800 paces into the forest, Yue Xiu was standing in wait with the two people that she had brought. The servant at Noble Lady Yuan’s side seemed to be a bit frightened, stopping in her tracks, which caused Noble Lady Yuan to feel a bit unhappy: “You just need to follow me. What are you backing up for?”
The servant did not dare speak and quietly followed along until Yue Xiu called out: “Master!” Following this, she looked behind Noble Lady Yuan and added: “Miss Fu Ya.”
Noble Lady Yuan frowned, “So undisciplined, call her Young Miss Feng.”
“Oh, Young Miss Feng.” Yue Xiu quickly changed her tune, “It’s this servant’s fault. This servant keeps forgetting the rules.” After saying this, she said to Noble Lady Yuan: “Master, everything has been arranged. A gap was opened up in the forest by the gnawing of the animals. Sending Young Miss Feng out through there will be fine.”
The one that was dressed as the servant and following behind Noble Lady Yuan was Fu Ya. Upon hearing that she would be sent away, she could not help but feel shocked: “Imperial Concubine, where are you sending me? Wasn’t it said that there would be a different arrangement for me over here? Why am I being sent away?”
Noble Lady Yuan told her: “Don’t be impatient. Things are no longer as good as they were before. I was planning to arrange for you to come to the Winter Hunt and wait for an opportune moment. With such a big thing happening during the day, perhaps you are still confused as to how I was demoted from imperial concubine to a lowly noble lady. I’ll tell you that all of this was done by Feng Yu Heng. As long as she lives, none of us will be able to live peacefully. That’s why you must leave immediately.”
Fu Ya furrowed her brow. She could not understand. Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu was an imperial concubine in the palace. That was an existence that even princes needed to respect. Exactly how much ability did Feng Yu Heng have to actually be able to topple an imperial concubine? She was puzzled and looked toward Noble Lady Yuan. After a while, she finally asked: “Am I being sent back to the capital?”
Noble Lady Yuan shook her head, “No, you’re being sent to the South.”
“What?” Fu Ya was extremely shocked, “I’m being sent to the South? Why? Why… why must I be sent to the South? No good, no good!” She hastily refused and repeatedly shook her head, “I can’t go to the South. My family is still in the capital. There’s also my mother. How can I abandon her here on her own to go to the South? Imperial Concubine, please ask something else.”
“Miss Fu Ya, this is something that you have no say in.” Yue Xiu said in a cold voice: “You need to remember your own identity. Although we call you Young Miss Feng, you are not truly Feng Yu Heng, and you are not the Feng family’s child. Even more, you are not Yao shi’s daughter. The so-called family and mother that you have are not related to you by blood in the slightest. You are nothing more than master and servant. You are nothing more than an employee. Could it be that you really think that you are Yao shi’s daughter? Before the imperial concubine, what room do you have to negotiate?!”
Yue Xiu’s fierce words managed to frighten Fu Ya, as she looked at Noble Lady Yuan in a daze. It was only at this moment that she understood that the Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu, who had always been kind and polite to her was all just a lie. She was asking for something impossible, and she was just walking on a knife’s edge. If she lost her footing even once, being cut would be getting off easy. She could very easily end up falling into a bottomless abyss. In truth, she had prepared herself for this beforehand. She knew that she needed to be exceedingly careful when dealing with this sort of person, but her preparation had been too lacking. No matter how much she calculated and prepared, she could not get away from the palm of her hand. Now, she was about to be sent to the South, and she did not have any way to escape. Thus, rather than refusing, it would be better…
“May I ask Imperial Concubine what I will be sent to the South to do?” Fu Ya asked Noble Lady Yuan, as she gave up on the idea of refusing. She obediently said: “I know that I can’t run away, and you have caught on to me and will refuse to let go for no reason other than my face. Imperial Concubine, just say it directly. That way, I will be able to prepare myself.”
Noble Lady Yuan nodded and praised: “Sure enough, you’re a smart girl. I trust that with some more training, you will not be any worse than Feng Yu Heng.” She told Fu Ya, “Sending you to the South is to provide you with a happy encounter. My son is the current eighth prince. You will be engaged to him, and that is a fortune that is the result of many lives of karmic reward. At present, he is about to return to the capital. If you meet on the way, that would be best, but regardless of whether or not you meet up, you need to head straight for the South. Upon arriving there, just move into the general of the south’s manor as the eighth prince’s official princess. As for your identity down there, you will still be the Feng family’s daughter and Yao shi’s daughter. Do you understand?”
Fu Ya was startled, “The eighth prince’s future official princess?” Had she misheard? Had Noble Lady Yuan gone crazy? She was given the position of official princess just like that? Would the eighth prince himself agree?
Noble Lady Yuan clearly understood what she was thinking, thus she began to explain: “Don’t worry. I know my son. Ever since he was young, he has listened to me. As for the Emperor, although I have already agreed to an engagement with the Lu family, that is a marriage that will be sanctioned at the new year. Aren’t there still two months? These two months are enough to see a great many changes. These aren’t things that you should be worrying about. As long as you peacefully head to the South with the hidden guards, Fu Ya, from this day forward, your glory and honor will continue to grow. Also, I know that you want to get revenge for your mother and father, but you need to get revenge against Feng Yu Heng for that. You’ve been in the capital for such a long time, and you know how difficult that would be. That’s why I opened up this path for you. As long as you can stand at His Highness the Eighth Prince’s side as the Feng family’s young miss, none of this will be a problem.”
