Even though Kang Yi was the eldest princess of a country, she was still frightened by the five million taels of gold.
The current king of Qianzhou has been on the throne for only a few years, and his foundation is not stable. The internal affairs are all in the Fa Palace. Qianzhou is located in an extremely cold place, and nothing grows on the land. A large amount of food must be purchased from Dashun. In addition, due to the continuous disasters, the treasury is not abundant. Although the five million taels of gold are not all, they are enough to empty 80% of the Qianzhou treasury.
Kang Yi looked at Xuan Tianming and felt that the eyes under the mask were like a fox, cunning and scheming. She suddenly realized that revenge for Feng Yuheng was probably just a cover, and Xuan Tianming's real purpose was to empty Qian Zhou.
"Your Highness." She was very embarrassed. "Although I am the Princess of Qianzhou, I am still a woman. Five million taels of silver is already a huge sum of money. If it is converted into gold, it will never be enough!"
Xuan Tianming corrected her: "What do you mean by changing it to gold? It is gold to begin with!"
Kang Yi's face turned pale, his brows were furrowed, he seemed to be thinking about something, and he didn't speak for a long time.
Feng Yuheng smiled and leaned against Xuan Tianming's wheelchair, pulling him aside to chat about family matters as if nothing had happened: "There have been weddings at home these days, and I haven't had time to go to the palace. I wonder if my father is in good health?"
Xuan Tianming also replied with a wicked smile: "Not bad, but I always miss you."
"Then I'll go to the palace to see him some other day. By the way, I saw the Third Prince at the wedding banquet yesterday." She changed the subject abruptly, "But I don't know why, but the attendant he brought with him was injured. When he left, he was carried out of the palace. Both legs were covered in blood from the knees. The blood was all over the floor."
The Feng family immediately remembered what happened last night when the Third Prince left the mansion. No one understood why the guard who came with the Third Prince was injured. His leg was like being cut by a knife, and the blood kept flowing down. It snowed heavily yesterday, and the white ground was stained with a string of red. The old lady was so angry that she kept muttering that it was unlucky.
But no one knew why the man was injured, and the Third Prince did not ask the Feng family for the reason. Instead, he left without saying a word. Later, when the Feng family was cleaning the courtyard, someone found a large pool of blood in the pavilion in the woods. Someone else said that they had seen the guard kneeling there, as if he had been punished by the Third Prince.
People originally thought that the Third Prince had been too harsh in teaching his servant a lesson, and that the matter had been forgotten. But now that Feng Yuheng suddenly brought it up again, why did everyone suddenly have a feeling that the guard's incident was probably related to Feng Yuheng?
The old lady was the first to think of this, but she immediately felt that something was not right. Feng Yuheng was indeed a bit overbearing, but after all, she was not as powerful as the Ninth Prince. Based on the Third Prince's temperament, would he be submissive to a little girl?
But after hearing what Feng Yuheng said, Kang Yi's heart suddenly tightened for no reason, and it hurt like a twist. When the pain passed, it was replaced by panic. Her eyes also moved to Xuan Tianming's knees. It was not a big deal. She suddenly imagined that Ru Jia's knees were bleeding and she could only sit in a wheelchair. From now on, she would have to push her wherever she went, and they could no longer walk together as mother and daughter.
The more Kang Yi thought about it, the more flustered she became. She barely managed to stay calm, but Feng Yuheng added another sentence that made her legs go weak. She went from kneeling to sitting and fell to the ground. Then she heard Feng Yuheng say, "How did you say those two bloody legs got injured? Could they have been shot by arrows? Hey! Mother, I heard that you have a sharpshooting team in Qianzhou, and they are very brave. Is that true?"
She turned her head and looked directly at Kang Yi, her eyes were inquiring, but more than that, they were as cold as an ice knife.
Kang Yi nodded helplessly. Although she was extremely reluctant to mention Qian Zhou Shen Shooting, especially in front of Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng, they had already asked and she couldn't avoid it. She had to bite the bullet and said, "There is an archery team, but they are not very brave."
"Oh." Xuan Tianming nodded, and suddenly ended the topic about Qian Zhou Shen Shooter, and began to ask about the five million taels of gold: "Madam, do you mean that you don't want to use five million taels of gold as compensation? Well, no problem, I will never force anyone. Since money can't solve the problem, then we can only find another way."
Kang Yi was unsure, "The method your Highness is talking about is..."
"You don't need to ask more about this!" Xuan Tianming waved his hand at her, then turned his head and said to Feng Yuheng: "Hengheng, how strong do you think the Qianzhou Archer is? If he shoots an arrow across the valley, can he shoot through my knee?"
Feng Yuheng placed both palms on his knees and said softly, "Then we have to ask the Qian Zhou people."
"But this princess is not willing to talk to me more."
"It's okay. Isn't there another princess in the palace?"
"Your Highness!" Kang Yi suddenly shouted loudly. Perhaps because she was too panicked, her throat was hoarse. "I'll give it to you!" She looked at Xuan Tianming with despair and pleading in her eyes. "Five million taels of gold... I'll give it to you."
"Okay!" Xuan Tianming finally smiled. "Madam, you are straightforward. Then please sign a document immediately. I will give you three months to bring the compensation to the county lord's mansion next door."
Kang Yi was really scared. Xuan Tianming and Feng Yuheng sang the same tune, clearly saying that if you don't give me money, I will cripple Ru Jia's legs.
If it were something else, perhaps she could have persisted a little longer, but in this matter she was in the wrong. Xuan Tianye had borrowed the sharpshooting team from Qian Zhou to sneak into the northwest with the purpose of saving the life of the ninth prince of Dashun, but unfortunately he miscalculated in the end.
