Hearing the eldest princess mention him, Feng Jin Yuan quickly stood up and saluted her, saying: “I don’t dare. I don’t dare.”
The Emperor looked at Feng Jin Yuan and said: “The Northern area of Da Shun is very close to Qian Zhou. This time, dear minister Feng was ordered to relieve the disaster, and he has helped Us solve this disaster.”
With him saying this, how could Feng Jin Yuan dare to continue standing at his seat. He arrived at the front of the hall and kneeled: “Being able to share your Majesty’s burdens is this official’s responsibility.”
Kang Yi said with a smile: “Lord Feng loves his country and its people. He is a great example. This year’s disaster was much worse than it was in years past. Even if our Qian Zhou is covered in snow and ice throughout the year, it was difficult to avoid adversity. There were some refugees from the border area that fled to Da Shun in a panic. Lord Feng did not forcefully chase them away, and he even prepared porridge and tea for them. This was something that moved many people. Right before Kang Yi came, brother Emperor specifically advised me, when I came to Da Shun I had to thank Lord Feng for having a caring heart. I also must thank your Majesty for showing concern. My Qian Zhou must remember Da Shun’s assistance and grace. Regardless of who it is, I will remember it.”
Her speech was sincere, and the Emperor liked it a great deal. He gave even more recognition to Feng Jin Yuan for his work in the North this year.
Compared to Zong Sui, Qian Zhou coming to court was much calmer. There was no major twist or turn. Aside from allowing people to see moon palace silk, there was no further excitement. Very quickly, Qian Zhou’s eldest princess and young princess completed their mission and went to watch the song and dance.
Because these were all foreign envoys, the two sat next to the prince of Zong Sui. Li Kun and Kang Yi were both very thorough with their courtesies, saluting each other and chatting for a while. But Ru Jia was not that calm. Looking at Li Kun, she revealed a smile that had no good intentions. Li Kun felt his skin crawl just from seeing it. He then heard her say: “Just now, we heard about the matter of Zong Sui losing face. Your treasure was brought as tribute, but it was broken by then. That truly is a loss of face.”
Originally, Li Kun was not one to argue. In his eyes, this matter was already concluded. Either way, Da Shun would be the one to take on danger. He was only too glad to have it happen. But him being magnanimous was him being magnanimous. Now that Princess Ru Jia was being malicious, it was a different matter. Li Kun’s expression became heavy, as he suppressed some anger in his heart. Before he could say anything, he heard eldest princess Kang Yi scold Ru Jia: “Shut your mouth! Your uncle emperor will look out for you in Qian Zhou, but that does not mean he will indulge you to this degree! This place is Da Shun. Put away your unruly temper and quickly apologize to his Highness from Zong Sui.”
Ru Jia was almost scolded to the point of tears. Fiercely biting her bottom lip, she did not allow herself to cry. Although she was still reluctant to apologize to Li Kun, Li Kun felt embarrassed to continue arguing. After all, as a man, it was no good getting angry with a young girl. It seemed this little girl was about the same age as his younger sister. She was at an age where she was filled with pride. Also, he had been a little too excessive with his anger.
Thus Li Kun quickly waved his hand and said: “It’s fine. It’s fine. Eldest princess, do not blame princess Ru Jia. It’s all the fault of this lowly prince. It’s all this lowly prince’s fault.”
“Hmph!” Ru Jia glared at him, “It’s good that you know it was your fault. This princess will not apologize to you.” After saying this, she sat down on her own.
Kang Yi was helpless and said to Li Kun: “Would your Highness please be understanding. This child’s father passed away early, and this one and her uncle emperor cannot help but dote on her a little. Who could have thought that with one thing leading to the next, she would end up becoming like this.”
Hearing her say this, Li Kun felt awkward. He even felt a little embarrassed. Repeatedly waving his hands, he punished himself with a cup of wine.
Feng Yu Heng sat on the other end and watched from a distance. No matter how she looked, she felt that eldest princess Kang Yi was truly too poised. She had beauty and dignity, and even if she had been married and had a child, she was still able to attract the gazes of numerous government officials.
Xuan Tian Ge said to her: “The mother is fine, but that daughter is too different. A-Heng, do you think that such a large gap in personality between mother and daughter can be so large?”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head, “In terms of genetics, although there is a possibility of variation, the probability is not that high. But we do not have a great understanding of Ru Jia. If she was simply spoiled rotten and has a bad temperament, it is not impossible for her to have good intentions.
Bai Fu Rong clicked her tongue, “How could that be possible.”
Feng Yu Heng thought that it was not very likely, “Then she takes after her father.”
Xuan Tian Ge said: “What’s more likely is this mother’s dignity and kindness are completely fake.”
Feng Yu Heng did approve of this a bit. After looking at them for a little longer, she suddenly said: “Look, they’ve sat down. I am willing to bet that princess Kang Yi will take at most two sips of her tea before coming over.”
Hearing mention of betting, Ren Xi Feng very frankly told Xuan Tian Ge: “When the banquet ends, I will have someone send the bank notes to your manor.”
Bai Fu Rong asked her: “You admit your loss?”
Ren Xi Feng nodded, “Ever since she mentioned thanking A-Heng’s father, I knew that I had lost. A-Heng, you absolutely must be careful.”
Just as she said this, Kang Yi just finished taking a second sip of her tea then put it down. Sure enough, she stood up and circled around a group of people and headed towards where Feng Yu Heng sat.
When talking to the princess of a foreign country, Feng Yu Heng did not think too much about it. Instead, it was Xiang Rong who began to feel nervous. Seeing the eldest princess coming over, she was not smiling towards Feng Yu heng. Instead, she was smiling towards herself. For some reason, this smile caused her skin to crawl.
