Eighth Prince, You Need to Save Face!
To Feng Yu Heng, the lie about the Persian master was a bit like the story of “the second boot,”* as it continued to keep her heart on edge from not knowing when it would fall. Although she did not know what the end result of today would be, as this was the first time that this had been exposed, after all, Feng Yu heng let out a long sigh internally. The heart that had been on edge was also relieved. When she looked toward the eighth prince, it was before the dancers came inside, and she gave him a faint smile then bowed, saying: “Thank you.”
Speaking truthfully, the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, was a bit doubtful about her saying thank you and her smiling expression. He began harboring doubts about the Feng family’s second daughter since long ago. At the banquet two years prior, when Feng Yu Heng had hit the middle of the target with three arrows, everyone cheered; however, he felt that something was off. At that time, Feng Yu Heng was just a 12-year-old little girl. Even if she had spent three years with a remarkable master in the Northwest for three years, this was too remarkable. These princes had also trained in martial arts since they were young, but he had never heard of anyone learning so much in three years. Also, it was to the point of being able to do it consistently. Even the best archer in old ninth, Xuan Tian Ming, could not do it.
Ever since that moment, Xuan Tian Ming became suspicious. Later on, he had gone South; however, he continuously received information from the capital. All of the things that Feng Yu Heng had done reached his ears, and he became more and more suspicious from what he heard. He also became more and more shocked the more he heard. Gradually, he began wanting to inquire about it.
Speaking of, it was not as thought Xuan Tian Ming had not thought of helping Feng Yu Heng hide it, but he himself did not understand what was going on with Feng Yu Heng. Secondly, Feng Yu Heng’s wondrous space left him feeling uncertain about where to begin. Just like this, the matter was dragged on until this moment. Dancers from Persia entered, and a foreign sound rose. All of the people with thoughts relating to Feng Yu Heng and the Persian eccentric pulled back their thoughts and turned their gazes toward the front of the hall.
Persian girls had noses with high arches and larger eye sockets. Their skin was slightly darker than those of people from Da Shun, but the outlines of their faces were distinct. They were curvaceous and looked to be even more interesting than the people of the South. This was not all, as the people had seen the princess of Gu Shu’s dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival’s banquet. They all felt that her clothes were bold and were not within what the dancers of Da Shun would wear, but her dance was still very pretty, thus they did not think much of it. At that time, the people felt that Gu Shu was an open-minded country, but when they saw the dancers from Persia, their understanding of “bold” was shaken once more. These dancers also had embroideries on their faces, as there was not a single one without some sort of design embroidered on their face. Although they were all wearing colorful veils, the embroidery on their face was extremely visible.
While the other people were gasping in admiration, Feng Yu Heng admired the Persian dancers. At the same time, she felt the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, occasionally cast a glance in her direction.
Finally, one song came to an end; however, the dancers did not retreat outside the hall. They just took a step back, seemingly waiting for something. At this time, the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, stood up and faced the Emperor to speak; however, Xuan Tian Ming rushed to speak first, and he said something that was very shocking: “Eighth brother, I just don’t understand. If you want to watch a dance, just watch the dance, but what are you looking at our Heng Heng for? She is your younger sister. As her elder brother, is staring at your younger sister during a banquet good?”
Xuan Tian Mo stopped the words that had reached his mouth and turned to look at Xuan Tian Ming, slightly furrowing his brow: “Ninth brother, what do you mean?”
Xuan Tian Ming coldly snorted: “I’m just asking why you were staring at my wife to no end.”
“Who stared at her?” This was subconsciously said by Xuan Tian Mo; however, it was said without much conviction, as he really had looked at her, but it was not in the same way that old ninth meant, right?
