Chapter 530
“Before we completely fall out, we still have to keep up appearances. Neither of us has much real power in our hands. We don’t even qualify to be pieces on the chessboard.”
Especially after spending more than a year in Dayan, the two brothers had been deliberately—or perhaps unintentionally—excluded from the center of power by the imperial court.
Whenever they thought about it, both brothers felt stifled. Hadn’t they stayed in Dayan because they were following their imperial father’s secret order? And now they had been mercilessly abandoned.
Xi Ling had once been the emperor’s most favored son. At the thought of this, his face flushed red. “Why didn’t I seize more power back then?”
He had plenty of capable people under his command, but most of them had been given to him by the emperor. Now, those people had become swords hanging over his head—harbingers of his doom.
He had no idea how many of them were truly loyal to him. After confirming his identity, he had spent the past few months distinguishing between and purging those who had once followed and protected him, but might now silently take his life to save themselves.
Seeing that he could not persuade him otherwise, Xi Ling could only say, “Then when are you planning to leave? I’ll see you off.”
Xi Yuanshan hurriedly waved his hand. “Don’t! Since you’re pretending to be ill, you should make it convincing. Half a month is nowhere near enough. Ideally, you should keep pretending until Xiqiang goes to war with Dayan.”
Xi Ling smiled bitterly and nodded. “I understand. Take care on the road, and don’t trust anyone too easily.” Including that father of ours.
Thinking of the ambitious Princess Consort Yi still residing in his cousin’s princely estate, Xi Ling knew it would be difficult for him to remain completely uninvolved. He could not help warning him, “That Princess Consort Yi of yours is up to no good. If…if you really can’t keep her under control, then find someone else to share your bed.”
A flash of coldness passed through Xi Yuanshan’s eyes at the thought of the troublesome woman in his estate. Although he was in Dayan, he was still the master of Prince Yi’s estate. As long as he wanted to know what was happening there, nothing could escape his notice.
Everything that woman had done was pushing the entire estate toward destruction!
“I know what I’m doing.” Xi Yuanshan’s voice was deep and heavy as he continued drinking cup after cup of tea. Seeing him like this, Xi Ling suddenly lost the desire to continue the conversation.
“What? Xi Yuanshan has returned to his country too?”
Yue Fuguang was on her way back to Dayan at that moment. In another half a day, she would arrive at the capital, Shangjing.
[He just set out. Xi Yan has urged them to return several times already. It would be difficult to justify staying any longer. Xiqiang hasn’t gone to war with Dayan yet, so he can’t do what Beiyue did.]
“Xi Ling didn’t return with him?” Thinking of his background, Yue Fuguang wondered if Xi Yuanshan and Xi Ling were the real and fake princes who had been switched at birth.
“Does Xi Yan already know Xi Ling’s identity?” Over the past two years, she had watched coldly as Xi Yan’s affection for this son diminished year by year.
[He probably found out. For the sake of his reputation, Xi Yan could keep Xi Ling alive as long as he denied him any power. But now that the world is in chaos, he wants to eliminate every destabilizing factor within the country.]
Yue Fuguang tossed a grape into her mouth. “So Xi Ling is one of the destabilizing factors that needs to be eliminated?”
[After so many years as father and son, Xi Ling understands Xi Yan. Before Xi Yan could make a move, Xi Ling had already purged everyone he had placed around him.]
Yue Fuguang nodded. She did not ask whether any innocent people had been caught up in it all. There was no point. None of it had anything to do with them.
[Now that you’re returning to the capital, can you take some time to rest?]
With her host’s lazy temperament, it was already impressive that she had managed to focus on one task for several consecutive months. Constantly flying from place to place was no easy feat.
“This time, I won’t be needed until the people have planted the new crops.”
When Old Madam Yu and the others asked her about it, Yue Fuguang gave them the same answer she had given Little Zhu.
The wrinkles on Old Madam Yu’s face seemed to multiply from her smile. “That’s good, that’s good!”
She pulled Yue Fuguang down to sit beside her. “Your grandmother specifically asked the farmers on the estate. Because of our Fuguang, the fields aren’t short of water anymore, and the crops have only just begun to be harvested. It’ll take at least a month to plant all the new crops.”
Madam Zhang took Yue Fuguang’s right hand. “That’s wonderful. You’ll be able to stay home for a while this time. Your mother and grandmother can make sure you’re properly nourished.”
She stroked the small hollow between Yue Fuguang’s fingers, which had almost filled out. “My poor child. You’ve suffered so much. You’ve lost weight.”
There was no solution to the problem of a mother believing her daughter looked too thin. Even now that Yue Fuguang had firmly established herself as the Divine Maiden, she could do nothing but softly reassure her, “Mother, I’ve grown taller. I haven’t lost weight.”
She pointed at Cuizhu. “If you don’t believe me, ask Cuizhu. I’m actually eating half a bowl of rice more than I usually do.”
Old Madam Yu immediately said, “As long as you can eat, that’s what matters!”
She glanced at Yu Ningxuan and the other girls in the main hall. “The first priority for the girls of our family is to stay healthy. It isn’t worth starving yourselves just so outsiders can praise you for being as delicate as a willow in the breeze or for having an elegant figure!”
Yue Fuguang was surprised. “Grandmother, has someone been dieting to look pretty?” Her gaze swept over the sisters of the Yu family. “I have slimming pills. Eat to your hearts’ content. If you really gain weight, just take one pill and you’ll slim right back down.”
“As for those men who value thinness above all else, they aren’t worthy of the girls of the Yu family.”
Old Madam Yu’s expression turned solemn as she addressed the girls. “Did you all hear what your younger sister said? The girls of our family have their maternal family to rely on. You don’t need to humble yourselves or make things difficult for yourselves just to please your husbands!”
“If you grovel and lower yourselves, you’ll only bring shame to Fuguang’s reputation!”
The girls immediately agreed. The eldest, Yu Ningxuan, spoke up first. “Grandmother and Sister, don’t worry. We sisters have our pride. We would never do such things.”
“Grandfather’s last letter said he had found a potential match for Second Sister—the eldest son of the Feng family. How did it go?”
“Little Zhu, did you find anything suspicious in Feng You’s life from the time he was born until now?”
[No. He was raised according to the model of a refined young nobleman. He’s talented, courteous, devoted, and not at all chauvinistic. His character is quite good too. He genuinely cares for your sister.
As far as I know, when he learned that he was going to meet your second sister, he was so happy that he couldn’t sleep for several nights. As a result, he showed up to meet her with dark circles under his eyes!
He still hasn’t received a reply from the Yu family, and he’s regretting everything now. He thinks he must have made a poor impression and that the Yu family didn’t approve of him. Ha-ha! At the moment, he’s wondering whether he should ask his father, Feng Tang, who has just returned home, to sound out your opinion.]