Feng Xing: Chapter 104
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Translation: marchmallow
What just commenced might seem like a farce in the eyes of others.
Because of the agreement she had made with Xiao Yin Zi in the afternoon, Feng Sheng didn’t leave. With dusk as the limit, she decided not to maunder on and instead looked for a teahouse near the Warden’s Office to drink tea and listen to storytelling.
Before the sun set, Xiao Yin Zi and a yamen bailiff hastened over. The girl’s skill in concealing her emotions was far too juvenile, so Feng Sheng could discern from her expression alone that the job was a success.
“I did it.”
It had all indeed been a ruse, and the matter was still linked with Xiao Yin Zi.
As it turned out, because Xiao Yin Zi exhibited huge changes in appearance since she began studying at Jinjiang Academy, after consistently running to that run-down temple, her transformation had fallen in the eyes of a different gang of beggars.
Beggars lumped into gangs vying for domain, and Xiao Yin Zi’s group had enmity against another gang of beggars. Noticing that Xiao Yin Zi was flourishing, someone couldn’t help but be tempted to foster ill thoughts. They knew Xiao Yin Zi, but she was clever and difficult to deal with, so laying their hands on her had become a taxing quest. The gang of beggars then conspired with one of their companions to set up a ruse.
The ruse was quite simple. They had stolen a wealthy gentleman’s jade pendant and planted it on Xiao Yin Zi. In the capital, officials were just about everywhere, and the said rich man’s father was a petty official. He himself was connected with a certain yamen bailiff in the West Warden’s Office, so they reported the incident there.
It was also a coincidence that, when Xiao Yin Zi returned one moment, men from the Warden’s Office arrived the next. They discovered the broken jade pendant, mercilessly accused them of theft, and apprehended Xiao Yin Zi and her group.
As for why Xiao Yin Zi’s comrades would frame their own companions, this had something to do with the beggars’ bad habits. Among those who were still able to walk and use their hands to get by, many still had other problems. It was because of gambling that those people had dissipated their wealth, squandering all their family fortune and ending up as beggars.
Unfortunately, even a dog couldn’t stop itself from eating feces. One of those treacherous beggars would gamble every time he obtained a bit of hard-earned silver, constantly pining for the illusory promise of instant wealth and of reverting to his former life. The reality was that, he had more losses than wins, even to the extent where he was ridden with gambling debt. This time, because he couldn’t return the silver he owed his beggar companion, he decided to coordinate with inside and outside forces to frame his comrades.
The ruse actually wasn’t so complex, but with Xiao Yin Zi’s young age, it wasn’t easy for her to perfectly comprehend the ins and outs of the situation.
“Now then, can you tell me why you still mingle with these people even though you’re already attending the academy? Of course, it isn’t to say that you should abandon your old companions because your situation has changed, it’s just that, you should know from now on that you and them no longer have similar circumstances. Or is it that, in your heart, the academy only exists to provide you a year’s worth of board and lodging?”
Xiao Yin Zi never anticipated Feng Sheng to ask such an incisive question. Perhaps she did harbor such an idea at first, but after living in the academy, her fondness for the place had grown considerably.
“I heard people say that you will become successful and that your fate will change once you study, but such a thing is only for boys, not girls. I also want Xiao Dou Zi to study, but we don’t have silver. When I heard that some school was accepting female students, where they are also fed and housed, I immediately came to check.”
As for why she always ran outside and kept in touch with those beggars? She could only say that she feared that she would one day have to leave the academy because she couldn’t afford the tuition, or that the academy might one day disdain her and compel her to leave. With such thoughts, she had no desire to sever her ties with them. She had even constantly convinced herself that she was only dawdling there for the year’s worth of food and shelter they offered, so when the time came for her to leave, she wouldn’t end up so despaired.
She was too ashamed to admit it, so Xiao Yin Zi wordlessly clasped her hands together and hung her head low.
Feng Sheng peered at her, mused for a moment, and asked, “What’s your surname?”
Xiao Yin Zi stared blankly and answered, “My surname is Yin.”
The old beggar who picked her up had found a slip of paper in her swaddling clothes, on which was written the word ‘Yin’. Xiao Yin Zi was actually Xiao Yin Zi,1 but after the old beggar read it aloud a few times and adding to the fact that beggars deemed silver a good thing, she earned the nickname Xiao Yin Zi.
“Yin? Then I’ll give you another character: Ning. In the future, you will be called Yin Ning, which means calm, tranquil, and at peace.”
