Grand Gathering to Pray for Good Fortune
Feng Yu Heng felt that she could no longer continue to pretend, as she awkwardly laughed, “That uh, it’s good if you know, but you must not talk about it to the outside!”
Huang Quan was speechless, “We aren’t stupid.”
Ban Zou, however, was tangled: “The matter of master escaping from under this subordinate’s eyes is something that this subordinate has become able to accept more recently. After all, it’s not the first time. But how exactly did you get those things into the warehouse?” In regards to this matter, he simply could not understand. In the past, he did not understand how Feng Yu Heng had disappeared from under his watch, but in any case, that could be explained. For example, Feng Yu Heng’s qinggong was better than his… Of course, this was impossible. But for so many manors’ treasure vaults to have been cleaned out, and for all of the money in the bank to have also been taken out, just based on her abilities, it was a little too… unfathomable, right?
How did it get into the warehouse? Feng Yu Heng felt that she could not explain it too clearly. After all, she did not use any scientific method. Instead, she used the strength of her space to do it; otherwise, even if it was fantasy, it could not possibly be done. But she could not tell the three people. Thinking a bit, she deliberately put on a low voice and said: “In truth, it was not just me alone. His Highness the seventh prince also helped me!” She wanted to say that Xuan Tian Ming had helped her, but after some thought, that was no good. Xuan Tian Ming was at the military camp, and it would immediately be exposed. She could only use Xuan Tian Hua as a scapegoat.
But Ban Zou still did not believe her: “No matter who helped you, moving that much stuff into the manor would have caused some sound, right? We are not blind, nor are we deaf. It’s impossible that we would not have heard it.”
Feng Yu Heng also lost her temper: “But the truth is that the things were brought into the manor, and you really didn’t see or hear anything!”
These words caused Ban Zou to nearly pass out from frustration, but Wang Chuan said: “Young Miss is a person with great abilities. This servant believes her.” After saying this, she said to Ban Zou: “Master naturally has her methods and reasons when doing things.” The latter half was something that she did not say: We cannot go too far. Young Miss is already being lenient. Who has ever heard of a master being forced to answer all of a servant’s questions?
Huang Quan also felt that Ban Zou would occasionally go too far when speaking. She was worried that Feng Yu Heng would blame him, thus she also did her best to smooth things over.
Feng Yu Heng just waved her hand, no longer wanting to bring up this matter. Nor did she want to continue sitting on the swings. She just returned to her own room and did not allow anyone to follow her.
Seeing her close the door to her room, Huang Quan stomped her foot and said to Ban Zou: “What’s going on with you? Young Miss treats us quite well. That’s Young Miss being generous, but we can’t take advantage of that, right? How did those things get in? What do you care how they got in? Young Miss gave an explanation, and we just need to accept it. How can you continue to keep asking like that?”
Ban Zou revealed an unreconciled look on his face. Who knew what he was thinking, as he just stood there and did not speak.
Wang Chuan saw Ban Zou like this and also became anxious. She had always been more gentle than Huang Quan when speaking; however, she was also shaking her head and advising: “We just need to do our part. We know that you’re worried about Master, but in the end, there is a difference between master and servant. What sort of things should and shouldn’t be said, we need to have a handle on that. The three of us came out of the Yu Palace. We must ask ourselves, if this had happened with His Highness the ninth prince, Ban Zou, would you have questioned His Highness the ninth prince like this? Would you dare to speak like this to His Highness?”
Ban Zou was startled, and his brow slightly moved. Only then did the words of advice enlighten him. That’s right! Over the years of following Feng Yu Heng, he felt that this master did not have many rules, and they spent their days chatting and laughing. The distance between them had gradually drawn closer, but how could he have forgotten that no matter how close they got, she was still his master. In the end, she was different from them. As for him, what right did he have to question his master? No matter what his master did, was there any need for her to report it to some servants?
Ban Zou felt uncomfortable, but it did not stem from grief. He could not say what sort of feeling it was, but it was uncomfortable. He did not want to say anything and went to hide in a dark place. Huang Quan helplessly shook her head and looked at Wang Chuan. She then looked toward the room and quietly asked: “Should we go in?”
Wang Chuan shook her head: “We won’t go in for now.” She then advised Huang Quan: “Today’s matter will be a lesson. The two of us are the ones that interact with Young Miss the most, but we must remember to pay attention to how we speak. We should do what we should do on a day-to-day basis. But the things that Young Miss does not wish to talk about, we must not question it like Ban Zou did. If it was any other master, they would not like this sort of servant.”
Huang Quan nodded: “I understand.”
Wang Chuan let out a sigh and said: “Young Miss is a person with grand ideas, and she is someone with great abilities. There are some things that we should not know about. Either way, there is nobody in the world that is able to stand at her side aside from His Highness the ninth prince.”
The servants examined themselves in the yard, but Feng Yu Heng was not thinking in that way in the slightest. In her heart, she did not want to have anything like a master-servant relationship. There were times when she used her position to speak, but it was usually just to mess with the servants. As for Ban Zou, she had always viewed him as a friend. She really liked this way of interacting with Ban Zou. Communicating like this and speaking whatever was on their minds, she did not want for it to be like with other masters and servants, where the servant would only comply. She did not want a robot. She wanted for the people at her side to have their own thoughts. Even if those thoughts did not align with her own, everyone could get together to talk about it. This was all fun. After all, she was a person from the modern world, and she was very against the development of servants in the ancient world.
