If You Send Gifts, I Must Repay Them
Hearing that Duan Mu Qing wanted to see Feng Yu Heng, Feng Jin Yuan felt his head hurt. He could see anyone, yet he insisted on seeing that thorn? Also, whether or not he could see her, he could not decide this!
He helplessly said to Duan Mu Qing: “Deputy leader should have a bit of understanding of the Feng family. Although she is this prime minister’s daughter, this prime minister really cannot make any decisions for her. If you wish to see her, this prime minister can inform her, but whether or not she will come, I cannot say for certain.”
After Feng Jin Yuan said this, he sent someone to invite Feng Yu Heng. The two continued to drink tea and chat freely. After waiting for a full two hours, just as Feng Jin Yuan thought that Feng Yu Heng would not come Duan Mu Qing’s expression had become a little ugly, a servant finally came to tell them: “Second young miss has arrived.”
A chill ran through Feng Jin Yuan’s body, as he subconsciously became a little nervous. He truly despised this sort of natural reaction. Glancing at Duan Mu Qing, he saw that he was not looking at him. Only then did he calm down.
Not long later, Feng Yu Heng walked into the hall. The servant behind her was Wang Chuan.
Duan Mu Qing did not stand up, only raising his chin a little. Squinting his eyes slightly, he looked at her closely.
Observing Feng Yu Heng, she walked to the front of the hall. Without looking around, she revealed a smiling face and call out: “Father.”
Feng Jin Yuan nodded, “A-Heng, the deputy leader of the three northernmost provinces, Duan Mu Qing, wished to see you.”
Feng Yu Heng did not make a sound, as she walked over to a chair and sat down. She then received a cup of tea from a maidservant and took a sip before expressing some confusion: “Oh?” She immediately added: “Then where is he?”
Feng Jin Yuan suddenly wanted to laugh, but Duan Mu Qing’s face had truly turned green this time. He had heard all about Feng Yu Heng’s deeds, especially after the news of Xuan Tian Ye being severely injured made it to the North. He had people inquire about the county princess Ji An. Unfortunately, one hundred questions could not compare to meeting her directly. All of the rumors were unable to give him this feeling. Duan Mu Qing felt that with Feng Yu Heng taking a seat, the dignified prime minister, Feng Jin Yuan, had been completely suppressed.
But she was clearly just a 13-year-old little girl. Her arms and legs were thin. Where did she get this aura?
Feng Jin Yuan saw that the atmosphere was truly awkward. Based on Feng Yu Heng’s crooked personality, if he did not provide an introduction, perhaps she would just continue sitting there, pretending not to see Duan Mu Qing. There was nothing that he could do. He could only clear his throat then reach out to point at Duan Mu Qing, “This is the deputy leader, Duan Mu Qing.”
Only then did Feng Yu Heng turn to look; however, she looked at him with a very serious expression. After observing him for a long time, she finally let out an “oh” sound, “Duan Mu… what was it?”
Feng Jin Yuan facepalmed, “Qing, Duan Mu Qing.”
Only then did she noded; however, she did not speak. Instead, she looked over, seemingly as though she was waiting for something.
Duan Mu Qing was the same, and his gaze carried a cold aura that seemed to have come from the North. Like this, the two stared at each other, neither saying a word.
But Feng Yu Heng was light and indifferent, while Duan Mu Qing had a hostile look. In this contest, who won and who lost would be sorted out on its own.
Feng Jin Yuan felt that he could not allow this to continue, thus he spoke up, saying to Feng Yu Heng: “A-Heng, the deputy leader has come from far away and is a guest.”
Feng Yu Heng still did not speak. Instead, it was Wang Chuan behind her that said: “Prime minister Feng, no matter how far, he is still an official of Da Shun. The deputy leader of the North is a standard fourth rank official. Why does he not act appropriately when meeting the standard second rank county princess?”
At this time, Duan Mu Qing finally moved; however, it was just a cold snort, saying to Wang Chuan: “Since your county princess is so knowledgeable of what is appropriate, why is her servant so improper? Without rank or standing, should you not kneel and kowtow upon seeing this official?”
How could Wang Chuan fear him, as she immediately said: “As a servant, we must follow our masters. Isn’t there someone standing behind deputy leader that does not know right from wrong?”
Wang Chuan’s words caused Duan Mu Qing to nearly choke to death. It was their first meeting, yet he had already lost so much face. He frankly changed the subject, no longer talking about manners, “This official wished to see county princess because I have a gift to present.” While saying this, he gestured for the attendant behind him to bring a wooden box forward. “I heard that county princess has great medical abilities. I wonder if you would be satisfied with this prince’s present.”
Once he said this, the attendant opened the box in his hand, and everyone immediately turned their attention to the contents of the box, but what they saw was a broken bone. The bone had been broken into three pieces, and there was no shortage of shattered pieces. The smallest piece was even smaller than a person’s fingernail.
Feng Jin Yuan’s heart thumped and looked at Duan Mu Qing with a look of complaint. This person too, presenting a marriage was one thing, but why did he prepare this sort of thing? Was this not clearly just looking to cause trouble? Also, where did these bones come from? An animal? Looking at Feng Yu Heng’s reaction, he calmed down a little.
Fortunately, that girl did not appear to become unhappy. As long as she did not become unhappy, everything was still negotiable.
Feng Yu Heng had made some preparations for this sort of gift. Although she did not think that it would be a bone, she knew that Duan Mu Qing would not have brought any decent gift. She looked at the bone curiously for a while then reached into her sleeve. From her space, she pulled out a pair of medical gloves. After putting them on with great care, she reached out for the bones.
