Chu Wang Fei Chapter 72

母妃 mufei – mother; main wife 君王 junw.a.n.g – prince (rank) 本妃 benfei – I; this consort 臣女 chennü – I; this subject (girl) 院首 yuanshou – (imperial) hospital director 太医 taiyi – imperial physician; doctor 太妃 taifei – imperial consort 娘娘 niangniang – t.i.tle for consorts

As the carriage jostled roughly along the road, Yun Qian Meng began to feel her whole body burning up. She really felt as if her entire being was stuffed in a burning stove. Her usually fair complexion was flushed completely red, as she couldn’t help but tighten the frown on her delicate eyebrows in pain. However, she bit down tightly and didn’t let out a single word of complaint.

Qu Fei Qing noticed her pain. Her eyes reddening, she hugged Yun Qian Meng through her covers, hoping that it would help her feel a little better. However, Yun Qian Meng’s condition did not change. She felt as if she was in an icehouse at times, while also feeling like she was burning in a fire at others. Even though she was hugged tightly by Qu Fei Qing, her body still couldn’t stop s.h.i.+vering!

Qu Fei Qing saw this and recalled that there was no one in the xiangfu who will be able take care of her sincerely after all. Hence, she pa.s.sed Yun Qian Meng to Mu Chun and Mi mama before pulling up the carriage’s curtains from a corner, calling out to Qu Zhang Qing who was keeping guard alongside the carriage, “dage, we need to go back to Fu Guo gongfu directly! Meng’er’s condition is not good!”

Qu Zhang Qing immediately felt worried when he heard this from his little sister. But in the end, men and women were separate. He could not enter the carriage. He only nodded seriously and told her to lower the curtains, to prevent the cold breeze from sneaking inside. Then, he called over the xiangfu’s Captain Liu and told him to go back to the xiangfu first. He wanted him to report the news about Yun Qian Meng getting sick after falling into the lake to Yun Xuan Zhi, and let him know that Yun Qian Meng would be resting in Fu Guo gongfu for the next few days.

Captain Liu was actually also blaming himself for letting his own eldest miss meet with trouble at Hai w.a.n.gfu. Not willing to just let the eldest miss recuperate in Fu Guo gongfu, he spoke up in refusal, “It would be best if we brought da xiaojie back to the xiangfu!”

Seeing that Captain Liu didn’t want to let her go, Qu Zhang Qing tightened his grip on the reins of his horse until the blue veins on his arms seemed to burst out. With an increasingly cold expression, he dismissively replied with, “What’s the matter, are you worried that our Fu Guo gongfu will treat our own granddaughter badly? You should just think about reporting this matter back to Yun xiang. If he’s not satisfied, he can just come to see our laotaijun!”

After his spiel, Qu Zhang Qing just ignored Captain Liu. He tightened his legs around his horse’s abdomen, sending the black steed galloping to the front of the carriage procession.

“xiangye, Chen w.a.n.g’s carriage is currently tailing behind us!” Qu Zhang Qing announced as he approached Chu Fei Yang. Even though he was still completely soaked, Chu Fei Yang’s natural aura of sovereignty was not diminished in the slightest. Instead, his current cold expression reminded Qu Zhang Qing of Chu Fei Yang’s usual demeanor at the military camp. For a moment, he was filled with respect towards the senior official that was always fearless in the face of danger!

“I heard that you encountered a wolf attack earlier today?” Chu Fei Yang didn’t take particular notice of Chen w.a.n.g, instead bringing up an entirely different question. Qu Zhang Qing’s expression froze for a second before he quietly confirmed that it was true.

After hearing Qu Zhang Qing’s affirmation, a slight smile actually curled onto Chu Fei Yang’s solemn face. His eyes gradually turning cold, he slowly said, “Since Chen w.a.n.g likes to chase after tails so much, we should just let him do so! It will also save us some trouble!”

He just wanted to see what intentions Chen w.a.n.g was still having towards Yun Qian Meng. At the same time, he wanted to see how Yuan De taifei would react when she saw her own son like that!

As howling wolves were heard in the distance, the carriage and the horses just continued travelling noisily along the long road……

It was already 9 o’clock at night by the time they reached Fu Guo gongfu. Concerned and worried about her children who had yet to return to the fu at such a late hour, Ji Shu Yu had sent her personal maid, An mama to ask around at the gatehouse quite a few times. She also made sure that the servants had prepared all the sedan chairs, only waiting for Qu Zhang Qing and Qu Fei Qing to come back!

As An mama was about to inquire at the gatehouse once again, she heard the sound of vehicles and horses coming from the paved limestone roads. She immediately went outside through a side door, finding Fu Guo gongfu’s carriage gradually coming to a stop outside the main entrance.

“laonu sends greetings to shaoye! You and xiaojie have finally returned, furen has sent laonu to look so many times!” An mama quickly stepped forward and bowed to Qu Zhang Qing. Then, noticing the person beside him, she bent her knee respectfully, saying, “laonu sends greetings to xiangye!”

