Chapter 9
Han Fengci's face was tense, his profile was sharp as if it was cut by a knife, and he treated the sweep of Bo Yu and Bo Zhi as if they were worn-out shoes.
In public, the Third Prince had already tortured Han Fengci several times in his heart for being so disrespectful of the royal family. But he only knew that Han Liqing was highly valued by his father and had a promising future, so he couldn't afford to offend him at the moment. So, he smiled and said, "Isn't this the new noble in the court, Han Liqing? I am the Third Prince Bo Yu. After seeing him today, I find that Han Liqing is indeed handsome and extraordinary."
Han Fengci didn't answer, which was very disrespectful. Despite this, Feng Huanhuan was still very unhappy. Especially that Fuzhi. From the moment Han Fengci appeared, Fuzhi's eyes were fixed on him for a long time. She was alert in her heart, so she had the idea of asking Han Fengci to accompany her to Bai Mansion. But Fuzhi's eyes were still looking at him, which made her feel uncomfortable. So, she sank her eyes and said to Han Fengci: "Let's go, don't worry about what the outsiders say."
Han Fengci lowered his head and nodded. Just as he was about to leave, Bozhi stepped forward to stop him: "Miss Feng is almost coming of age now, why is she still as erratic as she was when she was a child?"
Feng Huanhuan turned around and glared at her. Did this Feng Zhi want to say that she was unreasonable? She didn't want to do what he wanted, so she smiled and replied: "I have my father's love and my brother's military merits, so that I can keep my childish mind and pure heart. My father and brother taught me since I was a child that if I encounter those dirty things, I must fight back and can't endure it. Even if I want to endure it, I'm afraid my father and brother will be the first to disagree."
Seeing the golden hairpin tassels on her bun swinging back and forth angrily, Wangzhi's face was ferocious, but he gritted his teeth but dared not get angry. His furious look really soothed Feng Huanhuan's depressed heart.
Then the Sixth Princess had to close her eyes and take a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she forced a smile and said, "Miss Feng is right. It's better to be born into a good family than to be good-looking or well-educated."
Unexpectedly, Feng Huanhuan was suddenly shocked and shouted, "Sixth Princess is not satisfied with being born into the royal family?"
Bozhi's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily tried to distance himself from the matter, "When did I ever say that?"
Feng Huanhuan asked, "Did you just say that? There are so many people watching here, and you don't admit it?"
Bozhi said: "I just sighed. It was you who said that I was dissatisfied with being born into the royal family!"
Feng Huanhuan said, "Look, you keep complaining about being born into a royal family, and you admit it yourself. Princess Qingzhao, the sixth princess, actually envies the daughter of the Shangshu Mansion. Why? Is the palace short of you for food or clothes?"
This conversation caused the people around to whisper to each other: "That's right, if it were me, let alone being a princess, I could even be a guard in the palace."
"Me too, me too. As long as I can eat the food provided by the palace, isn't this better than trying to make a living anywhere else?"
"If I were a princess I would have to wake up laughing in the middle of the night and only need one meal a day."
Everyone was angry but dared not speak, they could only murmur in a low voice, after all, it was a royal matter, and the people present could not afford to offend any of them. Even so, their eyes were not idle. Especially the women in the front row, all of them were plump and strong, and they did not look good.
Bozhi's blood had already rushed to her head. She had never been humiliated like this before. How dare these lowly people look at her and talk about her like this! She was so angry that her hands were shaking. She pointed at Feng Huanhuan and shouted, "You...you are full of evil words!" She wanted to say more, but was stopped by Boyu. He still smiled and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. My sister is also spoiled. But please forgive me for the quarrels between girls, Miss Feng. I suddenly remembered that my mother asked me to go back early for dinner before leaving the palace today. Now the weather doesn't look good to me. The Sixth Princess and I will take our leave first. I will drink with Han Liqing another day. Goodbye."
After saying that, the Third Prince forcibly dragged the Sixth Princess, who didn't want to leave, onto the sedan chair. When the people saw that the Sixth Princess and the Third Prince had returned to the palace, they spontaneously evacuated, leaving only Feng Huanhuan and others.
