The Slender Waist-Chapter 299 - 208: The Lover’s Heart is Like Iron

The Feng Family party arrived at the Bingzhou Posthouse and was greeted by someone.

Xiao Cheng was staying in a makeshift palace at the former Governor’s Office, not far from the posthouse. After bathing and changing into his official robes, Feng Jingteng went with Feng Ying to pay a visit.

Feng Ying rode in a carriage, while Feng Jingteng was on horseback.

The father and daughter had little to say to each other on the way. When they arrived at the jade steps outside the palace, Feng Ying suddenly stopped and turned to look at the haggardness on Feng Jingteng’s face.

"Father must be very worried about elder sister," she said.

Caught off guard by her sudden question, Feng Jingteng’s lips moved, but no words came out.

Feng Ying clenched her hands slightly and looked at him with a cold gaze.

"The day before elder sister left the city, mother said that if father chose me to leave the city and surrender, I must not bring shame to the Feng family..." Her eyes then lowered, and the corners of her lips tightened slightly.

"A daughter should die before the enemy to preserve her integrity, rather than shame her family by surrendering herself to the enemy general."

Her words chillingly blew into Feng Jingteng’s heart.

The father and daughter stared at each other in silent stillness.

The reputation and dignity of the family were paramount to its members and essential for its continuation.

Had Feng Yun been unable to bear the humiliation and killed herself in the Northern Yong camp,

with her death, the disgrace would have vanished, and then Pei Jue, who forced a girl to her death, would be utterly disgraced...

"If it were me, I wouldn’t have put father in such an awkward position," Feng Ying said.

Her words left Feng Jingteng rooted to the spot.

Yes, he felt embarrassed.

Although nobody would mention it outright, many still knew that he had once surrendered his daughter to save himself, and that daughter had not chosen death, but had lived on in humiliation, attending to the enemy general...

No matter how harshly the Chen Family scolded, for Feng Jingteng, Pei Jue’s marriage to Feng Yun in Bingzhou had somewhat salvaged the family’s face.

At least she was no longer a nameless concubine.

She was no longer lowly, and the father naturally felt honored.

Feng Jingteng sighed, "What’s the use of saying these things now? Let’s go, we’ll see the Emperor."

The father and daughter were stopped by the guards outside the door.

Xuchi bowed and said, "The Emperor has caught a slight cold and will not see any guests for the next couple of days. Please return, Milord."

Feng Jingteng hastily lifted his sleeve, bowed deeply, and said with utmost respect toward the direction of the door, "Your humble subject Feng Jingteng prays for His Majesty’s health and eternal blessings."

He performed the ritual with utmost propriety.

Looking at her father, Feng Ying picked up her skirt and said, "I will go see His Majesty."

Xuchi could stop Feng Jingteng but did not have the grounds to stop Feng Ying, as she was Xiao Cheng’s legally married wife and their mistress. He bowed and said yes, then apologized to Feng Jingteng with another bow before leading her inside.

Jixiang was attending by the bed, using the Imperial Physician’s method to reduce Xiao Cheng’s fever.

Feng Ying approached and asked, "Is His Majesty feeling any better?"

Jixiang had red-rimmed eyes and shook her head, "He has developed another fever just now."

"Ayun... Ayun..." Xiao Cheng was soaked in cold sweat, his face flushed as if he were asleep yet not asleep, his eyes tightly closed, and he seemed to be muttering something.

Feng Ying was silent, bowing her head to listen more clearly to what he was saying.

"Ayun..." Xiao Cheng murmured with his lips barely moving, talking non-sensically as if in a delirium, his brows furrowed, his face contorted in pain, and as if suddenly stimulated, he reached out and grabbed Feng Ying’s arm, pulling her close with force and touching the back of her hand in a begging manner.

"Don’t... don’t die, I can’t bear it, you mustn’t die..."

Feng Ying tentatively placed her other hand on his forehead.

"So hot," she exclaimed.

She looked up at Jixiang and asked, "Why has the fever not subsided yet?"

Jixiang shook her head, "The medicine we fed him, he vomited all out again. The Imperial Physician said that a troubled heart can lead to all sorts of ailments, long-held grief can turn into sickness, and only the heart’s medicine can cure a heart’s disease..."

Feng Ying’s face darkened and showed a hint of anger.

"What heart’s disease does His Majesty have?"

Jixiang bowed her head, standing there not daring to speak.

Feng Ying sat pale-faced by the bedside, watching Xiao Cheng lost in his own dreams, silent and still, allowing him to wrap her arm into his embrace.

His body was burning hot, yet he shivered slightly.

"Cold... Ayun... I’m cold... don’t leave..."

Feng Ying bit her lower lip hard, feeling a rush of grievances, a mix of hate and anger.

"I’ll give you the begonias... although they have no scent... they have affection..."

Xiao Cheng mumbled on, like a drunkard speaking in his sleep.

Feng Ying couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, half of her body leaning against his chest.

But the word "begonias" reminded her of an old incident at the Jingling Royal Residence.

Among the begonias, where she went with her maids to admire the flowers and wanted to pick a few for a vase, she was refused by Xiao Cheng who then, with a stern face, said, "Flowers may be silent but they have tears, those who love flowers do not pluck them", which left her speechless with embarrassment, sulking for a long while after returning home.