At this moment, they all heard the sound of a horse at full sprint coming from the other side of the road. As they looked over puzzlingly, they only saw a young man in an ash gray robe on the horse’s back, rapidly cracking a horsewhip to urge his horse onward……

“Jiao Da!” Recognizing this person, Chu Fei Yang called out immediately.

Jiao Da who was supposed to be by Chu Nan Shan’s side immediately tightened the reins on his horse. As the horse came to a grinding halt just before Chu Fei Yang, he called out respectfully, “xiangye, w.a.n.gye is calling you back for something urgent!”

Chu Fei Yang nodded slightly, but turned around on his horse to look at the carriage behind him for a while. Then, he finally tightened his feet around his horse and rushed towards Chu w.a.n.gfu with Jiao Da!

After Qu Zhang Qing saw Chu Fei Yang leave first, he quickly dismounted and told An mama to get someone to bring the sedan chairs beside the carriage. Then, he reminded Qu Fei Qing and the others to help Yun Qian Meng down carefully.

Yun Qian Meng’s vision was currently extremely fuzzy due to her high fever. She only heard the galloping noises gradually get further and further away from the quiet streets. Yet, in the distance, the slight s.h.i.+mmer of the gold streaks on a black robe was clearly reflected in her eyes. However, before she could take a closer look, she was carefully moved onto the sedan chair by a crowd of servants.

Following behind Fu Guo gongfu’s carriage from the start to finish, Jiang Mu Chen watched until Yun Qian Meng was brought inside Fu Guo gongfu before he finally changed course to go back to Chen w.a.n.gfu.

Qu Zhang Qing waited until Chen w.a.n.g left, then finally sighed in relief. He told Mi mama to follow Captain Liu back to the xiangfu to report the day’s incident, and then walked inside himself.

As Yun Qian Meng was carried to Qu Fei Qing’s Ting Yu Xuan, Ji Shu Yu, and even Gu laotaijun hurried over as soon as they received the news!

All the servants hurried to kneel and bow when they saw Gu laotaijun, but her attention was completely focused on Yun Qian Meng!

She brushed away the servants supporting her and moved quickly to the side of the bed. Seeing Yun Qian Meng’s flushed face, she immediately reached out and touched her forehead, only to jump in fright at the terrifying temperature!

“Are you all dead? Quickly go and call Nie yuanshou over!” Gu laotaijun suddenly bellowed in anger. The servants in the room all held their breath, terrified by her imposing aura. Only Ji Shu Yu managed to keep her composure. She quickly shot An mama a glance, having her withdraw from the room to send one of the butlers outside to Nie fu.

Everyone else was still frozen by Gu laotaijun’s anger. When they heard her ask someone to call for Nie yuanshou, the retired Imperial Physician that only looked after the few n.o.bles and princes he was friendly with, they only felt startled, feeling an additional layer of respect for the young miss!

If other people could figure it out, Ji Shu Yu naturally immediately understood what was happening. Still, after she had married into Fu Guo gongfu for so many years, the number of times she had seen Gu laotaijun actually get angry was easily counted with the fingers on one hand. For Gu laotaijun to get so furious this time, Ji Shu Yu’s heart sank as she too immediately rushed to the side of the bed. Finding Yun Qian Meng in an unconscious state, she felt a dear pain in her heart as she finally understood why Gu laotaijun reacted so strongly.

“This won’t do! Someone, quickly bring some of xiaojie’s clean clothes for biaoxiaojie to change into! Her clothes are soaked and can’t be worn again! Mu Chun, go take a dry handkerchief and help Meng’er dry her hair! It won’t do if she gets a headache from this!” Ji Shu Yu shouted out a chain of commands, sending everyone in the room into a flurry to get things done.

Qu Fei Qing personally took out some of her best clothes from her wardrobe and brought them over. Some of the more sensible servant girls also quickly pulled down all of the curtains to prevent Yun Qian Meng from catching a cold while her clothes were changed.

Ji Shu Yu watched as Gu laotaijun wait patiently beside Yun Qian Meng with tender eyes. Worried about Gu laotaijun’s health, she said with concern, “Mother, you’re not so young anymore. Please go back to rest! With erxi here, nothing will happen to Meng’er!”

But laotaijun was not going to listen to her advice. She stubbornly shook her head and walked away from the carved wooden bed. Letting the other servants lower the drapes, she waited for Yun Qian Meng’s personal maid, Mu Chun to help Yun Qian Meng change by herself.

“Fei’er, just what happened? Why did Meng’er become like this?” While waiting Yun Qian Meng’s clothes to be changed, Ji Shu Yu pulled Qu Fei Qing over and asked with a frown.

