Escaping Disaster
The Feng family’s eldest daughter, Feng Chen Yu, finally succeeded in dying after her repeated activities that courted death.
Watching her be cut at the waist, Feng Yu Heng did not seem to rejoice much. She just finished eating then wiped her hands with a towel before saying to herself: “Feng Chen Yu’s era has come to an end.”
Xiang Rong was still standing in front of the window, and she was still staring at the corpse that had been cut into two parts. She watched people carry the body away, as the heavy rain quickly washed away the blood. “Second sister. “The little girl whispered, “I finally understand what you meant before. A person must rely on themselves to live, and the type of heart that one has will determine the type of life one would live. Second sister, I want to cancel this engagement. Father is no longer the prime minister, and I can no longer assume the position of General Bu’s official wife. Rather than waiting for him to cancel it, it would be better if I went to cancel it on my own.” While saying this, she looked at Feng Yu Heng. It looked as though she was asking for her opinion.
Feng Yu Heng did not have many opinions, only telling her: “You can make the decision on your own. Feng Jin Yuan is nothing more than a standard fifth rank official. Even if he wishes to seek connections with the Bu family, the Bu family would not be willing.”
Xiang Rong added: “Second sister, I also want to move out. Say, will father agree?”
Feng Yu Heng laughed, “What does it matter if he agrees or not. Unless he sends people to tie you up and bring you back, and even if he did, you can fight back, right?”
Xiang Rong nodded, “I saved up a bit of money for myself. Second sister, can you help me find a place to live?”
Feng Yu Heng reached out and patted the girl’s small head: “What’s the need to find a place to live. Just move into the county princess’ manor. I would like to see just how much ability Feng Jin Yuan has to come to my county princess’ manor to take someone away.”
Xiang Rong immediately expressed herself: “Then I would need to pay.”
The two sisters happily chatted. At this time, they heard a very sarcastic female voice from the room next door: “Their own elder sister was executed. Why are you still so happy? Seventh brother, what are their hearts made of?” It was Yu Qian Yin.
Xuan Tian Hua did not speak.
Huang Quan was a little angry. Taking a couple steps over, she shouted at the barrier between the two rooms: “If you have the ability, come and say it to our face. What is the point of speaking behind the backs of others?”
The other room fell silent for a moment. Not long later, the sound of footsteps arrived in front of the door. The door opened, and it was Xuan Tian Ming.
Feng Yu Heng pointed next door and said to him: “Did you see seventh brother?”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded but said: “He already left with that girl.”
Huang Quan furrowed her brow and asked in confusion: “What exactly is that girl doing?”
Xuan Tian Ming very frankly said: “I don’t know.” He then sat straight down next to his wife. Ignoring Xiang Rong, who had bowed to pay respects to him, he said to Feng Yu Heng: “A report came from the Board of Astronomy last night. This rainfall will continue for ten days.” When he spoke, he no longer had the carefree expression as when he had sent someone to take her food. In fact, he did not even mention Feng Chen Yu’s matter. Furrowing his brow, he was worried about this rainfall.
With the rain falling as it did, Feng Yu Heng had also been worried. Hearing that it would rain for another ten days, worry also appeared on her face. She had not forgotten the crisis that had been brought to the capital and its surroundings by the heavy snowfall during Winter. She had not forgotten about the people that had frozen to death. At that time, although she had done her best to alleviate the disaster, there were still things that she could not manage. If a crisis with snow became like that, what about a flood.
She also furrowed her brow, saying: “The heavy rain will cause mountain torrents, and these mountain torrents will cause landslides. What’s most worrying is what comes after the disaster. With the hot days, if corpses are not taken care of properly, they will rot and spread disease. When the time comes, the disease would have spread, and that would be a major problem.”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “That is precisely what I am worried about.”
Feng Yu Heng suddenly thought of the military camp and quickly asked: “What about the military camp?”
He patted her shoulder and comforted her, saying: “There’s no problem at the military camp. That side has already dug some drainage ditches in order to prevent flooding.” The hand that was on her shoulder slightly tightened. Xuan Tian Ming stood up and told Feng Yu Heng: “You should go home. I will be going into the palace.”
Feng Yu Heng also stood up, anxiously asking: “Didn’t you say that you haven’t eaten yet?”
He waved his hand: “I will go into the palace to eat.”
She knew that he was anxious about the disaster, thus she did not remain for too long. Bringing the group along, everyone left the restaurant and got into their separate carriages. One went to the imperial palace, and one went to the county princess’ manor.”
At this time, the rituals at the Feng manor continued. The masters continued to mutter sutras that could not be understood, and the room was filled with lit candles. He Zhong once again ran into the hall. With a bitter expression, he said to Feng Jin Yuan: “Master, the person that had been sent out has returned. Eldest young miss has already… been executed.”
Feng Jin Yuan’s body swayed, and he fell to the ground. At the same time, the masters raised the funeral banner in their hands, and their voices became louder.
The matriarch had also lost her composure. Fortunately, she did not place as much hope and feelings into Chen Yu as Feng Jin Yuan. At this time, she was still able to maintain her sense of reason. She spoke to everyone in the room: “You can cry. In any case, cry a bit. It’s just the sentiment. That will keep that girl from dying with remaining grievances and coming back to cause us trouble.”
The servants had received the order and quickly let out some cries. Although there were not many that truly let out any tears, the sound was not lacking. Especially some of the more frightened servants that had been scared by Feng Chen Yu’s execution, they cried quite loudly. This caused Feng Jin Yuan to feel a little bit satisfied.
