zChapter 1012 - Zirui Has Returned

Feng Yuheng did not understand what it meant that it might be dangerous for the sixth prince, and Xuan Tianming explained it to her: “If I have not guessed incorrectly, sixth brother came back for the rights to the 30 thousand troops. He should not be willing to give them up so easily, but Father Emperor has already made the decree. He can either oppose the decree or… I fear that old eighth will take action against him.”

“Oppose the decree? How would that work?” Feng Yuheng’s understanding of this era was not very good, and she could not think of how the sixth prince would oppose the Emperor.

Xuan Tianming told her: “The best method would be to disappear and go into hiding. Since he has come back to the capital at this time, that means that he does not want to startle anyone. He can’t be found in Ji An Prefecture or the capital, thus the tiger tally would remain in his hands. In the end, those 30 thousand troops belong to him. As for the tiger tally that he holds, regardless of when, as long as he calls out, those 30 thousand troops will immediately answer. Say, keeping this sort of person hidden, how could old eighth not try to dig him out? Based on sixth brother’s personality, he probably won’t be able to escape from old eighth.”

“Then what can be done?” Feng Yuheng was a bit worried. Xuan Tianming’s analysis was correct. The sixth prince could not possibly hand over the tiger tally so easily. In this sort of situation, if he did give it up, that would be aiding a tyrant, and the sixth prince was someone who had a very strong moral compass. He could not possibly watch the court descend into chaos like this. “Will sixth brother work with us?” She asked, “Previously, he gave the 30 thousand troops to seventh brother. Thinking about it, he should be on our side, right?”

Xuan Tianming nodded, “Indeed, he is closer with our side. That’s why, since he has returned to the capital, he should come and look for us soon. At that time, we can discuss things properly. Either way, no matter what happens, we can’t let old eighth get it.”

The two spoke for a little while, and Xuan Tianming said on the topic of Imperial Concubine Li performing the funeral: “Sixth brother has come back. Just leave it to him to handle. That Imperial Concubine Li is not normal here.” While saying this, he pointed at his head, “If anyone really argues with her over this, they’re the real idiots. As for whether or not it’s real, I am of the same mind as sixth brother. Imperial Concubine Li should not have any ability to perform those sorts of rituals. She’s just doing things based off of rumors that she has heard.”

With Xuan Tianming having said this, what more could Feng Yuheng say? The two chatted for a little while longer, and the sun was already starting to come up. Xuan Tianming needed to go and attend court once more. Right before leaving, he handed over his tiger tally to Feng Yuheng to be placed inside her space. To him, only his wife’s space was safest.

After Xuan Tianming left, Feng Yuheng began to catch up on sleep. She slept until noon when Huang Quan cheerfully entered the room to wake her up. It was only after she had managed to drag her out of bed that she loudly said: “Young miss! Young master Zirui has returned! Wang Chuan brought the news back. They will be entering the city gates in one hour. Young miss, quickly wake up. Let’s go and pick up the young master!”

Upon hearing that Zirui had returned, Feng Yuheng immediately became spirited, as she quickly got out of bed to wash up. Without even having a chance to eat, she hastily followed Huang Quan out. It was only after their carriage arrived at the city gate that they found there was still some time before the “one hour” that Huang Quan had mentioned.

Feng Yuheng sat in her carriage and could not sit still, thus she got out and had the driver wait in an empty area to the side. She then brought Huang Quan over to the city gate and looked around very anxiously.

Huang Quan laughed at her, saying: “Young miss is a little too anxious. When their carriage enters the city, we will naturally be able to see them.”

She also admitted that she was too anxious, shaking her head and bitterly smiling: “I haven’t seen Zirui in too long, and I am feeling a little flustered.” After saying this, she subconsciously looked at the soldiers standing guard at the gate. After looking for a while, she frowned and said: “Has old eighth even swapped out the guards standing guard at the city gates? Since when have such matters been his responsibility?”

“I figure that it should have been in the past few days. His Majesty listens so closely to the eighth prince and Imperial Concubine Yuan Shu. Just swapping out the guards stationed at the city gates should be as simple as asking for it.” Huang Quan looked at the soldiers at the city gates and said with a feeling of unfairness: “Who knows where all of the previous guards have been placed. Were these soldiers sent from the 30 thousand of His Highness the sixth prince’s army?”

Feng Yuheng shook her head, “They shouldn’t be. The city gates are important locations. He can’t possibly choose from among those 30 thousand. As I see it, they should have been selected from the imperial guards. During the few months that we were in the South, old eighth must have swapped all of them out. It’s natural that those people would be a bit closer to him. Thinking about it, the ones that he places in those important positions will definitely be of that type.”

While they spoke about this, they looked out of the city gates. There, they watched all of the people who were entering and exiting the city go through some careful inspection by the city guards. There were even some who needed to open up the bundles that they were carrying. All of the carriages that entered and exited the city were searched even more carefully. Regardless of men or women, they were all interrogated.

Huang Quan frowned and said: “What are they doing? It’s like they’re searching for criminals. Has the capital been subject to a crime spree?”

Feng Yuheng also did not know why this way; however, she could see Xuan Tianmo’s cautiousness. Regardless of whether or not there had been a crime spree in the capital, in this investigation, anyone with any guilty conscience would be found out. For example, a youth who had stolen five taels of silver from a wealthy man. She shrugged and said: “If this is able to take care of safety in the capital, it could be considered a good thing.”