“Yin Ning?”
“Do you like it?”
Xiao Yin Zi was very happy. A little embarrassed, she nodded her head.
“I have discussed with Instructor Han. Most children in the hall suffer from poor family circumstances, but it’s impossible for the academy to exempt every such student from paying the tuition, as this is unfair to other students. Therefore, the academy will provide some work for those who lack the funds to compensate for the tuition as well as the expenses incurred by the accommodation. Your comrade’s name is Xiao Dou Zi? He appears to be a little younger than you. The men’s hall doesn’t accept young children as of this time, but a Hall of Enlightenment may be opened in the future. He can study with you in the meantime, and he can proceed to other halls when he’s older.”
“Does Princess Consort mean that Xiao Dou Zi can study with me?”
Feng Sheng nodded.
Xiao Yin Zi’s eyes lit up at once. “Many thanks, Princess Consort. Many thanks to your honored self. Xiao Dou Zi and I will study earnestly and work with the very best of our efforts.”
“I will remember your promise. In the future, do not be half-hearted, and don’t always think about staying there to eat and drink.”
These words made Xiao Yin Zi extremely embarrassed, and her little face blushed with shame.
“Alright, I’ll have someone send you back to the academy. You can also take Xiao Dou Zi with you. The rest will be taken care of by someone else.”
After Xiao Yin Zi was sent away, a man walked up to Feng Sheng and sat beside her.
It was Prince Wei.
He had heard about the incident after returning to the manor and thus came to look for her.
“Is that what you came out here to do?”
“Her appearance of refusing to concede defeat somewhat reminded me of myself back when I was a child.”
“I thought you were going to accept her as your disciple.”
“Accept her as my disciple?” Feng Sheng blinked. “That actually isn’t a bad idea, but since I wasn’t able to mention it then, I’ll have to do another test and see what happens.”
*
Feng Sheng and Prince Wei were about to sleep when De Cai suddenly arrived.
Feng Sheng knew that Prince Wei had sleuths planted in the palace. Those people would pass on the news they collected to the prince manor every once in a while, however rarely. But because there was already the Imperial Noble Consort, they could just glean from her all kinds of information.
This time, however, the incident was precisely related to the Imperial Noble Consort. Because it didn’t elicit a cacophony in the palace, many didn’t know about it. However, this incident was of vital importance and had the capacity to influence the future state of affairs.
The Chen family had really slapped their own faces. They had originally wanted to show goodwill to the Imperial Noble Consort so that she could either join hands with the Empress, restore the dethroned crown prince’s authority, or perhaps get connected with Prince Wei. There was nothing wrong with this way of thinking, and the facts they presented had not been falsified. It was undisputed that the Imperial Noble Consort was indeed of the Chen family’s blood.
Unfortunately, the matter of the Imperial Noble Consort’s desertion in the past happened to be a tremendous setback.
When the news had spread, what surfaced were tattles and prates concerning the shameful secrets in the Chen family’s rear court; otherwise, how would such a grand and illustrious family lose their precious daughter? It seemed that there really was a case of desertion.
The culprit could only be none other than the main wife of the Chen family’s Old Master, the Chen family’s Old Madam, and Empress Chen’s birth mother, Old Madam Chen.
That precious concubine was Old Master Chen’s younger maternal cousin. Aside from being heavily favored, not only was she liked by the Old Madam of that time, but she had also been Old Master’s childhood friend, whom he shared mutual feelings with. Rife with hatred and jealousy, the current Old Madam Chen had secretly bribed people to disguise as bandits and hijack the carriage by taking advantage of their trip outside to offer incense. There were guards to protect her, so she weathered through that ‘daunting experience’ without mishap on her part, but throughout the course of events lost a concubine-born young miss.
In order to gloss over their ignominy, the Chen family kept it a secret. Afterwards, the precious concubine died of depression, and the matter ended just like that. No one had expected that the then-lost concubine-born daughter would become the Imperial Noble Consort, one mothering two princes. The most astounding thing was that, in contrast, the Chen family’s eldest legitimate daughter, Empress Chen, ultimately became useless. As such, the Chen family shifted their target and contrived to recognize the Imperial Noble Consort by proliferating the matter of acknowledging her as their blood-related kin, rendering the whole affair completely impossible to conclude.
Having their past misdeeds unraveled, not only was Old Madam Chen unable to find a way out, but Empress Chen as well.
