The Slender Waist-Chapter 126 - 98: Feng Ji, the Enchantress_2

"Quick, grab the cat!"

The two maids hurriedly caught hold of her.

"Where? Where is the cat?"

Aozai had already walked past, but Cui Zhi’s sudden outburst startled it, causing it to instinctively extend its claws and grab onto Cui Zhi’s skirt...

"Ah——"

Cui Zhi let out a long, agonized scream, "Help!"

Feng Yun immediately stood up to intervene, "Zaizai!"

Upon hearing the shout, Aozai swiftly leaped onto the thatched pavilion; clearly frightened, it tensely peered out, its back arched like a bow, emitting hissing sounds as a warning...

Feng Yun quickly apologized and had the maids pour water for Cui Zhi to calm her nerves.

"Is the miss unhurt?"

Cui Zhi hugged her arms, looking terribly nauseated, her little round face turning deathly pale.

"How could Feng Ji’s villa raise such an ugly cat..."

Feng Yun’s brow furrowed slightly, "It’s not ugly."

Cui Zhi: "But it bites and scratches guests, you should quickly have it killed."

Feng Yun, remembering the words Pei Jue had said before leaving the villa and looking at Cui Zhi’s pale face, said earnestly:

"Sorry for startling miss. Aozai usually doesn’t lash out at people; it’s very well-behaved, just a bit timid and shy. If the noble’s clothes are damaged, I will compensate..."

"There’s no need for you to compensate." Having had enough of the half-day’s aggravations, Cui Zhi said coldly to Puyang Yi:

"Pingyuan, I’m heading back to the city first."

Puyang Yi had nothing more to say at this point.

"Then you go ahead, I’ll come back later."

Feng Yun hadn’t planned on inviting them to stay for a meal, nor had she expected Puyang Yi to be so impolite. After seeing off Cui Zhi, she quickly had a meal arranged.

The noble visitors from Central Capital weren’t lacking food, and Feng Yun wasn’t willing to entertain them with lavish dishes, so she had the kitchen prepare stir-fried wild vegetables with eggs, steamed cornbread, and cold mixed fresh bamboo shoots—all things readily available in the village.

Feng Yun smiled and said, "With humble village surroundings, there’s little with which to entertain. The County Lord must find it amusing."

Puyang Yi was quite content with the meal and strolled around the villa to digest, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

"Today I received a reply from Central Capital; the host is temporarily unable to come and take care of Azuo and Ayou, and they don’t fully trust the guards to come and go, so they asked me to look after them for a while..."

Without waiting to see if Feng Yun agreed, and without considering what Azuo and Ayou wanted, she just smiled and made arrangements.

"It’s going to be a bit of trouble for Feng Ji with the two kids. I’ll come to visit again another day."

In her heart, Feng Yun thought, please don’t ever come again.

But being far from Central Capital and even with guards in tow, traveling wasn’t safe.

Especially in Huaxi Village at present, with its mix of newly registered residents encompassing all sorts of people, Feng Yun didn’t feel easy about Puyang Yi’s safety. She sent Ye Chuang with a few men to escort her safely back to Andu City before returning to report.

Unexpectedly, Puyang Yi sent back a gift with Ye Chuang.

It was presented as reciprocation for her generous hospitality.

A vine-like filigree gold hairpin was adorned with gemstones, exquisitely crafted and unique in design.

Gold and silver were extremely valuable at that time, scarcely seen among commoners. One look at the hairpin was enough to know it was an ornament worn by royalty and nobility. Moreover, the Lord of Pingyuan County was incredibly generous to give away such a gift so casually.

Puyang Yi’s favor in Jin Country was evident.

Xiaoman’s eyes glowed, "The Lord of Pingyuan County likes the lady; I like her too. That Miss Cui, however, is quite disagreeable. Coming to someone’s home as a guest, she acts as if they owe her money, with a long face. She even insulted Aozai for being ugly—pssh, Officer Ao is Aozai’s biggest fan. If he knew that Aozai was insulted by his fiancée, he would surely lose his temper..."

Feng Yun, not wanting to listen to her chatter, passed the vine hairpin over.

"Put it away."

Xiaoman responded with an "Oh" and, taking it carefully, placed it into Feng Yun’s jewelry box.

