The Slender Waist

The weather gradually warmed up.

Mid-March, on a sunny day, Huaxi Village suddenly had a group of government officers arrive.

The leader was riding a tall horse, with a group of prisoners being escorted on foot into the village, but they didn’t linger too long. They only stood briefly at Changmen before being taken to the farm tool workshop.

Feng Yun was waiting there with a group of her men.

Piled outside the door were newly forged ironwares and farm tools. Her men had sturdy, upright shoulders, each one full of vim and vigor with a healthy flush on their faces, clearly well-fed and robust, and at a glance, one could tell they were eating well.

The prisoners couldn’t help but envy those men.

Before arriving at the village, the Governor had already spoken to them about the purpose of their trip.

Building roads, laying bridges, digging wells, mining...

The Governor said that those who worked here could not only eat three meals a day, each meal to their fill, but could also lighten their sins. Even those who had committed capital crimes might find a way to live.

Many were puzzled before departure, not daring to believe it.

What kind of times were these, to be able to eat three meals a day and each meal to satisfaction?

In private, they even speculated whether they were going to be executed, being fed a full meal before death.

Now they believed.

Some even secretly thought how good it would be if they could become men of Changmen.

But the men were the household staff, the trusted followers of the Princess of Yonghuai, not something they could aspire to...

"Gentlemen..." It was getting warm, and Feng Yun had changed into light, soft fabric, devoid of complicated and brilliant decorations, with plain and simple skirts, which in the prisoners’ eyes made her appear like an immortal descending from the heavens, too high-born to approach.

"Have you seen the iron tools here?"

"We have." The replies were disorganized, lacking spirit.

Feng Yun smiled slightly, her expression serene, "Coming up, you will line up and choose. Pick a hoe to work on the roads, a pickaxe for the mountain, or a carrying pole for the baskets. The work is different, the treatment is different, it’s up to your own wishes. But one thing, if anyone tries to cheat or slack off, you’ll go back where you came from!"

The crowd perked up, "Yes!"

Feng Yun nodded, signaled Xing Bing to distribute the iron tools, and then took He Qia back to the estate.

After serving tea, she asked, "Is there any trouble from Xijing?"

"Not at all." He Qia gently waved his hand, signaling his clerk to place the documents he had brought with him in front of her.

Looking into Feng Yun’s bright eyes, He Qia cracked a slight smile, "The registers, official papers, the Imperial Court’s responses, they’re all here, Princess, please review them."

Feng Yun said, "You’ve worked hard, Governor."

He Qia was a direct lineage of Pei Jue, and spoke very directly to Feng Yun. Watching her flip through the registers, he hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"I must make one thing clear ahead of time, since the Princess is taking these people away, the responsibility lies with you, Princess. From now on, whatever happens, the Governor’s Office will not get involved."

Feng Yun smiled and lifted her eyes, "Is the warehouse so short of grain? Why does the Governor seem to have no rice to cook?"

He Qia sighed, "Isn’t that so? The storehouses of the counties in Xinzhou are mostly empty after the war, the levies and taxes on the people have been reduced, and the shops are not yet operating. Then we encountered a year of heavy snow disasters, and it’s hard to collect money and grain. Even eating has become a problem, everywhere people are stretching out their hands for money and grain..."

"Take it slowly. With a multitude of tasks awaiting revival, we must wait for the right time."

Feng Yun was aware of the severity of the situation and then lightly smiled, "Is it now Ao Zheng handling things in Xijing?"

He Qia nodded, "With the king waging war abroad, the Empress Dowager isn’t managing affairs. Ao Zheng is so worried he’s turning gray; it’s hard for a clever woman to cook without rice."

The establishment and development of a New Dynasty was not easy. With Ao Zheng leading a group of new colleagues, not to mention other issues, just the enactment of policy required time for adjustment; one could say they were hindered at every turn.

But these were not things Feng Yun was supposed to worry about or could take care of at the moment.

She joked, "I said you should learn from Li Zongxun."

Seeing He Qia show an embarrassed expression, she pointed to the registers, "Are all the people accounted for here?"

He Qia nodded, hesitating a moment before saying, "They are all miscreants and criminals. Should I leave some officers to help you keep an eye on them?"

Feng Yun’s lips curved slightly, and she slowly shook her head, "To say they’re criminals, they’re mostly thieves and pickpockets, just trying to survive, not utterly wicked and evil."

He Qia sighed several times, lamenting the hardships of the times.

Feng Yun detected a hidden meaning in his words and smiled faintly, "Governor, be completely at ease. These five hundred people you’ve entrusted to me are under my care; I won’t cause you the slightest concern."

He Qia was relieved in his old heart.

Finally, he took a sip of tea, lowered his head as if contemplating something, then suddenly squinted his eyes and said mysteriously:

"I hope you don’t mind my asking, but how much grain is really stored in the Changmen estate?"

Feng Yun was surprised by his question, paused, and then smiled, narrowing her eyes.

"It’s also a time when the old grain has run out and the new has not yet come in, we’ll have to find a solution."

