Chapter 58

King Chu had just returned to Dian Nan, still not fully recovered, when the imperial decree arrived.

“…”

Looking at the imperial decree inviting the feudal kings to the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, King Chu clenched the dark golden silk and satin, his refined face momentarily contorted.

At this moment, what came to his mind was the fear of the Crown Prince revealed in Li Ziyans words.

Subsequently, within a short period of time, there were a series of changes among officials in the capital, and the court began to rectify governance. Several times, they disrupted King Chu’s layout.

Not to mention distant matters, King Chu had been operating in Dian Nan for many years. Though there were some rebellious subordinates, most of the officers and generals were under his control. Initially, he didn’t take the arrival of Feng Yuexian’s letter from the court seriously. He simply sidelined him, avoiding him in all matters and preventing him from sending messages to Feng Yuexian.

However, due to the blow to his situation, King Chu couldn’t help but become more cautious. He then discovered that Feng Yunyi had been infiltrating military affairs. In silence, he had even won over some low-ranking soldiers, which infuriated King Chu, making it difficult for him to sleep.

These two people, the Crown Prince and Feng Yuexian! They were like festering sores attached to his bones, not giving him a moment’s peace!

Fortunately, the high-ranking officers of the army were under his control. This allowed King Chu to sleep after tossing and turning. Otherwise, he would truly fear being stormed by the soldiers of the Feng Family in his dreams.

On the side of the capital, fortunately, Li Fang, the commander of the southern army in Jingwei, had always been loyal to him.

Although the Crown Prince had removed some minor officials and caused some pain to King Chu, as long as the military power of the southern army was in his hands, King Chu still had the strength to resist the palace—

If necessary, he could even mobilize the Northern Army directly to pressure the palace.

But he didn’t want to act like this unless it was absolutely necessary, as it would damage his reputation. King Chu considered himself to have integrity and didn’t want to be scorned by future historians.

Therefore, King Chu had always instructed Li Zi to find weaknesses in the Crown Prince while in the capital—

The Second Prince was already a disgraced figure. As long as the Crown Prince fell, it would be a done deal for him.

There was no news from the capital yet, but the schedule was approaching. King Chu had to set off for the capital to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

In the study.

Kang Xueying presented a list:

“The festival gifts for the palace have been fully prepared. There shouldn’t be any mistakes. Please review them, Your Highness.”

King Chu, holding the thick stack of gift lists, looked down at Kang Xueying, with a probing gaze in his eyes.

After returning from the assassination mission empty-handed and losing many good hands, King Chu had doubts about why the palace had made such thorough preparations.

It was possible to attribute this to the increasingly fierce methods of the Crown Prince, but those in power always had suspicions. Since returning from the capital, King Chu had become suspicious of the very few confidants who had accompanied him to the capital.

He placed the gift list on the table, hesitated for a moment, and made a decision.

Those who had accompanied him to the capital last time couldn’t go this time.

“When we go this time, the queen must also accompany us. It’s inevitable that Mr. Kang will stay in Dian Nan to assist Mr. Zheng in handling the affairs of the mansion. Only then can I be at ease.”

King Chu’s expression was gentle and trusting, but the roles were already clear. Although he had always trusted Kang Xueying to manage the family affairs, this time he entrusted the great responsibility to Mr. Zheng, who managed the mansion.

The steward of the mansion was his biological son, lacking in intelligence but more than faithful.

He would also instruct Mr. Zheng to keep a close eye on Kang Xueying and other confidants who went to the capital with him.

Under King Chu’s gaze, Kang Xueying bowed, showing no signs of abnormality:

“As instructed by His Highness, I dare not disobey.”

“Estimated time, King Chu has already set off.”

In the imperial garden, Feng Yuexian’s expression was relaxed as she played chess with Song Pianxian in the pavilion.

Song Pianxian was not skilled in chess, only moderately proficient. It was only recently that she had received careful instruction from Feng Yuexian.

With a “good teacher” to teach her, she progressed rapidly. Under Feng Yuexian’s alternating tight and loose attacks, she could also fight evenly, adding to the enjoyment.

At this moment, she picked up a chess piece, seriously considering the game. She casually said:

“It’s time to end this.”

After speaking, Song Pianxian made her move, and as the chess piece fell, it made a clear and powerful sound.

Feng Yuexian smiled and was about to speak when Song Yingguang entered the pavilion with a bundle of flowers in her hands, her expression soft:

“Brother, look at the flowers Yingguang picked. Do you like them?”

Behind her, her palace attendant bowed and laughed:

“Seeing the two highnesses here, the Princess picked many flower branches and said she wanted to give them to the Highnesses to decorate the Eastern Palace.”