That day, Old Madam Chen had taken her daughter with her to offer incense. The Imperial Noble Consort initially shouldn’t have gone, but the young Empress Chen had dragged her younger sister along. The precious concubine hadn’t accompanied her, leaving her daughter alone with them.
That said, it was only natural for malicious speculations about Empress Chen, who was but a few years old then, to spring up, saying that she had a deeply scheming heart for aiding her mother in harming another. Of course, this was merely a senseless conjecture others had conjured after hearing the story, but it was precisely this conjecture that inflicted the most damage.
Because circumstances changed through the course of time, the exact chain of events were unclear. Only a few crucial links were uncovered, but these alone sufficed to stir people’s boundless imagination.
After De Cai retreated, Prince Wei lifted the bed curtain and returned to the bed.
Feng Sheng had also awoken and stared at him with keen eyes.
“This matter……”
“Do you think this was Consort Mother’s doing?” Prince Wei understood Feng Sheng so well that the moment her words faltered, he already knew what she was thinking. “It wasn’t Consort Mother. It was me.”
Prince Wei just threw Feng Sheng a thunderbolt.
Since sleep had forsaken her, she pulled her clothes from the foot of the bed and draped them on.
“It’s the truth. It’s not that Consort Mother couldn’t remember what happened around that time, it’s just that she’s simply unwilling to acknowledge the Chen family. She could only claim that she doesn’t remember anything.”
With the Imperial Noble Consort involved, the ruse they wanted to fabricate mustn’t be devised too simply. Presumably, not all those who had disguised themselves as bandits during that incident were dead. Prince Wei’s men could always scour for one of those bandits and send him to the Jianping Emperor’s men; the truth would then naturally come to light.
“Then, does Consort Mother know this?”
“Only she and I are the ones who know. I also know what transpired after that. The Chen family had gone too far, and Consort Mother had hidden it too tightly. In fact, no one wants to uncover this incident. Instead of retaliating against them, it’s better to just sweep the snow aside to avoid incurring all sorts of inexhaustible troubles. However, since they like having their faces slapped, we might as well just help them fulfill their wish.”
Feng Sheng sighed. She used to be quite baffled about Prince Wei’s attitude towards Empress Chen. In front of the person, he expressed nothing, while behind her back, he was apathetic and inconspicuously acrimonious. She had assumed that it was merely because Empress Chen had suppressed the Imperial Noble Consort for too long, but it now seemed that things were not limited to that.
In those years, did Empress Chen really have nothing to do with it? Had she known all along that the Imperial Noble Consort was a daughter of the Chen family? Was that why she chiseled away at grinding both the Imperial Noble Consort and Prince Wei beneath her heel?
However, none of this mattered anymore. After this event, the fact that they were half-sisters was now undeniable. This ruse was not at all aimed at the Chen family, but at Empress Chen.
But Feng Sheng was still curious. Had Empress Chen been an accomplice during the incident?
Prince Wei glanced at her. “Why are you curious about this?”
Feng Sheng was abashed. Could she say why she was curious? Of course, what she was curious about wasn’t whether or not Empress Chen had a hand in it, but rather, if Empress Chen had been an accomplice and the Imperial Noble Consort had long been aware of it, how could the Imperial Noble Consort maintain a calm demeanor when confronted with this ‘elder sister’?
“This matter, even Consort Mother cannot clearly say. It’s been too long, and her memory is also quite hazy. She only remembers that this legitimate elder sister treated her well.”
If she hadn’t treated her well, the young Imperial Noble Consort would not have gone out with them. However, no matter how well she was treated, all were ruined in the hands of Old Madam Chen. Though it was inevitable for grudges to brew, the Imperial Noble Consort could only try her utmost not to brand that young child2 as malicious.
Perhaps this was why the Imperial Noble Consort averted conflict with Empress Chen. But in the end, who knew what she was truly thinking?
Feng Sheng sighed, and Prince Wei lay down. With this occurrence, the two were doomed to have a sleepless night.
1 The literal translation of Xiao Yin Zi’s (小银子) name is actually little silver. Her surname Yin (殷, Yīn) is different from the yin (银, yín) in Xiao Yin Zi. Names with (Xiao … Zi, 小 … 子) actually sort of act like nicknames, with xiao and zi being the diminutives, the same way her friend, Xiao Dou Zi’s name literally translates to little bean or something.
2 This is talking about Empress Chen as a child. She could only assume that she was used as a bait, since children are typically believed to be pure and innocent.
