Fu Zhiyu comforted him, "Don't worry, I will explain it to him clearly. Besides, my mother was named Imperial Noble Consort, and I was named Prince Zhao. It seems that things are getting better and better. How can it be bad?"
Imperial Noble Consort Yun forced a smile, but she still didn't look very happy.
Fu Zhiyu knew what made her mother unhappy. Her two uncles had returned, but she couldn't go back to the Yuan family to visit them.
The rules for concubines to leave the palace are very strict. In the past three years, the only time my mother left the palace was for a grand ceremony a few months ago. However, the ceremony was held in Longquan Temple and the scope of activities was limited, which was no different from being in the palace.
"Don't worry, mother," Fu Zhiyu said, "I will try my best to find an opportunity for you to meet your two uncles."
Only after she got the promise did a slight smile appear on her face.
In order to go to the Yuan Mansion, Fu Zhiyu took the Yuanming Sword and left the palace a few days later. It was still early in the morning, and the sky was just beginning to turn pale. It was still very cold at this time of spring, so Fu Zhiyu even put a thick robe on his Yuanming Sword.
He chose this time not only to get to Yuan Mansion earlier, but also because it was the time for court session. Xie Ke must stay by the emperor's side at this time, otherwise he would not be able to meet him by chance.
However, Fu Zhiyu did not meet Xie Ke in the Imperial Garden this time. Instead, he heard a loud noise when he passed by there, as if someone was arguing.
Yuan Mingdao held Fu Zhiyu's hand and frowned when he heard the noisy sound: "Which palace maid or eunuch is so unruly? They are making a noise in the Imperial Garden so early in the morning."
"I have something else to do today, so I don't care about them," Fu Zhiyu said, "Let's go quickly, the carriage is waiting outside the palace."
In order to travel faster, he did not use a sedan chair. He had people carry it just to show off. In fact, the speed was quite slow and he had to travel on the main road.
The fastest way to get from the Glass Palace to the palace gate is to take the shortcut through the flower-viewing path in the Imperial Garden, but it seems like I always run into trouble every time I take this route.
Last time I met Xie Ke, what happened this time
As we walked a little further, the noise became more obvious.
"… Today I will teach you a lesson on behalf of the Thirteenth Prince!"
Fu Zhiyu couldn't help but move his ears after hearing this sarcastic remark.
He wondered if he had an incompatibility with the Imperial Garden, because every time he walked here, he always saw people he didn't want to see.
It was Nanny Gui from Linyue Tower, another annoying acquaintance.
Although she was a nanny, she was not very old, about 30 years old, and she looked young as she was a maid in the palace. She was originally a maidservant of Concubine Xue, and later when the eighth prince Fu Rongli was born, she served as a wet nurse for the prince for a period of time, and later she often served Fu Rongli.
This woman was very powerful and loyal. She treated Fu Rongli as her own son and died to protect him from disaster in her previous life. But she was also arrogant and domineering. She controlled all the eunuchs and maids in Linyue Tower. All matters in the imperial concubine's palace depended on her. Several masters treated her well. Some concubines of lower status did not dare to provoke her, and even some unpopular princes had to be careful with her.
The proof is right before our eyes.
The Thirteenth Prince Fu Yanran is only eleven years old this year, about the same age as Yuan Mingdao. Fu Zhiyu had seen him very little and it took him a while to recognize him.
He stood on the gravel road of the imperial garden, his face full of fear, with traces of tears on it and his clothes in disarray. His maid was kneeling in front of Nanny Gui, her face obviously swollen and red, but Nanny Gui's hands were still raised high, and it seemed that she had not beaten enough. Even though Fu Yanran mustered up the courage to stand in front of the maid, he was quickly and roughly pulled away by the other maids around Nanny Gui.
The scene looked somewhat funny. It was clear at a glance who had a higher status and who had a lower status. A servant actually stepped on the head of his master.
But there are too many children in the palace. Emperor Qing Yuan is really an excellent stud. Two children were born in the few months since Fu Zhiyu came back, one boy and one girl, numbering 18.
There are so many princes and princesses, but only a few of them have the ability to compete for the throne. The two in the Eastern Palace and Concubine Xue's palace have stolen most of the limelight. Fu Zhiyu voluntarily withdrew from the stage. Except for the one from Concubine Wen's family, the rest of the princes have some family background. But her sixteenth prince is only three years old, and it is estimated that he will not be able to wait for the time to compete.
Therefore, the two-level differentiation in this palace is particularly obvious.
Emperor Qingyuan was also very partial. He could not recognize half of the eighteen princes and princesses as his children even if they were dressed differently and stood in front of him. There was no other way. The palace was too big and there were too many people. There were always things that the emperor could not take care of. Or maybe he simply did not have the patience to take care of them. The situation that the unfavored princes were inferior to the favored slaves appeared, and it was not uncommon.
