A-Heng Leaves the Capital

  Xuan Tian Hua smiled and said: “It’s not to the point that they won’t have any place to stay. First, I have been to that small county. The inn is not large to begin with. With just you guys going to live in it, it’s already good enough. Second, that county is just one to pass through. The families there will rent out their places for people to stay. If the travelers are unable to find space in the inn, they will live with the people living there. They just need to pay some money.”


  Only then did she find out that this sort of method existed, thus she smiled and thanked Xuan Tian Hua. The group chatted for a while, and she could no longer linger. Returning to her carriage, she quickly departed. But the group had agreed that they would use an eagle to send at least one message every five days. It would start from Xuan Tian Ming’s side, and she would just need to reply. At the very least, she should clearly speak about the situation in the fief to keep them from worrying.

  From beginning to end, Xiang Rong remained inside the carriage and did not come out. She did not even lift the curtain to take a look outside. She clearly knew that the seventh prince was just outside, and she could clearly hear the sound of his voice, and her heart was clearly feeling uncomfortable, but she continued to endure. Since she chose to leave the capital, she wished to begin a new life. It would be best if the things and people that she had once hoped for but could not obtain began to slowly fade from her mind. She did not want to have them brought up again, nor did she want to recall them.

  Feng Yu Heng quite admired this sort of Xiang Rong. Regardless of whether it was men or women, things that could be picked up needed to also be put down unless one could guarantee victory. Otherwise, there was no need to place all of one’s efforts into a single person. Of course, she felt that allowing Xiang Rong to find this courage, the fourth prince, Xuan Tian Yi, had put in quite a great deal of work. That saying might really have been true: To forget about someone, the best method is to take interest in another person. She did not know if Xiang Rong had placed the fourth prince in her heart, but the girl had at least begun to face the matter of the seventh prince with a bit of reason. Although the so-called “facing” of this matter was actually just avoiding him, knowing to avoid him was considered an improvement.

  The caravan moved very quickly. All of the carriages had undergone thorough selection and changes. Feng Yu Heng had taken out a large number of wheelchairs from inside her space. It was for no other reason than to salvage them for the tires on the wheels. She then had the craftsmen try to piece the parts together and stick them together. The wheels of the carriages were all wrapped in rubber, and a bit of air was allowed inside. It had a great effect on reducing the bumpiness of the ride. Also, each carriage’s cabin had undergone a special construction. Although they could not compare with Feng Yu Heng’s carriage in terms of prestige, they were definitely more comfortable than normal carriages. Every carriage had a small clay brazier, which allowed the people to boil water. Feng Yu Heng charged Wang Lin with buying supplies to ensure that every carriage had plenty of food to eat.

  They had set out, but even if they were moving quickly, they could not compare to horses with only one rider. There were times when traveling that it was very likely that lunch and dinner would be skipped. There were even situations where they would not reach the next prefecture and would need to spend the night in their carriages. That was why each carriage had plenty of food and necessities.

  Something like setting out for business was not really new to Feng Yu Heng. After all, she had the experience of going to Qian Zhou. It was just that going toward Qian Zhou, it got colder and colder. Going toward the fief, it was getting hotter and hotter.

  But to Xiang Rong, leaving home was far too difficult. Not to mention the distance, but she had practically never left the capital. She had spent over a decade in a single small area. If it was not for the Feng manor undergoing changes, she would probably still be holed up inside the manor without ever setting a foot outside!

  With the air still being cold in the capital, when Xiang Rong lifted the curtain, a cold breeze immediately blew into the carriage. But she willfully endured the wind for a long time, as she felt quite happy. Even her state of mind seemed to have been expanded.

  Shan Cha found it a bit difficult to endure the cold, but seeing that the second young miss and the other two maidservants looked completely fine, she was too embarrassed to ask Xiang Rong to lower the curtain. She knew that her young miss had lived a life that was too depressing. Later on, she met the fourth prince, which appeared to have given her a bit more vigor, but there was a limit to that vigor. Once she returned to her little room, she would immediately shrink back down. She had not really seen much of the current Feng Xiang Rong. It seemed as though her entire person was exuding vitality. It was able to infect everyone else with feelings of joy.

  It was Feng Yu Heng that took the initiative to help lower the curtain, as she said to Xiang Rong: “I understand your feelings, and I understand that you want to look at the world outside a little more, but you also need to be careful not to catch a cold. These are still just the barren lands and mountains surrounding the capital. There isn’t much to see. After a few more days, when we get closer to the Southwest, the air will get a bit warmer. The conditions there will be different from the capital. When that time comes, take a look. That is something that is truly worth seeing.

  Xiang Rong had always listened to her second sister, and she immediately sat up straight. Her face, however, was bright red from the cold. Shan Cha quickly picked up the copper kettle that had been kept warm on the brazier and poured her some warm tea. Holding it in her hands, she finally began to feel a bit warmer. “Second sister, say, I’m not dreaming, right?” The sisters had always gotten along quite well. She would not begin to drift away because of her elder sister’s lofty status. To Xiang Rong, Feng Yu Heng had always been her personal benchmark. It was just a pity that she herself was not that competent, and it was impossible for her to ever reach that height.

  Feng Yu Heng also received some tea that was handed to her by Wang Chuan. Taking a sip, she said: “If it really was a dream, that bit of cold air would have woken you up.” She reached out to pinch the girl’s face, “Over the years, you have gotten thinner, but your complexion is much better than when I just returned from the Northwest.”


