Chapter 51 Should he feel at ease?
No one could refuse the pitiful request of the pale and weak Feng Mian, especially when she took the initiative to show weakness.
Liu Ying quickly brought over a bowl of red date and yam soup, which was warm and sweet, and a bite of it was both sweet and comforting.
After using half a bowl of the sedative, her cheeks finally weren't so pale anymore.
Having not eaten for a long time, Wu Liu forbade her to eat any more. After taking away the bowl, she said stiffly, "Before going to bed, the princess can have some almond tea to tide her over. She can eat as usual tomorrow morning."
Taking advantage of her action of clearing the bowl, Feng Mian hooked her little finger with hers and shook it, with a hint of coaxing, "Don't be angry, I didn't mean to starve myself."
"This servant is not angry." If there were more emotions involved, it would be self-blame and regret. Sometimes, a servant really shouldn't be too obedient.
"You...you haven't been eating much since yesterday, have you?" Baili Xunzhou, watching her playfully flirting with her maid, was also quite suspicious. He had a feeling she was deliberately starving herself. But he had no proof, and besides, he truly didn't know what benefit starving would bring her.
"I really didn't have an appetite yesterday," Feng Mian shamelessly tried to cover up her behavior. "I was just really tired today, and I don't know how I fell asleep and didn't wake up..."
She lied. In reality, she was so hungry that she couldn't sleep several times. She could only coax herself to sleep, tossing and turning until she finally fainted.
I thought she was asleep, but it turns out she had fainted.
She lowered her eyes and flicked her fingers. Thank goodness, even though she had fainted, she still had the dream she was supposed to have. From now on, there shouldn't be anything that would require her to go hungry anymore.
We just need to get through this current difficulty.
"I... am I really that noisy?" Baili Xunzhou asked uncertainly after hearing her say that.
In the past, he was the one who looked down on everyone's loud cheers in the military camp, but today he was the one being looked down upon. He was greatly shocked, and felt even more guilty for disturbing Feng Mian's peace and quiet.
“That’s true…” Feng Mian then remembered the excuse he had made up to deceive Liu Ying and Feng Mian in order to sleep alone. Now, seeing Baili Xunzhou’s dark eyes staring at him and his devastated appearance, he belatedly felt guilty.
She quickly waved her hand, "'It's my own fault for not being able to sleep, it has nothing to do with you.'"
Baili Xunzhou didn't answer, his eyes lowered as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he looked up and brought up another matter, "The government has sent people to check the household registration documents to find the children who were abducted before. The news that the abductors were caught has spread, and after noon, some people even went to the government office to report that they were the ones who were abducted."
"Madam Zhe has also come. She said that the girl in your workshop was bought by the matchmaker she introduced, so she has to bear some responsibility. She will send people to help investigate in the next couple of days."
"That girl came today too, her name is..."
"Cai Xiaotian".
"Yes, Cai Xiaotian asked me to thank you on her behalf. Thank you for believing her and catching those villains."
“We should thank her too. If she hadn’t mustered the courage to ask me for help, this matter would have been suppressed for who knows how long before it came to light.” Feng Mian thought for a moment and said, “I’ll send someone to deliver some things to her tomorrow.”
"The brave should be rewarded."
Upon hearing this, Baili Xunzhou was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected that it would take immense courage for a girl who had been sold several times to rush out for help. She wasn't sure if the princess would believe her, nor was she sure if the princess would help her.
In particular, she knew that those people had powerful officials backing them, and she didn't know if the seemingly kind princess had any entanglements with them. Stepping forward meant there was no turning back; it was a desperate gamble.
His gaze softened, and he nodded. "At the latest, we can send people to escort these people back to their hometowns in three days."
"So many years have passed, I wonder how their hometown has changed." Feng Mian always thinks a little more. If they return to their hometown and find that everything has changed and they can no longer find their relatives, they may not want to stay in their hometown.
"If they have returned to their hometown once and want to come back again, then let them come back as well."
"The travel expenses back and the reward money for escorting the yamen runners will all come from my private treasury."
"How can that possibly work?"
As Baili Xunzhou was refusing, Feng Mian raised her almond-shaped eyes and said in an unquestionable manner, "I have money. The money in the Dingbei Prince's Mansion and the Yunzhong County government office is already stretched thin, isn't it? I brought a generous dowry with me, and nearly half of the profitable shops in Yunzhong County belong to me. You are not allowed to argue with me about this."
"Besides, escorting someone is quite arduous. Only when the reward is sufficient will the constables be willing to do the job. Otherwise, if they lose the person halfway and turn back, or if they have malicious intentions and want to seize all the belongings that the person has worked hard for over the years, the escort will turn out to be a case of good intentions gone wrong."
Although these are all extremely bad scenarios, Feng Mian dares not gamble. A human life is irreplaceable, and even money cannot buy it back.
The government in the northern frontier was indeed not wealthy, and did not offer any extra reward to the yamen runners. Indeed, one or two of them showed signs of displeasure.
but……
"Using the bride's dowry, isn't that inappropriate?"
“You’re clearly very interested.” Feng Mian narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to look at him.
Baili Xunzhou was really not good at hiding his expression. When she stared at him like that, he couldn't help but laugh, and his sharp eyebrows and eyes softened.
"To be honest, if I can bring some real benefits to the people, so what if people say I'm a spineless coward who relies on my wife's help?"
