Su Pan’er, who suddenly beca angry, left Little Yanyan sowhat at a loss; her smile froze, as she looked at Su Pan’er with eyes as innocent as a lost fawn.
Seeing this, Su Pan’er’s heart softened.
"Yan Yan, be good! You were always so clever, knowing right from wrong. Why then, upon entering this devouring Imperial Palace, have you instead..."
"Mother, it was that big sister who said she used to serve at your feet, so..."
Little Yanyan said with so grievance, snuggling into Su Pan’er’s embrace.
"She knows ?"
Su Pan’er was now curious!
"What else did she say? Yan Yan, you can’t just believe whatever soone tells you; bad people don’t have it written on their faces. She..."
"But even grandmother nodded her head, yeah!"
Little Yanyan pouted, rolling her eyes in protest: "Mother, Little Yanyan is not stupid, don’t always think Yan Yan is dumb, so dumb that anyone can deceive her! In the past, all those were matters of so many years ago... Mother is bad, hmph! I won’t talk to you anymore!"
Little Yanyan’s pout could hang a few oil pots!
Seeing this, Su Pan’er was greatly amused: "Alright, alright! It’s Mother’s fault, I wronged you. Mother has made a mistake, aggrieving my Little Yanyan. What, still won’t forgive Mother? Hm?"
As she spoke, she reached out to embrace Little Yanyan again.
Little Yanyan huffed loudly, her little chin lifted high.
"Look at your stubborn mule face!"
Su Pan’er burst into laughter, which made Little Yanyan laugh as well, but upon realizing her slip, she imdiately tensed her face to look serious.
"Hmph hmph!"
"Enough, stop deliberately making a stern face. Tomorrow, Mother will specially make you sothing delicious as an apology, alright? Co on, take a bite of the waterlon, big big mouth, ah—" While talking, Su Pan’er fed a small piece of waterlon into Little Yanyan’s mouth.
Hearing her mother promise to make her sothing delicious just for her, a smile finally appeared on Little Yanyan’s face, and she took a bite of the waterlon: "You said it yourself, no going back on your word!"
"Definitely no going back on my word!"
Su Pan’er took the opportunity to hold Little Yanyan in her arms, kissing her several tis in a row. She then placed a fruit salad in front of her.
"Yanyan, the noble person you ntioned, who exactly is she?"
"It’s a nobleman."
Little Yanyan held a piece of Hami lon with a bamboo skewer and tilted her little head, thinking: "But, Yan Yan heard grandmother casually call her Miss Ye."
"Miss Ye? Ye... Night Tide Moon, Feng Xiyue? It’s her..."
Su Pan’er suddenly realized.
Feng Xiyue, how long has it been since she heard that na!
She rembered, that beauty surpassing all others, the Qinhuai Thin Horse. She rembered more, she and Qin Yi traveling by boat from Yongzhou to Shengjing, eting that boy disguised as a little beggar—Ye Feng, also known as Feng Jiu. The siblings later reunited in Qin’s Mansion, seeking her out for their parents’ wrongful plight.
At the ti, my abilities were insufficient, and I only promised her that once I had the capability, I would certainly appeal to the heavens on her behalf to clear her father’s na of any wrongdoing.
Little did I expect, plans cannot keep pace with changes!
Later, when the fifth prince rebelled and Prince Xuan seized the opportunity to create chaos by forcing the Emperor to abdicate, Qin Yi and Ye Han both protected the forr Emperor as he retreated, and I, due to Little Yanyan’s illness, was stuck on the farm for a long ti. By the ti the situation stabilized and I made inquiries, there was no longer any news of Feng Xiyue and Feng Jiu...
Reflecting on these mories now, Su Pan’er felt as if it had all been a dream!
Compared to the past, Feng Xiyue seed to have lost so of her enchanting charm, gained a sense of tranquility, and acquired the tell-tale signs of ti etching itself on her face. She looked older than her actual age, sporting a few strands of white hair at her temples, despite being just in her early twenties.
She stood on the porch, greeting Su Pan’er, allowing her to scrutinize at will, her facial expression exceptionally calm and composed.
Seeing her still dressed as a young girl made Su Pan’er feel sowhat remorseful, scrambling for conversation.
"Miss Feng, please rise! Is everything well with you now?"
"Replying to the Empress, thanks to Your Majesty’s abundant blessings, Xiyue is doing well in all aspects," Feng Xiyue said with a light bow.
"Having not seen each other for several years, it feels like everything has changed. Ti truly hurries one into old age. Your brother Ye Feng... oh, his real na is Feng Jiu, right? How is he now, what’s beco of him?"
ntioning her brother Feng Jiu, a gentle smile spread across Feng Xiyue’s face.
"Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern. My brother has been serving by the side of our Uncle-in-law these years, attending to him. Thanks to the Uncle-in-law’s consideration, he has led a comfortable life, no longer having to go through a life of instability and wandering," she said.
Originally, after Prince Xuan pressured the Emperor into abdication, and Qin Yi, Ye Han, and others hurriedly escorted the forr Emperor away through a secret passage, Feng Xiyue and the others spent days in constant fear and anxiety.
It wasn’t until later, when the people of Qin’s Mansion took over on behalf of Qin Hong, that Feng Xiyue, due to her outstanding beauty, naturally drew the attention of many. Fortunately, since she was openly known as one of Qin Yi’s people, she was spared from indignity.
Over the following years, with constant political changes, Liu Yankang unexpectedly approached Qin Hong with the indenture, intending to take Feng Jiu away. Feng Xiyue did not want to be separated from her brother, so she voluntarily left with him.
What surprised Feng Xiyue, though, was that although Liu Yankang kept her and her brother at a farm on the outskirts of Capital City, he did not arrange for them to do any work.
Yet, with the incessant political shifts, the siblings tried to escape multiple tis but never succeeded. It was not until later that Feng Jiu, with his wits, discovered that Su Ke was studying at Yingtian Academy. He shalessly sought help, leading to Su Ke rescuing him...
Unexpectedly, Liu Yankang agreed to let him go. Su Ke tried several tis and in the end only managed to take Feng Jiu with her, leaving him behind to work alongside her subordinates...
Hearing this news, Su Pan’er nodded her head in acknowledgnt, thinking that Ke’er had indeed done a good deed.
Strictly speaking, in earlier years, the sibling pair Xiyue and Ye Feng had been assisting her side by side, and thus were considered her people.
"Why does Liu Yankang have Feng Jiu’s servitude contract? And why did he take it upon himself to get you from Qin Hong, only to then leave you idle on the farm? Moreover, why did he allow Ke’er to take only your brother when she went to ask for him and keep you back?"
"Your servant didn’t understand at first, but upon reflection, I began to piece it together," Xiyue said.
As she spoke of these matters, Feng Xiyue’s face was exceptionally composed, "Does the Empress still rember? Originally, it was Your Majesty who retrieved my servitude contract from the Liu Family. When Lord Liu brought out Jiuer’s contract, it occurred to that those mysterious people might be associated with him."
Back then, Feng Xiyue and Feng Jiu were bound and put on a carriage by those mysterious n, traveling through hills near Capital City. They both slled the scent of rice flowers and heard the sound of cows. But in the end, one appeared on a desolate hill on the outskirts of Capital City, while the other ended up just outside Yongzhou City.
Su Pan’er furrowed her brows.
If this had happened before, she might have been at a loss. But at this mont, as soon as Feng Xiyue ntioned the mysterious people, Su Pan’er thought of the underground array of tunnels beneath Deicide Mountain, resembling a spider’s web!
!
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