When the Crown Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands entered King Xuan’s Manor, Mo Xuetong was not in the manor. She was recuperating in the courtyard outside the city because she was in poor health a few days ago and suddenly had a fever that night. Feng Yuran was startled and called all the imperial physicians of the Imperial Institute of Medicine to the manor. The conclusion was that she had been too tired recently and had to recuperate.
Therefore, Feng Yuran went to the palace to ask Emperor Zongwen for leave and then especially sent Mo Xuetong to the courtyard outside the city. After that, he returned to the manor to receive the people from the Southern Barbarian Lands. Anyway, all the affairs in the manor were arranged well. He used to use Nanny Chen and Aunt Xianglan in the inner yard. The two of them had been keeping an eye on his concubines, but now there were only three concubines on the surface in the back yard, so they could spare some time to help Mo Xuetong manage the inner yard.
Unlike in the Qin Kingdom, men and women in the Southern Barbarian Lands didn’t have to avoid meeting each other as much as possible. Mo Xuetong had arranged for the Crown Prince of the Southern Barbarian Lands to live in the outer yard and the steward of the outer yard would arrange it; Princess Caifeng would live in the inner yard beside the second door. It was said that the princess liked to go out, and the rules of the Qin Kingdom could not control her, so they could not restrain her too much.
The group of people arrived in King Xuan’s Manor in a mighty manner and got off their chariot and carriages at the gates. Feng Yuran led Crown Prince Xieyue in with a smile. Princess Caifeng, who wore a veil, followed closely behind. Hu Qianyue, who was the last to get off the carriage, secretly observed the handsome and elegant Feng Yuran and hurried to follow them.
The people from the Southern Barbarian Lands did not pay their respects to Emperor Zongwen today. They would rest today and go to the palace with Feng Yuran tomorrow!
The courtyard had been arranged. Feng Yuran asked servants to take them to their yard and he intended to return to Jinwei Pavilion. The people of the Southern Barbarian Lands had an exhausting journey and needed to rest. Besides, Crown Prince Xieyue seemed to be in poor health. Fortunately, there were imperial physicians in the manor and Feng Yuran would ask them to see him. He left it to the butler.
His manor had always been managed smoothly, and even if Mo Xuetong was not around, the inner yard would not be in a mess.
“Your Highness King Xuan!” Before he could turn around, a gentle voice came from behind him. Feng Yuran frowned and turned around. After a light flashed across his eyes, he had an evil smile on his face. Then he lazily asked, “What’s the matter, Princess Caifeng?”
“I wonder where Consort Xuan is. I would like to visit her first,” Princess Caifeng answered in a soft voice as she gently looked at Feng Yuran with her beautiful eyes through the veil.
She came from afar and was a guest in the manor, so it was normal for her to visit the hostess.
“Princess Caifeng, you don’t have to be so polite. My wife is not feeling well and is treated outside the city. She is not in the manor now. When she comes back, she would invite Princess Caifeng to meet,” Feng Yuran replied in a sincere tone as he beamed and blinked his long and pretty eyes.
“Oh, I see. What a pity. I didn’t expect Consort Xuan to be in such poor health. I was brusque.” Princess Caifeng smiled and apologetically curtsied to Feng Yuran with a smile. Then she held the hand of the palace maidservant beside her and followed the maidservant who led the way. Hu Qianyue also curtsied to Feng Yuran gracefully and followed Princess Caifeng into the yard.
They lived in the same courtyard, and Princess Caifeng lived in the main room and Hu Qianyue lived in the left wing room. They were indeed tired along the way. The maidservants had prepared water for them. After washing up, they sat down in the room again. It was already late, and the maidservants served them dinner.
Princess Caifeng’s face darkened when she saw that they were going to have dinner in her courtyard. She looked at the maidservant who had sent dishes in and asked coldly, “Doesn’t His Highness hold a welcoming dinner for us?”
As Princess Caifeng was dressed up, it was obvious that she had prepared to meet others. The leading maidservant brilliantly bowed and answered. “Your Highness, His Highness has told us that Crown Prince and Your Highness are guests from afar. You must be extremely tired all the way here. There will be a feast in the palace tomorrow, so he won’t disturb Crown Prince and Your Highness’ rest today.”
When Princess Caifeng heard that Feng Yuran especially made such an arrangement for the sake of their bodies, her expression grew a little better. She looked at the maidservant and asked gently, “Are you Consort Xuan’s maidservant from her parents’ family?”
The first maidservant in the inner yard was usually from the mistress’ parents’ family. On the one hand, she was the confidant of the mistress; on the other hand, she had seen the world very well and was very smart.
“I’m not from Her Lady’s parents’ family. I’ve always been the maidservant of King Xuan’s Manor,” the maidservant replied respectfully.
“What kinds of diseases does Consort Xuan get?” Hu Qianyue, who was sitting by the side, put down the teacup in her hand and asked with interest.
“It’s not a big deal. It’s just that she is not feeling well.” The maidservant was not a big mouth. She answered with a smile, but didn’t give away any information about Mo Xuetong’s illness!
“King Xuan looks very young. How many years has Consort Xuan married King Xuan? Do they have a child?” Hu Qianyue grew even more curious.
“Her Lady have married His Highness for less than one year and they have no children,” the maidservant answered in a well-behaved manner. Princess Caifeng, who was sitting beside her, had a bright light in her eyes.
“How did your prince marry a sickly woman? Isn’t he afraid that her illness would affect the birth of a child?” Princess Caifeng contained the urge to ask but finally failed.
“I… I don’t know!” The maidservant didn’t dare to answer these questions. She lowered her head obediently and pushed the question away. She blamed the princess for meddling too much in the matter. It was King Xuan’s matter and it had nothing to do with her whether King Xuan mind it or not. It was very impolite for her to ask about it on the first day she came here. What was more, the princess was an unmarried woman. How could she mention something about King Xuan’s child?
