Vow to Eradicate the Yao Family

　　In regards to Yao shi, the two of Feng Yu Heng and Feng Zi Rui had chatted about her before, and Feng Zi Rui had even expressed his attitude in the past; however, there had never been once when he was so frank and direct, openly expressing his dissatisfaction toward that mother. Even the old debts from their time in the mountain village of the Northwest were pulled out.

　　In truth, Feng Yu Heng did not truly participate in the things of that time, but the original owner had memories of these events. Also, memories from those three years were extremely profound, and all of the details were in her mind. Not a single one could be forgotten. She knew about the things that Zi Rui was talking about. She even remembered the countless times that the original owner had harbored some complaints about that mother Yao shi.

　　She was unable to refute Zi Rui’s words. For things to have deteriorated between Yao shi and this son to this degree, it was a result of her own doing. Even if she wanted to reconcile, she did not have any ground to stand on. Moreover, as a mother, she cast aside her children and chose a path for her own benefit. Why did they need to forgive her? She, Feng Yu Heng, in her previous life and current life, had never been a birth mother. To ask her to repay evil with good, how would she do that? She could not be like a mother and do something like “They mistreat me countless times, but I will treat them with unconditional love.” To her, intimate people were close, and enemies were just enemies. If you want to go from being intimate to being an enemy, I will try to stop you, but if you can’t be stopped, forget it. If it was not for Yao shi having the face that was the same as her mother from her previous life, she might not have even tried to stop her and would not have even put in any effort. She would have stayed far away when she first began to show these symptoms. How could she have dealt with her until this point?

　　She looked at Zi Rui and suddenly began to smile, gently saying: “My Zi Rui really has grown up. From this day forward, all that remains in this world are you and me, brother and sister. Don’t worry, elder sister will do everything possible to provide you with peace, properly watch you grow up and provide you with the best things.”

　　Zi Rui said to her: “I don’t want elder sister to give them. Zi Rui will go and fight for them myself. Zi Rui wants to grow up a bit more and wants to protect elder sister to allow elder sister to live peacefully.”

　　At night, Feng Yu Heng accompanied the child until he fell asleep. In the past, Feng Zi Rui liked to stick to people. He either stuck to Yao shi or stuck to her. If he could not stick to either of them, he could go and stick to Wang Chuan or Huang Quan. Either way, he had to have someone accompany him until he fell asleep, and it could not be like it was right now, where he lay in bed to sleep, while the person to the side sat on a chair while being able to flip through a book.

　　But the current Feng Zi Rui was sleeping very peacefully and regularly. He was no longer like in the past, where he would frequently end up rolled up inside his blanket, and his legs no longer randomly flopped around. Now, this child slept like a disciplined soldier, flat and straight. His breathing was even, and even when he descended into his dreams, he no longer moved around.

　　Feng Yu Heng observed the changes in her younger brother, and she could not help but sigh. In the end, people all needed to grow up. Understanding more and becoming able to analyze things on his own, he even kept his body restricted when sleeping, no longer having that careless form from the past. But with this restraint, the innocence was gone. At a young age, he was mature like the other children of this era. When the day came that he would set off and marry a wife and have children, he would no longer need the idea of protecting his elder sister.

　　She smiled and snuck out of Zi Rui’s room. Wang Chuan and Huang Quan were standing guard outside. The three returned to her courtyard together. Huang Quan prepared water to wash her. While Wang Chuan helped her get changed, she heard her say: “In a moment, have someone go to the Yu Palace. No need to disturb His Highness the ninth prince. Just greet the gatekeeper. Just tell him to have His Highness wait outside the palace gates when court is dismissed tomorrow, so he can bring Zi Rui into the palace to pay respects to the Emperor.” Wang Chuan nodded and put down her outer coat before personally going to handle the matter. Huang Quan happened to be coming in at this time, and Feng Yu Heng continued: “Tomorrow before noon, Huang Quan, Zi Rui has returned to the capital and needs to see the Emperor, so go and send him. Last time, the Emperor even mentioned that he was waiting for his return.”

　　Huang Quan quickly complied then asked: “Then will Young Miss not be going into the palace with him?”

　　She shook her head, “I won’t be going. You just need to hand Zi Rui to His Highness the ninth prince at the entrance to the palace. I will be bringing Wang Chuan and Ban Zou to the residence outside the city. It’s about to be the new year, and I need to personally pay a visit to the orphanage.”

　　Huang Quan nodded then thought for a bit, adding: “Young miss, don’t sleep quite yet. Try on the clothes that Lady Zhou sent today. Also, pick one to be worn for the banquet.”

　　Feng Yu Heng did not object, trying on all of the clothes that Lady Zhou had brought. In the end, she was dressed in a peony-colored* dress, as she stared at the mirror in a daze.

　　It was not just her that was in a daze, as Huang Quan was also in a daze and repeatedly sighing: “It’s really beautiful! It’s the first time seeing young miss wearing clothes of this color. Who knew that it would be so beautiful.” After thinking for a bit, she carefully looked at Feng Yu Heng’s figure and finally understood, “This servant knows. Young miss, you are taller than in the two previous years. You have also got a bit more meat on your bones. The places that should grow are also growing. It’s natural that you would fill out the clothes better than before. Un, your complexion is also better, and the colors contrast with you. It’s truly beautiful.”

　　Feng Yu Heng smiled and pointed at her own chest: “You said that this place has grown?” While she said this, she smiled, “I’m about to be 15 years of age. I should begin developing; otherwise, to always be withered is quite ugly.”

