Imperial Concubine Li had been left without any face from what Fendai had said, thus she flippantly rebutted: “If it’s not to watch the bustling scene, what else could it be? Could it be that you want this One to go and save that child?”
“This is the Imperial Palace!” Feng Fendai had become frantic, “It’s also something that occurred during your palace banquet. Should Your Highness Imperial Concubine Li immediately send people to try and save him? Could it be that you will just sit idly by and watch?”
Zuo’er quietly reminded Imperial Concubine Li: “Your Highness, we should indeed try and save him.”
But how could Imperial Concubine Li know how to begin saving him. It was Zhu Kongshan who chimed in: “Call some palace servants over. Have them bring rope to be thrown to the middle of the lake. Have the child grab a hold of the rope, and we can pull him back from there. The surface of the ice is slippery and should make it easy to pull him over.”
Imperial Concubine Li coldly snorted then informed the servants: “What are you still standing around for? Quickly go and find some rope!” After saying this, she looked once more at Feng Fendai and said with great displeasure: “Don’t come to places that you should not visit. Not to mention coming without being invited, but you also brought a young child. A perfectly good banquet was ruined because of you!”
Fung Tianyu felt that these words were a bit too much, as she quietly said: “Is there some sort of enmity between Imperial Concubine Li and Feng Fendai? In the past, I only knew that Imperial Concubine Li had a strange personality and disliked interacting with people; however, seeing her today, she seems a bit mean!”
Ren Xifeng also said: “Indeed, regardless of what is said, it’s just a small child. Even if Feng Fendai was looking to try and trouble her, it’s unrelated to the child. Imperial Concubine Li’s attitude makes it seem that she does not just dislike interacting with people. She’s just a cold-hearted person.”
At this moment, Feng Yuheng looked toward Imperial Concubine Li and felt that this person’s heart was truly a little bit twisted. After thinking a bit, ever since the last winter hunt, which one of the things that Imperial Concubine Li had done could be considered normal? She shook her head. Sure enough, pitiful people would all have detestable traits. Just based on Imperial Concubine Li’s mentality and natural disposition, it would be hard to blame the people in the palace for not interacting with her too much over the years. While she thought about this, her body slowly began to move. She was heading in the direction of the young misses who had thrown Xiao Bao onto the ice.
Very quickly, the palace servants brought over a long rope, as a eunuch threw the rope onto the ice. This scared Fendai into screaming: “Be gentle! Be gentle! Be careful not to break the ice.”
The eunuchs felt bitter. If they were too gentle, they would not be able to throw it that far. If they threw it too hard, they would break the ice. It really was a difficult task. It was only after five or six attempts that the rope reached Xiao Bao’s side. Fendai rejoiced and loudly shouted: “Xiao Bao! Grab the rope. Quickly grab the rope!”
Unfortunately, the child was too young, and he had already lost himself, only able to cry. How could he possibly heed Fendai’s advice? Fendai’s voice became hoarse from screaming from the shore, yet Xiao Bao was still unwilling to listen and grab the rope. Fendai anxiously cried. Turning her head once more, she saw the three culprits still standing there. They even had joyous looks on their faces. Her anger instantly rose, as she charged over and grabbed one of them by the neck, loudly saying: “I’ll teach you to be happy! I’ll teach you to harm others! I will definitely strangle you to death today! If something happens to my younger brother, I’ll have you all accompany him to the grave.”
It was as though she had gone crazy. The strangling caused the young miss’s eyes to roll back, and she was about to pass out. The people to the side also became frantic, trying to get forward to separate the two, but Fendai’s hands were like iron clamps, clenching tightly and refusing to let go. It was such that the more that young miss struggled, the more uncomfortable she felt. She was slowly losing strength.
Zhu Kongshan was becoming panicked. Although they had caused a situation, in the end, it was just a lousy child. She was the one to bring these people in. If one of them was strangled to death by Fendai over a lousy child, it would be difficult for her to provide her family members with an explanation!
She wanted to go over and say something, but there were too many people surrounding them. Even Imperial Concubine Li was powerless in her anxiety. She tried a few times to squeeze through but failed each time. At this time, she looked sideways and saw Feng Yuheng standing indifferently to the side. She was watching this mess as though it was some sort of show. She thought quickly and quickly walked over to say to Feng Yuheng: “Princess! Quickly have the Feng family’s young miss let go! If she continues like this, she really will take someone’s life!”
Feng Yuheng looked at her in confusion and asked: “Why should she stop? If the Zhu family’s young miss really has the heart of a Bodhisattva, why don’t you think of a way to save the child? Or why not go and call the people you brought to question them. Why did they push her younger brother into the lake?”
Zhu Kongshan’s expression was extremely panicked, as she said to Feng Yuheng: “Now is not the time to question and assign blame. Princess Yu might truly be angry, but how about they be brought over to be questioned after the child has been saved? Right now, a life must not be lost!” While saying this, she observed Feng Yuheng’s expressions, but seeing Feng Yuheng’s current expression, it was as though it was completely unrelated to her. She could not help but truly panic and continue: “The Feng family’s young miss is your younger sister. If that young miss is strangled to death, thinking about it, Princess Yu, you will not be able to avoid being implicated, right?”
Feng Yuheng raised an eyebrow: “What is it? Will strangling someone to death see an entire family eradicated? It really is such a joke. Not to mention that I have now been added to the imperial family’s register and have no relation to the Feng family, but even if I was not Princess Yu and was still part of the Feng family, if the younger sister of the dignified Imperial Daughter Ji An strangled someone to death, could I not protect her?”
Just after these words came out, someone from the gaggle of people shouted: “That child is just a bastard. It would be best if it died!”
