From that guard, Feng Yuheng heard a piece of news which she did not know could be considered good or bad: Xiangrong had returned to the capital together with the Fourth Prince, but did not bring An Shi along.
Originally, she did not want Xiangrong to return, it was just that too many things happened in the capital in recent times, and everything was out of her expectations, causing her to delay handling anything related to Ji An Prefecture. Qing Yu did send people to distribute the benefits over there. It was just that when these benefits were distributed, Xiangrong was already on her way back to the capital.
Because An Shi and Xiangrong have migrated to Ji An Prefecture, other than the embroidery shop, they had nowhere else to stay in the capital. With the two of them gone for so long, with the embroidery shop under Qing Yu’s management, and the embroidery patterns from the embroidery shop at Ji An Prefecture being sent over to the capital, the business of the embroidery shop was many times better than before. With the rise in business, the amount of stocks in storage would increase. The number of seamstresses hired were also more than before. The room in the backyard where An Shi and Xiangrong lived in the past were already filled with stocks and the new employees, so Xiangrong had no decent place to go after returning to the capital.
Feng Yuheng sent people to escort her to Yu Palace. Once that young girl got off the carriage, she said in embarrassment: “I wanted to tell Second Sister that I could just stay at Jun Palace or go to Yao mansion and trouble them for a few days and go back after around the fifth day of the New Year.” As she said this, she spoke to the Fourth Prince who was still on horseback behind her: “You can go back to Ping Palace and remember to send gifts over during the New Year.”
Sitting on the horse’s back, Xuan Tianyi glared once at Xiangrong and said: “Old Ninth is my younger brother, even if a gift needs to be given, he should be the one giving them to me! Since when has an older brother given gifts to the younger brother?”
Feng Yuheng just felt very amused every time she saw these two together, and her Third Sister who was always timid would also display a more courageous side in front of the Fourth Prince, causing her to feel happy, so she said: “Fourth Brother is correct, even if New Year gifts have to be given, Yu Palace should be the one giving gifts to Ping Palace.”
Xuan Tianyi was very satisfied with Feng Yu Heng’s words and nodded a few times but did not forget to salute in Feng Yuheng’s direction: “Younger Sister-in-law, it’s been a while! Fourth Brother likes listening to you talk, it’s succinct and reasonable.” After that, he did not forget to glare at Xiangrong once again, sighing: “Not like this little Teacher of mine, she is really…… stubborn!” When he said stubborn, he seemed to be gritting his teeth. Feng Yuheng then understood, perhaps during these few months in Ji An Prefecture, Xiangrong did not give him any face at all.
“I’m saying that you should send me gifts!” Without waiting for Feng Yuheng to speak again, Xiangrong continued the conversation, “It’s the New Year, shouldn’t you show respect to your Teacher? As a disciple, you cannot be so heartless, how many things did I teach you during those few months in Ji An Prefecture? You should at least show some appreciation. As for who should give or send gifts between you and the Ninth Prince, this is a matter between the both of you, I don’t care about that. Alright, go back! Don’t stand over there and be an eyesore, we sisters have things to talk about!”
Xuan Tianyi shrugged helplessly and spoke to Feng Yuheng: “Younger Sister-in-law, look, this is what I am used to! I gave way to her too much, and this temper gets worse by the day. You don’t know this, but in Ji An Prefecture, she even dared to kick me. You know, I am still a prince, but in front of her, I am no different from being a nobody. Sigh! This is life!” As Xuan Tianyi spoke, he sighed, then put his hands together in a salute and said: “But since I have escorted Little Master safely back and handed her over to Younger Sister-in-law, I feel reassured. You sisters can continue chatting! I will return to the palace. As for the New Year gifts, I will send them over after a few days.” After saying this, he looked at Xiangrong, and advised her with some worry: “You should be more sensible when you’re staying at Ninth Brother’s residence, you can’t cause trouble for others, alright? I will come and get you on the sixth day of New Year, we will go back together.”
Xiangrong stomped her foot and said angrily: “I will return on my own on the sixth, why are you still following me?”
“Naturally, it is to protect you!” Xuan Tianyi spoke as if it was obvious, “I only have one Teacher, if you get kidnapped by someone, who will I learn my skills from, right?”
Feng Yuheng enjoyed watching these two bicker. From her viewpoint, this was considered truly living. If everything was alright, she was happy to watch the family around her bicker in a good-natured way, with everyone living together in a lively manner and prospering. However, things would always not go the way she wished, she wished for a peaceful and stable life, but ended up encountering this messed up political situation and was mixed up in a complicated living environment. Other than facing it head-on, she had no other choice.
She told Xuan Tianyi: “There has been some changes in the capital recently, Fourth Brother should be have heard some things about it. I can’t really explain it clearly as well, but since you have returned, enter the palace and greet Father Emperor. You will see everything you want to know then.” She might be the younger sister-in-law, but many times, people would feel she was the older sister-in-law, even the Fourth Prince who was much older than Xuan Tianming had to admit defeat in the face of Feng Yuheng’s calmness.
He nodded and said: “I understand, I will greet Father tomorrow.” Then he spoke to Xiangrong again: “I’m leaving, if there are any matters, you can look for me at Ping Palace at any time.”