　　Huang Quan heard this and clicked her tongue. These words could only be said by her young miss. The young misses of other families would use cloth to bind their chests once they began to grow even the slightest bit. They hated that they could not throw out the flesh that they had grown; however, who knew that having a bit of flesh would look good!

　　Huang Quan smiled and suggested to Feng Yu Heng: “In the future, young miss should wear clothes of this color more often. It’s beautiful. Don’t just keep wearing plain colors.”

　　Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “I have never paid too much attention when it came to the clothes that I wear. As long as the clothes are comfortable and look fine, all is well. In the past, I was reluctant to wear these colors reserved for a national beauty for fear of causing trouble.” After saying this, she helplessly said: “Even if it was avoided like this, nothing was truly avoided. It just continues to find different ways to reach me.”

　　“That’s right.” Huang Quan agreed and said: “That’s why there’s no need for us to think about those undesirable things; moreover, these clothes were sent by Lady Zhou. Lady Zhou is a most thorough person. If she dares to have clothes of this color made, it means that it’s fine for us to wear them.”

　　Feng Yu Heng nodded, “Then it’s that one.” While she spoke, she took it off and handed it to Huang Quan: “Hang it up. Don’t fold it in order to prevent wrinkles.” She had brought out clothes hangers for her bedchamber long ago. The two servants were also proficient in using them. Their days were a mix of modern and ancient.

　　The imperial daughter’s manor saw everyone go to bed early. Inside the Lu Manor, Lu Yan was in the midst of going crazy over a bowl of bird nest. Ge shi repeatedly advised her: “This thing just has this sort of taste. Eating it is for the sake of improving your body. It’s not for the sake of tasting good. No matter what is said, it’s not some sweet drink.”

　　Lu Yan, however, did not believe in such things, “Impossible! I’ve heard people say that bird nest is very delicious after it’s been prepared. How else could the imperial concubines be able to consume it? Think about it, daughter is just the daughter of an official and already feel that this is extremely hard to swallow. For imperial concubines, who have such delicate bodies, how could they handle it?”

　　There was nothing that Ge shi could do and could only tell the truth: “You also can’t be blamed for being unable to handle it. What sort of cooks are in the palace?! And just how plentiful are their spice racks? It’s natural that the things they make will be good. Given our manor’s recent situation, all of our previous cooks have left. All that remains is the one that took care of cutting things.

　　Lu Yan was a little shocked; however, she very quickly understood. The current Lu family might still be the left prime minister’s manor, and even without the businesses on the outside, it would not result in such a poor state. But the problem point was in the Yao family was suppressing the Lu family’s businesses very fiercely. Not only were their businesses collapsed, but it left the Lu family up to their ears in debt. Just the money that was paid out was enough to account for many months of a left prime minister’s salary. How could they not be living frugally?

　　The hatred that she felt in her heart toward the Yao family suddenly surged forth once more. She could only drink a couple mouthfuls of the high-quality good before the bird nest was fiercely thrown on the ground. She gnashed her teeth fiercely, “Yao family, there will come a day when I will have your family and its people completely scattered! There will come a day when I will eradicate the Yao family and pull out its roots! Everyone that is related to the Yao family will be killed!”

　　Faced with Lu Yan’s hysteria, Ge shi did not stop her. She just faintly ordered the servants to clean up the things on the ground. As for the wasted bird nest, if the servants did not dislike it, they could pick it up and eat it. After thinking a bit, she said: “Daughter, don’t worry. Mother will go and bring in someone that specializes in making bird nest. Even if the entirety of the Lu manor is cleaned out, those bird nests need to be made properly for you! No matter how much we suffer, we cannot allow you to suffer.”

　　Who knew if Lu Yan had heard what Ge shi had said. She just stared straight at the servants, as they carefully picked up the wasted bird nest then placed it in another bowl. Just as they were about to throw it away, she suddenly said in a loud voice: “You aren’t allowed to throw it away. You’re also not allowed to eat it. Go and wash it then bring it back. Regardless of how bad it tastes, I will eat it. It’s for no other reason than to allow the Lu manor to make a comeback. I need to eat all of this bird nest.”

　　The next day at noon, Huang Quan sent Zi Rui to the entrance of the palace and waited for Xuan Tian Ming. Feng Yu Heng handed the medicine that had been brought out of the space to Qing Yu, so that they could be brought to Hundred Herb Hall. She then brought Wang Chuan into her imperial carriage and set out. In the capital, she purchased quite a few items for the new year then headed toward the residence outside the city.

　　Speaking of the orphans living in the residence outside the city, aside from some of the younger ones, the older children that had gone through some medical training were gradually being sent to the Hundred Herb Halls outside of the capital. At present, there were many new faces in the residence, and they were all orphans from the surrounding areas. Tian Dong and Fu Sang had also gone to the outer provinces, but they were still brought back. After all, the residence could not be lacking those two, and those two had a better understanding and were more accustomed to the situation on this side.

　　From the capital to the residence was a trip that took under two hours by carriage. When Feng Yu Heng’s imperial carriage stopped outside the residence, many people inside saw it. The newly-arrived children were curious and some even ran back to their rooms in fear; however, the children that recognized the imperial carriage rejoiced and ran outside. Even Fu Sang and Tian Dong followed them out. Only when Feng Yu Heng exited the carriage did Fu Sang quickly step forward and say: “Imperial Daughter happened to have come. At present, there is a matter that this servant and Tian Dong were struggling with and could not make a decision on!”

　　*TN: Not entirely certain what color this is, but internet searches seem to be leaning towards a pink color. (EN: That would make sense, since peonies tend to be pink in color.)