My Wife Is Beautiful
The next day, Feng Fendai began moving. The fifth prince, Xuan Tianyan, arrived first thing in the morning to pick her up. Seeing Fendai with a child and seeing the child’s appearance, he immediately understood the situation. He said to Fendai: “Since you’ve brought him back, raise him properly. No matter what is said, he is your younger brother. Having him at your side, you will have someone to play with.”
Fendai quietly said: “I know. If he did not have at least this bit of use, what would I have brought him back for?” This was the manner of speaking that she had become accustomed to. Xuan Tianyan had also gotten used to it. Ever since the lofty prince recognized Feng Fendai, in his eyes, face was becoming less and less important with each passing day. Who knew when it started, but he knew that there was only one thing to understand to get along with Feng Fendai: To get the person, give up on saving face. To maintain face, give up on getting the person.
Looking again at Fendai, she had said some pretty cold things, but she continued to hold tightly to the young child. When they stepped over the door sill, she bent over to help lift the corner of the child’s robes, fearing that he would trip over them. Xuan Tianyan knew that regardless of how Fendai treated him, she would be sincere with this child.
Being sincere was good. What he feared was that this girl would lose faith in everyone and everything. In the end, she would end up on some road to ruin that he would not even be able to drag her back from. But if she had a younger brother at her side, it was possible that her heart could slowly soften, and she would change at least a little.
Leaving the Feng residence, everything was packed onto the carriage. Feng Fendai turned around and glanced at the sign hanging above the gate. Feeling a sudden pinch in her chest, a pain suddenly shot through her body. “Take down the sign and smash it!” She said to He Zhong: “From this day forward, the capital will no longer have a Feng residence.”
With Feng Fendai’s words, the Feng residence vanished from the capital without a trace.
The new residence was not far from the Li Palace. It was just a street away at the end of a small road. It was an extremely exquisite location. Xuan Tianyan had not told Fendai about it. This residence was one that he had originally bought for that person then personally took care of furnishing it. He had fantasized about bringing that person out of the palace and into this residence. Unfortunately, fantasy could only stay a fantasy. When Fendai brought up wanting to move, he immediately thought of this place.
This residence was not large, as it was just a two-division residence; however, it was a bit similar to Feng Yuheng’s imperial daughter’s manor. Inside, it had a Jiang Nan style, and there was a small bridge over some flowing water. Even in winter, there were still some signs of life.
Fendai immediately fell in love with this place and asked her younger brother: “Xiao Bao, do you like this place?”
The young child nodded: “Yes, Xiao Bao likes this place.”
Fendai was extremely happy and tilted her head to say to Xuan Tianyan: “Listen, even Xiao Bao said that he likes this. You’ve really done quite well on this.”
Xuan Tianyan laughed and replied: “If you two like it, that’s good. It’s not a waste of my consideration.”
Once this was said, Fendai heard it as Xuan Tianyan having specifically prepared this residence for her, and she could not help but rejoice. However, who knew that Xuan Tianyan was currently looking at her and seeing that person’s image from back then. It was as though that woman had entered this residence and was going all around. From time to time, she would turn back and say to him: “Yan, this place is so beautiful. I really like this place.” This was a dream that he had been seeing for many years. Unfortunately, it could never become a reality. Today, however, Fendai’s appearance here allowed him to see this difficult-to-realize dream. Xuan Tianyan thought to himself that he would just go with this girl’s wilfulness! He would just think of her as that person. In just an instant, he was able to fill his heart.
Fendai did not bring many servants over. There were housekeeper He Zhong, one gatekeeper, four maidservants to clean the yards, her personal maidservant, Dong Ying, and two strong servants from her courtyard. In addition to them, there were the two grannies that had been brought in for Xiao Bao. Xuan Tianyan felt that this was a bit shabby and asked: “Do you want to have some more people brought in?”
Fendai shook her head and voiced her own thoughts: “If you really are insistent on that, just find me two hidden guards who will obey me absolutely, not the kind that will receive my order then turn around and ask your opinion first.” The reason that it was brought up like this was that Xuan Tianyan had once provided Fendai with hidden guards at her request. Although those hidden guards followed Fendai, Xuan Tianyan had been worried about this girl’s wilfulness. It was such that the hidden guards still recognized him as their master. Regardless of what happened in the Feng residence, regardless of what jobs Fendai gave to them, the hidden guards would go and report to Xuan Tianyan first. After this had been discovered by Fendai, she returned the two hidden guards to Xuan Tianyan.
With this request being brought up again, Xuan Tianyan did not advise against it as he usually did. Instead, he very happily agreed, promising that they would arrive later. He even ensured Fendai: “Don’t worry. This time, I won’t go against your desires. The hidden guards given to you will belong to you. From this day forward, you will be their master. Even if you want them to come and kill me, they will need to do it.”
Feng Fendai snorted coldly, “What would I kill you for?” Though it was said like this, she was rejoicing on the inside. She had always been envious of Feng Yuheng for having a loyal hidden guard. In the capital, although hidden guards were not extraordinary existences, normal madams and young misses would not be able to have them at their side. High-ranking officials and noble people would have some, just like the late Feng Jinyuan, but it would require a lot of effort and cost a large sum. The other option was for the imperial family, who had hidden guards at their side to flaunt their status. Also, they would personally have a hand in training their hidden guards. It would not be like Feng Jinyuan had done, bringing in people from Jiang Hu.
Now, she would also have proper hidden guards who would only belong to her. This made her feel as though the gap between her and Feng Yuheng had closed just a little. It would no longer be like it had in the past, where one was in the sky and the other was under the ground.
