“I hereby proclaim to Qiu Shangqi’s daughter, former Five Armies Commander. Gentle and accomplished by nature. Virtuous and prudent in conduct. Her movements harmonize with the jade ornaments’ rhythm, well-versed in propriety. Respectfully observant of dawn and dusk obligations, never slack in diligence. Specially promoted to Side Consort of Prince Chu. May she be diligent night and day, bringing prosperity to family and state. By Imperial decree.”
When Feng Zhiwei’s grand sedan chair stopped before the lantern-festooned gates of Prince Chu’s Manor, she was just hearing the eunuch’s shrill voice transmitting the decree, drawn out and prolonged.
She listened quietly, tilting her face up with a smile.
Before Prince Chu’s Manor gates, carriages and horses crowded like flowing water. Gate officials and servants bustled about with sweat-covered foreheads arranging carriage parking. The entire alley was packed tight. All the officials possessed keen senses of smell—from the village massacre case last time and this time His Majesty’s attitude toward Prince Chu taking a consort, they detected a shift in the winds. Prince Chu’s Manor, silent for a year, once again had its threshold worn down by visitors.
Feng Zhiwei’s sedan chair was blocked three zhang outside the main gate. Though the gate officials clearly saw it, no one paid attention, only slowly helping congratulatory guests move their gifts. When each carriage arrived, people came to receive it and arrange the vehicles in orderly fashion. But her sedan chair stood alone and isolated in the coming and going crowds—from start to finish, no one came to make arrangements.
The sedan bearers tapped the sedan door in difficulty, wanting to hear her instructions. Feng Zhiwei said indifferently: “Just stop the sedan.”
The sedan stopped. She emerged calmly. Her hand had just lifted the sedan curtain a crack when she felt strange gazes cast from all directions.
Now all of the capital knew both the beautiful story of how the wise king fell into distress and the Side Consort Feng Xue came to his rescue, and also knew that Prince Chu first encountered the Grand Consort of Shunyi, but was abandoned by the Grand Consort in her carriage in the wind and snow, nearly losing his life. People naturally held some contempt for those who refused to save others in peril. Seeing that she actually dared to come now, their eyes were all rather strange.
Some were eager to express their solidarity with and disdain for the master’s household, but were intimidated by the imposing presence of that group of fierce and unparalleled grassland guards behind Feng Zhiwei. They could only express their disdainful attitude by retreating like a tide.
In the blink of an eye, the bustling manor gates—a moment ago so crowded—instantly became like a beach after the tide receded, leaving Feng Zhiwei as a solitary island.
Feng Zhiwei smiled indifferently, walking inward around the pile of miscellaneous gifts in front of her. She hadn’t taken two steps when she heard the gate official loudly scolding her sedan bearers: “Hey! Don’t park the sedan randomly—that spot is reserved for Grand Scholar Hu!”
The sedan bearers moved the sedan in another direction in confusion, but before getting far were scolded by another group: “This is the male guests’ area—female guest carriages go over there!”
“The female guests’ side has no room! Don’t bring that grassland stench over here!”
“There’s no space here!”
“Move aside—”
Feng Zhiwei’s sedan bearers were driven this way and that in the crowd, looking utterly helpless. On this winter day, sweat beaded large as beans on their foreheads. They kept bowing and apologizing but could never get a place to stop, looking extremely embarrassed.
The officials’ female family members, seeing this scene, were in no hurry to enter. Covering their mouths, they giggled and laughed from the side, pointing and commenting.
The laughter gradually died down.
Though they’d been laughing happily just moments ago, they suddenly felt something wasn’t right about the atmosphere. All around seemed to pervade an oppressive and chilling air that made their laughter unpleasant.
Everyone turned their heads one after another and saw that group of grassland guards with expressionless faces, standing there like nails. Among them, the Grand Consort of Shunyi who should have been angry or embarrassed stood with hands clasped behind her back at the gate, watching just as calmly.
Her gaze was gentle and hazy, seemingly without any power, but looking over so plainly and flatly, people suddenly felt their hearts jump, unconsciously restraining their mocking expressions.
Silence could also spread. On the vast empty ground before Prince Chu’s Manor gates, it gradually became utterly quiet.
