Feng Xing: Chapter 80
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Translation: marchmallow
Feng Sheng had expended all her willpower on that trip to the palace. Upon her return, she retreated to her room to rest.
Prince Wei had some business to attend to and left to the front courtyard, making her breathe a sigh of relief.
Dong Mei and the others served her in disrobing her ceremonial attire, and she afterwards dove on the bed. Feng Sheng remembered Zhi Chun and Zhi Qiu, but in her languor decided to momentarily set that matter aside and discuss it only after waking from her slumber.
She slept until dusk, when lamplight had already illuminated the outer room. Feng Sheng called for someone to come in, and that person lit up the lamp in her bedroom.
As she looked around, an unfamiliar feeling still lingered in Feng Sheng’s heart, but this was not at all unusual. She had been maundering about for many a year, never settling in one place for too long. It was only natural for her to deem any place unfamiliar.
“Does Princess Consort want to get up? It’s late, and it’s also time for the evening meal.”
Feng Sheng paused. “Where is His Highness?”
“Replying to the Princess Consort, this servant doesn’t know. His Highness should still be at the front courtyard.”
Feng Sheng nodded, neither speaking nor moving.
Dong Mei peered at the new princess consort, but she hadn’t yet fathomed her temperament, so she didn’t dare utter another word.
Feng Sheng was actually musing over whether or not to wait for Prince Wei. She was already a little hungry, but if she remembered correctly, a wife should take care of her husband’s meals, clothes, and everyday life. If she dined in advance, she wouldn’t be conforming to the customs.
In brief, because of the sudden change in her identity, Feng Sheng’s mind was a bit befuddled at present. Moreover, every time she awoke, she would get dizzy for a while. Having just awoken, she leaned on the soft pillow, looking somewhat pensive.
On the other end, in the study at the front court, Prince Wei had already finished dealing with the matters at hand, but he dawdled for a while because he was aware how exhausted she was, and how stretched taut her nerves were.
He was evidently the source of this, so he wanted to give her some leeway. However, as the sky grew darker during his wait, he didn’t expect for there to still be no movement from the main courtyard.
“De Wang.”
“Your Highness.” De Wang took an indiscreet step forward, not saying anything more.
“Go to the main courtyard and check if the Princess Consort is up.”
Hearing this, De Wang instantly understood why his own master looked at him that way. As it turned out……
“This slave will order someone to check.”
Not long after, word was passed on.
“Your Highness, the Princess Consort is awake, but she hasn’t gotten up.”
“And no evening meal was passed?”
De Wang shook his head.
Prince Wei stood up and strode out the door. De Wang caught up in haste. Noticing that Prince Wei was clearly heading to the direction of the main courtyard, he repeatedly sighed in his heart. He himself had intended to go, yet he still purposely ordered someone to check on her. Wasn’t he being too superfluous?
However, Prince Wei’s superfluous deeds, De Wang had witnessed too much of. Except for the master, no one else had such resolve.
Feng Sheng was just debating in her head about whether or not to order someone to inquire when Prince Wei returned.
As swiftly as a gust of wind, he sat on the outer side of the bed and grasped her hand, his handsome brows furrowed slightly.
“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?” Studying her face devoid of color, Prince Wei’s brows creased tighter and tighter. He had esteemed her to be seven to eight parts better, but now noticing that the rouge on her face had been wiped off, he realized that she wasn’t.
“No.”
This answer obviously provoked Prince Wei’s dissatisfaction. He turned to Dong Mei and the others. “How did you all serve? What happened to the Princess Consort?”
This person’s demeanor was fierce and imposing. He wasn’t that formidable when he wasn’t angry, but once he was, he was extraordinarily dreadful. The few maids were frightened. The sound of their knees flumping on the ground resonated in the room, and Feng Sheng’s ears hurt from hearing it.
She hastily grabbed his hand. “I’m really fine. I just woke up a little muddled.”
Feng Sheng finally found the word that could aptly describe her own state of mind. Muddled.