Using today as an example, the three people outside felt quite uncomfortable on the inside, fearing that they had angered her, but when Feng Yu Heng entered the room, she actually patted her chest and thought that it was a close call. She then turned around and made a weird face toward the outside. Sitting on her bed, she laughed without any concern for appearances.
To be able to cause Ban Zou to feel so dejected because he could not understand was something that she found to be too entertaining. That brat’s expression when feeling tangled was too funny. It was much better than his usual cold expression. But in the end, that brat was an expert at asking questions that poked at the root of the problem. This questioning left her with no choice but to use the trick of getting angry.
Feng Yu Heng took a sip of tea and began to think about the money that had been stolen.
There was not enough room to place it all inside her space, but she could not just leave it behind. After all, it was all prepared for the battle in the South. Moreover, even if there was not much need for money over there, with her not being in the capital, she felt a little uneasy with leaving it in the manor! What if there really was some “divine thief of the shadows” that came and stole it all away. Would she not feel distressed?
She felt extremely tangled for a long period of time. in the end, she decided to leave a portion behind and had Xuan Tian Ming bring along when he left. After all, he would be setting out with the army. Having them escort the money would ensure that no problems arose. She filled her space with as much money as she could fit inside. Anything that had to be left behind was placed in the Yao manor and the Chun Palace. As long as it was handed over to Xuan Tian Hua, she could feel at ease and not feel worried.
A certain person happily calculated things. When she arrived at her fief, she would use this money to build up the fief. She would then wait for Xuan Tian Ming to reach the South before going over to deliver the rest of the money. When that time came, she would need to pay a visit to the prefect of Luo Province and the prefect of Lan Zhou. Last time, they had paid so much to Xiang Rong, and another half a year had already passed. Their warehouses should have been replenished by now, right?
The banquet that was being conducted by the Wen Xuan Palace that had started on the 10th day lasted for a full two days! The banquet that was held to pray for good fortune for Da Shun, the Emperor and the Empress had invited every madam and young miss in the capital. Even the concubine mothers and daughters of concubines were invited. Those concubine mothers and daughters of concubines very rarely had a chance to participate in grand banquets, much less one conducted by a person of such a grand standing as Palace Princess Wu Yang. That was why they were very moved to have received this invitation, and they were even more interested in praying for good fortune. They all hated that they could not bring their best things over. After all, they could not go to pray for good fortunes empty-handed. They all understood this logic.
But who knew that Palace Princess Wu Yang would be so wicked! There were some madams and young misses that thought that giving a 100 tael banknote would be enough, but who knew that Palace Princess Wu Yang would slap a table: Give at least 1000 taels! 1000 taels were 1000 taels, but after donating that amount, they then heard Palace Princess Wu Yang deliver an impassioned speech, describing Da Shun as being extremely destitute and describing the small countries of the desert as being extremely vile. It was as though the small countries of the South could strike at the capital at any moment if they did not provide monetary support. Also, Palace Princess Wu Yang said that with the border being unsteady, the commoners would also feel uneasy. The Emperor was also unable to eat or sleep properly. With the ruler’s health in mind, this was something to worry about! With the Empress seeing that the Emperor’s health was deteriorating, she would also worry. Just a few days ago, she had coughed up blood.
Ren Xi Feng broke into a cold sweat while listening from the side. She thought to herself that only Xuan Tian Ge dared to say such things. If it was anyone else, cursing the Emperor and Empress like this, they would definitely be put to death! Yet it was this palace princess that did not fear it. Even if she poked a hole in the sky, the Emperor would not say no.
For the sake of working with Palace Princess Wu Yang, and for the sake of leaving a good impression on Palace Princess Wu Yang, the concubine mothers and daughters of concubines that had been invited eagerly answered this call. Without any hesitation, they threw in their thousand tael banknotes. Just donating banknotes was not enough, as they expressed their support for Da Shun with tears in their eyes. Removing the accessories that they wore on their heads, they tossed them all into a chest that had been prepared by Xuan Tian Ge’s group.
The concubine mothers and daughters of concubines that had come to the Wen Xuan Palace usually did not have a chance to make an appearance and had brought all of their best things. Just any old hairpin that they removed was worth a few thousand taels, and they were easily donated without them even batting an eye. There were even some concubine mothers that advised their daughters that fretted over little things: “Things that should be donated need to be donated. Your father loves us. After we return to the manor, he will think of a way to buy us new things. There are not many chances to see Palace Princess Wu Yang, and we won’t have any chance of going into the palace for the holiday banquets.”
It was also quite a coincidence. Just as this side finished speaking, Xuan Tian Ge could be heard saying from the other side to young miss of a concubine that had donated 5000 taels: “This young miss is very rarely seen out in the city. In the future, you should go out and walk around a bit more. We have gotten to know each other today, so come and accompany this palace princess to chat more often!”
Once these words came out, those that had maintained a wait-and-see attitude immediately went crazy, as they practically charged toward the donation box.