“What did Your Highness say to Prince Feizhan just now? His face was so dark when you left.” Even after they had exited the palace, Ah Ye was still curious.
Feng Lezhen looked innocent. “We just talked about a potential collaboration. What else could I have said?”
“Actually, we have secret agents within the palace. There’s really no need to cooperate with him.” Ah Ye frowned. “I always believe that those who are not of our tribe must have different hearts—we should be careful, especially since…”
She hesitated, as if unsure whether to continue.
“Especially what?” Feng Lezhen gently prompted.
Ah Ye quickly continued, “Especially since he’s a very strange person. Your Highness, do you still remember the maid he brought with him when he first came to Great Qian?”
“Of course I remember. She drowned just six months after arriving. I even arranged for her burial, but that madman Feizhan insisted I return her corpse, so I had to order people to dig her up and give her back to him.” Feng Lezhen still thought the whole thing was insane.
Feizhan had come to the capital at the age of twelve and had lived in the palace ever since. They practically grew up together.
Ah Ye lowered her voice mysteriously. “Do you know what he did after taking the corpse back?”
“What did he do?” Feng Lezhen had been so furious at the time that she hadn’t bothered to follow up, and her attendants had wisely never brought it up again.
Ah Ye said, “He burned it!”
Feng Lezhen: “…That’s something he would do.”
“And then he put the ashes in a white porcelain jar and has kept it in his main hall ever since.”
Feng Lezhen’s face turned green.
“Your Highness, do you think he’s…?” Ah Ye turned her head and paused. “Your Highness, what’s wrong?”
“…Hurry back to the residence. I need to cleanse my hands.”
The carriage suddenly sped up as if something was chasing them.
After meeting Feizhan, Feng Lezhen patiently waited for the arrival of the ninth day of the eighth month. During this time, Fu Zhixian came to see her twice, one time to return her private seal.
“Everything’s been taken care of?” Feng Lezhen asked.
“It’s done,” Fu Zhixian replied.
Feng Lezhen nodded and looked him over carefully. Fu Zhixian had grown noticeably thinner, and the usual sparkle in his eyes seemed to have dimmed, making him appear somewhat like a frail, sickly beauty.
“What are you looking at, Your Highness?” Fu Zhixian’s lips curled into a faint smile.
Feng Lezhen smiled back. “Looking at a great beauty.”
“Your Highness always loves to tease me.” Fu Zhixian gently tapped her on the forehead.
Feng Lezhen shot him a sidelong glance and was about to speak when she caught sight of a familiar uninvited guest out of the corner of her eye.
She looked over silently. “Mister Shen seems to enjoy wandering around the residence quite a bit.”
“A hundred steps after a meal helps you live to ninety-nine.” Shen Suifeng truly felt he was innocent—what’s wrong with liking to take a walk?
Feng Lezhen smiled. “Not necessarily. What if, while walking, your head suddenly falls off?”
“Why would a perfectly fine head fall off?” Shen Suifeng asked earnestly.
Before the words even left his mouth, a sword was pressed against his neck. Ah Ye, who had somehow appeared out of nowhere, smiled sweetly and asked, “Isn’t it about to fall off now?”
Shen Suifeng: “…”
“Ah Ye, be polite to Mister Shen.” Feng Lezhen spoke gently.
“Yes.” Ah Ye walked off with her sword.
Shen Suifeng touched the small cut left on his neck by the blade, coughed lightly, and looked around. “The sun is pretty harsh today, good for sun-drying the back. The medicinal herbs should probably be collected now—it’s not good to leave them out for too long…”
He acted as if nothing was wrong, but his steps gradually quickened. Watching him, Feng Lezhen couldn’t help but want to laugh, the corners of her lips never falling. Fu Zhixian glanced at Shen Suifeng’s departing figure and, without a word, stepped forward, blocking Feng Lezhen’s line of sight.
“That man just now… he looked a bit familiar,” he said.
Feng Lezhen replied, “Ah, you’ve seen him before, when we were drinking at the pavilion last time.”
Fu Zhixian suddenly understood, “So it was him. You called him… mister?”
Feng Lezhen’s eyes flickered. “Mm, I hired him as a tutor for Chen Jinan.”
Fu Zhixian smiled faintly, “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that name. I thought you’d grown tired of him by now. I didn’t expect you’d still keep him around, let alone find him a tutor.”
A real tutor?
If he were a tutor, how could he have casually teased Her Highness the last time they met? And how would Her Highness have so unhesitatingly thrown an alcohol cup at him?
“What’s wrong?” Feng Lezhen raised her gaze. “Are you jealous?”
“Mm, I am,” Fu Zhixian admitted, his expression flawless.
Feng Lezhen smiled again. “Then, should I coax Lord Fu?”
“How does Your Highness plan to coax me?” Fu Zhixian asked back.
Feng Lezhen thought for a moment, then said, “How about taking you to Hongshan Temple to offer incense?”
“As far as I remember, it’s always me who accompanies Your Highness to Hongshan Temple every year.” Fu Zhixian chuckled.
In the previous life, that wasn’t the case. Feng Lezhen reached out to tidy his collar. “After we offer incense, we can visit the Treasure Pavilion, and I’ll pick a birthday gift for you.”
Fu Zhixian’s expression softened. “Is Your Highness not planning to give me fireworks this year?”
After adjusting his collar, Feng Lezhen met his gaze with a smile. “Fireworks are fireworks, and a birthday gift is a birthday gift.”
“Your Highness is quite generous this year,” Fu Zhixian teased.
Feng Lezhen smiled lightly. “This year is different.”
As for what was different, she wouldn’t say.
After returning the personal seal, Fu Zhixian left. Passing through the back garden, he happened to see Chen Jinan sitting in the shade, frowning as he practiced calligraphy. Not far away, Shen Suifeng was leaning lazily against the pavilion pillar, sunbathing.