Only when everyone had completely fallen silent did Feng Zhiwei smile faintly.
She said: “There’s no place to park the sedan?”
This wasn’t a question but a statement. Then she turned her head to look around, waving her hand very casually: “Since there’s no place to park my one sedan, then chop it up.”
“Yes!”
The assembled officials and female family members hadn’t yet understood the meaning of those words when they heard that group of iron-like guards give a violent roar—a sound strong and hard as dozens of male lions roaring, startling some of the women into stumbling.
“SLASH!”
Dozens of guards drew their blades in unison. The grassland curved sabers traced out neat, graceful arcs in the sunlight.
“Chop!”
Dozens of blades whistled as they stabbed in unison into that exquisite grand sedan, buried completely to the hilts.
“Lift!”
Dozens of guards swung their arms in unison to pry upward. Dozens of blade edges broke through the sedan body with a uniform hissing sound, instantly tearing the sedan into pieces!
With a thunderous crash, the entire sedan collapsed. Wooden boards, brocade curtains, jeweled canopy, and emerald awnings shattered across the ground. The guards didn’t pause, chopping it into dozens of large pieces.
These people struck viciously and dropped their blades quickly, chopping the sedan with ferocious expressions as if chopping people. Anyone watching would feel that if the order just now had been to chop people, the result would surely be the same—divided into countless segments.
The officials’ faces turned ashen. Several female family members rolled their eyes back, delicately fainting.
Feng Zhiwei watched calmly until the sedan became fragments, then raised her hand. The guards stopped their blades with a swish.
“The sedan’s dismantled—it doesn’t take up space now, does it?” Feng Zhiwei turned around, smiling as she asked the gate official who had first driven away her carriage.
That person’s face was earth-colored, his legs shaking like sieves, stammering for a long time but unable to speak a single word.
“Since the great Prince Chu’s Manor gates can’t accommodate my one sedan, I wouldn’t want to make things difficult for the master’s household.” Feng Zhiwei said mildly. “Now that my sedan is taken apart, I presume it can be squeezed in?”
Dozens of servants stood there like clay sculptures or wooden carvings, not daring to respond with a single word as they looked at her.
Feng Zhiwei smiled so politely, waving her hand. That group of fierce guards, carrying those wooden fragments, broken brocade cushions, half a sedan canopy, and sections of emerald awnings, stuffed them into the gaps between every horse-drawn carriage and sedan.
A pile of officials began coughing—with all this miscellaneous stuff stuffed in, their carriages and horses wouldn’t be able to move smoothly afterward. Just like how Feng Zhiwei had been blocked earlier, they would soon be blocked in turn.
“Sorry, squeeze in, squeeze in.” Feng Zhiwei smiled as she greeted those officials whose faces looked like ghosts.
The assembled officials all became tongue-tied gourds, staring wide-eyed, not daring to speak.
This female marshal’s wife, grassland Grand Consort, had been very low-key before marriage and had disappeared from the Imperial Capital for so many years. Most people had little impression of her and thought a widow would be easy to bully. They hadn’t expected this lesson.
“The sedan broke because His Highness’s household gates are too small, necessitating its destruction.” Feng Zhiwei said seriously to her steward who had followed her: “His Highness has always been benevolent and magnanimous—he certainly won’t let me suffer a loss. How about this—let’s put away our gift list and just consider His Highness as having compensated me for the carriage, saving the back-and-forth trouble.”
The gate official had already gone to collect the gift list. Hearing this, his hand froze in mid-air, his facial expression twitching. Feng Zhiwei had already casually taken the gift list and torn it up with a smooth motion.
The bright red gift list became fragments, floating down leisurely. The whole scene was silent.
Feng Zhiwei released her hand with a smile, feeling that finding an excuse to tear up the gift list was indeed satisfying.
Since she’d already shouldered the blame, if she cowered and endured today, there would surely be more people coming to step on her later. That wouldn’t do—she didn’t agree.
Unhurriedly waving her hand, the guards pushed aside the gate officials and servants standing there like posts. She strolled leisurely, entering at her ease, leaving the assembled officials on the ground staring blankly at her retreating figure.