Qu Fei Qing swept her eyes across the room to look at the servants. Leaving behind only four of her personal maids, she rubbed her eyes as she recounted everything that had happened at Hai w.a.n.gfu from start to finish. “laotaijun, Meng’er already backed down many times today, but Hai Tian was just too aggressive. In the end, she even wanted to frame Meng’er! Meng’er didn’t have a choice. When she saw that Hai Tian wouldn’t stop tangling with her, she was forced to fall into the water!”

Even after five minutes, Gu laotaijun and Ji Shu Yu were still unable to recover from Qu Fei Qing’s story. The dancing flames of the candles flickered across Gu laotaijun’s face, illuminating it to reveal her cold, unmoving expression. Ji Shu Yu’s heart immediately jumped as she looked nervously at the taciturn Gu laotaijun.

Bang!

The sound of a walking stick slamming into the floor suddenly resounded in the quiet room. Qu Fei Qing and Ji Shu Yu exchanged a glance and turned to look at Gu laotaijun simultaneously. Seeing her stormy eyes, gloomy expression, tightly pursed lips, and the dreadful aura she was releasing from her body, they immediately saw that laotaijun was really, really angry about this matter.

“Mother, please quell your anger! You must not get angry just because of a youngster like that Hai Tian junzhu!” Noticing that laotaijun’s chest was moving up and down erratically, Ji Shu Yu immediately reached out and carefully helped her steady her breath, gently comforting her at the same time.

However, Ji Shu Yu was actually just as angry on the inside. Their Fu Guo gongfu’s young misses were also the top of the n.o.bility. How could they just let some random princess walk all over them?

Even though Hai w.a.n.g was a strong ally of the previous Emperor, Fu Guo gongfu was also responsible for a.s.sisting the state at that time. For Hai Tian junzhu to act so ruthlessly towards Yun Qian Meng, it was clear that she wasn’t acting on merely a young girl’s impulse!

“What about Zhang Qing? What is he doing as the elder brother? How could he leave two girls like you all by yourself? If Meng’er hadn’t let go of your hand quickly, perhaps not just one, but both of you would have fallen into the lake!” Gu laotaijun lifted a hand to stop Ji Shu Yu from comforting her. Then, her eyes filled with criticism, she shot a sharp, piercing glare at Qu Fei Qing.

Of course, Qu Fei Qing was also feeling full of self-blame. At laotaijun’s questioning, she immediately fell to her knees and earnestly said, “zumu, please quell your anger! It was sunnü who pulled Meng’er aside to talk about intimate matters and accidentally drew the attention of that wild wolf! zumu, please blame sunnü! When it happened, dage was also extremely anxious, and almost followed Chu Xiang and the others to jump in to save her. Please, zumu, don’t blame dage!”

Hearing Qu Fei Qing say this, even Ji Shu Yu couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. She felt even more distressed for Yun Qian Meng as she slightly scolded her own daughter, “How can you be so silly? Don’t you remember what mom usually teaches you? You are a well-bred lady from a big family and must pay attention to your ident.i.ty at all times! How can you forget to bring servants along with you? Otherwise, if anything happened on that s.h.i.+p, how do you expect us to explain things to the xiangfu?”

Qu Fei Qing quickly remembered how Yun Qian Meng had looked alarmed when she was about to fall into the lake. If Yun Qian Meng hadn’t let go of her then, perhaps Hai Tian would have gotten rid of both of them!

As she thought about this, Qu Fei Qing also started to get angry. However, the situation wasn’t something a mere young girl like her could resolve. She could only wait for laotaijun to make a decision.

Gu laotaijun made a deep sigh. With a mocking look in her eyes, she said, “Does Hai w.a.n.g really think that other people won’t figure out his evil intentions just because he hides deep in the mountains and the woods? He really knows how to teach his daughter, being able to raise such a vile and vicious girl! Okay, no need to kneel, just let Meng’er rest properly at your place for the next few days. You better not forget what your mother just said to you. This time, consider it a wake-up call; danger lurks in every corner of the capital. You must never lower your guard!”

Qu Fei Qing calmed down after she listened to Gu laotaijun’s advice. She quietly said yes then stood up in silence, obediently standing beside Ji Shu Yu.

“laotaijun, Nie yuanshou is here!” At this moment, An mama slipped past the curtains and announced. Seeing Gu laotaijun nod, she then bent her body and led a white-haired, white-bearded old man into the room.

“laochen greets laotaijun, greets Hou ye furen!” Noticing that Gu laotaijun was still sitting in the room, Nie yuanshou immediately bowed in greeting.

Seeing that the imperial physician she trusted arrive, laotaijun’s expression warmed slightly. She smiled and politely said, “yuanshou is too polite! I’m really apologetic for sending for you at such a late hour!”

Yet when Nie yuanshou heard her, he only smiled calmly, “It’s laotaijun who is too polite. laochen has already retired now, laotaijun should probably stop referring to laochen as yuanshou!”

laotaijun didn’t seem to feel angry or embarra.s.sed at his response. She only smiled slightly and motioned to the wooden bed on her left, saying, “Then please help examine my wai sunnü!”

