Devastating Beauty, Poisonous Heart
Feng Yu Heng revealed a smile. She knew that He Zhong was reminding her. Feng Chen Yu and Feng Fen Dai were both enjoying benefits from the matriarch, so she had to mentally be prepared.
Thus she said: “Many thanks housekeeper He. The days are cold during Winter. I see that housekeeper He’s hands is suffering from chilblains. It is now the end of the year. It would be best to deal with them before the new year. Later on, I will have someone bring you a cream to deal with them.”
“Oh!” He Zhong did not think his words would cause Feng Yu Heng to provide him with some medicine. County princess Ji An’s medicine, that was something that many people with money could not even buy. He quickly bowed deeply to Feng Yu Heng: “This servant thanks second young miss.”
Feng Yu Heng did not say anything else and turned to leave, but when she just happened to see three women walk into the manor when she turned around. The one in the middle was thin and graceful. Her eyebrows were like emerald feathers, her skin was white like snow, her waist appeared to have a corset, and her teeth looked like cowries. Despite it being a cold day, she only wore a thin aqua blouse, giving off the faint appearance of a beautiful woman. The two at her side were clearly maidservants, but they were also exceptionally graceful with slender waists.
When the three entered the manor, some servants immediately went to receive them. Their attitudes were very polite, leading them towards the inner courtyards.
Feng Yu Heng felt that there were a few too many surprises today, “Who is that?”
He Zhong told her: “She is miss Hong Yun. She was invited by the fourth young miss to teach dance.”
“Oh.” She nodded, “Fourth sister will be eleven with the new year. She should learn a bit more of the four arts that a woman should know. But this miss Hong Yun seems a little special.”
He Zhong said: “She is indeed special. When she just arrived, elder madam nearly chased her away after seeing her appearance. But fourth young miss used some method to convince elder madam to keep miss Hong Yun.” He Zhong said this while shaking his head, clearly very puzzled by this matter.
Feng Yu Heng did not inquire any further. Bringing along Huang Quan and Mei Xiang, she headed towards Shu Ya courtyard.
They only stopped when they reached a fork in the road. Reaching a hand into her sleeve, she pulled out a medical cream from her space and handed it to Mei Xiang, “Go back to the third young miss’ side. This medical cream can help heal the wound on your back, and it can help reduce the pain. Find someone to apply it for you.”
Mei Xiang was grateful and wanted to kowtow to Feng Yu Heng, but once her movements became large, the pain from her back caused her to sweat furiously.
Huang Quan could not bear to continue watching and quickly stopped her, “Quickly return. You can come kowtow to second young miss at Tong Sheng pavilion when you are better.”
Mei Xiang nodded repeatedly and gave her thanks once more before slowly walking towards An shi’s courtyard.
Feng Yu Heng watched the departing figure of the young servant and suddenly asked Huang Quan: “His Highness the fifth prince enjoys watching dance?”
Huang Quan was startled then immediately recalled that dance instructor, “Young miss means to say that fourth young miss learning to dance is for his Highness the fifth prince?”
“What else?” She walked towards Shu Ya courtyard while saying: “I know what sort of person Feng Fen Dai is all too well. She would not do anything if there was no benefit. What sort of talent does she have for dancing. A person that has no talent and has no interest in dancing suddenly wants to learn how to dance, that means dancing is very beneficial to her. Did you not hear what housekeeper He said. She managed to somehow convince grandmother to agree to bring that dance teacher into the manor. Thinking about it, only the fifth prince speaking up could pressure grandmother.”
Huang Quan thought about it and felt that this was reasonable, thus she said: “Then this servant will go inquire about it later. Ah, this past while, we have been at the military camp, and we only worried about training the soldiers or taking care of his Highness Prince Yu. We have been unable to inquire about anything.”
Feng Yu Heng smirked, “It’s also my fault. After going to the military camp, I tossed matters related to the Feng family to the side. Go over to the Yu Palace at a later time to inquire about his Highness the fifth prince. Also, find out about the hobbies of that dead imperial concubine. It’s possible that Feng Fen Dai is acting like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi’s frown.” 1
Huang Quan did not understand what that meant with Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi, but she knew Feng Yu Heng wanted to know her enemy, thus she nodded and complied.