Upon hearing the palace attendant’s words, Song Yingguang felt embarrassed.

She hugged the bunch of flowers in her arms and covered half of her small face with them.

Only her clear and innocent eyes were visible, blinking as she looked at Song Pianxian, her pearl necklace on her head adding to her adorable appearance.

Song Pianxian didn’t have much feeling towards the child, neither liking nor disliking her, but cute and sensible children were unlikely to evoke dislike in anyone.

Seeing Song Yingguang’s demeanor, Song Pianxian smiled and said, “Yingguang is considerate.”

“Has Your Highness accepted it?” Song Yingguang’s eyes sparkled with a smile as she was about to hand the flower to Xue Qing behind Song Pianxian.

She hadn’t interacted much with other palace attendants. Looking up at Xue Qing now, she spoke softly, “Can you help His Highness take it back to the palace?”

As a dark guard, Xue Qing instinctively reached out to take it.

“Yingguang only asked His Highness, not yet asking Your Highness.”

Xue Qing’s hand paused in mid-air.

Song Yingguang was momentarily stunned.

Holding the flower branch, she looked up at her sister-in-law.

Her sister-in-law was holding a chess piece between her fingertips, exuding extreme beauty. Song Yingguang had even thought before that if she could grow up to be a beauty like her sister-in-law, she would be willing to eat one less piece of pastry every day—no, two less butterfly pastries.

But for some reason, Song Yingguang felt a little intimidated by her.

Perhaps because they had never spoken before?

“When I am with you and your sister-in-law, you should only call me by my name. Calling me anything else may upset your sister-in-law.”

Song Pianxian’s voice was very gentle, showing patience with the child.

Song Yingguang glanced at her, then at Feng Yuexian.

She took a small step towards Feng Yuexian, timidly asking, “These are flowers I picked. Would Sister-in-law like them?”

She lifted her face and saw her sister-in-law glance lightly at the flowers. Although not as warm as her brother, she didn’t scold her either, simply saying lazily, “They’re acceptable.”

Song Yingguang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Would Sister-in-law like to accept them?”

Feng Yuexian glanced at the nearby Yin Xue, who understood and stepped forward to gently take the delicate thing from Song Yingguang’s arms.

Only then did Feng Yuexian say, “Some pastry was made in the small kitchen, I’ll have some sent to you later.”

More food?

Song Yingguang’s face lit up, suddenly realizing that her sister-in-law’s demeanor was not only beautiful but also very gentle and kind.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law!”

She spoke crisply, smiling sweetly.

After Song Yingguang left, Feng Yuexian’s tone sounded a bit disdainful, but her moves were light and swift:

“Just a little snack, children are easy to please.”

Song Pianxian glanced at her, hiding a smile in her eyes.

“Why do you say I would be upset?” Feng Yuexian chatted casually, “I wouldn’t bother with her.”

Song Pianxian said:

“Yuexian is generous, but He Jieyu and Yingguang were suppressed by the Empress before, making them timid.”

“When you and I are together, and she only approaches me, it’s already improper in terms of etiquette and lacks respect for you as the Princess.”

Song Pianxian raised her gaze.

“Whether you mind is up to you. If she’s wrong, it should be pointed out.”

Feng Yuexian sighed lightly.

Song Pianxian was pondering how to respond to Feng Yuexian’s attack. It took her a while to realize that Feng Yuexian had sighed.

“Why sigh?” asked Song Pianxian.

Feng Yuexian smiled but didn’t answer.

How could there be someone like Song Pianxian?

Even with such trivial matters, she took them seriously. When pointing out Song Yingguang’s mistakes, she used an extremely gentle approach. Not talking about rules and etiquette, just saying that it would hurt someone’s feelings.

Every word and action exuded gentleness and respect, as if it were her innate ability, a belief carved into her bones.

Such a person, how could one not be moved?

After the Second Prince’s incident, the palace was tense for a while, with each palace keeping to itself.

When the calm lasted until July, it was like the fish below cautiously poking their heads out. The people in the palace dared to relax a bit and come out.

The old Emperor’s interest in the harem was faint, but the people in the harem still had to live their lives. Otherwise, it would be no different from being imprisoned. Without someone to talk to, it would be stifling.

During these days, when Song Pianxian went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Feng Yuexian couldn’t go anymore with the Emperor present. She only chose the days when Song Pianxian was not around to leave the palace for errands or manage her own territory in the harem.

After managing for a long time, inevitably, she had to deal with the concubines.

