Despite knowing Feng Lezhen for so long, this was the first time Shen Suifeng had seen her look so troubled. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Wasn’t coming to Yingguan Your Highness’s own choice?”
“It was my choice. With Feng Ji’s temperament, he would never assign me to any prosperous place. Of all the leftover remote territories, only Yingguan holds military strength and autonomy. If I want to forge a new path, this is the only place I can choose,” Feng Lezhen answered quietly.
Shen Suifeng raised an eyebrow slightly. “If that’s the case, why look so worried?”
“Have you ever heard about the grudge between me and the family of Zhenbian Marquis?” Feng Lezhen asked in return.
Shen Suifeng looked up at the tightly shut city gates. “Probably the entire Great Qian knows. Zhenbian Marquis had twins—a boy and a girl. The son was born with weakness and could only improve with careful nurturing. But at age eight, one winter, he was pushed into a pond by Your Highness, and since then, his condition has deteriorated year after year.”
“Qi Zhen only has one son and one daughter. I ruined half of that. Now I’ve come to his turf—what do you think will happen?” Feng Lezhen sighed.
Shen Suifeng was puzzled. “But Your Highness still chose this place. So there shouldn’t be any real issue, right?”
“…I didn’t choose it because it was the best option. I chose it because it was the only one,” Feng Lezhen sighed again. “Do you understand?”
Shen Suifeng looked innocent. “No. Since we’re here, we might as well settle in. With me around, surely they won’t give Your Highness too hard a time.”
“You?” Feng Lezhen finally laughed. “What can a doctor like you even do?”
“If they dare bully Your Highness, I’ll poison them. How about that?” Shen Suifeng said, full of spirit.
Feng Lezhen: “…Don’t mess around. We’re not taking the initiative. As long as we don’t make a move, they won’t dare act against me. But if we do something, believe me, they’ll bring troops to wipe out my Eldest Princess estate.”
Shen Suifeng had only been joking. Hearing her speak so seriously made him want to laugh.
Yingguan’s weather was bitterly cold. At some point, it started to snow heavily. The guards who went ahead to report were left waiting by the gate for a long time and finally returned, looking troubled.
“They won’t open the gates?” Feng Lezhen had already expected it.
The guard looked angry. “They said Yingguan is near Tayuan and Moli—it’s a vital frontier outpost. There are strict time restrictions for opening the city gates. Even if His Majesty came, he’d have to follow the scheduled times.”
“What arrogance!” Ah Ye was already shivering from the cold. When she heard this, she was instantly furious. “I don’t believe they wouldn’t open the gate even for the Emperor! Your Highness, let me go deal with them!”
“Come back.” Feng Lezhen called her back. “Qi Zhen clearly wants to give us a show of force. If you go, you’ll only bring shame on yourself and lose dignity.”
“Then what now? We can’t just wait here forever!” Ah Ye frowned.
The snow in Yingguan was thicker than goose feathers. Nearly two feet had piled up along the road. Even if the people could wait, the horses couldn’t.
“What else can we do but wait?” Feng Lezhen’s tone was calm as she looked at the guards. “When will the gates open?”
“In one hour,” the guard replied.
Feng Lezhen rubbed her forehead. “Then we wait. Pass the word—take the thick clothing from the luggage and wrap the horses’ hooves. Don’t let them freeze. You all squeeze into the carriages. Don’t save on the braziers. I want to see what excuse they’ll come up with an hour from now.”
“Your Highness really plans to wait a full hour?” Shen Suifeng, who had been silent, was surprised.
Feng Lezhen spread her hands. “What else?”
Now that she had just arrived at Yingguan and hadn’t even entered the city gates, knowing nothing about the place, it wasn’t appropriate to take any further action yet.
Shen Suifeng smiled. “The wind and snow in Yingguan are no joke. Even dressed this thickly, after just a quarter-hour standing in it, one feels frozen through. If we really wait a full hour, these horses will probably freeze to death out here… If Your Highness trusts me, why don’t I go give it a try?”
“Try what?” Feng Lezhen was puzzled.
Shen Suifeng didn’t answer. He simply turned and walked toward the gate. Feng Lezhen frowned and immediately called over Chen Jinan: “Go with him.”
