After nearly a month of fleeing, Jiang Wanwen and her companions had transitioned from suffering to adaptation, developing thin calluses where they were needed.
Even Fu Xuanchen had shifted from blaming his mother for forcing them to escape to resenting his eldest brother for rebelling without giving them any warning.
This resentment grew stronger when Fu Xuanchen heard from those procuring supplies that warrants for their arrest were everywhere.
Although Fu Xuanchen was accustomed to being domineering, having been born into such a family, he wasn’t entirely ignorant. His eldest brother’s actions clearly showed no consideration for them, who were held as hostages in Shengyang.
Fu Xuanchen felt a mix of anger, resentment, and sorrow. In his heart, his eldest brother had always been the one who treated him best in the family—better than his father, always willing to clean up his messes and stand up for him.
For a time, he not only resented his brother but also struggled to accept the fact that “he meant nothing to his eldest brother.”
In the days that followed, Fu Xuanchen became much quieter. He would come to eat when called but spent the rest of his time lost in thought.
He no longer clamored for his eldest brother to settle things for him once they reached Yongning.
When people realize their support system is gone, their habitual arrogance tends to be deliberately reined in.
Jiang Wanwen observed the subdued Fu Xuanchen and found him much more likable this way. It was a pity, though, that it had cost the original host her life.
Jiang Wanwen felt that, in this lifetime, without the original host’s hatred toward Fu Xuanchen to contend with, it would be difficult for her eldest son to manipulate Fu Xuanchen into serving him and his wife as he had in the book.
With the once rowdy Fu Xuanchen now quiet, the atmosphere within the group became much more harmonious.
As time passed, Fu Zhuoxu surprisingly grew fondest of Jiang Ping’an. Whenever they rested, Fu Zhuoxu would sit close to Jiang Ping’an.
Wherever Jiang Ping’an went, Fu Zhuoxu would toddle after him on his short little legs, constantly calling out, “Uncle! Brother Uncle!”
Seeing his nephew behave this way, Fu Xuanchen’s expression darkened even further. After all, he had carried this nephew the most during their journey.
Yet, the little one didn’t favor him the most. Fu Xuanchen felt as if he had been wronged by both the child’s father and the child himself.
While the news of their wanted status dealt a heavy blow to Fu Xuanchen, it didn’t faze Jiang Wanwen much, as she had long anticipated this day.
What she hadn’t expected was that her cheap eldest son was even more heartless than she had imagined.
When the court’s announcement reached Fu Xuanrui, who was still managing affairs in Yuanzhou, he immediately gathered his advisors and strategists to discuss a response.
In the end, Fu Xuanrui adopted the most advantageous countermeasure: he ordered the drafting of a manifesto condemning the court for “a thief crying ‘stop thief,'” accusing them of eagerly targeting the Pingwu Wangfu’s family after the Prince Pingwu’s death.
Otherwise, how could a household of elderly and children have fled?
With this manifesto, Jiang Wanwen and the others were firmly regarded as dead in the eyes of the public.
Though Fu Xuanrui had rebelled, he had no desire to be labeled a traitor and instead sought to win over the people. Humans naturally sympathize with the weak, and with his entire family gone, the world would be more inclined to understand his plight.
At this moment, Fu Xuanrui never considered how Jiang Wanwen and the others, who were still alive, would react upon seeing this news.
His mind was entirely occupied with his grand ambition—so much so that he even had memorial tablets for Jiang Wanwen and several others set up in the Pingwu Wangfu in Yongning.
Jiang Ping’an was spared the indignity of having a memorial tablet erected while still alive, simply because his surname wasn’t Fu.
Fu Xuanrui didn’t even dispatch trusted aides to search for them or provide assistance. Perhaps he hadn’t thought of it, perhaps he had other considerations, or perhaps it simply didn’t matter to him.
Then the imperial court began a war of words with Fu Xuanrui from afar—each side commissioning manifestos against the other.
By the time General Cheng reached the front lines and organized several large-scale counteroffensives, none had yielded favorable results.
After all, the generals and soldiers under Fu Xuanrui’s command were veterans hardened by years of battle on the border fronts, far surpassing the peace-time troops under General Cheng’s leadership.
Thus, both sides soon entered a stalemate.
By the time Jiang Wanwen learned of this news, another month had passed. Their group had drawn increasingly closer to Yongning.
They were nearly at Hanzhou—once through Hanzhou, they would reach Chengshui Xian.
Although she had thought the male protagonist ruthless while reading the book, Jiang Wanwen never imagined he could be this heartless.
She wasn’t naive enough to believe this was merely her eldest son’s delaying tactic.
In this era, if those in power declared someone dead, even if that person still lived, no one would dare acknowledge them. It was like “fake divorces” in her previous life—once divorced, it was final, with no distinction between real and fake.
If Fu Xuanrui succeeded in his rebellion later and no longer wished to be a filial son, Jiang Wanwen would lose even that last bit of leverage through filial duty.
If Fu Xuanrui grew even more ruthless, any benefits from his success would have nothing to do with them. After all, his mother, siblings, and even his son had already been executed by the imperial court.
As for considering the bigger picture and caring about her son’s future, Jiang Wanwen scoffed at such notions. Those whose feet weren’t burned by fire could afford to play the saint.
For Jiang Wanwen—who wasn’t the original owner of this body—the blow wasn’t as severe, since he wasn’t truly her biological son.
As for being treated so unfilially, Jiang Wanwen felt she had experienced it thoroughly in her previous life and was already accustomed to it.
At this moment, Jiang Wanwen suddenly understood why the original character in the book had acted so erratically after narrowly escaping death.
Faced with such a heartless biological son, who wouldn’t go mad or make a scene?
Still, in Jiang Wanwen’s memory, this particular event didn’t seem to occur in the book. Whether she misremembered or it resulted from her transmigration, she paid no mind to these changes.
Since she was already here, she would simply adapt as circumstances demanded.
But the news struck Fu Xuanming and his siblings much harder. The twins, Fu Xuanchen and Fu Xuanzhao, didn’t overthink it—they were merely upset and found it unlucky that their eldest brother considered them dead.
The clever Fu Xuanming, however, pondered more deeply, “Mother, what is eldest brother trying to do?”
What he really wanted to ask was, “What exactly is eldest brother thinking?”
Jiang Wanwen slowly sipped a bowl of fresh mushroom soup and replied offhandedly, “Isn’t it obvious? Your eldest brother aims for the throne!”
Fu Xuanming not only pointed at himself, but also at Jiang Wanwen, Fu Xuanchen, Fu Xuanzhao, and Fu Zhuoxu. His fingers trembled and his eyes reddened as he cried out, “What about us then!”