You Need to Find Yourselves a Partner
The progression of the Divine Intent Army’s training made her feel very satisfied, especially when it came to the proficiency that the members of the Divine Archery Group showed with guns. That caused her to watch on with respect. Over the course of just two days and one night, there were already people that could hit their targets with great accuracy. This caused Feng Yu Heng to have no choice but to admire her own ability to select people. Thinking about it, for people that were able to reach the pinnacle of archery, how could they be unable to grasp the basics of using a machine gun.
Seeing that everything was progressing normally for the Divine Archery group, she advised the Support Group of a few matters then quickly returned to the capital. She had planned to leave the capital before the 15th of the first month. There were too many things that needed to be taken care of. At the very least, she needed to find an opportunity to visit Xuan Tian Ge and her other friends. There was also Xiang Rong. That girl had expressed her own standpoint during the banquet. At the very least, she needed to advise Xuan Tian Ming to take care of her a little more.
Returning to the capital on the evening of the seventh, Xuan Tian Ge’s group took the initiative to pay her a visit on the morning of the eighth. Xuan Tian Ge, Ren Xi Feng, Fung Tian Yu and Bai Fu Rong, not a single person was missing. They had all gathered in the imperial daughter’s manor.
Xuan Tian Ge grabbed Feng Yu Heng’s hand and said: “You made such a big decision without even letting us know. A-Heng, do you no longer think of us as friends?”
Feng Yu Heng was worried that she would say this, and she quickly explained: “It really isn’t like that. First, this decision was made hastily. Second, there are indeed too many things that need to be taken care of. Look, I only just returned from the military camp last night.”
This excuse was quite acceptable, and the group knew that she had gone to the military camp outside of the capital, thus they did not persist with the matter of not being told. Ren Xi Feng then said: “News of Hundred Herb Hall closing has already spread through the streets. Yesterday, after the citizens received word of this news, they were in quite a turbulent mood. They went and blocked the manors of the officials, and even the Sheng Palace was not spared.”
Feng Yu Heng had also heard about this. The previous night, Wang Lin had reported to her; however, he did not speak too exhaustively. After all, he had not followed them over for the sake of avoiding risks. Also, with so many manors, how could he investigate all of them?
It was Ren Xi Feng that provided a far more detailed account, as she told Feng Yu Heng: “The entrances to all of those manors have been left in a poor state. They were not destroyed because the citizens were only throwing things like eggs. Although it would not result in them being destroyed, the sights were indeed quite disgusting. It’s the new year, but those officials must have been quite angered.”
“As I see it, it serves them right.” Fung Tian Yu rolled her eyes, “A-Heng, you don’t know this, but those shameless old guys even had the nerve to come to our prime minister’s manor to complain and ask father to support them. Say, have their heads been filled with water? Could my father possibly concern himself with their matters? Right, there were even people that complained to the government office, but the governor said that even the Emperor has put away the imperial seal. They could not place any hope in him opening up for work.”
Feng Yu Heng listened on and felt entertained, asking: “Then what was the situation at the Sheng Palace?”
“That’s something I will have to talk about.” Xuan Tian Ge smiled and said: “I also heard it from second brother. He secretly went to watch the liveliness. Apparently, the Sheng Palace mobilized a number of guards to surround the citizens. Unfortunately, not only did they not frighten the citizens, but they ended up angering them. The people were agitated from the start. After being surrounded, it was the equivalent of eighth brother admitting his guilt without being pressed. Thus some people began to curse loudly! There were even some that pointed at the Sheng Palace and said, ‘Your Highness the eighth prince, are you wanting to rebel, using personal troops to surround citizens?’ With that, things became quite lively. The citizens created an uproar, and their cries about His Highness the eighth prince wanting to rebel angered the one inside quite a bit. But there were too many citizens outside. Even if he was angry, there was nothing that he could do. He was already being accused of rebelling, so how could he dare to touch a single citizen?”
Ren Xi Feng added: “Things just continued like that until the afternoon. Only then did the people gradually begin to disperse. But they continued to brood over the closure of Hundred Herb Hall, but as I see it, that’s the end of it all. They’ve caused a stir, but they can’t change anything.”
Bai Fu Rong asked with some worry: “A-Heng, are you really going to close Hundred Herb Hall?”
Feng Yu Heng nodded, “Of course, it will be closed. The clerks will then be brought to the fief to open a new one. The mess in the capital will be handed over to His Highness the eighth prince to see how he handles it and to see how he will handle it.”
“Are you not afraid that he will grow stronger in the capital?” Fung Tian Yu was a bit worried, “Once he grows stronger, even if you want to come back, you won’t be able to!”
“How could that be possible?” Before Feng Yu Heng could open her mouth, Xuan Tian Ge interjected: “He wants to gain strength, but is he the only prince remaining in the capital? Don’t forget that my seventh brother is still here!”
“Isn’t His Highness the seventh prince going to the East after the new year?” Ren Xi Feng was someone raised in a general’s family, and she was sensitive to such things. “The current situation in the East is unstable. That side is lacking a general to keep things in check! Only leaving deputy generals over there for prolonged periods of time is not a good plan.”
Xuan Tian Ge did not understand such things, and she could not help but look at Feng Yu Heng. Feng Yu Heng analyzed: “With this sort of thing happening, seventh brother should not be going to the East so quickly, but the possibility of the eighth prince using some underhanded tactics to start a battle in the East and force seventh brother to leave the capital cannot be ignored. That’s why it should be said that us leaving the capital is also a risky plan. It’s just a competition to see who is luckier! Now that the eighth prince has handed over his right to command troops, even if he wants to cause problems, it will be difficult.”
