The Slender Waist-Chapter 128 - 100: Cloak of Sentiments

Weng Li lived near the docks of Shiguan County, and everyone on the street knew him as a man of clear and honest stature.

Feng Yun handed over the portrait and the note to Weng Li, along with some money and fabric as a token of gratitude.

After handing over the items, Weng Li spoke with confidence.

"Miss, just wait for the good news from me."

After discussing the details of the pickup and delivery, Feng Yun thanked Weng Li repeatedly before taking her leave to return to Huaxi Village, directly immersing herself into the agricultural tool workshop.

The newly opened workshop was busy with more people, more work, and consequently more chatter.

Some who couldn’t get a job at the workshop would grumble and gossip behind the scenes.

Sometimes, Alou and Xiaoman would relay some of these rumors to Feng Yun.

When they praised her, she didn’t show any sign of pleasure.

When they spoke ill of her, she didn’t show anger either.

Initially, they had thought that the lady possessed great self-restraint and was above petty squabbles, but as time went on, they realized she truly didn’t care.

She was busy every day.

Very busy, engrossed in the tasks she set out to do.

She might visit Andu County to check on the business of Yutangchun, or wander in the fields, talking to the farmers about autumn sowing, overseeing her "territory," or she might discuss manufacturing techniques with the craftsmen in the tool workshop, or oversee the construction of the village school. Where would she find the time to care about those idle matters?

Xinzhou had couriers coming and going to Andu every day.

Ao Qi nearly wrote a letter every day as well, discussing trivial matters such as eating and clothing.

Whether it was a comrade falling asleep during night duty and being punished with a military cane, or his marveling at two white cranes intertwining necks in the forest at dawn...

Each time Feng Yun opened a letter, she was filled with anticipation, followed by disappointment.

She told Ao Qi, "Write less about trivial things, and more about important matters."

Ao Qi replied in his letter, "Uncle won’t let me write about important matters. Or maybe, I should tell you how much I miss you all, and ask if you miss me?"

Feng Yun found it amusing, "Azuo and Ayou miss you, Ye Chuang misses you, the little crocodiles miss you, even the fish in the lotus pond and the loaches miss you. But the urgent question is, have you inquired at Central Capital when your father will come to fetch the child?"

After that letter was sent, Ao Qi did not reply for three consecutive days.

Feng Yun was somewhat worried.

For some reason, she had an intuition that Xiao Cheng in this lifetime had become even more cunning and unpredictable, and some matters had deviated from their original course. She feared Pei Jue meeting defeat on the battlefield and worried that the newlyweds, Xiao Cheng and Feng Ying, were getting too complacent...

Another day passed without a letter from Xinzhou, and Feng Yun had a restless sleep.

The next morning, still half-asleep, she was roused by a woman’s laughter coming from the courtyard.

Xiaoman entered, beaming with joy behind the curtains.

"Miss, Ying Ji has sent a cloak."

Feng Yun had inquired about fox fur previously, prompting Ying Rong to hasten the completion of the cloak and deliver it.

Her arrival was soon followed by several concubines and maids who came along, eager to see the miss’s new cloak.

Ying Rong’s craftsmanship needed no mention.

She put a lot of thought into this particular cloak.

The brocade satin, the cotton lining—it was Feng Yun’s preferred style and pattern. The fox fur was exquisitely prepared, glossy and smooth. It could wrap around the neck on the collar of the cloak, both soft and warm.

Xiaoman, not wanting others to be unaware, announced in a loud voice as if presenting treasure:

"The fox fur was hunted by the Great General on Jieqiu Mountain. He specially had it sent over by the Left Guard for the miss."

The faces of the attending concubines showed envy.

Ying Rong also said, "I’ve made fox fur clothing for others before, but I have never seen such fine material. The person who skinned it must have been very careful; the knife work is exceptional, not a single flaw on the entire hide..."

"The General really puts a lot of thought into gifts for the miss."

"Ying Ji’s embroidery work is also outstanding—fine stitches and beautiful patterns..."

Feng Yun smiled, allowing them to pass around and admire the cloak. She sat to one side, sipping freshly brewed hot tea from the small stove, her mind occupied with her thoughts.

It was perhaps the fox fur cloak that triggered her sentimentality.

Suddenly, she remembered that in her past life she had also received such a cloak.

But it was not hunted by Pei Jue; instead, she had seen a hunter carrying the fox fur at a market one winter and decided to buy it, having it made into a cloak.

Under Lady Chen’s oppression, Feng Yun rarely had such luxurious garments.

The cloak was beautifully made, and she looked very noble and gentle in it, which of course made it incredibly precious to her.

That day, as fate would have it, she was feeling unwell due to her menstrual period, listless on the couch with little appetite or energy. Yet the Empress Dowager summoned her to the palace.

She loathed the idea of going but had no choice, so she went to Jiafu Hall wrapped in her cloak...

When she arrived, Jiafu Hall was already bustling. Many ladies and young women from noble families were gathered around Li Sangruo, laughing and talking. Some were familiar to Feng Yun, others unknown.

Feng Yun had no desire to make connections and merely wanted to get through her obligations to Empress Dowager Li so she could rest.

Yet in public, Li Sangruo was the epitome of virtue and compassion. She engaged Feng Yun in an endless conversation full of concern and inquiries.

The scene continued until Empress Dowager Gao, the senior consort of the late emperor, burst into Jiafu Hall.

