Refusing Reponsibility
That person had already entered Heavenly Hall to report, while Zhang Yuan held his chin in pain, unable to speak.
Feng Yu Heng waved to Zhang Yuan: “Come here.”
Zhang Yuan pondered a little but still went over. Feng Yu Heng reached out and grabbed Zhang Yuan’s chin, popping the dislocated jaw back in place. He quickly thanked her, but Feng Yu Heng waved her hand and no longer spoke.
Zhang Yuan stomped his foot then helplessly walked back toward the door. Only after the person who had gone in to report came out did he step forward to ask; however, he heard that person say: “His Majesty only nodded and said that he knew. He did not say anything else.” That person did not stay for long, as they quickly left the Heavenly Hall’s premise. Zhang Yuan looked at the distant and kneeling Feng Yu Heng. For a while, he tried to guess at the overall outcome of this competition. He could only sigh and think that this county princess Ji An really was awesome! To be able to beat Prince Xiang like that, why did he feel… so excited!
Feng Yu Heng remained kneeled in front of Heavenly Hall for over two hours, yet not a single person came out of Heavenly Hall. Occasionally, she could hear the Emperor’s loud voice, but he was speaking about the country’s matters. Zhang Yuan peered inside a few times but always shook his head to her.
Feng Yu Heng understood that the person, who had entered the hall earlier, must have told the Emperor about what had happened in front of the Xiang Palace and that she was kneeling here. For there to still be no movement from inside, it seemed that old Emperor was trying to kill her drive.
That was fine. Either way, she had nothing to do right now. She reached her hand into her sleeve and began to tinker with the medicine in her space.
Yao shi had become addicted to spirit-altering drug, and she had never been able to think of a method for treating it. She had been relying on keeping her asleep. Rehabilitation was still something that she would most likely need to do, but she did not know whether or not Yao shi’s weak constitution would allow her to handle it.
Thinking of this, her hatred for Xuan Tian Ye became even more profound. Feng Yu Heng felt that she had let him off too easily. Why had she not been able to tear an arm off?
Just as she was thinking about this, she heard the sound of footsteps from behind her. Not long later, the footsteps stopped beside her. Immediately following this, a person squatted in front of her.
She looked up and saw that it was Bu Cong.
“Huh?” Feng Yu Heng was a little puzzled, “His Majesty summoned the military commanders for a meeting, so why has General Bu only just arrived? Coming into the palace at this time, the matters of the meeting should have already concluded, right? I figure his Majesty did not intend to call you at first anyway. Calling you is just a formality. General Bu absolutely must take care of your health. Do not feel hurt.”
Bu Cong was angry and really wanted to smack this girl, “You already behave in such a manner, yet you have the heart to scold me? Woman, what exactly is going on inside your head?”
Feng Yu Heng corrected him: “First of all, what behavior? What’s wrong with me kneeling to the Emperor? Is it shameful? If you have the ability, don’t kneel when you greet the Emperor. Let me see what happens to you. Also, I am only 13 years old. I have not even had my first period. I cannot be considered a woman. I am just a young girl.”
Bu Cong’s face immediately turned red. He had never seen a girl from any family that could talk about their period without blushing or hesitating. He had absolutely no defense against it and was extremely embarrassed.
Feng Yu Heng, however, did not think much of it; however, when she saw Bu Cong stand up, she laughed and hurried him: “Quickly go in. After you’ve gone in, the matter will already be concluded. You’ve wasted a trip.”
Bu Cong quietly snorted and wanted to turn and leave; however, he was still curious and asked: “What exactly happened to you?” He had rushed back from outside the city. He had been in a rush, so he had not heard about much. Feng Yu Heng being punished with kneeling was really a curious happening. Perhaps word of this would be spread through the entire capital by the next morning.
She raised her head and looked at Bu Cong. Puzzled, she asked: “General Bu actually did not know? That’s true, such a shameful matter, it’s impossible for his Highness the third prince to spread word of it.” She waved her hand, “It’s not much. I competed in martial arts with his Highness the third prince. Who knew that that person would speak such elegant words, yet reality showed that he was only showy while lacking substance. His martial arts really weren’t much. I never thought that he would be so shoddy. I nearly killed him. Now that his Highness is severely injured, I naturally had to come and beg forgiveness from father Emperor.”
“What?” Bu Cong, who had already partially turned away, immediately turned back around. With his mouth agape, he pointed at Feng Yu Heng but could not say anything.
This girl said that the third prince’s martial arts were too shoddy? The third prince was filled with anger, and his martial arts had been learned from some great experts. How could it be too shoddy? He had also competed once with the third prince, and the two had ended in a draw. But what had Feng Yu Heng just said? She nearly killed the third prince? Heavens, exactly how strong was this girl?
Seeing the confusion become more and more profound on Bu Cong’s face, Feng Yu Heng suddenly smiled even more brightly, saying: “Speaking of this matter, I really must thank General Bu for giving me such an inspiration! If it was not for competing in martial arts on the path to the carriages, I really would not know about how exciting competing in martial arts is. Having become interested, I thought to go look for someone to compete with. Everyone said that his Highness the third prince is good at martial arts, so I went. As a result… Hah, I will need to tell his Majesty about General Bu’s grand grace. A-Heng will remember it!”
Bu Cong trembled. Looking at Feng Yu Heng’s wicked smile, his heart was once more filled with that feeling: This person is definitely not Feng Yu Heng!
But he did not want to argue over this topic once more. Whether or not she was, the Feng family did not say anything. The ninth prince did not say anything. What right did he have to say anything?
Bu Cong looked at her one last time then turned to enter the hall. Feng Yu Heng smiled and sent him off; however, her gaze was filled with a cold gloominess.
