Chapter 15 "I'm not going to fawn over them."...

"Thank you so much, Brother Shi~"

Inside Xueyue Residence, the warm mist of calming incense wafted from the bronze lion-shaped incense burner. Fengmian leaned against the chaise longue, with a half-finished bottle of rose dew on a low table beside her.

As Liu Ying massaged her temples, she huffed and puffed, mimicking Liu Ying's words with obvious displeasure: "Princess and Wu Liu didn't realize that Miss Yuan's feelings for His Highness were impure!"

She was truly the only one who was anxious!

"Alright, I know you're doing this for my own good." Feng Mian patted Liu Ying's hand reassuringly. Having finally calmed down, a nerve in her head was throbbing, leaving her feeling listless and her voice weak. "But she did help me once, so it's not good to talk about her behind her back like this."

After Yuan Jixue left, the princess remembered her words of observation about Feng Mian, so she stopped strolling in the garden and immediately asked the physician who had accompanied her to take her pulse.

The physician's words echoed Yuan Jixue's: Feng Mian was fine at the moment, but was just holding on with his energy. Once he settled down and recovered, he would definitely fall ill. So, another round of prescriptions and medicine preparations ensued. The princess even skipped the welcome dinner, urging Feng Mian to rest well.

As soon as everyone dispersed, Feng Mian indeed wilted like a dried scallion, collapsing onto the chaise longue, unable to get up. Liu Ying was left to massage his head, while Wu Liu went to direct everyone to tidy up the utensils.

Upon hearing this, the fireflies fell silent and remained still for a long time.

When Feng Mian opened her eyes, she saw that her lips were pouting so much that they could hold an oil lamp, clearly indicating that she still couldn't suppress the frustration in her heart.

“A heart burdened with pent-up emotions will surely fall ill. You should put this matter aside. Look at the young master's state; he clearly doesn't care about matters of the heart,” Feng Mian comforted him, genuinely worried that Liu Ying would suffocate from feeling so stifled.

Liu Ying pouted, "That's only temporary. The young master won't be like this forever. Miss Yuan and the young master grew up together, so she must know his preferences inside and out. Plus, she's in a good position and incredibly bold. The princess just arrived, and she dared to enter the manor and call the young master 'brother' so affectionately in front of the princess. If the young master succumbs to her temptation and falls in love with her, how will the princess face herself?"

"This servant does not want to see the princess like my mother, and even less does she want to suffer along with her if she has a child in the future..." Liu Ying lowered her eyes, bit her lip, and a hint of worry showed on her usually innocent and cheerful round face.

Before marrying her mother, Liuying's father already had a childhood sweetheart. Although he married her out of parental arrangement, the couple grew distant, and he neglected their only daughter, Liuying. Liuying's mother was depressed and died young, leaving behind four-year-old Liuying.

Just over a month after his wife's death, Liu Ying's father married Xiao Qingmei. A few months later, while her husband was away on a long trip, Xiao Qingmei sold Liu Ying into slavery.

Feng Mian sat up halfway and pulled Liu Ying to sit down beside her. She coaxed her gently, "Alright, alright, it's all still uncertain. Why worry about it in advance? Besides, the young master would prefer a chivalrous woman who can ride alongside him to conquer the world, not a weak woman like me or Miss Yuan who stay at home."

He seemed most impatient with dealing with a woman as sickly as her.

"Doesn't the princess want to live a harmonious and loving life with the prince?" Liu Ying asked, puzzled, her eyes wrinkling from round grapes to raisins.

A harmonious and loving marriage?

Feng Mian had indeed dreamt of such a thing, but unfortunately, it never came true. The man she was about to marry might one day become a treacherous minister plotting rebellion. Perhaps one day, they would become bitter enemies, turning against each other in arms.

Of course, she will do everything in her power to prevent that day from coming. As for the rest, it's too early to say.

"Let's talk about the future later. How can we predict it now? Good Liuying, my head hurts, please massage it for me again." Feng Mian nestled into Liuying's arms like a boneless person, and whined in a drawn-out tone.

Liu Ying quickly adjusted her sitting position to make Feng Mian more comfortable, and asked in surprise, "Didn't the physician say he was going to brew the medicine? Why hasn't it been delivered yet?"

Are you going to deliver the medicine or not?

In the front courtyard of the Prince's mansion, the Princess pressed Baili Xunzhou down in front of a steaming bowl of medicine, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly, almost radiating a murderous threat. "The Princess is waiting, why aren't you going?"

Baili Xunzhou stood stiff as a knife sheath, his neck rigid: "I'm not going to fawn over him."

"It's just a bowl of medicine, why are you being so stubborn? The princess has only just arrived at the manor. As the host, shouldn't we at least show some basic hospitality?"

"As the mistress of the Prince's mansion, wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to go in person to show your respect for the Princess? Besides, with so many people with her, how could she not take good care of her?"

"How can it be the same if I go and you go? You are her future husband. You should show her more care now so that the young lady who has traveled a long way can feel at ease." The princess poked her son's forehead with exasperation. It was bad enough that he was so clueless about romance, but he was also so stubborn!

Upon hearing this, Baili Xunzhou was even more displeased. "I never wanted to marry her in the first place, so why would I do something that would cause misunderstandings?"

He suddenly recalled the words he had spoken to Fengmian under the tree on their first night together. He knew that the people of Shengjing were cunning and that what they said might not be their true feelings, but he still couldn't help but care. So he wanted to make his stance clearer and not be ambiguous or indecisive.

"You..."

