The Slender Waist-Chapter 530 - 379: Greatly Surprised

Pei Jue had been convalescing for quite some time, like a little wife, never venturing beyond the main door or the inner gate. Apart from the people in Feng Yun’s room and his personal guard, almost no one on the estate had seen the grand king.

That evening, to everyone’s astonishment, the Prince of Yonghuai emerged from his house with the aid of the Princess, making his way out of the estate to "inspect" the crops of the season.

The two of them walked ahead.

A group of guards and servants followed behind.

The Prince of Yonghuai had an austere expression, while the Princess was chatty and jovial. As a couple, they seemed deeply affectionate and well-matched, pleasing to the eye.

It was a busy time for farming, and as the evening heat began to dissipate and the temperature dropped, the farmers were coming out of their houses in pairs and small groups to work in the fields, where people were scattered everywhere.

The moment Pei Jue chose to appear, he immediately became the focus of everyone’s attention.

From Changmen to the entire Huaxi Village, excitement quickly ensued.

"Is the Prince of Yonghuai fully recovered?"

"I doubt it... If he were, why would he need the Princess to support him?"

"That’s what being deeply in love looks like, you ignorant fool."

"At least it seems he’s no longer in mortal peril..."

"Someone’s going to have sleepless nights again..."

"Isn’t Wanning busy suppressing bandits? General Shentu has been unable to take Xiufeng Mountain for a long time. With the king’s condition improving, the bandits’ good days are surely numbered."

"Exactly, if I were him, I’d personally seek revenge for that arrow wound..."

People in the distance whispered amongst themselves, buzzing with various discussions.

Feng Yun led Pei Jue to a pavilion by the lotus pond and sat down, feigning ignorance as she casually asked someone to brew some tea and struck up a conversation.

"What are your thoughts, my king?" Feng Yun asked.

Pei Jue surveyed his surroundings and after a long while, turned to glance at her.

"Our crops seem better than others’."

Ours?

Feng Yun gave him a quick look and smiled faintly.

"I’m asking you, what it feels like to be the center of attention after not leaving your room for so long?"

Pei Jue said, "Where are the people?"

True enough, no one dared to come close, with most farmers working in the distant fields.

Did she just realize that he hadn’t noticed at all?

Feng Yun glanced at him, "I thought you’d rest quietly for a few more days, at least until after the autumn harvest."

Pei Jue asked, "Who said I’m leaving?"

Feng Yun questioned with suspicion, "Aren’t you leaving?"

Pei Jue replied, "I’m still in the recovery period."

Feng Yun noted, "You use the term ’period’ well... It can be long or short."

Pei Jue grunted in agreement, "It’s about time to recover."

Feng Yun remained silent, eyeing the laboring farmers near and far before casting a smiling glance his way.

"Take it slow, no need to rush, you should give people a chance to speculate."

Pei Jue’s gaze deepened, "With my wife’s arrangements, how could I dare to linger in sickbed?"

"Cut it out," Feng Yun rolled her eyes at him, "as if you wouldn’t deal with Li Zongxun without me saying a word. As long as Yecheng remains a threat, the Western Capital Dynasty won’t be at ease. It’s clear that I’m the one helping you, what’s so bad about you playing the stern face?"

Pei Jue looked at her and acquiesced.

"My lady has a plan, and I’m truly comforted by it," he said.

Feng Yun hesitated, then gazed at him with a helpless smile.

"Fine, whatever you say goes. It’s better to have something to say than nothing at all," she murmured. Her last words were somewhat quiet, said more to herself than to him...

Pei Jue did not hear her clearly and frowned slightly, "What did you say, Lady Yun?"

Feng Yun looked at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, her gaze extending to the distant rice fields.

The golden rice plants were heavily laden with ripe, plump grains, swaying in the breeze, presenting an idyllic pastoral scene, as picturesque as a poem.

Her face was bathed in a soft radiance.

"I said, my king is correct. The crops I’ve planted are indeed better than others’. When you grow old and return to civilian life, come farm with me," she said jokingly.

Pei Jue gazed deeply at her.

"Alright. Wait for me," he responded.

There were no outsiders here, just the two of them sitting in the pavilion in the wind.

From near and far, the farmlands spread out in an orderly fashion, with occasional bursts of laughter.

Yet inside the pavilion, there was a suffocating silence.

A man and woman, whose story spanned two lifetimes, both harboring their own secrets, sat beside the pond watching the autumn harvest season unfold without any further conversation for a long time. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Eventually, it was Feng Yun who broke the silence.

"You’re not fully healed; it’s not good for you to sit too long. Let’s go back," she said.

Pei Jue met her gaze and slowly rose to his feet.

Hand in hand, they walked back into the estate, once again drawing the curious eyes of the crowd.

Thus, the news of the Prince of Yonghuai’s improved condition swiftly spread.

Soon after, visitors came knocking, bringing their condolences.

The courtesies Feng Yun had initially rejected were now offered once more.

Pei Jue was unwilling to deal with them and pushed everything onto Feng Yun.

"If not for Lady Yun’s grand plan, I could simply feign illness. Why should I bother with these trivial matters?" he remarked.

Feng Yun took over the troublesome matters with composure.

"My king, rest assured, leave everything to me," she assured him.

She was quite enthusiastic this time around. Whenever members of the royal family or notable households paid a visit, she would receive them in person, accept their gifts, and send back one in return. Additionally, she informed the guests that, once the year’s rice was collected into the granary and the new rice was procured, she would hold a feast at the manor, inviting everyone to taste the new rice.