Hearing this, Nie taiyi bowed with his hands clasped and replied, “Of course!” before walking to the side of the bed. Mu Chun having already pulled Yun Qian Meng’s hand out from under the drapes, covered her wrist with a silk handkerchief. Then, she moved backwards and stood to a side, quietly waiting for the imperial physician to make his diagnosis.

“How is it?” Gu laotaijun, still somewhat anxious, actually stood up and, with Ji Shu Yu and Qu Fei Qing’s support, walked over to the bed to ask.

Nie taiyi continued to carefully take Yun Qian Meng’s pulse with a serious expression on his face. Pausing for a while after laotaijun’s question, he stood up and answered, “xiaojie was shocked by her fall into the lake. Add on the cold temperature of the water as well as the cold weather seeping into her body, that’s why she has such a high fever! laochen will prescribe some medicine afterwards, xiaojie should recover if she takes it. Still, even though the weather is gradually getting warmer, it’s not quite summer yet. laotaijun should advise xiaojie not to play in the water just because she wants to cool off! Girls’ bodies have always been closer to yin energy, it really isn’t good if they come in contact with too much cold yin! After xiaojie’s fever recedes, she will still need to rest properly in order to fully recover!”

Gu laotaijun finally felt relieved at his words. For the first time tonight, her face showed a heartfelt smile. She personally sent Nie taiyi out of the room, then waved for An mama to follow him to prepare the medicine.

After sending him off, Gu laotaijun wanted to go back and take another look at Yun Qian Meng. But Ji Shu Yu brought Qu Fei Qing over and gently said, “Mother, it’s already late. You should return and rest early. All of us will be keeping watch here, we won’t let anything happen to Meng’er!” As she spoke, she glanced at Qu Fei Qing beside her from the corner of her eyes.

Qu Fei Qing received the message and immediately stepped up to pull at Gu laotaijun’s arms, saying coquettishly, “zumu, sunnü will stay and protect Meng’er, you can go back earlier! If you exhaust yourself because of her, even if Meng’er recovers, she won’t be happy at all!”

Gu laotaijun knew that the two of them were teaming up to send her back to rest. Looking at the room, she noticed that most of the servants were wary and nervous at her presence. Hence, she only nodded and told Ji Shu Yu a few things before she allowed herself to be sent off by Qu Fei Qing.

Ji Shu Yu sighed in relief after finally succeeding in getting Gu laotaijun to leave. Returning to the bedside, she looked at Yun Qian Meng whose eyebrows were tightly furrowed in pain, feeling extremely sorry for her……

Five days later.

“Meng’er, stop reading, quickly drink the medicine!” On this day, just ten minutes after breakfast, Qu Fei Qing had her servants bring the medicine into the bed room. As she saw Yun Qian Meng lean against the couch with a book in her hands, she spoke with a smile.

Yun Qian Meng heard her footsteps and lowered the book from her line of sight. Seeing the bowl of medicine behind Qu Fei Qing, the interested expression she had while reading immediately vanished. Suddenly lying down on the couch, she shamelessly said, “biaojie, my body is already fine! Can I stop taking the medicine from today on?”

Qu Fei Qing immediately smiled when she saw Yun Qian Meng act like this. Letting the servants put the medicine on the table, she walked over to the couch and pulled at Yun Qian Meng’s hands, begging her, “Do you know how you looked when you got back that day? It really made everyone worried! laotaijun actually lost her temper because of this, and even sent for Nie taiyi who rarely accepts patients to take your pulse! Not just anyone can enjoy that kind of fortune! But just because your fever has slightly receded, you shamelessly want to skip taking the medicine? Even if you are serious, I won’t let you get away with it! I will keep my eye on you at all times until you have completely recovered!”

Yun Qian Meng helplessly allowed Qu Fei Qing to pull her up. Then, wagging her head playfully as she listened to Qu Fei Qing’s speech, she mouthed the exact same words back at her.

Qu Fei Qing couldn’t maintain her serious expression, breaking out into a smile as she saw how playful Yun Qian Meng was being. She lightly poked at Yun Qian Meng’s forehead, smilingly saying, “I really don’t know what to do with you! Looking at you know, it’s impossible to imagine that you’re the same person who was calm and cool in front of Hai Tian back then!”

Yun Qian Meng s.n.a.t.c.hed the opportunity to embrace Qu Fei Qing’s waist and continued to plead, “Great biaojie, please spare me today! The medicine is too bitter, and I don’t like the honey sweets. Every time I finish the medicine, my mouth stays bitter for such a long time!”

As she said this, Yun Qian Meng scrunched up her pretty face, sending a foreboding look at the medicine on the table. She even shrunk backwards with a slight shudder.

But Qu Fei Qing couldn’t let her do as she pleased. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to report back to laotaijun, and it also wouldn’t be good for Yun Qian Meng’s recovery.

