Xu shi’s suggestion caused the other two women to object. Qin shi immediately expressed her thoughts: “No! She will sleep with me!”
Miao shi did not back down either: “With me, with me!”
For the sake of having a niece sleep with them, the three sisters-in-law fought for the first time in years.
Yao Xian’s head hurt from listening to this and immediately made a decision for the three sons: “I don’t care what you were thinking. Either way, you must keep having children! Keep going until you have a daughter!”
Just as the three sons of the Yao family were worried about how to give birth to a daughter, Feng Yu Heng and Xuan Tian Ming’s carriage arrived on the street nearest the Yao manor.
The time after dinner was rather lively. There were plenty of people walking around, and there were plenty of people walking around the night market. The speed of the carriage gradually began to slow.
Feng Yu Heng lifted the curtain and looked outside. The street was filled with sighs. At the same time, she heard some people talking over a meal at a stall. One of them said: “This newly appointed left prime minister lord Lu really does have lots to celebrate! After being appointed for just two months, he managed to secure a marriage for his daughter of the first wife with the top-ranking scholar of this year. His future is boundless.”
“No matter how boundless, just where will he go? He’s already the prime minister and a standard first rank official. There are no ranks left!”
“But speaking about it, this lord Lu’s schemes really are profound. He actually requested a marriage with the top scholar.”
“But of course, this year’s top scholar is…”
The carriage moved further away, and the conversation could no longer be heard. Feng Yu Heng put down the curtain and leaned back in the carriage; however, she did not continue to think about this matter. Instead, she asked Xuan Tian Ming: “Say, will craftsman Bai be in his manor or the palace? Or has he met with an accident?”
Xuan Tian Ming shook his head, “If craftsman Bai met with an accident, father Emperor would definitely have mentioned it. He should be in the palace. As for that palace, I keep feeling that there should be someone from the North in there.”
“Who could it be?” Feng Yu Heng furrowed her brow and suddenly recalled what Prince Lian had said, “Duan Mu An Guo is not to be feared. What is to be feared are his children that have been scattered all over. Say… could it be that one of his children managed to get into the imperial palace?”
Xuan Tian Ming said: “I will not discount this possibility, but precisely who and what position or how many people have gotten in? These are all things that need to be slowly investigated. Heng… huh?” Feng Yu Heng was staring straight at him in a daze. “Hey!” He reached out and waved his hand in front of her eyes, but the girl did not react. He seemed to have recalled something and raised his sleeve to block his face. Through the sleeve, he shouted: “Bring your mind back.”
“Uh…” A certain person recovered mentally and subconsciously wiped their face. Fortunately, there was no drool, but the corner of their lips was a bit wet. “Hehe.” She laughed awkwardly a couple times, “Every time you remove your mask and speak to me properly, it looks better than when you sleep.”
Xuan Tian Ming was speechless. Ever since the first time this damn girl had seen his face, she had a lovestruck face. At that time, he felt disdain. Who knew that even after the two became familiar, she still did not show any signs of improvement.
Forget it, his wife was being lovestruck over him. This meant that he still had his beauty. Xuan Tian Ming nodded his head in satisfaction and lowered his sleeve. Holding her hand, he sincerely said: “The members of the Yao family have all been brought back to the capital. You should be able to see your three uncles and three aunts. You also have six older cousins. Your eldest uncle’s name is Yao Jing Jun, your second uncle is Yao Jing Xiao and third uncle is Yao Jing Yue. Of the three aunts, your first aunt is Xu shi, the second aunt is Qin shi and the third aunt is Miao shi. The Yao family does not take in concubines. Your three uncles only have one wife in this life. Each of them has two sons, thus they are your six cousins. They are Yao Shu, Yao Sen, Yao Xuan, Yao An, Yao Nan and Yao Xin.”
He told Feng Yu Heng about her family as though he was teaching a class. Feng Yu Heng, however, gradually began to understand Xuan Tian Ming’s intention. Over the years, she had become even weirder. In regards to the Yao family, she always mentioned Yao Xian, but she had never mentioned the others. Feng Yu Heng never realized this point, but Xuan Tian Ming was thorough enough to have considered this. But he had set his mind on this girl long ago, and he had said before that he did not care who she was. Either way, she was Xuan Tian Ming’s woman. That was why he had to tell her who each person was, what they were called and what their relation was in order to prevent her from being embarrassed.
Of course, he hoped that he would be the only one to have a faint guess about the situation, while she remained the second daughter of the Feng family and granddaughter of Yao Xian, Feng Yu Heng.
“Don’t worry.” Gave him a reassuring smile then pointed at her own head, “I’ve remembered it all. I haven’t forgotten a single one.”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “That’s good.”
The carriage stopped, and Bai Ze opened the curtain from the inside, saying: “Princess, we’ve arrived at the Yao manor.”
Feng Yu Heng got out of the carriage, and Xuan Tian Ming followed behind her. In front of the Yao manor’s entrance, there was a group of people standing there with Yao Xian at the front. Behind him were his three sons and daughters-in-law. Even further back were his six grandsons, each of them having smiles on their faces. They were infectious and caused her to feel quite celebratory.
Perhaps it was because they did not expect Xuan Tian Ming to also come along, and even fewer expected that Xuan Tian Ming’s mask could already be removed, Yao Xian took a couple steps forward in a daze. Kneeling, he took the lead to salute: “Greetings, your Highness the ninth prince.”
Once he spoke, the others managed to react and bow to greet him.
