Chapter 5

  "Isn't it too simple, miss?" Chun Liu said with some worry, she felt that Bai Min's dress was not as luxurious as her own maid.

  "It's fine." Bai Min smiled slightly, glanced at Chun Liu, and noticed the worried look on her face. He continued, "Chun Liu, this is already good enough. No matter how I dress up, it's impossible to win the favor of Empress Dowager, the Queen, and Fourth Prince, after all they have their hearts set on Murong Wangfu's fourth miss, Murong Xue, not me, Bai Min. It's better to seek my own freedom."

  Bai Min thought to herself: For the second time, she almost said her own name. Actually, a name is just a code name. Whether it's Bai Min or Murong Feng, they're all fine. From this moment on, Bai Min will be Murong Feng. Fortunately, this name sounds good too.

  The willow nodded as if it understood and yet didn't understand.

  Facing the mirror, Bai Min, no, to be precise, it's a new Murong Feng, feels quite satisfied. The woman in the mirror is elegant and refined, with an extremely plain face, her expression faintly calm.

  "Let's go." Murong Feng brushed off a few strands of his long hair, which still had a hint of dampness, and stepped out of the room.

  "Miss," said Chun Liu hesitantly, "Do you want to wait for the Fourth Prince to return and go together?"

  "Why wait for him." Murong Feng smiled slightly, and as she walked out of the room, her smile was pure and clean under the sunlight, making Chun Liu look surprised. Since Miss recovered from her illness, she seemed to have changed into a different person, with a clear and refreshing spirit, elegant and refined.

  Led by the maid Yanyu from the Fourth Prince's residence, the sedan chair turned left and right, taking about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, before stopping outside the Shangfu Palace.

  Led by Yanyu, he went in and knelt down.

  The Empress Dowager and the Empress were chatting, with Crown Prince Sima Zhe and Crown Princess Murong Xuan by their side. Except for Murong Xuan glancing at Murong Feng kneeling on the ground with the corner of her eye, everyone else seemed to have ignored her.

  Murong Feng hung his head and knelt on the ground, quiet as if he didn't exist.

  When she came in, a small eunuch here had already announced in a low voice: The Empress Dowager, the Empress, and the Fourth Prince's Consort have arrived at Qixing Palace to pay their respects.

  So she was delighted and made no sound, came to meet the soldiers, covered with earth when water came, and broke up when summoned.

  The Empress Dowager had already heard the eunuch's words, but she pretended not to hear and chatted idly with the Empress. Xiang Yu was originally her maid, sent specifically to Sima Rui to gather information about Sima Rui and Murong Feng. This morning, Xiang Yu had someone deliver a message: Sima Rui, her most beloved yet most troublesome grandson, indeed did not return for the night.

  But Murong Feng didn't make any crying or noisy behavior, and actually slept soundly till dawn?! Is this Murong Feng really so stupid and dull?! She knew that Sun Er originally wanted to marry was Murong Xue, she had seen the four daughters of the Murong family before, especially Murong Xue's appearance was the most outstanding, while this Murong Feng was the least noticeable.

  There were Sima Zhe and Murong Xuan who came to persuade, plus Murong Qingliang's earnest request, speaking repeatedly. Murong Xue was still young and couldn't get married yet, so in the end they settled on Murong Feng. After all, she was a Miss of the Murong royal family. If not for those three comparisons, Murong Feng would also be a beautiful girl, it's just a pity that she's too wooden.

  The empress dowager thought to herself: If this Murong Feng is really so incompetent, I'm afraid we can only wait another year and then have our grandson marry Murong Xue again, letting the two sisters serve the same husband.

  This situation lasted for a while, Sima Zhe glanced at his wife and saw that Murong Xuan's face had a few points of unbearable color. After all, the one kneeling on the ground was her own sister, but she couldn't speak out to help, so she could only endure it. She also knew that her father using Sanmei to replace Xiaomei was indeed suspicious of deceiving the king. Her father loved Xiaomei and didn't mind sacrificing Sanmei's happiness, but with the fourth prince's behavior, Sanmei would definitely not have a good day to pass, and it was likely that Xiaomei would eventually marry the fourth prince anyway. Sacrificing Sanmei was just a temporary expedient measure.