It had probably been a terribly long time since she was this idle. When suddenly left with nothing to do, her brain would always empty itself, and she consequently wouldn’t know how to act. During her time at the Court of Judicial Review’s prison, she had known then that waiting was inevitable, so she entertained herself with a bunch of banal activities. This time, however, she was completely unoccupied.
Amidst her trance, she could feel someone stroking the space between her brows. When she focused her gaze, the sharp and handsome face manifested into her view. She could detect a faint irritation between his eyebrows, but the concern underneath them was difficult to conceal.
She couldn’t help but lean in his embrace and assure, “I’m really fine. I just woke up and was a little muddled. Have you eaten the evening meal? I’m a little hungry.”
“Pass the meal.”
Seeing Dong Mei and the others still there foolishly motionless, De Wang chided, “Hurry up and pass the meal. You heedless things. The Princess Consort forgot to give an order, so you’ve all also forgotten how to attend to her? If there’s a next time, be careful of your skin.”
Dong Mei and the others quickly rose to their feet, knowing that this was De Wang’s way of admonishing them.
It seemed that this princess consort wasn’t equal to the former ones. Dong Mei and the others felt that the mistress of the prince manor had finally appeared.
The four scurried outside the door. Dong Mei ordered the others to pass the meal, and when they turned back, they all looked a little ashamed.
“You all also heard Chief Steward De’s words. Send your messy thoughts away, and pour your heart into your work a bit more. If not, this prince manor has enough people to replace you. Don’t forget that the Princess Consort has two accompanying dowry maids.”
The other three’s complexions looked downcast. Servant girls like them who had lived in the prince manor for a long time had their own calculations in their hearts. Unfortunately for them, clever people could also fall prey to their own ingenuity. They had originally presumed that, since the new princess consort’s temperament was still unfamiliar to them, they could just observe her more and take no initiative. Having no fault was a merit in itself, so it was considered a good method of maintaining status quo. However, they had overlooked that if they failed to be assiduous in their duties, many would lie in wait to replace them.
In truth, this type of mindset was quite normal. To sell only for a good price, no one would easily eke out an offer without knowing the buyer’s strength beforehand.
But after tonight, they were going to change their way of thinking.
*
Inside the room, Feng Sheng was still in Prince Wei’s embrace, his fingers still kneading her forehead.
“You should also pay attention to matters in the manor. Wait for a couple days. This prince will ask De Quan to hand you the account books and keys in the manor, as you are the wife in charge of the household.”
“Are you telling me this now because of those maids?”
In fact, how could Feng Sheng not have understood? To serve by the master’s side was such a major position. Yearning to rise up, they imminently had to press others down. Hence, she made no mention of Zhi Chun and Zhi Qiu’s absence. It was evident that those two were intentionally isolated for the time being. The maids wouldn’t isolate them for too long, else she would notice their intent.
This trick wasn’t bad, but unfortunately, it was too petty. The four seemed to be friendly on the outside, but for the most part, each had their own intentions. They all wanted to incite others to jut out and test the waters, so they all naturally sunk to the bottom.
“Your intelligence is unparalleled, but you hold yourself aloof from the world. You’ve never stayed in the rear court and probably have not dealt with those maids and grannies below you. This prince is afraid you will suffer losses.”
“Who says I’ve never stayed in the rear court?”
These words, they naturally dug up matters from the past. Feng Sheng was inexorably a little flustered.
She peered at Prince Wei, thinking that such words shouldn’t anger him. On the contrary, he was staring at her with a strange light in his eyes, as if trifling with her. “Was that when the person was being bullied and had no choice but to throw herself at this prince?”
That incident was their first meeting, and it was undoubtedly a stain that Feng Sheng couldn’t bear to face head on. She shifted her sight away from Prince Wei, desiring to divert the subject but not knowing what else to say.
“At that time, this prince had thought that the beauty wasn’t bad. A little too thin, though unexpectedly eye-catching. It wouldn’t have been a bad idea to bring her back to the manor to fatten her up a bit and take her in as a concubine. “
He teased, his fingers gently stroking her waist. Feng Sheng pulled back a little, feeling a little ticklish.