“…Yes.” Chen Jinan immediately followed.
Shen Suifeng looked a bit surprised but didn’t refuse.
“Since we left Xijiang City, we haven’t really been alone like this,” Shen Suifeng said as they walked the long stretch from the convoy to the city gate, the snow crunching underfoot. “I wonder if your calligraphy practice has fallen behind?”
Chen Jinan’s face was calm. “An hour a day, without slacking.”
Shen Suifeng chuckled. “You’ve got perseverance. You’ll make something of yourself one day.”
Chen Jinan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
He’d heard similar praise before — from Her Highness herself. But even now, he still couldn’t figure out what exactly was so persevering about him, or what he was supposed to achieve. Precisely because he couldn’t figure it out, he had grown even more silent lately.
“No rush,” Shen Suifeng suddenly said.
Chen Jinan’s gaze flickered slightly.
“Some people know what they want as soon as their minds start to form. Others need to go through experiences, see more of the world, live a few more years before they figure it out. Either way, eventually, you’ll find your path. Just keep walking. No need to worry too much.” In the heavy snow, with the wind howling like a ghost, Shen Suifeng’s expression was calm, his voice almost swallowed by the wind.
Chen Jinan stared at him in silence for a long time.
Far away, Feng Lezhen was watching the two of them and, for once, felt a tinge of curiosity. “What are they talking about?”
“No idea. Probably discussing how to get the gate open,” Ah Ye guessed.
Feng Lezhen shook her head slightly. “Doesn’t look like that, judging by Jinan’s expression.”
“Really?” Ah Ye stretched her neck, staring, but couldn’t make anything out. “Does Your Highness think they’ll be able to get the gates open?”
Feng Lezhen clicked her tongue. “How could that be possible? The city guards are more likely to beat them back. Why do you think I sent them together? To make sure they watch each other’s backs…”
She hadn’t finished the word “backs” when — the city gates opened.
Ah Ye stared blankly at the now-wide-open gates and, after a long moment, asked, “Your Highness, what were you just saying?”
Feng Lezhen: “…”
Even when Shen Suifeng and Chen Jinan returned, she was still in a bit of a daze. Shen Suifeng was very pleased with her expression and, as everyone prepared to enter the city, he quietly leaned close to her ear and whispered: “I forgot to mention, after the young shizi of Zhenbian Marquis fell into the water back then, it was my master who saved his life. A few years ago, after my master passed away, he entrusted the patient to me. I’ve been returning here every year or two since then — this is the seventh year.”
Feng Lezhen: “…”
“I told you, as long as I’m around, I won’t let Your Highness be wronged.” Shen Suifeng, bold beyond measure, pinched her cheek.
Chen Jinan, passing by, paused when he saw it — but upon seeing no displeasure in Feng Lezhen’s eyes, quickly lowered his head and hurried off.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Feng Lezhen asked, exasperated.
Shen Suifeng looked innocent. “Your Highness didn’t ask.”
Feng Lezhen gave a cold laugh. “So if I don’t ask, you won’t say? Growing bolder, are we, Shen Suifeng? Letting me suffer on purpose?”
If they were in her chambers right now, she would have jumped on him and fought him. Unfortunately, with people from both inside and outside the city watching, she had to maintain her regal composure.
Knowing he’d annoyed her, Shen Suifeng chuckled and said, “Forgive me, Your Highness. I promise I’ll tell you everything from now on.”
“Then start by telling me — is Qi Jingqing’s illness something only you can treat?” Feng Lezhen asked directly.
Shen Suifeng said, “The young shizi is sickly from birth — technically it just needs careful nourishment to keep him alive. Any physician familiar with health maintenance can help with that.”
He paused briefly, then added, “But there are some herbal preparations that only my master could make. After he passed, I’m the only one who can do it.”
“Because the formula is a secret?” Feng Lezhen asked.
Shen Suifeng: “Not exactly. It’s just that a few of the ingredients require extremely precise cooking times. Even the slightest deviation makes the medicine ineffective. That timing is hard to master. The Marquis’s household has tried many doctors, but none can achieve the results my master and I can.”
