Cheng Junman's words confused Feng Jinyuan. He asked in a daze, "What kind of IOU is this? Where did this IOU come from?"
"Of course it's the IOU for 200,000 taels of silver owed to the Second Miss." Cheng Junman blinked and told him solemnly, "The silver was borrowed by the old lady and spent on the Feng family. The Second Miss is only thirteen years old now, not yet of age, and has no obligation to bear the family debt. Moreover, even if she is of age, she will be married and included in the royal family tree, and she should not be responsible for the Feng family's debt. Today, the Second Miss took out this 200,000 to solve the Feng family's urgent needs. We should be grateful, but we must not take it for granted. Therefore, the master must write a promissory note and set a deadline to return the money, so as not to give others a handle and not to be looked down upon by the children."
Her words made Feng Jinyuan's face turn red and white. He wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into, but at this moment, Zirui spoke again and said, "Zirui hasn't been back to Beijing for more than half a year. Has this family been ruined by my father and can't even take out a mere 200,000 taels of silver?"
Feng Jinyuan opened his mouth and was about to refute, but Zirui said again: "I remember that before the eldest princess of Qianzhou came into the family, I heard that father used a large sum of money to buy her a house." He shook his head as he spoke, "Father, you are the head of the family, but why do you only think about yourself when you do things? Can't you think more about your children?"
Zirui was the youngest and the shortest, but he spoke more like an adult. Being scolded by such a young child, Feng Jinyuan's face was simply unbearable. He pointed at Zirui and wanted to scold him, but Cheng Junmei interrupted him and said, "Young Master is the emperor's junior brother, you have to think twice before you act."
Feng Jinyuan felt that his life was very aggrieved. One of his daughters was a county lady, and he could not be beaten or scolded. One of his sons was the emperor's junior brother, and he had no way to deal with him. His wife and concubine were the nieces of the empress, and he could only talk to them. There was only an old lady who could talk to him, but now, the old lady was gone.
He felt upset and finally his nose felt sore and he burst into tears.
This was the first time he really shed tears after the old lady passed away. He walked towards the mourning hall crying, and until he knelt in front of the old lady's coffin, his crying turned into wailing.
The others followed him back and stood there quietly watching him cry until he was tired and his voice became softer. Then Cheng Junman said, "If the master is unwilling to bear this debt, then use the two farms left by the old lady to pay it off."
Feng Jinyuan had no objection and nodded randomly, agreeing to the matter.
Feng Yuheng looked indifferently at the people in the room who all had their own thoughts, sneered in his heart, and then said: "Two manors, one for Xiangrong and one for Fendai. They can be regarded as dowries for my sisters when they get married in the future." After that, he took Zirui and Xiangrong's hands again and returned to Tongshengxuan.
On the way, Xiangrong said to her, "Second sister, you bought the farm with silver, Xiangrong doesn't want it."
She was not in a good mood, she just shook Xiangrong's hand and said, "Since it's for you, you should keep it. No matter who you marry in the future, it will always be better to have a larger dowry, so that you won't be bullied by your husband's family. If the old lady borrowed the money for other purposes, I wouldn't care about it, but she also had good intentions, and she gave it to her uncles in her hometown to settle in the new house. When we went back to Fengtong County to worship our ancestors, the old clan leader treated me well, so I didn't lose out on this money."
At this point, it would be too sentimental to refuse, so she nodded and said sincerely, "Thank you, Second Sister."
The few of them returned to Tongsheng Pavilion. Zirui rushed in as soon as he entered the mansion. Feng Yuheng looked up and saw Yao Xian with his arms outstretched, waiting for the child to pounce on him.
Seeing Zirui being picked up by Yao Xian, and the two of them spinning in circles, she seemed to have returned to her childhood, when she was also held by her grandfather, spinning around non-stop. She would also pull her grandfather's beard and call him an immortal old man. It all seemed like it happened just yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, it was a lifetime ago. Fortunately, the master had mercy on her, and she and her grandfather were able to reunite in Dashun, which was a blessing in disguise.
She walked forward, patted Zirui on the shoulder and said, "Grandpa is old. You are so heavy, but you will make him tired."
Zirui hugged Yao Xian's neck and refused to let go. He said seriously, "Then Zirui should eat less today to make your body lighter. This way, grandpa can hold Zirui in his arms all the time."
Yao Xian laughed loudly, holding Zirui and walked towards the Yao family's yard, saying as he walked: "Eat as much as you want, no matter how heavy your grandfather is, he can still carry you. But now you have to go see your mother, she misses you so much!"
Feng Yuheng watched the old man and the child walk away, with a smile on her face that could not fade for a long time. Xiangrong tugged at her sleeve: "Second sister, I'm so hungry."
Feng Yuheng was also hungry, and originally wanted to eat as soon as he got back to the mansion, but there were so many things going on at the Feng Mansion, and after being delayed for so long, it was already dark.
She quickly ordered the servants to prepare food, and then took Xiangrong back to her own yard.
As soon as the food was served, Yao Xian also arrived, and the three of them gathered at the table to eat together. Xiang Rong stared at Yao Xian while eating, which made Yao Xian feel a little uncomfortable. He put down his bowl and touched his face, and said helplessly: "Third girl, if you keep staring at me like this, grandpa won't be able to eat."
