The Slender Waist-Chapter 123 - 96: The Sentiments of a Love Letter

Feng Yun revealed a trace of surprise.

She had seen with her own eyes how Jiang Yin displayed a maiden’s coyness and shyness in front of Chunyu Yan.

She also knew that these concubines lived in fear and confusion within the manor, secretly hoping for a good fate...

Why would she reject the offer without even thinking?

Could it be that she had misunderstood something?

"Jiang Ji, please rise and speak." Feng Yun supported her arm, helping her sit up.

"If you have any unspeakable troubles, feel free to speak..."

Pausing for a moment, she gently reminded, "Even if there is something secret, I will keep it confidential for you."

Jiang Yin shook her head with some distress and struggled to say:

"I have nowhere else to go. No matter how noble the person is, in the end, they only covet my appearance. Once my beauty fades, I’d be less than pigs and dogs... I am not someone who knows how to curry favor with men. I don’t have Luo Yue’s skills to stand on my own; no matter which family I go to, life would be bitter..."

She then lifted her eyes, looking pleadingly at Feng Yun.

"Chai Ying and Nan Kui are right, following the lady is the better path. My lady, please don’t cast me out. Let me stay in the General Residence, I don’t want to go anywhere else..."

Feng Yun was very surprised.

Among the twenty concubines, Jiang Yin was the most silent.

She also seldom appeared in front of Feng Yun, just as Xiaoman had said, diligent and demure.

But that she would give up Chunyu Yan’s affection was still a surprise to Feng Yun.

She even thought that Jiang Yin might not have understood her intentions.

"You were given to the Great General by the Empress Dowager, and I do not have the authority to send you away as long as the Great General does not speak, you can always stay in the General Residence. But this is Changmen Village; I must understand your intentions..."

She paused, "You refuse to be with Chunyu Yan, are you hoping for the Great General’s favor?"

Jiang Yin saw the smile at the corner of Feng Yun’s mouth, faint and cold.

She hurriedly shook her head, "I don’t have such fortune, I’ve long since given up hope."

Feng Yun said, "If you stay, without the General’s favor, and you miss out on a good marriage prospect, won’t you regret it, won’t you feel it’s a pity?"

"No regrets, not a pity." Jiang Yin shook her head repeatedly, looking very agitated, as though she was greatly afraid Feng Yun would send her away. Her eyes were tear-filled, making her look pitiable.

"I won’t seduce the Great General; if you will let me stay, I’ll be content with just a meal to eat, and I’ll work diligently. Whether you treat me as a servant or a concubine is all up to you..."

Feng Yun’s eyebrows knitted slightly.

She still felt there was something odd about this matter.

"Why are you so insistent?"

Jiang Yin teared up, "I am afraid. Afraid of being taken away again, sold to an unknown family. My lady, I only wish for stability, a place where I can breathe easily in these troubled times..."

As she spoke, her body even began to tremble slightly.

Feng Yun hesitated for a moment, then offered a few words of consolation. Remembering her sortie from the previous day to find her family, she asked:

"Did you find your parents and younger brother?"

Jiang Yin’s tears fell in torrents, weeping harder than before; she could hardly catch her breath.

"My parents and younger brother... they... they... have died."

Died?

Feng Yun was very surprised.

"How did they die?"

Jiang Yin laughed amidst her tears.

"They all say they died of hunger. When they were found, my brother was curled up in my mother’s embrace, and my father held my mother. The three of them were hidden under Wuting Bridge, starved to death."

Her voice hoarse, she could barely speak through her tears.

This deep sorrow was familiar to Feng Yun.

The helpless sobs carried an extremely gloomy atmosphere that quickly enveloped the room, making it hard to breathe.

No wonder she was so frightened...

Feng Yun was silent for a moment, then squeezed her arm in a comforting manner, "It’s okay now. If you don’t want to go, no one can take you away, I’ll protect you."

"My lady..." Jiang Yin threw herself onto her lap, crying bitterly, soaking Feng Yun’s knees with her tears, her sobs intermittent.

"Brother Lu helped me; I bought three straw mats in the city, and we buried them in the wasteland outside the old Chenghuang Temple at Andu... close to the Bodhisattva, maybe receiving some incense offerings. They won’t starve even in the afterlife."

Feng Yun didn’t speak, just gently patted her.

After Jiang Yin vented all her emotions, Feng Yun called Xiaoman to bring her a bowl of sweetened silver ear and millet porridge. The porridge was thick and came with a spoon.

This was an extremely good and precious food at the time.

Jiang Yin’s eyes brimmed with tears, shaking her head.

Feng Yun said, "When your heart is bitter, eating something sweet will make you feel better."

Jiang Yin sobbed as she took the bowl, looking at her and asked, "Have you also suffered, my lady?"

Feng Yun smiled implicitly, "Which woman among the commoners of this world doesn’t suffer? If not bitten by dogs, then chased by wolves. And if there are neither dogs nor wolves, one can hardly avoid a few mosquito bites. Nobody is free from suffering."

Jiang Yin seemed not fully to grasp her words, awkwardly kneeling at the wooden table to consume the porridge.

After finishing a bowl of warm porridge, her emotions stabilized, though her eyes and the tip of her nose remained flushed, looking pitiable.

"I don’t know who that gentleman was yesterday, but if he seeks anything, please refuse on my behalf, my lady."

Feng Yun hummed in acknowledgment.

This was an unexpected outcome, but she respected it.

