The first thing Lady Northern Feng did after she left the imperial palace was to summon Feng Wu.
“The last thing His Majesty said was that you could address His Royal Highness as ‘cousin’?” Lady Northern Feng frowned.
Feng Wu was confused. “Didn’t His Majesty want me to stay away from Jun Linyuan? Why would he want me to become Jun Linyuan’s cousin?”
“I think I know why.”
“Why?”
“Because Princess Wanning used to follow him around and he ended up making this announcement.”
Lady Northern Feng looked into Feng Wu’s eyes and stressed each word. “He said that he would never marry a cousin. From then on, all those princesses stopped throwing themselves at him and left him in peace.”
Feng Wu said, “He can do that? Holy shit!”
Lady Northern Feng smacked her on the back of her head. “You’re a girl; mind your language.”
“…Alright.” Feng Wu rubbed her head.
Lady Northern Feng had already switched into “mum mode” and had started to smack Feng Wu around like she did with Feng Xun.
“Did you offend His Majesty?” Lady Northern Feng asked suspiciously.
“Of course not! I only said nice things and he was so happy!” Feng Wu said in a solemn tone.
Lady Northern Feng gave Feng Wu a strange look. “Then why did His Majesty tell me that I should keep the news inside the family and forget about the big party?”
Feng Wu said, “Well…”
“And I have to wait until the empress dowager is fully recovered.” Lady Northern Feng sighed. “I have no problem with that. I won’t be in the mood anyway. But —”
Lady Northern Feng wasn’t convinced!
“Why can’t I throw a big party?! I was planning to tell the whole world that you’re my daughter now, and no one will ever pick on you again!”
Feng Wu said, “Well… keeping it quiet is fine with me, actually.”
“No, it’s not! Grow a spine! Now tell me. What did you do to offend His Majesty?”
“…His Majesty asked me what I thought of Jun Linyuan.” Feng Wu looked at Lady Northern Feng. “What do you think I should say?”
“Say that he’s the best! Spare no effort!”
“Yes, that was what I did…”
“And His Majesty got mad?”
“…Yes. But I think I overdid it and led him to the wrong conclusion. His Majesty thinks I’m in love with Jun Linyuan…” Feng Wu wanted to cry. “Why on earth would I fall in love with that guy? That’s never going to happen! Ahhhh —”
Feng Wu clenched her fists in frustration.
“Hahaha, hahahaha —” Lady Northern Feng convulsed with laughter and she laughed until her belly ached and her eyes watered. “Ouch, my belly —”
Feng Wu rolled her eyes at Lady Northern Feng.
“That makes sense, hahaha —” After a while, Lady Northern Feng finally stopped laughing. “That was why His Majesty made Junjun your cousin and told me to keep you as far away from court as possible. I see why he was taking all the precautions now.”
Feng Wu was frustrated. “Against me? Why? Jun Linyuan finds me repulsive! He’ll never like me!”
“Kiddo…” Lady Northern Feng jabbed Feng Wu’s forehead with a finger. “With your good looks, you pose a threat to a lot of people just by showing up. Of course they’ll raise their guard. You haven’t reached your full potential yet and they fear what you’ll become.”
Feng Wu didn’t say anything.
“This won’t do! I need to prod Ah Xun in his cultivation!”
Feng Wu was dumbfounded.
“Only then will he be able to protect you in the future. Otherwise…”