Feng Huanhuan glanced at Bai Tiao, was silent for a moment, and did not rush to leave. Although her eyesight was not very good, she did not mind seeing Bai Tiao, and asked with a smile in her eyes: "Huan'er, do you still want to visit the Bai Mansion?" When she said this, there was obvious expectation in her eyes. Feng Huanhuan only took a look and turned her eyes away, just in time to meet Handan who had already stood up. She was still glaring and baring her teeth, so she was very unwilling. Feng Huanhuan frowned and said a few more words: "Handan, you are Bai Tiao's maid, your style and words not only represent the Prime Minister's Mansion, but also represent Bai Tiao. I saw it clearly in the crowd just now. To put it simply, it is disrespectful to the inferiors, and to put it more seriously, it is contempt for the royal family. By then, let alone the Prime Minister's Mansion, who can save you under the emperor's majesty? What's more, do you think the Prime Minister's Mansion will save a maid like you?"
Handan kept her head down and said nothing, clearly unwilling to give in. She was puzzled as to how a maid could be so spoiled and have such a bad temper. That was all. So, she simply said, "Let's go."
Bai Tiao wanted to say something, but Feng Huanhuan looked at Han Fengci. Although the two of them had nothing to say, they could understand each other's eyes and left after looking at each other.
The two of them looked like a good match from behind. Bai Tiao seemed to be smiling. This child has grown up. In the next breath, she calmed down, put away her smile, and returned to her usual cold star and cold moon. Her eyes were gray and without a trace of luster. She glanced at Handan who was standing aside with her head down, and said, "Let's go back home."
The sky was particularly gloomy, and the sun had not been seen since morning. The north wind was cold, and the snow was mixed with ice. Frost flowers bloomed on the white walls and black tiles, and crystal icicles hung under the eaves. But Feng Huanhuan could not feel the slightest bit of coldness. Her original idea of going to the market had been completely chilled by the episode just now. Seeing that she was about to arrive at Feng Mansion, she stopped and looked at Han Fengci, "Are you spending the New Year alone? Can you reunite with your elders?"
Han Fengci nodded: "I... have no father or mother."
Because of this unintentional remark, Feng Huanhuan had already recalled various scenes of her childhood, such as wandering on the streets and begging by the wall in winter. She even thought of Xiao Han Fengci, who was fighting with wild dogs for food, standing on the muddy ground covered with snowflakes, shivering and covered in blood. Her heart ached, and she suddenly sobbed in the bright hall.
Han Fengci's frosty face now had a strange look. He really didn't expect that a careless word could make Feng Huanhuan so emotional. She cried and dragged him to Feng Mansion to celebrate the New Year, as if if he didn't agree, she would lie on the snow and roll around like a child. There was really no way, in fact, he didn't agree, but was dragged all the way into Feng Mansion.
Feng Nianxiang sat upright at the head of the Eight Immortals Table, with a stern face. Han Fengci's eyebrows jumped suddenly, as if he was sitting on pins and needles, because Master Feng kept staring at him. Yes, today, he was indeed rude. Then, he picked up the white porcelain teacup in front of him and stood up, "Minister Feng, today I was really rude, I will drink a glass of tea and wine as a punishment."
He drank it all in one gulp, bowed to Feng Nianxiang and said, "I will take my leave now."
"Stop!" Feng Huanhuan grabbed his sleeve to stop him from taking a step. He turned to look at Feng Nianxiang who had been silent the whole time, and was filled with indignation.
"Dad, Han Fengci has no father or mother. I don't know how he has spent the New Year alone these years. He hasn't even had a hot meal. You are so heartless!"
Feng Nianxiang's broad forehead wrinkled instantly and he asked, "Is Han Liqing an orphan?"
Han Fengci nodded. In fact, he did not think this was a heavy topic. He was the ice of the North Sea, conceived by the heaven and earth, transformed into Kunpeng, a god of the innate nature. How could he have any parents? From the beginning to the end, there was always someone who felt sorry for him, and it really did not change. He originally thought that Master Feng was older after all, and Feng Huanhuan could not be fooled. Who would have thought that Master Feng was even worse than that? During this New Year's Eve dinner, he took care of him in many ways, and from time to time personally served him dishes, saying: let him find some fatherly love.
Before he could feel it, Feng Nianxiang took a few sips and almost burst into tears. Then he held the wine glass and drank it all. "My little girl lost her mother when she was young. How could I not know the pain? Xiaoci, from now on, during festivals, Feng Mansion will be your home."
He was talking nonsense after just three cups, and almost lost all his family fortune to Feng Nianxiang. Feng Huanhuan tried to stop the shameful old father, but it was useless. He climbed on Han Fengci's shoulder, half of his body pressed on him, and continued to nag: "Xiao Ci, Huan'er's mother, but she is the legitimate daughter of the general's mansion, Lang Jiaqingci. When I was young, I fell in love with her at the first sight, in the crowd."
