Chapter 61 The candle suddenly popped with a "crack"...

Mo Song's broken words nearly scared Feng Mian's soul away, and she followed him all the way to the entrance of the trade market.

Terrified, she thought she was about to witness a bloody scene. Following the direction Mo Song was pointing, she saw Chu Jingqi lively and energetic, surrounded by several Canglang tribe guards in a corner.

It means lively and energetic in the literal sense.

Chu Jingqi wasn't short; he was quite tall and slender in the Dayong Dynasty. However, the guards from the Canglang tribe were all very tall and strong, two heads taller than him. They pressed down on him like a human wall, completely covering him. He could only jump up and shout to the people outside.

"Mi Tu! I just want to say a few words to you! Don't hide from me!"

When Feng Mian approached, Chu Jingqi jumped up and down a couple of times before noticing her. He quickly steadied himself and pleaded with her for help: "Little cousin, please talk to Mi Tu for me. I only wanted to say a few words to her, why won't she see me?"

Chu Jingqi was truly aggrieved. He wrote a letter until 3 a.m. last night, and as soon as he woke up today, he rushed over to see Mi Tu, thinking that he must make his feelings clear to him.

He worried that discussing this matter in public would put pressure on her, and that if the people heard it, they might spread rumors. So he wanted to ask her to leave for a moment so they could talk face to face. But she wouldn't even see him and instead ordered her guards to surround him.

"Then you should calm down. Shouting like this gives others a lot to imagine."

Feng Mian first calmed Chu Jingqi down, then had Mo Song stay by his side before turning to walk towards Mi Tu.

Mi Tu sat under the shade of the canopy, arms crossed, watching the crowds coming and going.

She was worried that the merchants from the northern tribes would be bullied at the trade market today, so she specially stayed here to keep watch. Unexpectedly, after a long while, not a single person came to complain about being wronged.

Only a noisy man came to bother us.

Thinking of this, she suddenly realized that the jumping and hopping sound seemed to have disappeared from her ears. She subconsciously looked over and saw Feng Mian walking towards her.

Yes, they are a family.

Mi Tu remained motionless, coldly watching Feng Mian walk up to her. "What, are you here to act as his advocate, or are you planning to use your princess status to force me to apologize to him?"

"Then you've made a mistake."

Apart from her father, neither the imperial relatives of the Great Yong nor the remnants of the Northern Barbarians could make her bow her head.

Feng Mian gently shook her head. "Why do you think so badly of people, Holy Maiden? I'm just making a request as a younger sister."

"The matter of burning the grain fodder is over, and Ninth Brother didn't come here to hold you accountable. Due to different positions, he never intended to blame you. He felt that he was tough and a man, so being deceived was no big deal."

"Then why is he still bothering me?" Mi Tu raised an eyebrow. "I didn't beat him up this time because of you, but he still refuses to leave. It's so annoying."

“There are some things I can’t do for you. If you’re willing, you can talk to him. If you’re not willing, I have a way to persuade him to leave. But my ninth brother can be a bit stubborn sometimes, and he’ll probably come every day from now on.”

"A short pain is better than a long one, so give him a quick one."

Feng Mian gestured for her to leave. Mi Tu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and said with a smile, "It's not impossible. But I need one hundred shi of grain."

She stared intently at Feng Mian, "I know that the northern frontier is short of food, but you, as a princess, are not."

They really know how to take advantage of a crisis.

“Okay, once the trade fair concludes smoothly, you bring me the seeds I want, and we'll call it even.” Feng Mian nodded in agreement.

We can settle the money for the grain with Chu Jingqi later.

She agreed so readily that Mi Tu was stunned for a moment, wondering if she had asked for too little. "You two siblings really have a good relationship."

They used to only see each other once a year, so there wasn't necessarily much of a bond between them. But ever since Feng Mian came to the Northern Frontier, he has met Chu Jingqi several times, and he has always treated him with absolute sincerity.

Sincerity always begets sincerity. The New Year's Eve gatherings of the past ten years or so have not been as profound as the chance encounters of these past few months.

"You might not believe me even if I told you, but you'll understand once you spend more time with him. Ninth Brother is actually a very good person."

Mi Tu didn't reply. He instructed the people around him to watch over the sunshade, and then got up to go find Chu Jingqi.

When Feng Mian saw Chu Jingqi being released, he was overjoyed and led Mi Tu to the carriage parked in a secluded spot. He didn't forget to clasp his hands in thanks to Feng Mian from afar.

"Princess, aren't we going to follow?" Liu Ying asked softly.

"Don't worry, the Holy Maiden knows what she's doing and won't lay a hand on Ninth Brother." Feng Mian prepared to continue browsing the market; what happened next was no longer her concern.

Liu Ying let out a soft "Ah," realizing that the princess was worried about the young marquis.

Indeed, although the young marquis is a man, he is weak and powerless, while the holy maiden, though a woman, looks quite formidable.

The "very capable" Holy Maiden Mi Tu followed Chu Jingqi into the carriage. She sat down with an air of authority, raised her chin, and said, "Speak."

Her demeanor was quite different from when she used the pseudonym "Tu Mi". Tu Mi was also radiant, but she had concealed her flamboyant thorns and had developed a more deliberately imitative, gentle demeanor.

Now that she's back to being Mi Tu, she's too lazy to bother with any pretense anymore.

Chu Jingqi stared at her without blinking, sitting upright and proper, his flamboyant demeanor subdued, a blush creeping up his neck. After recalling the words he had rehearsed all night, he bravely spoke: "I like you."

