Chapter 233 – Xuan Tian Ming, Just Secretly Be Happy
Xuan Tian Ming, Just Secretly Be Happy
Perhaps it was because it was snowing heavily and the night dark, but none of the three carriages behind them noticed them turn around. Even the dead driver some how fell into a pile of snow and was immediately covered up. Even the splatters of blood were covered up by the snow, leaving practically no signs behind.
The carriage Chen Yu sat in was closest to Feng Yu Heng. The carriage driver felt that the second young miss’ carriage was going too fast and did not dare follow. After all, the roads were slippery, so it was best to be careful.
When Feng Yu Heng’s carriage stopped at the Yu Palace, the gatekeeper was cleaning up the snow out front.
When he saw the carriage, he froze. Because Ban Zou was a hidden guard, he did not appear before others often, so the gatekeeper did not recognize him at all. Just as he was about to go up and ask who they were, he saw the curtain lifted. Feng Yu Heng’s small head popped out from inside: “I am the Feng family’s second young miss.”
This caused the gatekeeper to become attentive and immediately reconciled the identities of the Feng family’s second young miss and the future Princess Yu. Looking carefully, sure enough, it was the same person he had seen previously at the entrance of Hundred Herb Hall during the last Winter disaster.
Thus, he did not say another word before opening the palace’s gates, directly allowing Ban Zou to drive the carriage inside.
This was the first time Feng Yu Heng had entered the Yu Palace, but she was not in the mood to take it in. Upon exiting the carriage, she saw lady Zhou arrive to receive her. Seeing Feng Yu Heng and Ban Zou in their current state, she knew that something must have happened, so she quickly brought them to the inner yard.
Just as they entered the inner yard, and before they walked through the winding corridor, Bai Ze could be seen pushing Xuan Tian Ming and heading in their direction.
When the two looked at one another, Feng Yu Heng immediately shook her head slightly, giving him a reassuring gaze. Only then did he calm down slightly, but he still reached out a hand towards Feng Yu Heng.
She trotted over towards him and very naturally grabbed his hands. At the same time, she said: “A bit of a problem occurred along the way, but I did not get hurt.” She said this while taking over pushing the wheelchair for Bai Ze.
“This servant will send people to investigate.” Bai Ze said this then left, bringing Ban Zou along. Lady Zhou also did not continue to remain with the two.
Feng Yu Heng pushed Xuan Tian Ming along. Following Xuan Tian Ming’s directions, they arrived at his bedroom.
Xuan Tian Ming’s bedroom was extremely large. Just the room was separated into four compartments, but she was not in the mood to take it in. Upon entering the room, she immediately closed the doors and handed over the arrow: “Take a look at this arrow. Ban Zou said that it does not look like it belongs to Da Shun, but I can’t tell the difference.”
He received the arrow and frowned after taking a glance: “Something from Zong Sui?”
“Zong Sui?” Feng Yu Heng froze, “From the East?”
“Correct.” Xuan Tian Ming nodded then continued: “But the people of Zong Sui are not proficient in archery. Although they do have some good archers, they are only used in their standing army, and they do not have outstanding points.”
“The force behind this arrow was extremely large.” She told him about how the arrow flew through the wooden carriage and how it killed the carriage driver. She then added: “When the second arrow was shot, Ban Zou feared another sneak attack, so he deliberately swerved the carriage, but it still flew in.”
Xuan Tian Ming reached a conclusion based on what he heard, “Then it was Qian Zhou. For the sake of deceiving the public, they deliberately used arrows from Zong Sui. But while they were acting this out, this proficiency with an arrow is something only the divine archers of Qian Zhou are capable of.”
Feng Yu Heng closed her eyes. The divine archers of Qian Zhou had succeeded in fraying her nerves. She still remembered how Xuan Tian Ming was injured at the hands of the divine archers from Qian Zhou in the mountains of the Northwest.
“Who said that they are the only ones capable.” She coldly snorted, “When I have finished training your divine archery team, let’s have them compete with the archers of Qian Zhou. Then we’ll see who is more skilled.”