When Fu Zhiyu approached that place, Nanny Gui had her back to him and did not see it. However, the Thirteenth Prince saw it. He suddenly burst into tears and sat down on the ground.
"Brother Jiu!" He screamed with all his strength, "Please, save Ah Ye!"
Fu Zhiyu had come this far, so naturally he couldn't just watch and leave.
What Fu Yanran shouted was of some use. At least when Nanny Gui and the others heard it, they stopped immediately and turned around to kneel on the ground.
"Greetings, Prince Zhao," Nanny Gui lowered her head but kept talking, "I am here to teach a disobedient palace maid a lesson according to the palace rules, but I didn't expect to disturb Prince Zhao. Please forgive me, Prince Zhao."
Fu Zhiyu walked forward a few steps and saw a broken bowl on the road and a wooden tray on the side. He smelled a hint of medicine and saw a brown mark of medicine on the kneeling maid's body. He almost understood what was going on.
"But the palace rules don't say that the maids in Linyue Tower should teach the maids in other palaces," Fu Zhiyu thought for a while as if he couldn't remember, and asked Fu Yanran, "By the way, which palace are you from?"
Fu Yanran sniffed and said with sobs: "Hua, Hua Ruixuan."
"Yes, according to palace rules, the maids of Hua Ruixuan should be punished by the head lady of the palace. If they are worse, it should be the lady with a higher position than the head lady of Hua Ruixuan who should do it," Fu Zhiyu smiled, turned around and said sarcastically, "How can a maid be so bossy here? I think it's Nanny Gui who is used to being domineering in the palace and is bullying people here again."
"I dare not," Nanny Gui lowered her head even more, "It was this ignorant servant who ran rampant in the imperial garden and knocked over the Eighth Prince's medicine. The medicine is made of precious ingredients, and the imperial physician has already prepared the dosage. If one dose is used less than the other, such a serious mistake should be punished."
Although she said that she didn't dare, there was still arrogance and domineering in Nanny Gui's words.
Fu Zhiyu knew that she was sure that she would not punish her for such a small matter. It was not because Nanny Gui was arrogant, but because she had experience in this matter.
In the past, Liuli Palace would never take the initiative to cause trouble in the palace, let alone go against Linyue Tower for the sake of an insignificant Thirteenth Prince.
This is not because she is afraid of trouble. If Concubine Xue took the initiative to cause trouble, Concubine Yun would always fight back with a hidden needle. However, the current matter has nothing to do with Liuli Palace, and the Third Prince did a good job in this imperial examination and received a lot of praise from the emperor. Even the Eighth Prince was praised by the emperor for his ability to do things because he participated in it. Linyue Tower is now in the limelight. It is said that the emperor is about to make the Third Prince a king and Concubine Xue a royal concubine. Even the Eastern Palace has to give way a little at this time, and there is no need for others to step on this landmine at this time.
But Fu Zhiyu didn't care about this at this time. He took a step forward and said, "Really? I think that medicine is poisonous. Myna is in good health. He has been drinking for so long. Maybe it would be better for his body if he drinks less medicine today?"
“… You!” Nanny Gui was furious. She knew why the Eighth Prince was still taking medicine. It was because of Fu Zhiyu that he was whipped by Fu Rongye. The wound had not yet fully healed and it hurt when he moved a little. Because of this, the number of times the Eighth Prince had been out of the house could be counted on one hand. Nanny Gui felt very distressed just by seeing this.
But the person in front of her was Prince Zhao, not some unknown prince. Although Nanny Gui spoke in a harsh tone, she did not dare to really offend him.
"I don't know whether Hua Ruixuan's maid has done anything wrong, but Nanny Gui made a noise in the Imperial Garden early in the morning, disturbing my peace and blocking my way. This is really wrong and she should be punished. Look, she even scared my Thirteenth Brother." Fu Zhi glanced at Fu Yanran and asked, "Tell me, how many times did she slap your maid?"
Fu Yanran wiped his face with his hand, then said loudly: "She spilled the medicine because she bumped into it, and Ah Ye had already knelt down to apologize! But she still refused to give in and beat me at least twenty times!"
Fu Zhiyu stretched out his hand and called the guard beside him, saying: "You can go, but Madam is also an old man in the palace. I will exempt some for Madam. Just endure it ten times, and when you are done, get out of here."
Nanny Gui accepted the punishment with a sigh of relief, then left with her face covered. Before leaving, Fu Zhiyu saw her glaring viciously at the maid named A Ye.
