When Dealing With Someone Sometimes One Must Rely on Bluffs
Jin Zhen’s words had managed to attract Feng Yu Heng’s interest. Originally, she had already stood up to take her leave and enter the palace. After all, there was still a patient worth five million taels of gold. Who knew that Jin Zhen would suddenly say such a thing that could cause her to actually sit back down.
Feng Chen Yu was a little anxious, as she loudly said: “Stop slandering others!”
The matriarch, however, waved her hand and stopped Chen Yu from speaking. She then said to Jin Zhen: “Speak!”
Jin Zhen was slightly gasping for air. She looked very nervous, as she deliberately moved closer to Feng Jin Yuan’s side in search of some comfort. Seeing Feng Jin Yuan give her a reassuring look, she finally said: “The day after the situation with sister Han, this concubine passed by eldest young miss’ courtyard and personally saw her personal servant burying something in the yard. It was a powdery substance, so it should be the jelly ear powder that second young miss had mentioned was used in the poisoning.”
“What?” The matriarch was extremely shocked. It had to be said that perhaps the earring meant nothing, but the appearance of jelly ear powder was very direct. Moreover… “You are saying that eldest young miss’ servant was burying jelly ear powder in the yard?”
Jin Zhen nodded, “That’s right. This concubine saw it clearly. It was jelly ear powder.” Saying this, she pointed at Xing’er, who was standing behind Chen Yu: “It was her that was burying it!”
Xing’er immediately became panicked. Her legs gave out, causing her to drop to her knees. While shaking her head, she said: “No, this servant did not bury anything! This servant didn’t bury anything!”
Chen Yu was also a little flustered, but she did not deny it as resolutely as Xing’er. Instead, she pointed at Xing’er and said: “Stupid servant, if you buried it, you buried it. Why must you lie?” She then stood up and said to the matriarch: “Granddaughter did have my servant bury the jelly ear powder; however, I did not use it to poison anyone. It was all because granddaughter heard that jelly ear could reduce the feeling of the cold. Only then did I have someone buy it to eat. That day, concubine mother Han was poisoned by jelly ear powder, and granddaughter also felt afraid. Because of that, I had it buried.”
Her explanation was very reasonable, but it was too much of a coincidence. Not to mention Fen Dai not believing it, not even the matriarch and Feng Jin Yuan believed it.
Trembling, the matriarch pointed at Chen Yu and said with disappointment: “I gave you chance after chance, yet you let me down time and time again. Feng Chen Yu, how could my Feng family have a daughter like you?”
Kang Yi quickly went forward to help pat the matriarch on the back, “Mother, quell your anger. Be careful of your body.”
“Can I quell it?” The matriarch trembled with anger, “With such a vicious person in the manor, I can’t enjoy a single peaceful day. Jin Yuan!” She looked at Feng Jin Yuan and said: “Feng Chen Yu tried to kill the Feng family’s child. What do you say on this matter?”
Feng Jin Yuan was also disappointed with Chen Yu. Even if Chen Yu repeatedly explained that she did not do it, based on his knowledge of the things that Chen Yu had done, this time, Feng Jin Yuan believed it.
“Father should do some cleaning!” Fen Dai suddenly shouted. Pointing at Chen Yu, she said: “Someone guilty of committing murder can die ten thousand times, and it still would not be enough!”
“Shut your mouth!” Feng Jin Yuan forcefully scolded. No matter what was said, when comparing Chen Yu and Fen Dai, he still favored the former. “Father has naturally made a decision. Where is there any room for you to interject.”
Fen Dai was rendered speechless, as she pouted and glared at Feng Chen Yu. She originally hoped that her father would punish her severely, but after waiting for a while, it was Kang Yi that said: “This topic is extremely serious. It would be best to investigate this matter thoroughly. Eldest young miss has been proclaiming that she has been framed the entire time, so it would be best if we did not really end up punishing someone that was framed.”
