Chapter 48 The Marriage Proposal: A Drama of Wrong Bride Getting into the Wrong Carriage and Choosing the Wrong Groom
The owner rolled out the dough and added the broth in one smooth motion, and in no time, two steaming bowls of noodles were served. The thin white noodles were garnished with scallions and glistened with a few drops of oil. The topping was bone broth, which gave off a fresh and fragrant aroma.
However, the overall presentation was still bland and watery, and Feng Tingxiao had no appetite for the bowl of noodles. But he saw Feng Tan already eating it with gusto. The young man's fair cheeks puffed up and down with each bite of noodles. He would twirl the noodles with his chopsticks, blow on them to cool them down, and then chew them with gusto.
Seeing Feng Tan enjoying her food, Feng Tingxiao picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, then said with disdain, "...It's awful."
After finishing his bowl, Feng Tan said to the owner, "Boss, another bowl, please."
None of Feng Tingxiao's concubines could eat two large bowls of noodles in one meal, so he was somewhat surprised by Feng Tan's appetite. He stirred the noodles a couple of times and said, "Lord Feng has a huge appetite. Aren't you full after eating so much?"
Feng Tan raised an eyebrow and said, "What, Your Highness can't eat two bowls of noodles?"
“I can,” the King of Chu said with a smile, his gaze falling on Feng Tan. “I just didn’t expect Lord Feng to be so slender, I didn’t expect him to eat so much in one meal.”
The owner brought over a second bowl of noodles. Feng Tan nodded his thanks and said to Feng Tingxiao, "I've always eaten a lot."
After she finished speaking, she stopped looking at Feng Tingxiao and focused on eating. Feng Tingxiao looked at the tiny beads of sweat on Feng Tan's nose caused by the heat, and his heart stirred slightly as he recalled an incident from eleven years ago.
In the fifth year of Chongming, Feng Tingxiao was twenty-five years old. At this age, a man who was not yet married was either a widower or poor. Feng Tingxiao was neither. To avoid criticism from the people, Emperor Chongming held one matchmaking banquet after another for the Prince of Chu. However, Feng Tingxiao either ruined the banquet or scared away the young ladies. In short, he seemed determined not to get married.
Emperor Chongming asked the Prince of Chu if he had a sweetheart, to which the Prince replied no. He then dismissed his attendants and asked if the Prince had any hidden ailments, to which the Prince again replied no. Emperor Chongming was furious and threw an inkstone at the Prince, injuring his forehead. He then punished the Prince by making him kneel in the imperial palace for two days.
When a member of the imperial family made a mistake, he had to be punished in a secluded place to avoid losing face. The royal palace was built on the outskirts of the capital, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with a unique and beautiful landscape. When the King of Chu's carriage arrived at the palace, it snowed heavily. The goose-feather-like snowflakes fluttered and fell between heaven and earth, and soon accumulated into a thick layer.
Chief Eunuch Li of the Ministry of Justice received His Majesty's decree to oversee the punishment of the Prince of Chu. He was filled with dread. On this day, it was snowing heavily. Seeing the Prince of Chu kneeling motionless in the snow, he took a hot water bottle and retreated to the corridor, where he sat down on a chair and took a nap.
While dozing off, Eunuch Li suddenly felt something lightly lick his face. The thing seemed to have barbs, which made his face hurt a little.
He slowly opened his eyes, and a half-grown tiger came into view, which startled him so much that he fell off the recliner with a thud. After crying out, he said, "My little darling, you scared this old servant to death!"
Princess Yongle patted the white tiger's head, signaling it to step aside, before turning to Eunuch Li and saying, "Eunuch, my mother and I were hunting at the palace today, but the heavy snow blocked the mountain pass, so we couldn't leave. Eunuch Li, are you here today to punish my uncle on the Emperor's orders?"
Looking at the lovely little girl, Eunuch Li smiled obsequiously and said, "That's right. I took this task a long time ago. His Highness Prince Chu has been kneeling in the snow for most of the day, but His Majesty hasn't sent anyone to deliver an imperial decree. It seems he's determined to punish the Prince."
Yongle nodded in agreement, saying, "Very good, very good. My uncle is so arrogant, he deserves to be punished! I'll trouble you to watch over my little white tiger while I go and teach him a lesson on behalf of my father!"
Eunuch Li's eyes widened. What a vicious little woman! No, she truly deserves to be called Princess Yongle, who has won the Emperor's favor!