The two spoke the entire time and very quickly arrived at Shu Ya courtyard. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw a large number of maidservants gathered around one person, chatting in a lively manner.
That person was none other than the Feng family’s eldest young miss, Feng Chen Yu.
Today, Feng Chen Yu wore a sky blue winter coat. Her sleeves had cuffs and appeared very crisp and clean. On her head was a dangling blue gem ornament that matched her clothes. At the bottom, it had two orchid-shaped bells that had a crisp sound when they shook. It was truly beautiful.
Chen Yu seemed to be in quite a good mood. With maidservants surrounding her, she chatted endlessly. In just a few moments, she managed to explain the circumstances of her clothes completely.
“Eldest young miss’ clothes are made of really good material. It looks even more pure than the snow that falls from the sky. It truly does captivate people.”
“That’s right! There is also the dangling ornament. This servant has bad eyes and can not tell what gem it is made from, but it clearly is not a common item just.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Eldest young miss’ bracelet is also new. Heavens, to actually have such fresh things.”
The one at Chen Yu’s side was still Yi Lin. Hearing the servants praise her master, she felt that she had gained some face, thus she responded for Chen Yu, loudly saying: “These were all gifted by his Highness the eldest prince. They were just brought into the manor this morning. There were even special instructions for young miss to wear them upon receiving them. When the new year banquet comes, an even better gift would be sent.”
Chen Yu blushed and lightly scolded Yi Lin: “Only you speak too much.”
The eyes of the servants were filled with envy, as one of them said: “His Highness the eldest prince is much more lavish with his gifts than his Highness the fifth prince. The things his Highness the fifth prince sends are nothing more than some small trinkets. Simply looking at them is fine, but compared to the things eldest young miss has received, they are much worse.”
Chen Yu’s face was all smiles, but she still said: “You absolutely must not say it like this. The things sent by the two princes are all good, and no differences can be seen.”
The maidservant knew that she had made a mistake, so she lowered her head and fell silent.
Chen Yu saw this and said: “I am saying this for your sake. Saying it in front of me is fine, but what if someone else heard it. It would another dispute.”
The servant gratefully replied: “Thank you eldest young miss for reminding me.”
“Un. It’s good if you understand.” Chen Yu smiled then looked around at the maidservants.
Feng Yu Heng looked at the scene before her and felt it was funny. Feng Chen Yu had been born exceptionally beautiful. After being recognized, she became even more beautiful. Now that she had a matching set of clothes and accessories, to say that she was the most beautiful person in the city was not an exaggeration in the slightest. She had to admit that, no matter if it was the previous life or the current one, Feng Chen Yu was the most beautiful girl that she had ever seen. Even if there were people who had surgeries to change their appearances, they were not as beautiful as her.
It was a pity that she had a face beautiful enough to cause the collapse of countries, but her heart was also vile enough to cause the collapse of countries.
She stepped forward and loudly said: “Eldest sister, long time no see.”
Once this voice was heard, Chen Yu trembled in fear. Hurriedly turning to look, she saw Feng Yu Heng faintly smiling and walking towards her. Her heart twitched a few times in reaction, causing her face to become a little pale.
But she still managed to calm herself, putting on a kind expression to receive her. Very warmly, she said: “When did second sister return? How come you did not send anyone to tell us earlier, so we could receive you at the entrance.”
Feng Yu Heng smiled and shook her head, “Eldest sister is too polite. We are all family, so where is the need for such rules. It has been many days since we last saw each other. It seems that eldest sister’s condition has recovered to its previous peak. It truly is gratifying.”
Feng Chen Yu knew that there was a hidden meaning in her words, but she pretended that she could not understand it, only taking them as praise, “Previously, my body had not been well. I’ve troubled younger sister with worrying about it. Second sister has come to pay respects to grandmother, right? I also just arrived. I heard that fourth sister is already inside, so I was in no rush to enter. Since you have arrived, let’s go in together.”
“That’s good.” Feng Yu Heng nodded and walked with Chen Yu towards the matriarch’s hall.