Understood. In other words, Shen Suifeng was now the only effective medicine for Zhenbian Marquis’s household. Feng Lezhen raised her eyes toward the gate tower, her wariness disappearing in an instant. “Into the city! If they dare give me trouble again, I’ll kill the only doctor who can treat their young shizi!”
Shen Suifeng: “…”
Though he knew she was joking, the entire team seemed energized, casting off their earlier gloom and marching into the city with newfound swagger.
Watching this sudden boost in morale, Shen Suifeng was helpless. “Your Highness, you’re not seriously thinking of threatening the Marquis with me, are you?”
Even in desperate times, using a doctor as leverage over a patient was a disgraceful move.
“I’m not that shameless,” Feng Lezhen replied calmly.
Shen Suifeng quietly breathed a sigh of relief — but before he could speak, she added, “But you belong to me. Whether I lend you out or not is up to me.”
Shen Suifeng: “…” And how is that not a threat?
The snow was still falling, and the city was blanketed in white. There wasn’t a soul in sight — the massive frontier city looked desolate and empty.
“In Xijiang and Nanhe, we had plenty of commoners come out to greet us. Has the snow trapped the people of Yingguan in their homes? Not a single one came to greet us.” Ah Ye peeked out from the corner of the carriage curtain. When Feng Lezhen sneezed from the cold, she quickly pulled the curtain shut.
“Yingguan is remote and far from the Emperor’s reach. The people here have always only recognized the Qi family’s army and don’t even put the imperial court in their eyes — how could they possibly respect me, a mere Princess? What’s more, I’m the one who nearly cost their shizi his life. Even now, he must remain at home, carefully nursed back to health.” Feng Lezhen reclined on a soft pillow, eyes closed as if dozing.
Ah Ye frowned. “Even if the common folk don’t come, the officials should, right? By protocol, they ought to have greeted Your Highness at the gate.”
“Oh, give it a rest. They wouldn’t dare.” As long as Zhenbian Marquis saw her as a thorn in his side, his subordinates would not dare come greet her.
Ah Ye drew in a sharp breath. “So we’re just going to let this go?”
“All our power is in the capital. Here in Yingguan, we are entirely isolated. What else can we do?” Feng Lezhen slowly opened her eyes, calm and steady. “The days ahead are long. We’ll take it slow.”
“…Sounds like we’re in for a long, miserable stretch.” Ah Ye sighed.
Feng Lezhen curled her lips into a faint smile. “Not necessarily. If someone still remembers past friendships, when others try to make things hard for us, he’ll come to our aid.”
Ah Ye was puzzled. “Who is Your Highness referring to?”
Feng Lezhen lifted a corner of the curtain. The biting wind blew snowflakes onto her eyelashes. Gazing into the endless white ahead, she smiled lightly. “An old friend I haven’t seen in a long time.”
Ah Ye didn’t understand, but seeing her so lost in thought, didn’t press further.
The residence at Yingguan had been granted along with the edict awarding her the fief, but now with no one to lead the way, they had to find it themselves, step by step using a map. Fortunately, although Yingguan was large, there weren’t many good homes, so they found it fairly quickly.
Even though Ah Ye had mentally prepared for trouble, she still nearly exploded with rage upon seeing the overgrown weeds and the broken signboard above the gate.
“At least they didn’t rip the roof off. That’s something,” Feng Lezhen praised sincerely.
Ah Ye got even angrier. “Your Highness, are you serious?!”
“Of course I’m serious. The walls and roof are all intact — that’s good enough.” Feng Lezhen smiled.
Shen Suifeng chuckled beside her. “I think it’s fine too. Shall we go in and take a look, Your Highness?”
Feng Lezhen gracefully extended her hand. Shen Suifeng, understanding, offered his wrist, and together they walked inside.
Seeing the two of them truly entering, Ah Ye couldn’t help asking Chen Jinan beside her, “What do you think is going through Her Highness’s head?”
“Her Highness always has her own reasons.” Chen Jinan replied.
Ah Ye twitched her lips. “I shouldn’t have asked you.”
She then hurried in after Feng Lezhen. Chen Jinan paused for a moment, then followed.
The residence had three courtyards in succession, but the yard wasn’t large. Due to long neglect, the snow had piled waist-deep. The four guards ahead cleared a path with their bodies, only barely making a narrow trail for Feng Lezhen.