Some were genuinely congratulating her.

But for others, Pei Jue’s survival was like a bolt from the blue.

People were coming and going from the manor.

Feng Yun watched the comings and goings, calculating how much longer it would take for the rice to be threshed and stored, and felt ever more that her time was running short. She somewhat regretted taking the initiative to sort out these trivial matters for Pei Jue.

This kind of hosting was not what she liked.

"It’s all your fault," Feng Yun complained deliberately in front of Pei Jue, expressing her grievance. "My peaceful life in the manor was completely disrupted by your arrival. ’This prince today, that marquis tomorrow,’—I’m worn out."

Pei Jue looked at her, silent for a moment.

"Just deal with it casually."

Feng Yun didn’t make a sound.

He continued, "If you don’t want to deal with it, let the gatekeeper send them away."

Seeing his protective nature, Feng Yun barely suppressed the smile on her lips, "Wouldn’t that cause trouble for the prince?"

Pei Jue’s brows knitted slightly.

He remembered her crying in her previous life, saying she "just wanted peace," and his voice grew husky without him realizing it.

"Then what would Lady Yun have me do?"

Feng Yun pursed her lips slightly, laughter nearly bursting from her throat.

"I want the prince to remember, it’s for you that I deal with these people..."

For you...

A flicker of emotion stirred in the depths of Pei Jue’s eyes.

Then he heard her say, "You owe me, and you’ll have to repay it all."

Pei Jue swallowed his words back down, falling silent.

Feng Yun glanced at him, about to speak, when the sound of footsteps came from outside the curtain.

"Madam, a visitor from the Marquis Xuanping Residence seeks an audience with you."

It was Alou’s voice.

Feng Yun glanced at Pei Jue, "Not available, say I’m tired today..."

Alou bowed slightly and presented the list of gifts, whispering:

"The lady of the marquis herself has come."

Feng Yun looked at the list of gifts, pondering for a moment.

"The God of Wealth has arrived, show her to the Huaxi Hall."

Compared to when Pei Jue was injured, the gift from the Marquis of Xuanping’s Residence this time was much more substantial. Without having yet met the lady of the marquis, Feng Yun guessed she had a request to make.

But she didn’t expect that the lady of the marquis would be here on behalf of Yang Sanniang.

At the beginning of their meeting, both women tacitly avoided discussing the incident at the Governor’s Office, sipping tea lightly and speaking formal words of concern for each other.

After a cup of tea’s time passed, the lady of the marquis shifted the conversation and offered a deep bow to Feng Yun.

"This time, the marquis’s life was saved, all thanks to Doctor Yao’s superb medical skills..."

Feng Yun could not discern the sincerity in her words and responded with a slight smile.

"My lady is too courteous. Doctor Yao resides in Huaxi, but she’s not from my manor. I’m undeserving of such a gesture."

"You deserve it, it concerns the lineage of the marquis’s house, even a great gift such as this is something the princess can accept..."

The lady of the marquis looked at her, her eyes suddenly welling with tears.

"The princess is a wise woman, and I won’t beat around the bush with you. Besides coming to visit the prince, I’m also here to ask the princess to show mercy..."

Feng Yun remained silent, her eyes holding a mocking smile as she stared at her.

The lady of the marquis suddenly felt fearful, her voice softening.

"Please do not misunderstand, princess, I have no ill intentions, I just want to save Yang Sanniang..."

Feng Yun uttered an "oh," her eyebrows raised, intentionally showing surprise.

"The lady of the marquis has a compassionate heart; I admire that. But to deal with such vermin, why bother being so kind?"

The lady of the marquis smiled bitterly and shook her head, almost on the verge of crying.

"With Qufeng gone, I’m already of such age and I have no means to have another child for the marquis’s house. Regardless of Yang Sanniang’s character, the child she carries is also of the Qu family’s blood. I can’t just watch her go to her death with the child..."

Feng Yun was greatly surprised.

After all these days, even Yang Lingxiang had not acknowledged the child in her womb as Qu Gong’s, but here was the lady of the marquis eagerly willing to recognize the child?

Something was amiss, and taking the opportunity to ponder while pretending to sip her tea, Feng Yun then looked up with a smile and inquired:

"Is this also the wish of the Marquis of Xuanping?"

The lady of the marquis shook her head, "The marquis luckily survived the brink of death, but his body is very frail. Doctor Yao has said that he may never fully recover and must live with medicinal soups..."

Qu Gong’s condition was something Yao Ru had reported to Feng Yun.

His body was not seriously harmed; the problem lay with his mind.

Feng Yun suspected it was the blow to his head, intended to fabricate the "affair," that was struck by the guard that day.

Of course, she hadn’t told Doctor Yao the truth.

Only during their discussion of his medical condition did she inform him that such an injury required avoiding further agitation...

"To spare him additional agitation, I have yet to discuss it with him," the lady of the marquis said with tears in her eyes, continuing, "After this ordeal, I’ve come to realize, with or without Yang Sanniang, there would be other women all the same, it’s better to make do with what’s available. At least, Yang Sanniang has no one in her maternal family to fight for anything else..."

She only wanted the status of the lady of the marquis, nothing else mattered to her anymore.

Feng Yun observed the tears in her eyes and believed that after the marquis’s severe illness, she was disheartened and had truly seen things in a new light.

However...

Feng Yun set down her tea, and asked indifferently:

"But have you considered, my lady, if by chance the child is not the Marquis of Xuanping’s?"