As soon as Feng Zhiwei entered the gate, she was received by the manor’s matrons and taken to the rear courtyard. Female family members didn’t drink and observe ceremonies in the front hall—they all had banquet tables set up in the rear courtyard. The events at the gate naturally wouldn’t spread to the rear courtyard. All along her way in, everyone still looked at her sideways.
According to Tiansheng propriety, the distinction between legitimate wife and concubine was very great. Even a side consort couldn’t perform the wedding ceremony with a prince—ultimately she was just a high-ranking concubine. Qiu Yuluo had earlier received the conferment decree in the front hall and was directly escorted into the bridal chamber. She could be considered respectable. The Tiansheng Emperor, considering her rescue of Ning Yi, had specially issued a consort conferment decree—this was rare grace and honor among princely side consorts.
A side consort’s parents couldn’t receive a prince’s kowtow. The Qiu Manor currently had no direct senior relatives in charge. Madam Qiu had suffered a stroke and lost her speech, unable to leave the manor at all. The Qiu family’s distant branch relatives were all in Jianghuai. Because of Qiu Yuluo’s divorce from the Li family causing great loss of face, they had long severed contact. This time, only considering she was marrying Prince Chu, a few people from the Jianghuai Qiu family came. However, Qiu Yuluo’s own brothers and sisters-in-law had come early—the several young masters of Qiu Manor, who had been suppressed to death by Feng Zhiwei these years, always mixing as lowly minor clerks in the Six Ministries unable to raise their heads. Now they’d finally latched onto powerful connections and all came completely.
The banquet hadn’t yet begun. According to custom, they first went to the bridal chamber to see the new bride. Feng Zhiwei followed a maidservant all the way there. Just as she turned through the corridor before the new chamber, she saw a person emerge, clapping her hands together with a shrill laugh: “Oh my, isn’t this our dear Cousin Feng? Oh no, my apologies—it’s the previous generation’s Grand Consort of Shunyi, Your Ladyship—I say, Yuluo, you really have face! Your Ladyship has personally come to congratulate you!”
As soon as the words fell, a crowd of women surged out, all laughing, blocking the doorway, standing meaningfully on the corridor, looking down at Feng Zhiwei from their superior position.
“Oh my, the Grand Consort of Shunyi whose name resounds throughout the Imperial Capital—truly both compliant and righteous!”
“The Imperial Capital’s number one shameless woman actually dares to stand here—how strange and peculiar!”
“She has the nerve to come? Refusing to save someone in peril, nearly causing His Highness’s death. If Yuluo hadn’t worried about His Highness and secretly followed, His Highness might have died at her hands…”
“This is the bridal chamber—how can a widow enter? It’ll bring bad luck. The manor has no female master, so things are done without proper method. Fortunately now there’s finally a side consort…”
“The Grand Consort’s appearance is as shocking as her character… Look at that sallow face! Just the appearance of a harbinger of doom!”
“Those eyebrows are so inauspicious—no wonder all her close relatives are dead!”
“Hey, but don’t say that—apart from her complexion and eyebrows, the rest of her isn’t bad… She even has some seductive charm. The Great King of Shunyi—could it be that he… he… you know, and that’s why he died? Haha…”
“…”
All around fell quiet for a moment. Though the crowd had been mocking, ridiculing, and kicking her while she was down, they still valued their own status. Those last two sentences clearly crossed the line. Everyone’s expressions changed.
The only one whose expression didn’t change was Feng Zhiwei.
She only slowly raised her eyes, sweeping everyone with a glance, her gaze lingering especially on the person who had spoken those last two sentences.
Those swept by her gaze all felt those eyes were cold and seeping, like the moon fallen into well water—chillingly miserable.
The women’s faces changed. They didn’t understand what killing intent was, but they understood that now was best not to speak further, because the robust, tall grassland-dressed female guards standing beside Feng Zhiwei had already placed their hands grimly on their blade hilts.
A manor matron hurried over, gathering her courage to bow to her, saying in a low voice: “Grand Consort, you are an honored guest of the manor. Don’t stoop to the level of these ignorant women. Please come to the flower hall for tea…”
“Just now someone said something right,” Feng Zhiwei said as if listening but not listening, not even glancing at her. Only after she finished speaking did she say leisurely: “This manor conducts things without proper method. I also hope that with a side consort, things can be more presentable.”
