It’s Fine, I Just Got Into a Fight
When Feng Yu Heng entered the imperial palace, she never needed to provide identification. But she only ever entered through the back entrance to go straight to the back of the palace. Today was her first time going through the front entrance.
The guards at the front entrance were a little troubled. Normally, people without identification could not enter the palace through these gates, moreover, she was also a girl.
But Feng Yu Heng said: “I came to discuss something with father Emperor regarding the production of steel. Although I came in a bit of a rush and did not report ahead of time, the production of steel is a big matter. Father Emperor said long ago that I can enter the palace to speak with him at any time.”
These words caused the guards of the front entrance to remember that the Emperor seemed to have said something like this. After all, the production of steel was too important. Regardless of whether or not county princess Ji An had her identification, she was the only one that knew how to produce steel. This was something that everyone knew.
Thus they no longer stopped her and immediately granted her entrance.
Feng Yu Heng, however, did not enter immediately. Instead, she looked at Qing Yu and Huang Quan. Thinking a little, she said: “You two, go back first. With me kneeling, who knows how long it will be, and who knows what the outcome will be. Wang Chuan has not completely healed from her injuries. If something happened now, there would be nobody to take care of her.”
Qing Yu immediately said: “That’s right, sister Huang Quan should return first. Protecting our strength is most important. I will still be here to accompany young miss.”
Feng Yu Heng shook her head, “You will also go back.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean huh? If family matters are important, has business suddenly lost its importance?” She said in a very serious manner to Qing Yu: “Your young miss is very poor. You absolutely must keep a good eye on the businesses. We cannot allow ourselves to earn a single cent less.”
Qing Yu stomped her feet: “Young miss, what sort of situation is it, yet you still have the heart to joke around.”
“I am not joking around.” She said very seriously: “No matter what the outcome is of me going into the palace, none of us can be disorderly. Business matters that must be attended to still need to be taken care of. The matters of the home that need to be attended to also must be taken care of. There are many people in the manor, but the ones that can truly be trusted are few. The matter with Mei Xiang this time is something that you have both seen. What part of the Feng manor allows me to feel at ease?”
The two understood the reasoning behind what she had said, but how could they allow Feng Yu Heng to enter alone, as Huang Quan said: “Hidden guards cannot enter the palace. How about having Ban Zou return. With him and Wang Chuang along with the hidden guards sent by their Highnesses there are definitely enough people. This servant will accompany young miss in. If something happens…” She pondered a little then said: “Didn’t his Highness the seventh prince say that you can send for imperial concubine Yun. That’s why young miss needs to have someone at her side, otherwise, young miss will not have anyone to send messages.”
What Huang Quan said was reasonable, but Feng Yu Heng’s mind was something that could not be changed, as she quickly entered through the gates and said to the guard: “This county princess will enter alone. The two behind are not permitted to follow me.”
These words caused the guards to immediately use their spears to block the entrance, holding Huang Quan and Qing Yu outside the palace.
The two were truly exasperated. They stood in place and stared for a while until Feng Yu Heng gradually disappeared from their sights. Only then did they reluctantly return to the carriage.
Huang Quan drove the carriage. After getting the carriage out of range of the palace, she stopped and shouted out: “Ban Zou!”
Who knew where that person came from, as he sat down at her side, “Just letting her enter the palace on her own. If something happens, we’ll see how his Highness deals with you.”
Of course, Huang Quan knew that if something happened to Feng Yu Heng, she could not escape punishment. Presently, she could not be bothered to argue with Ban Zou, as she anxiously said: “His Highness the seventh prince said that he sent someone to the military camp to find his Highness. You should also go over in that direction! After all, his Highness the seventh prince’s people will not be clear on the situation at the Xiang Palace’s entrance. With you going, you should be able to give his Highness an explanation.”
Ban Zou immediately nodded and said in a serious manner: “Alright, I will go immediately. After you go back, don’t just stay in the manor. Send people to keep watch in front of the palace. Once something happens, it will be easier to pass along a message.” After he finished speaking, he disappeared in an instant.
Huang Quan also worked the horses hard, as the carriage hastily rushed in the direction of the Feng manor.
After Feng Yu Heng entered the palace, she headed straight in the direction of Heavenly Hall. She had heard that the Emperor was in Heavenly Hall attending a meeting with some military commanders, and the eunuch leading the way told her: “Although his Majesty said that nobody is permitted to disrupt this meet, county princess is different. You will be producing steel for our Da Shun. The production of steel is an important matter. His Majesty will meet you no matter what.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded ambiguously, as some guilt entered her heart. Production of steel, what production of steel? She had come to kneel in front of the palace.
Finally, the two arrived in the square in front of the Heavenly Hall. As they walked toward Heavenly Hall, they saw the Emperor’s personal eunuch, Zhang Yuan, trot towards them.
Feng Yu Heng stopped, as Zhang Yuan saluted her: “This servant greets county princess.”
She quickly reached out and stopped him: “There’s no need for eunuch Zhang to be so courteous. Is father Emperor inside Heavenly Hall?”
Zhang Yuan nodded, “Replying to county princess, he is. His Majesty is currently meeting with military commanders. General Ping Nan is also present.”
The eunuch who had led Feng Yu Heng over politely said: “County princess has come to meet with his Majesty.”
Zhang Yuan was a little troubled: “Not to hide it from county princess, but his Majesty has already said that during this meeting, he will not meet anyone. People from the Xiang Palace came earlier, and his Majesty did not even meet them. Oh right,” He suddenly remembered something, “Prime minister Feng also sent someone. Unfortunately, they did not get to meet with his Majesty.”
The meaning was clear. The Emperor will not meet you, please go back.