Xiangrong laughed out loud, and quickly helped Yao Xian pick up the chopsticks and put them in his hand, saying with a smile, "Grandpa can't not eat. Xiangrong just misses him. After Grandpa left Beijing with his uncle and cousins, Madam Yao and my second sister also left soon. Xiangrong has been waiting for you to come back every day in the mansion. Now you are finally back, I am so happy."
When talking about the past, several people couldn't help but sigh. Yao Xian patted Xiangrong's head and said helplessly: "It's all your father's fault. He didn't love his own children well, but only wanted to get close to the rich and powerful. Even if he has ended up like this now, I don't think he will give up."
Feng Yuheng shook her head, "Is he going to die? But now that Feng Chenyu has given him the position of Queen, I wonder who he will target next." As she spoke, she cast her eyes on Xiangrong, who's face darkened, and she already understood what her sister meant. "Don't be afraid." He patted the back of Xiangrong's hand, "You are still young, even if Feng Jinyuan has a plan, it will be a few years later, who knows what will happen in these four years."
"That's right." Yao Xian agreed with this statement. "You don't know what will happen tomorrow, so don't think too much, Third girl."
Xiangrong nodded and smiled.
Feng Yuheng had no intention of persuading her any further. There were still four years left, and the girl still needed more training. But there was one thing that needed to be done most urgently. She discussed with Yao Xian, "Grandpa, can you come with me to the palace tomorrow?"
"What? Enter the palace?" Yao Xian was stunned, then waved his hands: "No, no! You know, I..." He paused here, glanced at Xiangrong, and then changed the subject: "You know, I returned to the capital against the emperor's order, and the old emperor hasn't told me to come back yet."
Xiangrong was a sensible child, so she could see the situation clearly. So she quickly finished the last bite of rice in her bowl, put down her chopsticks and said, "Grandpa, second sister, you guys chat first. I'm going to go play with Zirui for a while. The little guy hasn't been home for a long time, and I miss him so much." After that, she got up and ran away.
Yao Xian looked at Xiangrong running away and shook his head helplessly, "This third girl seems to be very close to Yao Xian, but unfortunately, I can't find much about her in Yao Xian's memory."
Feng Yuheng told him: "That's because the real Yao Xian hates Feng Jinyuan's concubines. Even though An was brought in by Yao, he still felt uncomfortable. The Yao family has a rule that men cannot take concubines and women cannot be concubines, but Feng Jinyuan's concubines are brought into the mansion one after another. Tell me, what good impression can the real Yao Xian have of the children born by concubines?"
The old man nodded, "That's right. I say, Ah Heng, you know that I'm not the real Yao Xian, why are you still arranging for me to enter the palace? The shadow of that emperor is still in the memory of old Yao Xian, and they have a close relationship. If I reveal the truth, won't I be in trouble?"
Feng Yuheng laughed, "Grandpa, what's there to reveal? Your soul has moved into this body, and you are not disguising yourself. No matter who tries to expose you, you are undoubtedly the real Yao Xian!"
But he still waved his hand: "No, no, I'm not mentally ready to enter the palace yet."
"What can we prepare?" Feng Yuheng was helpless. "Although the current emperor may seem irritable to others, he is actually a very loyal person. What's more, I hope that grandpa will go to the palace tomorrow to delay the emperor and stop bothering Concubine Yun."
"Empress Yun?" Yao Xian was stunned again, then he tried hard to search his mind. He seemed to have some impression, but not deeply.
Feng Yuheng knew there was no hope when he looked at him like this, but he still asked unwillingly: "You really can't remember anything? Concubine Yun is the Ninth Prince's biological mother. Grandpa, Concubine Yun has a strange obsession with Yao Xian!"
The old man thought for a while and shook his head helplessly, "Unexpectedly, the only thing Old Yaoxian can remember is that when he was young, he lived in a big mountain for a long time. During that time, he was treating a person, a woman, about 20 years old, but he can't remember the details, even the woman's appearance is vague."
Feng Yuheng frowned, thinking that when Yao Xian was young, he treated a woman in her twenties. That woman obviously couldn't be Concubine Yun. If the age was wrong, who could it be?
She couldn't figure it out and felt a little annoyed, but she still asked him unwillingly, "Is it really impossible to go to the palace? In fact, even if you don't go tomorrow, you will have to go sooner or later."
Yao Xian was very determined. "It's better to delay it for one day. When the Yao family left Beijing, he said that he would take good care of you and your daughter. But Feng Jinyuan still took you to such a remote place to commit suicide. I'm angry just thinking about it. I won't enter the palace! I won't enter the palace even if I die!"
Feng Yuheng knew that his grandfather had a stubborn temper, so he stopped trying to persuade him, and just picked up another piece of pork ribs for him: "Eat more, this is made by the chef of Xian Ya Lou, you don't know Xian Ya Lou yet, right? After the Feng family's funeral is over, I will take Grandpa there for a meal."
As the grandfather and grandson were talking, Huang Quan hurried back from outside the door. "Miss." She came to Feng Yuheng and said in a hurry, "When I came back from the government office just now, I happened to meet Duanmu Qing's motorcade. I heard that they were going back to the Northern Territory. But the carriage curtain was blown up by the wind, and I saw the person inside. It seemed to be... the Third Prince!"
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