Then she stood in place with hands clasped behind her back, calling out loudly: “Qiu Yuluo!”
This one call startled everyone—they’d never seen anyone summon a bride out before her bridal chamber!
All around instantly became silent as death. Feng Zhiwei’s voice thus seemed exceptionally clear.
“Since Prince Chu’s Manor now has a female master, I won’t overstep my bounds in certain matters,” Feng Zhiwei said coldly. “Someone in the manor has publicly cursed the Emperor, slandered a vassal prince of the court, with foul and filthy language injuring the dignity of the state. Yet you, this manor’s female master, sit by idly watching, paying no attention—are you trying to back them up and share their guilt?”
Sounds of gasping arose from all sides. Faintly there was some commotion in the new chamber.
“What cursing the Emperor—you’re talking nonsense—” The woman who had just said Feng Zhiwei’s close relatives were all dead was precisely Qiu Yuluo’s second sister-in-law. With a pale face, she pointed at Feng Zhiwei. “His Highness and Your Ladyship’s joyous day isn’t for you to come running here spewing blood and spouting nonsense—”
“One about to die shouldn’t speak to me—it’ll bring bad luck,” Feng Zhiwei didn’t even glance at her. “Side Consort Qiu, is this your attitude? Very good, very good.”
She smiled and took a step backward. The guards behind her stepped forward.
“Your Ladyship, Your Ladyship, you cannot go out now—”
“Stop Your Ladyship, stop Your Ladyship—”
The commotion in the bridal chamber grew more intense. Suddenly the deep red pearl curtain lifted. In the swaying pearl light, a person in brilliant red rushed out, the veil on her head not yet lifted. Fingers adorned with glass enamel nail guards viciously slapped the corridor railing, shrilly saying: “Feng Zhiwei!”
Feng Zhiwei raised her head. Though her position was lower, her expression was superior to others. She looked at her indifferently, saying: “Side Consort Qiu.”
On the corridor, Qiu Yuluo trembled, turning her face. Her veil was made of countless fine pearls strung together. She could vaguely see Feng Zhiwei’s figure, feeling her gaze shooting coldly over.
Her fingers dug into the corridor edge, suddenly oozing a layer of hot sweat.
Feng Zhiwei…
All of the capital was spreading the beautiful story of her rescuing her lord. All were scorning the Grand Consort of Shunyi for refusing to save someone in peril. Only she herself knew that on that day in the Grand Consort of Shunyi’s carriage, she had “rescued” a Ning Yi who had already basically recovered.
The woman before her, whom she had been jealous of and detested for so many years, was his true lifesaver.
Every time Qiu Yuluo thought of this, a mixture of panic and resentment arose in her heart—panic that if this woman wasn’t willing to let it go and came to make a scene, how would she handle it; resentment that why did she have to save His Highness? If she’d waited for her to come, she naturally could have saved His Highness too, and wouldn’t need to be on tenterhooks like this now!
She hadn’t expected she would really come!
Was she coming to make trouble, to reclaim her reputation, or to reclaim His Highness? That would depend on whether she was willing!
“Grand Consort.” Qiu Yuluo took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. “Today is His Highness’s and my joyous day, yet you publicly disrupt propriety, forcibly summoning the bride from her chamber. What do you mean? Are you trying to oppose Prince Chu’s Manor?”
“The one who dares commit great impropriety and isn’t afraid of offending Prince Chu’s Manor has never been me,” Feng Zhiwei looked at her with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Seeing Qiu Yuluo’s body tremble, she then said: “I’m only asking the side consort to uphold justice.”
“What justice?” Qiu Yuluo retorted coldly. “Which sentence did they say wrong about you?”
“Oh?” Feng Zhiwei looked at her, slowly smiling—a smile that seemed gentle yet held much contempt.
“Everyone truly forgets easily, being people of high status,” she said calmly. “You’ve forgotten that besides my Grand Consort title, I also have the title of Princess Shengying. In the thirteenth year of Changxi, His Majesty recognized me as his adopted daughter.”
