One Wrong Step, Every Step Was Wrong
Speaking of, the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, was also quite bitter.
His plans originally did not have any holes. If his army of 300 thousand was uncooperative, only the 115 thousand troops that Xuan Tian Ming had brought along could be relied upon. Gu Shu and the coalition from the desert added together formed an army of 500 thousand. Even if Xuan Tian Ming’s side was ferocious, the difference in numbers was too staggering. Moreover, in a climate like the desert, as long as Gu Shu put in a bit of effort, they could easily win the battle.
Unfortunately, the eighth prince had not thought of Feng Yu Heng having this trick. For items from the 21st century with massive firepower to appear in this era, even if Gu Shu had large numbers, and even if the desert was hotter, all of this would be cast to the side. In the face of this firepower, everything in this era had to give way.
It was because of this that the situation in the South after Xuan Tian Ming’s arrival did not go as the eighth prince had anticipated. Everything had progressed in a different way than he had expected. In fact, it had been the opposite. This included Fu Ya. Even she was having an extremely hard time with hundreds of mistakes. It was such that there was no choice but to give her up.
Of course, the eighth prince had not received word of any of this. All of the letters that had been sent in his direction were intercepted by Xuan Tian Ming. It was such that the eighth prince was still enjoying sweet dreams with Xuan Tian Ming on the verge of death in the desert.
Ji Ling Tian brought the people out of the prefect’s manor. Ever since Xuan Tian Ming had arrived in the South, this was his first time exiting through his own manor’s gates. It was as though it was a lifetime ago. In the past, when he walked in the streets, although the people did not particularly like him, they would still be respectful when greeting him. But now, things were different. The people looked at him as though he was a stranger, completely ignoring him. This was even on the better side. There even some that sneered at him, and those that were closer would spit to express their disdain.
There were also some people that pointed at him and said without any attempts to hide it: “Do you see that. This is our paternal official, the prefect of Lan Zhou, Lord Ji! It’s him that took the lead in telling everyone to acknowledge the fake imperial daughter. It’s because of him that we endured it. It was him that deliberately misled us citizens. What’s the point of having this sort of official?”
“Of course, he can’t be kept around! A paternal official deceiving the people is something that we need to tell the ninth prince. The position of prefect of Lan Zhou needs someone new. It must not be someone that is the same as him. The people of Lan Zhou can’t stomach it.”
Ji Ling Tian lowered his head and did not dare argue back. What could he say? What the people were saying was indeed correct. It was him that deliberately misled the people into believing Fu Ya was Imperial Daughter Ji An after receiving the order from the eighth prince. He had also went with it and called Feng Jin Yuan the lord left prime minister. Thinking about it now, even he wanted to slap himself. The hatred in his heart for the eighth prince and the Feng family grew even more.
Ji Ling Tian increased his pace, arriving at the Feng residence’s entrance in an angry huff. At this time, the entrance of the Feng residence was tightly closed. There were also quite a few citizens outside. There was a pile of lettuce laying outside, and there was a large amount of egg residue on the door. The citizens would visit once each day to curse a bit and throw some stuff. Either way, they could not allow the Feng family to live in peace. In regards to this, the Feng residence continued to maintain an attitude of avoidance. They did not open the gates nor did they reply. Not even their servants had gone out.
Ji Ling Tian felt a bit of regret. In the past, he had sent quite a few things to the Feng family. This included food, drinks and money. It was for the sake of allowing them to have face in the South. It would allow them to have the appearance of an imperial daughter’s manor or a left prime minister’s manor. Thinking about it, the people of the Feng residence have not gone out, and they were relying on the things that had been sent in the past to survive, right? Had he known sooner that such a day would come, he would not have concerned himself with them!
He brought the officials to the entrance of the residence and loudly shouted: “Feng Jin Yuan! Open the door for this great one!” After he finished speaking, he could not stop himself from kicking the door. He failed to break the door, and the impact left him in pain.
Damn it! Ji Ling Tian became annoyed. Back then, he had personally helped choose this residence, and it was he who had found someone to repair the entrance. It had been repaired to be extra sturdy. If it was not for this, that kick ought to have broken down the door, right?
Inside the Feng residence, Ji Ling Tian’s shout could be heard by practically all of the servants inside the front yard. Someone quickly ran to the backyard to report to Feng Jin Yuan and Fu Ya. The father and daughter were currently seated in the study, discussing what they should do. The two had different opinions, and they were arguing until they were red in the face. Fu Ya had snuck out a few times during the night; however, since she was a girl, even if she escaped the residence, she could not pursue her goals. Adding in how her appearance was too famous in the South, even if she wore a hat, people would still notice. The soldiers guarding Lan Zhou had been swapped out for Xuan Tian Ming’s people. In regards to the people that were entering and exiting the city were all investigated carefully. She did not believe that she could escape Lan Zhou City.
The servant reporting allowed the two to feel dread once more. The two sat in the study, and neither moved or made a sound. The servants outside assumed that there was nobody inside, thus they repeated it once more before running off. Not long later, the sound of urgent footsteps came from the outside. Following this, Yao shi’s urgent voice could be heard, calling to Fu Ya: “Quickly come out. While they have not broken into the residence, quickly run!”
