She Began Missing Xuan Tian Ming…
Both of them had the surname Bai, but Bai Ze’s name was granted to him by Xuan Tian Ming later on. As for what his original name was, Feng Yu Heng truly did not know. Craftsman Bai was not ignorant of this person, but he did not have enough of an understanding. After all, that was Xuan Tian Ming’s personal guard. Even if his identity was not as secretive as a hidden guard, it was one that others would not speak about. As for Bai Fu Rong, she had only spoken to Craftsman Bai about how the two had met and how they interacted, as well as how Bai Ze had saved her. To Craftsman Bai, this person sounded quite good, but this was the person that his own daughter had chosen. He still wanted to hear Feng Yu Heng’s opinion.
Feng Yu Heng’s impression of Bai Ze was quite good; moreover, she had met that person at roughly the same time that she had first met Xuan Tian Ming. Calculating it, they could be considered old acquaintances. It was natural that she should help put in a few good words for Bai Ze, but she was not too biased. It was not to the point of blurting out nonsense. In truth, Feng Yu Heng’s words were quite simple, as she told Craftsman Bai: “Fu Rong has definitely spoken of the feelings between the two. As for Bai Ze’s character, to be able to be at His Highness the ninth prince’s side for all of these years as a personal guard, what is there that uncle is worried about?!”
Craftsman Bai nodded. That’s right, the ninth prince was the pickiest when using people. Anyone that had flaws would definitely not be able to get close to him. As Bai Ze was able to be his personal guard for all of these years, his character naturally did not need to be questioned. He said to Feng Yu Heng: “I don’t ask that the person Fu Rong marries be a noble. I just ask that they treat Fu Rong well. Normally speaking, based on Fu Rong’s identity… after all, the identity of her birth mother is rather sensitive, I was thinking of marrying her into a normal family. It would be best if they had no relation to the court. But since the two have feelings for each other, as a father, I have no intention of separating the two. Over the years, the Bai family might not be able to compare with the large families, but it does have a bit of a foundation. Fu Rong’s dowry had been prepared long ago. There are also the accessories that have been made these past few years. Thinking about it, bringing them over will ensure that she is not scorned.”
Feng Yu Heng laughed, “Uncle Bai is the best craftsman in the world. Each piece that you create is a priceless treasure. If he, Bai Ze, dares to disdain them, I will be the first to not forgive him! Uncle, don’t worry. His Highness the ninth prince already promised me that he will never take a concubine in this life, nor will he find any maidservants to make me unhappy. Bai Ze is his personal guard. If the master has made this sort of statement, I don’t believe that he will go and look for concubines. Fu Rong will not suffer if she gets married. It’s just that there is a battle in the South. I’m just worried that the wedding will need to be delayed.”
Bai Fu Rong was finally able to get a word in, quickly saying: “I’m in no rush. Your wedding is being delayed. I need to spend some more time with you. Finally managing to leave the capital, I was thinking of setting up a home here in Ji An Prefecture. If I can stay here in the future, I can also take care of my father in old age.”
Craftsman Bai turned away and wiped away a tear. He was very happy with Bai Fu Rong’s marriage. He had been in the palace for many years, and he had an understanding of the character of the princes. Among them, he held the ninth prince in the highest esteem. Even if the ninth prince was unscrupulous, the people that knew him understood that those that died at the ninth prince’s hands were all bad. His daughter was extremely fortunate. To be able to walk alongside someone at the ninth prince’s side and hearing from Feng Yu Heng that the ninth prince would not take any concubines, his subordinates were even less likely to take concubines. With this sort of promise, his daughter would definitely be happy.
The accessory shop was given to the Bai family just like this. The next day, Bai Fu Rong began searching for people to tidy it up. She also copied the setup that Feng Yu Heng’s accessory shop in the capital had, with its two-floor system.
During these days, Feng Yu Heng did not remain idle. Ever since she had borrowed the sixth prince’s name to open a school for Ji An Prefecture, she held this sort of method in high esteem. Now that Craftsman Bai had come, how could she not make use of such a good resource? Thus she began to spread the word- Da Shun’s best craftsman had moved to Ji An Prefecture to settle down and had set up an accessory shop! The address was the third building on the East side of the new street. At the same time, she provided a more detailed explanation of Craftsman Bai’s identity, including how the imperial concubines of the palace would fight each other for the things made by Craftsman Bai. Either way, even if the imperial concubines found out, they would not be so bored as to come and settle this debt with her. It would be a waste if she did not exaggerate.
To speak of Craftsman Bai’s reputation, it was not something that had been the result of exaggeration. Even if Feng Yu Heng did not mention the matter with the imperial concubines, the wealthy families that could afford to buy these accessories would know a bit about Craftsman Bai. He had been a craftsman who worked exclusively in the imperial palace. Now that she had come to settle down in Ji An Prefecture, that was an extremely large matter that shook the city. The vigor with which this was welcomed was not too much less than with the sixth prince’s school. After all, the ones that were interested in the prince were men, and those that were interested in Craftsman Bai’s arrival were women. Women’s ability to spread information was not normal. In just a single night, news of Craftsman Bai opening an accessory shop in Ji An Prefecture had already spread through half of Yun Province. Even the wealthy families in Hao Zhou immediately prepared money and rushed toward Ji An Prefecture.