Xuan Tianyan helped her with things for the entire morning before they ate lunch together. After that, he returned to the Li Palace. When he left, he saw Fendai come to send him off from under the wintersweet in the yard. She even gently tugged at his robes to help get rid of the wrinkles. It was that sort of “Fendai is just that sort of person” feeling that washed over him once more. In his emotional state, he raised his hand and gently pulled Fendai into his embrace, planting a very soft kiss on her forehead.
After all, Fendai was still a young girl, and this one kiss caused her face to turn hot. By the time that she had reacted, Xuan Tianyan had already left the residence. Dong Ying said with envy: “His Highness the fifth prince really treats young miss very well.”
Feng Fendai was a bit embarrassed. No matter what was said, that was a prince. All of the sons of the Xuan family had handsome features. Though the fifth prince’s appearance could not compare with Xuan Tianming or Xuan Tianhua, it was still something that normal people could not compare with. To be able to receive this sort of person’s care and protection, no matter how proud she, Feng Fendai, was, that person’s looks and status were enough to prop up that pride. It was just a pity that this girl had never known how to feel satisfied. She wanted too much, and there were too many whom she wished to surpass. In the past, the small ember that had been suppressed when she was in the Feng manor was already raging and burning brightly.
In the Yu Palace, Huang Quan brought an invitation over to Feng Yuheng, “It was sent from the Imperial Palace. Imperial Concubine Li is wanting to host a small banquet in Zhang Ning Palace, and young miss has been invited to participate in three days!” Huang Quan had an extreme distaste for Imperial Concubine Li. She even advised Feng Yuheng: “Young miss, don’t go. Just giving the money is fine. There’s no need to give her face.” When she brought up the money, Huang Quan felt a bit pained: “Young miss, it was one million taels! Was there a need to give that much?”
Feng Yuheng, however, did not see things this way, saying: “One million taels is not much. If it was not for her saying what she had said that day and having those sorts of thoughts, I would have planned to give her five million taels. As for this invitation, Huang Quan, you must know that since the invitation could be sent to the Yu Palace, it can naturally also be sent to the Jing Palace and Yuan Palace. In the end, she is an imperial concubine who has given birth to a prince. Just considering His Highness the sixth prince’s face, the women of eldest brother and second brother’s palaces will need to go into the palace to make an appearance. Also, I will say it once more. For no other reason than for sixth brother, this is a trip that must be made.”
In truth, Huang Quan understood this reasoning, but she just felt uncomfortable. She said very unhappily: “Imperial Concubine Li’s intentions really are disgusting!”
“What has Imperial Concubine Li done to make you feel disgusted?” The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, as Xuan Tianming entered with a gust of cold wind. “It really is quite cold outside today.”
After winter arrived, the days grew colder and colder. Feng Yuheng quickly got up and went over, helping him remove his cloak while saying: “Only your ears are any good. I was just chatting idly with my servant, yet you still wanted to listen in a bit. Your Highness the dignified Prince Yu, are you not quite annoying?”
Huang Quan covered her mouth and quietly laughed, quickly retreating from the room. Ever since the day they moved into the Yu Palace, Huang Quan and Wang Chuan understood “as long as His Highness is in the room, they definitely needed to step out.” If they were a step late, their lives would be in danger!
Xuan Tianming pinched Feng Yuheng’s little nose and carefully looked her over. This staring caused Feng Yuheng’s hair to stand on end, as she heard him say: “This prince’s wife really is quite beautiful. It’s no wonder so many people are interested in you.”
“Scram!” She brushed off Xuan Tianming’s claws, “What nonsense are you spouting? If there really were so many people interested in me, would you ever get a turn?”
“How could I not?” Xuan Tianming decided to speak realistically, “They are indeed interested, but they were not as quick as this prince to show interest. Just looking at it from who came first, it’s them who would not get a turn.”
Feng Yuheng felt that a certain person’s shamelessness had already begun to skyrocket. But thinking about it some more, when had this person ever had any shame? He had always been able to squeeze some reason out of an unreasonable situation, and this was not her first day knowing him. Thus she decided not to argue with him over this. She just gave him the invitation from the palace to look at then said: “I still need to go. Thinking about it, the women in eldest brother and second brother’s families will also need to make an appearance. I already went ahead and prepared one million taels of silver in banknotes. I am just letting you know.”
Xuan Tianming raised an eyebrow: “Is dear wife reporting some preparations to husband?”
She nodded: “We have gotten married. Our property will naturally be shared. One million taels is not a small amount. No matter what, I needed to tell you about it.” Though it was said like this, that money had been placed in her space and was unrelated to the Yu Palace.
Xuan Tianming naturally understood this reasoning, thus he said: “Since you said it like this, you can’t be the only one to spend this money. It needs to be taken from the Yu Palace’s treasury.” He approved greatly of his own suggestion. While saying this, he wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder and began to lead her into the inner room. For the sake of deception, he specifically dove deeper on the topic: “Sixth brother has been helping you take care of Ji An Prefecture. The money you gave to him naturally cannot be taken. It would be better to give it to his imperial concubine mother. It will also be considered a kind thought.”
Feng Yuheng nodded: “You’re right. But seeing as how Imperial Concubine Li’s mental state is not quite right, we should not make use of the Yu Palace’s money. The one million taels were stolen from the Sheng Palace. The eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Li are relatives. Thinking about it like this, it’s more reassuring to see sheep’s wool on a sheep.”
“Dear wife is very correct.” As they spoke, they reached the side of the bed. Seeing the beauty at his side still deep in thought with her brow furrowed, the corners of a certain person’s lips curled up. Let’s go! Catch the enemy by surprise, when it came to military tactics, he had studied them quite a great deal!