RMACAUH Chapter 6

Wei Xiaofeng was smiling foolishly, just like…

Wei Xiaofeng was smiling foolishly, just like…

In her previous life, Mu Yunhua had also advised him like this. He understood the reasoning in his heart, but he always thought about Feng Xiao’s friendship with him, and the life-saving grace he had received as a child. That’s why he defied his father at all costs, just to bring him back to the palace.

Feng Yue responded with a light sound, without saying anything else.

The night watch maids had lit the lamps and incense in the bedroom early on, and Feng Yue asked them to prepare a bucket of hot water for bathing.

He sat at the small table by the window and opened the letter. The letter read: “To my dear brother, Feng Yue, I hope this letter finds you well. It has been five years since we last met, and I miss you dearly. I still remember how much you loved to eat jade silkworms. There is a lotus pond in the estate, and we harvest them in June to store until the Mid-Autumn Festival. I hope to see you in person when you receive this letter. Your brother, Feng Xiao, respectfully.”

Feng Yue coldly sneered, his eyes bloodshot, and burned the letter to ashes in the candlelight.

“Good brother, you can rot in that estate for the rest of your life, that’s your true home!”

“My lord, the secret guard has a report.”

“Come in.”

Mu Yunhua pushed open the door and entered the bedroom, stepping forward to bow. “My lord, someone was following you all the way back to the mansion, and the secret guard followed them back to the palace.”

“It was sent by the First Prince,” Feng Yue said with certainty.

“How does my lord want to respond?”

Feng Yue pondered for a while. In his previous life, he had been willful and reckless, with fame, fortune, and money all in hand, without any weakness.

Living this life again, he had a heart, feelings, and a weakness.

“The more he moves, the more flaws he reveals.” Feng Yue looked tired, his face unwell as he sighed, “If this prince went to the estate, he naturally wouldn’t need to target me. This kind of willful behavior is useless. But this prince went to the banquet, stole the show, and made him feel threatened.”

Mu Yunhua was greatly surprised after hearing his analysis. Their lord had changed! In the past, their lord had disdained the pursuit of fame and fortune, believing that a man’s ambition should lie in all directions, not confined to the court.

When did he change? There wasn’t even a hint of it!

“If he wants to watch, then let him watch. What he can see is up to this prince.”

Mu Yunhua nodded thoughtfully.

“Early tomorrow morning, go to the Ministry of Rites and send a note to that Su brother, this prince wants to invite him to Xiuguan Garden to admire the hibiscus.”

Mu Yunhua was completely shocked on the spot. “You, are you not interested in that fifth Wei brother? You even lifted the curtain to look when he got out of the carriage!”

“Truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth, it’s best to make people unable to see clearly.”

Mu Yunhua felt like he had been struck on the head, and didn’t ask any further. Perhaps those five years had been stifling, and now that he was back in the capital, he was flirting with two people. Although it was a bit inappropriate for his lord to be so fickle, it was nothing serious.

The maid brought the hot water, and he sent everyone out. He wasn’t used to being served, whether it was during those five years on the war-torn battlefield, or those ten years in the bitter cold.

Of the remaining three years, his memory was already blurry. Because he didn’t dare to think about it, couldn’t think about it, bitterness and humiliation turned into invisible blades cutting his throat, causing him unbearable pain.

He lay back in the tub, unable to stop himself from recalling all the moments he had spent with Wei Xiaofeng, and his eyes gradually turned red. He scooped up a handful of water and washed away the wetness in his eyes, muttering softly: “Xiaofeng… wait for me.”

Releasing the shield of his palms, Feng Yue’s gaze was sharp as a knife, cutting through the soft light of the candle in the night.

*

Early the next morning, Zhu Yi sent a note, inviting Wei Xiaofeng to play at his house.

Wei Xiaofeng still remembered the grudge from last night when Zhu Yi refused to give him a ride, but he was also curious about who he was going to marry, and what preparations he was making. After hesitating for only a few breaths, he took a carriage and went.

Zhu Yi’s father was a Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a third-rank official. The heads of the two families didn’t have much interaction, but the mistresses of the households often visited each other. Zhu Yi and Wei Xiaofeng were the same age, and they were both *ge’er* (young men), so they were familiar with each other.

Wei Xiaofeng arrived early, and Zhu Yi was arranging his dowry in his room. Three exquisitely crafted bright red wedding gowns hung on the wooden frame, made of brocade and Suzhou embroidery, so gorgeous that Wei Xiaofeng’s eyes widened.

Seeing that he wanted to reach out and touch them, Zhu Yi reluctantly slapped his hand away. “Are your hands clean? Just look, don’t touch them.”

Wei Xiaofeng smiled naively, not annoyed. “They’re really beautiful. Can you wear all three?”

“Of course! I’ll wear this one when I leave the house, this one when I kowtow to the ancestors, and this one when I enter the bridal chamber.” Zhu Yi’s delicate face was flushed with two red clouds.

“What kind of person is your husband? Do you like him?” Wei Xiaofeng asked curiously, his bright eyes wide.

“Well…” Zhu Yi looked at the carved beams with innocent eyes for a long time before saying uncertainly, “He’s a manager in a bookstore. He passed the provincial exam last autumn, so he’s considered elegant and knowledgeable!”

“Then is he good-looking?”

Zhu Yi gave Wei Xiaofeng a speechless look. “Don’t always be so shallow, only looking at appearances. You have to see the inner qualities.”

“But if I don’t like his appearance, how can I be interested in his inner qualities?”

Zhu Yi was so angry that his face turned blue. “Why am I talking so much to you, you fool?”

“Oh…” Wei Xiaofeng puffed out his cheeks, turned around, and grabbed some fruit to eat, not asking any more questions.