Although Qian Zhou had withdrawn completely, it was impossible for him to leave no evidence behind. Now it seemed that the disabled leg of guard Xuan Tianye and the beatings by the two men today were just reminding her that some things were remembered by others, and some grudges could always be avenged in various ways.
Kang Yi gritted her teeth secretly. She was a mother. No matter how valuable five million taels of gold were, they were not worth her daughter's legs.
"As the prince said, within three months, I will deliver the gold."
"Yes." Xuan Tianming nodded, and no longer looked at her. Instead, he spoke to Old Madam Feng again: "Old Madam, my father has heard about what happened at the wedding banquet yesterday. He heard that I will be a guest at your house today, so he asked me to bring a message."
When the old lady heard what the emperor said, she was about to kneel down again. Xuan Tianming waved his hand and said, "No need, just a few words of family matters. Father said that he originally agreed to this marriage because he thought that the previous mistress of the Feng family was not very satisfactory and was said to have great deficiencies in the upbringing of her children. Father felt that Princess Kang Yi was highly respected in Qian Zhou and must be a very well-educated person. If she took care of the children of the Feng family, she would cultivate an excellent daughter and a great grandson. But I didn't expect that the princess would raise her own daughter like that. It really disappointed father, and at the same time, I felt sorry for Prime Minister Feng."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Feng family was a little overwhelmed.
What does that mean? It sounds like she regrets granting this marriage? Are you going to divorce again? No way, we just got married yesterday!
Xuan Tianming looked at everyone's reactions for a while before continuing, "Father has always loved and respected Prime Minister Feng, and he deeply blames himself for this matter. He feels that it would be bad if his misjudgment delayed the future of the Feng family's offspring. But now that things have come to this, it is too late to correct this mistake, so Father has come up with a compromise -"
The old lady asked tentatively: "What, what method?"
Xuan Tianming clapped his hands, and a group of maids immediately came into the palace carriage outside the palace gate, escorting two gorgeous beauties. The two beauties in the middle looked no more than 20 years old, one with delicate eyebrows and eyes, and the other with big eyes and heavy makeup. They walked steadily, with their eyes on their noses, their noses on their mouths, and their mouths on their hearts. Their steady and dignified energy was comparable to Kang Yi.
Feng Yuheng narrowed his eyes slightly and recognized the two people at once.
She had seen them in the palace. They were the two nieces of the Queen's family. They had been brought up according to the rules for raising princesses. But she didn't expect that they would be sent to the Feng Mansion today.
"This is..." The old lady was also surprised. She had never seen these two people before, but looking at their dress and demeanor, they didn't look like the daughters of ordinary officials. She couldn't help but feel a little confused.
Kang Yi also frowned. She knew too well the struggles inside and outside the palace. She immediately understood what Emperor Tianwu meant.
"It seems that I have to congratulate the master on the birth of another new person." She said this somewhat helplessly. She had just entered the bridal chamber yesterday and it was snatched away by a pregnant concubine. The next day, two more new people were sent in, and they were sent by the emperor. How could she not feel upset?
But the more she was upset, the happier Xuan Tianming felt. He not only laughed but also praised Kang Yi - "Madam is really a smart person." Then he said to the old lady, "My father feels that he is unworthy of Prime Minister Feng, so he specially selected two concubines for Prime Minister Feng and sent them to the palace by me. Old Madam, I believe you should have heard of these two concubines. They are sisters and nieces of the Queen Mother. They have been raised in the palace since they were young. Although they don't have the title of princess, they are also respected as princesses."
The old lady was startled, and immediately remembered that there were two such people in the palace. The Queen's brother died early, and the legitimate daughter was born, leaving behind these two concubines. When they entered the palace, they were just over ten years old. Emperor Tianwu had no daughters, so he simply kept them in the palace. However, these two were extremely low-key, never attending any palace banquets, and ignoring all matters of being in the spotlight. They should be almost twenty years old this year, but only a handful of people have actually seen them over the years.
These two people were sent to the Feng family. What on earth does the emperor want to do?
"What's wrong?" Xuan Tianming asked when he saw the old lady's expression, "Is the old lady dissatisfied? Do you think they are not worthy of the Phoenix? She is just a concubine, the niece of the Queen Mother. Isn't this a noble status?"
The old lady was just confused, she didn't dare to despise, she kept saying: "Your Highness has misunderstood, it's not dislike, it's... fear. The emperor is so kind to us, the Feng family is grateful for the emperor's grace."
Xuan Tianming nodded with satisfaction, raised his hands, and said to the Feng family members who had been kneeling on the ground: "Everyone, get up."
The Feng family members had been kneeling for too long. When they stood up, they staggered with every step. They almost fell back to the ground. Han was even more anxious. She stroked her belly with both hands and her face turned pale.
Feng Yuheng glanced at her, took the initiative to step forward, and put his hand on her wrist. After a while, he said, "Nothing is wrong, the child is fine."
At this time, Xuan Tianming raised his hand again and said to the two people behind him: "Why don't you go forward and pay your respects to the old lady! You are the concubines granted by the emperor, but you are different from concubines. Remember your status."
The two of them said tenderly, "Sister, I understand." Although the Queen's niece was born out of wedlock, she was of the same bloodline as the Queen, so naturally she called Xuan Tianming her cousin.
The two walked forward and first came to the old lady, knelt down and bowed, saying: "I am Cheng Junman and Cheng Junmei, and I pay my respects to the old lady."
...
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