She subconsciously moved closer to Feng Yu Heng; however, Feng Yu Heng had already stood up and saluted the eldest princess then took the initiative to say: “Eldest princess, greetings.”
Kang Yi also responded: “County princess Ji An, greetings.” Her tone was steady, and her attitude was appropriate. No matter how one looked, she was a very polished and extremely good person. “On the way here, I would occasionally hear about county princess Ji An working with the people in mind. During the Winter disaster, you saved the lives of all the citizens affected by the disaster in the capital. After entering the capital, county princess’ fame was even more pronounced. This one was thinking, if Qian Zhou was able to find such a capable county princess to share the burdens of my brother emperor, this one would be at ease.”
Feng Yu Heng had a decent smile on her face. Faced with eldest princess Kang Yi’s mature stability, she put out a supernatural pressure. This pressure carried some valor, heroic bearing and elegance. These qualities allowed her to support her younger brother and help him ascend the throne. She was also a little reluctant to look away.
“Eldest princess is too humble.” Feng Yu Heng opened her mouth and faintly said: “Under the heavens, who does not know that with eldest princess, the ruler of Qian Zhou will have no worries.”
“Hah.” Kang Yi lightly sighed, “Qian Zhou is my home country. Regardless of where I go, I hope that my home country will get better and better.”
“That’s natural.” Feng Yu Heng’s head was slightly raised, as she continued to maintain eye contact, “That’s why everyone wishes to protect their home countries.”
Kang Yi was slightly stunned for a moment, but she very quickly recovered. Her gaze turned to Xiang Rong and said with a smile: “I’m sure this girl is also one of Lord Feng’s daughters, right? This one sees a bit of likeness to prime minister Feng’s eyebrow area!”
Xiang Rong’s face turned red, and she saluted Kang Yi but did not speak.
She was indeed the daughter that most resembled Feng Jin Yuan. In addition to her sitting next to Feng Yu Heng, being recognized was not really odd.
Xiang Rong had less confidence, so Feng Yu Heng replied for her: “This is my third sister, Feng Xiang Rong. She is still young. I hope that princess will be lenient with her mistakes.”
“It’s no problem.” Kang Yi smiled and said: “When Lord Feng was relieving the disaster in the North, he took in 200 refugees from my Qian Zhou. This one is truly grateful. When that child, Ru Jia, went with the officials to help calm down the people at the border, she caught a cold and received warm tea from Lord Feng. This is a grace that this one will not dare forget. Coming to the capital of Da Shun, I also brought some gifts for the daughters of the Feng family.” As she said this, she took some things from one of the maids. “This is a square handkerchief made of our Qian Zhou’s national treasure, moon palace silk. Because the large bolts of moon palace silk are sent to Da Shun as tribute, we are truly unable to make anything too grand. I hope county princess and third young miss will not dislike it.”
Xiang Rong quickly bowed and finally spoke up: “Thank you, eldest princess, for your concern. Dislike is a word that I absolutely would not dare utter.”
Feng Yu Heng also said: “Eldest princess is too polite. A-Heng did not even prepare a return gift. This sort of valuable present, I truly do not dare receive it!”
“County princess, you absolutely must say such a thing. It’s just a small greeting gift. If you do not accept it, it would trouble this one.”
With the conversation reaching this point, it would not be good to not accept it, thus Feng Yu Heng smiled then reached out and received the handkerchief. Seeing Feng Yu Heng receive it, Xiang Rong also received it.
Kang Yi paid very close attention to the two after receiving the handkerchiefs. In her mind, moon palace silk, commoner’s brocade, refined cloud silk, heavenly gauze and smokey silk gaze were the five treasures. It was necessary for the small countries to pay tribute to Da Shun, and even if this was the case, the amount was still low. She had heard that even the palace’s imperial concubines struggled to acquire any, much less the daughter of an official’s family.
She originally thought that the Feng family’s young misses would be very surprised and happy to receive square handkerchiefs made of moon palace silk, but she never thought that county princess Ji An would treat it as though she had received a common item. She did not appear to be happy at all. As for the third young miss, Feng Xiang Rong, she simply looked it over a few times but did not appear as happy as she had anticipated.
While Kang Yi was surprised, she was also slightly embarrassed, but she did not express it, as her face continued to remain pleasant.
How could she know that, to Feng Yu Heng, the five treasures were things hidden away at the bottom of boxes. Even for Xiang Rong, Feng Yu Heng had given her this sort of handkerchief before, and she had given her a full set of clothing. Although it was fresh, it was no longer like before.
“Moon palace silk is extremely valuable. Eldest princess is truly sincere.” Feng Yu Heng slightly smiled and gave her thanks, “I wonder, how long will eldest princess be staying in Da Shun? A-Heng will come to visit at a later day.”
Kang Yi said: “No rush. This one may be staying here for a while longer.”
“That’s good.”
The two went back and forth, chatting for a while. At this time, a dance just happened to conclude. With the song and dance stopped, the next group did not seem to be coming out.
An official that had been drinking shouted “How come it’s stopped? Continue dancing!”
Everyone exploded with laughter. Because it was the new year’s celebration, liveliness was good. Nobody would think of something as being wrong.
But the song and dance did not continue. After waiting for a long time, some people began to feel confused. Following this, what came was a quiet sound. That quiet sound was some unfamiliar song, and it sounded a little bit mystical.
Feng Yu Heng slightly narrowed her eyes, and her gaze turned to outside Fei Cui Hall’s entrance…