When Feng Zhongyi returned to his room, Madam Feng, whose eyes were swollen from crying, quickly came to greet him and said, "Master, did you find out anything?"
Feng Zhongyi sat in his official hat chair, picked up the now-cold teacup, took a sip to moisten his throat which had been dry for a long time. Seeing this, Madam Feng quickly poured him another bowl. Feng Zhongyi didn't care anymore, picked it up and took a big gulp before putting down the teacup and saying, "Madam, I've thought about it carefully just now. When we get back, let Wan'er take her medicine."
Upon hearing this, Madam Feng was stunned for a long time before bursting into tears. She said, "This Feng Ruosu wants to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy, using Wan'er's life as a raft. I will fight her to the death."
Feng Ruosu was the eldest daughter of Chief Minister Feng, and she married the son of Chief Minister Feng, who was born in the same year as her. Chief Minister Feng thought that this fellow student surnamed Song was an honest and kind man with a small family. Chief Minister Feng and his mother chose the Song family because of their small size, feeling that their eldest daughter was a bit domineering. In addition, with the support of her maternal family, they believed that Feng Ruosu and her son-in-law would live a good life together in the future.
Feng, the chief minister's son, was an honest and kind man who worked his way up from a county magistrate to a prefect. Due to health reasons, he retired and went into seclusion in the mountains, devoting himself to education in his hometown. He was a man of great praise. However, his son turned out to be the complete opposite of his father. He was a very scheming person who wanted to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy. In recent years, he had become very close to the third prince. Feng, as his father-in-law, had tried to persuade him several times, but to little avail.
Because of this, the relationship between Chief Minister Feng and his eldest daughter became somewhat cold. In the early years, the Feng family was not well-off, and Feng Ruosu helped raise her younger siblings. Therefore, Feng Zhongyi and his siblings secretly took care of Feng Ruosu. Unfortunately, after Feng Ruosu got married, she obeyed her husband's orders unconditionally and even without asking why.
Seeing that their eldest sister was so unable to distinguish right from wrong, Feng Zhongyi and the others gradually grew distant from her.
An urgent message arrived at the household, saying that several children had gone to their aunt's house to celebrate her birthday, but they happened to encounter the Third Prince at the Song family's residence. In the ensuing chaos, Feng Zhongyi's eldest daughter, Feng Wan'er, fell into the pond in the Song family's back garden and was rescued by the Third Prince, thus ruining her reputation. The family urged Feng Zhongyi and his wife to return home immediately to discuss a solution.
Feng Zhongyi said, "Madam, please let me tell you slowly. People in the capital only know that Xu Rao's daughter and the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingxi were betrothed by their mothers years ago. But I heard my mother say that when she took Zijie to visit the Xu family, the old lady of the Xu family said that she wanted to find a suitable match for their ninth daughter. At that time, my mother also said that our Zijie was too young. If he were a few years older and the age difference with the ninth daughter of the Xu family was not too great, she would still arrange this marriage for Zijie."
Madam Feng was puzzled and asked, "What is the relationship between this Ninth Miss of the Feng family and our Wan'er?"
Feng Zhongyi said, "Listen to me slowly. Why did the Xu family we met today go to Ganzhou? It's because they're going to Ganzhou to send off the Xu family's ninth daughter to her wedding. The marriage between the Xu family's ninth daughter and the Zheng family's adopted child wasn't arranged years ago. It was because the Third Prince wanted the Xu family's ninth daughter to be his concubine, but the Xu family didn't want that, so they came up with this plan to have their daughter marry the Zheng family's child now."
Madam Feng finally understood and exclaimed in surprise, "The Xu family went to such great lengths for the sake of their child? Before the New Year, wasn't it widely rumored in the capital that the old lady of the Zheng family, who had been a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures for many years, dreamed of her mother-in-law who had passed away many years ago and wanted the child adopted by the second branch of the family to get married as soon as possible? I heard that the old abbot of Dafosi Temple even interpreted the dream for her?"
Feng Zhongyi sighed and said, "Now I understand. The Xu family has kept a low profile all these years, but if someone wants to harm their own flesh and blood, they will risk their lives to save them. If the Marquis of Yongning doesn't persuade the Marquis of Pingxi, can this matter be handled well? And if the Marquis of Pingxi truly cares for the child left by his first wife, can he really just give the child away like this? As for the matter of Madam Wan'er, it depends on whether we are willing to risk everything."
Madam Feng said, "Wan'er is a piece of my flesh and blood, so of course I'm willing to risk everything for her."
Feng Zhongyi said, "In that case, let's go all out for Wan'er this time. My brother wrote that Wan'er hasn't been eating or drinking lately and has been lying in bed. Let's fake Wan'er's death and get her out of this mess first. As for the future, as long as Wan'er can live comfortably, that's all that matters."
Upon hearing her husband's words, Madam Feng covered her face and cried again. Feng Zhongyi said, "After Wan'er fakes her death, let her become your niece again. Just say that because you couldn't bear Wan'er's passing, your family found a girl who looks like Wan'er to accompany you. We'll take her with us wherever we go. As for marriage, as long as Wan'er is willing, we'll support her."
Madam Feng cried for a while longer before wiping away her tears, raising her head, and asking, "Sir, how did you come up with such an idea?"
Feng Zhongyi said, "I was talking to the Xu family's children just now, and what they said really touched me. The Xu family's children said that their parents told them from a young age that it's not easy for girls to live, and that reputation is a shackle for them. They said that they must never let their younger sister live an unhappy life because of the so-called reputation. The Xu family's daughter was raised with the love of Master Xu and his wife, and our Wan'er was also raised with the love of our family. It's unreasonable that other people's children can be helped by their families to find a way out of this, but our daughter has to be pushed into a pit of fire?"
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