Feng Chen Yu glanced at Kang Yi. She knew that this mother was helping her. Fortunately, the person that was her opponent today was Jin Zhen. She trusted that Kang Yi could definitely deal with someone like Jin Zhen without a problem. As long as it was not Feng Yu Heng, there was not a single person in this manor that she feared.
Seeing Chen Yu be taken away, Feng Yu Heng also stood up and said to the matriarch: “A-Heng still must go into the palace to treat Princess Ru Jia’s injuries, so I will not be staying. I will come and pay respects to grandmother tomorrow.”
Hearing her mention Ru Jia’s injuries, the matriarch could not help but ask: “Are Ru Jia’s injuries very severe?”
Feng Yu Heng glanced at Kang Yi. Seeing that she had a very anxious look, she smiled and said: “Either way, the cost is five million taels of gold and ten snow lotuses. Mother, don’t worry. With A-Heng here, there will be no problem in saving Princess Ru Jia’s life. Hah,” As she spoke, she lightly sighed. Turning around, she said to Cheng Jun Man: “Every part of the Feng family is good, but it has just been lacking in mother that can take care of educating the children. I originally thought that eldest princess Kang Yi entering the manor would bring about an improvement; however, I never thought that she would raise Princess Ru Jia to become like that.”
Cheng Jun Man quickly picked up on the conversation, saying: “It’s because of this that aunty had us sisters enter the manor. Would county princess please not worry. At a later date, this concubine will definitely teach the manor’s young misses the rules that I have learned from the palace. This concubine will not allow the young misses appear lacking in etiquette in front of outsiders.”
This was equivalent to taking away Kang Yi’s right to educate the children, but nobody in the Feng family said anything. After all, when the Cheng shi sisters entered the manor, the reason was that Kang Yi did a poor job of raising Ru Jia. Now, the matriarch also felt that if the Cheng shi sisters taught the children of the manor it would be quite good. They had come out of the palace, so they would not be lacking in their understanding of the rules. With this sort of person teaching the children, in the future, regardless of the situation, they would all be presentable.
Thus she nodded: “Good, if you can handle the burden of educating the children in manners, it will reduce some of my worries.” While saying this, she looked at Xiang Rong and Fen Dai: “In the future, you will need to properly learn from these two concubine mothers. It is best to learn the rules of the palace.”
Xiang Rong was always very obedient. Hearing the matriarch give an order, she complied, not making a single mistake in her response.
As for Fen Dai, her attitude towards the Cheng shi sisters was much better than her attitude toward Kang Yi. It was simply because the two had come from the palace. In her mind, if she became more familiar with these two it would make hearing about any information much easier. The fifth prince had disappeared and not appeared again for many days. Her heart was feeling uneasy, as she kept sending people out to see if the Li Palace had taken in any new people. Fortunately, these people all reported that he had not, which had given her a bit of relief.
Seeing Fen Dai salute and agree, the matriarch finally nodded. Feng Yu Heng also smiled and said to Cheng Jun Man: “Since that is the case, I will trouble concubine mother with the work.” She patted the back of Cheng Jun Man’s hand then turned around and left with Huang Quan.
Feng Jin Yuan felt a little awkward. In the end, he was still the father, but this daughter did not even say a word to him when coming or going. Truly… He looked at Cheng Jun Man and told her: “The second young miss also needs her manners straightened out too. Just put in a little more of your time.”
Cheng Jun Man nodded but said: “Aunty usually praises county princess for being intelligent and reasonable. Even uncle praises county princess for being sensible. Thinking about it, Jun Man’s rules will be lacking compared to county princess. I would need to ask county princess to help out!”
Feng Jin Yuan trembled as he wanted to say, what help would she provide. If she was obedient and reasonable then that meant there were no reasonable people left in the world.
But just as he opened his mouth, he heard the matriarch cough dryly and give him a harsh look. Only then did Feng Jin Yuan react. Who were the aunty and uncle that Cheng Jun Man was talking about? They were the Empress and the Emperor! Was he bored enough that he wanted to refute the Emperor and the Empress?
