What is that?
Fu Shinian hurriedly pulled Fu Mingzhu home to find out.
She went back to her room, dismissed the maids, and then spoke: "What is this luck value? Come out!"
But after calling for a long time, there was no response.
"So, will only this kind of luck-related thing appear in my mind?"
"Does it mean that as long as the Fu family's luck value keeps increasing and Lin Qingqing's luck value keeps decreasing, the fate of the plot can be changed?"
"However, how do I see what effect the increase in the Fu family's luck value has?" Fu Shinian sat on the chair and suddenly noticed a hint of purple air at the foot of the bed.
Fu Shinian rushed over and found that the corner of the bed was emitting a faint purple air.
"What does this mean?"
In the evening, Fu Changqin came back excitedly from the academy, "Father, Mother, my teacher praised me, and he even read my essay aloud in class, praising me heavily!"
Fu Shinian's mouth dropped open; Fu Changqin, the notorious underachiever, was praised?
"The teacher wasn't being sarcastic, was he?" Mr. Fu was skeptical and stretched out his hand, "Let me see your essay."
"I can still tell the difference between praise and sarcasm." Fu Changqin muttered while taking out his praised essay from his sleeve for Mr. Fu to see.
"Hmm? Kid, have you finally gotten it?" Mr. Fu was overjoyed and quickly ordered, "Quick, call the kitchen to prepare more food and drinks!"
Fu Shinian: "..."
Is this the credit of the luck value?
She just didn't know what effect Lin Qingqing's luck value -1 would have.
At the Lin family, Lin Qingqing had scraped her knee, and a maid was applying medicine for her.
"How could you be so careless, tripping over your own feet while walking?" Mrs. Lin shook her head and nagged.
*
The next day, Fu Mingzhu took Fu Shinian to the marquis's mansion.
In the carriage, Fu Mingzhu noticed Fu Shinian had a wooden box on her lap.
"What's this?" Fu Mingzhu asked curiously.
"It's my first visit to the marquis's mansion. Going empty-handed might be rude, and people might say the Fu family lacks manners." Fu Shinian opened the box to show Fu Mingzhu, "So I brought some incense I made myself. It's not valuable, but since it's made by my own hands, it shows sincerity."
Fu Mingzhu happily hugged Fu Shinian, "Who could be more considerate than our Niannian!"
As Xiao Fengxing's fiancée, upon entering the marquis's mansion, Fu Mingzhu first took Fu Shinian to pay respects to the old madam.
Fu Shinian presented the incense she made, "Old Madam, this is incense I made myself. It has the effect of calming and tranquilizing the mind, and lighting it at night can help with sleep."
"Oh?" The old madam took the incense offered by a servant, and although it wasn't lit, a faint fragrance wafted into her nose, a scent that instantly lifted one's spirits, "This scent is pleasant, I haven't smelled anything like it before."
"Niannian likes to make incense at home, and during the day when my brother studies, she lights invigorating incense." Fu Mingzhu added, "Mother says that whenever she's overwhelmed during the day, as long as she lights Niannian's sleep-aid incense at night, she can sleep especially well."
"Is that so?" The old madam was pleasantly surprised, "Take this incense to the Marquis's quarters and light it for the Marquis tonight."
Fu Shinian knew that the old madam would definitely give this incense to Marquis Changping, which is why she brought it intentionally.
In the original book, Marquis Changping, Xiao Chengyu, was Xiao Fengxing's legitimate brother, but he was born with insufficiencies and was naturally sickly.
The Imperial Physician further pronounced that Xiao Chengyu would not live past 25.
And Xiao Chengyu was a true gentleman, knowing his time was limited, he didn't want to drag down any other woman, so he remained unmarried.
Even though the old madam hoped he would leave an heir to prevent the marquisate from passing out of the family, Xiao Chengyu didn't agree.
As expected, Xiao Chengyu died young at 25, and the title was passed to Xiao Fengxing.