She was raving madly, making no sense as she lunged at Feng Yun, claiming that Feng Yun had stolen her robe. Before the eyes of all, she ripped and tore at the cloak, stripping it off Feng Yun.

Li Sangruo’s maids, who pretended to help but actually held Feng Yun’s arms, prevented her from resisting...

Had it not been for Daman and Xiaoman hearing Feng Yun’s cries and rushing in, Empress Dowager Gao would have taken more than the cloak—Feng Yun’s undergarments and skirt would not have been spared.

Among the crowd of distinguished women, no one spoke up; some watched on, others stood by indifferently...

Everyone knew that Empress Dowager Li did not favor General Pei’s concubine, and they would not offend Empress Dowager Li for Feng Yun.

That day, Feng Yun was almost stripped naked in public, humiliated in front of everyone’s eyes.

Both Daman and Xiaoman were punished with thirty heavy blows for "entering Jiafu Hall without summons," as ordered by Li Sangruo.

Daman, being in better physical condition, managed to hold on until the Lord of Pingyuan County came and pleaded on their behalf.

Xiaoman, however, talked back in anger and was harshly treated by the executioner. By the time she was carried out of Jiafu Hall, she had stopped breathing.

Feng Yun couldn’t protect herself, let alone them...

Just like that, Xiaoman was beaten to death right before her eyes.

Li Sangruo must have calculated the timing, as it happened that Pei Jue was away at the Tiger Guard Army camp during those few days, and by the time he returned to the General Residence, it was the middle of the night, two days later.

Feng Yun was curled up alone under the quilt, lifeless.

She had a fever.

But Xiaoman was dead, and Daman was recovering from her injuries. The other servants were not her people, and she did not wish to trouble them, so she waited in silence alone, like a small animal awaiting death.

Pei Jue asked her what was wrong.

She said, "My cloak is ruined, Xiaoman is dead."

Pei Jue called for the Medical Officer to diagnose her and prescribe medicine, and also ordered a servant girl to prepare a nutritious soup and placed it in a hot-water bottle in her embrace.

She was still cold, shivering uncontrollably, her lips pale and bloodless, looking like a ghost just crawled out of the grave.

Pei Jue held her the entire night, warming her stomach and feet.

In the middle of the night, she called out Xiaoman’s name, sobbing over her fox fur cloak, weeping till her face was streaked with tears.

Pei Jue may have grown impatient, unable to soothe her, so he took her into his embrace and kissed her.

He was never one for many words, and affection seemed only for the matter at hand, but that night Feng Yun was unwell and could not attend to him, and he did not force her. Instead, he occasionally kissed her, as if to console her, like comforting an injured kitten or puppy.

Perhaps the more stoic and aloof a man is, the more touching it is when he shows tenderness.

At that moment, Feng Yun made up her mind that if Pei Jue could help her seek justice, she would faithfully serve him from then on. Her body was his, and so would be her heart...

But she waited a long time, and Pei Jue never spoke of the matter.

Xiaoman died in vain.

She was carried out of the house on a simple straw mat, as she was executed on Empress Dowager’s orders and couldn’t even have a proper funeral.

Feng Yun cried her heart out, while Li Sangruo carried on as Empress Dowager, capable of taking lives at will...

And all Xiaoman’s death brought about was that, from that day on, Li Sangruo did not summon her to the palace again, and Feng Yun’s side was joined by several maids.

All Pei Jue’s people.

They followed her every step, saying the General had sent them to protect her.

They also said that the General wouldn’t let anyone bully her again.

They spoke many good words on behalf of Pei Jue, including how he was furious over the humiliation she suffered and almost clashed with the Prime Minister in court, causing many officials to laugh...

Feng Yun didn’t believe it.

Men in the court rage over matters of state and personal gain – who would seek justice for a concubine from the harem?

Moreover, she was a concubine presented by an enemy state.

The maids were inseparable from Feng Yun.

But Feng Yun was thoroughly disgusted.

Disgusted with them, Pei Jue, and herself.

She felt like a bird with broken wings, unable to fly, trapped in a cage, living day by day on what her master chose to feed her, as if her survival’s worth was dependent on her master’s whims – life was long and painful...

"My lady, my lady," Xiaoman’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

Feng Yun lifted her head, seeing the lively Xiaoman, and suddenly laughed.

Her laugh was gentle, even as tears rimmed her eyes.

"What’s wrong, my lady?" Xiaoman, thinking she had done something wrong, sounded anxious, "The servant said you would look very beautiful in this cloak, and they all wanted to see... see how it looks on you."

Ying Rong also said, "Come on, try it on my lady, and don’t let them touch it too much, they might wrinkle it."

Every seamstress loves her own work.

That comment made everyone laugh.

Feng Yun also started to laugh, "Alright."

She put on wooden clogs and let Xiaoman drape the brocade cloak over her, "How’s that?"

The clogs were rather tall, making her already slender figure stand even taller, elegantly stunning...

"Rather than saying the clothes enhance the person, it’s the person that brings out the beauty of the clothes."

"The cloak may be splendid, but it doesn’t compare to my lady."

"I resent the rouge for having color, for it taints her beauty and stains her brows..."

Feng Yun, seeing the envy in all the other concubines’ eyes, smiled and took off the cloak.

"Put it away for now, we will wear it when winter comes."

Looking at everyone again, "It’s rare for Ying Ji to come by, let’s add some dishes to the stove for drinking, we’ll warm some wine and chat."