He Qia stroked his beard while looking at her, "But I’ve heard people say, the granary at Changmen has already been dug down to the third level, and the staff has grown to three or five hundred. Not to mention anything else, just feeding that many people... the amount of grain that must be wasted..."

Feng Yun felt an inner shock, yet her face remained impassive.

"To not conceal from the Governor, speaking of the staff, there aren’t three hundred, but add in the serving girls, women, errand boys in the estate, plus those in the shops and workshops, in total, there are indeed more than three hundred."

After a pause, she smiled again, "Is there someone who has been saying something in front of the Governor?"

He Qia shook his head, his voice growing somber, "He is merely curious how the Princess manages to provide food and drink for so many people..."

Feng Yun laughed, "If the Governor can manage five prefectures, with a population of over a hundred thousand, with ease, why should I, with my modest Changmen Village and its mere hundreds, find it difficult?"

The two looked at each other and after a tense silence, He Qia chuckled and began talking about spring sowing, to which Feng Yun also smiled and responded.

It wasn’t until he was leaving that He Qia looked at Feng Yun and said in a heartfelt whisper, "Now that the New Dynasty has been established, they surely want the hearts of all the people. Over the past years, with fortresses scattered everywhere and military clans each commanding their own forces, chaos has reigned, detrimental to the livelihood of the people."

Feng Yun asked, "Why doesn’t the Governor speak plainly?"

He Qia replied, "The outstanding tree in the forest is sure to be brought down by the wind."

Feng Yun felt a warmth in her heart and smiled as she saw He Qia to the gate of the estate, yet a shadow loomed over her mind.

She knew exactly what kind of person He Qia was.

If he hadn’t heard something unfavorable about her, he wouldn’t have said such words.

This New Dynasty, or the divided Dajin, there are always those who wish to reap the biggest fruit.

After He Qia left, Feng Yun’s unease never settled.

In the evening, she went to the embroidery workshop to find Kong Yun’e.

Kong Yun’e was sitting and cutting cloth with Hengyang snuggled next to her, holding a bamboo-crafted dragonfly. Mother and son cuddled together, both wearing content smiles.

Feng Yun approached with a beaming smile and bent down to pat Hengyang’s head.

"Hengyang."

"Auntie..." The little boy’s face shone brightly as he grinned at her.

Kong Yun’e looked up to see it was her and quickly stood up, "Ayun, what brings you here?"

"Just checking on you," Feng Yun said without changing expression, though Kong Yun’e seemed to grasp something, patted Hengyang on the head to send him off to play, and then led Feng Yun to the inner room.

She now lived here with Hengyang, having established a home of their own.

Life was peaceful and calm.

No one spoke ill of her as they used to in Tai City. She was no longer the Kong family’s disgraced young widow who had brought ruin to her husband.

Now, she was simply Hengyang’s mother, the respectable Kong Yun’e.

"Do you need me for something, Lady Yun?" She knew Feng Yun was busy and would not come without reason.

Feng Yun appreciated her directness and smiled, "Is Jin Ge coming?"

Kong Yun’e’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked down.

"He does. Sometimes, when Hengyang falls asleep at night, he comes to have a look and then leaves..."

She didn’t need to be so detailed.

Feng Yun asked, "Is he good to you?"

Kong Yun’e nodded, "Yes."

Feng Yun continued, "In your opinion, would he remain loyal to me for your sake?"

Kong Yun’e was speechless.

After a moment’s hesitation, she said, "It’s hard to say."

Feng Yun hummed in acknowledgment and said softly, "If he comes again, you pass a message for me. Tell him that I won’t make things difficult for him; I just want him to help me find out if among the Princess’s entourage, there are any spies from Xiao Cheng? And in the New Dynasty of Xijing, how many undercover agents has Xiao Cheng planted?"

Kong Yun’e was taken aback, sensing the seriousness of the situation and immediately agreed.

"I will, I’ll ask him. To help you investigate."

At this point, as if recalling something, she asked, "Has there been no word from Daman?"

Shortly after the peace treaty was signed, Xiao Cheng returned to Tai City, taking Feng Ying and Lady Huaman with him.

But since Daman’s departure, Feng Yun had received no messages from her. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She only learned through Jin Ge and Ren Rude that Lady Huaman had become Qi Jun’s new favorite, incomparable in all the imperial harem, and even Feng Ying had to tread carefully around her...

Kong Yun’e saw the fleeting light in Feng Yun’s eyes and suddenly lowered her head, awkwardly twisting her handkerchief as she asked,

"Could she... betray you?"

Having once betrayed Feng Yun and been betrayed herself, Kong Yun’e fully understood the taste of betrayal by someone trusted; it was a mix of guilt and worry.

Feng Yun just laughed, unconcerned.

"Let her be."

The key element she valued in this chess game was different from what others thought.

It would be better if Daman was inclined towards her and worked on her behalf.

But even if Daman betrayed her, it didn’t matter— firstly because she didn’t care at all how Xiao Cheng saw her, and secondly because the thorn Daman had driven into Feng Ying’s heart had sunk so deeply, it was now impossible to remove.

The two of them in Qi Palace were not going to get along— it was just a matter of who had the better strategy and who would be the ultimate victor.