The one that replied to this, however, was someone else, as a voice that was soft and gentle like the wind spoke up. What it said, however, was extremely profane, “You did. You looked a total of 18 times, and each time lasted at least 5 seconds.” The only person that could make this sort of sound was naturally the seventh prince, Xuan Tian Hua, and there was not a single person in the hall that did not know this. This seventh prince also looked as handsome as a deity, and he was as gentle as the wind when he spoke. He also treated people very kindly. But this was all limited to a situation in which nobody was conflicting against the people he cared about. Once someone had taken aim at his interests or had aimed at the people that he cared about, he would no longer be a deity. Instead, he would be a demon. It just happened that the people he cared about were not many. They were the Emperor, Imperial Concubine Yun, the ninth prince and now the ninth prince’s future wife. That was why Xuan Tian Hua speaking up at this time was not a surprise to any. They just helplessly looked at Xuan Tian Mo while thinking how the eighth prince would get over this hurdle.
Xuan Tian Mo did not expect that old seventh would suddenly butt in at a time like this, and what he had said was reasonable and had evidence. He had even counted. He had indeed looked at Feng Yu Heng for quite some time, which made it impossible for him to refute it. For a while, he just stood there while feeling a bit awkward.
On the other side, Xuan Tian Ge raised her voice: “Eighth brother, could it be that you’ve taken an interest in A-Heng? That’s no good! Our A-Heng and ninth brother have been engaged since they were young!”
“That’s right!” Suddenly, another group of people stood up in the hall. There were men and women, as it was the three men and three madams from the Yao family. Everyone heard Yao Jing Jun say: “Many thanks Your Highness for the love, but our A-Heng will become of marriageable age in the fourth month and will wed His Highness the ninth prince. I hope that Your Highness will have some self-respect and not do something that is unbecoming to leave you unable to avoid this scene.” Yao Jing Jun was the Yao family’s eldest son, and he was Feng Yu Heng’s eldest uncle. The common proverb said it best, after the mother, the uncle had the second most power to protect and teach. The eighth prince had been seen through for doing such a thing, and for the uncle to speak up for his niece was in line with the principles of the heavens and earth. Moreover, what was there that he, Yao Jing Jung, did not dare say?! Even if the opposition was a prince, what of it? The Yao family had a very distinct standing. They were the ones most protected by the ninth prince, Xuan Tian Ming, and there was also Yao Xian’s relationship with the Emperor. Even if it was the Emperor’s son, he would dare to say a few demeaning words in front of the Emperor.
Yao Jing Jun’s words left the eighth prince speechless for quite a while. From a young age, he had experienced old ninth’s ability to spout lies with a straight face, and he had experienced Xuan Tian Hua hiding his unreasonable nature under his deity-like exterior. Later on, he heard that Feng Yu Heng was a girl that was the exact same personality as old ninth, and the Yao family that had been sent to Huang Zhou was something that he had neglected. What was this current situation? Was everyone teaming up to cause trouble? And they insisted on using this sort of method. Xuan Tian Mo felt as if he was a scholar who had been tossed into a military camp. He had something to say but could not say it clearly. It was clearly “a fierce gaze to scare a little girl,” yet it had somehow been turned into “attempting to seduce a young girl.” Fuck, this black pot had been placed on him, and he had no clue how to remove it. He could not fight back by saying I have not taken an interest in your girl, I want to kill your girl. Based on old ninth’s temper, if he really dared to say such a thing so plainly, would he not immediately act against him? Although he might not lose, but if old seventh was added in, he would not have any hope.
Xuan Tian Mo was extremely puzzled. He had not returned for a few years. How could there be so many shameless people in the capital?
While he did not speak for a while, Noble Lady Yuan could no longer bear to continue watching from the imperial concubines’ table. Slapping the table, she said: “Impudence! What are you trying to do? Teaming up to cause trouble for His Highness the eighth prince? You aren’t even going to pay attention to your own status!”
Once these words came out, the others did not say anything, but Xuan Tian Ming and Xuan Tian Hua immediately looked toward Noble Lady Yuan, as Xuan Tian Ming asked: “What sort of status do you have? Why don’t you take a look at where you’re sitting now! Impudence? Who is it that was being impudent?”
