Under the blazing sun, even the air seemed to shimmer with heat.
The man in the tree had rugged, wild features of foreign descent, but oddly delicate contours reminiscent of Jiangnan. Combined, they formed an oddly striking handsomeness.
Ah Ye recognized him immediately and scowled. “Prince Feizhan, if you’re so idle, why not help the palace attendants with their chores? Why throw flowers at my lady?”
“Everyone in the palace, down to the ants, knows Fu Zhixian gave Her Highness flowers at the Lotus Banquet. I thought she liked them.” He tilted his head innocently. Though the same age as Feng Lezhen, he had a boyish look of feigned naïveté.
Too bad he was a brat.
Feng Lezhen smiled faintly and walked beneath the tree, extending her hand. “Come down.”
Feizhan looked at her hand but didn’t move. Just as she was about to lose patience and pull her hand back, he suddenly grabbed it and leapt down, landing steadily—only to pull her into his arms without warning.
“Impudent! Let go of Her Highness at once!” Ah Ye snapped. The palace attendant quickly tried to intervene.
But Feizhan ignored them and lowered his head, sniffing near her neck. “Did Your Highness change the incense in your chambers?”
“Are you a dog?” Feng Lezhen smacked him square on the forehead.
She hadn’t held back. Red finger marks instantly appeared on his pale skin.
Feizhan clicked his tongue and tightened his hold. “It’s been so long since you visited the palace. Don’t tell me you’ve been too captivated by Fu Zhixian to think of me?”
“I don’t recall ever entering the palace just to see you,” Feng Lezhen said, raising her brows.
“Those words wound me.” Feizhan grinned mischievously, and right in front of the others, he suddenly kissed her on the ear.
The brief contact left behind a lingering warmth. Feng Lezhen frowned and was about to tell him to get lost when she heard him murmur softly, “Even a pillow-side lover… might be someone else’s dagger, Your Highness.”
Feng Lezhen paused. He had already released her.
“You—you—scoundrel! That’s outrageous! I’ll kill you!” Ah Ye shouted, lunging forward.
Feizhan easily caught her wrist, gaze playful as he looked back at Feng Lezhen.
“Ah Ye, come back,” Feng Lezhen said calmly.
“But Your Highness…”
“Do as I say.” Her tone turned displeased.
Ah Ye shot Feizhan a venomous glare, broke free, and returned to her lady’s side.
Feng Lezhen’s eyes met Feizhan’s steadily. She vaguely remembered that in her past life, he had also tried to warn her. But back then, she had trusted Fu Zhixian too deeply and thought Feizhan had just gone mad again.
Now, in this second chance, she finally understood the words she hadn’t before.
“Your Highness?” he asked, smiling.
Feng Lezhen’s tone was indifferent. “This must not happen again.”
With that, she turned and walked on. Ah Ye made a throat-slitting gesture at Feizhan before hastily following.
“That Feizhan is outrageous,” Ah Ye fumed. “It’s not enough that he turns the palace into a den of debauchery—he even dares to lay hands on you! I swear I’ll kill him one day.”
Feng Lezhen laughed. “He’s always been like that. Why let it bother you?”
“He bullied you!” Ah Ye said angrily.
“No one can bully me,” Feng Lezhen said with a glance.
“But—”
“We’ve arrived.” Feng Lezhen looked up at the plaque on Longhua Hall.
Ah Ye immediately fell silent and followed the palace attendants to wait by the side door.
After announcing her arrival, Feng Lezhen entered alone—and saw the Emperor in his dragon robe at once.
Feng Ji, her half-brother by the same father, only half a year younger.
Though the late emperor was tall and handsome and his consort, Noble Consort Huashu, no less attractive, Feng Ji somehow ended up with a round face and short limbs, inheriting none of their strengths. Every time Feng Lezhen saw him, she couldn’t help wanting to shake her head.
A raspy cough sounded behind him. She realized that her maternal grandfather, Yu Shou, was also present. She paused, but before she could greet him, Yu Shou’s expression darkened.
“This humble minister is unwell and must take his leave. I beg Your Majesty’s pardon.”
“Beloved Minister Yu, is this really necessary…” Feng Ji sighed but allowed him to leave.
Feng Lezhen lowered her eyes and stepped aside to make way. Yu Shou walked past her coldly, coughing as he went, without sparing her a single glance.
She suddenly remembered—at this same time in her past life, he’d often coughed like this. Back then, she’d considered checking on him, but after she killed Qing Wang, her grandfather publicly severed ties with her. For the next few years, they were like strangers. Though she thought of visiting, she never went. She only sent medicinal supplements, which were later thrown out.
After that, she stopped sending anything.
At the time, seeing the discarded medicine, she had assumed her grandfather hated her to the bone and wisely chose not to appear before him again. It wasn’t until she was confined in the palace, when the grandfather who never had a kind look for her knelt outside Longhua Hall for three days despite being ill, and finally died of worsening illness and fever, that she realized just how gravely she had misjudged him.
Now, having lived a second life, she had early on instructed the Yu family’s physician to take particular care of her grandfather and make sure he did not catch cold or develop a cough again. She also had people inquire after his health every day. Who would have thought that after just a few days of not checking in, he would repeat the same mistake.
