The Legitimate Princess Yu
While the army was heading back toward the capital, arrangements for the new cities acquired in the desert had begun to be handed down from the court.
The South would be re-partitioned. The six cities would become part of a large province called the Mo Province, and the court would dispatch someone to be the prefect. The six cities would be designated as zhou, but their manner of governance would remain the same.
In truth, aside from Yue Ping City, all of the other prefects would be replaced, and they were all dispatched by the court. They would all be sworn in along with the new prefect of Mo Province. This person was none other than Feng Yu Heng’s eldest cousin, Yao Shu.
Hearing that Yao Shu would be going South to be sworn in, Feng Yu Heng let out a sigh of relief. It had to be known that there were six cities! This included Yue Ping City. For six cities to join a province at once was unheard of in Da Shun. The area was too large, and there were too many cities. At the same time, the prefects had too much power. If the large area of land that they had fought hard for fell into the hands of someone unreliable, that would be a huge blow. If things went poorly, the tragedy would repeat itself after a number of years.
Now, Mo Province’s rule would be handed over to Yao Shu. This was the same as giving it to Feng Yu Heng and Xuan Tian Ming. The Emperor’s decision made the two very satisfied. Along the way, Xuan Tian Ming repeatedly said: “The old man really isn’t foolish.” As for Feng Yu Heng, she was thinking that it would be best if they could run into Yao Shu on his way down. She would give him some more of the medicine that would be necessary in the desert.
This time, the court was quite forceful when it came to the conflict in the South. Not only had six cities in the desert have new governments, but even Lan Zhou’s prefect was replaced, but the replacement had not been sent from the capital. Instead, an imperial decree was sent over, and the adviser that had helped manage Lan Zhou after Xuan Tian Ming’s arrival in the South was promoted. After that adviser received the decree, he viewed Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng as his second parents. He was also completely subservient to Yao Shu, who would be arriving, but this was another story for another time.
While Feng Yu Heng was returning to the capital, she really did run into Yao Shu, as she gave him medicine, clothes and money that had been prepared beforehand. This was enough to fill two chests, and it left Yao Shu feeling embarrassed. Xuan Tian Ming also told him that there were quite a few people that he had left behind among the soldiers staying in the South. Although the vast majority were the 300 thousand troops of the Southern Army, and those people had expressed their loyalty to him, those people had previously followed old eighth. First, he was worried that they would no longer be in awe once he had left for a long time. Second, he was worried that there would still be traitors in their midst that would seek to cause trouble. The people that he had left behind all had weapons. When necessary, they would be able to suppress any uprising.
Xuan Tian Ming’s words helped calm Yao Shu. As for the things that Feng Yu Heng had given Yao Shu, it made him feel that she was very close. He said that she was his younger sister, and he would not accept the money, but he would feel more at ease with the medicine that had been prepared. He had heard that the South was extremely hot, and his government office would be in Yue Ping City. When setting out, he really was worried that he would not be able to endure the heat.
Fortunately, Feng Yu Heng had already established Hundred Herb Halls in the cities of Sha Ping, Jue Ping, and Yue Ping in this short period of time. Among these, the one in Jue Ping City was the largest. She had also left Wang Lin over there, advising him to slowly expand Hundred Herb Hall into the other three cities, but there was no rush. The most important thing was still to put all of their efforts into expanding Yue Ping City. After all, Yue Ping City’s position in the desert was uncommon. It also had the largest population. The city also had an oasis in the center, and its climate was relatively better. After she returned to the capital, she would need to begin sending people to the Hundred Herb Halls in the other areas. Then more people would need to be sent into the desert. Also, they needed to continue training doctors. Who knew if her grandfather had trained any new doctors during these few months.
The army did not detour toward Ji An Prefecture. After all, Feng Yu Heng had just gotten married. In the future, she would need to remain at her husband’s side. Moreover, she had not been to the capital for a long time, and she wanted to see what the situation in the capital was like.
Along the way, she wrote a letter to Ji An Prefecture. One was written to the sixth prince, telling him about her own plans. At the same time, she asked the sixth prince if he would be staying there or if he would be returning to the capital. At present, Ji An Prefecture’s management had already taken steps towards normalcy. Things were progressing steadily, and there was no need for too much concern. Moreover, there was also Qian Feng Shou present. She had already said to have Qian Feng Shou take care of managing Ji An Prefecture along with Yu Zhou. As for the salary, she would provide an extra sum each month. Also, it was a great deal more than what the court provided.
Qian Feng Shou was very happy with this. After all, his son was still under Xuan Tian Ming’s command. In addition to this, the skills that Feng Yu Heng had shown really earned his admiration. He paid even more attention to Ji An Prefecture than he did Yu Zhou. He even bought himself a small residence there and would occasionally go to live there.
Another letter was written to Xu shi and Qin shi, telling them that she was already on her way back to the capital. This also told the two aunts to tidy up their things and return. As for the imperial daughter’s manor in Ji An Prefecture, it would be left to Xiang Rong and An shi. She had originally planned to have Xu shi bring Xiang Rong back to the capital, but apparently, An shi had already arrived, thus she wanted to leave mother and daughter to peacefully remain there. Either way, she would frequently visit Ji An Prefecture. There would be plenty of opportunities for the sisters to meet.
