Chapter 874 - I Heard That This Prince’s Wife Came Here
I Heard That This Prince’s Wife Came Here
“What? Who entered Lan Zhou City?” Feng Jin Yuan was extremely flustered, as he quickly moved around the table and arrived in front of Fu Ya. Dragging her into the room, he then closed the door to the study and urgently asked: “Speak clearly and thoroughly on the matter. What exactly happened?”
Fu Ya took a sip of tea from the table before telling him about the matter of seeing Xuan Tian Ming on the street, especially emphasizing that Xuan Tian Ming had already received the position of General of the Southern Army. After saying this, she asked Feng Jin Yuan with a panicked expression: “Father, what exactly is going on? Wasn’t it said that the South is His Highness the eighth prince’s domain? Don’t the 300 thousand soldiers in the South belong to His Highness the eighth prince? Why would it suddenly become His Highness the ninth prince? With him coming, what should we do? What exactly has happened with His Highness the eighth prince? Why did the prefect of Lan Zhou not say anything earlier?”
Feng Jin Yuan was also wondering the same questions that Fu Ya had asked. He also could not understand why things would suddenly become like this. Normally speaking, it was impossible for such a large thing to happen without any information spreading. Most importantly, the prefect of Lan Zhou should have received this information. In the end, was everyone kept in the dark or just their family?
As Feng Jin Yuan pondered these questions, he suddenly realized a more important problem: “How did His Highness the ninth prince come? How many people? Did Feng Yu Heng come?”
Fu Ya shook her head, “I don’t know if Feng Yu Heng came or not. I only saw him riding a large horse, and there was a large army that I could not see the end of standing behind him. I did not notice anything else. Father, at that time, I was panicked and did not think of looking for Feng Yu Heng! When I saw that purple lotus on His Highness the ninth prince I just trembled. Father, how about we escape?! His Highness the eighth prince is too far to be of any help. Even if he wants to help us, it won’t be in time!”
“Don’t panic.” Feng Jin Yuan stabilized Fu Ya’s emotions, “If you panic like this, things won’t work out.” Feng Jin Yuan calmed himself down first before saying to Fu Ya: “Regardless of the situation, we need to go and ask Lord Ji. Ever since we came to the South, our communication with His Highness the eighth prince has relied on him. Now that this sort of thing has happened, he needs to give us an explanation.”
Feng Jin Yuan did not wait for a single moment. After making this decision, he began heading out, and Fu Ya quickly followed: “Father, I will go with you!”
Who knew that just as they reached the entrance of the residence, the door would be opened, and they would see a purple figure atop a large horse. Behind him was the army of roughly 100 thousand that had come from the capital.
Feng Jin Yuan nearly fell to the ground. It had to be said that the shock brought by the ninth prince was something that he felt more than Fu Ya. In this instant, not only had he thought of the wilfulness of the ninth prince that he had heard of and seen in court for all of those years. He remembered even more clearly the suppression that he had faced after Feng Yu Heng had returned to the manor. Even now, Feng Jin Yuan could still remember the ninth prince whipping Chen shi and breaking Fen Dai’s wrist. He could not help but shudder. The foot that had already stepped out was unsteadily pulled back.
Fu Ya was also so frightened that she did not dare to breathe. She just hid behind Feng Jin Yuan and would occasionally look forward a bit before immediately hiding once more. Even if Xuan Tian Ming did not even look in her direction, she still felt guilty. After all, the person that she was impersonating was his fiancee. If this ninth prince went ballistic, would she not be killed as easily as an ant?
But today, Xuan Tian Ming clearly did not want to begin killing. The army had just entered the city. He could not just pull out his whip and kill the one that the majority of citizens thought was Imperial Daughter Ji An. To be killed without any witnesses, it would be unfavorable for his wife. He did not hope to see the citizens that had been fooled put on a funeral for the fake imperial daughter. That would truly be unfortunate.
He also ignored the familiar Feng Jin Yuan and slightly raised his head. Staring at the sign atop the entrance, he muttered: “Feng Residence? The capital also had a Feng residence, but it’s already fallen into disrepair. I wonder if this Feng residence has some sort of connection to the one in the capital.” While pondering, he asked Bai Ze: “Do you think it’s the same family?”
Bai Ze loudly said: “This subordinate does not know! But this subordinate figures that it might be the people of the Feng residence in the capital that moved here. After all, they could not continue to live in the capital. That Feng Jin Yuan could not even afford to pay the servants in the residence, and he needed to sell servant after servant. I heard that he needed to rely on the money given by his fourth daughter’s fiance to continue living.”
“Oh!” Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “Tsk tsk, what a travesty! But when this prince entered the capital, I seemed to have heard that Imperial Daughter Ji An is also here? When did this prince’s wife run to the South? Wasn’t she taking care of Ji An Prefecture? Just a few days ago, she sent a letter, saying that she would come after this prince had settled this area.”
Bai Ze then said: “Indeed, it was like this. Princess could not possibly have arrived in Lan Zhou ahead of us. This subordinate will go and investigate what sort of person was impersonating Imperial Daughter Ji An tomorrow.”
“Un.” Xuan Tian Ming did not say anything else, only looking up at the Feng residence’s sign. His wrist then flicked, as the whip was pulled out, snapping the sign in two.
The sign dropped to the ground and broke into pieces. Looking at Xuan Tian Ming’s army, they had already been led away from the Feng residence’s entrance, trampling over the broken sign while continuing to head South.
