Qi Zhen, seeing no response from inside, was just about to push the door open when Qi Jingren suddenly appeared.
“Father, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“Just came to check on your brother,” Qi Zhen replied.
“He’s eating. You should come later,” Qi Jingren calmly stepped between him and the door, continuing before he could speak, “The doctor said his digestion is weak right now. If he’s interrupted while eating, he won’t eat well.”
Qi Zhen frowned in doubt. “The doctor said that?”
“Yes, don’t you remember?” Qi Jingren responded coolly.
Her expression was so self-assured that Qi Zhen wavered. “Well… I’ll come back later, then.”
“By then he’ll be getting ready for bed,” Qi Jingren gave him a look, “You might as well come early tomorrow morning—he’s usually in better spirits then.”
“Alright then…” Qi Zhen turned to leave.
Qi Jingren quietly let out a breath of relief. She was just about to gesture for a page to guard the door when Qi Zhen suddenly turned back. “Wait, something’s not right.”
“…What’s not right?” Qi Jingren’s heart skipped a beat.
Qi Zhen: “Since when did you start caring so much about your brother? You even know exactly when he eats and sleeps?”
“Isn’t that what you and Mother wanted?” Qi Jingren countered. “You two are already half buried in the ground. In the years you have left, isn’t it my job to look after him? Is it wrong for me to be a little more attentive?”
“No, no, not wrong at all. You’ve really grown up,” Qi Zhen was so moved his eyes turned red. To preserve his image as a father, he cleared his throat and quickly walked off.
Qi Jingren finally relaxed completely. She knocked on the door. “To avoid being seen, better wait until deep into the night to leave.”
Inside, Feng Lezhen raised an eyebrow at the comment.
After Qi Jingren left, she leaned back in her chair and looked across at Qi Jingqing. “Why is it that every time I come to see you, I feel like I’m sneaking around like a thief?”
“If Your Highness is willing,” Qi Jingqing met her eyes with a faint smile, “you could come openly. After all, Your Highness is now famous in Yingguan. There’s no need to worry about Father giving you a hard time anymore.”
Feng Lezhen let out a small laugh. “Better not. It’s not worth it.”
Not worth it? Was it that he wasn’t worth her falling out with his father over? Or was it that publicly being on good terms with him wasn’t even worth mentioning?
Qi Jingqing’s smile didn’t waver. He ladled out a bowl of congee for her. “Your Highness, try this. It has cordyceps flowers. The taste is decent.”
“You can’t taste anything though,” Feng Lezhen took the bowl and tasted a spoonful—it was indeed delicious.
Qi Jingqing replied, “I can’t taste it, but whenever they’re trying to get me to eat more, they always say that.”
Feng Lezhen chuckled and shook her head. Out of courtesy, she finished the whole bowl. Qi Jingqing’s eyes softened as he watched, and he followed by eating a bit more himself.
Feng Lezhen hadn’t been paying much attention to how much he ate, until a page came in and saw that he had finished a whole bowl of rice. The boy’s eyes turned red with emotion. Only then did Feng Lezhen realize he’d eaten fairly well today.
“You have to keep this up—eat properly and don’t be picky,” she reminded him.
Qi Jingqing nodded with a smile.
After dinner, the two played a few more rounds of chess. When the night grew quiet, Feng Lezhen took the opportunity to slip out of the marquis’s manor.
Qi Jingqing, visibly content, was about to call someone to attend to him when he noticed a handkerchief beside the chair she had sat in—embroidered with the character “Zhen”.
He paused, bent down, and picked it up. The soft fabric almost slipped from his fingers.
“Happy now?” Qi Jingren leaned lazily against the doorway, arms crossed.
Qi Jingqing’s fingers twitched. Shielding himself behind the table, he tucked the handkerchief away. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I’m only helping you this once,” Qi Jingren paused and hesitantly looked at him. “You’re not going to use this to threaten me again, are you?”
“I won’t,” Qi Jingqing answered immediately.
But the quicker he answered, the more uneasy Qi Jingren felt. It was a cold winter night, and worried he’d catch a chill, she shut the door behind her and walked over.
“Why so sure?” she asked.
Qi Jingqing thought of how Feng Lezhen had suddenly put her chopsticks down when their father came earlier. He fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, “I don’t want her to feel wronged.”
“Hah…” Qi Jingren couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.