These words were heard by Xuan Tiange. The great palace princess could no longer hold back and scolded: “No matter what sort of birthright, it’s not up to you to decide! It’s fine if you want to fight amongst yourselves. That young child has not offended you, and the Feng family’s young miss should not have offended you either, right? To actually have such venomous hearts, it really is quite eye-opening for this palace princess.”
Following Xuan Tiange speaking up, Fung Tianyu also spoke up: “That’s right! I heard that you have been doing good deeds in the northern part of the city for the people, but why is it that not a shred of it has been displayed here?”
“Not only has it not been displayed here, but they have also been extremely malicious!” Ren Xifeng followed up, “I really can’t understand it. How can people with such vicious hearts accomplish something like providing food for the people in the northern part of the city? Are you all two-faced?”
After this, there came a cold snort. Finally, Feng Yuheng raised her voice: “Some people never had any enmity or resentment but just like to cause people trouble. They always feel that they are above others, yet they are just the children of lowly third, fourth or fifth rank officials. Where exactly does that feeling of superiority come from? Just now, the Fung family’s young miss and the Ren family’s young miss were very right. People like you, exactly why did you go to the northern part of the city to hand out food. The situation around this needs to be carefully investigated.” After saying this, she looked toward Fung Tianyu and said: “We must have the lord right prime minister present a petition in court tomorrow to begin a proper investigation into their exact goals for their good deeds.”
After saying this, before anyone could react, she suddenly soared into the air with qinggong and headed toward the surface of the ice.
Amidst the shocked cries of the crowd, Feng Yuheng picked up the crying Xiao Bao and turned around, heading back toward the side of the lake.
Fendai saw that Xiao Bao had been saved and forgot about continuing to strangle the other person. Rushing over, she held the crying child. Feng YUheng looked at the two then turned to advise Huang Quan: “Keep an eye on those two.” After saying this, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out her whip from her space. She then walked into the center of the crowd…
Due to her might, the people subconsciously opened up a small path for her. At the front, two of the young misses who had caused harm were standing there in a daze, while the one who had been choked by Fendai was collapsed on the ground. Feng Yuheng treated them all equally without discrimination. Without caring if they were standing or collapsed, she swung her whip to curl around their waists. Without any restraint, she hurled them toward the ice.
The people let out surprised screams, as they watched Feng Yuheng flick her whip three times and send three people flying. The three were fiercely smashed into the ice. Under such a force, the surface of the ice instantly broke, and the three young misses fell through before they could even muster up a scream.
Everyone inhaled sharply and looked at Feng Yuheng in shock. The people immediately began to ponder. Everyone knew that Princess Yu did not get along with her family’s fourth sister. It was because of this that they dared to bully Feng Fendai’s younger brother. But was this current scene representative of that? Don’t get along well? Was this how it appeared? She was clearly venting for Feng Fendai!
Not to mention them, but even Feng Fendai was looking at Feng Yuheng in confusion. At this time, they heard Zhu Kongshan shrilly scream: “What are you doing? Are you committing murder!”
“Oh?” Feng Yuheng squinted her eyes and looked at her, swaying the whip in her hand once more, “Is it murder? Then the people who threw the child to the middle of the lake definitely attempted murder. Killing someone demands life in repayment. Regardless of whether or not the murder was successful, the crime of murder is definitely there. At present, this princess threw those three into the lake. If they died, just treat it as repaying with their lives!” After saying this, she looked at Zhu Kongshan once more, “If the Zhu family’s young miss’ mind is still not clear, this princess does not mind sending you in to cool off a little.”
“You…” Zhu Kongshan was so anxious that she was crying. Seeing that the three in the water were getting weaker and weaker, her heart began to turn cold. She could not help but ask Feng Yuheng: “Do you really not fear anything? That’s three lives!”
“What is there for me to fear?” Feng Yuheng was confused and asked: “If those three are not even afraid of killing a child, what is there for me to be afraid of for punishing criminals? Zhu family’s young miss, you did not express any sympathy for that child earlier. It seems that you are also someone who is unable to see right from wrong. Thinking about it, lord right prime minister’s petition will have your name also added to it.”
Fung Tianyu collaborated very well, nodding and saying: “I will definitely remember to tell father about everything that happened today. The so-called good people serving the northern part of the city actually had these sorts of hearts.”
Zhu Kongshan knew that she could not win against Feng Yuheng, thus she quickly turned around and said to Imperial Concubine Li: “Your Highness! The three who fell in are the young misses of officials’ families. If they aren’t pulled out, it will be too late! Your Highness does not want for lives to be lost during your palace banquet, right? That would not be good for anyone!”
Imperial Concubine Li’s heart was shaken. She naturally understood this logic, but they had been thrown in by Feng Yuheng. She was still thinking that if she supported Feng Yuheng at this time, would Feng Yuheng’s opinion of her improve? Using the three daughters of lousy officials in exchange for improving Feng Yuheng’s opinion of her, she felt that it was quite worth it.
But before she finished her daydream, Feng Yuheng spoke up: “Pull them up! Regardless of whether they’re alive or dead, it’s to prevent this lake from becoming haunted.”
Once these words came out, the palace servants did not wait for Imperial Concubine Li’s orders. They quickly began to move. Not long later, three partially-dead people were pulled out. On such a cold day, everyone understood very well that even if they did not die, they would lose a layer of skin.
Imperial Concubine Li spoke up at this time: “Let’s not stand around here. They’ve already been pulled out. Whether they’re alive or dead, it will be up to fate. Everyone back to Zhang Ning Palace. Our palace banquet must continue…”