Accept the World’s Review
In practically the instant that Feng Fen Dai saw the two, she made a decision: Go upstairs.
Up what stairs? The stairs of a tea house.
In this alley, there was a two-storied tea house. Without even thinking, Fen Dai quickly rushed inside then tosses a silver dollar over to a clerk that had come over. She said: “I want a private room that faces the West. There’s no need for tea. Just make sure that nobody comes inside.”
Because she had the support of the fifth prince, Fen Dai was living quite well. At the very least, she was not lacking any money. The clerk of the tea house did not understand the motivations behind this young miss coming to a tea house and paying but asking to not have tea, but running a shop in the capital, what sort of thing had he not seen before. Based on Fen Dai’s clothes, it was clear that she was a young miss from a large family. No matter what this sort of noble person was doing, questions could not be asked. He received the money and only nodded. He did not even ask before allowing Fen Dai to rush to the second floor on her own.
The private rooms on the second floor that faced West had windows that could be pushed open, which would allow one to see the situation in the alley below. Fen Dai entered the room and closed the door. She then carefully pushed the window open a crack and just happened to see one of the people stuff something into the other person’s hand. She did not know what that thing was. She just felt that it was very small, and it was wrapped in a red silk bag. It could be completely concealed in just one hand.
Of course, she was not thinking about what that thing could be. What caused her to be most shocked was that she truly never could have thought that the Xiao Jing that everyone in the Feng family had failed to find, including the Cheng shi sisters and Feng Yu Heng, would actually be found by her. She was truly unable to imagine just how much courage it took for Xiao Jing to remain in the capital, and…
Squinting her eyes, she turned her gaze on Xiao Jing’s belly. Her flat belly allowed her to immediately understand why she was able to disappear from under everyone in the Feng family’s eyes. The Feng family had been misled. Everyone had been misled. Xiao Jing was not pregnant. Back then, the Feng family had been looking for a pregnant woman. How could they possibly find her.
That’s right, Fen Dai immediately recognized Xiao Jing. It had to be said that aside from Feng Jin Yuan, the only person in the Feng family that had a deep impression of Xiao Jing was Fen Dai. During the New Year’s banquet, she had angered the Emperor, and it was Kang Yi that had saved her. She had then followed Kang Yi back to the post house for a few days. Xiao Jing was one of Kang Yi’s personal maidservants. Since she had interacted with her for many days, her impression of her was much more profound.
After calculating it a little, Xiao Jing’s flat belly led to two possibilities. One was that she was never pregnant to begin with. The other was that the child was aborted. It was impossible that she gave birth normally. No matter how she thought about it, the dates did not line up; however, if she really did have an abortion, how could she look as though nothing was wrong despite suffering a great injury?
Xiao Jing’s sudden appearance caused Fen Dai to feel a little confused. She was a little unable to understand whether or not Feng Jin Yuan knew that she was still in the capital or not. Should she tell Feng Jin Yuan about what she had seen today? Also…
Fen Dai’s heart sank slightly then rose a little before sinking once more. The reason for this abrupt swing in emotions was not entirely because of Xiao Jing. Compared to suddenly seeing Xiao Jing, what caused Fen Dai to feel even more shocked was the girl that received the thing from Xiao Jing.
Why was she here?
Fen Dai felt her own thoughts become extremely messy. Perhaps Xiao Jing’s appearance was something that she could manage to accept, but that girl, how could she be with Xiao Jing?
After this brief lapse, when she looked out the window once more, the people that were outside had disappeared. Fen Dai closed the window, as her heart raced inside her chest. She wondered if her heart would leap out of her throat if she did not hold it down with her hand.
She realized that she had seen a great secret, and she did not know whether or not she should tell anyone about it. Or perhaps she could not tell anyone?
Xuan Tian Ming’s imperial carriage arrived at the foot of Ping Zhang mountain that very same night. When they finally crossed Ping Zhang mountain and arrived at the military camp, they were welcomed by all of the soldiers carrying torches and the countless shining steel weapons that were placed on the ground.
Below the torches, the faces of the soldiers appeared red from the torches; however, they were filled with smiles. The torches and steel weapons were illuminated by the moonlight, which allowed this camp to shine.
Qian Li had led some soldiers to the North, and the one in charge of taking care of the military camp had been the deputy leader of the Divine Intent Army, He Gan. He stepped forward and kneeled in front of Xuan Tian Ming and Feng Yu Heng, loudly saying: “Reporting to the General and imperial daughter! 35 thousand steel weapons have been completed. Would General and imperial daughter please examine them!”
When He Gan said this, there was a look of accomplishment on his face. All of the soldiers and all of the never-resting blacksmiths had looks of joy that could not be hidden. They had experienced nearly a full year, starting from their initial experimentation to their later proficiency, from their initial need for 100 batches to create one success, they were later able to produce one success for every ten batches before finally being able to succeed with every single batch. Producing steel was already the greatest responsibility of this military camp.
Up to today, there had been over ten thousand steel weapons that had been completed. This indicated that Da Shun would be entering the age of steel along with the rest of the world.
