Not long after the fraud case, the palace held a summer dinner in early summer, which was a tradition.
On a breezy evening, all the concubines in the palaces would gather together. After the banquet, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would give them some gifts and open the ice storage to make it easier for the concubines to survive in this hot summer.
Fu Zhiyu and Imperial Concubine Yun have been keeping a low profile recently, but this special traditional banquet was hard to turn down, so they had no choice but to come.
It was very lively, and the food on the table was rich. But Fu Zhiyu and his mother Mingdao had already had a delicious meal before coming here, so they couldn't eat anymore after coming here. He only took some fruit and began to observe the people at the banquet without leaving any trace.
There were quite a lot of people, even the empress who was not usually seen came. She was holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand. She also didn't eat anything. Her upper body was almost motionless, except for her fingers slowly moving the Buddhist beads in her hand. She looked like a bodhisattva. Mingming and Emperor Qingyuan were sitting on a bench, both of them sitting far away from each other, which was a true portrayal of a couple who were in love but not in love.
Further down, on one side sat the Queen Mother, and on the other sat the Crown Prince Fu Lingxiao. Diagonally opposite Fu Lingxiao were naturally himself and his mother, and after them were Imperial Concubine Xue and her two sons.
But later on, the ranking changed.
It was the first time that Concubine Yue sat in such a front position, but there was no expression on her face. She lowered her head and talked to the eleventh prince Fu Yanxi. She seemed very serious, but Fu Zhiyu heard a sentence or two. They were clearly discussing whether the description of the grasslands outside the Great Wall in "Qingming Record" was too gorgeous and had the suspicion of piling up words; Concubine Wen was sitting a little below her, feeding rice cakes to the babbling Sixteenth Prince; Concubine Cen was opposite her, with the fifth prince and several daughters. These three people were all the concubines.
Below the rank of consorts are concubines, headed by the newly appointed Concubine Yi, who is Fu Yanran's biological mother, and the former Concubine Zhao of Hua Ruixuan. After Fu Yanran was valued by the emperor, she naturally rose with him, but her birth was too low, and it was a miracle for her to jump from a beauty to a concubine.
She and her son quickly moved out of the Huaruixuan side hall and lived in Qinyi Cottage not far from the imperial study. Concubine Yi looked very different from before. She lowered her head and spoke to Fu Yanran very elegantly. Her behavior was no longer as timid as before, but rather she seemed to be at ease.
As a mother, she is strong and she cannot let her son be embarrassed because of her in public.
After Concubine Yi, there were more people. There were seven or eight concubines, and then there were noble ladies, beauties, etc. It was so lively that it was impossible to count them. The number of Fu Qingyan's concubines kept changing, and Fu Zhiyu had not carefully calculated how many there were now.
Among all the people, Fu Yanran had changed the most. He was dressed in gorgeous clothes and looked proud of his youth. He seemed to notice Fu Zhiyu's gaze, turned around and smiled at Fu Zhiyu. Fu Zhiyu was not flustered and smiled back at him.
That’s great! Fu Zhiyu slowly turned his head, very satisfied with his current situation.
Fu Qingyan began to panic and tried to cultivate new forces among the princes in order to regain his ideal balance. But the more weights he added to the scale, the more it would shake.
So although Fu Zhiyu didn't like this occasion, he was happy about what he observed. Moreover, this was a gathering of imperial concubines, so Xie Ke had to avoid suspicion and he had to stay outside. Finally, he didn't have to endure his overly strong gaze, which made Fu Zhiyu feel much more relaxed.
When the banquet was about to end, the concubines in the various palaces gradually began to leave. What Fu Zhiyu didn't expect was that Fu Yanxi, who was sitting opposite her, took advantage of this opportunity to come close to her and secretly stuffed a book under the table for her.
Fu Zhiyu was puzzled and asked him in a low voice: "What is this?"
"This is my copy of Ninth Brother's painting, and also his calligraphy," Fu Yanxi said in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, with obvious excitement in his tone, "Ninth Brother is very good, I can't even imitate him, after all, I'm not as good as you. Mother often praises you, saying that you are the Wenquxing from heaven, and that this world can't bear you. She also praised Imperial Concubine Yun, saying that her piano music is the sound of nature, but it's a pity that she only plays it for Father now."
Fu Zhiyu: “…”
What an honest mother and son, they actually dare to say such words.
However, after being in the palace for so long, they should know their limits, at least not to say such things in front of Emperor Qingyuan. But Emperor Qingyuan has been scared recently and likes honest people, so it is not certain what will happen.
Fu Zhiyu casually flipped through the booklet, and it was true. He could still see signs of Fu Yanxi's progress in it.
"But I can't draw or write now," Fu Zhiyu said. "That's what happens when your brain is injured. I can't do such delicate things."
"I know," Fu Yanxi said with regret for a while, then raised his starry eyes and looked at Fu Zhiyu, "but if I can be like Brother Jiu one day, even for just one day, I will be satisfied."
Before he left, he looked at Fu Zhiyu reluctantly and told her, "You have to read more even if your brain is broken. Do you understand?"
Fu Zhiyu: “…Okay.”
This mother and son are quite interesting, their hearts and eyes are full of books. If they were sent to the Wanshuku of the Hanlin Academy, maybe they would not want to be concubines and princes.
But not everyone is as broad-minded as Fu Zhiyu.