Ren Xi Feng heard her say this and felt that it was reasonable. If a prince that did not have rights to command troops wanted to cause problems, it would be very difficult. Even if he was in the capital, and even if he commanded the imperial guards, there was not much point. After all, even if the seventh prince left the capital, the capital still had the eldest prince and the second prince. Also, there were also the governor and the army protecting the capital. Those were all His Highness the seventh prince’s people.
The group felt more at ease from this analysis and turned the topic back to Feng Yu Heng leaving these friends.
Feng Yu heng comforted them, saying: “I am going to my fief to build it up and live a good life. Over there, I am definitely the ruler! You should feel happy for me. When I have built it up, you can head over if you ever feel bored. I will keep some courtyards open for you, so you can go and live there for a while at any time.”
As she spoke, not only did they not feel happy, but they actually rolled their eyes at her. Xuan Tian Ge said: “Do you think that we’re like you?! With nobody to concern themselves with you and being able to move about freely. Even wanting to go out is difficult for us. Have you ever seen any young miss go out of the province because they were bored? Also, at our age…”
With this painful matter being brought up again, Feng Yu Heng quickly stopped the topic in its tracks and said: “Sooner or later, that sort of day will come for all girls. Don’t be so pessimistic. Even thinking more about it now is pointless, unless you’re like Fu Rong, who has someone that she likes and can put in some effort. But you two don’t even have anyone that you like. What are you worrying over nothing for? If there really comes a day when you can no longer persuade your family, we can talk about it then. There will always be a way to resolve things.”
With just a few words, Bai Fu Rong’s face was left bright red, but it also helped ease the nerves of the other three. Ren Xi Feng clapped her hands together, “Hah! A-Heng, you really are the smartest. I just keep feeling that this marriage thing is just missing a little something. I have just been worried that the person that my family chooses will be someone that I don’t want to marry; however, I’ve never thought about who I really want to marry.”
Fung Tian Yu nodded and said: “That’s about how it is. We’ve all been neglectful.”
Xuan Tian Ge fiddled with her fingers: “You mean to say that our most pressing matter is to quickly find someone that we find cordial. Then with this goal in mind, we put in some effort in that direction?”
Feng Yu Heng nodded, “That’s right!” You don’t even have a partner, so what are you foolishly worrying about? There were times that she really wanted to ask these people before her. Everyone said that the people of the ancient world began to mature earlier, and girls began to discuss the matter of marriage with their close friends at around the age of ten. For many families, marriages were decided on by the time they turned 12 or 13, and they would immediately get married when they became of age. But why were all of her friends so slow to mature? Even to this moment, they did not have anyone that they liked. Really…
“Alright! We understand.” These words woke the three up, as Ren Xi Feng grabbed Bai Fu Rong’s hand: “Fu Rong! Speaking of, out of our group, you’re the only one that has been able to fall in love freely. Even A-Heng was ordered to get married. You will be responsible for telling us about this experience!”
Ever since Bai Fu Rong had recovered from her illness, she had gradually regained her original personality. At this time, she was looking at the three with great disdain: “What is there for me to tell you about? Go out and find one for yourself! Or just go home and think about it. Write down the names of all the men from the capital that have not yet had an engagement settled then just eliminate them one by one.”
Feng Yu Heng could not bear to continue listening. These people really were kindred spirits when it came to this sort of thing! They were all… forget it. She smiled bitterly, “Let’s not speak about this. I prepared some gifts for you. Just wait a moment.”
After she said this, she moved to the inner room. The gifts had indeed been prepared, and they had been taken out of her space. They were placed inside a cabinet. Opening the cabinet, she called Wang Chuan and Huang Quan to help bring the things out, and many bundles of items were placed in front of the three.
“Each person gets two bundles. There’s enough to last you for one year.” While she spoke, she opened up a bundle. They were sanitary napkins. “You are not lacking in gold and silver items, and there’d be no point in me gifting those things. After thinking about it, let’s be a little more practical. We are all sisters, and I have given you this sort of thing in the past. There’s no need to say what it is, right?”
This group of people had received Feng Yu Heng’s small gift before. Of course, they understood what they were. In an instant, they nearly leaped up with joy. It had to be said that people like them really were not lacking anything. When it came to gold, silver, jewels and money, giving such things would not have any impact. It was this sort of thing that was most personal to girls that enticed them the most. After all, the things that the girls of the ancient world wore were too crude and simple. Even if they were young misses from large families, they could not obtain anything particularly great. At best, they would just have things made of slightly better cloth, and the fluff inside would be of a slightly higher quality. It was because of this that they could not be compared to the sanitary napkins of the modern world.
Feng Yu Heng had brought out enough to last them a full year. This caused the girls to be extremely happy. Aside from this, Feng Yu Heng also prepared some commonly used Chinese and Western medicines, telling them: “If you fall ill, do what you can to take these sorts of Chinese medicines. If there is an emergency, use the white pills. Do you understand?”
The group did not understand, but Feng Yu Heng was a divine doctor. They naturally needed to listen to what she said. Feng Yu Heng saw them nod and brought out some other medicines: “It’s not convenient for me to visit your manors. These other medicines are for treating and preventing illnesses that come with old age. There are also some medical plasters that can alleviate waist and leg problems. They were prepared for your family members.”
Medicine was also prepared for their family members, and the group was very thankful. Xuan Tian Ge said: “Courtesy demands reciprocity, and we also prepared some gifts for you. You also said it. We are not strangers. That’s why we won’t give you anything meaningless. Here, take these.” As she spoke, each of them retrieved a wooden box from their own maid servant’s hands. All of them handed them over to Feng Yu Heng, except for Bai Fu Rong…