“Who would’ve thought that that person was actually toying with me? Fang Feng Sheng, how are you going to compensate me?”
Feng Sheng’s gaze was still fixated elsewhere, too embarrassed to articulate even a single word.
“Who told you to be a lustful wolf? You took the bait before anyone did anything.”
“This prince is a lustful wolf?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I’m just making an analogy.” She laughed dryly.
She backed away, and before she could withdraw, she was tugged back into his arms.
He kissed her firmly for a while and was about to continue, when outside the door, De Wang reported that the evening meal was ready. He didn’t want to end it, but examining her frail and wan appearance, very reluctantly, he rubbed her waist with unmasked avidity and released her hand.
“Once we finish the evening meal, this prince will let you know what it means to be a lustful wolf.”
Prince Wei went outside. Feng Sheng sat on the bed for a while before she donned her clothes with the aid of Dong Mei and the others, then proceeded to the outer room to dine.
The evening meal was sumptuous, and because Feng Sheng was a bit hungry, she ate a little more than usual.
During the meal, her mind was somewhat unhinged. When Prince Wei was itching to talk about heading to bed, she was so nervous that she was close to jumping up.
She changed her clothes, washed her face, rinsed her mouth, and hopped on the couch. After dallying on the couch, Feng Sheng threw herself into the bed.
There was originally only one quilt spread out. She pulled the spare quilt and positioned it in the inner side of the bed, settled in it, and hypnotized herself to quickly fall asleep. She didn’t believe Prince Wei would still wake her up after she had fallen asleep.
As it turned out, she had slept too much in the afternoon, and even though she had exhausted all her methods, she still could not compel herself to sleep. Rather, she grew more and more energetic.
Hence, she decided to pretend to be asleep.
This was how she discovered that Prince Wei was even more of a……lustful wolf than she had anticipated.
……
Feng Sheng had to wake up, because if she didn’t, she would fall into the enemy’s hands.
“Really, no more. I’m still sore……”
Just this one sentence so abashed Feng Sheng that she felt as though her head would billow smoke at any instant. She had never imagined herself to actually utter words that inferred such a ‘show of weakness’.
Fortunately, the other party released her hand.
As soon as he let go, Feng Sheng turned her body and buried herself in the quilt, enfolding herself snugly in it. Her body was still trembling, and she found this reaction extremely vexing and curious.
Just as her imagination was running wild, someone suddenly tugged at her quilt, and she subconsciously rolled inside, tightening the quilt even more.
“Come here, let me take a look.”
Take a look at what?
Feng Sheng did not understand his motive. Prince Wei jerked her quilt again, this time refusing to enable her to fight back, and promptly lifted it off without much effort.
Soon, she instantaneously understood what exactly he wanted to take a look at.
No matter how hard she struggled, it was fruitless under such intense scrutiny. She stretched out her hand to probe. Just as her shame and indignation sprung up, an ice-cold feeling overwhelmed her.
“Don’t move. I’ll wipe the medicine on you.”
By the time he finished wiping the medicine, Feng Sheng’s entire body had become as red as boiled shrimp.
He set the medicine aside and plopped by her side once more, nestling her into his arms.
“Well, sleep. I won’t move you tonight.”
Translator’s Note:
We’re halfway through the story! My update schedule has become quite irregular, but I always try to squeeze time to be able to update at least three times a week. I love this novel, but there’s one I so badly want to work on, so I also want to quickly finish this one. I hope you’re still enjoying it so far.
The second half is mostly about their life as a married couple, as well as Zong Yue’s endeavors. When I first read the novel, I honestly wasn’t expecting this half to be as good as the first, but I guess I’m a fan of steadier couples compared to more passionate ones, especially with such an interesting and dynamic FL like Feng Sheng. Prince Wei also slowly grew on me as their married life progressed, so I hope you’ll all give him a chance.
