Who Exactly is Your Daughter?
Once Feng Jin Yuan said this, not to mention the children, but even the matriarch’s heart froze. She had clearly just heard Princess Ru Jia talking about how uncle Feng had bought her a lantern last night. How come he completely forgot about it when it came to his own children?
Xiang Rong froze in place and felt that neither sitting nor standing were right. Her eyes began to turn red, as she lowered her head and began twisting her handkerchief.
Feng Yu Heng had a grief-filled expression and said: “Just now, father and Princess Ru Jia were talking about the custom of the lanterns. Did you forget so quickly? A-Heng only just returned this year, so it’s fine for father to forget about A-Heng, but haven’t you been buying lanterns every year for third sister and eldest sister?”
Originally, Chen Yu had planned on currying favor with Kang Yi. The pros and cons of the relations had already been clearly analyzed very thoroughly between her and Xing’er, but even if that was the case, seeing that Feng Jin Yuan only paid attention to Kang Yi’s daughter, completely ignoring her and her sisters, she felt very uncomfortable.
“The lanterns on the fifth of the new year can light up a child’s path. Does father not want for us sisters to have good futures?” Feng Yu Heng sat in her chair and spoke faintly: “The past half year was already not very good. The wound on eldest sister’s forehead is still there. It’s fine that father did not bring grandmother out. Daughter took care of being filial for father, as I had some takeout, similar to what the Bu family’s elder madam ate, brought back. But you actually bought Princess Ru Jia a lantern, so why did you not buy a few more for us sisters?”
With her mentioning the Bu family’s elder madam, the matriarch became even more unhappy. With a gloomy expression, she asked Feng Jin Yuan: “In the end, are you or are you not a father?”
Feng Jin Yuan also began to feel regret after hearing what the children said. Last night, he had only been worried about ensuring Ru Jia and Kang Yi were happy. He had completely forgotten about his own children. He also did not think that elder madam Bu going out to see the lights would be seen by Feng Yu Heng. This truly made him look very bad.
He quickly took a few steps forward and said to the matriarch: “It was Jin Yuan that made the mistake. Would mother please hand down a punishment.”
“Hand down punishment?” The matriarch coldly snorted then looked at Kang Yi and Ru Jia, and her expression became even uglier: “I will ask you, who exactly is your daughter?”
In front of Ru Jia, this question was already very severe. Ru Jia felt a little out of place, and Kang Yi quickly pulled her to the side and gave her a look, telling her not to speak. She then walked forward and saluted the matriarch, saying: “This matter is Kang Yi’s fault. Because this was my first time coming to Da Shun, not to mention Ru Jia, even was I very intrigued. Only then did I ask Lord Feng to bring us out to look around. Lord Feng is also considerate of Ru Jia, who does not have a father, so he dotes on her a little more. I ask elder madam not to blame Lord Feng. If there is any blame, it should be directed at Kang Yi.”
Feng Jin Yuan quickly protected her, saying: “This is unrelated to eldest princess. Mother, eldest princess is the special envoy from Qian Zhou. Son taking care of her is also for the sake of the country. This is also sharing a burden with his Majesty!”
He directly brought out the Emperor’s name and successfully blocked the matriarch.
Feng Yu Heng faintly sighed then turned to look at Chen Yu: “Eldest sister also does not have her mother at her side.”
Feng Jin Yuan coldly snorted, “The manor’s daughters of a concubine only call the first wife mother. In the future, there will be someone to dote on her. There is no need for you to worry.”
“Un.” Feng Yu Heng nodded then smiled and looked at her father: “Taking care of special envoys is naturally for the sake of the country, then why did father refuse the prince of Zong Sui’s request to come visit without hesitation?”
“How could Zong Sui be similar to Qian Zhou?” Feng Jin Yuan flicked his sleeve and said: “Do not try to sow discord here.”
“Sow discord?” She immediately laughed, “Daughter just does not understand what father means. Since father is unable to properly dispel daughter’s doubts, the next time daughter goes into the palace, I will ask my other father.”
Feng Jin Yuan trembled and began to regret speaking to Feng Yu Heng like that. This girl was capable of doing anything. It was possible that these words would become known in the palace tomorrow. Unfortunately, the words had already been said, so they could not be taken back.
He was both annoyed and angry, as he stood awkwardly in the hall. He did not know how to get around what he had said.
Kang Yi could see that his mood was not good, and some guilt appeared on his face. Taking the initiative, she said: “County princess has misunderstood Lord Feng. Speaking of this matter, it should be blamed on This one. Because Ru Jia and that prince from Zong Sui never see eye to eye, I fear that if he came, the two would only argue. Only because of that did Lord Feng not dare to invite that prince to the manor.”
“So it was like this!” Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “Father not allowing him come is also good. Otherwise, I fear that I would not have been able to help the prince from Zong Sui and his Highness Prince Yu become close like brothers.”
This made it clear that the prince from Zong Sui and Xuan Tian Ming now had some sort of relations. This caused Feng Jin Yuan to feel extremely regretful.
Kang Yi quickly changed the subject, walking over to Chen Yu, she held her hand and said: “This one knows that your birth mother passed away, so there has never been anyone at your side to take care of you; however, I don’t know why I continue to feel as though something was predetermined by fate between us. Yesterday, we were wrong in regards to the lanterns. Please forgive us. In the future, if This one is able to help you, young miss Feng, please speak up. This one will do my best to help.”
Chen Yu was stunned. Could this be considered a promise using her status as a princess?
Feng Yu Heng squinted her eyes and looked at Kang Yi. Before Chen Yu spoke up, she said: “Eldest princess being able to think this way, we will consider the matter of the lanterns as being in the past. Third sister, quickly get up and come with second sister to thank eldest princess for this grace. Being able to receive the blessing of a foreign eldest princess is our good fortune.”