Feng Yu Heng could not help but become emotional. She had a sudden epiphany. Advancing the technology of this era might just be the purpose for her coming here.
She looked over at Xuan Tian Ming and said seriously: “Dispatch the troops! All the way North. Let’s have the North and Qian Zhou take a look at what Da Shun’s troops are like. We will let them see what Da Shun’s true military strength is!”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded solemnly then stepped forward. Raising his arm and waving it, he used his internal strength and loudly said: “The entire camp will rest! After three days, we will set out for Qian Zhou!”
These words raised the expectations of the soldiers to their greatest heights. They had already been expecting this battle with Qian Zhou for a long time. The life of a soldier was never one to be lived out in a military camp. Instead, it was lived out on the battlefield. Only on the battlefield could they truly feel alive.
“Comrades!” Xuan Tian Ming’s voice rose once more, “The steel weapons have already been completed. With the battle against Qian Zhou, accept the world’s review!”
“Accept the world’s review!”
“Accept the world’s review!”
Under the moonlight, the night that had initially been peaceful now had all kinds of sounds coming from the valley. The peace was quickly replaced with sounds of celebration. It was such that Feng Yu Heng would be able to vividly remember this night many years later. She would be able to remember the stirring words and the soldiers filled with hope and joy.
That night, Feng Yu Heng rolled around and could not fall asleep. In the end, she simply sat up. Xuan Tian Ming did not sleep either. Opening his eyes to look at her, he asked: “What are you thinking about?”
Feng Yu Heng blinked a few times then pointed at his mask and said: “In the past, you hid such an important thing in your mask, and it was a very secure choice, but now I feel that placing it inside my space would be the truly safe spot. What do you feel?”
Xuan Tian Ming felt that she was very reasonable, but “Dear wife, aren’t you very unhappy with other girls looking at husband’s face? Husband was thinking that this mask is already something that I am already wearing. It would be best to only take it off in special circumstances. For example… during our wedding?”
Feng Yu Heng’s lips twitched, “That’s still two years away.”
“Husband is in no rush.” A certain person waved magnanimously then sat up before saying in an honest tone: “But you did remind me. I will have someone make a new mask that is exactly the same. It would be safer to leave this one with you.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded and no longer mentioned this matter; however, she said to him: “There is a matter that I have been thinking about for a few days. The Duan Mu family has defected to Qian Zhou, but what sort of agreement could the two sides have reached. We still do not know their goals. The Duan Mu family was originally the ruler of the three northernmost provinces. If there has been no change since they defected to Qian Zhou, there was no point in defecting to the enemy.”
“It’s very possible that Qian Zhou promised to grant sovereignty of the three northernmost provinces to the Duan Mu family.” Xuan Tian Ming leaned back in bed and analyzed: “Like this, Qian Zhou is not simply doing it for the sake of reclaiming the three provinces.”
“That’s right.” Feng Yu Heng continued: “Although it’s possible that Qian Zhou has no plans of honoring its deal with the Duan Mu family, the Duan Mu family has controlled the provinces for many years. Their foundation is deep. If Qian Zhou wishes to go against the agreement, it will not be that easy.”
Xuan Tian Ming suddenly leaned forward and pressed down on the small head before him, asking: “What are you thinking?”
Feng Yu Heng chuckled and revealed what she was thinking: “Divide the soldiers into two groups. You take a group to the front, and I will sneak ahead to investigate their movements.”
“No!” He did not even think before refusing, “It’s too dangerous. Don’t even think about it.”
“It’s not dangerous.” She reasoned with him, “Xuan Tian Ming, your wife has the ability to run away. I have a space, so what is there to fear? Even if I am caught, as long as I do not have my hands cut off, I can perform a magic trick for them. Moreover, my hands will not be cut off so easily.”
Xuan Tian Ming furrowed his brow tightly and stared fixedly at the girl before him. He suddenly wanted to spank her. “Could it be that you have never heard the saying, a woman must not be too strong?”
She, however, asked: “Could it be that you knew that this imperial daughter was this strong from the first day? Xuan Tian Ming, you also know that I am right, right? I have my space, so staying alive is not a problem. The three northernmost provinces have already defected, but that is still Da Shun’s territory. Do we charge into the three northernmost provinces or not? Do we still preserve the lives of our own citizens or not? These all require someone to enter enemy territory to investigate clearly. Of course, you have definitely already arranged for something on that side, but why have you not received any information from those spies? There is no other possibility. There is only one reason. They have been found.”
Xuan Tian Ming took a deep breath and forcefully rubbed Feng Yu Heng’s head, helplessly saying: “You!” You are correct, but you do not understand. I would rather go into this dangerous area as a prince than see you take even a single step in the direction of danger. Even if you going will mean the battle will be far more successful, Heng Heng, my worries will begin as soon as you take that first step.
The urging that he tried to convey with his eyes brought only a smile from Feng Yu Heng, who said: “Wait for me. We will meet in Qian Zhou!”