She only pretended not to see Yun Qian Meng’s scrunched-up, smiling face and let Mu Chun carry the medicine over and feed it to her lips. Her bright and clear eyes stared unblinkingly at Yun Qian Meng, maintaining a firm expression.

Yun Qian Meng didn’t expect that her gentle cousin would actually be so firm and resolute about this matter. She knew that if she didn’t drink it, the bowl might even be forced to her lips. She only sighed and took the bowl of medicine, closing her eyes to gulp it down in a single breath!

Mu Chun quickly prepared a bowl of rinsing water to wait for Yun Qian Meng to rinse her mouth after she put the medicine bowl down.

Just as Yun Qian Meng finished taking the medicine, Ji Shu Yu’s personal maid, An mama walked in. She bowed to the two young misses and smilingly said, “da xiaojie, biaoxiaojie! Hai w.a.n.gfei and Hai Tian junzhu just came to our fu. laotaijun is asking for both of you!”

Hearing this, Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing exchanged a glance. Qu Fei Qing then asked, “Why is laotaijun asking for us?”

An mama had already received Ji Shu Yu’s instructions before coming. She didn’t dare to conceal anything and immediately answered, “It’s naturally about the matter of biaoxiaojie falling into the lake! shaoye is currently entertaining Hai w.a.n.gfu’s Wu gongzi at the main courtyard!”

The news was outside Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing’s expectations. They knew that Hai Chen Xi and Hai Tian didn’t get along well with each other. There must be an interesting reason if he came along with her to Fu Guo gongfu!

“If that’s the case, biaojie, we should get moving quickly. We shouldn’t keep laotaijun waiting!” Yun Qian Meng received a handkerchief from Mu Chun and wiped her mouth with it before standing up and saying.

Qu Fei Qing also noticed that in her words, she only mentioned laotaijun, brus.h.i.+ng over Hai w.a.n.gfu’s people completely. Smiling as well, she helped Yun Qian Meng tidy up her appearance and then followed An mama to go to Rui Lin Yuan.

This time, Gu laotaijun didn’t invite Hai w.a.n.gfei into her room. Instead, she kept them in the guest room and only quietly drank some tea while waiting. When Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing entered, laotaijun smiled and beckoned Yun Qian Meng to come closer. After carefully examining her complexion, she finally said with relief, “Your body has caught a cold, so you must take the medicine every day and take care of it properly! You mustn’t leave behind any hidden ills!”

Yun Qian Meng knew that laotaijun was purposely saying this in front of Hai w.a.n.gfei and Hai Tian for them to hear it. So, she faked a few coughs and feebly said, “Meng’er will remember wai zumu’s words. I won’t treat my body as a joke!”

As she said this, Hai w.a.n.gfei’s body paused as she was drinking her tea while Hai Tian just quietly sat beside her, making it hard to see her current thoughts.

laotaijun was extremely satisfied with Yun Qian Meng’s response. She smiled and told them, “Both of you, quickly greet Hai w.a.n.gfei and junzhu! They both came here today just to visit you two!”

Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing immediately followed to bow, “Greetings to Hai w.a.n.gfei! Greetings to junzhu!”

When they finally ’noticed’ her presence, Hai w.a.n.gfei forced down the anger boiling in her heart. She smiled and slightly pulled them up, saying, “Just stand up! We are not exactly outsiders, no need to be so polite!”

As Hai w.a.n.gfei said this, laotaijun frowned slightly and immediately brushed off her words, strictly berating Yun Qian Meng and Qu Fei Qing, “w.a.n.gfei is too kind-hearted! Meng’er and Fei’er are subjects to royalty, so they must naturally maintain the proper manners required of their status as subjects! Manners cannot be disposed of! Do you two understand?!”

“sunnü understands, we will remember laotaijun’s teachings!” Both of them lowered their heads and answered simultaneously.

Knowing that laotaijun was actually drawing a clear line between them and Hai w.a.n.gfu when she scolded her granddaughters, Hai w.a.n.gfei couldn’t help but feel her anger rise.

However, Gu laotaijun was definitely difficult to deal with. Her words never strayed from the duties of a subject to royalty. In the end, as a w.a.n.gfei, she could not discard the importance of etiquette. There was no way she could refute what Gu laotaijun said, she could only listen and swallow her anger!

laotaijun watched as Hai w.a.n.gfei was forced to swallow the nail. She even continued to play up her obedience after gaining the advantage, smiling as she respectfully told Hai w.a.n.gfei, “Sorry for showing such an unsightly thing to w.a.n.gfei! It just won’t do if we don’t properly teach our children; if the Heavens punished us with misfortune, it would already be too late for regrets!”