While they spoke, two large carriages came in from outside the city. They were currently being inspected by the soldiers present. Huang Quan instantly noticed that the carriage had a large wooden sign that read “Yao”. She leaped with joy and immediately pointed it out: “Young miss, look. The young master has returned!”

Naturally, Feng Yuheng had also seen the carriage. It was just that she did not immediately walk over. She just stood at a distance and watched the soldiers perform their inspection of the carriage. Seeing that Huang Quan did not understand, she explained: “The two sides are opposing one another. If I don’t go over, it might just end with a bit of an inspection. If I go over, I fear that the inspection might be a little more careful. Having one more matter is worse than having one less matter. The capital can no longer be compared to how it was before.”

Indeed, it was not the same as in the past. In the past, how could the guards at the gates dare to inspect one of the Yao family’s carriages? They would all be let through. Not only would they be let through, but it would also be done with a smile. Who did not know that they were Imperial Daughter Ji An’s extended family? Would they dare to suspect the Yao family even if they had taken bravery pills? But now, things were different. Now, they were all old eighth’s people. Even if there was no wind, they could make waves out of nothing. If Feng Yuheng went forward, the other side might find an excuse to cause trouble.

But even if she did not go forward, the inspection of the Yao family’s carriage was far more strict than with other carriages. It was such that Miao shi, who was inside, Zirui and the servant, Ying Cao, were all chased out. Even Wang Chuan and Miao shi’s servant were chased out. The group stood outside and was requested to do jump around. It was only after determining that they did not have anything on their person that they were let through, but Huang Quan could notice the unhappiness with which the soldiers let them through. She angrily said: “What exactly are these people hoping to find?”

Feng Yuheng coldly sneered: “They’re probably looking for daggers that could be used for self-defense. For them, they would all become things that they could make a scene out of.” After saying this, she did not continue to stay in place and took a few steps forward, shouting: “Zirui!”

Feng Zirui was feeling displeased from being inspected by the soldiers; however, he endured it and did not speak up. He was eleven years old, and he already thought of himself as a young man and was no longer a young child. His teacher had said that after one grew up, one needed to have their own ideas. They should not be like children, doing whatever they wanted and expressing how they felt however they wanted. The difference between adults and children was when you had your own ideas, you needed to learn how to think of how to express those ideas.

Even though he was dissatisfied when inspected, this was the reason that he did not express it. Instead, he accepted the inspection and thought to himself, why would security in the capital become so tight? He did not know about the changes that had occurred in the capital, but as soon as he entered the city, a feeling of things being different from before put the child on alert.

However, this sort of alertness and mature self-awareness were all cast aside when Feng Yuheng called his name. He looked over and immediately saw his older sister in the crowd of people. He rushed over and dove straight into Feng Yuheng’s embrace.

The child had grown up. He had grown taller, and he had more strength. This dive ended up knocking Feng Yuheng over just a bit. If it was not for Huang Quan helping support her from behind, she might have fallen over.

Feng Yuheng laughed and reached out to hug her younger brother, saying with a smile: “Having not seen you for half a year, my Zirui has grown up. Sure enough, this is the age when boys grow the fastest. In the past, we would also only see each other once every few months, but it was never as big of a change as this time around!” While she spoke, she reached out to make a comparison. She could not help but sigh once more, “You’re already at sister’s shoulders. In another half a year, you might be taller than sister.”

Zirui raised his head and cheerfully said: “Being taller than elder sister is best. Like that, I will be able to protect elder sister. When we go out in the future, Zirui will walk at the front and keep elder sister protected behind me. Regardless of what danger we might meet, there will be nothing to worry about.” With him becoming proud, he let go of Feng Yuheng then raised his arm and said: “Elder sister, I also learned martial arts while in Xiao Zhou! The academy teaches both martial arts and literature. Teacher said that my physical condition is very good and is suited to learning martial arts. That’s why he specifically brought in a teacher for martial arts for a few extra hours each day. I will need to find brother-in-law later on to spar a little. It’s possible that he won’t be able to beat me.”

In the end, he was still a young child. After just learning martial arts for a few days, he felt that he was very strong. These words caused Feng Yuheng and Huang Quan to begin laughing. Amidst their laughter, Miao shi and Wang Chuan also came over. The driver brought the carriage over to the side and did their best to not block the path for people walking around.

Feng Yuheng saw Miao shi and quickly went to meet with her. She was very grateful and saluted Miao shi, saying: “A-Heng greets third aunt. Many thanks, third aunt for going so far to take care of A-Heng’s younger brother. A-Heng is extremely thankful.”

Miao shi quickly stopped her and repeatedly said: “A-Heng, what are you doing? You are now Princess Yu. It’s not good to salute me in the middle of the road. Also, Zirui is my nephew. Taking care of him is something that should be done.” While she spoke, she pulled Zirui over and said: “A-Heng, take a look. Hasn’t Zirui gotten much taller? Over the past half of a year, he really has grown extremely quickly. Even I, who saw him every day, could notice it!”

Feng Yuheng nodded and said with great joy: “It was aunty who took good care of him. Regardless of A-Heng’s status, in front of aunty, I am just someone of the younger generation. Etiquette would dictate that I salute. Even if it was Xuan Tianming, he would need to salute when meeting aunty.”

Miao shi truly loved Feng Yuheng. Holding Feng Yuheng’s hand, she gently patted the back of her hand, and her eyes were filled with a doting love.

At this time, Wang Chuan, who was standing behind Miao shi, began to look behind Feng Yuheng, as a group of soldiers was walking over with stern expressions. The one at the front was actually a eunuch. She could not help but tightly furrow her brow, as a bad feeling filled her…