The lady had not possessed any fine jewelry before, with Lady Chen always saying they would procure it when she married. In truth, everyone knew Lady Chen was simply reluctant to spend money on Feng Yun. Otherwise, Feng Ying, who wasn’t even betrothed, had better clothing, accessories, and everyday items than Feng Yun...

Therefore, in Feng Yun’s jewelry box, there weren’t many accessories worthy of display. She usually didn’t use them because wearing anything too extravagant in Huaxi Village would seem ostentatious.

"The Lord of Pingyuan County truly is a kind person."

Xiaoman praised once more.

Feng Yun looked at her and couldn’t help but shake her head.

"When you get married, I’ll also prepare a trousseau for you."

Xiaoman’s face immediately turned red.

She couldn’t help but think of the Left Guard who had gone to Xinzhou with the General.

Being with the General, he must not be injured, right?

-

Everyone had left, and it was very quiet at Changmen Village at night.

Feng Yun knew her men and the guards left by Pei Jue would protect the estate well, and even with the Jin-Qi battlefield close at hand, she should be able to sleep peacefully...

But she couldn’t sleep, her mind occupied with thoughts for a long time...

Suddenly, she sat up as if thinking of something, took a lantern, and went to the study to take out the gift Luo Yue had given her.

The jade was polished very smooth, but the handle had a hidden compartment, probably designed for easy cleaning. Feng Yun unscrewed it to find a scent wafting to her...

Inside was actually stuffed with scented powder.

She disdainfully took it out and looked at it under the light of the lantern again.

There was a piece of paper snugly fitted inside, which would not have been noticed without attention.

But the paper had no words, just a blank space.

After pondering for a moment, Feng Yun recalled an old performance trick used by Yutangchun, where invisible characters were written with juice of a certain fruit...

So she held the paper over the fire, and immediately charcoal-colored characters appeared.

"Wei Zheng has been newly appointed as the deputy head of the Imperial Cavalry Division, and he’s not happy. Last night, drunk, he returned and said the head is surnamed Song, a favorite of the Empress Dowager... Wei Zheng is jealous and cursed the surnamed Song as a useless bum, also mentioned that the so-called bum Song has sent several other bums to Andu."

"Take care, sister. From what I see, they may be coming for you."

"Wei Zheng said he will just wait for the surnamed Song to take a big fall, and as a virtuous sister, you should naturally help your husband. If he becomes the head, it will also benefit us sisters in our actions..."

Feng Yun’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She burned the note in the fire until it was destroyed, a glint of light shining in her eyes.

She had indeed not misjudged Luo Yue.

This woman, capable of bringing her such an unexpected surprise.

Getting up the next day, Feng Yun felt refreshed and called for Xing Bing to come over and inquired about the situation of the Zhang family brothers in the village.

She then instructed, "Find two trustworthy people, and arrange for them to interact more with the Zhang family."

Xing Bing was slightly startled, "What does the young lady intend to do?"

Feng Yun said, "Know yourself, know your enemy. Arrange it and be sure to handle it cleanly. And don’t be stingy with them afterwards."

Xing Bing complied and went down.

After washing up, Feng Yun prepared to go out.

The agricultural tool workshop was set for their roof-beam raising ceremony today, and she needed to be there.

It had rained a little, and the weather had turned cooler again. Xiaoman specially found a cloak for her.

It was a semi-old piece brought over from the General Residence, which was formerly the Imperial Governor’s Office.

Feng Yun didn’t have many new clothes before, and this was one of the nicer ones.

Xiaoman then complained a bit about the former Lady Chen. Now, she dared to complain, speaking very unpleasantly, and had learned some harsh words used by village women, calling her "rotten woman" and the like, ranting quite a lot.

Normally she wouldn’t dare to say these things, but this time she couldn’t hold back, impressing Feng Yun with her boldness.

As a result, Feng Yun remembered the fox fur that Zuo Zhong brought before the start of autumn.

Daman said, "The young lady gave the fox fur to Ying Rong to help make a cloak; have you forgotten?"

Feng Yun had no impression of it.

It was very hot at that time, who would think about fox fur?

She said, "Then find some time to go to the city and ask Ying Rong if she has finished it."

Daman agreed, and the master and servants then left the estate and headed towards the agricultural tool workshop.

From a distance, they saw a crowd, happily gathered in the open area in front of the workshop, pointing and commenting excitedly.