Hai w.a.n.gfei knew that Gu laotaijun was pointing at the mulberry tree to scold the locust. She only showed an embarra.s.sed smile and turned to look at Qu Fei Qing. Seeing her gentle beauty and sweet temperament, as well as her personality that was fitting for a well-bred young lady from a wealthy family, she showed a pleased expression as she praised, “At Hai w.a.n.gfu, because there were so many xiaojie around, I didn’t manage to take a good look at da xiaojie! Looking at you now, you really are worthy to be raised by laotaijun! It was definitely my loss!”

Qu Fei Qing knew why Hai w.a.n.gfei was sizing her up so intently. Even though she felt uncomfortable, she didn’t let her unwillingness show on her face. Not arrogant or impatient, she bowed to Hai w.a.n.gfei and said modestly, “w.a.n.gfei niangniang overpraised. chennü is not worthy!”

“That’s right, w.a.n.gfei really thinks too highly of this kid! She’s usually quite naughty at home! I personally think that junzhu is the one that really has the demeanor of royalty, her every move and posture is worthy for Meng’er and Fei’er to take as an example!” laotaijun naturally didn’t let Hai w.a.n.gfei prop Qu Fei Qing up too highly. Otherwise, if the previous matter was brought up, it would have been difficult for her to retort. Hence, she pulled out Hai Tian who had remained silent for a comparison, preventing Qu Fei Qing from being left under the spotlight.

Even though Hai w.a.n.gfei knew exactly why Gu laotaijun was praising her daughter, she still really felt that her daughter was her pride and joy. Even though she never really loved Hai w.a.n.g, she still treated him with due respect all for Hai Tian!

However, the reason they had come today was not for Hai Tian to show off. After everyone had left that day, Hai w.a.n.g had called her, Hai Tian and Hai Chen Xi to his study to find out just why Yun Qian Meng had fallen into the lake. In the end, he fiercely scolded Hai Tian for a quite a while. She had to finally think up a compromise and bring Hai Tian to Fu Guo gongfu on this day!

Hai w.a.n.gfei therefore retrieved her gaze from Qu Fei Qing, turning it towards Yun Qian Meng instead. Seeing her pale complexion, she said emotionally to Gu laotaijun, “laotaijun, you are speaking too highly of Tian’er! That day, if Tian’er hadn’t been too naughty and played around on the deck of the s.h.i.+p, Yun xiaojie wouldn’t have gotten involved and fallen into the lake!” Tian’er, quickly come and thank Yun xiaojie for saving you! If she hadn’t managed to hold on to you back then, the one that fell into the lake might have been you!

After Hai w.a.n.gfei’s words fell, Hai Tian stood up from her seat in a dignified manner and moved before Yun Qian Meng with a kind face. She sincerely said, “Really, many thanks for Yun xiaojie on that day!”

As soon as she said that, laotaijun’s eyes suddenly turned cold even though she continued to smile. Ji Shu Yu also couldn’t help but make a slight frown, while Qu Fei Qing tightly clenched her handkerchief and watched the two people from Hai w.a.n.gfu continue their act.

“junzhu is too polite!” But at this moment, a polite and modest reply resounded in the room in Yun Qian Meng’s quiet and steady voice.

Everyone turned to look, finding Yun Qian Meng with a light smile on her face. She looked at Hai Tian with a good-natured expression, not showing the slightest rage in her actions. Instead, she was releasing a mild and gentle aura, momentarily causing Hai w.a.n.gfei to narrow her eyes. Hai Tian’s eyes also flashed with shock before she reattached her smile and returned to her seat.

“I didn’t expect Yun xiaojie to be so well-mannered and sensible! Tian’er, you must make sure to get along well with Yun xiaojie in the future. Properly learn from Yun xiaojie’s calm demeanor! Don’t always act like a wild horse that will frighten away other men!” Since Yun Qian Meng managed to adapt to the circ.u.mstances, Hai w.a.n.gfei only smiled and said to Hai Tian. Then, sending a look to the mama beside her, she waved in a few of her servants to present some gifts that were tonics of the highest quality.

“Since Yun xiaojie fell into the lake at our Hai w.a.n.gfu, Hai w.a.n.g has had a poor appet.i.te. He told me to bring these gifts over, so laotaijun, please don’t reject them!”

Glancing at the gifts, laotaijun once again understood that Hai w.a.n.gfu’s wealth really could rival the entire country’s. These gifts that had been casually taken out were all invaluable and priceless goods!

Hai w.a.n.g has been living a sedentary life for the past years. Even though he lived in the capital, it was as if he had nothing to do with anyone, and only continued to receive his pension and pa.s.s the days.

Even if the emperor often bestowed gifts to Hai w.a.n.gfu, those things were all precious objects and didn’t seem like things that Hai w.a.n.gfu could easily pull out.

Hai w.a.n.g had sent his main wife to send these gifts today. If she didn’t accept them, then it was clearly saying that Fu Guo gongfu and Hai w.a.n.gfu were enemies. But if she accepted them, it would mean that she had some relations.h.i.+p with Hai w.a.n.g. If this matter made the emperor suspicious against them, the losses would outweigh the gains!