“You’re not the kind of scoundrel who would shove his hand into his wife’s pocket. I’m using this money for legitimate purposes. They’ll be indebted to the ‘Princess’ in the future, not the ‘Crown Princess’. If anyone wants to gossip…” Feng Mian raised her chin slightly, “let them gossip.”
Feng Mian looked arrogant, with a cunning glint in his eyes. Baili Xunzhou felt a surge of heat in his heart and was unable to utter a word of refusal.
After Feng Mian finished drinking almond tea and prepared to wash up, Baili Xunzhou prepared to leave, saying, "I'll sleep in the study tonight, you get some rest."
"Wait a minute." Feng Mian grabbed his sleeve and glared at him. "If you suddenly go to sleep in the study, Mother will definitely worry."
"It's fine as long as Mother doesn't know. I can't keep bothering you all night again." Baili Xunzhou didn't believe Feng Mian at all when she said she wouldn't bother him at all. She was so good at talking and saving face for others; she must be just trying to coax him. He should at least have some self-awareness.
Sealing Sleep: ...
Feng Mian felt even more guilty, clutching her sleeve tightly. "There are so many servants in the mansion, how could Mother not know? If the servants know, then the people of Yunzhong County will know too. Perhaps by tomorrow morning, the streets and alleys will be filled with rumors that you and I have quarreled and separated."
"There aren't that many..." Baili Xunzhou was about to say that there weren't that many people staring at the two of them when he remembered that his words against the marriage had attracted the attention and action of the entire city. Then he remembered what Shanyi had said after the wedding: "There are only a few masters in the mansion. If we don't gossip about you, whose are we going to gossip about?"
The servants in the mansion and the people of Yunzhong County certainly kept a close eye on the two of them.
Baili Xunzhou hesitated for a moment, then Feng Mian pulled him toward the bedside, "Don't even mention going to the study. Once you return to the manor, you're not allowed to stay in the study!"
She paused, then added, "You really don't make noise."
Feng Mian's strength was minimal, and Baili Xunzhou was forced to sit down on the edge of the bed without any resistance. He simply "accepted his fate" and never mentioned sleeping in the study again.
The person who was "noisy" at night has become someone who is unable to sleep.
She slept all day, and as soon as she lay down on the bed, she felt very energetic. She tossed and turned and couldn't find any sleepiness, so she couldn't help but want to talk to someone.
"Are you asleep?" She turned her head slightly to look at the blurry outline on the other side.
Tonight, a candle covered with a thick lampshade was left in the room, adding a dim light that perfectly outlined the profile of Baili Xunzhou.
He didn't move, and answered with his eyes closed, "No."
"Then talk to me for a bit."
"Hmm." Baili Xunzhou responded, and then the room fell silent.
After a long pause, he spoke first: "What does the princess want to say?"
Feng Mian pondered her words carefully: "Look, it's such an important matter as the border trade, and my uncle has agreed to entrust it to me. Does he trust me a lot?"
Is it because you can't sleep and crave praise?
Baili Xunzhou: "The princess is intelligent and decisive, and she took the initiative to propose the trade. His Majesty must also believe that the princess has a plan in mind and is confident that she can do a good job in the trade."
"From childhood to adulthood, my uncle has granted me permission to do almost everything I wanted to do."
As long as it's not particularly mischievous or unbecoming of a county princess, there's very little that Feng Mian can't do.
“His Majesty dotes on the Princess very much,” Baili Xunzhou tried to agree.
"Yes, that's why your uncle loves you so much, he'll definitely dote on you too." Seeing that the conversation had gotten to the point, Feng Mian quickly blurted out the words she had prepared in her mind. "So if there's anything you want in the future, just tell me, and I'll ask your uncle. He'll definitely grant it!"
As long as you don't rebel, you can do whatever you want.
Feng Mian simply listed three reasons he had summarized for Baili Xunzhou's return journey—
First, the prince passed away;
Second, the throne of the Prince of Dingbei was not hereditary;
Third, suspicious individuals may be stirring things up from the sidelines.
The first issue has been temporarily resolved, and the second issue no longer exists. As for the third issue, Feng Mian has already "bribed" Yao Zhiyuan and is closely monitoring Baili Xunzhou's daily activities. So far, he has not come into contact with any suspicious or dangerous individuals.
Therefore, the current occultation is 80% safe.
However, based on what has happened before, if she changes some things, other things will change accordingly, so we still cannot let our guard down.
Baili Xunzhou opened his eyes, feeling inexplicably uneasy about being doted on by Emperor Jiayu, and shifted his body uncomfortably.
Feng Mian assumed he was just embarrassed to say something, but after thinking for a couple of seconds, she figured she had found the crux of his dilemma. "I know, you want a divorce. Don't worry, in a few years when everything is settled, I'll talk to your uncle."
"Just say that I've found someone else I love and I can't bear to let him be a gigolo without knowing the truth. I want to give him a proper status. Then I'll find some fortune tellers to fabricate his fate in a fantastic way. My uncle probably won't object."
"How about it? Are you relieved now?"
Baili Xunzhou: ...
How could she have already figured out how to handle the divorce so thoroughly?
Should he feel at ease?
Baili Xunzhou remained silent for a long while, feeling a turmoil in his heart. He suddenly turned his head to look at his side. Feng Mian was also looking at him, his dark eyes shining in the night.
"You're asking me this because you already have someone in mind?"
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Author's Note: Baili Xunzhou: Who is it? [crying emoji]
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