Lu Song did not dare hope for friendly relations. He just told the truth: “This old official has come to apologize to the imperial daughter. This old official’s daughter was unreasonable and used some petty tricks to bully the Feng family’s third young miss. This is something that this old official only found out about after the event. My daughter, Lu Yao, has already been confined inside the home, but if this official did not personally come to apologize to the imperial daughter, I would truly feel ill-at-ease.”
Feng Yu Heng did not pick up on this topic. She just asked Lu Song: “This imperial daughter heard that lord prime minister’s second young miss is engaged to the top scholar of the Yao family, and it was you that requested this marriage from father Emperor. Is this how it went?”
Lu Song was startled and became even more careful with his words: “Indeed, it was this old official that requested it from his Majesty. Speaking of, I fear that imperial daughter may laugh, but it really was a coincidence. My daughter and the top scholar met a few times and found that they got along well. Only then did this old official shamelessly ask his Majesty for this engagement.”
Ge shi interjected and said: “That’s right. This engagement was one granted by his Majesty, but it was also something that the children wanted. It really is a great marriage.”
She had a look of joy on her face, as she thought about using this marriage to get a little closer to imperial daughter Ji An; however, they did not think that Feng Yu Heng would say: “A girl that has not yet married or gotten engaged should avoid getting too close to others. Father Emperor agreed to this marriage, but if he did not, wouldn’t this have brought ruin to the Lu family’s young miss’ life.”
Her words were calm; however, they left the Lu family feeling shocked. They did not know what they should say.
At this time in the yard outside the hall, Qing Yu was leading an unfamiliar girl over. The sky had darkened slightly, and there was a maidservant holding a lantern leading the way.
Arriving at the entrance, Qing Yu saw that there were guests inside, thus she retreated to the entrance and waited for a while. Not long later, Huang Quan came out and whispered with Qing Yu for a while before going back inside the hall to quietly report to Feng Yu Heng. Feng Yu Heng was stunned and raised her voice to say: “Oh? There’s actually this sort of thing?” She then looked outside the entrance, “Qing Yu, come in. It happens that prime minister Lu is also here. We can see how to resolve this matter.”
Lu Song’s heart trembled and thought to himself that nothing else should have happened, right? Turning back around, however, he saw that there were two people that came in. He recognized one of them. He had no recollection of the girl’s name, but she was one of her second daughter of the first wife’s maidservants.
Ge shi was able to remember the name. Puzzled, she rushed to ask: “Ru Yi? Why are you here?”
The servant named Ru Yi clearly did not think that the Lu family’s master and madam would both be present. Frightened, she dropped to her knees.
At this time, Qing Yu continued to move forward, saluting Xuan Tian Ge then Feng Yu Heng. She then turned to bow to Lu Song and Ge shi: “This servant, Qing Yu, greets lord prime minister and madam.” She was neither humble nor arrogant. Regardless of whether it was bearing or manner, she was countless times better than the kneeling Ru Yi.
Feng Yu Heng asked her: “Is what Huang Quan just said true?”
Qing Yu nodded, standing up to open the wooden box in her hand: “Young miss, please look. These are the accessories ordered by the Lu family’s second young miss. Our Phoenix Pavilion accepted this job and was to hand over the goods today. As a result, the Lu family’s young miss did not come. Instead, she sent a servant from the manor. When the clerk from the Phoenix Pavilion brought out the accessories, their wrists bumped into each other, knocking the box to the ground and causing a few of the accessories to fall to the ground. Two of the jade accessories broke, but this was not the most pressing matter. We can just have them pay. Unfortunately, this maidservant somehow lost her footing and ended up stepping on the accessories that had fallen out. In this instant, 80 percent of the goods were ruined.”
Qing Yu spoke with a tone of pity, as she glared at the servant with a look of displeasure. Feng Yu Heng, however, was a bit sensitive to the words Phoenix Pavilion. The final resting place of Qian Zhou’s ruler was the Phoenix Pavilion. Such a coincidence caused her to feel a little uncomfortable. It seemed that she would need to change that accessory shop’s name.
Just after Qing Yu finished speaking, the kneeling servant began to defend herself: “That’s not it! It wasn’t this servant that dropped them. The box was still in the hands of the clerk, and it wasn’t even handed to this servant. As for this servant stepping on them, it was because there was a male servant that bumped into this servant from behind. Miss Qing Yu, please do not believe the nonsense!”
She repeatedly pointed at Qing Yu for framing her; however, Qing Yu began laughing, “Lu family’s servant, it’s just a box of accessories. Not to mention Phoenix Pavilion, even if I used my own money, I could still afford it. The accessories ordered by your family’s second young miss were never anything expensive. Added up, these things don’t even cost 300 taels of silver. Using them for a wedding is a bit shabby. This girl has already told you in the shop that all of the damages will be paid for by us. Some of the pieces will be swapped for higher quality pieces, and we definitely will not ask you for any extra money. But you weren’t happy. You had to make a fuss and bring this matter to the imperial daughter. Well, just say it. How do you want to resolve this matter?”
The servant was a bit frozen. At first, she had prepared some lines that she could use. She wanted to say that she wanted the exact same things, but the current situation would definitely not allow them to make it in time. Like this, they could also attack Phoenix Pavilion’s name. This would also cause imperial daughter Ji An to eat a loss. But she never thought that the master and madam would actually be present. Her third young miss’ colorful insides would end up being seen through by the master and madam.
