Lu Yan had come to her for a deal. This was something that Feng Yu Heng had not expected. For a while, she really could not understand. What would Lu Yan use in this deal?
Seeing that Feng Yu Heng had a doubtful expression, Lu Yan took the initiative to say: “Imperial Daughter had recently cut ties with the Feng and Yao families. This is something that many in the capital know about. As for our Lu family, because of Lu Yao’s matter, it ended up completely offending the Yao family. Imperial Daughter should have heard that the Lu family’s businesses have suffered heavy losses, right? Not to hide it, but we also investigated it. In the end, the result was that the ones that had taken action against the Lu family was the Yao family. Because of the enmity caused by Lu Yao, the Yao family actually took such a heavy-handed approach that left the Lu family’s businesses unable to recover. It’s such that although our family will not struggle to get by, there are still many obstacles. Imperial Daughter, when you whipped Madam Yao with a whip, you offended the Yao family and caused them to head over to the imperial daughter’s manor to curse at you. Thinking about it, you must also feel some hatred toward the Yao family, right? Because of this, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as Imperial Daughter promises to work with my Lu family, from this day forward, the entire left prime minister’s manor will side with you, Imperial Daughter Ji An. It will provide you with a strong backing.”
Lu Yan said it all in a single breath, and it was clear that she was becoming more and more emotional as she spoke. By the end, it was as though she was making a pledge to Feng Yu Heng. She even partially raised a hand and looked completely sincere. She looked completely honest in wanting to complete this deal with Feng Yu Heng to help bring about the alliance between Imperial Daughter Ji An and the Lu family.
But Feng Yu Heng did not look quite as excited as she had hoped. After hearing what Lu Yan had said, she just let out a simple “Oh.” She did not ask any questions after that.
Lu Yan became a bit anxious, “Imperial Daughter, what does this mean?”
Feng Yu Heng also looked toward Lu Yan but expressed her confusion, asking Lu Yan: “Did you come to discuss this matter with me on your own, or are you representing your entire Lu family’s ideas?”
Lu Yan raised her head and said: “Of course, it represents the Lu family.”
“Oh.” She let out another oh and nodded. She then suddenly had an epiphany, “It seems that the Lu family has already decided that it will stand on His Highness the Ninth Prince’s side. That is a good thing. The master of the Lu family is the left prime minister. To be able to have the left prime minister as support, I trust that His Highness the Ninth Prince will be in an even better spot in court than before.”
Lu Yan was startled, “What ninth prince? I am speaking about allying with Imperial Daughter.”
“That’s right!” Feng Yu Heng smiled and reminded her, “But you must not forget that aside from being Da Shun’s Imperial Daughter Ji An, I am also the ninth prince’s future official princess. By choosing me, that naturally means that you have also chosen His Highness the Ninth Prince. Are you certain that the Lu family wishes to stand with the ninth prince? If you’re certain, we welcome it. This Imperial Daughter will immediately go and see Lord Left Prime Minister to give thanks in person and thank him for his support. At the same time, I will spread this news. I ask that Lord Left Prime Minister also openly express his position in court after returning to the capital. This will cause the other princes to give up on the left prime minister. Oh right,” She pretended to remember something, “Lu Yao also received that venomous bug from the seventh princess of Gu Shu. That must mean that the Lu family has a bit of a relationship with the people of the South, right? How else would a noble young miss gain this sort of relationship with a foreign princess. Currently, everyone knows that the South belongs to His Highness the Eighth Prince. Lu Yao’s situation will inevitably cause people to believe that the Lu family is standing on His Highness the Eighth Prince’s side. That’s why I invite Lord Left Prime Minister to clarify this misconception and have everyone know that in his mind, the one with the support of the people is the ninth prince and not Old Eighth. Lu family’s young miss, do you feel that your Lu family can do this?”
“This…” Lu Yan was instantly frozen. Feng Yu Heng’s words had instantly elevated today’s matter to a new height. It immediately reversed the Lu family’s standpoint. Discard the eighth for the ninth? She could not make such a decision, but if this was not the case, what was the point of discussing this deal today? In the end, this idea had been hatched by her and her mother, Ge shi. It did not represent her father Lu Song. But Lu Yan had thought that as long as Feng Yu Heng agreed and could help the Lu family tie up the Yao family to allow the Lu family to make a recovery, the Lu family could do some things superficially to express that they were supporting Imperial Daughter Ji An; however, she never thought that Feng Yu Heng would actually be so resolute in this matter, immediately wanting them to have the entire world know that the left prime minister, Lu Song, was already standing at the ninth prince’s side. Could this work? Of course, it could not. If this was found out by her father, she would definitely be beaten to death.
Seeing that Lu Yan had suffered a setback, Feng Yu Heng helplessly shook her head, “Put aside your small tricks. If you want to use me to accomplish your own goals, you need to show a sufficient amount of good faith; otherwise, why should I help the Lu family? Also, who said that the enemy of an enemy is a friend? While that Lu Yao was in the Yao family, she messed with my clothes and left me feeling unbearable. Do you think that I have any kind feelings toward the Lu family? Lu Yan, go back. Regardless of who came up with this idea for you, just repeat what I said to them. This is my position.”