Qi Jingqing had always been gentle and tolerant with his only sister. He often took the blame when she said or did something wrong and never seemed to mind—yet at this moment, seeing the look on her face, he felt slightly offended. “You don’t understand.”
“I don’t want to,” Qi Jingren backed away. She grabbed his untouched tea and downed it in one go before frowning. “But what are you really thinking?”
“What?”
“You and Her Highness—what’s going on in your head?” Qi Jingren frowned deeper. “Don’t brush me off. I’ve known you since before I was born. You might fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me. I know you like her… Was it when she first came to Yingguan, or during the days she stayed at the marquis’s manor?”
Qi Jingqing remained silent.
Qi Jingren stood up, expressionless. “Fine. I’ll go ask Father and Mother.”
She turned to leave, but had only taken a few steps before she heard Qi Jingqing speak with helpless resignation: “Come back.”
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, but by the time she turned around, her expression was calm again. “Willing to talk now?”
“I can’t say exactly,” Qi Jingqing said after a pause, choosing his words carefully. “I just remember… when she got engaged, I felt really miserable.”
Qi Jingren froze for a moment, then suddenly pointed at him in a burst of excitement. “You—you—you mean that serious illness in the winter of Qianyuan year twenty-six was because of her engagement?!”
“Just a coincidence,” Qi Jingqing replied helplessly.
But Qi Jingren didn’t believe him. She sat down in a daze, looking stunned. “Heavens… You actually hid it from me all this time. And me—I didn’t even notice at all.”
“…The Eldest Princess of Hengkang is renowned throughout the land. I didn’t need to go out of my way to ask—news of her reached me all the time. I don’t even know when it started… but I began to have feelings I shouldn’t have,” Qi Jingqing spoke of Feng Lezhen, and a faint warmth crept into his eyes.
Qi Jingren, however, looked serious. “So what? Now that she’s in Yingguan, and Shen Suifeng has left, you’re planning to stop hiding those feelings?”
Qi Jingqing didn’t respond, only looked at her calmly.
“Qi Jingqing, have you lost your mind?” Qi Jingren was exasperated.
Qi Jingqing calmly picked up a new teacup and poured tea unhurriedly. “If you can grow close with Her Highness, why can’t I take one step further?”
“You’re comparing yourself to me?” The thought was so ridiculous, Qi Jingren actually laughed. “How can we be the same? She and I—we just admire each other, that’s all. We’ve never openly associated. No one knows we’re on good terms… and even if someone found out, what’s the big deal? Two women being close friends doesn’t mean anything.”
There were things between her and Feng Lezhen that she couldn’t speak of, so she brushed them off with a lie, and then returned to scolding her brother—who, after all, had been born only a quarter of an hour before her.
“And the two of you? Let’s not even talk about whether you could ever be together. Do you really think, if your feelings were exposed, it wouldn’t bring unpredictable trouble—to her and to the Qi family?”
The emperor had gifted Feng Lezhen the land of Yingguan not to forge a marriage alliance with the Qi family.
“This is Yingguan. As long as the Qi family doesn’t want it known, no one can find out,” Qi Jingqing said coolly.
“And outside of Yingguan?” Qi Jingren crossed her arms.
Qi Jingqing looked up.
“What are you looking at me for?” Qi Jingren narrowed her eyes. “You don’t seriously think she’s going to stay here forever, do you?”
Qi Jingqing said nothing.
Qi Jingren curled her lips slightly. She suddenly felt that pressing him like this was meaningless. After all, she already counted as half “Feng Lezhen’s person.” If they truly worked together one day to achieve something great, then at least this sickly older brother of hers wouldn’t be a hindrance from the capital. As for their parents… she didn’t think they’d be a big problem either.
Thinking of it that way, there didn’t seem to be much worth stopping anymore. Besides, things change—what if Her Highness rejected him outright? The future would deal with itself. One step at a time.
She frowned and turned to leave.
“I never thought she’d stay here forever.” Just as she reached the door, Qi Jingqing suddenly spoke.
Qi Jingren stopped in her tracks.
“If… if my luck holds, and I can someday earn her favor,” Qi Jingqing said slowly, choosing his words carefully, “then I wouldn’t mind staying by her side like Shen Suifeng did, hiding my identity. After all… I rarely leave my residence. Besides those in Yingguan, no one even knows what I look like.”
Qi Jingren turned around, stunned.
