Feng Miaojun was finally at ease.

After the ceremony, the bride was escorted to the bridal chamber, and the groom came out to drink with the guests.

Feng Miaojun drank a few more cups of wine on toast, then said to the others: “I’m going outside for some fresh air. Please enjoy yourselves.” She was self-aware; the sovereign’s imposing presence intimidated people. By leaving early, the celebration could truly come alive.

Outside the hall was a bamboo garden.

The weather was still cold, but the Prime Minister’s Garden had made ample preparations for the master’s wedding. The garden’s plants were specially nurtured with formation techniques, so the bamboo remained lush, leading to a deep courtyard at the end of the bamboo grove.

A slender figure sat in the corridor, and Feng Miaojun looked carefully to find it was Princess Hanyue.

Her cheeks were flushed, having drunk quite a bit of wine. She leaned against a pillar, seemingly gazing absently at the sky. Among the bamboo groves was a bouncing little figure—little Miao Hansheng at play.

“What are you thinking about?” Feng Miaojun sat down beside her.

Miao Hansheng ran over on his short legs and, holding onto her knee, called out in his childish voice: “Godmother.” The three-year-old child could already pronounce these two words quite clearly, his bright round black eyes bearing a resemblance to Miao Fengxian.

Feng Miaojun stroked his hair: “Good boy.” She handed him a palm-sized wooden horse, exquisitely crafted, that could run when placed on the ground.

This was a masterpiece of a puppeteer, powered by a crystal—a luxurious toy that children from ordinary families couldn’t even dream of.

Miao Hansheng treasured it dearly and, without needing his mother’s reminder, politely thanked her. Feng Miaojun smiled: “Go play now.”

Children love to play; he ran off like a gust of wind to set his little horse free in the open space, leaving the two women to talk.

“When I got married, my father the King didn’t even come,” Princess Hanyue pouted. “It was State Preceptor Mo who escorted me to the Kingdom of Yao!”

Feng Miaojun smiled, recalling the bridal procession led by Mo Tizhun in those days when she was still just the third disciple of a State Preceptor.

In just a few short years, so much had happened, and even the mighty and invincible Kingdom of Yao had vanished into thin air.

“Do you want to go back to see him?” She understood the meaning behind the words.

Princess Hanyue nodded and said softly: “I can go back alone.” After witnessing others’ joyous occasions, she felt her loneliness more keenly. She had no relatives in Wusel City and, apart from her husband and the Queen, could find no one to share intimate conversations with. Feng Miaojun was busy with countless affairs of state, barely having time to sleep, let alone spare much time for her.

Of course, Princess Hanyue was well aware that while she could return, her son could not be taken away. Otherwise, even if she wished to return after her visit, whether the King of Jin would allow his grandson to return to New Xia was another matter entirely. Without Miao Hansheng in hand, how could New Xia control the Eastern Region?

This reasoning didn’t need to be voiced; both women understood.

“All right,” Feng Miaojun could empathize with her situation. After all, the loneliness she had felt when first arriving in this world was incomparably more intense than what Princess Hanyue was experiencing now. “Tired of staying in Wusel, aren’t you?”

Princess Hanyue sighed: “After playing for a dozen or so days, I’ve grown somewhat weary lately.”

Feng Miaojun flicked her forehead: “You complain about being tired from playing, what about me!” To catch up on her work, she had already been busy for three days and nights without sleep—the punishment for half a year of negligence.

Princess Hanyue looked at her complexion and said: “How long has it been since you’ve had a good sleep? Think about when you first returned to Yinzi City, you were radiant and glorious, tsk tsk.” At this point, she furtively leaned closer and lowered her voice in Feng Miaojun’s ear, “Did you and he get together?”

Feng Miaojun finally blushed and spat: “What nonsense are you talking!”

“No?” Princess Hanyue didn’t believe it; after all, she had followed the Queen from Yinzi City to here. “Then why were you always hiding in your room behind closed doors?” She glanced at her friend’s flat abdomen. “Deny it two more times, and the child will already be born.”

Were all married women this uninhibited? Feng Miaojun’s ears grew hot as she said sternly: “Shut up, or I’ll make it so you can’t say a word for ten days.”

Princess Hanyue pursed her lips: “Such an exceptional man, countless women would desire him. You’re the Queen; besides being extravagant, you should also indulge in pleasure to live up to your title. Why not enjoy yourself thoroughly?”

Feng Miaojun smiled coldly: “Still talking?”

Princess Hanyue quickly covered her mouth. She knew Feng Miaojun’s abilities well; if she said ten days of silence, it wouldn’t be nine days, nor would it be eleven.

Feng Miaojun stared at her without blinking, as if seeing her for the first time, her gaze growing increasingly bright.

Princess Hanyue endured for several breaths, truly unnerved by her stare, and anxiously said: “What—what are you going to do! Don’t silence me forever; my lips are sealed! I won’t tell anyone about you and… and him!”

“You didn’t tell Miao Fengxian?”

“Uh…” embarrassingly, she had gossiped with her husband the very day she noticed something unusual. Hearing Feng Miaojun’s cold laugh, Princess Hanyue shivered. “Except for him, no one else knows!”

“Where there’s one, there’s two; where there’s two, there will be three,” Feng Miaojun said flatly. “How can one expect women to keep secrets?”

Princess Hanyue whispered: “Then, what now?”

Feng Miaojun stared at her for a good while, then suddenly smiled, revealing her small white teeth: “Just joking.”

With that smile, the tense atmosphere immediately dissipated. Princess Hanyue sighed in relief: “That joke wasn’t funny at all.”

Her friend’s aura had grown increasingly powerful, no longer the unreserved confidante of their maiden days. Moreover, if she wasn’t mistaken, the Queen’s eyes were full of calculation, which sent shivers down her spine.

Feng Miaojun continued: “Since you find it dull staying alone in Wusel, why don’t I summon all the noblewomen from the Eastern Region to keep you company?”

Princess Hanyue was stunned: “What?”

Who said she was being imaginative? Here was someone even more outrageous!

Feng Miaojun revealed a contemplative expression and murmured: “No, no, that won’t do. This is inappropriate.”

Princess Hanyue quickly nodded: “Right, right, inappropriate.” She had married into the Yao royal family for several years and had many friends in Yinzi City, but would it be reasonable to bring them all the way here?

A gleam flashed in Feng Miaojun’s beautiful eyes: “They should take up permanent residence in Wusel.” Miao Hansheng happened to run out from behind a cluster of bamboo shadows, grinning at the two women. Feng Miaojun returned his smile. “Yes, and their eldest sons too.”

Princess Hanyue was dumbfounded, not understanding why her friend suddenly had such a strange idea. After hesitating for quite a while, she carefully asked: “Having them and their eldest sons settle in Wusel City, Anan, you’re planning to…” planning to use them as hostages in Wusel?

Although Princess Hanyue had a cheerful personality, she was not unaware of her situation. Moreover, Miao Fengxian in the Golden City would help her analyze the advantages and disadvantages. While she and Miao Hansheng were granted high status and treatment in Wusel, they were the leverage controlling all the people of the Eastern Region, making it clear to the East.