  Xiang Rong’s eyes squinted, as she began to smile. It was Shan Cha that said to Feng Yu Heng: “Second young miss also noticed that third young miss’ complexion has improved? This is thanks to His Highness the fourth prince always sending nice things over. At that time, His Highness the fourth prince said that third young miss’ complexion was not good, and he sent over quite a large amount of medicine like ginseng. This servant is always preparing it for third young miss to drink each day. As she continued to drink it, she really did get better. Even concubine mother An was praising her!”


  Xiang Rong smirked, “He said that he has too many things in his palace and has no place to put it all, and he doesn’t have a woman to help him consume it. I figure I might as well help him out.” After saying this, she coldly snorted, “In truth, it’s not like he doesn’t have any women to help him consume it. I heard that he has a few maidservants that he sleeps with. It’s just that he’s unwilling to give it to them. They’re just a few hundred-year-old ginseng. What is there to be unwilling to give them. He’s a prince!”


  Whenever the fourth prince was brought up, Xiang Rong would always have plenty to say. Although her expression and tone both carried some hate, there was something different that could be heard. It was just that the girl herself could not hear this difference. Feng Yu Heng was able to perceive it, but she did not want to speak too much about this topic. In her subconscious, she always felt that Xiang Rong was still young. She was just a 13-year-old little girl. What could she understand about love? Regardless of whether it was the seventh prince or the fourth prince, the feelings that were formed at this age might just be an illusion formed while growing up. If it led to her only choosing between those two people, that would be a complete mistake. Feng Yu Heng did not want to mislead Xiang Rong. she just hoped that Xiang Rong would be able to look at it more calmly. After two more years, when she was more mature, she would then have the ability to decide for herself.

  “Second sister.” The topic of the fourth prince had passed and did not linger in the slightest. Xiang Rong very quickly changed, and it happened so naturally. It seemed to be without any intention. She asked Feng Yu Heng: “I heard that the fief is still barren. Are we going to reclaim that wasteland?”


  Feng Yu Heng smiled bitterly, “It can’t be considered reclaiming a wasteland. It’s not so barren as to have nothing. I have inquired about it. That place does have some villages, and it has quite a few indigenous people. It’s just that they’re all on the poorer side. For the time being, they have been governed by Yu Zhou’s prefect. When we get there, the rights to govern will be handed over. We need to think of a way to spur the villagers into becoming richer through hard work. Of course, we also need to construct the houses there first. Otherwise, we won’t even have a place to live.”


  Xiang Rong found this to be novel while listening to it. It could not be considered fear, but she was truly looking forward to it. But Shan Cha became a bit worried. To not even have a place to live, could it be that they would be living in the streets? The villages over there were very poor, but just how poor were they? She did not dare ask Feng Yu Heng, as she turned her gaze toward Wang Chuan and Huang Quan. Huang Quan liked to speak and spoke while eating seeds: “Don’t worry. It’s easy to handle things even with many poor people. As long as we can spare the money, what sort of manpower would we not have?! At worst, we can borrow the lord prefect’s manor. He would have no choice but to take good care of us.”


  Only then did Shan Cha calm down! Right, the second young miss was not just a second young miss. She was also an imperial daughter. With the arrival of an imperial daughter, even a prefectural official would want to curry favor with her.

  In regards to this, Feng Yu Heng nodded and admitted that this was the arrangement. She had planned to live in the prefect’s manor upon arriving over there. She would then choose a good place then immediately have people begin construction of the residence. At the same time, she would do her best to understand the situation of the area and its people. If they were near a mountain, they would get food from the mountain. If they were near a river, they would get food from the river. They would quickly begin building to promote investment.

  Speaking of, the prefect of Yu Zhou was not a stranger. Ever since Feng Yu Heng had been conferred the land, Xuan Tian Ming had already made a plan. He had been changing the head of Ji An Prefect’s superior Yu Zhou. The current prefect of Yu Zhou was one of his people. The daughter of the first wife from the family had married a deputy leader in the Northwest Army, and they would be considered in-laws. With her going to Yu Zhou, Xuan Tian Ming had already sent a letter, and that side must have already begun making preparations!

  Feng Yu Heng continued to head West, and the trip had chatter and laughter, and it was very pleasant. Back in the Yao manor, it was far more subdued. Xu shi was wiping away tears. Ever since Feng Yu Heng’s group had left, she had begun crying. No matter how she was coaxed, she did not get better.

  It was not just her that cried, as Qin shi and Miao shi were both crying. Qin shi cried while summarising the experience: “We’ve just never raised a daughter before, and we don’t know how to get more intimate with a daughter. This led to A-Heng living as though she did not have a maternal family even if she had one. We could not provide even the slightest bit of help. On the contrary, she worried about us getting distant. Back then, why could we not summon a bit of courage and be a bit more resolute to have her stay?”


  Miao shi nodded in agreement, saying: “That’s right. Our family finally got a daughter. We had not even enjoyed being with her for many days before she left. In the future, we need to deal with our sons. Just thinking about it makes me annoyed.”


  The Yao family had six sons. They watched and listened from the side, as they began to suspect that they were not the biological children of these three people.

  At this time, Xu shi, who was crying the hardest, suddenly slapped the table and stood up, loudly saying: “I can’t endure any longer! I have made a decision……”