Noble Lady Yuan’s words had touched Fu Ya’s heart. She also thought along these lines and decided that this was quite a good deal. She knew what Noble Lady Yuan’s end goal was. It was to have the eighth prince ascend the throne and obtain the world. That was her dream. As for her appearing in the South using the identity as the Feng family’s young miss, it would be to provide the eighth prince with a new wave of support. After all, the admiration for Feng Yu Heng among the commoners in Da Shun was extremely high, but… “With me going, what of Madam Yao? With me leaving, would she still acknowledge me? There’s also the Feng family. This is a connected piece. If Imperial Concubine wants to do this properly, you can’t just send me alone.”
Noble Lady Yuan smiled and said to her: “Don’t worry, Yao shi is already on her way to the South. as for the Feng family, Feng Jin Yuan does not have any standing in the Feng residence. Both of his daughters are at the hunting ground. To get him away is even easier. Don’t worry. Once you get to the South, you will see everyone that you should see. When that time comes, you just need to keep up your identity as the Feng family’s daughter. Be filial to your mother and father, and there is no need for you to worry about anything else.”
With things already being brought to this point, what could Fu Ya still say? She nodded, “Alright, I’ll go.”
Noble Lady Yuan nodded to the person in black clothes behind Yue Xiu. Following this, Fu Ya suddenly felt the world spin. In the blink of an eye, she was put on the shoulders of the person in black, as they used qinggong to fly out of the forest.
Noble Lady Yuan watched until she could no longer see their figures. Only then did she turn around and begin to return. At the same time, she let out a long sigh, saying with a bit of fear: “It’s quite fortunate that incident occurred with Xuan Fei Yu and tripped up Feng Yu Heng. Otherwise, even if I wanted to send Fu Ya away, I fear that it would not be so easy.”
Yue Xiu also said: “That’s right. That Imperial Daughter Ji An’s eyes have been kept on Imperial Concubine Li. I fear that she will not be able to concern herself with Imperial Concubine. But Miss Fu Ya coming to the campsite is something that probably can’t be hidden from them. I wonder if the imperial daughter will cause trouble for us.”
“Even if she did, there’s nothing that she can do.” Noble Lady Yuan snorted coldly, “The hidden guard was left behind by Mo’er. There are also quite a few waiting outside. Thinking about it, making a safe trip should be fine. I am just very worried about elder sister. I fear that what she has been doing was for my sake…”
“Imperial Concubine.” Yue Xiu could not help but remind Noble Lady Yuan: “Imperial Concubine Li might be your sister, but her personality is different. She is not close with you in the slightest. With the matter of the witchcraft matter many years ago, she is also isolated in the palace. Now that she suddenly did this sort of thing, who knows if it was for you? Also, are you so certain that this was definitely done by Imperial Concubine Li?”
Noble Lady Yuan waved her hand and helplessly said: “No matter how distant she is, she is still my sister. In the past, when she was still at home, she would mess with those things. The women that father had brought in were meddled with quite a bit by her. This sort of thing has not happened in the palace for many years, and it was her that did it the previous time. This time, it was most likely her. Didn’t our hidden guard also tell us about the little figure? It’s exactly the same as the one that she had used before. Speaking of, the hidden guards also have their ranks! If our people wanted to investigate Feng Yu Heng’s tent, they would have a hard time making a move. If it was not for her sending that little figure to Old Second’s place, perhaps we would still be in the dark.”
Yue Xiu nodded, “That’s right. That Imperial Daughter Ji An really is quite able to endure. Only handing it to His Highness the Second Prince to investigate instead of bringing it to the Emperor to cause a stir.”
“This is her being understanding and a bearing that she should have. There was to be a big banquet at night. With Fei Yu’s incident, the Emperor no longer had any interest in participating. If she brought this matter up, I think that this entire Winter Hunt would be called off. We would be setting out for the capital once more tomorrow. Either way, just keep a closer eye on Imperial Concubine Li’s side. Now that I have been demoted to noble lady, nothing must happen to elder sister.” Although she said this, just after she finished speaking, she let out a long sigh, “Hah, speaking of, even if you did keep an eye on her, what would be the point? Based on her personality… before she’s even been found out, she would expose things. Just looking at her during the banquet earlier, she looked to be quite panicked, not even daring to raise her head. The Emperor finally said a few words to her, and she even began to tremble in fear. Forget it, forget it. It’s everyone for themselves!”
The two spoke while walking out of the forest. Just as they were about to reach the edge of the forest, Yue Xiu suddenly pulled Noble Lady Yuan back and quietly said: “Imperial Concubine, look. Isn’t that someone standing at the entrance of the forest?”
With her saying this, Noble Lady Yuan was given a fright. Looking more carefully, but of course, it was! At the entrance of the forest, there was a figure standing there, and it looked like it was a girl. Her face paled, and her voice trembled: “Wh-what is that?”
Yue Xiu shook her head, “This servant doesn’t know. When Imperial Concubine entered the forest, were you noticed by anyone?”
“There shouldn’t have been anyone, but I can’t control all things. It’s possible that someone might have seen me. But even if someone saw me leave the banquet, it did not mean much. What sort of person would follow all the way over here? It’s just a single girl. Her bravery really is… Ah!” She suddenly shook, “Could it be… her?”