If he were good-looking, Zhu Yi would be showing off and praising him to the skies! Going around in circles and getting angry with him must mean he’s not good-looking!

After a while, several other familiar *ge’er* arrived, bringing gifts with them.

Wei Xiaofeng was a little ashamed that he had come empty-handed. They surrounded Zhu Yi, chattering away, making a lively scene! Wei Xiaofeng didn’t go forward to make a fool of himself, and sat at the small table, taking up a pen and ink, thinking about the Guangling Prince’s appearance, and started to draw on the paper.

Suddenly, someone raised their chin towards Wei Xiaofeng, signaling everyone to look.

Wei Xiaofeng was smiling foolishly, clearly with his heart full of spring.

One of the *ge’er* quietly stepped forward, mischievously snatching the drawing and holding it up high. “Everyone, come and see! Wei Xiaofeng is lovesick, secretly drawing a portrait of his lover!”

Wei Xiaofeng panicked, reaching out to snatch the portrait, but everyone passed it around, and Wei Xiaofeng couldn’t even touch the edge.

“Give it back! You’re too mean! Ah… give it back!”

“Let me see, who is this drawing of?”

Wei Xiaofeng’s face was pale. “It’s, it’s no one. This isn’t a prince…”

“Oh my God!” The Wang family *ge’er* shouted, “Could this be my second brother, Wang Taichuan?”

Wei Xiaofeng was stunned. “Who???”

The Wang family *ge’er* unfolded the portrait, describing it with great detail. “Everyone, look, look! These two eyebrows, these two eyes, the length of this mouth, are exactly the same as my second brother!”

“Indeed, two eyebrows, two eyes, one mouth.”

Wei Xiaofeng felt that he couldn’t clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River. He choked out, “I didn’t draw your second brother!”

The Wang family *ge’er* snorted out of his nostrils. “You better not be! My second brother already has a principal wife and a concubine. Even if you want to come to the door, you can only be a concubine!”

Wei Xiaofeng was furious. “Who wants to be a concubine in your family? I, I would rather remain unmarried for the rest of my life than be a concubine for anyone! Besides, I already have someone I love, and that person loves me too!”

The room suddenly fell silent.

Zhu Yi’s delicate face was a little distorted, and his tone was indescribably sour. “Who would be so blind as to take a fancy to you? It must not be a proper young man from a good family!”

Wei Xiaofeng’s eyes turned red in an instant. “Zhu Yi, I treat you as a friend, why are you slandering me like this?”

“It’s the truth! Let everyone say, what are your good points?” Zhu Yi was unreasonable, pressing him aggressively.

Seeing that Wei Xiaofeng couldn’t answer, Zhu Yi folded his arms triumphantly. “Look, look! You don’t even know what’s good about you, right? Don’t think too highly of yourself, do you think you’re Su Qingzhi?!”

“Speaking of Su Qingzhi, I have a scandalous piece of gossip! Do you want to hear it?”

“Quick, quick, tell us!”

“When I went out this morning, I happened to see the Guangling Prince’s carriage go to the Su residence and pick up Su Qingzhi. Didn’t the Guangling Prince also invite him to enjoy the lanterns and stroll through the garden on the night of the palace banquet?”

“How envious!”

“What’s there to be envious of? What kind of good place do you think the prince’s mansion is? The royal family has never had a precedent for marrying a *ge’er* as the principal wife.”

“Being a concubine isn’t bad either!”

“Don’t even mention concubine, Guangling Prince is so handsome and brave, I’d be willing to be a servant in the prince’s mansion.”

…

The *ge’er* excitedly gossiped about the Guangling Prince and Su Qingzhi, and no one even noticed when Wei Xiaofeng left.

In the carriage on the way home, Wei Xiaofeng cried miserably. It hadn’t even started, how could it be over so soon?

It turned out that he was just being sentimental, wishful thinking. He really was a joke!

But speaking of it, didn’t that Prince have any fault at all?

“If you don’t like me, why are you teasing me, causing me to misunderstand and become a laughingstock? You heartless thief! Wuwuwu…”

When he got home, Wei Xiaofeng immediately threw the two oranges he couldn’t bear to eat into the pond.

*

After Feng Yue and Su Qingzhi admired the hibiscus at Xiuguan Garden, they rode their horses with Mu Yunhua through the North Palace Gate, and from a distance, they saw several officials from the Ministry of Works walking together with gloomy faces.

“Huh? Isn’t today a rest day?” Mu Yunhua asked in confusion.

“Presumably, they came to discuss the construction of dikes and dams in Jingchu.”

“Ah, it’s been treated year after year, but it’s still flooded year after year. It’s really difficult!”

In her previous life, the First Prince, Feng Chao, used water management in Jingchu as bait to lure Feng Xiao, but the shoddy construction collapsed in the flood. Nearly 100,000 people were drowned in their sleep, corpses were everywhere, and people were living in misery…

Hundreds of officials involved in water management were beheaded and displayed to the public. Feng Xiao was stripped of his title as a prince and demoted to a commoner.

Fortunately, Feng Xiao found a construction genius in the folk named Shang Mingyu. Unfortunately, he was a *ge’er* and no one dared to use him. Feng Xiao cheated a water conservancy plan from him and argued with his father until death. Because of the previous failure in water management, hundreds of officials had been beheaded, and no one in the Ministry of Works dared to take on this important task.

For a time, there was no one available, so the emperor agreed to him. It was precisely because of the great contribution made in the second water management of Jingchu that Feng Xiao was able to regain his status as a prince and was granted the title of Wang (Prince).

As they were about to meet, Feng Yue and Mu Yunhua dismounted together, bowed to the several adults of the Ministry of Works, and exchanged a few words of greeting.

After walking away, the two mounted their horses again and headed to the Fenghia Palace where the Empress resided.