Seeing Feng Yu Heng and Xiang Rong stand up, the matriarch also said: “That’s right. There are many children in the Feng manor. Eldest princess, do not favor one and discriminate against the others.” After this series of events, the matriarch’s attitude towards Kang Yi was no longer as good as it had been before. She was still pondering these matters, and she had not thought too hard about it. Her own son only paid attention to her while ignoring herself. He only spent time doting on her daughter while ignoring his own daughters. What sort of situation was this?
Kang Yi was originally just showing a good appearance to Chen Yu; however, she did not think that Feng Yu Heng and the other children of the Feng family would also get dragged in. The matriarch had also interjected to say such a thing. She immediately understood. After the events of the day before, the matriarch had already developed some opinions of her. If she did not go along with her, perhaps they would not be able to pass this hurdle.
Kang Yi quickly broke down the pros and cons then smiled to say to the matriarch: “The Feng family has treated Kang Yi and Ru Jia like family. Kang Yi looks upon everyone in the manor with favor. Elder madam, please do not worry. For Kang Yi, the young misses will have a similar standing at Ru Jia.”
Hearing her promise this, the matriarch finally nodded and expressed her satisfaction. Feng Jin Yuan also let out a sigh of relief, giving Kang Yi a grateful look.
Feng Yu Heng did not say much else. She originally intended to just give the matriarch a reminder and have her understand that Kang Yi was not Yao shi or Chen shi. Feng Jin Yuan’s treatment of her was even more abnormal. As for eliminating the possibility of Kang Yi marrying into the Feng manor with just this, she was very clear that it absolutely was not enough.
Seeing Kang Yi resolve this small crisis then sit next, Jin Zhen, who was sitting next to An shi, became even more troubled. Ever since Kang Yi had begun living in the Feng manor, Feng Jin Yuan had not taken a single step inside her Ru Yi courtyard. Even the daily concern that he showed was completely gone. Now, for the sake of pleasing Kang Yi, he even forgot about buying lanterns for his own daughters. It seemed that Feng Jin Yuan’s heart was completely controlled by Kang Yi. None were able to steal it back.
Jin Zhen looked at Feng Yu Heng in remorse, and she had to look once more at which team she aligned herself with. Unfortunately, she looked for a long time but did not see Feng Yu Heng take even a glance towards her.
The atmosphere in the hall was a little awkward. Feng Jin Yuan and the matriarch chatted superficially for a while. Seeing that the matriarch was not very happy with him, he prepared to stand up and bid farewell; however, at this time, a servant quickly ran in and bowed to the matriarch and urgently said: “Elder madam, someone has come to the gate saying that the special envoy from a foreign country has come to request an audience!”
“Special envoy from a foreign country?” The matriarch was startled then looked at Feng JinYuan: “Didn’t you refuse to allow the prince from Zong Sui to come? What has he come for?” Presently, aside from the special envoy that lived in their manor, Kang Yi, the only other one was naturally the prince from Zong Sui. The matriarch recalled what Feng Yu Heng had just said about the prince of Zong Sui and his Highness Prince Yu hitting it off. Feng Jin Yuan appeared remorseful, thus she quickly said: “Regardless of what the reason is since they have come, just take good care of them. Quickly, let’s all head to the front yard to take a look.”
Feng Jin Yuan did not understand what that Li Kun had come for. He wanted to ask Feng Yu Heng for verification; however, seeing that Feng Yu Heng did not even look at him and appeared to be completely unrelated, he could only retract his gaze.
The matriarch stood up and walked towards the door with help from granny Zhao. Feng Jin Yuan followed behind her. Kang Yi walked while advising Ru Jia; “Later, you absolutely must not say too much. They have come to see uncle Feng, so it is unrelated to us.”
Ru Jia nodded, “I know. Mother, you can relax.”
Everyone had their own ideas, especially the matriarch and Feng Jin Yuan. Regardless of what was said, the prince from Zong Sui had personally come to visit. For them, this was an opportunity.
The group walked over to the front yard and saw a small group of people standing there and surrounding a male wearing a golden Winter coat. He had a large build and a noble demeanor with his hands clasped behind his back. He had a bit of an aura of a lord. But there was a trace of femininity between his eyebrows. No matter how one looked, there was a bit of a sinister look in his eyes.
At his side was a girl that was thin and short. With a veil covering her face and tears in her eyes, she appeared to be very pitiful. The girl’s fingernails were painted a pure black, and there were numerous golden hoops on her wrist. Whenever she moved, they would make noise.
The others were attendants that had come along. There were a man and a woman, and both were dressed up in foreign clothing. The woman was graceful and enchanting, while the man was a little feminine.
The matriarch was at the front. When the man and woman saw that someone had come, they first bowed deeply to the matriarch, as the man said: “This elder must be the prime minister’s manor’s elder madam. This lowly prince greets elder madam and pays respects to elder madam. My visit today was sudden and without warning. I hope that elder madam will forgive me.”
Feng Yu Heng followed along at the back and frowned. Who was this person?
While she was confused, she heard the matriarch chuckle and respond: “No problem! No problem! For the prince of Zong Sui to come as a guest of the manor is also the Feng family’s honor.”
That person was clearly stunned, as the woman used a bewitching tone to say: “Elder madam is mistaken. We are not from Zong Sui.”
“Huh?” The matriarch was stunned. They were not from Zong Sui? She had not met Li Kun, so she naturally mistook these people, but if he was not the prince of Zong Sui, who could he be?
The matriarch did not recognize him, but Feng Jin Yuan immediately recognized who that person was, thus he took a step forward and cupped his hands, saying: “Is this honored one from Gu Shu?”
