The Slender Waist-Chapter 396 - 285: Tit for Tat

Xiao Cheng was momentarily stunned, his fatigue swept away.

"What do you want me to do?"

Feng Yun gave a slight smile, "It won’t be too difficult for Qi Jun."

Xiao Cheng fell silent and after a long while, he hummed affirmatively, "You tell me."

The two of them had been betrothed since childhood, and in a previous life, they were truly married, having paid respects to heaven and earth. In Xiao Cheng’s heart, Feng Yun was his wife, an irreplaceable presence like no other woman.

Seeing her by Pei Jue’s side at every moment felt like a death by a thousand cuts to Xiao Cheng, an unbearable pain.

At this time, no matter what Feng Yun asked him to do or what favor she needed, Xiao Cheng was more than willing, even if he would have to pay a great price...

Besides, the help that Feng Yun requested of him was really just a small favor.

The assassination attempt on the Jin Empress Dowager was a matter of Jin Country, and Qi Country could not conveniently intervene.

But what if a member of the Feng Family was being falsely accused?

Not only was the Feng Family from Xuzhou, but they were also relatives to the royalty...

Xiao Cheng went back and gave instructions to Xuchi.

"Spread the rumor that the Jin Empress Dowager had a miscarriage, and blame it on the General’s wife, accusing her of having a heart that inclines towards Qi, intending to provoke discord between the two countries..."

Xuchi was shocked, "Your Majesty..."

Xiao Cheng frowned slightly with a sigh, "Go and do it."

Xuchi glanced at the Emperor’s eyes and knew that he had made up his mind, so he said no more and went to carry out the order.

Xiao Cheng then summoned Feng Jingteng and began with a stern reprimand.

"As a father, your daughter is being slandered like this. If Mr. Feng remains silent any longer, it’s not only Ayun’s reputation that will be damaged, but also the reputation of the entire Xuzhou Feng Family and the relatives of Qi Country. Does Mr. Feng really intend to stand by and do nothing?"

These words rendered Feng Jingteng speechless and dumbfounded.

If it wasn’t for the obstruction of the Chen Family, he would have been willing to maintain a close relationship with Feng Yun.

Especially since the marriage with Pei Jue was beneficial to him without any downsides...

But the Feng Family was under Feng Jingyao’s control; he, as a father, had no say.

However, if the Emperor personally decreed it, it would be a different story...

Still hesitating, he wanted to confirm it once more, "Your Majesty wants me to stand up personally and support Shi’er Niang?"

Xiao Cheng cast a brief glance at him.

"Behind you stand the Feng Family of Xuzhou, and Qi Country."

Feng Jingteng understood and showed a touch of joy in his eyes, bowing with his hands folded in front.

"I shall follow Your Majesty’s decree."

Xiao Cheng’s face remained impassive as he continued:

"Your esteemed wife is eloquent and articulate, bring her with you."

Feng Jingteng was slightly startled, and a chill touched his heart.

Under the Emperor’s command, Chen’s wife dared not disobey, but of course, in private, his wife would certainly be reluctant to stand up for Shi’er Niang.

The complaints from Chen’s wife would inevitably be borne by him.

-

Chen’s wife was talking to Feng Ying in the room.

Just now when Xiao Cheng left the seat to see Feng Yun, Ning Xiu came to inquire about the news, and it was evident that Feng Ying had been crying, with her eyes red and teary, looking all the more pitiful.

"That vixen!"

Lady Chen gritted her teeth whenever she mentioned Feng Yun.

"Already married, yet still refuses to stay still; she won’t be content until she ruins your marriage..."

"Mother, don’t blame elder sister." Feng Ying took Chen’s wife’s hand, her eyes red as she shook her head with a bitter smile, "It was never my marriage to begin with; I forced it, so I can’t blame her, and even less so His Majesty..."

"You!" Lady Chen was angry at her lack of fight, "What am I to say about you..."