"A bastard born of a lowly maid, and a bookworm who can't even speak nicely, these two people are actually on stage? Is the emperor crazy?"
As soon as Concubine Xue returned to Linyue Tower from the banquet, she was so angry that she threw the teacup in her hand.
"Speak softly," Fu Rongye gestured to her, but he looked calm and composed.
After hearing her son's advice, Concubine Xue still couldn't suppress her anger.
Nanny Gui was naturally punished. She had caused such a big trouble for the Xue family at that critical juncture, and there was no way she would be let off.
In the end, only Fu Rongli couldn't bear it, so he at least let her be buried intact, and not thrown into a mass grave to be eaten by wild dogs.
Linyue Tower was missing this person in charge, and things had been going wrong for a while. The tea was delivered at the wrong temperature, and the furnishings were not nice here and there. Concubine Xue was already very angry, and these two little things made her even less happy.
"Father didn't like the Xue family in the first place, didn't he?" Fu Rongye said, "He was pushed into that situation before, and now he finally has the power. Whether he gives it to the crown prince or to me, he will feel uncomfortable."
Even though the servants had been sent out long ago, Concubine Xue was still a little nervous when she heard this. She looked around and didn't even have time to lose her temper.
Fu Rongli, who was sitting absent-mindedly on the side, also knew something was wrong, so he came over and asked anxiously: "Brother, what... do you mean?"
"I originally thought that Fu Zhiyu was our biggest enemy and that my father liked him the most, but after that incident, I gave up on that idea." Fu Rongye glanced at him and continued, "In fact, like the crown prince, we are not his favorite sons, because the other half of our blood always disgusts him to the extreme."
Concubine Xue was stunned and said, "But you are still his sons. He raised you..."
But she was very clear about what had happened before, and she also knew that Fu Rongye was telling the truth.
The Lin family and the Xue family were the first two families to choose Fu Qingyan as a puppet. Even though Fu Qingyan came to power later, he had no way to uproot the power of the aristocratic families. They could only get along like this and pretend that the things that happened before had never happened.
There are no eternal enemies in the world, only eternal interests. Later, the Lin and Xue families got along well with the emperor, and both sides got what they needed. Prime Minister Xue was still the prime minister, and General Lin was still famous.
Under such circumstances, the Lin and Xue families also gradually changed.
Originally, General Lin was in the leading position in the whole matter. He held the military power, and Prime Minister Xue had to bow down to him. However, Fu Qingyan's increasing strength brought some benefits to the Xue family. The Lin family's military power was reduced, and a large part of the power was taken away by Xie Lin. Concubine Xue gave birth to two more princes, and Fu Rongye's excellence was on par with the prince. The Xue family originally only had the role of cooperation, but now, they have the power to compete.
Fu Rongye paused for a moment, then dropped another bomb: "My grandfather sent me news. He said that General Lin's troops had made unusual movements."
"What is the prince thinking...?" Fu Rongli reacted quickly. He took a deep breath and asked, "Is he crazy?"
Fu Rongye shook his head and said, "He's not crazy. If you've ever seen Fu Yanran, you'd know that Fu Lingxiao doing this is probably his only choice."
Concubine Xue's voice became sharp: "Just relying on that lowly child born by a palace maid? He was just proud for a moment, what kind of person is he?"
"Mother, the bastard born to the palace maid is very smart and learns things very quickly. The prince must be regretting it now. He originally only regarded Thirteen as a chess piece to be thrown away after use, but he didn't expect that this child could really catch the emperor's eye and make the emperor realize something more important. It turns out that none of us are the best choices," Fu Rongye continued. "The emperor's favorite and most favored child is not smart enough. We were all not very obedient, but Fu Yanran is different. He has no background and is very obedient. He can only rely on the emperor and can be controlled by him forever.
Even if we kill Fu Yanran, there is still a backup candidate, Fu Yanxi, and the emperor will only be more vigilant. In some ways, Fu Yanxi is more difficult to deal with. Although Li Daxueshi is dead, his students are all over the world. Many people in the court are his students, and the Li family is not without family wealth. Mother, Li brother, open your eyes and take a look. Do you still think these two people are complacent for a while
In fact, my father's idea has always been very clear. He can't give the throne to his favorite son, so he has to give it to the most obedient one. The prince and I are just phantoms. I just don't want the Xue and Lin families to rebound too much."
"He..." Concubine Xue's voice began to tremble, "You mean, he will really give the throne to Fu Yanran? To the son of a palace maid?"
"He is nothing now, but father is still in good health. He is forty-six years old. I think it won't be difficult for him to live another ten years. By then, Fu Yanran will be in his early twenties, which is the best time for him. Everything will be just right. Why is it impossible?" Fu Rongye said, "Mother, Fu Lingxiao is smart. This person is like a mouse that starts digging holes before the flood comes. Are we really going to do nothing?"
It was a little difficult for Concubine Xue to accept this. She had never thought that there could be such a method. This was a heinous crime and a rebellion.
After Fu Zhiyu's brain went bad, she thought that the throne would be smoothly handed over to Fu Rongye, and the prince was just an insignificant episode in it, just like Fu Zhiyu, whom she hated, who would eventually be trampled under the feet of her son.
"Brother, what do you want to do?" Fu Rongli was much calmer than him, "I will listen to you in everything."
Fu Rongye moved his fingers, his face darkened, and said, "I say, it's never too late to prepare for a rainy day. Grandfather has already started, so just wait and see."