Madam Xu put on both items, glancing at herself in the mirror, her every gesture filled with the pride of having raised a good daughter.

Feng Miao Jun couldn’t help but hug her foster mother tightly, with joy sprouting and growing in her heart. Only family would care for and love her so wholeheartedly and unconditionally. In this treacherous world, she had struggled to survive alone for too long, and a mother’s concern was like a warm lamp at the end of the earth, letting her know where her heart belonged with just a glance.

After leaving, Peng Bai was standing outside, both to give the mother and daughter privacy for their conversation and to keep watch for them.

Feng Miao Jun glared at him fiercely: “When I left for Jin, I asked you to take care of my mother. Is this how you take care of her?” He was almost becoming her stepfather!

Peng Bai wasn’t surprised by her anger and solemnly said: “Please blame me, Miss.”

Feng Miao Jun stared at him coldly: “What if I order you to kill yourself?”

His expression remained unchanged: “I would do so, but please allow me to send Madam Xu away from Yao territory first.”

Feng Miao Jun snorted: “My mother would never agree to that.”

“Madam Xu doesn’t need to know. Miss can just say I died in a foreign land while carrying out a mission.”

This man was getting increasingly serious, and even though Feng Miao Jun was full of schemes, facing him gave her the feeling of a mouse pulling a turtle—not knowing where to start.

The more she thought about it, the more irritated she felt, and she waved her hand: “Forget it, why make her sad? You may live.”

“Yes.”

She walked away with large strides, but after not going far, she stopped again: “You truly care for her, hmm?”

How could Peng Bai not hear the turning point? He immediately followed behind her and said urgently: “Heaven and earth can witness my sincerity toward Madam Xu!”

Feng Miao Jun knew Peng Bai’s character. Years ago, when the Queen of An Xia was dying, she entrusted Princess Chang Le to him, showing her trust in his character. Given the circumstances, Feng Miao Jun didn’t hesitate for long: “Fine, from now on, you must protect her completely.”

Peng Bai was overjoyed and immediately performed a deep bow to her: “Rest assured, Miss, I will treat her as my own life.”

“You’d better not fail her!” If she were truly the original Princess Chang Le, she might not have tolerated this situation. After all, if Peng Bai got together with Madam Xu, she would go up a generation in status, directly evolving from a subordinate to a stepfather. How could Princess Chang Le endure that?

This was also the greatest obstacle that Peng Bai had foreseen.

But she was Feng Miao Jun, not Princess Chang Le. To be honest, as a parachuted outsider, she didn’t have much feeling for the Queen of An Xia or Feng Yuan Shan, Madam Xu’s deceased husband. She could agree to this relationship firstly because she hoped Peng Bai would take good care of Madam Xu for her since she had important matters to attend to and spent little time with her foster mother. Secondly, Madam Xu was just over thirty, the most mature and beautiful age in a woman’s life, and as she often conducted business and appeared in public, she inevitably attracted attention. The possibility of her foster mother remarrying was not small, and rather than finding a stranger to be her stepfather, better it be Peng Bai—at least they knew him well, and there was no fear of Madam Xu accidentally revealing Princess Chang Le’s identity during daily interactions.

All things considered, Peng Bai was quite a good choice. As for his background, how could Feng Miao Jun care about that?

The door creaked open, and Madam Xu walked out, just in time to see Peng Bai kneeling and bowing to Feng Miao Jun, and she couldn’t help but raise her voice: “What are you two doing?”

Feng Miao Jun smiled at her, showing her teeth: “I’m assigning a task to Peng Bai. Mother, I’m leaving now.”

Seeing Madam Xu quickly walking toward Peng Bai, and looking at the uneven flagstones under his knees, she couldn’t help but curl her lips: Feeling distressed for him? Women’s hearts truly turn outward!

The air seemed about to be filled with the sour smell of love, and she, as a single dog, should flee from it!

After leaving the backyard, Feng Miao Jun thought for a moment and decided to exit through the front hall. This meeting place had been used twice already; they would have to change it in the future.

Walking past the herb-drying area, the front hall was the storefront of the medicine shop. She bent down and entered through a small door.

Besides the main hall, Ren He Tang pharmacy also had a dispensary specifically for preparing and dividing medicines, as well as private rooms for wholesale deals and conversations, so it wasn’t strange for customers to come out from the back.

This was one of the reasons why Peng Bai chose Ren He Tang as a meeting place.

It was nearly dark, and business at the pharmacy had quieted down. There was only one customer selecting medicine in the front hall. Feng Miao Jun had already reached the dispensary and was about to walk out when she caught a glimpse through the curtain gap and suddenly felt as if her feet had grown roots, unable to move.

Not only because this customer was as beautiful as a celestial being, but most importantly, that lotus-like face, those willow-leaf eyebrows, those cherry lips—they looked so familiar.

Feng Miao Jun’s memory had always been quite good, especially for someone she had paid special attention to—Tan Qing Shuang.

From Feng Miao Jun’s angle, she could just see the person’s profile. Today, Tan Qing Shuang wore a sky-blue dress, white at the bottom gradually blending into blue, with only the collar and waistband decorated with light gold peony vine patterns. Her beautiful hair was piled up like clouds, adorned with only two blue porcelain hairpins and a blue crystal hair ornament that swayed with each step. Feng Miao Jun’s gaze moved downward to see that even the lotus-shaped shoes she wore were exquisite, with the shoe uppers made of an unusual auspicious flower brocade, painted with small blue lotuses.

She was already naturally beautiful, and with her adornments, she appeared ethereal and refreshing at first glance, like a transparent, pure person.

Feng Miao Jun understood early on that clothing and makeup were an art, and the envoy from Feng Yang City before her certainly knew how to dress herself. As she slowed her steps, she used her spiritual power to hear Tan Qing Shuang saying to the manager of Ren He Tang: “These are all fine, wrap them up. Also, I heard there’s a Dragon Tooth Halberd here that’s 1,200 years old?”

Feng Miao Jun’s ears perked up. A Dragon Tooth Halberd, and one that was 1,200 years old—her foster mother’s pharmacy had such a treasure?

The manager exclaimed “Ah!” and said with a smile: “That’s our shop’s most treasured item.”

Feng Miao Jun was also a businessperson, and hearing this, the corners of her mouth curved slightly. Whenever the words “shop’s treasure” were invoked, it meant the item was especially expensive. But the Dragon Tooth Halberd was expensive for good reason. Among valuable medicinal materials, unlike old ginseng which had strong medicinal properties that could save lives, it excelled in daily nourishment. Taken daily with wine, it could regulate heart ailments. This Dragon Tooth Halberd was 1,200 years old, so its medicinal effect compared to others of its kind wasn’t just a matter of being a few times more potent. The old shopkeeper wasn’t wrong on this point—it truly deserved to be called the shop’s treasure.

However… heart ailment?

Recalling what Yun Ya had said earlier in the day about his past acquaintance with Tan Qing Shuang, Feng Miao Jun’s eyes rolled twice in thought, and she quickly changed direction, swiftly walking back to the small courtyard.

Tan Qing Shuang waited for a short while in the shop, not touching the tea that the shop assistant had enthusiastically served.

Soon, the manager returned, but his hands were empty, and his face wore a polite yet awkward smile: “Esteemed customer, I’m truly sorry…”

“The Dragon Tooth Halberd has been sold?” Tan Qing Shuang didn’t believe it.