Inside Heavenly Hall, the Emperor was in the middle of saying to General Ping Nan: “Although the riots to the South have been quelled, it is inevitable that they will rise up again. You are the general of the South. This matter cannot be avoided.”
General Ping Nan said: “General Bu is young and promising. Riding from the East to the South, he did not allow for this old general to intervene in the South.” Within his words, he was accusing Bu Cong of being nosy. A perfectly fine general of the East had to run down South to quell a riot. Was this guy not mental?
Of course, the Emperor could hear the dissatisfaction in General Ping Nan’s voice. Although General Ping Nan no longer entered battle because of his advanced age, he was not relieved of his power to dispatch soldiers. The South was under the watch of his Southern Army. Bu Cong had gone to the South to quell the riot before the end of the year, which had caused great offense to the Southern Army.
He nodded and said: “Bu Cong mentioned this matter to Us earlier. At that time, We agreed to it. Because the soldiers of the Southern Army are stationed in the South throughout the year, they are mostly familiar faces. When you go over, before you even get to show your faces, the foreign forces will have already dispersed in the desert. Not a single person could be caught.”
General Ping Nan understood this reasoning, thus he nodded and fell silent.
At this time, Bu Cong had already entered the hall. After saluting, he could not endure and said: “Your Majesty, county princess Ji An is kneeling outside.’
Everyone in the hall froze. They did not know that Feng Yu Heng was kneeling outside. When the person had come earlier, they had whispered into the Emperor’s ear. Now that Bu Cong said this upon arriving in the hall, everyone remembered that the Bu family’s general had always had feelings for the Feng family’s second daughter.
But the Feng family’s second daughter was the person favored by the ninth prince. How bold a person was Bu Cong to still have hopes for such a person?
General Ping Nan thought a little then said: “County princess is in charge of the production of steel. There must be something to report to his Majesty. How about… inviting county princess in?”
He was trying to figure things out and asked this. Although he did not understand why Feng Yu Heng was kneeling outside, upon seeing that there was no change in the Emperor’s expression after hearing about it, he understood that the Emperor knew about it. Also, he consented to having Feng Yu Heng remain kneeling outside. This was a little strange.
Hearing what General Ping Nan said, the Emperor shook his head, “Just leave her be. Allow her to continue kneeling.”
General Ping Nan felt his heart thunk. Could it be that county princess Ji An had done something wrong? He could not help but begin to worry for Feng Yu Heng.
At the same time, when everyone in the Feng manor heard that Feng Yu Heng had beaten the third prince into such a state, they were also in a panic.
They had been sitting in the matriarch’s Shu Ya courtyard, waiting for Feng Jin Yuan’s group to return; however, they did not think that Feng Jin Yuan would bring back this sort of news. Fen Dai immediately stood up in fear and wanted to return to Yu Lan courtyard. At the same time, she said in a panic: “No matter what you have planned, I will be bringing concubine mother and running first! Concubine mother is still pregnant. If something happens to the Feng family, that would be father’s last heir!”
Feng Jin Yuan became furious and swung his arm. “Smack” as a slap struck her face, “Beast!”
Fen Dai became unsteady from this slap and fell to the ground, but she immediately stood up. Without having time to worry about her face that had partially swollen, she went crazy and caused a fuss for Feng Jin Yuan: “Father, are you sure that the third prince is still alive? Killing a prince is a crime punishable by the extermination of the family. Father, you are the prime minister, so you should know! Even if he isn’t dead, will he not seek revenge? The third prince is already so scary on a normal day. If there is now a deep hatred between him and our family, he will definitely seek revenge! In the end, we will still be dead. Father, you can’t leave yourself without an heir!”
Feng Jin Yuan raised his hand to hit Fen Dai once more, but this time, no matter what, he could not bring himself to do it.
He had to admit that Fen Dai was quite reasonable. Regardless of whether the third prince was alive or dead, the Feng family could not escape responsibility.
The matriarch sat in her chair in a paralyzed state. She had been frightened. Fen Dai’s words had pierced her heart one word at a time. Her hands trembled so much that she could no longer hold onto her cane, and it fell to the ground with a clank.
“Jin Yuan.” The matriarch called out and asked with a trembling voice: “Say, what should we do?”
Feng Jin Yuan’s head hurt. He also did not know what to do. He just had a belly full of anger, and he was on the verge of going crazy.
Fen Dai continued shouting. This time, she directed the blame at Feng Yu Heng: “She has come to take the Feng family’s life! Father, why did you bring her back? The Feng family was fine at the time, but with her return, everything has changed! Didn’t you want to hand over the ninth prince’s engagement to eldest sister anyway? After seeing that he had become crippled, you changed your mind. Eldest sister did not want a cripple, but I did!” She still remembered that she had liked Xuan Tian Ming. She even yearned for the face that was covered by that gold mask, “You were not willing to support me; however, you brought back that star of disaster. Look now, what has become of our family because of her?”
This time, the matriarch was in agreement with Fen Dai had said: “That’s right. All of this has stemmed from the return of those three, mother and children. A-Heng is taking revenge against the Feng family time and time again. Now, she finally managed to exterminate the entire Feng family.”
“Mother!” Feng Jin Yuan helplessly looked at the matriarch, “It’s not that severe. Don’t be so afraid.”
The matriarch also became furious, “It’s not that severe? Then tell me, what other options are there? Who exactly gave her the courage to beat a prince?”
What could Feng Jin Yuan possibly do? It was Kang Yi that stepped forward and patted the matriarch’s back. While doing this, she turned her gaze on Feng Jin Yuan: “Husband, I feel that there is something that you must do right now.”