At this time, Feng Fen Dai was seated next to the matriarch. Sipping tea, she said: “His Highness the fifth prince said that it is almost the new year, so he must send a gift. Thus he sent someone to send some bank notes over. Five thousand taels were given directly to granddaughter, so I kept them. The remaining ten thousand will be a filial offering to grandmother, and it will be considered a bit of consideration from granddaughter.”
Granny Zhao handed the bank notes that she had just received over to the matriarch. Each note was worth one thousand taels, so there was a total of ten. Seeing this, the matriarch smiled widely.
“You’ve all ground up. Knowing to give filial offerings to grandmother is very good. Growing up, grandmother doting on you was not in vain.”
Fen Dai said with a smile: “Granddaughter is always thinking of grandmother. A few days ago, his Highness the fifth prince sent a few bolts of fabric, right. Granddaughter was reluctant to use them, so granddaughter already sent someone to make them into winter clothes for grandmother. Thinking about it, they should be ready in a few more days. At that time, I hope grandmother will not dislike it.”
The smile in the matriarch’s eyes became more profound, “I will not dislike it. I won’t. Anything sent by his Highness the fifth prince is extremely good. How could grandmother dislike it? As for you, don’t just keep sending good things to grandmother. You need to keep some for yourself.”
“Yes.” Fen Dai agreed with a smile then took another sip of tea.
Looking at Fen Dai, the matriarch simply felt happy. Previously, she felt that this granddaughter was an eyesore no matter how she looked, especially the scenes she put on in front of the ninth prince. That was even more of an eyesore.
But now that she thought about it, that was simply because Fen Dai was young. She did not understand anything. Now that she was a little older, and she had an engagement, of course she would be a little more likeable each day.
Feng Yu Heng and Chen Yu both reached the entrance at this moment. Chen Yu gently tugged at Feng Yu Heng’s sleeve and quietly said: “Fourth sister’s engagement was something grandmother did not approve of at first. But now that fourth sister has sent gifts from his Highness the fifth prince to Shu Ya courtyard one after another, grandmother’s attitude slowly changed.”
She did not say anything further, and the two entered the hall. Feng Chen Yu increased her pace a little and saluted to the matriarch before Feng Yu Heng: “Granddaughter greets grandmother.”
Feng Yu Heng did not compete with her and knelt behind Chen Yu “A-Heng was away from the capital for over a month and just returned to the manor today. A-Heng specially came to pay respects to grandmother.”
The matriarch was stunned for a moment, as she did not think that Feng Yu Heng would suddenly return. This gave her absolutely no chance to prepare. She could not help but glare at granny Zhao and scold her: “Second young miss returned to the manor, so how come nobody came to report earlier?”
Granny Zhao quickly said: “It was this old servant that neglected her duty.” In her mind, however, she began to think, how come nobody had come from the entrance to report? What she did not know, however, was that the people at the entrance had been thrown in a mess because of Han shi. How could they still have time to worry about such things.
Feng Yu Heng, however, said: “A-Heng is not a guest. What would be the reason for a report. Has grandmother’s body been well recently?”
The matriarch smiled awkwardly, “Yes, you are not a guest. My body has been fine. I’ve troubled you for your concern. Quickly get up and be seated.” Her tone was much more distant than it had been in the past.
Feng Yu Heng did not argue and chose a seat opposite Feng Fen Dai to sit in.
The matriarch had already turned her attention to Chen Yu, as she felt that Chen Yu’s appearance today was truly beautiful. This granddaughter was truly beautiful. Even though she had watched her grow up, she was always surprised by Chen Yu.
“These clothes, they are newly made, right?” She asked about the clothes, but the matriarch’s eyes were focused on the dangling head ornament. She had lived for a long time, yet she was still unable to determine what it was made of.
Feng Yu Heng took a look then pretended to speak without any intentions: “Thinking about it, that should be amazonyte. It’s a very rare item. It should be more valuable than glass-type ornaments.”
Once these words came out, Fen Dai’s gaze became frosty…
1: Chinese idiom about blindly copying the mannerisms of another person. Here’s a video with English text https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm2ozdgHXUE