Xuan Tian Ming went forward and personally helped Yao Xian stand up before saying to everyone else: “Quickly, quickly, please get up.” He then said: “This prince is just sending Heng Heng home and will be going back.”
Yao Xian looked at Xuan Tian Ming’s face for a long time before nodding, “Then let us meet again at a different time.”
Xuan Tian Ming smiled, “It should be this prince that comes to see grandfather.” He knew that the people of the Yao family were hard to restrain. Especially when he saw that the aunts were rubbing their hands and looking at Feng Yu Heng as though they were hungry wolves, he was left with no choice but to leave, thus he did not chat idly and climbed back into the carriage.
Bai Ze quietly said to Feng Yu Heng: “Princess, I’ll trouble you with Fu Rong’s matter.” He then cupped his hands to Yao Xian and led the carriage away.
Xuan Tian Ming sat in the carriage and shook his head, smiling bitterly, “Why do I have this feeling that that girl has been sent into a lion’s den? The members of the Yao family…” He trembled, “Are too frightening!”
At this time by the Yao manor’s entrance, the departure of Xuan Tian Ming’s carriage ignited the Yao family’s warmth. Under the guidance of the eldest Xu shi, they all let out a shout and rushed toward Feng Yu Heng. One held her hand, one patted her head and another simply hugged her with Xu shi saying: “Hah, our A-Heng finally returned. We aunts have missed you dearly. Hah, why does it seem like you’ve gotten skinnier?” While saying this, she held her even tighter, “You did get thinner. When holding you, there’s not as much flesh and there’s less to hug. Aunt will help give you some supplements later.”
Feng Yu Heng had a dumbfounded look, and her eyes were opened very wide. She had been completely blindsided by this situation. She said to herself, if I’m not as easy to hug, why are you still holding me to no end without letting go?
Qin shi, who was patting her head, also said: “How is your hair so thin? It’s also not very dark. It immediately looks like it hasn’t been taken good care of. Hah, it’s a pity that this child doesn’t have a senior to take care of her, needing to go to a battlefield at such a young age. Just thinking about it makes me feel sad.”
This one really was not faking it. As she spoke, tears began to roll down her face, giving her a distressed look. While crying, she continued to say: “Fortunately, you’ve come back. Second aunt will help take care of you later on. Girls must have a head of beautiful hair to be beautiful.”
Feng Yu Heng was once again dumbfounded. Her hair was actually quite good. Although she went out to fight, she was always showering inside her space, and she was always using modern shampoos. Xuan Tian Ming had said that it was very fragrant, smooth and glossy. Why was it that it looked so bad to her second aunt that it was able to make her cry?
This was not the end. The third aunt that was holding her hand, Miao shi, had begun crying long before Qin shi had begun crying. While rubbing Feng Yu Heng’s hand, she said: “Our A-Heng is only 14 years of age and is not yet of marriageable age, yet her hands are already so rough. She’s clearly a daughter of a large family, yet her hands appear more worn than those of a child raised in the mountains.” While she spoke, she derided her sons and nephews: “It’s all the fault of those six that are lacking. What is the point of desperately studying every day? Why not think about learning some martial arts or about the art of war. In any case, you could provide A-Heng with some help. Your younger sister is only so young, yet you are able to bear watching her endure such trials! Wu…”
The more they said, the more they felt heartbroken. The more they said, the more they felt sorrow for Feng Yu Heng. By the end, the three simply hugged Feng Yu Heng and began crying.
The men of the Yao family expressed that this was too shameful, thus the eldest uncle, Yao Jing Jun, was sent to console them. Yao Jing Jun took a step forward and patted his wife first. The hand that was raised could not hold back and also went to reach toward Feng Yu Heng’s hair and felt it a couple times. He was a man and had a bit more strength. This left Feng Yu Heng feeling as though she was a doll, and this man that liked dolls insisted on feeling her hair forcefully to get a thrill.
In truth, Yao Jing Jun was indeed doing it for a thrill. A girl! This was an actual daughter! She was also still so small, so pretty and so obedient. This was what he dreamed of.
At this time, Yao Xian coughed a couple times and finally reminded Yao Jing Jun of his mission. Yao Jing Jun was brought back to his senses and quickly said: “Stop crying, A-Heng only just returned to the capital today. Quickly bring her into the manor to let her get some rest.”
Only then did the three women react and quickly stop crying; however, none of them let go. They just dragged her into the manor while Xu shi said: “A-Heng, don’t leave tonight, alright? Sleep with eldest aunt tonight.”
Qin shi and Miao shi immediately flipped upon hearing this: “No! Sleep with me!”
“Sleep with me!”
The three began another round of arguing.
Feng Yu Heng looked at Yao Xian with a bitter expression; however, Yao Xian just shrugged and expressed that he was powerless.
Although the members of the Yao family were overly welcoming, Feng Yu Heng was not annoyed in the slightest. On the contrary, the warmth of family that she had never experienced since coming to Da Shun had suddenly filled her. At the same time, the feelings of closeness from the body’s original owner also welled up. Her mind was sent into some memories once more. They were all related to the Yao family, and they were all from before the Yao family left the capital. Here, she was a princess, and everyone loved her to no end. To the body’s original owner, the Feng manor was not home. The Yao manor was home.
Feng Yu Heng was dragged along to the main hall. When everyone was seated, she finally managed to get away from her three aunts. She then walked to the middle of the hall and bowed deeply to her grandfather: “A-Heng has returned from battle and bows to grandfather. Greetings to my three uncles and aunts and greetings to my six cousins!”
Putting aside her lofty stature as an imperial daughter, she bowed until her head hit the ground!