Lu Yan felt as if she was a young child being lectured in the face of Feng Yu Heng. She just did not know how she should respond and felt extremely awkward for a while. Her natural impatience began to boil at this time, as she said: “No wonder everyone says that the Feng family’s second young miss has a silver tongue. It turns out that it was true. You’ve left me completely speechless. Who knows if someone else will humiliate you to such a degree. Feng Yu Heng, the heavens will bring retribution.”
“Oh?” Feng Yu Heng laughed and said: “Heavenly retribution, huh? Of course, I believe it. Not only does it exist, but it’s also very fair. Let’s just see who will be the first to suffer from this retribution. Also, I will remind you that I am Da Shun’s Imperial Daughter Ji An, not the Feng family’s second young miss. Would Young Miss Lu pay attention to important matters when speaking. I will not argue with you over this matter, but if you intend to question my prestige as an imperial daughter, that would be a different matter. Alright, I will be going back. If you like this place, it’s fine if you stay for a little longer. The mornings in the mountains really have very fresh air! Also, many thanks Young Miss Lu for the giving This Imperial Daughter that heater. It’s very pretty.”
After she finished speaking, she brought Wang Chuan and Huang Quan to leave, but Lu Yan was frozen by the last thing that she had said. Only after a long time did she manage to react. “Heater? What heater?” She shouted this in confusion, “Imperial Daughter, what do you mean by this? When did I give you a heater?”
The three people walking ahead paused for a moment but quickly regained their stride. They continued on their way back. Lu Yan was trying to piece the puzzle together on her own, while Feng Yu Heng also tightly furrowed her brow.
At first, when she saw Lu Yan in this place, she was already certain that the heater was sent by her. Whether it was the previous night or the discussion in the morning, they were all normal procedures, and there was nothing wrong. But Lu Yan’s final words about not sending the heater to her had completely reversed her earlier thoughts.
The three gradually increased their pace. By the time that they were nearing the camp, Feng Yu Heng said: “I hope that nothing went wrong with the heater this morning. The little white tiger was still in the tent.”
With her saying this, Wang Chuan and Huang Quan began to feel anxious. The three practically jogged back to the camp. They had run into quite a few people, but the way the three were dressed and everyone knowing that they knew martial arts caused the people to think that they had gone to practice martial arts, thus running back was not improper, and nobody asked too much. Only when the three reached the tent did the imperial guards standing watch let out a sigh of relief and said: “Imperial Daughter, you’ve finally come back.”
Feng Yu Heng was given a shock, “What? Did something happen?”
The imperial guard shook his head, “There wasn’t anything that happened, but there was a sudden sound that came from inside the tent. This subordinate feared that someone had gotten in, thus I went in to take a look. As a result, a tiger was found. It was bouncing up and down on Imperial Daughter’s bed. This subordinate tried to capture it, but after a few attempts, I was unable to capture it. That tiger was a bit fierce. Imperial Daughter, would you like for more people to come and capture it? Or would you simply like a different tent?”
Feng Yu Heng heard these words and let out a sigh of relief. When she had brought Xiao Bai over, she had placed it inside her space and did not let too many people see it. In addition to this, although the little guy was still not large, it was still a tiger. The guards being shocked was normal. She waved her hand and said to the guard: “It’s fine. There’s no need to worry. I’m raising that little tiger.” As she spoke, she lifted the curtain and walked inside. The guard was given a fright and wanted to stop her, fearing that Feng Yu Heng would be hurt.
But when he followed her in, he saw Feng Yu Heng holding the little white tiger as if it was a cat. She even patted its head a few times, and the little white tiger was very happy to rest its chin on her arm. No matter how he looked at it, this was the scene of a pet being taken care of. The guard’s world views were about to be shattered.
Was this really the fierce creature that he had just battled against? Why was it that it became like a cat upon seeing Imperial Daughter Ji An? The gap was too great. The arm that had been scraped by Xiao Bai was still in a bit of pain. This reminded him that what had happened earlier was real, but the scene unfolding before him was also real. It seemed that this tiger was indeed being raised by the imperial daughter. Thus he quietly retreated from the tent and admired Imperial Daughter Ji An just a little bit more.
As for Feng Yu Heng, when she saw the guard leave, she immediately placed the little white tiger on the table and began to examine it all over. From head to toe, from the forehead to the certain flower-shape on its butt*, she thoroughly examined it. Only after being certain that there really was nothing wrong with the little white tiger did she slightly calm down. She put the little guy on the ground to play on its own then received the heater that Huang Quan was holding.
The charcoal inside the heater had already been poured out by the little white tiger. At this time, the inside of the heater was completely clean, and only the smell of charcoal could be noticed; however, there was no longer any trace of charcoal. Huang Quan asked her: “Does young miss have any suspicions about who sent it?”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head. She had no leads; however, she recalled that Xuan Tian Ge’s carriage had suddenly broken down along the way. It was clearly tampered with by someone; however, they did not know when it had been tampered with. At present, there was nothing wrong with the heater, but for it to have suddenly been sent to her, Feng Yu Heng understood that the opposition was putting on a demonstration for her. Without doing anything to harm others, the item sent to her was not a threat to her, but it let her know that there was nothing that the opposition could not do. If they wanted to strike Imperial Daughter Ji An and catch her unaware, it would not be difficult.
This sort of feeling of having an enemy hidden in the shadows really was not good…
TN: The certain flower in this situation is most likely the chrysanthemum flower. The chrysanthemum is Chinese slang for butthole.