  Ma Ma Zhe lowered his head and took a glance at Murong Feng, who was kneeling quietly on the ground. He hesitated for a moment, then softly coughed: "Grandmother, Mother."

  The empress dowager glanced at her eldest grandson, Sima Zhe used his eyes to hint at Murong Feng who was kneeling on the ground, and then swept a glance at Murong Xuan sitting beside him, reminding her mother not to be too excessive, after all, she had to give Murong Xuan some face, and not make her too sad.

  "It's Feng'er, right?" The empress dowager immediately smiled benevolently, as if she had suddenly seen Mu Rong Feng kneeling on the ground, then pretended to scold the little eunuch, "Xiao Dezi, Feng'er has arrived, why didn't you announce it?"

  The little eunuch's face was filled with terror, knowing that the Empress Dowager was intentionally trying to intimidate him, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

  Murong Feng finally lifted his head, with a faint smile that didn't reveal any displeasure. His voice was soft and gentle, "Grandmother, it's probably Little Dezi who is afraid of startling you and Mother's conversation, so he spoke softly. It's actually considerate of him. Grandmother, please don't blame him, just ask him to speak a little louder next time."

  The empress dowager was taken aback, and it wasn't just her who felt surprised - the other three people in the room were also stunned.

  Murong Xuan's eyes widened, this...this...these words and actions are not those of the normally reserved Third Sister?

  Simazhe slightly raised an eyebrow, and the usual Murong Feng had never been so calm.

  The empress and the queen noticed, however, was Murong Feng's smile. The two of them had seen Murong Feng before, but because she was quiet and unobtrusive, they hadn't really paid attention to her. But today, one look at her and it was truly eye-opening - a water-red skirt, with only a single ornament, a jade hairpin on her head, yet she seemed ethereal and refined, perfectly suited to the occasion. Especially that smile, so clear and pure, refreshing and unpretentious.

  The empress dowager was momentarily at a loss for words, "Oh, all right."

  "Can grandma let me get up? I'm afraid the tea water in the cup has cooled down a bit, it's not suitable to drink. Can I go and change two cups of hot tea?" Murong Feng looked at the tray in Yan Yu's hand and thought, probably that tea had been cold for some time.

  "Come on, look, I'm just chatting with your mother, Feng'er won't blame her grandmother, will she?" The empress dowager said with a warm smile.

  Murong Feng smiled, his lips red and teeth white, his eyebrows clear and eyes elegant, exuding a refreshing and charming aura.

  She stood up, her knees aching slightly, but she ignored it.

  Yan Yu immediately went to change two cups of new tea and handed them to her. She smiled and said, "Feng'er specially made tea for his grandmother and mother-in-law, wishing his grandmother and mother-in-law a happy day every day, with a youthful appearance always."

  The empress dowager sipped her tea and asked seemingly absent-mindedly: "Feng'er, has your illness gotten better?"

  Murong Xuan was still astonished by Sanmei's change, and when she heard the Empress Dowager ask this question, she immediately broke out in a cold sweat. She also knew that asking Cao Taishi to come and treat Sanmei would not be able to deceive the Empress Dowager and the Queen, although Cao Taishi was from the Crown Prince's mansion, but after all, he was an imperial physician, how could it be possible to deceive the Empress Dowager and the Queen by going out of the palace for treatment?

  They just won't know that Sanmei got sick because of refusing marriage, right?

  "Thank you, Grandmother, for your concern." Murong Feng's expression remained unchanged. This place had no silver three hundred taels, and she didn't believe that Murong Feng's refusal to marry could be hidden from the people in the palace, especially the Empress Dowager and the Queen who held the most power in the harem. "Thanks to my elder sister for letting Imperial Physician Cao go and treat Feng'er, it was truly a wonderful recovery, and now she has fully recovered."

  The empress dowager was taken aback, had she thought things were too complicated? But how dare Cao Taiyi deceive her with lies? Although he was a person from the Longsun Palace, he was only an imperial physician assigned to the Crown Prince's palace by the emperor, and even if he borrowed courage, he wouldn't dare to deceive herself and the empress.