Chapter 15: Thorny Heart
Before the hour of dawn, Ruyue and Yunyuan were already frantically helping Feng Yanyuan accessorize. His usual impassive expression was tinged with a hint of melancholy, as if he had nowhere to vent his anger. Yunyuan didn't know why he was so angry, and she didn't dare to say anything, fearing it would bring him trouble.
Ruyue frowned and said angrily: "Young Master, if you continue to behave like this, you will make the mistress unhappy at the banquet. It's okay for you, but we will have something good to suffer."
Seeing Feng Yanyuan glaring at Ruyue with annoyance, Yun Yuan hurriedly packed up her accessories and stepped aside.
"Since you are so worried, just come with me and pick the fruits yourself." Feng Yanyuan said, shook his sleeves unhappily and walked out.
Ruyue pursed her lips and said no more. She just watched him go away before making a face and sticking out her tongue.
Feng Yanyuan dragged his feet patiently, seemingly arriving neither early nor late, but he was actually late. Feng Yanhao and Feng Yanxuan had already taken their seats, and even the head of the family, Feng Xiaotian, had also taken his seat, but with a stern face, as if he didn't notice another person coming to the door.
Feng Yanyuan bowed and greeted him, but the patriarch didn't even look at him and said, "You're getting more arrogant."
Feng Yanyuan said, "I was afraid that I would disturb my father's rest if I got up early, but I didn't expect that he would get up early."
This excuse was a bit perfunctory, and the head of the family just kept a straight face and said nothing.
Feng Yanxuan said, "The third brother always wakes up early to be so punctual. I'm not used to getting up early, so I rushed over as soon as I woke up, without even opening my eyes. I wanted to stand by the door and take a nap, but I didn't expect father to wake up so early, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and come in."
"Your father always gets up early. You playboy, when will you ever be even half as good as him?"
Hearing the sound but not seeing anyone, several people looked towards the warm room, only to see the curtains being lifted, and for a moment the fragrance of powder filled the air. The mistress, dressed in plain clothes, was elegant and pretty, with a high bun but no crown, and walked out slowly. When they got closer, they saw that her face was as delicate as a young girl. How could she be the mother of two children?
Feng Yanyuan didn't want to take another look, so he just nodded and bowed, saying, "Good morning, Madam."
"You'd better sit down quickly. Fortunately, you came on time. If those three were in a hurry, I would be really late."
The head of the family saw his wife's face light up and said with a smile, "You've been delayed for so long, and yet you haven't worn anything."
"I'm afraid if I wear too little, I won't be suitable for the family feast. I'm also afraid if I wear too much, I'll pollute my husband's pure eyes. I'm putting on my makeup and putting it on, but I haven't wasted a moment."
"Even without makeup last night, you looked stunning." The patriarch spoke ambiguously, examining her carefully before nodding and saying, "Xiao Ming's medicine is indeed good."
Feng Yanyuan's brows furrowed. Feng Xiaoming was the "old man" of Wangyue Valley, but he only looked old; he was actually a few years younger than Feng Xiaotian. He felt truly sickened by the thought of Feng Xiaoming torturing those lives in exchange for the demonic appearance of the person before him. Yet, everyone was laughing and talking, and no one thought there was anything wrong with a little rejuvenation potion.
Feng Yanxuan smiled and said, "Father is absolutely right. Mother is like a younger sister now. I don't know what to do."
"You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about?" said the mistress angrily.
The head of the family and the young master didn't think it was ridiculous and they all burst into laughter.
Feng Yanyuan saw that the couples and fathers and sons in the room were all happy and harmonious, and he felt so out of place that he became even more uncomfortable and disgusted.
The mistress noticed Feng Yanyuan's anomaly and said, "The Third Young Master has always loved sweets. You must try this jujube paste cake. Your uncle brought it from Luoyang."
Feng Yanyuan smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam, for your concern." He took a bite and found the jujube paste cake too sweet, which made it even more disgusting. He smiled happily and said, "Sweet but not greasy. It is indeed a top-grade product."
"Your mother thinks of you in everything, but you still refuse to call her mother." said the head of the family.
Feng Yanyuan had been reluctant to shout before, and now he didn't know how to shout. Before he could reply, he heard his mistress scold him, "My dear, I'm afraid this porridge doesn't suit your taste. Are you going to punish me?"
