Feng Xiang Rong had moved and hit Fu Ya with a “smack.” The ferocity of it caused the people in the room to shudder. The servants that had come with Fu Ya rushed to grab a hold of Xiang Rong; however, they heard Xiang Rong coldly say: “I am the Feng family’s third young miss, and I was personally appointed as the master of the fourth prince, Xuan Tian Yi. Are you sure that you want to take action?”
The people taking care of Fu Ya were simply maidservants, grannies and strong men that had been bought. None of them were able to stand up to her. How could they bear the fear that came from Xiang Rong’s words? Fu Ya watched as her people retreated with looks of horror on their faces. Fury filled her heart; however, she also saw the difference between her and those that were really of noble families. They were able to have a reliable pillar of support, regardless of their own abilities, as the names alone were quite frightening. But what about herself? The servants at her side were bought. They were unskilled workers bought from slave merchants, and their loyalty depended on money. They also had not seen much and could be scared with just a few words. As for herself, she relied entirely on Yao shi while referring to herself as Young Miss Feng. In truth, she was just pretending. In the face of the real Feng family’s young miss, what could she be considered?
Xiang Rong looked at Fu Ya with an ice-cold gaze that was without a trace of emotion; however, Fu Ya wanted to regain some footing, thus she bit the bullet and said: “Third Sister.”
Who knew that Xiang Rong would immediately reply: “Don’t call me third sister. There isn’t the slightest bit of relation between you and me. Moreover, I still don’t want to die. The Feng family does not want to die. You cursed the Emperor and Imperial Concubine Yun in front of so many people in the capital. Fu Ya, if you don’t want to live, don’t drag the Feng family and the Yao family down with you! No matter how much enmity exists between you and Imperial Daughter Ji An, go and settle it outside for yourselves. Don’t behave so atrociously in my embroidery shop. You insulting the Emperor and Imperial Concubine Yun today is something that I will remember. It would be best if you think about how you want to die. For the act of taking care of Madam Yao, I might be able to help you out a little.”
Fu Ya shuddered. Xiang Rong’s words placed her directly on the executioner’s block, and this was something she was not prepared for in the slightest. In the past, she had asked around, and everyone knew that the Feng family’s third young miss was a daughter of a concubine. Her personality was weak, and even her birth mother was quiet, not even daring to breathe loudly in their own home. Because the residence did not provide for them, they had to rely on this embroidery shop to take care of themselves. She thought that Feng Xiang Rong would be someone that she could easily handle, but it looked now like she was completely different from the information that she had gathered?
Fu Ya thought quickly but had been completely frightened by Xiang Rong. Her face paled, but she very quickly recovered. She then smiled and said to Xiang Rong: “What sort of thing are you saying? Third sister, don’t scare elder sister like that. As for whether or not we are related, it’s fine if you don’t acknowledge it. either way, you are just a daughter of a concubine. Currently, the one making decisions for the Feng family, the fourth young miss, has acknowledged me, and my mother has acknowledged me. Even Father has treated me kindly. Even when the people from the Yao manor come to the courtyard, they treat me politely. That’s why, whether or not Third Sister acknowledges me, elder sister does not mind much. I will just remind Third Sister that elder sister lost her composure and said some things that should not be said. This is the truth, but if Third Sister is going to be so resolute, it won’t be much of a good thing to the Feng family or the Yao family. That’s why, I hope that younger sister will think carefully about it.”
Just after Fu Ya finished speaking, Xiang Rong fell silent for a while. It was very clear that Fu Ya’s words were causing her to feel a bit apprehensive; however, Huang Quan was completely incapable of thinking about that much. She just felt that Fu Ya spoke with too much force, and she could not help but rush to say: “What are you delighting over? Don’t forget that it was not just the Feng family’s third young miss that heard you say those things. There’s also us and Imperial Daughter Ji An. You want to shirk this debt? You’re quite optimistic.”
“Oh?” Fu ya looked toward Huang Quan. For the first time, she felt that there was no need to fear this servant, thus she said: “Just try and spread it. It’s fine if I alone die, but there will be many people to accompany me to the grave. There are the Feng family and the Yao family. Thinking about it, that’s quite a bit. Go ahead and spread it. Let’s see who suffers the greatest losses.”
Huang Quan was so angry that she wanted to slap her; however, she was stopped by Feng Yu Heng, “You want to drag the Feng and Yao families to accompany you in your grave?” Feng Yu Heng smiled and said, “One person made a mistake, yet a full two families will accompany you to your grave. It really is quite ghastly, but… how is that related to me? Are you threatening me with the same method that you used to threaten the Feng family’s third young miss?”
Fu Ya was startled. It was only now that she realized that Feng Yu Heng severing ties with both the Feng and Yao families was true. She was a little caught off-guard and a bit worried. If Feng Yu Heng really did not care about whether or not the two families lived or died and spread this news, would she not be forced to die? Fu Ya endlessly thought about how she should get free from this difficult situation. Just as she was thinking about it, she suddenly heard Feng Xiang Rong say: “Imperial Daughter Ji An, what did you hear? What sort of big thing happened that would cause trouble for both the Feng and Yao families?”
Fu Ya was startled, as she looked at Feng Xiang Rong in surprise. This sudden turn of events caused her to feel very surprised; however, she could understand the reason that Feng Xiang Rong had changed sides and helped her. It was for no other reason than to save the Feng and Yao families from this disaster. It was completely unrelated to herself. But she was also happy to watch this play. The Feng family’s third young miss openly conflicting with Feng Yu Heng, this was a play that she felt was very entertaining.