Five-year-old Princess Yongle was not tall; even with the King of Chu kneeling in the snow, she was not level with him. She rummaged around with her short legs, gathering some dry branches and twigs, bundled them together, lit them with a tinderbox, and then took out some candies from her bosom, unwrapped them, and said to the King of Chu in a clear voice, "Uncle, are you hungry?"
Feng Tingxiao was frozen stiff all over. He looked at Princess Yongle without saying a word.
Princess Yongle raised her eyebrows, tiptoed, and stuffed the candy into his mouth, saying, "Uncle, these candies were made by my mother. They won't rot your teeth."
Feng Tingxiao then took a proper look at her and noticed that her teeth were uneven, indicating that she was in the process of losing her baby teeth. He commented, "Really ugly."
Princess Yongle's eyes widened upon hearing this. This was the first time in her life that someone had called her ugly, so she retorted fiercely, "You're the ugly one! Imperial Uncle, no wonder you can't find a wife!"
Feng Tingxiao thought to himself that he was twenty years older than this little girl, so there was no need to argue with her. But seeing her head covered in snow and her bright eyes shining with a stubborn light, he softened his heart for some reason. "It's delicious. Feed me another one."
Princess Yongle smiled with satisfaction, her eyes crinkling. She took out a handful of pearls from her small cloth bag and fed them to him one by one.
Feng Tingxiao asked, "Why are you here instead of staying in the palace?"
Princess Yongle replied, "A tamed beast, look, my newly acquired white tiger."
Actually, that's not the case. Today, Empress Xiaoxian heard that the Prince of Chu had been punished by Emperor Chongming to kneel, so she brought the princess to the imperial palace. Emperor Chongming was as hard-hearted as a knife and was unwilling to easily retract his decree. However, if the prince had to kneel in the snow for two days, his legs would either be crippled or suffer from chronic illnesses. Empress Xiaoxian had once been indebted to the Prince of Chu's birth mother, and since she could lend a hand, she couldn't just ignore it. But as a member of the inner palace, she couldn't interfere, so she sent her daughter to guard him for the night.
The warmth of the campfire beside him gradually eased the stiffness in King Chu's body. He moved his fingers and watched as Princess Yongle knelt down to lay out a velvet blanket, then covered him with another blanket. After finishing, she took out a meat naan from her bundle, stuck chopsticks in it, and put it on the torch to bake.
As darkness fell, the aroma of food slowly wafted to the nose. Princess Yongle thought it was almost done baking, so she handed the naan and warm water to the King of Chu, her voice still childlike, "Eat up."
Even kneeling in the snow, Feng Tingxiao maintained an elegant posture, slowly chewing the naan bread in his mouth, lowering his eyes to conceal all his thoughts.
Emperor Chongming forced him to marry simply for the sake of royal decorum. He had disliked women since childhood and avoided matters between men and women, finding them dirty and filthy.
He had no desire for women, and even less desire to marry one.
“Uncle, I deeply sympathize with Father for forcing you to marry,” Princess Yongle patted his back, went to find some dry wood to add to the fire, and after everything was settled, she took out a blanket and snuggled into the Prince of Chu’s arms, “I’m sleepy.”
“Hey, little niece,” Feng Tingxiao was jolted from his kneeling position by her bump. His lips twitched as he looked down at the child wrapped in a blanket in his arms. There were tiny beads of sweat on her nose, probably from exhaustion. “Go sleep in the palace. I am a criminal and cannot change positions at will.”
That's how kids are; they have to work hard to complete the tasks assigned by adults before going home to wait for their mothers to praise them. So Yongle just rolled over in his arms and said, "Uncle, you can just sit like this. You sleep on the blanket, and I'll sleep with you."
Feng Tingxiao could no longer maintain his good manners. His handsome face lost control of his expression. What nonsense was this child spouting!
On a snowy night, starlight bathed the world. He held a five-year-old child in his arms as they slept peacefully at the foot of the mountain. Born with the ambiguity of fireflies, he grew increasingly indifferent amidst the ups and downs of life. Time flowed on, and he hid himself in a world of overwhelming karma, abandoning his past ties.
The past is severed, but the world pushes it to turn over and over again. The child is reborn, as beautiful as jade and dew, sitting in front of you, eating a bowl of noodles.