The head of the family shook his head and said, "You just indulge him. The whole Feng family indulges him. Now he is getting worse and worse. This criminal slave who entered the Wangyue Valley was snatched out just like that. Does he still have the rules of the Feng family in his eyes?" The words were originally meant to scold Feng Yanyuan, but they were directed at the mistress. The mistress did not dare to respond, and Feng Yanyuan did not know whether he should respond or not. For a while, the situation was deadlocked again.
Finally, Feng Yanyuan responded, "I did take a slave from Wangyue Valley, but she wasn't a criminal slave. My second brother took her to the forbidden area..."
"Don't bring up your second brother. He's already been punished. He's such a playboy, how could he be fooled by a little girl?" The head of the family glared at Feng Yanxuan, who lowered his head and said nothing, and then asked Feng Yanyuan, "How is that servant?"
"My uncle showed mercy, and she narrowly escaped death."
The head of the family frowned and said, "This servant is indeed not simple. If your brother hadn't discovered the clues, who knows how much trouble we would have been in."
Feng Yanyuan said, "I am a fool and don't know what father means."
The patriarch glanced at Feng Yanhao and said, "Explain everything to him clearly."
Feng Yanhao responded, looked at Feng Yanyuan and sighed, "This slave girl's behavior is strange, her background is unknown, she bewitched the Second Brother into taking her to the forbidden area, and she easily won your trust. Don't you have any suspicions, Third Brother?"
"Young Master is in charge of the Feng family's affairs, is it just because of the word 'strange'?"
Feng Yanhao sighed again and said, "I didn't want to bring that person up here, but now I'm going to disturb my father and mother's breakfast."
The head of the family waved his hand and said, "Don't cry until you see the coffin. Bring the person up."
Because it was a family dinner, the servants had all left after breakfast, and the guards were waiting outside the door. Feng Yanhao went out and gave a few instructions, then waited outside again.
The head of the household and his mistress continued to eat their breakfast without a murmur, even admonishing others that cold porridge was harmful to health. Feng Yanxuan chuckled in response, while Feng Yanyuan, not knowing what Feng Yanhao had prepared, frowned, unable to put down his chopsticks.
When the man finally knelt outside the door of the warm room, Feng Yanyuan took a closer look and was stunned - the man was actually Yuzhu.
Feng Yanhao handed a roll of documents to Feng Yanyuan.
"Third brother has always been kind to his slaves. Does this woman still remember him?"
Feng Yanyuan took the document, opened the scroll and began to read.
Feng Yanhao said, "She's a killer from the Guitou Gang. I think her motives might be more than just pure. If she just wanted to sneak in and poison you, that would be too stupid. So I used some tricks and finally forced a confession out of her."
Feng Yanyuan didn't respond. He put down the documents, looked at Yuzhu and asked, "According to your confession, you completed the mission for the Guitou Gang and weren't coerced into confessing. Why did you confess to the exposing operation?"
Yuzhu's eyes were dull and lifeless, like a walking corpse, as she recited word by word, "I have been tamed since childhood, only following orders and never questioning them. Even when I was forced to do something unkind, as I did this time, I had no complaints. But these past few days of peace and quiet, and with the daily guidance of Master Hao, I feel even more wronged. Why can she step on our corpses to gain his trust? We have worked so hard for so many years, and in the end, we have to play the role of a clown who failed in his mission. We are so insignificant and worthless."
Feng Yanyuan sneered, "So father and brother both believe this is a conspiracy by two assassins from the Guitou Gang, just to gain my trust, wait for an opportunity to get close to me, and murder me?"
"Third brother, I know the truth is hard for you to accept, so I have been carefully investigating. But she is eloquent and good at misleading people. I was afraid she would mess with your mind again, so I sent her to Wangyue Valley first. It is better to kill someone by mistake than to let someone go!"
Feng Yanyuan looked at Yuzhu and said, "I heard that the young master has some medicine that will cause unbearable pain after taking it. If someone gives her a simple yes, wouldn't it be easy for her to do anything?"