Thus he laughed dryly and smiled in a sort of agreement.
On the other side, Feng Yu Heng and Huang Quan were already seated in the imperial carriage and heading towards the imperial palace. Huang Quan supported her chin and asked her: “Young miss, why were you so certain that eldest princess Kang Yi wore that bracelet when she got married?”
Feng Yu Heng extended her hand out and said: “I bluffed.”
Huang Quan facepalmed, “Your bluff really was accurate!”
“That’s true.” She nodded shamelessly. “I also felt that I was quite awesome.”
“Tsk!” A sarcastic sound came from the air.
Feng Yu Heng became unhappy, as she grabbed Huang Quan and said: “When we come out of the palace later, we should go to the Yu Palace. I want to return Ban Zou. I don’t want him. Either way, the manor now has so many hidden guards. Who isn’t stronger than him?”
The sound of someone gnashing their teeth came from the air: “There really isn’t anyone stronger than me. If you don’t believe me, just try?”
The banter between master and servant was something that Huang Quan had become accustomed to. She definitely did not believe that Feng Yu Heng would really return Ban Zou, and she definitely did not believe that Ban Zou was really going to be disrespectful to Feng Yu Heng.
On the contrary, Feng Yu Heng treated Ban Zou the same way that she treated them: very well. She had never treated them as servants, rather, she treated them as brothers and sisters. As for Ban Zou, he was previously only accustomed to hiding in the shadows. After suddenly following Feng Yu Heng, this sort of… uh, unconventional master, it was possible that his inner liveliness was also brought out. This was nothing more than playful banter, but once things got dangerous, Ban Zou would definitely put forth his life to ensure Feng Yu Heng’s safety.
She and Wang Chuan were also the same!
Seeing Ru Jia today, her spirit seemed to be better than the previous day. Perhaps it was because the room had been cleaned by the servants. Incense was also being burned, so the room smelled much better than before. This gave off a very sincere feeling.
But Ru Jia did not say a word when she saw Feng Yu Heng. She only glared at Feng Yu Heng with eyes filled with resentment. It was as though just glaring was enough to vent the anger in her heart.
Feng Yu Heng could not be bothered to pay any attention to her, as she began taking care of the injuries.
Ru Jia glared for almost an entire hour. Finally no longer able to endure, she stopped glaring; however, she used a warning tone to tell Feng Yu Heng: “For five million taels of gold, you must pay attention when treating me. You must be worthy of the fee that is being paid.”
Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “Don’t worry. I will definitely treat you properly, so that I can whip your properly the next time around.”
“You” Ru Jia wanted to begin cursing her eight generations of ancestors as she was accustomed to doing, but when she remembered the injuries that covered her body were a result of her rushing to curse others, she held herself back. Looking away, she no longer wanted to look at Feng Yu Heng.
Feng Yu Heng spent four hours taking care of her injuries. When she finally finished, Ru Jia was on the verge of dying from the pain. Hearing that Feng Yu Heng would be returning again the next day, she suddenly wanted to give up on this treatment. It was too painful. Ru Jia was truly beginning to wonder if she could endure this pain. The gold had been spent, but if she died during the procedure, would that not be too pitiful?
But Feng Yu Heng did not have any desire to pay attention to her. After finishing her work, she packed up her things and left. She would not tell Ru Jia that she had not used anesthetics. A sin that she had committed would need to be endured on her own. Only by remembering this pain could she remember not to act out next time. Although she did not truly believe that Ru Jia could truly change…
Leaving the palace, Feng Yu Heng had someone point her in the direction of Qing An Palace. Along with Huang Quan, she headed in that direction. Huang Quan did not enter the palace last time, so she still did not understand why they would suddenly go to Qing An Palace. Just as she wanted to ask, a palace maid hurriedly ran towards them.