Feng Lezhen casually grabbed a handful of snow and rolled it into a ball, cradling it in her hands. “This is the first time in my life I’ve seen snow this heavy.”
“Do you like it?” Shen Suifeng asked.
Feng Lezhen smiled. “I do.”
“Then Your Highness is in luck — the snow here falls until the second lunar month, and it won’t fully melt until the fourth. Nearly half the year is blanketed in snow.” Shen Suifeng had been to Yingguan many times and knew the climate well.
Feng Lezhen said, “I know. This kind of weather makes it hard to go out, but staying indoors won’t be boring either. We can use snow water to brew tea by the fire, or roast sweet potatoes and chestnuts.”
“How do you know all that?” Shen Suifeng asked in surprise.
Feng Lezhen smiled. “I heard it from others in the past.”
“Indeed, the nobility of Yingguan love brewing tea by the fire. The floor heaters burn so hot indoors they wear thin garments and drink cold wine, while outside the snow falls — it has a charm of its own.”
Shen Suifeng supported her as they strolled forward slowly. Without realizing it, the snow had already dusted his head white, making him look prematurely aged.
Ah Ye followed at a respectful distance. Seeing the two walk side by side, she whispered to the person next to her, “I used to think no one in the world but Lord Fu was worthy of Her Highness. But now… Mr. Shen isn’t bad either, don’t you think?”
The person beside her was silent for a long time. When Ah Ye turned to look, she saw him carefully avoiding every one of Her Highness’s footprints. While she had trampled Shen Suifeng’s trail, his side still preserved every single one of hers.
“Sometimes I think you’ve got something wrong in your head. If it gets worse, let Mr. Shen take a look at you. He’s Her Highness’s man now — I bet he won’t charge you.” Ah Ye spoke from the heart.
Chen Jinan remained silent, focused only on avoiding the footprints.
Ah Ye: “…” She now believed he really had a problem.
The three-courtyard residence, grandly named Lanyue Terrace, was actually no bigger than the rear garden of the Eldest Princess’s estate in the capital. Aside from a slightly larger main hall, there were only seven or eight smaller rooms — just barely enough for the dozens in their entourage.
After a quick tour, they stood before the main house, their expressions heavy as they looked at the hole in the door.
“…There’d better not be nothing but junk in there,” Ah Ye said, frowning. “If that’s the case, where will Her Highness stay?”
“She could sleep in the carriage, but not this big house? Open the door. Maybe Zhenbian Marquis had a guilty conscience and secretly prepared it with care for me.” Knowing how long Ah Ye had endured without complaint, Feng Lezhen teased gently.
Ah Ye gave a humorless laugh, expression flat as she stepped forward to push open the door.
Everyone else was still on the steps below. From their vantage point, they could only see her freeze in place after opening the door — and suddenly, no one dared speak.
“If it’s truly uninhabitable, we can find an inn for the night,” Shen Suifeng whispered.
Feng Lezhen chuckled. “I’m afraid everyone in Yingguan shares one mind. Even if we go to an inn, they’ll kick us right back out.” They could probably snatch a few rooms by force — but she couldn’t afford that disgrace.
Shen Suifeng frowned slightly, just about to think of another way to solve the problem when Ah Ye drifted back like a wandering soul. “Your Highness.”
“How is it?” Feng Lezhen asked calmly.
Ah Ye hesitated. “…You are simply a living oracle.”
Feng Lezhen paused for a moment, then, with Shen Suifeng’s support, stepped up the stairs.
The interior gradually came into view — a meticulously crafted lotus-shaped bed, a glossy dressing table, sheer curtains embroidered with cloud patterns. Every detail exuded an air of elegance and nobility.
“This is almost identical to Your Highness’s sleeping quarters back in the palace,” Ah Ye whispered in awe.
Hearing that, Shen Suifeng couldn’t help but glance at Feng Lezhen. But Feng Lezhen seemed completely unaware, fully focused on surveying the bedroom where she would likely be living for quite some time.
“Wonder who it was that went through so much trouble to set this up for Your Highness,” Shen Suifeng said with a half-joking tone.
Feng Lezhen smiled. “Just an old acquaintance.”
Shen Suifeng’s eyes flickered but didn’t press further.
