Yi Xiao tossed the leaf she had torn to shreds into the small stream, dusted off her hands, and stood up to walk toward the two men still whispering in the distance.
Upon entering Su Sha territory, they were surprisingly greeted by Earl Ye Duanfang of Jianxin, leading troops at the border. The Biaoji commander Shang Yun’s meaningful “Thank you, Princess” at their parting still echoed in her ears. In the blink of an eye, Feng Suige had been lured away by Ye Duanfang to talk privately several paces away. Since then, the two had been acting mysteriously, often huddling together when she wasn’t paying attention, and unanimously changing the subject whenever she approached.
Just like now.
“What exactly is it that I’m not supposed to know?” Yi Xiao interrupted Feng Suige’s pretense of inquiring about court affairs, sitting down beside him but looking straight at Ye Duanfang. “Could it be that your sisters have moved into the Prince’s mansion?” Ye Duanfang was startled and shook his head repeatedly. Feng Suige, looking troubled, half-covered his face and gave Ye Duanfang a look to leave quickly. Yi Xiao, sharp-eyed, called out first, “Explain clearly before you go!”
Feng Suige sighed, “We didn’t tell you because we wanted to spare you from worry. If you want to know, I’ll tell you when we get back to the carriage.”
Lowering his head and playing with Yi Xiao’s fingers, Feng Suige thought for a long time before speaking, “After we left Su Sha, Earl Jianxin managed to persuade my father. But then Father immediately selected many noble young ladies within the country, saying he would choose slowly after I returned, and packed them all into the Prince’s mansion. I was mentally prepared for this before we left, so you can rest assured. Although it will take some time to handle, it can ultimately be resolved.”
“There’s also something about Xiyang,” he looked at Yi Xiao with some concern, and seeing her expression unchanged, he continued, “I want to explain Xiyang’s situation to Father in person, so no one in Su Sha knows yet that Xiyang has passed away. I’m worried that when Father hears this news, he might, in his anger, order troops to attack Jinxiu or demand that Xia Jingshi hand over the Holy Emperor to avenge her. But I don’t think Xia Jingshi will agree. I understand the whole situation, so I don’t want to go to war, but Father won’t rest until he achieves his goal. This puts me in a very difficult position in the middle, and your stance goes without saying…”
Yi Xiao listened quietly to this point, then suddenly laughed derisively, “Are you planning to elope with me?”
“I can’t believe you thought of that,” Feng Suige shook his head helplessly, then suddenly looked at her nervously, “Yi Xiao, why don’t you let Earl Jianxin take care of you for a while, and I’ll come to get you when Father’s anger has subsided, okay?”
“Why don’t you say you’ll come get me after I’ve given birth to the child?” Yi Xiao said with an ambiguous smile. “That’s good too,” Feng Suige’s eyes lit up, “If you give birth to a son, Father will definitely…” “Don’t even think about it,” Yi Xiao stood up angrily, “You might as well send me back to Jinxiu now and be done with it!”
“Don’t be angry,” Feng Suige sighed and pulled her close, “I don’t want to be apart from you either, but this time I really can’t guarantee that I can completely convince Father not to vent his anger on you. I don’t want you to face any danger again, do you understand?”
“Even if you’ve forgotten our agreement, you should remember Guyu,” Yi Xiao suddenly calmed her anger and said coolly, “If you can’t do it, let me go early. It’s better for both of us.”
Hearing her repeatedly say she wanted to leave, Feng Suige also became a bit irritated and blurted out without thinking, “Where do you want to take my child?!” Yi Xiao’s eyes flashed, and she threw out a hard sentence, “If that’s what you’re concerned about, I’ll send someone to bring the child to you after it’s born…”
A warm finger pressed against her lips as Feng Suige explained regretfully, “That’s not what I meant, you know that.” Yi Xiao didn’t move, and they stared at each other for a while before Feng Suige deflated, removing his hand and falling back against the cushions. “Alright, alright…”
As they entered the Prince’s mansion, leaving behind the flattery of officials crowding at the door, the smile on Feng Suige’s face was already starting to falter. He tiredly rubbed his face and leaned close to Yi Xiao, asking softly, “Are you tired? Go change clothes first, we still need to go to the palace to see Father.”
Yi Xiao nodded and walked straight towards the back quarters. Before entering the corridor, an inner courtyard guard hurriedly approached. Seeing Yi Xiao and Feng Suige, he stopped at a distance and knelt, “Greetings to the Prince and the Young Consort.” “What’s the matter?” Feng Suige walked forward puzzled. Under normal circumstances, inner courtyard guards would not appear in the front quarters.
The guard glanced awkwardly at Yi Xiao and lowered his head, saying, “When they moved in, the Minister of State’s daughter forcibly moved into the Young Consort’s Plum Garden. We informed her of Your Highness’s return early on, but no matter how we tried to persuade her, she refused to leave. She even said it was the King’s order that she could stay in whichever room she wanted…”
“So what if she’s the Minister of State’s daughter,” Feng Suige’s eyes turned cold, “Go, send people to throw her out along with her belongings.” “There’s no need,” Yi Xiao stopped him, “Since she likes that garden, let her stay for a few days. I don’t have many personal belongings, the main room should be able to accommodate them.”
Turning around, Yi Xiao put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at the surprised Feng Suige, “I’ll go freshen up first. We can clean them out one by one when we have time later.” “Alright,” Feng Suige agreed with a hearty laugh.
Feng Qishan flipped through all the intelligence reports submitted by spies during this period, one by one. The papers were almost worn out from his handling, but he was just using this review to sort out his thoughts.
A few days after learning that Xia Jingshi had been accused of treason, news came that Feng Suige had rescued him and incidentally abducted the Holy Emperor. Just when he thought Feng Suige was going to bring both the Holy Emperor and Xia Jingshi back to Su Sha, news arrived that Feng Suige’s group was heading towards Lu City and had been surrounded by the pursuing Yulin main camp. As he prepared to dispatch troops to assist, more news came of internal strife in Jinxiu, with the military turning sides, and Xia Jingshi likely ascending to the throne. He had thought Feng Suige would return to Su Sha at this point, but who knew he would follow Xia Jingshi back to Jinxiu, only returning today?
What exactly was going on? Not only were events spiraling out of control, but even this son, whom he once understood best, was becoming difficult to fathom.
Suddenly, another inexplicable palpitation struck him. This had been happening frequently lately. Feng Qishan frowned, covering his chest, and took a few sips of the ginseng tea beside him. The slightly cool liquid helped him relax.
Time waits for no one. Perhaps it was time to abdicate the throne. He could enjoy some relaxation, and this way, he could visit Xiyang in Jinxiu. After Xia Jingshi’s ascension, Xiyang would rightfully become the Empress. If he had known this day would come, he should have taught her more about the inner court affairs when she was still in Su Sha.
Squinting his eyes, he couldn’t help but smile, imagining his once delicate and naive daughter in the majestic robes of the Jinxiu Empress, gracefully bowing to him.
“His Highness the Prince arrives—” A series of announcements came from outside, and Feng Qishan didn’t miss the very soft “May the Young Consort have ten thousand blessings and golden peace” from the palace maids in the outer hall.
Right, there was also Fu Yi Xiao.
During the time they were away from Su Sha, he had considered many things. Now that the situation was settled, Yi Xiao’s existence was no longer a threat to Xiyang. After Xia Jingshi’s ascension, if properly utilized and managed, Yi Xiao could be a quite useful tool.