“As a young child, don’t listen to things indiscriminately.” She held Xuan Fei Yu’s hand a little tighter. Although she scolded him, she knew that this child was worried about her.
“Third uncle is very scary.” Xuan Fei Yu lowered his head and quietly said: “Fei Yu doesn’t like him.”
“Un.” She spoke truthfully, “I don’t like him either. That’s why we won’t talk to him.”
But things never went as planned. Just after she said that they would not speak with Xuan Tian Ye, she raised her head and saw him standing in Fei Cui Hall’s entrance. Like a respected door god, he stood there and looked even more alert than the people keeping watch.
Feng Yu Heng looked over, and not surprisingly, that person also looked towards her.
She pulled the two children forward, and Xuan Tian Ye came over with his usual angry expression. Even Feng Yu Heng could not help but frown.
Seeing Xuan Tian Ye, Fei Yu was startled at first then reflexively went to stand in front of Feng Yu Heng and extended an arm to protect her. At the same time, he raised his clear and childish voice to shout: “Even though you are my third uncle, you are not allowed to harm deity big sister!”
Xuan Tian Ye looked at this adorable child, but there was not a trace of fondness in his eyes. In fact, there was not even a tiny hint of kind feelings.
Feng Yu Heng saw this and immediately reached out to pull the child back. “Fei Yu, stop messing around. Your third uncle is teasing you.”
Although she said this, even Zi Rui, who was at her side, could tell that Xuan Tian Ye’s expression was not kind. He could not help but take a step forward and stand in front of Feng Yu Heng.
She almost laughed. Since when did her safety require protection from two young children? In front of this large hall, people came and went, making it so Xuan Tian Ye would not dare to do anything. Moreover, even if he took action, what was there for her to be afraid of?
Feng Yu Heng once again grabbed the two children’s hands and began to walk inside Fei Cui Hall, but when they passed by Xuan Tian Ye, she deliberately slowed their pace, and she heard him say: “Is this the outcome you desired?”
A question appeared in her mind. In regards to this result, Xuan Tian Ming had said that their matter was successful, but she did not know what aspect was successful. But now that she saw Xuan Tian Ye’s appearance, she figured that it had been a very large blow to him.
“County princess Ji An, congratulations.” His voice was gloomy and filled with anger. Feng Yu Heng only felt animosity, but she could only face him.
She gently curled the corners of her lips up into a beautiful smile, “Your Highness, thank you for letting me win!” After saying it, she increased her pace and quickly entered Fei Cui Hall.
But she did not think that she would see an interesting scene the moment she entered Fei Cui Hall.
Because the banquet had not begun officially, the Emperor and Empress had not yet arrived. There were only a few princes that had arrived. Regardless of whether it was officials or women, they were all relaxed. Everyone was looking for their acquaintances to chat together.
The most interesting part was that the eldest prince, Xuan Tian Qi, was exceptionally popular. At his side, there were always officials at his side talking to him. Feng Yu Heng noticed that some people went over to Xuan Tian Qi and did not leave. They would occasionally whisper into each other’s ears, and the conversation appeared to be joyous.
She turned around and looked at Xuan Tian Ye, who had come in behind her. He turned his gaze over towards Xuan Tian Qi, and his anger became even more pronounced. His fists were clenched so tight that his bones seemed to be on the verge of breaking.
How could she not understand what was happening. The officials had always been sizing up the situation and speculating. Previously, the situation had been unclear, and the third prince had a considerable amount of power. They would naturally need to choose to follow the third prince.
Now, the Emperor’s intention seemed to already be clear. He had even mentioned the eldest prince, Xuan Tian Qi, many times during court about how his character was kind and dignified, and he was very responsible.
Moreover, the previous dynasties had a saying. Either support the child of the first wife or support the eldest child. Now that there was no child of the first wife, the Emperor favored the eldest prince. That was a logical decision.