Seeing her daughter’s about-to-cry expression, it broke a mother’s heart. However, before she could finish speaking, Chen’s wife’s gaze was drawn away by Feng Ying’s face.

"What happened to your face? Does it hurt?"

She reached out to touch, but Feng Ying evaded.

"It must be because I wore heavy makeup today; it wasn’t quite comfortable. I’ve washed it off just now, and it should be better after resting for a couple of days..."

But Lady Chen narrowed her eyes, "And the Golden Boudoir Guest, how is it working for you?"

Feng Ying said, "It does make the skin more delicate, but..."

She touched her cheek, her eyelashes quivering slightly, "The place where elder sister scratched still seems a bit swollen."

Lady Chen felt that her daughter was a bit too impatient.

Even if it was effective, it should have been tested by the maids first to see the results. But she knew her daughter best; Aying was too anxious to catch Xiao Cheng’s attention and affection, ignoring everything else.

Unable to bear being too harsh, she had Ning Xiu fetch an ointment and personally applied it to Feng Ying, only then suppressing the dissatisfaction in her heart.

"Just bear with it for a few more days; you will soon return to Tai City with His Majesty. Once there, you will be His Majesty’s most favored person. With your uncle in the capital, no matter how many concubines enter the harem, they won’t surpass you..."

"Mother!" Feng Ying’s heart raced with anxiety at the thought, "Do you think His Majesty is harboring thoughts of taking elder sister back with him?"

Hmph! Lady Chen scoffed dismissively.

"Even if he wants to, what of it? That foxy woman has Pei Jue firmly hooked, and he will never let go. Even if Xiao San wanted her so desperately, what could he do, wage war to snatch her? Rest assured."

Feng Ying verbally agreed, yet her heart was still bitter.

As the mother and daughter conversed intimately, Wen Xingsu was inevitably mentioned, and Lady Chen cursed furiously once again. That was when Feng Jingteng returned.

"Pack up, you’re coming with me to see the Jin Empress Dowager."

Still agitated, Chen’s wife replied with a cold glance, "What business do I have with seeing her?"

As a prominent member of the Yanngchuan Chen aristocratic family, Lady Chen had always looked down on ordinary aristocracy. Even though Li Sangruo was the Empress Dowager, in her eyes, she was merely from a minor branch of the Li Family from Longxi, mediocre...

Feng Jingteng looked at her wild streak and felt that Xiao Cheng was right.

If someone had to cause trouble, it had to involve his wife.

"Go and support Shi’er Niang."

Upon hearing his words, Lady Chen exploded on the spot.

"It’s one thing for that little hussy to invite trouble on her own, but hasn’t she said she would not communicate with her natal family? Now she wants to rely on us? I don’t care; whoever wishes to go can go..."

Feng Jingteng’s gaze darkened slightly.

"My lady, this is an imperial decree."

Lady Chen choked up, nearly suffocating.

She might look down on the Empress Dowager of Jin, but she wouldn’t dare treat an imperial decree from the Emperor of Qi as nothing...

"Mother, please go," Feng Ying struggled with her gaze, trying to sound as calm and gentle as possible. "Older sister has been humiliated; it’s also a blow to the Feng Family’s reputation in Xuzhou... Even without this connection, father, as a subject of the Emperor, must also keep his majesty reassured, mustn’t he?"

Only when Xiao Cheng was reassured would he stop worrying about Feng Yun.

Lady Chen glanced at her daughter, and her anger dissipated.

"She really owes her one!"

-

A quarter of an hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Feng Jingteng, carrying the edict of the Qi Emperor and accompanied by two Qi imperial physicians, went to visit the Empress Dowager of Jin and immediately said:

"I’ve heard that my daughter has offended Your Highness the Empress Dowager. Feng is here to apologize in person and, upon the edict of the Qi Emperor, has brought with him the best imperial physicians from Qi to diagnose Your Highness."

He conducted himself with courtesy in his official career.

Lady Chen, however, was different; she played the role of a shrew right from the start and took the opportunity to be a good mother.