Just as the princess was about to reprimand him, he blurted out a long string of words, one after another: "I think if Mother really cares about her, she should break off the engagement and let her go back to Shengjing. How many days can she stay in the northern frontier with such a small body? She'll probably fall ill every day. She's such a demanding person, I can't afford to support her."

The princess was so angry she was about to summon the family for punishment. Looking around to make sure no one was listening, she slapped Baili Xunzhou on the back. The hard back stung, and she shook her hand. "How many times have I told you? You're not allowed to mention the word 'announced engagement' in the house again. You truly don't know how difficult a woman's situation is... if..."

"Your Highness!" A man rushed in from outside. The usually solemn Qingyi had unusually broken his manners and barged in. "Something has happened."

Baili Xunzhou turned to leave, but stopped abruptly at the door and turned back: "Mother, this is why I am not destined to be with her."

The princess sighed softly. "Forcing things won't work," she thought. "I'll go and check on the princess myself. I'll have to persuade her to prioritize her own well-being in the future."

Perhaps because she had taken the medicine beforehand, and because she was finally not spending the night in the carriage, Feng Mian slept soundly through the night and felt refreshed. After having breakfast, she planned to inform the princess and go out to check on the shops in Yunzhong County that were on her dowry list.

Wu Liu was initially worried that the princess would not allow them to go out. After all, there were strict rules in Shengjing. Noble ladies were usually confined to their homes, and in the month before their marriage, they were not allowed to leave their homes or see strangers.

The princess said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. There are no such rules in the Northern Frontier. The princess may go out whenever she wishes. Just make sure to bring guards with her to protect her safety."

"Don't wear anything too thin. Don't underestimate the wind in the northern frontier; if you stay in it for too long, even your bones will feel cold." As she spoke, the princess checked Feng Mian's clothes, carefully feeling the thickness of her garments, and then tightened the fur collar of her crane cloak, instructing her, "Don't go out for too long. You still need to take your time to recover. There's a long road ahead, so take your time with everything you do, there's no rush."

Feng Mian was momentarily dazed. She had rarely been cared for by female elders since childhood. After all, Emperor Jiayu was a man and could not replace his mother.

In her childhood, she had only ever seen Consort Rou take such meticulous care of Chu Jinglian. If she and Chu Jinglian were punished together, the contrast would be even more striking. Consort Rou would personally make Chu Jinglian's favorite pastries and stuff them into his mouth. Feng Mian also received pastries from the imperial kitchen, which, for her health, contained some tonics and always had a faint medicinal aroma. She didn't particularly like them.

But she dared not let Emperor Jiayu know that she longed for a gentle mother, after all, one should always be content. So she always secretly told herself, what does it matter if everyone else has a mother to protect them? The one who can protect her is the ruler of this world.

But at this moment, in the northern frontier, the princess's delicate fingers were touching his clothes to check them, he could smell the warm scent of pears, and hear the gentle whispers of a woman in his ear.

Feng Mian felt as if she were being cared for by her mother, obediently letting her do as she pleased, and cherishing this moment of warmth.

In the end, the princess found the oversight: the socks were wrong.

"The cold comes from the bottom. You need to take extra care of your feet."

“Your Highness is absolutely right. I advised the Princess to wear animal hair socks, but she refused.” Liu Ying seemed to have found a kindred spirit and hurriedly complained to her.

"It's almost May now, even in the northern border region, wearing animal hair socks is too much, isn't it? What will I be able to wear in the eleventh month?"

You can't blame her for not wanting to wear them; those fur socks felt stuffy and hot on her feet, making her feel restless even when walking.

The princess chuckled and said, "A fur sock is indeed a bit of an exaggeration; medicated socks will suffice."

She beckoned to the maid to come forward, took a pair of socks from the tray in the maid's hand, and handed them to Fengmian. "These medicinal socks are filled with mugwort floss, they are soft and warm to the feet, and have health benefits. They are perfect for you to wear."

When Feng Mian saw that the medicated socks were exactly her size, her eyelashes trembled. She had only just arrived at the Prince's mansion; these medicated socks couldn't have been prepared just last night.

"When was the princess prepared...?"

“When His Majesty bestowed the marriage upon you, I knew that you had been frail since childhood and was worried that you would not adapt well to the northern frontier, so I thought of ways to make you more comfortable.”

“But as you can see, the northern frontier is not as rich in resources as Shengjing. His Majesty probably takes good care of everything for his daily needs. So we can only find another way and come up with some clever ideas.” The princess winked at Feng Mian, quite proudly saying, “This was Ji Xue’s idea, and she made the moxa herself. Coincidentally, we used it today.”

Liu Ying blushed. Yesterday, she had shamed Yuan Jixue for her feelings for the Crown Prince, but today she learned that Yuan Jixue had also put a lot of effort into the Princess, and she felt ashamed.

She silently apologized to Yuan Jixue in her heart, but also thought that one thing should be dealt with separately. She should thank her for this matter, but if Yuan Jixue wanted to compete with the princess for the crown prince, she would still have to protect the princess.

Feng Mian smiled slightly, quite pleased: "I'm so grateful for Miss Yuan's trouble. I'll definitely visit her to thank her another day."

"Just send someone to invite Jixue to come to the mansion as a guest; there's no need for her to come in person," the princess suddenly instructed, clearly reluctant for Fengmian to visit the Yuan residence.

The princess doesn't seem to look down on merchants, so why is she unwilling to let her visit the Yuan family?

Seeing that the princess did not explain the reason, Feng Mian did not ask any further questions, but simply nodded in agreement and left with Liu Ying and Wu Liu.

Unexpectedly, he ran into Yuan Jixue as soon as he arrived at the shop.

A note from the author:

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