The army marched for two months before finally reaching the capital. The citizens in the capital had received the news long ago, saying that today would be the day that the ninth prince and Imperial Daughter Ji An returned to the capital. The people began to gather around the city’s gates starting early in the morning. There were some that scattered flower petals on the ground, some that held large, red banners, and there were some that held baskets filled with dates, peanuts, longan fruits, and lotus seeds. Everyone knew that Imperial Daughter Ji An had gotten married to the god of war ninth prince. Everyone was looking forward to them giving birth to a child. When the city guards opened the gates, a portion of the group immediately surged out of the gates, waiting in bliss. Everyone warmly spoke about the marriage between the ninth prince and Imperial Daughter Ji An. This truly was even more joyous than if their own daughter had gotten married.
To the people of the capital, the ninth prince returning in triumph was indeed something worth celebrating. They had been moved when the ninth prince had quelled the Northwest, and they had also exited the city to receive him. This time, however, it was different. This time, Imperial Daughter Ji An was also returning. Ever since Feng Yu Heng had closed Hundred Herb Hall and left the capital, the one thing that the people hoped for the most was for Imperial Daughter Ji An to quickly return and reopen Hundred Herb Hall. The people in the capital were not accustomed to living in the capital without Hundred Herb Hall. The normal citizens were no longer able to get free scraps of medicine. The wealthy families also needed to return to drinking bitter medical soups. Those with severe symptoms were also unable to find skilled doctors.
Some people had thought of begging Yao Xian, but even if Yao Xian saved a few, he could not save too many. He was old and needed to concern himself with matters in court. How could he have the idle time to care about the normal citizens?
Thus the people just bided their time until this day finally came, and Feng Yu Heng finally returned.
When Xuan Tian Ming’s army reached the capital’s gates, the crowd began to stir, as they all kneeled and loudly exclaimed: “Congratulations to Your Highness the ninth prince on your triumphant return! Your Highness the ninth prince’s fame as the god of war is well-earned!”
Xuan Tian Ming sat in an open carriage, and Feng Yu Heng was at his side. Seeing this scene, it was as though it was a repeat of the scene from three years prior. It was just that the people were not just celebrating Xuan Tian Ming alone. Very quickly, the people began loudly exclaiming: “Imperial Daughter Ji An! You’ve finally returned! We’ve all missed Imperial Daughter and have been hoping that Imperial Daughter could quickly return to the capital!”
Xuan Tian Ming raised an eyebrow: “Un, the welcoming of this prince was just for a prince. The reason that these people came was to welcome their Imperial Daughter Ji An!” After saying this, he looked sideways at his wife: “Why are they still calling you imperial daughter? Later on, this prince will have them change it. They should be calling you Princess Yu!”
Feng Yu Heng covered her mouth and smiled. A certain person had become jealous! But Princess Yu was it? This sounded really good. She had already waited for three years. Although there were people that had called her princess before, that was still “future princess.” Now, she had finally and legitimately become his wife. It was just a pity that the Feng family no longer existed, and her state of mind had already changed a bit. There was no longer any delight of distancing herself from the Feng family to move into the Yu Palace.
Although the wedding had not been conducted in the capital, they had still heard that the citizens of the capital had gone to the Yao manor to congratulate them. Also, none of them had gone empty handed, bringing along the best gifts that their families could afford. Feng Yu Heng was very moved by this. Before coming back from the desert, she had already gone around and bought things unique to the area from the three cities. Just like Xuan Tian Ming had done when going to fetch her from Lan Zhou for their wedding, they were wrapped up like gifts. There were all kinds of gifts, and they were not too valuable, but they had come from a great distance. They had also come from her, and they had a certain meaning to them.
The two stood on the carriage and began to distribute these gift bundles. They could not guarantee that everyone present would receive one, but the majority of the crowd was able to snatch one. Those that could not get one did not care, as they were still smiling happily. In summary, the ninth prince and Imperial Daughter Ji An had returned to the capital. Their lives would have more to look forward to.
Finally, the two entered the city, and Xuan Tian Ming entered the palace to report. Feng Yu Heng did not follow him but led everyone back to the Yu Palace. She was now Xuan Tian Ming’s wife. She was no longer the Imperial Daughter Ji An of the past. The imperial daughter’s manor naturally belonged to her, but from this moment forward, she now had one more home. Also, it was the most important one: The Yu Palace.
In front of the palace’s gates, Lady Zhou and Eunuch Zhang stood at the entrance. All of the servants in the palace stood behind them with smiles on their faces and wearing tidy clothes. To Feng Yu Heng, none of the servants in the Yu Palace were unfamiliar. After all, Feng Yu Heng had occasionally come to live for a few days. Not only was she easygoing, but she also granted them some small graces. Of course, those small graces were nothing to Feng Yu Heng, but to the servants, they were heavenly graces.
For example, Feng Yu Heng had given Lady Zhou an entire set of skincare products, treated one of Eunuch Zhang’s leg injuries, given the male servants of the palace modern tea packets, and given the maidservants and grannies hand cream. She could have as much of these things in her space as she wanted, but the people of the era had never seen them before. These people were extremely grateful, and their impression of their future princess had improved by quite a bit.
Now, their future princess had become the actual princess. Today, they stood there to welcome her while feeling emotional and moved. How many years had the Yu Palace only had the ninth prince as its only master? Now, there would finally be a female master, and it was such a strong female master. The people could practically imagine the couple being completely undefeatable when together.
Lady Zhou stood at the entrance with a bright smile. Watching Feng Yu Heng’s carriage approach, she quickly gestured to Eunuch Zhang. Eunuch Zhang quickly took a step forward and announced with twinkling eyes: “We respectfully welcome Princess back to the palace!”