"What do you mean? Would I go to such lengths to frame a slave?" Feng Yanhao hadn't expected him to trust Yun Yuan so much. He was furious and said, "That slave has been identified and is clearly a criminal. And you knew she was already in Wangyue Valley, yet you insisted on taking her out. What do you think of the Feng family precepts? Does wielding the Wind God Halberd mean you can do whatever you want, disregarding family rules and acting arbitrarily?"
Feng Yanyuan sneered, "I have no such intention. If you are worried, why not try to hold the divine halberd again? Maybe you won't get hurt this time."
His indifferent expression was quite provocative. Feng Yanhao suppressed his anger and snorted coldly, "Third brother, you are gifted. Even father can't touch the Wind God Halberd. It's only for you. Why should I try again?"
This remark angered the patriarch Feng Xiaotian. He threw the chopsticks in his hand at Feng Yanhao's face and shouted, "Asshole!"
The two sons knelt on the ground, and the remaining one put down his chopsticks tremblingly, not daring to make a sound.
The head of the family suppressed his anger and said after a while, "No matter what, that slave girl has already entered the Moon-Watching Valley. She cannot be kept any longer. Send her back to the Moon-Watching Valley!"
Feng Yanyuan knelt on the ground and said, "This man's confession is full of loopholes and is not convincing enough. Even if we don't investigate Hao Fengwei's reckless behavior, we can't justify convicting Yun Yuan as a criminal slave. Father, please allow me to investigate in detail."
The head of the family was so angry that he closed his eyes for a long time before asking in a deep voice, "She is suspected of harming you, and you still want to protect her?"
"She was chosen by me as a slave. If she is guilty, I will not defend her. But a slave's life is also a life. How can she be killed unjustly?" Feng Yanyuan paused, then continued, "By forcibly taking her out of Wangyue Valley, I violated the family rules. I am willing to accept the punishment." Feng Yanyuan glanced at the young master and said, "But in addition to Feng family members, Feng spies are also allowed to enter Wangyue Valley. I think if her confession is found to be false, she can be trained as a Feng spy."
The head of the family frowned and said, "The Fengtie Group is run by your brother. Are you trying to get a piece of the action?"
Feng Yanyuan said, "I dare not overstep my bounds. In fact, my brother has had this intention for a long time."
"Me?" Feng Yanhao was stunned, and when he saw the sneer on Feng Yanyuan's lips, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Feng Yanyuan said calmly, "Brother, did you forget to give her the Impermanence? If you didn't intend to recruit her as a Feng spy, why would you use the Wangyue Valley's secret poison to control Feng spies?"
The patriarch was stunned for a moment, then looked at Feng Yanhao and scolded him in a deep voice: "Did Feng Die go to your brother's yard?!"
Impermanence is a secret poison, used only against espionage. It's a family rule, and sibling rivalry is forbidden. The head of the household's seemingly calm question left everyone in the room breathless.
Feng Yanhao's brows knitted together. He hadn't expected the maid to survive, much less that she'd have the guts to tell him everything. Now that the secret poison of Wuchang was in his hands, and he'd fed the woman himself, further excuses were pointless. He paused briefly, then echoed Feng Yanyuan's words, "This maid is cunning and quite beloved by my third brother. I was worried she had ulterior motives, so I fed her to Wuchang. I really wanted to be on the safe side."
The head of the family remained silent with a cold face, and the atmosphere in the room became increasingly tense.
The mistress glanced at the head of the family and suddenly covered her mouth with her hands and smiled.
"After all these years, this is the first time I've heard that the Third Young Master favors a woman. I heard she's a geisha, and she's intelligent and quick-witted." The mistress paused for a moment before adding, "She sounds somewhat similar to Sister Yu Rong."
Feng Yanyuan's heart suddenly became furious, but he could only lower his head and not show it.
The head of the family's expression shifted slightly. He suddenly realized that the person kneeling before him not only looked like his biological mother, but also had a more similar temperament.
The mistress looked at the head of the family and said, "She sounds like a remarkable woman. Unpredictable, whether she's a spy or not is under our control. My dear, please allow the Third Young Master to investigate in detail."
The patriarch was silent for a long moment before sighing and saying, "Never mind. This servant is in your yard. You'll have to take care of yourself." He paused, then looked at Feng Yanhao and said, "The entire Feng family is watching this. Someone has to take the blame. You're the young master, and you're the one enforcing the family rules."
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