This is why Xiao Fengxing, though a son of a concubine, was still highly regarded in the capital.
Everyone knew that the marquisate would belong to Xiao Fengxing in the future.
No one expected Xiao Fengxing would choose to get engaged to Fu Mingzhu.
People thought, how could Fu Mingzhu, merely a concubine's daughter of a fourth-ranking official's family, compare to the future Marquis Changping?
Fu Mingzhu herself felt the same, always believing she was not worthy of Xiao Fengxing.
So, whatever Xiao Fengxing said, Fu Mingzhu would obey.
Even if it was something unfavorable to Fu Mingzhu, as long as Xiao Fengxing said it, Fu Mingzhu would comply.
The expenses of the marquis's mansion were fixed, and with the monthly allowance Xiao Fengxing received, it was impossible to maintain the current lavish lifestyle.
It was all funded by Fu Mingzhu.
But Fu Shinian knew that Xiao Fengxing chose to get engaged to Fu Mingzhu precisely because of her and her maternal family's immense wealth.
In a dream following the original plot, Xiao Fengxing had already aligned himself with the Second Prince, joining his faction in the power struggle, but had yet to be heavily relied upon.
To get the Second Prince's attention, Xiao Fengxing urgently needed the Cheng family's wealth to support the Second Prince.
In the original book, Xiao Fengxing married Fu Mingzhu, acquired her dowry and the Cheng family's financial support, thereby giving great assistance to the Second Prince.
After the Second Prince ascended to the throne, he exiled the Fu family, immediately divorced Fu Mingzhu, sent her to the brothel, imprisoned the Cheng family, seized all of Cheng family's assets, and married Lin Qingqing, eventually becoming the winner in life.
For the sake of the Fu family, Fu Mingzhu, and the Cheng family, Fu Shinian had to make Fu Mingzhu let go of Xiao Fengxing, and must find a way to break their engagement.
Moreover, she would've done anything to prevent Xiao Fengxing from inheriting the marquisate.
Even if she couldn't cure Xiao Chengyu, she had to let him live as long as possible, long enough for her to devise a way to bring down Xiao Fengxing.
Now, Xiao Chengyu was already 23, according to the plot, and he would be dying in two years.
The old madam was devoted to Xiao Chengyu's health, whether it could be cured or not, even if it just made him feel a bit more comfortable, the old madam would be willing.
After paying respects to the old madam, Fu Mingzhu and Fu Shinian were led by a maid towards the garden.
Unexpectedly, just as they stepped out of the main hall, they saw Marquis Changping, Xiao Chengyu, who had just entered the old madam's courtyard.
Xiao Chengyu was tall and upright, and was remarkably handsome.
In Fu Shinian's opinion, Xiao Chengyu was much more good-looking than Xiao Fengxing.
It's just that his skin was pale with a sickly hue, so much so that in the scorching summer, seeing him brought about a slight chill.
Fu Mingzhu and Fu Shinian bowed their heads to Xiao Chengyu to greet him, "My Lord."
Xiao Chengyu returned the greeting calmly, and just as Fu Shinian rose, she heard his continuous coughs.
Looking up, she saw Xiao Chengyu needed to hold his fist to his lips, and because he was coughing heavily, his originally pale cheeks were flushed with rare blood, adding a touch of allure to his entire being.
Fu Shinian thought for a moment, took out a thumb-sized incense pill from her pouch, and held it up to Xiao Chengyu's chin, "My Lord can smell this incense pill, it may bring some comfort."
Xiao Chengyu lowered his head and immediately smelled the clean yet slightly spicy scent from the incense pill, which unexpectedly soothed the dryness and itchiness in his throat.
Xiao Chengyu raised his hand, carefully avoiding the tips of Fu Shinian's fair fingers, and took the incense pill.
The wide sleeve stirred the air slightly, and Fu Shinian smelled the faint scent of ink from him.