“When the time comes, I’ll persuade Father and Mother myself,” Qi Jingqing added. Seeing her heavy expression, he gave a small laugh. “You don’t need to worry. My body’s weak—hardly a real man. Her Highness probably wouldn’t fancy me anyway. Everything I’ve said may just be wishful thinking. Maybe I’ll die before it even gets that far—”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Qi Jingren suddenly snapped in anger.
Qi Jingqing closed his mouth, looking at her with innocent eyes.
Qi Jingren took a deep breath. “You know your health is poor, so take care of it properly. Eat more, sleep more. Stop wasting time on these thoughts. Otherwise, it’s not just Her Highness who’ll look down on you—I will too!”
With that, she stormed out in a huff.
Qi Jingqing was silent for a long while—then suddenly felt like laughing.
After that day, he and Feng Lezhen didn’t see each other for a long time. Not because he was dissuaded by Qi Jingren’s words, but because… Feng Lezhen was simply too busy.
The rice from Yingguan was selling extremely well and had become famous throughout Great Qian. Many rice merchants rushed to Yingguan before the new year, hoping to sign next year’s contracts in advance.
This suited Feng Lezhen perfectly. After all, secrecy brought success—and without a solid enough foundation, she didn’t want the Shen family’s connection to her being exposed too early. Last time, Shen Suinian’s help in selling rice had been credited to Hu Wensheng, which the court barely accepted. If the Shen family were to sell rice again next year, Feng Ji might grow suspicious. So she decided to distribute the orders early and avoid involving the Shens again.
She was set on finding new rice merchants, and also intended to raise prices by another ten percent. But with less profit for the merchants, some tried to cut corners and bypass the government, secretly negotiating directly with the people. Quite a few deals were signed under the table that way.
Hu Wensheng, responsible for screening the rice merchants, was alarmed when he heard. But Feng Lezhen remained calm: “The government was only acting as a middleman to help the people earn more silver. Now that they’ve gotten a satisfactory price, what’s there to be worried about?”
“But… if the merchants go straight to the people, how are we supposed to negotiate pricing again?” Hu Wensheng frowned.
“The price is already set. No need to renegotiate. The government’s reputation stands. There will always be people willing to sell to us, and merchants who will buy from us. At worst, we earn a little less,” Feng Lezhen gave him a look. “Don’t forget—you’re an official, not some profiteering trader competing with the people.”
Feng Lezhen’s words were like waking someone from a dream. Hu Wensheng jolted as if struck, then suddenly came to his senses: “Y-yes… thank you, Your Highness, for the guidance.”
Feng Lezhen gave a small smile and went on to discuss other official matters with him. They talked until nightfall before wrapping up.
“I’ve disturbed Your Highness the entire day. I deserve death,” Hu Wensheng said as he took his leave. Once granted permission, he finally walked out.
Feng Lezhen rubbed her brow and was just about to return to her room when she saw him—already at the outer hall—turn back.
“Your Highness…” He looked hesitant.
Feng Lezhen raised her eyes. “Something else?”
“…The Emperor sent a secret letter two days ago, asking… asking this humble official to write a detailed account of Your Highness’s activities over the past year in Yingguan. I’ve been agonizing over how to word it… and would humbly ask for Your Highness’s guidance.” Hu Wensheng had wrestled with this for days. Now that he’d finally voiced it, he felt as if a great weight had been lifted.
Everything the princess had done since arriving in Yingguan had been for the people and the soldiers—truly good deeds. But if he were to write it all in his memorial, it might only make His Majesty more suspicious of her. As a court official, he was bound to obey the Emperor’s secret orders. But as Governor of Yingguan, he really didn’t want this capable and conscientious princess to suffer political blowback due to his report. He’d been tormented over this for days.
Upon hearing this, Feng Lezhen studied him as if seeing him for the first time.
Hu Wensheng broke out in cold sweat under her gaze, already beginning to regret speaking, when he heard her slowly say, “From the day I first arrived in Yingguan, I knew you were not like those useless, muddle-headed types.”
Hu Wensheng looked up in surprise.
“Yingguan is a strategic fortress, where military men outrank civil officials. If you had submitted to the Marquis’s household, your life would’ve been much easier. But all these years, you’ve stood your ground—that proves you’ve got a spine. And now that you’re willing to openly tell me about the secret letter, that shows you’ve got depth. You repay kindness where it’s due.” Her tone was slow and steady.
Hu Wensheng was stunned, then squeezed out a sentence after a long pause: “I—I… Am I really that good?”
“Of course,” Feng Lezhen smiled.
