting.
She even thought about dying. After all, every day was just a struggle for her. The turning point came from Fu Zhiyu. Like a miracle, she became pregnant with a child despite her injured body.
This child looked almost nothing like his father. He was smart, kind, and cute. He was her one and only treasure. Concubine Yun was no longer hopeless. She seemed to have grown up a second time and became a mother with an inner strength as strong as iron.
But Zhiyu was very busy before. At a very young age, he would spend the whole day reading and writing, or he would do other things. Sometimes he would not say a few words a day.
But after she fell ill, he seemed to have changed. He became very clingy, staying with her all day long and talking to make her laugh. Although he was filial before, he was not like now. He was willing to say all kinds of coquettish words, and his lips were like honey. Other pleasing actions also followed, as if she was hugging a soft cotton jacket in winter, or as if she had armor to protect her.
Concubine Yun felt that she was much happier these days. Even when she saw Fu Qingyan, she felt that he didn't look so annoying anymore.
She secretly thought that it would be nice if it would always be like this in the future, just like an ordinary mother and son. She didn't care how outstanding Zhiyu was, she just wanted him to stay with her forever.
When Fu Zhiyu said he was going to keep an eye on the Imperial Concubine's auspicious dress, he was not just talking, he really went there.
He didn't think there was anything strange about a man watching the embroiderers in the palace making clothes. After all, whatever he did was normal now, and he was not afraid of what others would say.
The news that the Ninth Prince was named King Zhao spread quickly and everyone in the palace knew about it. Although no one understood why this prince was still favored even after he became stupid, no one in the palace dared to offend Liuli Palace now.
The maid from the embroidery workshop waited on him carefully, smiling: "Don't worry, Prince Zhao. The embroidery room is busy day and night, working with gold and silver threads like flowing water. They will definitely use the best materials to make the most luxurious wedding dress for the Royal Concubine Yun."
Fu Zhiyu nodded, turned around and smiled at her, saying, "Don't be nervous, Madam."
He looked at the old nanny, who was sweating all over and seemed to be afraid that he would cause trouble, so he motioned for her to sit down.
The nanny stared at him blankly and said, "The master hasn't even sat down yet, how can this servant..."
Fu Zhiyu was helpless. He had been in the system space for a long time, and his thoughts were no longer so feudal. He thought about it, took a plate of snacks next to him, stuffed it into the arms of the nanny, and said, "Mammy, just sit here and eat some snacks. Don't follow me."
He looked up and down and found the flying needles and threads of the embroiderers extremely interesting. In his previous life, he had never paid attention to these things as he was too busy fighting with other people. He didn't realize that a hidden pattern on his clothes required an embroiderer to spend so much time and effort to embroider it.
Although this is a novel and there is no mention of these embroiderers in the book, they still exist due to the perfection of the world and live their own lives.
Anyway, Fu Zhiyu felt that it was much more interesting than the main storyline.
He casually picked up a silver needle, just to take a look, but he lost his grip and the needle pricked his fingertip.
It didn't hurt that much, and a drop of blood squeezed out of his finger pitifully. Fu Zhiyu quickly wiped it off and pretended nothing had happened, otherwise the palace servants who followed him would make a fuss.
But the blood was wiped off, but the silver needle that accidentally pricked him slowly turned red under Fu Zhiyu's eyelids, as if it was infected by the drop of blood. Fu Zhiyu felt a little hot when he touched it. After a while, it gradually returned to its original state.
Fu Zhiyu:
What's going on? Is my blood... poisonous
He reacted instantly and realized that the Lord God had told him about the mutation, but there was no movement for several days, so he put the matter behind him.
Fu Zhiyu frowned, and the first thing he worried about was whether the people he had been in contact with would be affected negatively, such as his mother.
He couldn't stay in the embroidery room any longer, so he put away the silver needle and turned around to return to the palace.