After finally sending him away, the cheerfulness Xiangrong showed when she was bickering disappeared. She asked Feng Yuheng: “What happened in the palace? Why would people from Ping Palace send letters to Xuan Tianyi everyday on our way back? I saw his expression turning worse and worse, but when I asked him, he was unwilling to tell me.”
Feng Yuheng pulled Xiangrong into the palace grounds, instructed the servants to sort out Xiangrong’s carriage and the things she had brought back, then asked Madam Zhou to open up a guest courtyard for Xiangrong to stay in. Only then did she bring Xiangrong back to her own room first. After the two were seated, with the servants serving tea and Xiangrong catching her breath, she spoke: “I did not want to let you come back, but being so busy, I forgot to write a letter. But since you’re here, it can’t be helped. Some things did happen in the capital, but it would not affect you. You can just spend your New Year here and then return to Ji An Prefecture after that.”
“Are things going to change in the palace?” Xiangrong also had her own guesses: “I analysed it, if it were other things, Xuan Tianyi would not be that nervous and anxious, thinking about it, the only possibility is something changing in the palace. Did the Eighth Prince do something?”
Feng Yuheng looked at Xiangrong and felt that time passed really quickly. When she first arrived, young Xiangrong was still a child, standing there with Fendai with her hair tied up in two buns, looking smaller than the domineering Fendai. At that time, Xiangrong did not have any will of her own and was just timid, afraid of Feng Jinyuan, afraid of Chen Shi, afraid of Granny and also afraid of her. She was afraid of everyone in Feng Manor and would walk with her head bowed every day, not daring to anger anyone. However, it was true that Xiangrong was close to her, she had made a lot of effort to change this younger sister, but from what she could see now, the changes she made to Xiangrong had lost to time as well as Xuan Tianyi.
Four years passed in a flash, Xiangrong had grown up, she knew how to think and analyse issues and was no longer as shy as before. She even dared to bicker with a prince. If this was the past, she really could not imagine this.
Seeing her second sister stare at her without speaking, Xiangrong rubbed her face on reflex and asked: “What’s wrong? Why is Second Sister looking at Xiangrong like that?”
Feng Yuheng laughed and pinched her face, speaking with emotion: “The young girl who have always followed behind me has finally grown up. Second sister is happy, I’m happy for you!”
But Xiangrong was not happy at all, she told Feng Yuheng: “I actually don’t want to grow up, when I was young in the past, I wished that I could grow up to be as amazing as Second Sister so I do not need to stand behind Second Sister and hold you back. But now…… I wish that I could always stand behind Second Sister without having to think about anything at all and having to worry about anything. No matter what storms there are, there will always be Second Sister to block them, that kind of life would be good. Unfortunately…… I can’t go back.” She sounded lonelier as she spoke, and gradually, she lowered her head.
“You’re not happy?” Feng Yuheng asked her, “With a free and independent life in Ji An Prefecture and with someone like the Fourth Prince keeping you company, Second Sister thought you were happy.”
Xiangrong looked up, and said to Feng Yuheng rather anxiously: “I am happy with the free and independent life, I also like Ji An Prefecture, but Second Sister, in the past, we have always looked forward to being free of the Feng Manor one day, to be able to control our own fates and no longer be under control of the Feng Manor. But when I am truly independent and when Second Sister left Ji An Prefecture, I rather return to the past, even with the scheming against each other, at least everyone was still together.” Looking at Feng Yuheng, she wanted to express her feelings as much as possible, especially with regards to the Fourth Prince, she said: “I used to think that the moment I laid eyes on the Seventh Prince many years ago was an insignificant infatuation of my fantasies, that I would slowly give it up when I grew up. I even tried to accept Xuan Tianyi, forcing myself to like him. But Second Sister, I can’t do it. Every time I become more aware of the thoughts Xuan Tianyi has for me, I understood that my heart already has one person, and could not hold a second one.”
She grew softer and she spoke, and in the end, she lowered her head again. Once she mentioned Xuan Tianhua, Xiangrong would show an inferiority which she could not resist.
Feng Yuheng could not think of how to advise her. The most difficult thing to advise in the world would be matters of the heart, because you did not know which direction of the advice was correct or better. She thought that Xuan Tianyi was suited for Xiangrong, but in the end, the ones living together was not her, and the one involved did not feel comfortable with it and did not like it. If she said too much, it would be a forceful request. She only listened to Xiangrong’s words and said regretfully: “The Fourth Prince treats you very well.”
But Xiangrong said in response: “The Seventh Prince treats Second Sister very well too.” This sentence sealed Feng Yuheng’s mouth.
That’s right! Xuan Tianhua treated her extremely well too, unfortunately, her heart was already occupied by Xuan Tianming and could not contain anyone else. He might be a deity-like existence, but to her, this was not a good match.
“Forget it.” She helped Xiangrong brush back some hair which fell out of place and said softly: “In the end, matters of the heart will be decided by you in the end, you have also grown up, a grown up girl at fourteen years old, you’re going to come of age next year. You will understand some things without me saying it.”
On this side, Feng Yuheng and Xiangrong were talking about matters of the heart, on the other side, the Fourth Prince Xuan Tianyi did not have the patience to wait for tomorrow to enter the palace to see the Emperor. After parting ways with the sisters at the gates of Yu Palace, he went to the imperial palace directly……