After she picked up the bone in her hand, Duan Mu Qing had to look at this girl in a new light.
This girl really was quite special. Compared to children of the same age, if they saw this sort of thing, even if they did not shriek out of fear, they would avoid it. There was no chance that they would actually reach out and pick it up with their hands. Everyone said that she was brave, and it seemed that it was quite reasonable.
“The bone calcified because it had received a sudden external shock resulting in a crack. The broken part happens to be a joint. The entire kneecap was shattered. There is no treatment.” She held the bone in her hand. While looking at it, she slowly spoke. She then placed the bone in the box and took off the gloves, handing them to Wang Chuan: “Burn them when we get back.” She then said to Duan Mu Qing: “This was a person’s bone. Was it his Highness the third prince’s?” Saying this, she glanced again at the bone and actually began to giggle, “There are still three large pieces of bone. It seems that this county princess was quite merciful back then.”
The gift did not achieve the desired outcome, and Duan Mu Qing felt that he had lost a little more face, but Feng Yu Heng had not finished speaking, “I heard that you invited ghost doctor Song Kang into the capital? This county princess has also heard about ghost doctor’s methods. Now that the bone has been taken out, could it be that he was hoping to give his Highness the third prince a new bone?” While saying this, she laughed endlessly. She then stared at Duan Mu Qing and spoke one word at a time: “Don’t waste your time. It’s impossible. This county princess has already prepared a gift for him. I will personally go to the Xiang Palace tomorrow to deliver it. When the time comes, I will ask deputy leader to participate. Will this county princess’ gift be more useful or will the ghost doctor’s new bone be more useful.”
Duan Mu Qing’s face was green, as he suddenly stood up. With a great reluctance, he said: “Then I will respectfully wait for you.” He then cupped his hands to Feng Jin Yuan and left.
Feng Jin Yuan saw Duan Mu Qing leave and let out a sigh of relief internally. He was really afraid that the two would begin fighting. He would be unable to help either side, and it would just be a problem.
At this time, Feng Yu Heng turned back around and looked at Feng Jin Yuan. She remained seated in her seat, and she had a servant bring her another cup of tea. When she picked it up once more, she smiled and said: “I still have not yet congratulated father on promoting another head wife. To have had four new head wives in four years, father is truly the first in the history of Da Shun to do this. I heard that the storytellers in the tea shops around the city are speaking about this matter!”
These words caused Feng Jin Yuan to feel as though he had lost all of his face, but that hatred that he felt since the time that Qian Zhou attempted its assassination rose once more. He pointed at Feng Yu Heng and gritted his teeth, saying: “This was all caused by you! Say, just how much do you intend to harm the Feng family? If it’s just to get revenge for the three years, this much should be enough, right!”
Once this was said, Feng Yu Heng immediately became unhappy. Without even thinking, she threw the cup of tea in her hand at Feng Jin Yuan’s head. If it was not for him dodging sufficiently quickly, perhaps he would be bleeding from his head.
“What are you doing?”
Feng Yu Heng’s eyes became fierce: “I want you to wake up! Don’t be enough of a fool to reject having your life saved. If it was not for me, you would have been taken away with Kang Yi long ago! I have never wanted to harm the Feng family. There are some things that I do not wish to talk about, yet you force me to continue bringing it up. Feng Jin Yuan, I must remind you one more time. On the way back to the capital from the Northwest, the driver was set up to kill us. After returning, we were mistreated in countless ways, and you did not interfere when the Chen family tried to kill us many times. As a father, to be able to do this sort of thing, what sort of right do you have to speak in front of me? I call you father, but that’s just a courtesy. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Feng Jin Yuan, I will tell you, only by watching your mouth, your heart and your actions can you protect the insignificant lives of the Feng family. I have repeated these words, but you just do not remember. This time, I will tell you. If you do not remember it well, do not blame me if I take the lives of everyone in this family!”
Feng Jin Yuan’s heart trembled, as he suddenly remembered what Feng Yu Heng had said when whipping that servant to death in front of Pine courtyard. He could not help but feel shocked.
That’s right, how could he not remember. This daughter had already become unhappy with him long ago. She knew all about everything that he had done, and it was possible that she had evidence of it too, yet he still dared to do this sort of thing in front of her. Had he gone insane?
While she spoke, Feng Yu Heng had already stood up. It seemed like she was preparing to leave, but right before leaving, she still spat out some more: “I will be going to the Xiang Palace tomorrow to return the gift. Prepare the engagement letter for Feng Chen Yu. I will bring it along with me.”
Feng Jin Yuan was startled once more and subconsciously wanted to ask how she knew that Duan Mu Qing had brought an engagement note, but he immediately understood. The Feng manor was no longer something that he could control. Even if it was something at his side, he would no longer be able to hide it from Feng Yu Heng. If this girl wanted to know about anything, it could not be hidden from her.
“About this matter… I still want to consider it a little.” Feng Jin Yuan was unhappy with his daughter having this much control. With a quiet voice, he said this.
However, he heard Feng Yu Heng say: “Consider? There is no time for that. I think this marriage is quite good. It has been decided to be like this. Servant,” She suddenly shouted, and a servant immediately ran in. “Go prepare the eldest young miss’ engagement letter. After it has been prepared, send it to the county princess’ manor.”
The servant was a little confused and subconsciously turned to Feng Jin Yuan. Feng Jin Yuan was so angry that his hair stood on end, as he pointed at Feng Yu Heng and shouted: “Who exactly has the right to decide these things in this family?”
Feng Yu Heng turned around and faced him, saying very seriously and very directly: “I do.”