Chapter Seventy-Nine
The largest tavern in the Royal City.
In the private room long reserved by the Qin family, Ye Duanfang wore a peculiar smile as he sipped his tea, occasionally stealing glances at Feng Suige, who was also grinning strangely, his mind seemingly elsewhere. After a while, Qin Yu, who was still in the dark, finally coughed and asked hesitantly, "Your Highness summoned this old man here..."
Feng Suige snapped out of his daze with an "Ah!" and turned to Qin Yu. "Qin Lao, have you uncovered any new leads these past two days?" Qin Yu hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Has Your Highness recently received a secret letter from Brocade?"
Feng Suige stiffened. "I have. How did Qin Lao come to know of this?" Qin Yu drew a folded letter from his sleeve and handed it to Feng Suige. "Is this the one?"
After reading just a few lines, Feng Suige's expression darkened, a chill creeping up his spine to the crown of his head. Seeing his grim face, Qin Yu sighed and explained, "On the day of the incident involving Your Highness and the Minor Imperial Concubine, Steward Huang from the Prince's mansion came to see me with this letter. He said he was fleeing to distant relatives in the countryside and needed some traveling expenses. I gave him some money and kept the letter."
By the time he finished speaking, Feng Suige had read the last line. Furious, he slammed the letter onto the table and paced the room like a caged beast before suddenly stopping and snarling, "I always suspected something was off when he returned to Su Sha and immediately went to the palace. So this is what happened!"
Ye Duanfang picked up the letter, glanced at it, and shook his head. "He was clever enough to flee first... The maid who led the Minor Imperial Concubine to the inn that day has also been found, but she was silenced—her body was dumped in an abandoned house in the back city. In truth, I believe Consort Zhuang alone wouldn’t have stirred such a storm. The one we should truly pursue is the mastermind behind her..."
"Marquis!" Qin Yu interjected in a hushed tone, quickly stepping to the door to peer outside before closing and bolting it. "Marquis, beware of careless words..."
"No," Feng Suige cut in, surprisingly calm. "Let him finish."
"The events of the archery competition left me puzzled. If not for those two fire arrows, if not for Guyu risking his life to protect the Minor Imperial Concubine, I would have been left with no defense—how could over a dozen armed men have hidden in a forest that had already been sealed off? Although it was later revealed that Consort Zhuang had her relatives hire these assassins, how did they bypass so many patrolling soldiers? If they had lain in ambush beforehand, how did so many of them evade the guards’ thorough sweeps for three consecutive days?"
Feng Suige regarded him coldly. "You’re suggesting there’s another mastermind." Ye Duanfang met his gaze squarely and declared, "Does Your Highness not think the same?"
Feng Suige stared at him for a long moment before suddenly sighing deeply. "Do you think I don’t know all this? But there are too many things I must consider. No matter how far they go, I can only retreat as much as possible. Though it’s terribly unfair to Yixiao, this is all I can do. Now, my only hope is for the Brocade Saint Emperor to soon issue an edict honoring Yixiao, forcing those with ill intentions to think twice and retreat."Feng Xiyang had long been accustomed to taking a short nap after her midday meal, and this day was no exception. She had just drifted off when she heard a knock at the outer door. Slightly annoyed, she still called out, "Whatever it is, wait until I'm up—"
"Your Highness," a timid voice of a maid came from outside the door, "the Holy Emperor has sent gifts and requests Your Highness to receive them."
Though surprised, Feng Xiyang quickly rose from her couch, tidied her appearance slightly, and followed the maid to the front hall.
The palace attendant, who had been growing impatient, immediately put on an ingratiating smile upon seeing her. "Greetings to the Princess Consort," he said, then waved his hand. A line of young attendants holding gilt trays stepped forward one by one, lifting the red silk covers to reveal the contents for Xiyang to inspect.
As each item was unveiled, the attendant announced its name: "Gold-threaded spiral phoenix hairpin... Soaring dragon jade buckle... Jade twin flower earrings... Auspicious dragon and phoenix gold bracelet..." Noticing Xiyang's confusion, the attendant quickly leaned in to explain, "The Emperor learned from the Empress Dowager that Your Highness's birthday is approaching. He ordered this servant to bring congratulations in advance and present these gifts."
Birthday. Xiyang suddenly felt the urge to laugh hysterically—or burst into tears.
Her birthday was also the death anniversary of her mother. During that time, her father would always become particularly irritable, the palace maids would tread extra carefully, and even laughter was rarely heard within the palace. Thus, she had never celebrated her birthday growing up—so much so that she had nearly forgotten it herself.
Yes, it was her birthday, arriving tomorrow. Yet the one who remembered her on this day was not the person she truly wished would remember.
How tragic.
She didn’t need grand celebrations. She only wanted Xia Jingshi to spend a peaceful day with her.
At the winding corridor, Xiyang encountered Xia Jingshi, who seemed to be in a hurry. She quickly approached him with a smile. "Good morning, husband."
Xia Jingshi clearly hadn’t expected to meet her here. He paused briefly, replying simply, "Morning," before making to step around her.
"Husband," Xiyang instinctively grabbed his sleeve, looking up pleadingly. "Could you spare a moment to listen to me? Just a few words." Only then did Xia Jingshi stop and wait silently for her to speak.
Blushing faintly, Xiyang entreated, "Tomorrow is my birthday... and also the death anniversary of my mother. If you don’t have any pressing matters, could you accompany me for the day? Or even just half a day would do."
Xia Jingshi hesitated before replying curtly, "I’ll have someone arrange an opera troupe for you later—"
"Husband!" Xiyang said in frustration. "I just wanted—"
"I understand," Xia Jingshi interrupted. "But I do have urgent matters to attend to."
Just then, a military general hurried over. Upon seeing Feng Xiyang, his expression immediately soured. He gave a vague bow. "Greetings to the Princess Consort." Without waiting for her acknowledgment, he straightened and grinned at Xia Jingshi. "Your Highness, the carriages are ready, and everyone has gathered. I thought you might have gotten lost since you haven’t stayed in Mingde Palace for so long, so I came to fetch you!"Xia Jingshi smiled gently, "Just a slight delay and you're already so impatient. If we go to war again in the future, I'll have to assign you as the vanguard scouts—make you lie in the weeds for three days and nights, see if you’ll still be so restless then." The Military General thumped his chest loudly, "Just say the word, Your Highness, and I’d give my life on the spot! Three days in hiding is nothing!"
Glancing at Feng Xiyang, he added, "Speaking of which, it’s been so long since we’ve fought—my hands are practically itching. If not for the peace treaty, I’d love to cross blades with the Su Sha again on the battlefield. Best if we could storm their Royal City! The brothers who went with Your Highness to fetch the bride said—"
"Enough nonsense," Xia Jingshi chided lightly, though his expression held no reproach. "If war breaks out again, it’s the common folk who suffer—let’s not dwell on this. Hurry along now." With a slight nod toward Feng Xiyang, he strode ahead.
The Military General grinned and followed, still gesturing animatedly. "Before Your Highness arrived, the brothers were talking about His Majesty’s rewards for Duwei Fu this time. Heh, everyone says Your Highness is the most honorable lord under heaven—what other noble would personally oversee the construction of a tombstone for a subordinate’s deceased mother like you do..."
Long after their figures had vanished, Feng Xiyang remained standing motionless on the zigzag bridge.
So this was heartbreak—she could almost hear it shattering.
OpenNovel