Her complexion was pale, and she wept silently, like a young woman who had lost her soul after a heartbreak, devoid of any trace of the Empress Dowager’s dignity.
Fang Fucai was startled and began to kowtow loudly on the ground.
"Your Highness must not do this."
Li Sangruo turned abruptly, fixing her gaze on him.
"How can I not, I am the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager who presides over court. Is it beneath him, a re General, to co and receive ?"
Fang Fucai knelt and looked up, saying, "Peace talks are of utmost importance, Your Highness. After all, the General acts ultimately for the sake of Your Majesty’s realm. Feng Jingteng is but an old brute who, for the sake of his daughter, deliberately makes things difficult. The General cannot afford to offend him too much. If the Empress Dowager creates a rift with the General because of this, wouldn’t it be playing right into the Feng Family’s hands, letting Feng Shi Er Niang triumph?"
Li Sangruo was slightly taken aback.
As she watched, Fang Fucai’s eyes grew colder, but his expression softened considerably.
Fang Fucai’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat, knowing he had touched the Empress Dowager’s heart.
He continued, "The Feng Family intends to provoke Your Highness; you must not fall for their treacherous sches. The Empress Dowager is the Empress Dowager, and the General is the General. There is a distinction between sovereign and subject. Once Your Highness arrives in Xinzhou, would the Great General dare not co to greet you?"
Li Sangruo’s emotions were soothed.
The thing she liked most about Fang Fucai was this very thing.
He always found a way to pick up her dignity from the ground, clean it, apply makeup, and make it look a bit better.
Moreover, Fang Fucai’s words suddenly made her see the light.
Since Pei Jue had Feng Twelve, their relationship had deteriorated day by day.
The broken promises, defiance of imperial orders—these things had all happened later...
She should primarily soothe Pei Jue; if she truly let her temper run wild, wouldn’t it only drive him further away, leaving no future to speak of?
Under the dull yellow light, a bit of color returned to Li Sangruo’s face.
"Enough. Tell the ssenger to say that I sympathize with the Great General’s busy military affairs and his need to deal with envoys from Qi Country, so I will not trouble him to make this long journey."
Fang Fucai’s heart finally settled.
"As you command."
Before he could withdraw, Li Sangruo added:
"Convey my words, we will depart for Xinzhou early tomorrow morning."
Fang Fucai hesitated, then assented.
There were still three days left before the formal peace talks, and the original plan was to depart the day after tomorrow. The Empress Dowager, yearning so eagerly for the General Pei, had moved the journey up by a day.
Fang Fucai vaguely sensed that this trip to Xinzhou might not be as smooth as expected.
-
Feng Yun and Pei Jue, along with their entourage, arrived at the town hall of Mingquan Town, where they saw Chunyu Yan’s carriage outside.
This Crown Prince of Yunchuan was very responsible; as a diator, he accompanied the envoys from both sides throughout their inspection of the building layout and material details of the town hall. When Cong Wentian presented the textual descriptions of the completed town hall for both parties to review, Chunyu Yan admired Feng Yun’s expressions even more.
Chunyu Yan, who had made his living traveling far and wide, not only earned a fortune but also witnessed many aspects of the wider world. Yet, he had never seen such an intricate construction of a building.
Many details in the design seed simple, but any one of them, when singled out, could be transford into money-making creativity.
"Feng Twelve truly has great talent."
He could not help but praise her.
Feng Jingteng, hearing this, was only interested in Tu Family Fort behind Cong Wentian.
"Master Cong has ingenious thoughts and can create such houses. I wonder if I could have the chance to visit your esteed fort?"
In a word, he didn’t believe it was Feng Shi Er Niang’s own doing.
Cong Wentian smiled, clasped his hands, and said:
"The lord is too kind, I am but a humble craftsman who follows the blueprints, where would I get such ability? It’s all thanks to the General’s wife’s guidance."
Feng Jingteng smiled without saying a word.
He regarded these people as rely sucking up to Pei Jue, attributing all rits to Feng Yun, and he didn’t take it seriously.
Feng Yun had no intention of showing off her abilities, and upon seeing this, she slowly rose to take her leave, saying she wanted to have a look at her store on the street outside the council hall.
Pei Jue’s expression remained calm, he glanced at Ye Chuang and gestured for him to accompany her.
But Feng Jingteng’s face was stern, adopting the disposition of a strict father.
"As a woman of the house, you should not show your face in public and ddle in your husband’s affairs. The Great General indulges you and does not constrain you, but you should know your place."
Pei Jue’s eyebrows slightly knitted, and on hearing this Feng Yun imdiately curtsied, agreeing with her words verbally.
How ever she was perceived, she always appeared obedient and filial.
Thus, watching that slender silhouette leave, Pei Jue massaged his temples, his gaze growing even more profound.
Feng Yun t with Nan Kui in the restaurant.
Locking eyes for a mont, Nan Kui was so delighted as if it were the New Year, and she sat down to start reporting the events of the past two days. Feng Yun listened patiently, when suddenly as if sothing occurred to her, she felt around on herself, looked up, and said to Daman,
"I’ve dropped my handkerchief in the council hall, go and find it for ."
Daman promptly left to do so.
Feng Yun then made an excuse to send Xiaoman away, and with a serious face, she called Ge Guang over.
"Go to the council hall, keep an eye on Daman, no matter who she ets or what she says, you must rember every word and report back to ."
Ge Guang was sowhat surprised, but he didn’t say much, just bowed his hands.
"I understand."
Feng Yun instructed indifferently, "Act cautiously, do not let anyone notice."
Ge Guang: "Yes."
When there was no one else in the room, Nan Kui finally pursed her lips, which were so surprised they could not close.
"Does the lady not trust Daman?"
In her mind, both Daman and Xiaoman were always by Feng Yun’s side, taking care of her day and night, the people closest to her.
Confidantes!
This sudden move truly made her anxious.
Feng Yun smiled lightly: "The human heart is unpredictable. It’s hard to tell friend from foe."
Nan Kui’s legs went weak, "Then, does the lady trust ?"
Feng Yun looked at her, "If I didn’t trust you, why would I have you take charge?"
Nan Kui imdiately clutched her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You scared to death. Rest assured, my lady, Yingniang and I are the most obedient, we have no other intentions."
Feng Yun chuckled, her gaze cast out the window, and her posture straightened a bit more.
The sky was clear and vast, it was a good day.
She was like a fisherman with nothing better to do, her bait already in the water, because of being too certain, she lost the fisher’s interest whether the fish would bite or not...
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