Only then did everyone remember. Their expressions all changed. That second sister-in-law of Qiu Yuluo who had cursed Feng Zhiwei’s “relatives all dead”—her body went soft.
“Thanks to His Majesty’s favor,” Feng Zhiwei slowly bowed in the direction of the palace. “His Majesty counts as my father. Prince Chu, His Highness, also barely counts as my elder brother. Does this count as close relatives or not?”
That sister-in-law rolled her eyes back and fainted. Everyone’s faces were iron-blue, not daring to breathe loudly. Qiu Yuluo stood dazed on the corridor, fingernails deeply embedded in the soft wooden railing.
“The Hu Zhuo tribe is Tiansheng’s barrier, a loyal and irreplaceable tributary vassal state. The Great King of Shunyi was moreover a pillar of the state with illustrious military achievements. Dying young in his prime, even His Majesty grieved and lamented, calling him ‘devoted himself to the state, laboring to an early death.'” Feng Zhiwei stared at the last woman who had spoken—she seemed to be a third-rank mandate lady. She stared until she was at a loss, repeatedly retreating, then said: “You, such a lowly woman, dare to slander the Great King and Grand Consort before the grassland people. Aren’t you afraid the million sons of Hu Zhuo won’t agree? Aren’t you afraid His Majesty, who has always cared for his subjects, won’t agree?”
“Stop your wild talk!” On the corridor, Qiu Yuluo flew into a rage, viciously slapping the railing. “Just a casual joking remark, yet you harbor malicious intent, pinning all sorts of sensational crimes on people, attempting to trap them in serious guilt, attempting to slander and implicate Prince Chu’s Manor. What woman under heaven has such a vicious heart as yours? His Majesty is deeply benevolent and magnanimous—how would he listen to your one-sided story?”
“Oh? One-sided story?” Feng Zhiwei narrowed her eyes looking at her, smiling. “Many times, certain people’s one-sided stories can cause a thousand fingers to point.”
Qiu Yuluo turned her head somewhat awkwardly, avoiding her gaze, saying coldly: “Someone like you with a hard fate and solitary existence, grieving over your own circumstances, inevitably has crooked thoughts. I won’t argue with you either. You’d better be quiet. Here with me, I can still tolerate you. If you disturb His Highness, it won’t be good for you!”
“Hard fate and solitary, crooked thoughts,” Feng Zhiwei still used that faint tone. “Still better than deceiving the world and stealing fame, shamelessly stealing credit.”
“You—”
Feng Zhiwei smiled at her.
Qiu Yuluo’s breath caught in her chest. Looking at Feng Zhiwei’s eyes like vast rippling waters, she suddenly realized she couldn’t quarrel with her over this here. She wasn’t stupid—she guessed that Feng Zhiwei’s unwillingness to reveal the truth about saving his life must have her reasons. Since the person involved wouldn’t speak, she was happy to cover it up too. Why would she stupidly force out the truth herself?
Taking a long breath, suppressing the rage filling her chest, her eyes rolled as she looked around. Seeing that all around, apart from Prince Chu Manor’s servants, were all familiar relatives and friends who’d come to congratulate her, an idea emerged. Her heart settled further. She laughed coldly: “What cursing the Emperor? What slandering vassal princes? Who heard it? I only heard someone say you bring misfortune to your mother and husband—this is something all of Tiansheng knows, isn’t it?”
Her gaze swept across. Everyone understood, all quickly nodding repeatedly, saying in succession: “Yes, yes…”
“The Grand Consort’s temperament is too fierce—she gets angry randomly without hearing clearly,” someone said with a veiled smile.
“We were wrong. We shouldn’t have said the Grand Consort brings misfortune to her father, mother, brother, and husband,” the previously frightened third-rank mandate lady finally came back to life, casting sidelong glances, pretending to come apologize to Feng Zhiwei. “Though it’s the truth, it’s normal that you can’t bear to hear it. Elder Sister here apologizes to Younger Sister.”