But how could Feng Yu Heng be willing to go back? The eunuch who led the way was even more anxious to speak on her behalf: “County princess has come to meet with his Majesty for something related to the production of steel.”
“Oh!” Zhang Yuan was startled, “Then this is an important matter. County princess, please wait here a little. This servant will go in right now to report. His Majesty is thinking about the production of steel every day. No matter how busy he is right now, he will meet you.”
Zhang Yuan was about to leave after saying this, but he was stopped by Feng Yu Heng: “Wait a moment.” She was a little troubled. Seeing Zhang Yuan look at her in confusion, she did not say anything else. Sweeping her dress, she kneeled facing Heavenly Hall.
This gave Zhang Yuan a fright, and the eunuch that had guided her was also dazed, as Zhang Yuan said: “County princess, what are you doing this for? If you want to meet his Majesty, this servant will just go and report it. There is no need to kneel…” The more he said, the harder he found it to continue. Earlier, he had only been focused on chatting and did not carefully examine Feng Yu Heng. When he looked now, his heart thunked.
Something’s not right! Why is county princess’ dress covered in blood? He sniffed the air and found that the smell of blood was quite thick. What exactly was this county princess doing earlier?
Zhang Yuan’s confusion was completely seen through by Feng Yu Heng. It also allowed her to know that it was possible that news of what had happened at the Xiang Palace had not made its way into the imperial palace. As for whether or not the Emperor knew about it, it was harder to tell. After all, the Emperor had many eyes and plenty of hidden guards. Who knew if he already knew about it and was just waiting for her to deliver herself.
At such a time, Feng Yu Heng could no longer use the pretext of producing steel. She could only say to Zhang Yuan: “I made some mistakes and came to ask forgiveness from father Emperor. There is no need for eunuch Zhang to go and report. You can go handle your work. I will just continue to kneel here. Just treat it as though you did not see me.”
Although Zhang Yuan felt that this was out of the ordinary, he did not have too much of a reaction. After all, there were plenty of people who came to kneel in front of Heavenly Hall every day. When the concubines of the imperial harem were bored, they would also come over. Over the course of a single year, he saw this scene too many times. He no longer found this scene to be odd.
But the eunuch who had guided her was given a fright. At first, he thought that Feng Yu Heng was a noble person. By guiding her properly, he could receive some rewards; however, who knew that the person that he had guided in had done something wrong and had come to kneel in front of the palace. His calves trembled, as he looked to Zhang Yuan for help, and Zhang Yuan just waved his hand to him. Without saying another word, he ran away.
Staying behind, Zhang Yuan faced Feng Yu Heng and was unable to hold back his curiosity, as he asked: “County princess, what exactly did you do?”
Feng Yu Heng smiled, “I got into a fight with someone.”
Zhang Yuan felt a drop of cold sweat slide down his head, “With whom?”
“The third prince.”
“The thir…” Zhang Yua nearly bit his own tongue, as he quickly and carefully examined the girl in front of him. He then urgently asked: “Was county princess injured?” Her body was covered with so much blood. She must have been cut somewhere. He stomped his foot, “Hah! County princess, you really are foolish! His Highness the third prince is skilled in martial arts. His martial arts level is quite high, as he was personally taught by some masters. He is extremely skilled. This servant will say something impolite, but his Highness the third prince is extremely violent. If you took action against him, how could you possibly gain anything! Right now is the most critical moment when it comes to producing steel. His Majesty gave special instructions to ensure that you are not put in any danger. You…” He spoke to this point then stopped and thought a little, “That’s not right! His Highness the third prince clearly knows how important you are to Da Shun. How could he dare to harm county princess?”
Feng Yu Heng very helplessly looked at Zhang Yuan and said: “He did not hurt me.”
Zhang Yuan was startled. Looking at the blood on Feng Yu Heng’s clothes, he could not help but say: “Then it is…”
“The blood is his.”
“What?” Zhang Yuan let out a shocked “oh” sound. He then covered his mouth for a long time before asking in disbelief: “County princess’ meaning is his Highness the third prince is injured?” He then seemed to have realized something. Nodding, he said: “It seems his Highness understands that he absolutely must not hurt county princess.”
Feng Yu Heng, however, shook her head, “Not at all, he signed a death waiver with me. This fight was serious. Eunuch Zhang, did you know that he even pulled out a flexible sword from his waist. It scared me to death.” She put on a bewildered expression and looked at Zhang Yuan. Her body was very cooperative and trembled.
It seemed as though Zhang Yuan was able to see what had happened based on what she had said. The third prince advanced while attacking, as Feng Yu Heng dodged about.
In shock, he looked in the direction that Feng Yu Heng had come from. He wanted to see if Xuan Tian Ye had also come. The two had fought, but why had county princess Ji An come alone to beg forgiveness? Shouldn’t both of them have come?
But after looking for a while, he could not see Xuan Tian Ye’s figure.
He was confused once more: “County princess, a fight is just a fight. Why have you come here to kneel?”
Feng Yu Heng replied: “Naturally, it’s because I fought a little too fiercely. It’s no good if I don’t come to beg forgiveness.”
Zhang Yuan was still confused about what she meant by fighting too fiercely. At this time, someone that looked like a guard rushed over. Seeing Zhang Yuan, he nodded, but upon seeing Feng Yu Heng, he could not help but frown.
Zhang Yuan could see that this person knew something. Quickly pulling the person to the side, he quietly asked: “You have come to report, is it related to his Highness the third prince and county princess Ji An?”
The person nodded then leaned close and whispered into Zhang Yuan’s ear. The more Zhang Yuan heard, the more shocked he became. By the end, he could no longer close his mouth, as his jaw dropped to the ground…