In this sort of situation, some of the people who did not really like the third prince began to cozy up to the eldest prince. Even some of the people who had been part of the core of the third prince’s support began to leave for some reason. When these people began to appear at the eldest prince’s side, how could Xuan Tian Qi not understand what had happened.
Feng Yu Heng silently praised Xuan Tian Ming for this truly impressive act. The wild soldiers on the outside were not easy to deal with, so he simply decided to extend his reach into the court. Pulling the rug out from under him, he cut off the third prince’s connections and financial support. Like this, no matter how many soldiers he had on the outside, it was unlikely that he could accomplish anything major in a short span of time.
She brought to two children over to Xiang Rong’s side and sat down. Xiang Rong knew that she had gone to visit imperial concubine Yun, so she did not ask too much, only telling her: “Eldest sister went to Yan Fu Palace, and fourth sister went to Qing An Palace.”
Feng Yu Heng knew about Yan Fu Palace, and Qing An Palace, if she thought about it, would be where the fifth prince’s imperial concubine mother lived.
Huang Quan leaned over and whispered into her ear to explain: “The fifth prince’s mother is concubine An. She was originally favored, but after that matter occurred, the Emperor never visited her palace ever again.”
Feng Yu Heng laughed. She really did not know if Fen Dai was an idiot. A concubine that the Emperor did not even want to look at, yet she happily went over to send gifts. She truly did not know if she should be considered filial or stupid.
Xiang Rong played with the two children for a while. Xuan Fei Yu was lively and very familiar with the palace. After a while, he was no longer able to sit still. Pulling Zi Rui, he wanted to go play somewhere else. Zi Rui looked at Feng Yu Heng, and seeing that his sister had nodded, he happily followed.
With the two children leaving, Xiang Rong revealed a gloominess that she could not hide, as her gaze would occasionally turn towards a certain direction. Feng Yu Heng followed her gaze and saw that the seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua, had actually arrived at Fei Cui Hall before she did. Although he still appeared calm like a Spring breeze, whenever he put down his wine cup, she could see his brow furrow and his harmonious smile disappear.
In truth, Feng Yu Heng was also curious over what had caused Xuan Tian Hua to become like this, but since he did not talk about it, she did not insist on asking. Xuan Tian Ming had not come over yet, so she could only keep this doubt in her heart.
She did not think about it too much, as she picked up a fruit from the table and began to eat it. The sounds of the madams and young misses loudly chatting at her side entered her ear, as she heard a young miss with a slightly gruff voice say: “I heard that a special envoy from Qian Zhou will be coming to present a gift. Last year, it was a prince that came. I wonder who will be sent this year.”
Another girl at her side laughed at her: “Who cares what sort of person it is? Could it be that you are hoping to find a good husband from Qian Zhou?”
“Don’t speak nonsense!” The gruff voiced girl scolded: “The one who can come to our Da Shun will definitely be from the imperial family. Without speaking about if we want to marry, even if we did, that would be to cement relations. How could we be sent over to cement relations? It would need to be someone from the imperial family.”
Someone else picked up on the conversation: “Aside from imperial daughter Tian Ge, what other daughter is there in the imperial family? I think that imperial daughter Tian Ge will become of marriageable age after the new year, right? But I have not heard of any horse being prepared for the marriage. Could it be that she is really being kept for an arranged marriage to solidify relations?”
“It’s very likely. After all, the current Emperor does not have any daughters of his own. If he finds a suitable person, it’s possible that imperial daughter Tian Ge will be conferred the title of princess and sent off to be married.”
Feng Yu Heng’s heart was slightly moved from what she heard. An arranged marriage to solidify relations, the ancient era did indeed have this sort of plan. In order to establish good relations between two countries, the imperial families from the two countries would become related. This was a necessary diplomatic tool. Was Xuan Tian Ge’s fate to be married off in such a manner?
“Second sister.” Xiang Rong tugged at her sleeve, “What are you thinking about?”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head, “It’s nothing. I’m just listening to some news to pass the time. This banquet will not begin for a little while longer, so it’s a little boring.”