It had to be said that Hai w.a.n.g who had not shown his face for a long time was not just a soldier, but also a cunning politician!

“chennü thanks w.a.n.gye and w.a.n.gfei for their great kindness! However, chennü has mostly recovered and cannot accept such precious gifts! That day, chennü saw that w.a.n.gye’s legs are not too well, so please bring these gifts back to w.a.n.gye! If chennü ignored w.a.n.gye’s condition and selfishly accepted these gifts, it would really crush chennü inside!” At this moment, Yun Qian Meng leisurely stepped over and knelt on her knees towards Hai w.a.n.gfei. She answered in a neither servile nor overbearing fas.h.i.+on, helping laotaijun break out of the tight situation.

Hai w.a.n.gfei didn’t expect that it was Yun Qian Meng who refused her. Even though her words claimed that the gifts were for Yun Qian Meng, the real intent was to fish out laotaijun’s inner thoughts.

But before laotaijun had said anything, Yun Qian Meng had stepped forward bravely. From her words, Hai w.a.n.gfei also couldn’t find anything to criticize, and could only clench her teeth and glare coldly at Yun Qian Meng.

“This was what father personally instructed us to do, mother and I must give these gifts to Yun xiaojie. Please do not reject them! Besides, Hai w.a.n.gfu still has many……” Hai Tian was extremely calm. Perhaps because Chu Fei Yang was not present today, she was able to properly control her emotions.

However, at the last sentence, she suddenly reacted and glared hatefully at Yun Qian Meng.

Yun Qian Meng had used the excuse of rejecting their gifts to lure her into trapping herself with her words!

If she had continued to say that there were plenty of similarly precious goods in Hai w.a.n.gfu, wouldn’t it be the same as announcing that Hai w.a.n.gfu’s wealth rivalled the country?

The reason they came today was because her father wanted to sound out the intentions of Fu Guo gongfu. If her careless words caused Fu Guo gongfu to become suspicious of Hai w.a.n.gfu, then her father would not let her off easily!

As she thought about this, Hai Tian’s hatred towards Yun Qian Meng only grew.

But Yun Qian Meng only continued to smile. She withdrew to stand behind laotaijun and didn’t continue to speak.

Gu laotaijun also went with the flow and rejected by saying, “For w.a.n.gye to be concerned about Meng’er is already a great fortune for her in this lifetime! How can we let w.a.n.gye spend so much money on her? Please, you don’t need to trouble yourselves over such a small matter.”

Hai w.a.n.gfei could only watch as the old and young pair teamed up perfectly. Thinking that their stubbornness was backed by the Empress Dowager, she felt that she couldn’t even force them to accept the gift with her status as a w.a.n.gfei. She only waved for her servants to back off and then stood up and said, “Since that is the case, Yun xiaojie should rest well! benfei will not disturb you any longer!”

Everyone saw that Hai w.a.n.gfei had gotten up and immediately followed to stand up to send her off. As Qu Fei Qing let out a sigh of relief, Hai w.a.n.gfei who had stepped out of the door suddenly turned around and gently reminded Gu laotaijun, “laotaijun, please carefully consider the matter benfei discussed with you before! benfei brought Chen Xi here today also to let him familiarize himself with the route between our fu!”

After that, Hai w.a.n.gfei’s calculative eyes seemingly unintentionally met with Qu Fei Qing’s before she went ahead and left Fu Guo gongfu.

However, her words were like a stone that caused many ripples in the pond, casting many doubts especially in Qu Fei Qing’s heart. Her face gradually paled as she looked nervously towards her mother and grandmother. Her heart pumped nervously as she feared that they would both agree to join their families!

Yun Qian Meng carefully observed laotaijun and Ji Shu Yu’s expressions and saw that neither of them looked happy at all. Instead, their eyes showed worry, telling her that they really weren’t willing to go ahead with Hai w.a.n.gfei’s suggestion. Hence, she pulled Qu Fei Qing and brought her outside Rui Lin Yuan.

“biaojie should relax for the time being. Meng’er can tell from wai zumu and jiumu’s expressions that they won’t promise this marriage with Hai w.a.n.gfu!” When they reached Ting Yu Xuan, Yun Qian Meng finally told Qu Fei Qing her opinion.

Qu Fei Qing was really at a loss when she heard her say that. Her heart immediately felt lighter and her worried expression slightly faded away as she nodded while grasping Yun Qian Meng’s hand, showing her full trust and dependence on Yun Qian Meng.

Yet Qu Fei Qing was also somewhat puzzled. She might be cousins with Yun Qian Meng, but the number of times they had met over the years were barely significant. It was only recently when they had begun to come in contact with each other more frequently. Yet for some reason, Yun Qian Meng just had a soothing quality about her. Especially when she saw how calm and steady she was, Qu Fei Qing truly felt that Yun Qian Meng was someone she could rely on.