The last bit of regret in Hu Wensheng’s heart evaporated. He knelt down with tears in his eyes. “Your Highness! You are my true confidant! Please rest assured—this humble official will word it with care and never allow His Majesty the slightest suspicion!”
“His Majesty has long harbored resentment toward me. Don’t sing my praises—otherwise he’ll see you as part of my faction and cut off your future,” Feng Lezhen sighed softly. “How about this—write that I don’t get along with the Marquis’s household and have been trying to meddle in the government office, only to be firmly blocked by you. As for the rest, leave it out.”
“But… won’t that cause His Majesty to punish the Marquis’s household?” Hu Wensheng grew anxious. Would they hold a grudge against him if they found out?
Feng Lezhen spread her hands. “His Majesty would be thrilled to see me and the Marquis at each other’s throats. The more you write like that, the happier he’ll be.”
“Understood—understood.” Hu Wensheng bowed and wiped his eyes as he left.
Not long after, Ah Ye came in, looking puzzled. “Did Your Highness just… make the Governor cry?”
“Nothing of the sort,” Feng Lezhen replied calmly. “Where’s Qi Jingren? Didn’t she say she needed to see me?”
“She lost patience waiting for Lord Hu to leave and went off, but before leaving she said: ‘Your Highness should know why I came. I ask for your guidance.’” Ah Ye relayed.
Feng Lezhen chuckled, “What’s going on today? Everyone wants my ‘guidance.’”
Without waiting for more questions, she added, “She’s already been promoted twice this year. If she keeps climbing, people will get resentful. In a military camp, you can’t rise by buttering up your parents. If she really wants respect, she’ll need to earn it with military merit.”
Ah Ye nodded. “I’ll go deliver the message.”
“Wait,” Feng Lezhen called her back.
“Something else?” Ah Ye asked.
Feng Lezhen paused to think, then said, “Forget it. It’s too complicated to explain in a few words. I’ll tell her myself in a few days when I see her.”
“Then Your Highness should act quickly. I saw Deputy General Qi’s face today—it didn’t look too pleasant.” Ah Ye warned.
Feng Lezhen smiled, “Even in the army, there’s scheming and infighting. Before, she was just a low-ranking adjutant. People respected her as the Qi family’s young lady but didn’t feel threatened. Now it’s different—Deputy General is a position of real authority. With her appointment, she’s stepping on a lot of people’s interests. It’s natural for some to trip her up.”
“She’s being sabotaged?” Ah Ye was shocked. “But she’s the Qi family’s young miss! Doesn’t the entire Qi army belong to her future self? Who would dare be disrespectful?”
“The entire Qi army hers?” Feng Lezhen gave her a glance. “That’s not certain. Even the late emperor—wise as he was—had his own son and me, a legitimate princess, yet he still had to guard against Qing Wang coveting the throne. Wherever there are people, there’s power struggle. It’s just that Qi Zhen is still healthy for now, so no one dares make trouble openly.”
Just because they didn’t dare stir trouble didn’t mean they wouldn’t cause problems behind the scenes. Otherwise, Qi Jingren wouldn’t have come to her.
Ah Ye seemed to understand, sighing, “So Deputy General Qi doesn’t have it easy either. Then Your Highness must help her.”
“Tomorrow morning, deliver a message for me. Invite her to meet the day after tomorrow,” Feng Lezhen instructed.
Ah Ye nodded, “At our residence?”
“The Eldest Princess’s residence is too conspicuous. Better to choose a more discreet location,” Feng Lezhen said thoughtfully.
Ah Ye paused, about to ask where, when she saw the meaningful smile on Feng Lezhen’s face.
Ah Ye: “?”
—
Two days later, at the main residence of Zhenbian Marquis.
A page boy rushed into the room. Upon seeing Qi Jingqing, he hesitated to speak.
“What is it?” Qi Jingqing asked.
The page hesitated for a long time, then braced himself and said: “Young Miss… has gone to Xunfang Pavilion again!”
Qi Jingqing thought of those charming, seductive young men, and of the unpleasant memory of having once gifted one to Feng Lezhen. His brows instantly furrowed. “What is she doing at that kind of place again?”
“…This servant isn’t sure either,” the page stammered awkwardly.
Qi Jingqing sighed with a headache, just about to ask more, when he suddenly noticed how overly cautious the page looked—and a wave of bad premonition surged through him.
“Her Highness went too?”
“…Yes.”
—
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