From outside the door, her shrill voice was already carrying inside.

"Everyone outside is saying that my daughter pushed the Empress Dowager of Jin off the watchtower? Ha! I thought it was nothing more than jealousy and squabbling unfit for public discussion, but as the rumors have spread, it has become an attempt by a daughter of the Feng Family of Qi to assassinate the Empress Dowager of Jin. This is unacceptable, if we don’t clarify matters, how will our Feng Family ever stand firm? Have they no regard for their dignity?"

"Today, no matter what, our Feng Family must be given an explanation."

The fury of a quarrelsome woman has its own way of infuriating others.

The moment her voice rang out, the surroundings fell silent, and no one dared to speak up.

After all, they were not from Jin, and even if the Empress Dowager had authority, she couldn’t beat up an envoy from Qi and his lady who had come to visit the sick, could she? 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The partitioning in these rooms wasn’t soundproof, so without anyone passing along the message, Li Sangruo could hear Lady Chen’s voice loud and clear.

"What’s going on?"

She was so angry she felt she might faint, growing weak as she glared at Tang Shaogong, grinding her teeth in hatred.

"Didn’t they say... that once the matter was over, there would be no further pursuit? What’s with the Feng Family..."

Tang Shaogong furrowed his brows.

Who could have thought that Feng Jingteng would interfere?

Li Sangruo, listening to Lady Chen’s sarcastic words, was so enraged that she clenched the blanket tightly, her arms trembling.

"I was willing to let bygones be bygones with her, yet she won’t let me go. What kind of reasoning is this? Where is the Great General..."

She looked around, her eyes misting with tears.

Waking up in pain, she felt extremely weak both in spirit and body; the person she most wanted to see was Pei Jue.

"Uncle Shaogong, didn’t you say the Great General would come to see me?"

Tang Shaogong’s eyes were cold, showing no warmth for her pain.

"When Your Highness was unconscious, the General had come to visit."

Li Sangruo was overjoyed, "Really?"

Tang Shaogong nodded, "Ao Qi had General Pei taken to Mingquan; the father and son had matters to discuss. It may take some time before he can come..."

Li Sangruo’s throat tightened in anger, "How should we handle the Feng Family then? Are we just going to let them make a scene out there?"

Before Tang Shaogong could reply, Chen Xi entered looking pale.

"Your Highness... the General’s wife has arrived."

Just hearing Feng Yun’s name made Li Sangruo furious, "Why has she come? Does she still have the face to see me?"

Chen Xi bit her lip, struggling to speak amidst Empress Dowager Li’s rage.

Tang Shaogong remained composed, "Speak."

Chen Xi answered with a bow, "The General’s wife has also brought a doctor, claiming that... she wants to confront Your Highness directly to restore the truth and recover her reputation."

An apology in private wasn’t enough, now she wanted her to issue a decree to admit her wrong?

Li Sangruo didn’t even think about it, "Tell her to get lost! Who is she to have the right to confront me directly?"

Chen Xi nearly collapsed to her knees in fear.

Tang Shaogong pondered for a moment, "She is a first-ranked lady of the nation."

Li Sangruo found herself speechless in an instant.

The boundless hatred flooded her mouth, and her teeth were almost sore with bitterness.

The Feng Family’s women were pushing her too hard, step by step.

Chen Xi braved herself to speak, "The Feng Family’s attitude is domineering, unwilling to let matters rest. Lady Chen’s voice can be heard loud and clear, and many have gathered outside. There are whispers, whispers that..."

"What are they saying?"

"They say the doctor has inspected the bloodstains on the watchtower, and it is very peculiar, suspected to be due to Your Highness’s miscarriage..."

Li Sangruo’s mind went blank in an instant, her eyes bloodshot.

So, admitting her wrongs was not Feng Yun’s objective.

The women of the Feng Family sought not only to compel her to admit fault but also to smear her reputation, expose her to ridicule and judgment from all under heaven...