Fu Ya took a couple steps back and folded her arms over her chest. With her mind filled with thoughts of watching the two before her, she heard Feng Yu Heng ask: “Third Young Miss Feng, what do you mean?”
Feng Xiang Rong had an expressionless face, as she just stared at Feng Yu Heng. Nobody could guess what she was feeling. She just seriously said to Feng Yu Heng: “I didn’t hear anything, nor did I see anything. In this room, aside from you and the people that you brought, will keep quiet about the things that happened today. Therefore, would Imperial Daughter Ji An please go back.” She gestured for the guests to leave and did not care if Feng Yu Heng refusing, even hurrying them along: “Please quickly leave. This small shop still needs to conduct business. With your noble status, this place is unable to serve someone as venerable as you.”
Feng Yu Heng did not say much; however, she gave Wang Chuan a look. Huang Quan was someone that was frank and outspoken, while Wang Chuan was a very thorough person. With just a single look, she immediately understood what her young miss intended, thus she took a step forward and said to Xiang Rong: “Feng family’s third young miss, your ability to spout lies with a straight face is quite good. Do you know what sort of crime you have committed by protecting someone that dared to insult the Emperor?”
Xiang Rong still had the same expression. It was as though she did not see Wang Chuan, as she continued to stare at Feng Yu Heng. After a while, she said: “Either way, I didn’t see what I didn’t see. I didn’t hear what I didn’t hear. If Imperial Daughter Ji An wishes to file a lawsuit against us, we will pay is all. You are just three people, but we have many people here as witnesses. Imperial daughter is a smart person. I feel that you won’t come with us lowly commoners to the government office to lose face together, right?”
Feng Yu Heng laughed. To Fu Ya, that laugh looked like it was someone who stood above the masses; however, nobody understood how much gratification was in this laugh. “Forget it.” She only stared at Xiang Rong but said to Wang Chuan, “This imperial daughter indeed does not have that ability or desire. Let’s go. What is there to speak with these people? Just looking at them makes me feel annoyed.”
Feng Yu Heng finally left the embroidery shop with her head still held high. The bearing of an imperial daughter was not something that anyone could match. There were quite a few people that had seen this play unfold. She dared to believe that word of Imperial Daughter Ji An and the Feng family’s third young miss getting into an argument would spread around the capital. At the same time, the Feng family’s third young miss had stood on the same side as the young miss from the Yao family’s other courtyard. The Feng family’s master and the fourth young miss, who was now making the decisions, had already acknowledged her. It seemed that Imperial Daughter Ji An was indeed isolated and without any relatives.
Feng Yu Heng walked through the snow, and the crunching sound sounded very pleasant. Huang Quan slowly came to understand that everything was deliberately done by her young miss. It was for the sake of displaying that Imperial Daughter Ji An and the Feng and Yao families were indeed on bad terms. But she still felt that things were unfair toward Feng Yu Heng, “Young miss, do things need to be like this? Although it’s for their sake, this servant still feels bad about it.”
Feng Yu Heng looked back to console her: “What is this bit of suffering? If I don’t do this, there will be even more sore spots in the future. Anyone is able to see that the danger surrounding me is increasing more and more. There will come a day when they will target my friends and family. If I don’t do all that I can to cleanly cut ties with them, when they have become my weak spot and become targets for my enemies, it would be too late to even cry. Moreover, Yao shi was no longer close with me. She acknowledged Fu Ya, and my feelings toward her have all but disappeared. There’s not much of a pity.”
Hearing her say this, Huang Quan gave up on the matter and did not bring it up any further, but Feng Yu heng said to herself: “but seeing the current Xiang Rong, I really am quite gratified! She finally understood how to make use of the people at her side with power to avoid suffering any losses. She will no longer be bullied as easily as before. This is also very good.”
“That’s right, Third Young Miss is much braver than before.” Wang Chuan also praised her, saying, “Even Concubine Mother An was not the same weak person as before.”
Feng Yu Heng’s gratified smile appeared once more, as she brought her two servants to play in the snow on the streets. It appeared that she was in quite a good mood.
On the other side, inside the embroidery shop, Fu Ya was preparing to express her thanks to Xiang Rong for helping out. At the same time, she also wanted to get closer to the Feng family’s third young miss; however, she heard Xiang Rong used that same cold and emotionless tone to say to her: “Take the things that you bought and quickly leave this place. Remember, since you are moving about using the title of Feng family’s young miss, you need to pay attention to your words and actions. Don’t believe that you really managed to threaten me. I just did not want to cause too much trouble. Otherwise, you think that the word of these people has any weight when compared to Imperial Daughter Ji An’s accusations? Quickly get far away from this place. Otherwise, I would not mind letting you get a taste of how strong the hidden guards that His Highness the Fourth Prince sent here really are.”
Fu Ya understood very well that Feng Xiang Rong just did not want the Feng family to be implicated, thus she would stand up to Feng Yu Heng. But looking at it from the other side, she did not have a good impression of herself. She also had no intention of staying in this place. She just coldly snorted, as she left with her servants that were carrying the purchased goods.
Seeing her leave, An shi quickly called for the workers to close the shop’s doors. They would not take any more business for the day. She then went over to her daughter and wanted to comfort her a bit; however, she saw that Xiang Rong’s face was covered in tears. She was biting her lower lip and doing her best not to let out a sound. But she was close and could hear Xiang Rong’s quiet sobs, saying: “Second Sister, you must take care.”