The opening of the accessory shop was very prosperous. When the madams and young misses saw Craftsman Bai and the accessories that he had brought from the capital, they did not even blink when pulling out tens or even hundreds of thousands of taels. This left Bai Fu Rong smiling so widely that she could not close her mouth; however, she also knew that she could not exhaust her father, thus she set a schedule for those that put in orders. After every batch of accessories was completed, Craftsman Bai would need to rest for a few days before beginning a second batch.
The people understood that they should not rush to enjoy nice things, thus they happily accepted this. Some of the people were even scheduled to receive their things a year later. After Feng Yu Heng heard about this spectacular event, she let out an emotional sigh. She thought to herself that there really were some wealthy people among the commoners! The money that she had spent on reparations for the mine incident was already seen as an extremely high prince, but there was too much of a difference when compared to the wealthy women that pulled out hundreds of thousands of taels to buy accessories.
Either way, she could not understand the idea of spending this much money for the sake of a full set of accessories. Could accessories be eaten? What was the point of wearing such expensive things? With that much money, it would be better to build a building for business. Which one of those would be worse than wearing accessories?
But there were some people that wished to spend money in their shops, and she was very happy about it. Because the accessory shop had Craftsman Bai, the profit was very good. Even Bai Fu Rong spent her days smiling brightly. As for Craftsman Bai, he watched his daughter smile and also felt happy about it.
Feng Yu Heng had finally received a reply from Xuan Tian Ming. The letter was sent by eagle. At this time, she was chatting with Ban Zou in the yard. She watched an eagle fly straight toward them before landing. The aura was truly magnificent, and it caused her to take a couple steps back in fear, which aroused some feelings of disdain from Ban Zou. She turned around and returned to her room, dismissing the servants before focusing on the letter.
Xuan Tian Ming’s letter told her that the army was currently in the middle of advancing at full speed, but they could only arrive in the South at the start of the fourth month at the quickest. The reports of defeats from the deputy generals in the South continued to be sent to the capital without fail, and old seventh had already brought it up twice in letters sent to him. He told Feng Yu Heng to obediently stay in Ji An Prefecture. There was still enough supplies for the military for the time being. Of course, this was in regards to the army that he was bringing over. As for the 300 thousand troops in the South, he could not concern himself with them.
Xuan Tian Ming said: “Father Emperor has already passed off the matter of military supplies to Old Eighth. Thinking about it, no hope could be placed in him. When I arrive in the South, I will take a look and see what sort of nonsense the Southern Army is up to before making a decision. You must be careful in Ji An Prefecture. Old Eighth’s thoughts are ferocious. Who knows what sort of methods he might employ. You must not stumble into his path. If there aren’t enough people, just write a letter to seventh brother in the capital. Have him send some more people over to help you. Either way, you must take care and must not put yourself in any danger. Only with you being safe can I feel completely at ease.”
The letter had been written hastily, and it did not have the style that he usually paid close attention to. It could be seen that the Army was indeed advancing in a rush. She put the letter away. No matter where it was placed, she felt that it was not safe. In the end, she placed it inside her space; however, after she put the letter away, she pulled out a pendant that had been hanging in her restroom. It was a jade pixiu that was hung from a brown string. It had been given to her when she first met Xuan Tian Ming after returning to the capital from the Northwest. It was said that it had been given to him for his tenth birthday. Apparently, it was said that a wandering Daoist monk had said that the owner would end up the mother of the world.
If this was in the past, she definitely would not have trusted this sort of thing. But ever since her spirit had transmigrated to Da Shun, Feng Yu Heng was not as dismissive of this sort of thing. After all, she and her grandfather arriving in this place was not something that could be explained clearly. If this sort of soul transmigration existed, why could there not be people that had a better view of the world?
The pixiu had been left inside her space in the entire time because she felt that the item was too valuable, and she was worried that someone would want to take it. Her life had never been peaceful. There had always been wave after wave of fighting going on around her. There was not a single day that could be considered safe. She did not want for this sort of thing to fall into someone else’s hands. Fortunately, she had this space and could hide this thing.
Feng Yu Heng endlessly rubbed the little pixiu, and it looked quite intelligent. It was quite likable. She began to miss her little white tiger. If it had not been given to Imperial Concubine Yun and had been brought to Ji An Prefecture, it would be able to help ease her boredom!
Very well! She admitted that thinking about this and that was a result of wanting to express that she missed Xuan Tian Ming. Although the two had always been apart, meeting rarely, this time, it was Xuan Tian Ming going to battle on his own. There was also the hungry wolf in the eighth prince behind him, staring at him fiercely. It always left her feeling uncomfortable. Thus she decided to write a letter to Xuan Tian Hua to emphasize that she treated this matter seriously. This time, even if she could not trip up Xuan Tian Mo, she would at least tear off a layer of skin. She definitely would not let him continue to cause any waves.
The next day, Feng Yu Heng called Li Zhu into the imperial daughter’s manor and asked him about the situation in the South. Li Zhu had been a small leader in the Southern Army, and he had been stationed there for many years. When speaking of the matters over there, he was very logical and reasonable. He told Feng Yu Heng: “Between Da Shun and Gu Shu, there is a desert; however, the South is not a true desert. It’s just a place with a lot of sand. The southern end of the South is Gu Shu. It can be considered the true border of the desert. Gu Shu could be considered the largest power in the desert. Aside from Gu Shu, there are another ten small countries. If Imperial Daughter said that there is a ten-country coalition from the desert, it would be those ten small countries that have joined together to support Gu Shu in their attack on Da Shun…”