“This crazy woman doesn’t distinguish right from wrong and slanders people with her blood-spewing mouth!” The sister-in-law who’d just been revived, hearing the last few sentences, immediately became spirited. She crawled up and spat out: “When did I ever say her close relatives were all dead? Could it be that she herself wants to curse the Emperor?”
“I think so! This woman can’t stand seeing others newly wed—she’s gone crazy!”
With Qiu Yuluo’s bout of shameless denial, the crowd of female family members all came alive. The courtyard immediately became chaotic with mocking ridicule and scolding, pouring down on Feng Zhiwei. Apart from a few female family members who had witnessed Feng Zhiwei chopping up her carriage at the gate, most people were eager to curry favor with Prince Chu Manor’s new female master, displaying their sharp tongues and clever mouths.
In the confusion, Qiu Yuluo became increasingly smug, feeling the resentment in her heart had dispersed quite a bit. She looked left and right, observing everyone’s expressions, a trace of viciousness flashing through her eyes.
Today she couldn’t let this woman criticize her—otherwise Prince Chu Manor’s and her own reputation would be affected. Better to take advantage of this moment when they had strength in numbers to humiliate her thoroughly, so she’d never again have the face to appear before her!
“The Grand Consort is newly widowed and has gone mad from grief—it’s inevitable she’s lost her sense of proportion,” she suddenly changed her tone, raising her chin to look down at Feng Zhiwei from above, her voice full of pity and contempt. “Ultimately she’s a pitiful person. In ordinary times, we’re still relatives—such small matters wouldn’t be worth arguing about. But today is different. Today is His Highness’s joyous day. Officials from the entire court have come to congratulate. The manor is filled with distinguished guests. If even half a word of this gets out, causing misunderstandings, who can bear the responsibility? Grand Consort, I won’t hold it against you for forcing this bride out of the bridal chamber, which is most inauspicious. But since I’m the manor’s only female master, I naturally cannot let the manor’s dignity and reputation be trampled by others at will.” Her tone suddenly turned severe, saying grimly: “Grand Consort, since you’ve brought up your princess status, let’s discuss that—regarding today’s matter, if you don’t give an explanation, we might as well go to the Internal Affairs Bureau and bring out the imperial family’s regulations to sort this out clearly!”
Feng Zhiwei stood with hands clasped behind her back, looking at her coldly—after being a Li family daughter-in-law for a year or two, she’d made progress. She used shameless denial and avoiding the important points skillfully. In the end she could even think to avoid her Grand Consort status and go through Internal Affairs Bureau punishment. Bold and insightful—no wonder she could claim credit without changing expression, even daring to deceive Ning Yi.
“One must act according to conscience,” Qiu Yuluo held a cold smile, slowly descending the steps. “In disputes, each side always holds their own view. You say someone cursed the Emperor and slandered vassal princes. I didn’t hear it. We at Prince Chu Manor don’t rely on power to bully others. Right now we’ll question everyone present face to face. As long as one person testifies for you, saying they heard those two sentences, today we’ll let you off. Otherwise—” She smiled viciously. “We’ll have no choice but to be rude!”
Feng Zhiwei glanced backward from the corner of her eye, saying indifferently: “Oh?”
Qiu Yuluo lifted her skirt, slowly descending the steps, questioning each person one by one.
“Did you hear?”
“No!” Her sister-in-law shook her head resolutely.
“Did you hear?”
The third-rank mandate lady laughed coldly. “Everyone’s ears are right here—what’s real can’t be fake! Is Prince Chu Manor so easy to bully?” Finishing, her eyes shot power in all directions. Everyone who received her gaze lowered their heads.
“Did you hear?”
“…I was standing over there…”
“Did you hear?”
“…I just arrived…”
The smug expression on Qiu Yuluo’s face grew increasingly thick. Feng Zhiwei’s lips slowly curved into a cold smile.
People in this world had always been like this—climbing high and stepping low, cowardly and selfish.
Qiu Yuluo was in an excellent mood, lifting her skirt to circle the scene. Seeing a red robe corner exposed behind a short tree, thinking it was some mandate lady hiding behind the tree, she went over briskly.
“Did you hear—”
Her voice suddenly stopped.
Then that person turned out. Dark, profound eyes stared deeply at her, saying indifferently:
“This Prince heard.”