Feng Jin Yuan and Fu Ya watched this scene in shock. An army of over 100 thousand had passed by the front of their residence. It was only after more than two hours that the army finished marching past, but even after the army had passed, the citizens that were observing had patiently remained. At this time, they stood on the street and looked at Feng Jin Yuan and Fu Ya with puzzled looks on their faces.
Someone analyzed to themselves: “Just now, that ninth prince was definitely the real deal. After all, there were so many troops and horses, and they also had the right to command those troops. We all saw it when they entered the city. But the ninth prince said that this imperial daughter was fake. Could it be…”
Someone picked up on this: “I feel that there is something strange here. Think about it. The majority of the people in Lan Zhou have seen the eighth prince. Although he is also dignified and has an impressive bearing, seeing the ninth prince today, do you not feel that the eighth prince is a few levels worse than him in looks?”
The people nodded and expressed their agreement. The ninth prince was truly too beautiful. The citizens did not even know how they should begin to describe his appearance. They felt that he was not just beautiful, but that he also had a bit of a mystical air, especially with that purple lotus. That added to the mystical aura.
Thus someone said: “Everyone in Da Shun knows that Imperial Daughter Ji An was engaged to the ninth prince as a child. The two also got along well, but why would she suddenly give up on the ninth prince and choose the eighth prince? Just speaking from looks, unless Imperial Daughter Ji An is blind, no matter what, she would not give up on the ninth and choose the eighth.”
“Not just speaking from looks, but just in terms of military rights, the eighth prince cannot compare to the ninth prince. Not to mention the 300 thousand troops that have been handed over to the ninth prince, but in other terms, I heard that the ninth prince had control of the entire Northwestern and Northern Army. Qian Zhou was also taken over by him and Imperial Daughter Ji An. Why would Imperial Daughter Ji An give up on the ninth prince?”
“Everyone said that after Lan Zhou opened a Hundred Herb Hall and had Imperial Daughter Ji An as a doctor there would be no need to worry about seeking treatment, but look at it now. She’s either hiding in the residence or pushing it off and not treating people. What does this mean? As I see it, she is a fake. She does not know how to treat people!”
Once this was brought up, the suspicions toward Fu Ya rose a level. The looks cast toward Feng Jin Yuan and Fu Ya became filled with even more suspicion and were extremely unkind.
Feng Jin Yuan finally managed to react, quickly pulled Fu Ya back inside the residence. He then closed the door with a “bang.” However, when he closed the door, he glanced at the Fu Ya and found that she was looking in the direction that Xuan Tian Ming had left with some complicated emotions.
Feng Jin Yuan did not want to think about it too much and only reminded Fu Ya: “Don’t think about useless things. We have worked hard for this long. We definitely cannot let it slip just because the ninth prince entered the city. Just remain in the residence and wait. Even if we don’t go to the prefect’s manor, Lord Ji will definitely come to look for us. It should be known that the two families are tied together on the same rope. If things do not go well for us, his life also won’t be that great.”
Fu Ya immediately recovered and subconsciously nodded, saying: “Father, don’t worry. Daughter knows what to do.” But her words no longer had any confidence, and it carried some complicated feelings.
Feng Jin Yuan watched Fu Ya turn around and return to her courtyard. He was filled with anxiety, and he had a bad feeling about things. The reason that they had been able to continue with this play in Lan Zhou was a result of having Fu Ya present. It was because she looked like Feng Yu Heng that things could continue. If Fu Ya suddenly turned around and did not cooperate, the play would have lost its lead actor. What play would continue?
Feng Jin Yuan was a bit worried and urgently wanted to see Ji Ling Tian, but he also did not dare to leave the residence because the people outside had not left. Their numbers were even increasing. He could only wait until night time when the people had left. Lord Ji would definitely pay the Feng residence a visit.
As for Fu Ya, who had returned to her courtyard, her mind was entirely focused on the analysis that the people outside had discussed. From appearance to power, it was all very detailed. She had only just realized the difference between the two; however, she, unfortunately, did not have a choice. The ninth prince belonged to Feng Yu Heng. Even if she looked exactly like that person, she could not possibly take her place. Long before, she had experienced the love between the two. How could someone like her get in the way?
Fu Ya knew that her only path out was the eighth prince, but the eighth prince… was he still reliable?
That night, not one of the three masters of the Feng residence could fall asleep normally. For some reason, Yao shi had gone crazy once more, as she ran into Fu Ya’s room and hugged her, refusing to let go. She just repeatedly called out “A-Heng, A-Heng,” which left Fu Ya feeling irritated. She wanted to push Yao shi away, but Yao shi hugged her tight and was using a lot of strength. Fu Ya was struggling to breathe and also used up all her strength, managing to break free; however, Yao shi fell to the ground and looked at Fu Ya in shock. She then suddenly said: “You’re not my daughter! You’re her! She came, right?”
Fu Ya stomped her foot: “Mother, don’t speak nonsense. That person is still in the capital!”
“You’re her!” Yao shi pointed at Fu Ya and loudly said: “You came to the South and swapped out my daughter. You evil person. Return my A-Heng to me!”
On this side, mother and daughter were causing a commotion. As for Feng Jin Yuan, he never saw the arrival of Lan Zhou’s prefect, Ji Ling Tian.
Ji Ling Tian did not visit. That night, a loud sound could be heard, followed by people loudly shouted: “The ninth prince has attacked Gu Shu!”