However, the very next day, Feng Yun returned home holding a branch of a begonia festooned with flowers, her face beaming as she instructed the maidservant to arrange it.

They said it had been plucked from the begonia forest in the Jingling Royal Residence.

Feng Ying wouldn’t have it, "Brother Xiao San said no picking flowers, it must be stolen."

The maidservant said, "Young Master Xiao San saw us picking them, and he didn’t say anything about it."

At that time, Feng Ying was too young to understand and thought that a lover’s heart was as cold as iron. She believed Xiao San was distant and aloof to all the ladies, unapproachable, with an invisible distance between them. She absolutely didn’t believe Xiao San would agree to Feng Yun picking flowers. She went before her mother to complain about her, found an excuse to punish her, and trampled all the flowers to pieces. Only then did she feel relieved.

It turned out, Xiao Cheng had always been partial to Feng Yun.

"It hurts so much... Ayun... It’s so painful..."

Xiao Cheng gasped low, seemingly enduring great agony.

A flicker of spite flashed across Feng Ying’s eyes, "Where does it hurt?"

"Here..." Xiao Cheng pulled her hand to his chest, "Right here, Ayun, it’s killing me..."

Tears began to fall uncontrollably from Feng Ying’s eyes.

"What is wrong with me, how am I not as good as her..."

Jixiang found it harder and harder to watch.

He had personally seen how the Emperor doted on Feng Shi Er Niang at the bamboo ferry and if he were to wake up knowing that in his coma, he had embraced Madame Feng and confided his feelings, and they had not stopped it, he would likely be held accountable.

"Madame," Jixiang said respectfully, "It’s time for His Majesty to be cleaned and take his medicine."

Feng Ying looked up, "Are you rushing me out?"

She didn’t like this servant, Jixiang, who wasn’t tactful and not as perceptive and sensible as Ping’an. Consequently, her tone was not friendly.

Jixiang shuddered with fear, awkwardly saying, "This servant wouldn’t dare. It’s just that... His Majesty really needs to be cleaned and take his medicine now."

Feng Ying said, "I am His Majesty’s wife. Can’t I stay by the bedside and attend to the sick?"

Jixiang pleaded repeatedly, "Madame, please calm your anger. It’s His Majesty’s command, and this servant is merely following orders..."

Angry words had rushed to Feng Ying’s throat but she swallowed them back down.

After all, he wasn’t her servant; she couldn’t punish or scold him at will.

"Let it be," she said slowly, pushing herself up. She concealed the displeasure on her face, adopting a pitiable look as she gazed at the Emperor on the sickbed and said gently, "When His Majesty awakens, tell him that I have come to visit."

Jixiang bowed his head in respect, "This servant understands."

-

Chunyu Yan had traveled between Xinzhou and Bingzhou twice, seizing the opportunity to pass messages. Coming out of Pei Jue’s camp, he went directly to Chunmeng Hall to inquire about Feng Yun’s progress with the construction deadline. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Once the date is set, it cannot be changed. How many days do you have left until completion?"

Because of their business partnership, Feng Yun took him to Peace Negotiation Hall and asked Cong Wentian face to face, receiving a definite affirmative answer.

Five days to raise the beams, two days to top off the structure, and one day left for the transport of furniture and furnishings, there was plenty of time.

Chunyu Yan knew they were on a tight schedule for this construction deadline and nodded in understanding.

"Before the official peace negotiations, both sides will send advance envoys to Mingquan Town to inspect the Peace Negotiation Hall and to confirm details once more. The inspection date is set for the first day of the twelfth lunar month."

Feng Yun smiled, "The Princely Heir hasn’t thought of asking for a couple more days?"

Chunyu Yan glanced at her, "The date has been calculated and agreed upon by both sides; it’s difficult to change now."

The corners of Feng Yun’s eyes slightly rose, "You’re the one who took the money..."

He hadn’t intervened from start to finish, merely using the name of a middleman from Yunchuan, making the money too easily.

In terms of business, Chunyu Yan chuckled softly, "Once the payment is complete, I’ll give you an additional ten percent."

So generous? Feng Yun could hardly believe it.

She tilted her head skeptically, "What’s the catch?"

The last time he took her in, it brought Xiao Cheng to her.

She dared not accept this ten percent profit without caution and was reluctant to trust this man easily.

Seeing her guard up, Chunyu Yan lowered his head and chuckled softly, his eyes alluringly sticky as though they were pulling strings, irresistibly charming.

"Feng Twelve, do you really distrust me that much?"

Feng Yun, "I don’t trust you."

Chunyu Yan’s lips curved into a smile, "After all, considering our relationship..."

"Don’t try to cozy up to me," retorted Feng Yun, who wasn’t easily swayed by male charm. She wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and spoke earnestly, "On this trip to Bingzhou, aside from matters of the peace negotiation, you must have asked Xiao Cheng for some benefits, right?"

Chunyu Yan’s expression grew serious, not as charming as before.

"I said there was no advantage, yet you don’t believe me."

Feng Yun smiled but did not speak, her slightly pursed lips carrying a hint of mockery.

Chunyu Yan felt unnerved under her gaze, letting out a slightly cold laugh as his eyes grew deeper.

"Xiao Cheng is lovesick and gravely ill; in such a situation, what benefits do you think I could have received?"