Feng Yu Heng brought Xiang Rong back to the county princess’ manor. Upon entering the room, she immediately had servants bring in new clothes. Feng Yu Heng hurried Xiang Rong: “Change into my clothes first. The manor has a tailor. I will have her come and prepare you some new clothes.”
Xiang Rong shook her head, “I can just go to the Feng manor to fetch my clothes.”
Feng Yu Heng helplessly told her a truth: “First of all, there’s no guarantee that you can return to the Feng manor. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that if you go back, don’t hold out hope that you can come back. Also, even if the Feng family does not cause you any trouble, you also heard it earlier. This rainfall will continue for ten days. With such heavy rain, what’s the point of going through all of this trouble.”
Xiang Rong did not continue to insist, only saying: “Thank you, second sister for taking me in, but Xiang Rong must pay. Xiang Rong does not want to continue being a useless person that needs to be protected by second sister.”
She nodded and very frankly said: “That’s fine.” She then said to Wang Chuan: “Bring Qing Yu with you to the Bu manor. Cancel the engagement for the third young miss.”
Hearing the words cancel the engagement, a look of elation appeared in Xiang Rong’s eyes. The feeling was similar to what a person sentenced to death would feel after suddenly having a second lease on life. She patted the back of Xiang Rong’s hand and said to her: “I have helped you cancel this engagement. You will need to be the one to walk down the path from now on. I understand what you are thinking, and I can help provide you with an opportunity; however, it’s impossible for me to force that person to do anything. Do you understand?”
Xiang Rong knew that she was talking about the seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua. Her cheeks blushed slightly; however, she immediately recovered and nodded seriously, telling her: “Second sister, I understand.”
Just like that, she began living at the county princess’ manor. The Feng family received this news and also received the news from the Bu family. Feng Jin Yuan did not care which side canceled the engagement first. He clearly understood that he was a fifth rank official and did not have the standing to place Xiang Rong as the official wife of Bu Cong. But with Feng Yu Heng acting as a shield, even if he wanted to, he could not even try to push Xiang Rong into the position of concubine.
The masters at the Feng family continued throughout the night and only left on the day after. Feng Jin Yuan sent a few groups of servants out to inquire to see if Chen Yu’s body could be brought back to be buried. Unfortunately, the news that was brought back was: “The government has said that criminals that have been executed are not permitted to be brought back by the family. The corpse has already been taken outside the city and tossed into an unmarked grave.”
Seeing that Feng Jin Yuan was about to faint, the matriarch reminded him: “If you brought her back, where would you bury her? In such heavy rain, we cannot even leave the city, so where would she be buried? Moreover, the old home no longer recognizes this branch. Could it be that you want to bring that little slut back to Feng Tong county?”
Feng Jin Yuan covered his face with his hands and sat on the ground. He could not help but sigh.
The matriarch reminded him: “If you have the time, it would be better to go to the Southwest side of the capital to take a look at how big our new manor will be. With all of us moving over, will we all be able to fit.”
Feng Jin Yuan feared the matriarch saying this the most. The past few days, he could avoid it, but when he calculated the days, it seemed that Zhang Yuan would be coming to the manor today. Upon thinking of this, he immediately leaped up and rushed to say: “I will go take a look.” Saying this, he walked toward the gate.
Jin Zhen was worried about him, saying: “It’s raining so hard outside. There’s no rush for husband to do this, right? It’s too dangerous.”
Cheng Jun Man also reminded him, saying: “Last time, the exchange of deeds was not completed, and eunuch Zhang did not say where exactly the residence would be in the Southwest. Even if husband went, you would not be able to find it. Even if you found it, you would not be able to go in!”
This reminder caused Feng Jin Yuan to give up.
The matriarch was unable to understand, “On that day, why did you not exchange the deeds with eunuch Zhang?”
Feng Jin Yuan said: “Was it not because we wanted to perform a ritual for Chen Yu.”
“Would the ritual affect the deed? It’s not like we were being pressed to move out. With you delaying like this, we cannot even get a look at the residence beforehand.”
Feng Jin Yuan really did not want to continue talking about this subject, thus he quickly mentioned Chen Yu, deliberately going to order the servants: “Quickly prepare white cloth to be hung up. Also, bring out the filial headbands to begin mourning the eldest young miss!”
Cheng Jun man furrowed her brow and said to the matriarch: “The family is not permitted to perform a funeral for someone that has been executed. This is a rule of the court.”
The matriarch nodded, “That’s right. The rules of the court must not be broken. The Feng family will not perform a funeral.”
Feng Jin Yuan knew that this was a rule of the court and could not insist; however, he took a step back and said: “Then at least have her courtyard’s servants wear more plain clothes.”
The matriarch did not argue with this point, only saying: “Just the intention is enough. Have the servants from her courtyard wear white for three days. After those three days, lay off all of the servants from that courtyard.” She then looked at Feng Jin Yuan and said to him: “Bring the deed out and hand it to Jun Man. In the future, the deed will be left to Jun Man to take care of.”
Feng Jin Yuan trembled, and his expression became a little ugly. Cheng Jun Mei seemed to have understood something and could not help but ask: “Why is it that husband looks a little off whenever the deed is mentioned?”
Just as Feng Jin Yuan wanted to refute this, He Zhong braved the rain and hastily rushed into the hall. He anxiously said: “Elder madam, master, a flood has occurred at the old home in Feng Tong county. The people that escaped have come to the capital to seek shelter. They have already arrived at the manor’s gates!”