She froze there, not daring to make a sound; however, Lu Song snorted and was about to scold her but heard Feng Yu Heng say: “The servant is right. This matter was indeed mishandled by the Phoenix Pavilion. Regardless of the cost of the items, what matters is it young miss Lu Yao likes them. I fear that this girl will hope that we can restore those accessories, right?”
The servant nodded blankly, as Feng Yu Heng continued: “Then we will do as you desire, but this sort of job is too difficult, and the period of time is too short. My Phoenix Pavilion is unable to do it. How about this, since we were the ones at fault to begin with, and young miss Lu Yao will be marrying into the Yao family and become the wife of my cousin, this imperial daughter will go into the palace to personally ask for craftsman Bai to come and help. We will have him personally work on the accessories for the future wife of my cousin. Lord Lu, do you think that this sort of arrangement is good?”
Lu Song was a little dazed. Feng Yu Heng suddenly and cleverly changed direction. She now recognized the relationship. Why was it that he felt as though there was something hidden in this matter? But to have him think about it, he could not make a guess. Seeing that he was being asked, he quickly stood up and said: “If imperial daughter is so considerate, this official will thank imperial daughter for the grace on behalf of my daughter.”
Ge shi also had a look of joy on her face. After all, craftsman Bai was extremely famous. The imperial concubines of the palace all wanted some accessories that he had handcrafted, and it was not easy to get one, yet imperial daughter Ji An was saying that craftsman Bai would be asked to help with repairing all of the accessories in the box. Just how much goodwill had Lu Yao saved up from her previous life? Wearing accessories made by craftsman Bai when getting married, that would truly bring glory even to her family.
Seeing that the Lu family agreed, Feng Yu Heng finally nodded with a smile, “Since that’s the case, it shall be arranged like this.” She exchanged a glance with Xuan Tian Ge, and Xuan Tian Ge immediately understood what she was thinking.
After sending off Lu Song and his wife, Qing Yu was filled with displeasure, saying to Feng Yu Heng: “Young miss, it’s clear that their family is doing this deliberately.”
Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “It’s fine. It’s better if it’s deliberate. This is the desired result. Don’t take this matter to heart. Just do what needs to be done. Thinking about it, the Lu family will no longer dare to come and cause trouble in our shops. You will just need to pay a little more attention each day.”
Qing Yu did not say anything else. Xuan Tian Ge also happened to need to leave, thus she went with Feng Yu Heng to send Xuan Tian Ge out of the manor’s entrance. The two finished arranging a resolution to this matter. Feng Yu Heng would visit the Wen Xuan Palace to satisfy Xuan Tian Ge.
Turning back around, An shi had brought Xiang Rong out.
Upon seeing Feng Yu Heng, Xiang Rong immediately ran over. Tugging at her sleeve, she did not want to let go. Feng Yu Heng laughed at her: “You’re another year older this year. You’re already a big girl, so why are you still so close with elder sister? Even Zi Rui has shown more growth.”
Xiang Rong stomped her foot in embarrassment and asked Feng Yu Heng: “Second sister, can I come and live over here in the future?”
She said: “Of course, you can.” But after looking at An shi, she added: “You’re also grown up. The days that you can spend at home with your mother are fewer and fewer, so spending some more time with concubine mother An would be best.”
An shi raised a handkerchief to wipe away some tears, thus Xiang Rong did not bring up wanting to live on this side again.
Feng Yu Heng laughed and said: “There were many people at the manor today. When sister has arranged a living place for all of them, I will bring you to live here. It’s late in the day, quickly go home. I will have the imperial carriage send you.”
She deliberately chose to have An shi and Xiang Rong sit in her imperial carriage. Like this, it would be a reminder to the Feng family. She could not just leave the mother and daughter to suffer too much bullying.
Finally sending everyone away, she finally let out a sigh; however, she ordered Qing Yu: “There is a prince from Qian Zhou that came back with me. Bring him out tomorrow to look around. Help him find a residence. Have him spend his own money to buy it. It wouldn’t do to have him continue living in the imperial daughter’s manor.”
Huang Quan heard this and laughed, “If Prince Lian knew that young miss was in such a rush to chase him out, he would definitely cry.”
Feng Yu Heng smiled wryly. Right now, she did not have time to pay attention to the one with the surname Feng. The reason that she had this sort of attitude toward the jewelry shop is that she wanted to bring craftsman Bai out of the palace. Regardless of whether or not he would be brought back at a later date, she would at least be able to clarify a few things. If there really was a potential danger, things really would be troublesome.
The evenings at the start of Autumn were always bright. Inside the imperial palace’s workshop, craftsman Bai had just passed a pair of gold earrings through water. They could be considered completed products. His colleague could not help but praise: “Craftsman Bai’s handiwork really is something that we can’t hope to reach even with 100 years of work! For such intricate lines to have been etched onto them. Not only this, after the gold came out of the water, why is it so much more beautiful than ours?”
Craftsman Bai smiled but did not speak. Polishing gold was what he was best at. He dared to guarantee that in this entire world, there was nobody else that could polish gold better and more exquisitely.
Casually handing the earrings to an apprentice, he stood up and left the workshop and went to the yard.
This time, he had entered the palace for nearly a year. It was longer than he had ever stayed in the past. Speaking about it, it was quite odd. Every time that he submitted his work and wanted to leave the palace, a new order would be handed down. Like this, things were dragged out until this point. He did not know how Fu Rong was doing. It had been so long, yet she had not come into the palace to see him. It was truly very worrying.
At the same time, inside the inner palace, a eunuch with a crippled leg whispered a few things to a guard, who revealed a shocked expression…