…
"When Huan'er was six years old, she had a high fever and insisted on marrying Kunpeng, saying something about love. How could an old man like me know who Kunpeng was? I thought Huan'er was abducted by some bad boy, so I asked around to find out which child was named Kunpeng. Finally, I learned that Kunpeng was a legendary god from a picture book."
At this point, Feng Huanhuan had no time to stop his father from talking. After a while of pulling and persuading, Feng Nianxiang was finally helped back to the courtyard by the housekeeper. Before leaving, he shouted, "Xiao Ci, come often in the future. The door of Feng Mansion is always open for you."
Daddy is gone, and the hall is much quieter. Feng Huanhuan lies exhausted on the mahogany chair and sighs, "My daddy misses my mom. Daddy doesn't drink much, and he hardly drinks on weekdays, but every Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Day, these big festivals when the family reunites, Daddy will get drunk."
Han Fengci was silent for a moment and did not answer. Instead, he asked what he had always wanted to ask: "Have you liked Kunpeng since you were a child?"
Feng Huanhuan slumped in the chair and looked sideways, "Why are you so curious about Kunpeng?"
"I want to listen."
Feng Huanhuan didn't think much about it. It seemed that she couldn't think much about everything about Han Fengci. She just kept talking to herself, "When I was a child, I read a book about strange people and strange things."
"What does it say in there?" Han Fengci asked.
"It says that there was a man who loved to travel and enjoy the mountains and rivers. One day, he stood on the top of a mountain, thinking hard about what was on the other side of the endless peaks. After countless days and months, he finally climbed over one dangerous mountain after another. He said that the wind was salty and the water was blue. The sky and the water were connected, stretching as far as the eye could see. He said that was called the Dark Water."
"Later, he found a huge blue fruit on an isolated island. The hot weather almost killed him. The fruit was the size of a fist, and a clear white liquid oozed out of it, which was very tempting. He was thirsty and picked it without thinking and put it into his mouth. For some reason, he felt dizzy. When he opened his eyes again, he appeared in the northernmost part of the underworld, in an extremely cold place, a place that mortals could not reach. It turned out that he had accidentally eaten the blue fairy fruit of the North Underworld Earth Immortal. The fairy fruit is one per hundred years, which can protect the Earth Immortal from the erosion of extreme cold. Mortals who eat it can not only increase their lifespan by a hundred years, but also avoid being swallowed by the extreme cold. The Earth Immortal was furious, and he dozed off, and the fairy fruit was stolen. So in a rage, he captured the man and took him to the extremely cold place, and replaced him. He guarded the North Sea for a hundred years, and could only return to the secular world after the next blue fairy fruit matured. The man really guarded the extremely cold land of the North Sea for a hundred years. The land fairy also kept his promise, and a hundred years later, he really released the man back to the secular world. After that, he fabricated what he saw and heard into a strange story and passed it on to later generations. He said: During the hundred years when he guarded the extremely cold land, he met the North Sea God, who was a child. The God knew of his existence, but never paid attention to him. The God always sat on a huge iceberg, looking very lonely. There were always blizzards in the extremely cold land, but the God was like an ice sculpture, sitting there for decades. Later, the God disappeared because he met a little divine phoenix, went to the Red Sun Continent, and grew up with the divine phoenix. "
"The story ends here. The man said, Kunpeng, you are no longer alone."
"Later, there were more and more legends about Kunpeng and the Phoenix among the people. When he grew up, Kunpeng fell in love with the Phoenix. People said that the Phoenix did not love Kunpeng, and that only the dragon and the phoenix could bring good luck. Kunpeng's love was too suffocating and narrow."
“But I never thought so.”
"I like Kunpeng because I love him till death."
"I only want you, and only you."
Feng Huanhuan's eyes were full of bright light, and Han Fengci's eyes were like stars in the night sky. When the two looked at each other, there was unspoken love in each other's eyes. The quiet atmosphere like smoke and fog, with the heat of neon, made Han Fengci's thoughts hazy. Seeing that everything was about to go smoothly, Feng Huanhuan suddenly stood up and pulled him back to reality from the fog. She was so wide-eyed that she pulled his sleeve and ran out, very anxious, and kept blaming herself: "How could I forget such an important thing."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