Xuan Tian Ming never doubted what Feng Yu Heng said. Moreover, he had already seen this girl’s archery. Presently, if she said that she was capable of making an arrow chase after a swerving target, he would not doubt her at all.
“I heard about what happened at the Yuan Palace.” He pulled her to his side and put down the arrow, changing the subject to the birthday banquet, “Third bro is becoming more and more cautious with each passing year. A set of white crystal head ornaments was able to make him think of that imperial concubine from so many years ago. He truly is a powerful foe.”
Feng Yu Heng reached out and began massaging his legs. While examining his situation, she continued to chat with him: “It’s fine regardless of whether or not he truly saw through it. This sort of psychological imprinting is not something that can be noticed immediately. If he truly could believe in the superstition of Feng Chen Yu being the aspect of the phoenix, then the imprinting would have been truly very successful. The plaster still needs a few more days. After roughly seven days, I will help you remove it. After another month of recovery, you will be able to walk.”
She looked at him with relief. Seeing the legs recover to this degree allowed her to finally let out a sigh of relief.
In reality, she should not have scared those girls at the Yuan Palace, but Xuan Tian Ming’s legs was one of her sore spots. Whether or not she could truly completely heal them was something that caused her heart to beat like a drum, so how could she allow for others to speak so irresponsibly.
“Your medical ability puts me at ease.” Xuan Tian Ming looked at the girl squatted before him and suddenly began to think a little on the time they met for the first time in the mountains of the Northwest. At that time, they had met by chance, and they argued over anything that was said. Thinking back now, it was truly interesting.
“Even if you did not feel at ease, you would have no other choice.” Feng Yu Heng raised her head to look at him, “If I am unable to heal your legs, then there is not a single person in this world who will be able to. Xuan Tian Ming, just continue secretly being happy!”
He was not secretly being happy. He was openly being happy. Just as he was reminiscing about the banter from when they first met, she said something like this. In an instant, it was as though he had returned to the mountains of the Northwest, and the girl before him had just finished pelleting people with stones before turning to argue with him.
“Stop smiling.” She rolled her eyes, “Is there any news from your intelligence network over the past few days?”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “There is. A portion of third bro’s army is retreating from the North, but it is not much. It does not look like he brought them back out of fear for eldest brother. Instead, it looks like they are contending with us and deceive the public. The soldiers that had been pulled back are now gathering at Gan Zhou, and he set up a headquarters just outside.
“You mean to say that he does not at all believe father Emperor’s attitude towards his Highness the eldest prince. Does he already believe that it was our doing?”
“It’s possible.” Xuan Tian Ming thought for a while then said: “But his troops did stop in the third city from the Northern border and did not continue advancing. In another few days, they should be able to meet up with your father.”
“It’s fine to just call him Feng Jin Yuan.” She absolutely did not want to hear “your father” or anything similar, “Have you put any thought into what happens if Xuan Tian Ye does not fall for it, and he insists on gathering the majority of his troops to the North then forms an army with Qian Zhou. Will he immediately launch his offensive?”
Xuan Tian Ming shook his head, “He won’t. So long as the imperial throne can be obtained through legitimate means, nobody would want to use war to obtain it. But we can not allow his army to remain in the North for too long. When the time comes and they become too close with the Qian Zhou country, it will be a serious problem sooner or later for Da Shun. That’s right,” He suddenly said: “Feng Jin Yuan reached the disaster area today. As expected, he indeed met secretly with someone from Qian Zhou. What was expected was that the person who sought him out was a woman.”
“A woman?” Feng Yu Heng felt this news was a little unexpected. Why would a woman look for Feng Jin Yuan?
“The spy is still continuing to investigate. Aside from waiting, there is nothing else we can do. Third bro is cautious by nature. Even if he has some doubts about eldest brother’s matter, he will definitely be making some preparations. Let’s wait and see,” He patted her hair and suddenly changed the subject, “Do you blame me for pulling you into this fight for the imperial throne?”