Among them, Lady Ning Ningshan was closest to her. According to Lady Ning, it was because Feng Yuexian had saved her from the hands of the Virtuous Consort.

Feng Yuexian had rarely clashed head-on with the Virtuous Consort. If not for that, she might really not remember when she had saved Lady Ning.

No recollection.

Feng Yuexian managed the harem because no one else did, and also to plant her own people. She never paid much attention to the concubines, only allowing the Internal Affairs Department to distribute funds according to regulations.

But for the low-ranking concubines who had been withheld by the Internal Affairs Department for many years and finally received fair treatment, there was simply no better gesture.

For a moment, the name of the Princess Consort’s kindness spread in the harem, and her popularity was not low.

If it weren’t for the difference in status and identity, these women might still want to thank Feng Yuexian properly.

But Lady Ning was completely different. Because of the previous incident, she obviously regarded herself as the “assistant to the Princess Consort in the harem,” and she would come to Feng Yuexian to report whenever there was an opportunity.

Yesterday, Lady He took the little Princess to play and unexpectedly met the Princess. Everyone said the Princess was extremely beautiful and stunning.

Today, Lady Xu organized a game of leaf cards, and the Second Prince’s Consort also attended, almost causing all the hairpins on her head to fall out.

Tomorrow, a young noblewoman passed by the Palace of Joy and was called in by the Third Prince to be bullied. Fortunately, Xiancao from beside Lady Xi stopped it before it escalated.

The day after tomorrow, one of the Empress’s maids blabbered and revealed the matter of the Empress and the beauty polishing the mirror. Everyone in the palace knew about it—

“Wait, what about the last one?”

Feng Yuexian pressed her brow.

Was life among the concubines so colorful?

Lady Ning said, “Ahem, it’s just the usual in the palace, it’s just that such careless servants are really rare.”

“…” It had become the norm.

But among the concubines, especially the low-ranking ones, most had never been favored. They were just keeping each other company and being self-sufficient… Well, it wasn’t excessive.

Most importantly, it had nothing to do with her.

She wouldn’t even meddle in the quarrels among the palace concubines, so how could she manage whether they fought in bed or not?

It’s just—

Feng Yuexian’s mind circled around, and for now, she brushed aside this matter.

Consort Hui’s birthday was coming up, and Consort Hui had given her such a big favor. Feng Yuexian believed in reciprocating, so she would organize a birthday banquet for her.

She said to Lady Ning Ningshan:

“Are you—”

“I’m not, I didn’t.” Lady Ning Ningshan interrupted loudly.

“…”

Originally, Feng Yuexian was going to ask Lady Ning if she was free and could help deliver invitations to each palace personally, but she had no interest in Lady Ning’s private life. She simply said in a flat tone:

“For Consort Hui’s birthday banquet, help with the arrangements.”

“Oh.” Lady Ning Ningshan suddenly realized and asked, “Who will be invited?”

“All the palaces will be invited, the palace hasn’t been lively in a long time.”

“That’s good, Consort Hui Big Sister will definitely be very happy—If all the palaces are invited, what about the Palace of Eternal Longevity?”

Feng Yuexian paused.

As for the Palace of Eternal Longevity…

She smirked:

“At the Palace of Eternal Longevity, I’ll go in person.”

When dealing with affairs in the harem, the Princess Consort always maintained a calm demeanor, as if nothing could stir her emotions.

The coldness exuded was as icy as the chilly air, beautiful like the misty fairy wind, but actually carried a chill.

It was the first time Lady Ning Ningshan had seen the Princess Consort show some color, and it was truly dazzling.

Lady Ning Ningshan took a while to come back to her senses and left with a dizzy head.

As usual, when the day came for Song Pianxian to go to the Palace of Eternal Longevity, Feng Yuexian went to find her.

Feng Yuexian truly enjoyed being with Song Pianxian at the Palace of Eternal Longevity.

When she went to give her orders, she noticed Yin Xue looking at her with hesitation.

“What’s wrong?” Feng Yuexian asked curiously.

Could it be that Yin Xue, who was usually so timid, had something to say today?

Yin Xue cautiously said:

“Are we… really going to the Palace of Eternal Longevity?”

Feng Yuexian nodded:

“Yes—Is there something else?”

Yin Xue shook her head, her eyes filled with sorrow and anxiety.

She didn’t dare to say, she didn’t dare to ask.

She didn’t even dare to drink her favorite peach blossom wine or osmanthus wine anymore, afraid that she would end up like the palace maids from the adjacent Palace of Manifest Joy, who sold out their mistress at the first opportunity.

She was too miserable.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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