Xiang Rong opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but when the words reached her mouth, she was unable to speak them. How could Feng Yu Heng not know that she definitely wanted to ask about Xuan Tian Hua, but she did not take the initiative to point it out.
She had previously asked Xuan Tian Hua to take care of Xiang Rong, so it was inevitable that it would leave a deep impression on this girl. She originally did not mind this matter too much, and she even had the intention of letting it develop. But for some reason, she suddenly lost interest in this matter. While at the manor, Xiang Rong had consciously or unconsciously mentioned the seventh prince a few times, but she did not even respond.
As for the reason, she herself was not even able to provide an explanation, but she knew that she had changed her mind based on her intuition, which had always been accurate.
“Father’s here.” Xiang Rong did not bring up the question she had wanted to ask and threw this out.
Feng Yu Heng raised her head and looked over. Sure enough, she saw Feng Jin Yuan walking over towards them. Xiang Rong deliberately sat a little further, as she knew that father definitely was not looking for her. Instead, father would be looking to speak with second sister, so it would be best if she did not get in his way.
After a moment, Feng Jin Yuan arrived in front of them. Feng Yu Heng smiled to him but did not get up to greet him, as she pointed over to the empty chair at her side and said with a smile: “Father, please sit.”
Feng Jin Yuan sat down with a frosty expression on his face. A fierce anger burned inside him, but he still forcefully suppressed it to prevent it from exploding. This was just because it was the palace. If this was the Feng manor, Feng Jin Yuan guaranteed that he would definitely explode and begin cursing while pointing at this daughter’s nose.
He had never seen this sort of child before. The father was strategizing while treading on thin ice in the courts, but she was behind him and tearing away at his work, and she was being very precise and thorough in her demolition. This sort of daughter, even if he killed her, it would not be considered excessive!
At this point, Feng Jin Yuan began to have a bit of an understanding of why Feng Chen Yu and the Chen family had tried time and time again to kill Feng Yu Heng. In truth, it was not without reason. He just hated that the Chen family was too stupid. They tried many times but were unsuccessful, leaving this girl behind to continue harming him. How could this daughter’s heart be so vicious?
He looked at Feng Yu Heng in confusion, as he tried to find out what happened from Feng Yu Heng’s gaze. Unfortunately, Feng Yu Heng’s gaze was like a deep lake. Although it was clear, her eyes were like ice. At a glance, nothing could be seen. Not only could he not discover anything from her eyes, he also began to shiver from a chill.
Feng Yu Heng laughed as she watched this father, the dignified prime minister. It was rare to see him suffer such a huge setback. It was truly amusing. It was truly amusing!
“This is what you wanted to see, right!” Feng Jin Yuan finally spoke up. He turned his head and stared at the crowd of officials surrounding the eldest prince, Xuan Tian Qi. Fiercely gritting his teeth, he shuddered. “Fighting to support the eldest prince and creating the illusion of him becoming the future crown prince in order to confuse everyone into placing their support in him. Is this the scene that you wanted to see?”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head and curled the corners of her lips into a smile, “What is father saying? I am nothing more than a girl. Where would I get such an ability from.”
“Stop pretending to be innocent!” Feng Jin Yuan clenched both of his hands into fists. He worried that he would lose control for a moment and directly slap this daughter. He and the third prince had been working together for a long time, but now more than half had been undone. There was no lack of powerful ministers and important generals, and there were even people who had provided their family’s properties to help increase the third prince’s influence. How could he accept this? “Feng Yu Heng, are you still my Feng family’s daughter? What good does this serve you?”
Feng Yu Heng looked at this father go crazy and could not help but smile even more. To an outsider, it was a beautiful smile, and they would assume that this father and daughter were talking about some joyous matter.
Unfortunately, when Feng Yu Heng spoke, she said: “Father, it would be best if A-Heng told you the truth. This is not what I wanted to see. It is what his Majesty wanted to see.”