Noble Lady Yuan was startled then immediately regained her senses then silently thought to herself that she really did not know how to endure. Originally, she was not such a rash person; however, she had been an imperial concubine for too long, and she could not handle the realization of being demoted from imperial concubine to noble lady. Da Shun had a rule that those of the rank imperial concubine and higher were able to be called imperial concubine mother by the princes and could act higher up than the princes by acting as their elders. But this rule did not extend to the concubine position and below! Presently, she was just a noble lady, and she sat further to the back of the banquet. What right did she have to speak in this setting?
For a while, Noble Lady Yuan was angry at herself and hated the people down below. She gritted her teeth and ignored Xuan Tian Ming; however, she said to Yao Jing Jun: “I was speaking about Lord Yao!”
Yao Jing Jun also had an official title while in Huang Zhou. It was not a high rank at just lower sixth rank; however, he was still able to use the Yao family’s glory to enter the palace. Noble Lady Yuan did not dare to go against the princes, nor did she dare to get angry at Feng Yu Heng; however, she could not save face in this situation. She could only turn her attention on Yao Jing Jun.
Once these words came out, they were intercepted by the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, before Yao Jing Jun could respond. They heard Xuan Tian Mo say: “Mother, what are you joking around like seventh and ninth brother for? It’s the new year, so we should leave the chances to tell jokes to the officials!” After he spoke, he laughed then cupped his hands toward Feng Yu Heng: “Younger sister, eighth brother was narrow-minded and wanted to get on your good side. After all, younger sister had a Persian master. Eighth brother thought that you had not seen him in a long time and would feel a bit nostalgic.”
Feng Yu Heng once again realized that the eighth prince was indeed different from the third prince. If this was the third prince, Xuan Tian Ye, he would definitely have flipped out at a time like this and opposed them vehemently. But the eighth prince was able to adapt to the circumstances. He was definitely able to clearly see the situation and would not allow himself to suffer in a situation without any benefits.
But what of it? Feng Yu Heng squinted her eyes and looked over. The Persians had come, and it was determined that there would be a conflict between the two. Whether or not there would be blood, that would depend on the intensity of the conflict. She had never had a patient personality, nor was she weak and cowardly, nor did she hide and avoid things. These were things that never existed in her personal dictionary. She, Feng Yu Heng, was not one to brandish a sharp blade while facing the wind. Instead, she was one to hold an AK while taking the initiative to wipe out others.
“Your Highness was considerate, but it’s a pity that my birthplace is Da Shun, and I do not have much affection for Persia. My Persian master was also a wanderer. Aside from his appearance and language, there was not much of him left that was Persian. Even when it came to clothing, he just wore what the locals wore.”
“Oh?” Xuan Tian Mo suddenly laughed then raised his hand and another Persian quickly entered the hall. Kneeling toward the Emperor, he said something in Persian that nobody understood; however, Xuan Tian Mo then said: “This one is also a Persian medical practitioner. This prince was interested in hearing his explanations and heard quite a bit about Persian medicine. Today, however, there are some questions that I wish to ask about in front of younger sister!”
*TN: Story goes that an old man rents out his attic to a young man. On the first night, the young man returns home and goes to take off his boots. He takes off the first and throws it on the ground with a “thunk.” A little while later, he takes off the second and throws it on the ground with a “thunk.” The old man lives directly under him and is awoken and frightened by the sounds. The next morning, he asks the young man to be a bit more gentle when taking off his boots. The young man apologizes and says that he will try to keep it in mind. Night comes, and the young man returns late. He takes off his first boot and throws it on the ground with a “thunk.” Remembering that he had promised the old man, he takes off the second boot and gently puts it down. The old man, having been jarred awake by the thunk from the first boot could no longer fall asleep while waiting for the second boot to fall.