Feng Yu Heng was stunned for a moment then obediently shook her head, “I don’t. Although I do not want to admit it, I am still Feng Jin Yuan’s daughter. Being born in the prime minister’s manor, even if the one I met was not you, there would be another person. It’s impossible for Feng Jin Yuan to hand me off to a normal citizen. The daughter of the prime minister’s manor, regardless of whether it’s the daughter of the first wife or the daughter of a concubine, they must all be raised with aspirations of being matched with a prince. Thus this fight is one I can not escape from.”
“But you just don’t like it, right?” He could see the weariness in her eyes, “You are only twelve years old. How could that be an age where you should be enduring days like these. Either way, it’s my fault for not being able to provide you safety and comfort.”
“I fear that if it were someone else, my days would be even worse than now.” She smiled in a childish manner that was filled with endless sorrow, “If possible, I hope that I can live a life without conflict when I grow older. But even if I do not have that fortune, I will not resent anyone. If you will fight in a flurry of swords, then I will do the same. Xuan Tian Ming, you were the first person I met. Just like life, if you are alive, then I will be alive. If you die, then I will do my best to get revenge…”
When Xuan Tian Ming personally sent Feng Yu Heng back to the county princess’ manor, the Feng family’s servants were standing outside with lanterns. An shi and Yao shi were running around and asking the servants: “Has there been any news of the second young miss?”
The servants all shook their heads then immediately went out to search.
Xiang Rong was so anxious that she was crying. While wiping away tears, she said: “It’s all my fault. If I sat in the same carriage as second sister, this would not have happened.”
Yao shi was worried, but she still had to console the child: “Even if you sat in the same carriage, the result would have been both of you being lost. Don’t cry. Let’s wait a little longer. Perhaps she will be back very shortly.”
Chen Yu also stood at the entrance to county princess’ manor with a cloak on. What nobody expected was that she was actually even more anxious and worried about Feng Yu Heng’s safety than Yao shi. Not only did she send out all of her servants to search, she would even go run around the surroundings from time to time.
At this time, they heard Huang Quan shout from the other side of the road “Second young miss has returned!”
These words allowed everyone to let out a sigh of relief, especially upon seeing the Yu Palace’s carriage approach. This allowed Yao shi to be even more at ease.
Feng Yu Heng returning to the manor late caused a small disturbance, but everyone believed her explanation of having met with his Highness Prince Yu on the way back and went to sit in the Yu Palace for a while.
However, Feng Yu Heng sent Ban Zou out that night to retrieve the corpse of the dead carriage driver and return it, along with some money for a good burial, to the family. The amount of money was enough to make the family believe he had died from an illness, but that arrow caused Feng Yu Heng to have a night filled with nightmares.
When she woke up the next day, Huang Quan was seated at her bedside, using a handkerchief to wipe her forehead.
She felt her head hurt and that she felt a bit cold. Feng Yu Heng immediately realized that she had most likely caught a cold.
“Young miss caught a cold yesterday. This servant only noticed when I came this morning and you were sweating non-stop.” Huang Quan switched to another handkerchief and continued to wipe her sweat, “I’ve been wiping away your sweat for the entire morning, but you just will not stay dry.”
She did her best to sit up and kicked off a thick layer of blankets, “Covering me up in so many blankets, how could I not sweat.” She was speechless, as she finally understood why adults would always wrap a child up and force them to sweat. It turned out that it was something that had been passed down from the ancient era. “Go change the towel, and don’t use a hot one.”
Huang Quan objected: “You are already sick, so how could a cold towel be used?”
Feng Yu Heng was helpless, “It’s because I am feverish that I need a cold one to reduce my temperature and not increase it. Just go and listen to me. I am a doctor.”
Huang Quan felt that this was true. Her young miss was a divine doctor. How could she not handle such a small illness, thus she quickly ran out to fetch a new towel.
But she very quickly ran back, her face filled with delight over someone else’s misfortune. She told Feng Yu Heng: “Sure enough, his Highness the fifth prince sent someone to discuss marriage with the fourth young miss.”