Seeing Feng Tingxiao's deep, dark eyes staring at her intently, Feng Tan felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. After putting down her chopsticks, she said, "Your Highness, please say what you want to say. It can't be as simple as just coming to have a meal with me."
Feng Tingxiao smiled calmly and said, "It's that simple. Today, let's not discuss court affairs, but only reminisce about old times."
Feng Tan looked up at him, her gaze deep and unfocused. "Where did this old affection come from?"
The King of Chu smiled, looking intently at Feng Tan, and said, "Lord Feng, have you forgotten? Before you went to the Linzhang sea area, you said you wanted to meet me at the Red Sleeve Pavilion to go to Wushan and study the secrets of male-female intercourse."
Feng Tan completely lost her appetite. She sneered inwardly. This Uncle Chu was as cold as ice in his twenties, but in his thirties he was as flirtatious as a butterfly. However, heaven seemed to be particularly kind to him. His handsome face remained unchanged, without even a fine line around his eyes, unlike Emperor Chongming, who had already grown white hair in his forties.
Feng Tan still had to hear cases in the Linzhang sea area. Seeing that it was almost time for him to go on duty at the Ministry of Justice, he politely declined, saying, "I've been busy with matters lately. When I have time, I will definitely go to the Red Sleeve Pavilion with Your Highness to enjoy ourselves."
Feng Tingxiao smiled faintly and said, "I think so."
People came and went on the street. Feng Tan and Feng Tingxiao were having a meal in a canopy on the street corner. Zheng Qingru watched for a moment, then walked over.
His arrival interrupted their conversation. Zheng Qingru bowed deeply and said, "I originally intended to wait until Lord Feng finished his meal before disturbing you, but unfortunately, a case came to the Court of Judicial Review just now, so I had no choice but to..."
Feng Tan smiled and said, "It's alright, Lord Zheng, please speak."
Zheng Qingru glanced at the King of Chu, implying that it was inconvenient to speak with a third party present, but the King of Chu sat leisurely on the wooden stool, clearly not intending to leave.
Zheng Qingru had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "It's not about officialdom, it's..."
"Love affairs?" Feng Tingxiao crossed his legs, adopting a posture more suited to watching the show.
"..." Feng Tan glanced at him, then looked at Zheng Qingru and said, "Lord Zheng, if you have something to say, please speak frankly?"
Zheng Qingru straightened his expression and looked at Feng Tan seriously, saying, "I have heard that Princess Yongle is fond of Lord Feng. Is the rumor true?"
Ever since Feng Qinghuang spoke those harsh words to Zheng Qingru that night, the two have acted almost like strangers whenever they meet again. Zheng Qingru has admired Princess Yongle since childhood. He is a tolerant and reserved person, but recently, upon hearing that Yongle and Feng Tan are getting close, he couldn't help but wonder and wanted to verify the truth with Feng Tan.
Feng Tingxiao sensed the unusual atmosphere between Feng Tan and Zheng Qingru, and said with a slight smile, "Does Princess Yongle also have feelings for Lord Feng? Tsk, Lord Feng, you're so flirtatious, aren't you afraid of hurting your back?"
Feng Tan's face was a mix of red and green; she was momentarily at a loss for what expression to adopt to deal with this farce.
Zheng Qingru's heart sank, and he nodded, saying, "I understand."
Feng Tan blinked, staring blankly at Zheng Qingru's departing figure. He said he knew, but what did he know?
The King of Chu, no longer caring about his elegant demeanor, smiled broadly and said, "What a wonderful play of getting into the wrong bridal sedan chair and finding the wrong groom!"
After laughing, he gestured to the servant behind him to bring him a letter, saying, "You left in a hurry and didn't see the letter from the Ministry of Justice. I'm being kind and brought it to you."
Feng Tan opened the envelope, and her expression turned sour after reading it. Feng Tingxiao took a sip of tea and said, "There's no need to go to the Ministry of Justice's duty office, is there?"
Feng Tan's eyes flashed coldly as she asked, "How did Your Highness know?"
Feng Tingxiao said calmly, enunciating each word clearly: "No news stays secret in the capital. Every government office has spies planted by other offices. It will only take Gao Yu a moment for the news that Lord Feng is determined to kill Gao Zhizhen by debating with the scholars at the Dali Temple to reach Gao Yu's ears. Gao Yu is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice. If you work under him, do you think he won't make things difficult for you or make things fun for you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