The etiquette of the Southern Barbarian Lands was indeed different from that of the Qin Kingdom. It was reasonable for unmarried women to talk about other men’s child like this.
As she found that she could not get any information from the maidservants, Princess Caifeng waved her hand and gestured for them to leave. She asked the maidservants she brought with her to serve the dinner. After a while, limps were lit. She asked the maidservants of King Xuan’s Manor to withdraw the dishes. Princess Caifeng and Hu Qianyue sat together. Since they did not feel sleepy at all, they did not rest and chatted under the light.
The servants of King Xuan’s Manor had long been driven out of the courtyard. Everyone in the courtyard was brought by Princess Caifeng and Hu Qianyue. Thus they were not afraid of being heard.
Hu Qianyue had always been Princess Caifeng’s best friend. She could tell that Princess Caifeng was overjoyed. She looked at Princess Caifeng with a smile and asked softly, “Your Highness, do you like His Highness King Xuan?”
She had noticed Princess Caifeng’s unusual behavior today, and she understood what was going on. At this time, she took the initiative to raise the topic.
“I didn’t expect… King Xuan to be such a person.” Princess Caifeng’s face grew red and she sighed. She thought of the discussion she had with Hu Qianyue on the way and how she had denigrated King Xuan at that time.
Hu Qianyue put down the teacup in her hand and teased, “His Highness King Xuan is extremely handsome. I have told you before, but you don’t believe me. Just now you stared at him.”
Princess Caifeng thought of Feng Yuran’s stunning appearance and immediately felt her face red and her heart beat fast. She picked up her handkerchief and pinched it shyly, saying, “You, nonsense. I didn’t stare at him… I just didn’t expect a man to be so handsome.”
“Has the Princess decided to marry King Xuan?” Hu Qianyue’s eyes appeared deep and mysterious under the light.
“Emm, but he has a wife!” Princess Caifeng looked up and frowned. She was not willing to be a co-wife. She could only be a legal wife. Making a daughter of an official of the Qin Kingdom have a high position than her was a disgrace to her, a princess! It seemed that she had to ask her eldest royal brother to tell the Emperor of the Qin Kingdom, asking him to order King Xuan to divorce his current wife and marry her.
“Your Highness, I heard that King Xuan treats this sick and weak wife very well. Ever since he got married, he stopped being ridiculous in the back yard. There is a faint tendency for him to dote on his wife. If you directly ask King Xuan to divorce his wife, I’m afraid that it will make him unhappy,” Hu Qianyue said meaningfully.
Princess Caifeng felt a headache when she heard that. Of course, she understood what Hu Qianyue meant. If Consort Xuan was really doted on by King Xuan, she would definitely make King Xuan unhappy if she interfered so rashly. Then, even if she married him, she would never get his love. She had seen this before on her elder sister, Princess Mingfeng.
Princess Mingfeng had taken a fancy to a young general and forced him to divorce his wife. Although the general had no choice but to divorce his wife and marry Princess Mingfeng under the imperial order, after he had only entered her bridal chamber once on the wedding night, he had never gone to Princess Mingfeng’s courtyard. Moreover, he had asked to make his original wife be his co-wife. He used to live with the original wife and only treated Princess Mingfeng as a decoration. Princess Caifeng felt that it was not worthwhile when she once saw her scrawny elder sister.
But now it was her turn to deal with this matter. What should she do? Moreover, the man was not the official of the Southern Barbarian Lands, but the prince of the Qin Kingdom. If he really did not want to divorce his wife, could she really only be a co-wife and be inferior to that woman for the rest of her life? No, she would never agree!
“Qianyue, think of a way for me. I don’t want to see that woman.” Princess Caifeng was silent for a moment, and a trace of hostility flashed in her eyes.
Hu Qianyue rolled her eyes, leaned over, and said softly, “Your Highness, I heard that Consort Xuan is not in good health, and often gets sick. If she dies of illness, you can…”
Seeing her leaning over, Princess Caifeng also leaned to her. Hearing her words, she nodded, but immediately shook her head and said, “No, if she doesn’t die for a while, will I be under her for the rest of my life?”
Some people looked sickly, but they wouldn’t die temporarily. In that case, wouldn’t her position be lower than that woman’s for the rest of her life?
“Your Highness, if she doesn’t die, wouldn’t we…” Hu Qianyue smiled evilly and made a gesture of cutting down with her hand. “When that woman passes away, even if His Highness is sad, it won’t last for a long while with you, such a beautiful woman, comforting him.”
Princess Caifeng was still very confident about her appearance. Hearing Hu Qianyue’s words, she also felt that it made sense. She nodded at once and said, “Should I mobilize the people of eldest royal brother and ask him to help me?”
Although she had brought some guards with her, there were not many of them.
“If His Highness knows about this, he might not agree and only ask Your Highness to be King Xuan’s co-wife. This is a real grievance for you. Our own people are much more reliable? I have a few guards. If they work with your guards, it won’t be difficult when they collect the information and then take action. We’re living in King Xuan’s Manor, and if something happens in the yard outside the city, it has nothing to do with us!”
“Okay, then it is decided. You arrange some people, Qianyue, take action as soon as possible.” Under the light, Princess Caifeng’s eyes looked a little ferocious.
“Yes, I’ll send people to ask about it later. Know our enemy, and we will win.” Hu Qianyue put on a cold smile, stood up, and said goodbye to Princess Caifeng. Then she went to arrange the matter.
No one noticed that a man in black flashed across the corner of the roof and jumped flexibly to the distance on the roof.