A shadow soon fell over him. Shen Suifeng slowly opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow when he saw who it was. “Lord Fu?”
“As a tutor, isn’t Mister Shen being a bit too negligent?” Fu Zhixian smiled.
“Tutor?” Shen Suifeng was briefly surprised, then immediately understood. “Is that what Her Highness told you?”
“Isn’t that the case?” Fu Zhixian asked in return.
Shen Suifeng laughed lightly. “If she says so, then it is.”
Fu Zhixian’s smile faded. “Then I’ll ask Mister Shen to properly instruct his student.”
After speaking, he turned and left without ever sparing a glance at Chen Jinan, who also completely ignored him, keeping his head down and continuing to practice his writing.
…So this is the rivalry between the main and secondary concubines of the family? Shen Suifeng, having enjoyed this silent battle of mutual disregard, suddenly lost all drowsiness. He leisurely wandered over to the desk. “Calligraphy isn’t a battlefield. You can’t keep tensing like that. Relax your wrist. I’ve told you so many times to relax. If I really were your tutor, you’d be the death of me.”
The usually quiet Chen Jinan couldn’t help but retort, “So you do know you’re not my tutor?”
“Oh? The silent one talks back now?” Shen Suifeng curved his lips, smiling wildly and freely.
Chen Jinan returned to his usual silence, face stiff, continuing to write.
Shen Suifeng was obviously too idle, which is why he kept bothering Chen Jinan. Now that he was clearly unwelcome, he could only go find someone else to harass.
“What did you say?” Feng Lezhen, already changed into her sleeping clothes and preparing for her noon rest, looked doubtfully at the man who suddenly appeared.
Shen Suifeng smiled, “I was free and bored, so I came to take Your Highness’s pulse for peace and safety. Don’t worry, it’s free.”
“…Shen Suifeng, is there something wrong with you? Why would you be taking a peace pulse at this time of day?” Feng Lezhen was both angry and amused.
Shen Suifeng looked innocent. “I’m idle anyway…”
Before he could finish, a pillow flew at him.
He caught it. “Your Highness, anger harms the body.”
“Get out.” Feng Lezhen’s face was blank.
Shen Suifeng tugged at the corner of his mouth and turned to leave. When he was almost at the door, Feng Lezhen suddenly spoke. “If you’re really that bored, make me a bowl of Four Seasons Soup.”
Shen Suifeng stopped and looked back at her.
Feng Lezhen met his gaze with a helpless look. “Don’t worry, I’ll only keep you in this residence for another half a month. You don’t need to keep testing me.”
“I’ll go now to make Your Highness a bowl of the world’s one and only Four Seasons Soup.” With her confirmation, Shen Suifeng happily left.
Finally, Feng Lezhen had some peace, but once she laid down, she couldn’t fall asleep, angrily tossing her second pillow to the floor.
Shen Suifeng said he’d make her soup, but he didn’t show up for the rest of the day. Feng Lezhen eventually forgot about it. After washing up, she dismissed Ah Ye and the others, blew out the candles herself, and lay down.
Night deepened. The summer heat was stifling, and there was no ice in the room. She soon broke out in a thin layer of sweat and slept uneasily.
Half-asleep, she vaguely sensed someone approaching her bed. Her eyelashes trembled as she quietly reached under her pillow.
“If I were Your Highness, I wouldn’t resist at this moment.”
A dangerous voice sounded. Feng Lezhen gripped her dagger tightly and stabbed straight at his chest.
Feizhan grabbed her wrist, wrapped his arm around her waist, flipped them over in one swift motion, and pinned her down on the bed, her wrists held firmly above her head.
“I already told Your Highness not to resist. Why are you still so stubborn? What if you got hurt?” Feizhan took the dagger from her hand and casually tossed it to the floor.
Feng Lezhen’s gaze turned cold. “You’re bold to leave the palace.”
Feizhan laughed, his chest pressed against her thin sleeping robe, making her feel like she was vibrating along with him. The heat of his body seeped through the fabric. Annoyed, Feng Lezhen raised her knee to strike him.
“Shouldn’t Your Highness be more concerned that I’ve broken into the Eldest Princess’s residence in the middle of the night?” Feizhan caught her knee with his other hand, easily neutralizing her attack.
He cast her a nonchalant glance, though in the darkness he could barely make out her silhouette. “So, what did you come here in the middle of the night for?”
“Actually, it’s nothing much,” in the darkness, their breaths mingled as Feizhan grabbed her hand and slowly guided it to the scar on his chest. “I’ve just been thinking about it for a long time, and I still don’t understand what you meant earlier by ‘too clean,’ so I came to ask.”
…He disturbed her rest in the middle of the night just for this? Feng Lezhen was both amused and exasperated, but Feizhan remained calm: “You know me, I’ve always been a stubborn person since I was young—can’t change that.”
Feng Lezhen couldn’t be bothered with him and was about to tell him to get out when suddenly the door was knocked.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought your Four Seasons Soup,” Shen Suifeng’s voice floated lazily through the door. “I’ve added over ten kinds of medicinal herbs. Guaranteed to be one of a kind in all the world.”
Feng Lezhen: “…” What is wrong with him?
“Your Highness, who’s that?” Feizhan narrowed his eyes.
Feng Lezhen tugged the corner of her lips, and the next moment, Shen Suifeng’s voice came again: “Lord Fu? What are you doing here at this hour?”
“I should be the one asking you, Teacher Shen, why you’re standing outside Her Highness’s room in the middle of the night.” Fu Zhixian’s voice was cold.
Feng Lezhen: “……” Great. Looks like there’s no chance of sleeping tonight.