“Beloved Minister Yu is getting on in years—it’s normal for him to be a bit stubborn. Royal Sister needn’t take it to heart,” Emperor Feng Ji tried to console her.
Feng Lezhen came back to herself and knelt slowly, smoothing her skirts: “Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty.”
Feng Ji remained seated at the desk and only rose to help her up after she had finished her salute. “It’s just the two of us here. Royal Sister need not be so formal.”
“Etiquette cannot be dispensed with,” Feng Lezhen replied, rising with the support of his hand.
Feng Ji looked her over for a moment. “It’s only been a few days, but Royal Sister looks noticeably thinner.”
“The people below are careless enough, and there’s always someone coming to stir up trouble. How could I not have lost weight?” Feng Lezhen smiled.
Feng Ji gave an awkward laugh. “Who has been causing trouble for Royal Sister?”
“Does Your Majesty not know?” Feng Lezhen feigned confusion.
Feng Ji paused for a moment. “I’ve been terribly busy of late—how would I know what’s happening with Royal Sister?”
Without waiting for a response, he changed the subject: “By the way, I heard Qing Wangfei held a banquet to celebrate the opening of her residence, and Royal Sister attended?”
“I did.” Feng Lezhen smiled.
Feng Ji turned his back, hands clasped behind him. “Before she hosted the banquet, I heard her health had improved and sent people to check on her. Now that Qing Wang is dead, she’s all alone in the world. You and I should look after her more.”
So now he was pretending to be completely uninvolved. Feng Lezhen gave a light smile. “So Your Majesty only sent people to check on her?”
“What else would I have done?” Feng Ji countered.
“I thought…” Feng Lezhen seemed as though she had more to say but merely sighed in the end. “Never mind. If Your Majesty wishes to care for her, then do as you will. I personally don’t like her—can’t even stand to look at her more than once.”
“You’re still the same as before…” Feng Ji chuckled.
Feng Lezhen laughed as well. After a few lighthearted moments, she abruptly shifted the conversation. “Your Majesty just mentioned you’ve been busy lately—has it been due to the canal construction?”
The smile vanished from Feng Ji’s face. “Building the canal would benefit both the nation and its people, yet there are always those short-sighted fools trying to stop me. Royal Sister, what do you think I should do with them?”
Short-sighted fools—Feng Lezhen’s smile didn’t falter. “But back in the late emperor’s time, the roads were already well-developed. There’s really no need to build a canal. What’s more, the treasury is empty—once construction begins, it may cripple the entire state. It’s only natural the officials would oppose it.”
“It’s precisely because the treasury is empty that we must build the canal as soon as possible! Before the late emperor passed, he enacted a law forbidding tax increases for ten years. But in these past few years, the taxes have been declining year after year—we’re already running a deficit. If we don’t find a way to replenish the treasury soon, the Great Qian will be in danger!” Feng Ji was clearly agitated, his tone sharp with frustration.
Feng Lezhen blinked. “So building a canal is Your Majesty’s solution to replenish the treasury?”
“Exactly. The law states that the shipping tax is twenty percent higher than the land tax. As long as we force all the merchant caravans to travel by water, we’ll be earning forty percent more in tax round-trip. The treasury will naturally fill up.” Feng Ji explained eagerly.
…What kind of nonsense is this? Feng Lezhen smiled. “But if that’s the case, I fear the common merchants may not be willing.”
“They’re just lowly merchants. Being able to contribute to the Great Qian is their honor. Who are they to be unwilling?” Feng Ji scoffed.
Feng Lezhen continued to smile. “Even though society claims to rank scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, the reason merchants are restricted is only to prevent people from favoring trade over farming. It was never meant to justify dividing the people into superior and inferior classes in your heart.”
“Are you saying you plan to oppose this to the end?” Feng Ji’s expression darkened.
Feng Lezhen sighed. “I only hope Your Majesty will think twice.”
“Think twice—everyone says that. Everyone tells me to think twice. Even you say the same thing. If everyone trusts Royal Sister so much, why don’t I just abdicate and give you the throne!” Feng Ji slammed the cup next to him to the ground with a crash, startling the attending eunuchs and maids into kneeling.
Feng Lezhen’s expression did not change. “Your Majesty is truly too angry. The throne is not something one can simply give away. It was I who misspoke and upset you.”
Her yielding attitude left Feng Ji with no way to continue his tantrum. He could only give her an awkward out.
The two of them had lunch together. Feng Lezhen rested briefly in the palace, lingering until evening before returning to her residence.
Qin Wan was already waiting in the courtyard. The moment she saw the returning carriage, she came forward. “Your Highness.”
“Well?” Feng Lezhen asked.
Qin Wan replied, “Qing Wangfei’s old illness has returned. She’s bedridden now.”
Feng Lezhen paused. “And that physician?”
“He left Qing Wang’s estate the night of the lotus banquet. Now the estate is frantically searching for him—it’s causing a stir all over the capital,” Qin Wan said.
“Seems he really is a divine doctor.” Feng Lezhen curled her lips. “Do we know where he is now?”
“At the home of Imperial Physician Cui, who retired a couple years ago.”
Feng Lezhen nodded, then turned back to the carriage. “Jinan stays. Ah Ye, come with me to the Cui residence.”
“Now?” Ah Ye was surprised.
Feng Lezhen smiled. “Since he’s a divine doctor, naturally we need to snatch him up early.”