Fu Ya suddenly stood up. At the same time, the door to the study had been pushed open. Regardless of what Feng Jin Yuan did, she rushed straight toward Fu Ya and grabbed Fu Ya’s wrist, dragging her toward the outside.
Fu Ya was a bit flustered, anxiously asking: “What is Madam doing?” Ever since the time that Yao shi had become antagonistic and refusing to acknowledge Fu Ya as her daughter, occasionally saying that she was the Feng Yu Heng from the capital. She would also say that she was someone else pretending to be her daughter. Regardless, she no longer acknowledged Fu Ya, nor did she allow Fu Ya to call her mother. There was nothing that Fu Ya could do. Ever since then, she had begun to call her madam; however, Yao shi did not pay much attention to her. Who knew that she would actually begin doing this. For a while, Fu Ya could not understand what Yao shi intended and froze in place.
Yao shi saw that she could not move Fu Ya. With no place to vent her anger, she saw that Feng Jin Yuan was also in the room, thus she said to him: “What returning to the position of left prime minister and what is this about using the eighth prince? Feng Jin Yuan, after all of these years, from beginning to end, have you ever chosen a good master? Have you ever made a single correct decision? Back then, my Yao family only cause the death of an imperial concubine. Although that imperial concubine looked to be favored from the outside, have you not thought about it? Ever since Imperial Concubine Yun entered the palace, who has ever been more favored than her? The Yao family was sent to Huang Zhou, but instead of asking about it carefully, you hastily sent us out of the capital. Did you think that you were expressing your stance to the Emperor? I’ll tell you that I knew before my father returned to the capital about why the Yao family was chased to Huang Zhou. It was because the Emperor did not want the Yao family to be plotted against by the third prince. That was the Emperor protecting my Yao family! But you? Not knowing right from wrong, you chased us from the capital. Do you know how much we suffered?”
For some reason, Yao shi’s mind was very clear, and her arguments were reasoned. Even her eyes were not as cloudy when looking at others. It was as though she had become someone else overnight. She had returned to when she had just returned from the mountains in the Northwest. She was still weak; however, she could make clear distinctions on right from wrong, and nobody could fool her.
Feng Jin Yuan listened to Yao shi’s complaints. Although he understood that the Yao family going to Huang Zhou was a form of protection from the Emperor, for it to be brought up once more caused him to feel even more annoyed.
What Yao shi had said was correct! He himself had thought of this matter many times. If he had not been so cowardly and thought in such a biased manner, in addition to the matriarch’s reasonable analysis, he practically did not hesitate to chase Yao shi and her children out. He had also urgently promoted Chen shi to the head wife position. He had always thought of himself as very smart, and that he had done very well with this matter. At that time, he had definitely thought that this would placate him. As a result, the Emperor did not have any reaction and acted as though he did not know.
Later on, he had only hoped to support Chen Yu and had neglected Feng Yu Heng, who had returned after three years to glory. Thinking about it now, if he had been able to clearly see through the situation when the ninth prince had presented the betrothal gifts to the Feng manor then adjust his thoughts to his second daughter, Feng Yu Heng, how much glory would the Feng manor have had?!
Unfortunately, he had made one misstep, and every step after that was also wrong. It seemed that him supporting the eighth prince was also a mistake! Now, there was no room to turn around. The Feng family had already disappeared. Ji Ling Tian had also chosen to oppose him. In this distant Lan Zhou, he was completely alone.
“Forget it!” Feng Jin Yuan waved his hand to Yao shi, “What’s the point of saying all of that now? Everything that should have been done was already done. The ones in the Feng family that ought to have died have already died. Now, it’s our turn. It seems that our end really will be difficult to escape. It seems that the enmity between us will need to be settled in the underworld. Just wait in the room. I will go to the front yard to take a look. If it looks like there might be a way out, we will give it one last effort.”
Feng Jin Yuan had never felt so close to death before. Even back when he had been stabbed by Yao shi, he did not feel as though he would die. But this time was different. In any case, the capital was part of his foundation; however, he had no influence in Lan Zhou. Aside from Ji Ling Tian, he did not even have someone that he was familiar with. But Ji Ling Tian had switched sides. Was he now supporting the ninth prince? Speaking of, that person was his son-in-law. Who knew if it was too late for him to turn around and attach himself to him.
Feng Jin Yuan went to the front yard with such thoughts in mind. Inside the study, Yao shi was still holding Fu Ya’s wrist and dragging her toward the outside. While dragging her, she said: “Child, the Feng family is unrelated to you. Regardless of what you are thinking or what sort of goals you are hoping to accomplish, it was my initial foolishness that dragged you into this. Now, the Feng family is about to face a difficult trial; however, there is no need for you to be implicated with us. Quickly run! While Feng Jin Yuan is able to delay for some time, leave through the exit in the third division. You’re young and can move quickly. As long as you are vigilant, staying alive should not be a problem.”
Fu Ya choked up and did not think that Yao shi would still be thinking of her. She subconsciously called out: “Mother…”
Yao shi was startled but said: “Miss Fu Ya, it would be best if you did not call me mother. In the past, I was muddled and too stubborn, but I am clear now. You… are not my daughter. My daughter is still in the capital. She is Da Shun’s… Imperial Daughter Ji An.”