After Nanny Gui left, Ah Ye cried even harder. Fu Zhiyu saw her holding the Thirteenth Prince's hand tightly, sobbing and saying, "The Prince shouldn't have done this, he really shouldn't have... It's all over if I let her vent her anger this time, but now that we've made an enemy, what can we do in the future?"
This is a wise man, but Fu Yanran refused to listen. He said stubbornly: "No matter what, I am still the prince. If she comes to cause trouble again, I will bang my head against the pillar and see if she dares to take the responsibility of forcing the prince to death! Anyway, I won't let them bully you again!"
A Ye shook her head desperately and cried so hard that she couldn't speak.
Fu Zhiyu, who heard it clearly, said: "…"
I have to say that Fu Yanran's idea is correct. The child is still young and must have been frightened and didn't react immediately. To deal with such a domineering person, one should be more rogue than her.
This kid is quite smart and ruthless, but Fu Zhiyu didn't care much about him in his previous life, and the original novel hardly mentioned this person. I didn't expect him to be so interesting.
It turns out that all plots in this world are more interesting than other plots, even the people.
After Fu Yanran finished speaking, he remembered something and ran a few steps in the direction of Fu Zhiyu. He walked in front of him, knelt down and kowtowed to him. Before Fu Zhiyu could reach out to help him, he stood up again and said, "Thank you, Brother Nine... No, thank you, Your Highness Prince Zhao."
"… fine."
"It's not just this matter," Fu Yanran raised his sleeve and wiped his face randomly, and said seriously, "Before, when Prince Zhao was sick, I often went to the Imperial Hospital to ask for medicine for my mother. The Dali Temple couldn't find any clues and had to report back, so my mother and I were almost handed over. It wasn't until Prince Zhao and my father said that they would not pursue the matter that my mother and I escaped."
Fu Zhiyu didn't say anything, thinking that this man was a smart person. Such a young person actually knew all this clearly. He had never even heard of this matter.
But he didn't ask more questions. He just thought about it and said, "Thirteenth brother, you have to know that I didn't do these things for you. I don't know all the twists and turns about the Dali Temple incident. As for Nanny Gui, I have disliked her for a long time."
Fu Yanran glanced at him with a firm look in his eyes and said, "I know, but you still helped me. I will always remember this favor. Prince Zhao, I will repay you in the future."
He said the last sentence word by word. Fu Zhiyu really didn't take it to heart. He just felt that Fu Yanran, at such a young age, spoke like a chivalrous man, his teeth weren't fully grown yet, and he spoke haltingly. It was good enough that he could save himself, so why bother talking to him about whether he would repay him or not.
After he finished his work, he looked at the sky. It was already late and he still had to hurry on his way.
Fu Yanran also slowly helped her maid away. Yuan Mingdao was a little worried and asked Fu Zhiyu in a low voice: "Is it okay?"
"It's okay. I know my limits and won't cause any trouble for Mother." Fu Zhiyu comforted him, "Besides, what I just said was the truth. I really didn't do this for Fu Yanran. Madam Gui and I have a grudge, and this just gave me a chance to vent my anger.
You don’t know, when Fu Rongli was four years old, I beat her in memorizing, and she cried all night in anger. This woman secretly drugged me. Although it didn’t kill me, it was just an allergy. It made me feel uncomfortable for many days. But I was in contact with too many people at the time, so I didn’t find out who did it. Later I found out that it was her. "
This is also the truth. In his previous life, Fu Zhiyu never knew who it was, but it was mentioned in the original book that it was done intentionally by Nanny Gui out of hatred.
"But at this time..." Although Yuan Mingdao was angry about Fu Zhiyu's experience and felt that Nanny Gui deserved this punishment, he was still worried rationally after all because he was an adult. He reminded her, "Linyue Tower is in its heyday right now."
Fu Zhiyu patted his head and said with a smile: "It's time to do it. Don't worry, Linyue Tower will soon not have the time to argue with Liuli Palace about the servants."
Yuan Mingdao tried hard to recall, but at this time in his previous life he was still practicing martial arts in seclusion in the Yuan family, so he really had no idea what was happening outside.
But Fu Zhiyu knew very well that Crown Prince Fu Lingxiao would not allow Fu Rongye to do such a thing. In his previous life, he had already laid the groundwork to target him and created a fraud case that shocked the court and the public. Although he had changed his target in this life, he still hated Fu Rongye deeply.
All that he had experienced before was now left to the popular Fu Rongye to deal with. Whether he could get through it depended on his own luck.
Fu Zhiyu calculated the date and it was probably today. By then, Linyue Tower might not have time to make trouble for Madam Gui.
"This is a real dog-eat-dog situation. Just wait and see."
Fu Zhiyu quickly left the palace and sat comfortably in the prepared carriage. He said this to Yuan Mingdao leisurely.