Even if Jiang Yin was the very Lian Ji whom Chunyu Yan had been searching for all along.

She was unwilling, and Feng Yun would not hand her over.

"You rest for now, don’t worry about anything else, leave everything to me."

When Feng Yun left Jiang Yin’s dwelling, she was greeted by a chilling autumn breeze upon stepping outside.

The weather was getting colder.

The wind brought goosebumps.

Xiaoman was oblivious, saying with a cheerful smile, "If my lady were a man, all the concubines in the estate could marry you and live life together..."

Feng Yun didn’t pay him any attention and looked toward Daman, who hurried over.

"Miss, Ye the guard is looking for you."

Feng Yun nodded and walked through the wooden corridor, spotting Ye Chuang standing in the yard at a glance.

In the past, with Ao Qi present, Ye Chuang had tactfully kept himself hidden, not wandering in front of Feng Yun. Now that Ao Qi had gone to Xinzhou, he had taken over this often wandering role.

"Miss, there is a letter from Xinzhou..."

Ye Chuang dared not look into Feng Yun’s eyes.

Those eyes, so beautiful and sharp, seemed to see right through people.

Feng Yun took the letter, "Who sent it?"

Ye Chuang kept his eyes low and didn’t make a sound.

Seeing his expression, Feng Yun’s heart tightened.

Only after opening the letter did she discover that it was written by Ao Qi.

Feng Yun asked, "Is there a letter from the Great General?"

Ye Chuang shook his head, "No news."

Feng Yun uttered a faint "hm" and looked down to read the letter.

It is often said that a person’s handwriting mirrors their character, and Ao Qi’s handwriting truly did no justice to his face.

Pei Jue’s characters were bold and powerful, each stroke sharp as blades and spears, emanating a killing aura, while Ao Qi’s handwriting was... well...

Hard to look at.

Indeed, he was a young man who, out of admiration for his uncle, had neglected his studies.

Yet, such childish handwriting carried on at length.

He told Feng Yun everything he saw in Xinzhou, what he heard, what he ate, how he and his brothers in the camp drilled, joked, and secretly drank, writing down everything like a child who hadn’t grown up...

But in an instant, he would switch to an adult’s tone, telling Feng Yun to eat well, sleep well, and remember to add clothes in the morning and evening.

In the big fish tank in the yard, where he kept the fish he caught, he went on to say, "The crucian carp should be stewed, the carp should be braised; if Daman wants to eat, there are more than a dozen loaches inside, all for it..."

"Daman is quite stubborn and never lets me kiss its face." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"When I return from fighting enemies and earning merit, I must reciprocate that affection."

"Tell Daman to behave."

"Don’t worry, I am perfectly fine."

Like this, he wrote much more.

Ao Qi was like a chatterbox.

But reading through the whole letter, there wasn’t a trace of the tense atmosphere of Xinzhou City, nor any urgent matters, just like a mundane family letter.

Yet how could there be no tension at the front lines of two battling armies?

The boy must be worried she would be concerned, no?

Indeed, as long as the uncle wasn’t by her side but by his, Ao Qi was always good.

Feng Yun suddenly thought of Cui Zhi in the General Residence.

She asked Ye Chuang: "Has there been a family letter delivered to the General Residence for the guard Ao?"

Ye Chuang shook his head.

Perhaps feeling that was inappropriate, he simply said:

"With Ayou and Azuo both here with Miss, Ao Qi probably figured that telling Miss would be like informing Ayou and Azuo as well."

Feng Yun nodded.

Indeed, in Ao Qi’s eyes, his family consisted only of Ayou and Azuo.

Feng Yun asked Xiaoman to call the two kids over and to pass the letter to her.

"When Ayou and Azuo come, you read it to them."

Xiaoman made a face as if facing beheading, quite pitiful.

"Please spare your servant, Miss. Young Master Ao recognizes more characters than I do; he doesn’t need me to read for him..."

Feng Yun teased her for a bit, and seeing that Ye Chuang was still standing there, not leaving, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow in surprise.

"Guard Ye, is there anything else?"

Ye Chuang fidgeted with his fingers, hesitating.

"Miss, will you be writing back to Ao Qi?"

Feng Yun frowned slightly, then he smiled again and added, "Perhaps mentioning the current state of Ayou and Azuo would be good too. Ao Qi must be worried about his younger siblings."

"Hmm," Feng Yun felt this was indeed appropriate.

She had a duty to honor a trust, as Ao Qi had helped her plenty of times before.

So she immediately went back inside, ground the ink, and picked up her brush, choosing a few incidents involving the two troublemakers of the Ao Family at the village to write about, and reminding Ao Qi, "The General is hot-tempered; his irritability increases at the change of the seasons, so take care of him and avoid provoking his anger. Safety above all else is paramount."

After finishing the letter and checking again that it was appropriate, she handed it to Ye Chuang.

"Guard Ye, thank you for your trouble."

Ye Chuang took the letter and let out a long breath.

He was Ao Qi’s best friend, and although Ao Qi didn’t speak of it, Ye Chuang could see through his little schemes.

Harboring feelings for someone unattainable—Ao Qi had some nerve.

And he...

Clutching the weighty letter in his hand, felt he was even more audacious for allowing Ao Qi to act so recklessly.

Someday, if the Great General finds out he is complicit, these letters might turn into the blade that strikes his own head...

He shouldn’t be doing this.

But he simply couldn’t bear to see Ao Qi with a pained look in his eyes.

What a sin!

One day, it would be the death of him.