Mi Tu's face stiffened, and before she could speak, Chu Jingqi finished speaking the rest of his words in one breath.

"I have already written to my mother to tell her how I feel about you, and I will not let her hear any bad rumors about you from others and do anything bad to you."

"I truly love you, and I'm expressing my feelings to you with the intention of marrying you. I would never be a heartless man who starts something and then abandons it." He hurriedly added, "Of course, this is on the premise that you love me too. If it's only me who loves you, then I would never be a heartless man."

The second half of the sentence was spoken softer, with a hint of disappointment.

He then rallied, "You don't have to answer me right now. I just want you to know that I like you and give me a chance to pursue you, okay?"

He looked at Mi Tu expectantly, making a desperate wish in his heart: Promise me now! Promise me now! Promise me now!

“I am not Tu Mi,” Mi Tu said curtly, frowning. “And the person you like is not me either.”

“In my eyes, you are the same person. I like you when you are Tu Mi, I like you when you are Mi Tu, I like you no matter what you are like.”

Once you say "I like you," it's even easier to say it again. Chu Ching-chi uses it like a catchphrase.

Mi Tu covered his ears.

Chu Jingqi shut up, and after a long pause, finally asked, "Is it okay?"

Mi Tu pondered for a while, then remembered Feng Mian saying that the people of Dayong all knew how to farm, so he asked, "Do you know how to farm?"

Chu Jingqi looked at Mi Tu blankly, then his gaze hardened and he said, "I can learn!"

Tsk, he was definitely lying to her.

"Have you finished speaking? I'm leaving." Mi Tu turned and got off the carriage, leaving without hesitation.

Wait, she didn't directly refuse! Sometimes, not directly refusing means tacitly agreeing.

Chu Jingqi instantly perked up and went to Feng Mian with great interest to ask what he should give to make Mi Tu happy. He then received a bill that Feng Mian had just written.

"She'll definitely like the food."

However, simply giving them away like this isn't a solution. Feng Mian urged him to help Mi Tu select some seeds, hoping to find some food that the Northern Yi tribes could also grow, so that they could become self-sufficient.

Chu Jingqi suddenly became interested when he thought of Mi Tu asking him if he knew how to farm. It seemed that she was not just asking casually. This was indeed a plus!

"If such a seed really exists, you must teach me how to plant it! It would be best if you could also send me to the Canglang tribe to teach them how to plant it, so that I would have a chance to show off in front of Mi Tu."

Their desire to open the screen was written all over their faces.

Although this matter still needed to be reported to her uncle to be valid, Feng Mian naturally agreed to everything at the moment. She watched the cheerful Chu Jingqi disappear into the crowd of merchants, thinking to herself that if this matter could be accomplished, she would also praise Chu Jingqi in front of her uncle, so that if he said he wanted to go for a "marriage alliance" in the future, it would be considered nonsense.

"What kind of seeds does the princess want?" Lu Mingzhu asked eagerly. "I can help you pick some."

Judging from the first day of the trade, it was a great success. It is expected that more and more merchants will come in the future, and it would be better if more people came to search for goods.

Feng Mian: "Any seed I've never seen before is fine."

Cast a wide net to catch more seeds.

If she were to describe the appearance of the seeds directly, how could she explain that she would recognize this crop, which had never appeared in Dayong before?

Gu Chunwen, an official from the Ministry of Revenue, vaguely guessed that Feng Mian might have learned about some novel crops from somewhere, so he took the initiative to ask, "If you find the seeds, shouldn't you find someone to try planting them? Do you need me to transfer some people from the Ministry of Revenue to help the princess?"

"Is that alright?" Feng Mian's eyes lit up. After all, she hadn't produced any results to show yet, so she hadn't dared to suggest borrowing people from the Ministry of Revenue.

Gu Chunwen replied with a smile, "His Majesty instructed me when he sent me that whatever the princess needs, I must do my best to meet her needs. Such a small matter as transferring people is naturally not a problem."

Feng Mian said with delight, "That's great! This will save us a lot of trouble."

Gu Chunwen carefully noted this matter down, then turned to look in the direction Chu Jingqi had left, and suddenly sighed, "I never expected the young marquis to be such a devoted person. To find one's beloved and spend one's life with them is a rare and precious destiny for anyone."

Feng Mian sighed softly and replied, "Yes, it's not easy to meet someone you love."

Gu Chunwen carefully considered her tone and expression as she spoke, and a thought stirred in his heart: it seemed that the princess did not have any special feelings for Baili Xunzhou.

As evening approached, the market gradually closed up and the crowds dispersed.

To facilitate trade, many merchants stayed at post stations in nearby prefectures and counties, and still had to travel a distance to return home.

Fortunately, the Swift Feather Battalion and the Luanyi Guard escorted them all the way, which made the group, who were returning with a full load of goods, feel much more at ease.

After returning to the post station, Feng Mian washed up early, relieved of his fatigue, and comfortably nestled in a chair. He then picked up his pen to write down what he had seen and heard that day for Baili Xunzhou.

Suddenly, the candle flame popped and burst.

She was slightly startled, and for a moment she thought someone was gently knocking on the window, so she looked up. Knowing full well that it was impossible, she still couldn't help but get up and prop the window open.

The night outside the window was cool and still, with no one around.

Feng Mian couldn't help but laugh. Just as he was about to close the window, he suddenly saw a faint light of fire in the distance.