However, Yun Qian Meng had only told her half the story. laotaijun and jiumu’s decisions would obviously lean in favor of Qu Fei Qing, but there was no way they could be sure of the Empress Dowager’s plans!

Hai w.a.n.gfei had brought Hai w.a.n.g’s fifth son to visit Fu Guo gongfu with great fanfare. With such a show of activity, and so many residences of other families around Fu Guo gongfu, this news was probably a hot topic that will quickly be pa.s.sed on to the Empress Dowager’s ears!

Hai w.a.n.g’s intentions were unclear, his loyalties were also unclear. Whether the Empress Dowager and Yu Qian Di would choose to rope him in or eliminate him was also something no one could predict!

If the Empress Dowager thinks that a connection by marriage would suit her purposes, then Qu Fei Qing would become the sacrifice for a political marriage!

Yun Qian Meng looked at the kind and naïve Qu Fei Qing, suddenly feeling sorrowful. Yet there was also a feeling of unbounded rage, as she quickly worked her brain to try to think of a way to face the situation.

Outside Fu Guo gongfu, Hai w.a.n.gfei’s earlier smile immediately vanished as she prepared to enter her carriage with a cold expression in her eyes.

“Why are you here?” However, just as she was about to enter, she found Hai Chen Xi sitting in her own carriage and drinking some hot tea, looking at her with a mocking expression.

“w.a.n.gfei niangniang must be exhausted! For my marital affairs, you actually went through so much trouble, I really can’t express how touched I am!” Hai Chen Xi raised his teacup to give Hai w.a.n.gfei a toast before he drank the tea by himself.

“Did brother go to the wrong place? This is mine and mother’s carriage!” Hai Tian who came in later looked at Hai Chen Xi with surprise before she asked with a hateful tone.

But Hai Chen Xi seemed not to feel any of their hatred and continued to drink from his cup, occasionally looking up to glance at the two of them sitting opposite to him. He made an odd smile as he answered, “xiaomei, did you forget? This is Hai w.a.n.gfu’s carriage! Everything here belongs to father, when did you become the owners? If father heard this, you might make him angry again!”

Hau Tian saw that Hai Chen Xi was purposely going against them and also remembered how she had been scolded just the other day. She suddenly felt a stifled feeling and stopped caring about Hai Chen Xi, quietly sitting at one side.

Hai w.a.n.gfei however, had already held back too much of her anger in Fu Guo gongfu. When Hai Chen Xi continued to be so impudent in front of her, she immediately scolded coldly, “Don’t think that just because your father asked the emperor to confer the t.i.tle of junw.a.n.g to you means that you can act like one already! Don’t forget, I am the main wife in Hai w.a.n.gfu, you still have to call me mufei. Don’t let outsiders see us as a joke and lose face for our Hai w.a.n.gfu!”

But Hai w.a.n.gfei’s words had no effect on Hai Chen Xi. He smiled when he saw Hai w.a.n.gfei clench her teeth at the mention of ’junw.a.n.g’, replying in a cruel, mocking manner, “w.a.n.gfei niangniang must be really reluctant for father to let me become junw.a.n.g! If that’s the case, why didn’t w.a.n.gfei niangniang obstruct him at the time?”

“You!” Hai w.a.n.gfei was so p.i.s.sed that her face suddenly changed color. The handkerchief she was holding had also been completely distorted by her hands.

If she could have stopped it, would she need to sit here and get angry over this evil creature, Hai Chen Xi?

Hai w.a.n.g had never given anyone the chance to argue or stop him before he directly pa.s.sed his word straight to the emperor!

Before anyone could react, the matter was already set in stone. It had already caused Hai w.a.n.gfei to become bed-ridden from anger for a few days! If it wasn’t because she had no other choice, she wouldn’t have come to Fu Guo gongfu today either!

She didn’t expect that Qin s.h.i.+, Hai Chen Xi’s mother was still in Hai w.a.n.g’s heart after so many years after her death. He not only allowed Hai Chen Xi to choose his own bride in the future, but also pa.s.sed on the only t.i.tle of junw.a.n.g in the family to Hai Chen Xi!

Hai w.a.n.gfei only felt restless because of this, feeling that Hai Chen Xi was being given the chance to spread his wings and gradually gaining the opportunity to surpa.s.s her in power!

But still, Hai w.a.n.gfei was still relieved that Hai w.a.n.g had not taken notice of Yun Qian Meng at first. Otherwise, if Yun Qian Meng was married to Hai Chen Xi, with her wits and cunning, perhaps even Hai Tian could not be her opponent, and Hai Chen Xi would be like a tiger that had grown wings!

Qu Fei Qing, on the other hand, was not much of a schemer. She was easy to deal with!

Hai Chen Xi lifted his chin and finished off his tea. Watching all of Hai w.a.n.gfei’s expressions, his lips curled into an unbridled smile and thought in his heart, it seemed that he would have to disappoint her and her plans!