Chapter 9

  "Miss, has Fourth Miss encountered some trouble?" Spring Willow asked softly.

  Murong Feng's face was expressionless, gazing at the desolate scene on an autumn day, smelling the fragrance of chrysanthemum, and in the courtyard there were several pots of chrysanthemums that were blooming beautifully.

  It seemed like someone was watching her, Mu Rong Feng slightly turned her head, less than ten meters away, standing was Sima Zhe, who had just returned, coincidentally walking face to face with the two of them. His face showed a few hints of fatigue, probably having just rushed back from court. As the eldest prince and future emperor, Sima Zhe had long been involved in handling some government affairs alongside his father.

  "Third sister, are you leaving?" He spoke in a gentle and warm tone, stopping his footsteps to look at Murong Feng, who seemed like a clear spring amidst the autumn scenery.

  Murong Feng's faint smile was gentle and warm, as if it had reached his heart, "Yes."

  Two people passed each other, Sima Zhe's gaze followed Mu Rong Feng's back for a long time, and his heart felt a sense of loss. This woman had never left any impression on him before, he hadn't even noticed her, but for some reason, since the day he saw her at his grandmother's place, there was an unforgettable attachment in his heart, not even he himself knew what it was for.

  Nothing happened all night.

  Murong Feng tidied herself up and followed Xiao Dezi to the Empress Dowager's palace. The Empress Dowager wanted to see her, and even invited her to have breakfast at Xiangfu Palace.

  As for Murong Xue's matter, she seemed to have completely put it out of her mind, but Chunliu was even more worried. When helping Murong Feng wash up in the morning, he wanted to speak several times but stopped himself.

  Murong Feng pretended not to see, and didn't mention Murong Xue's matter at all. She had heard Chun Liu say that the maid serving Fourth Miss was called Rui Xi, who was as close as sisters with Chun Liu. It was likely that Chun Liu was more worried about Rui Xi, who went missing together with Murong Xue.

  Chatting with the Empress Dowager, when the conversation became more interesting, Murong Feng suddenly said: "Grandmother, I want to ask you for something."

  "What's wrong?" The empress dowager asked with a smile. She was increasingly fond of Mu Rong Feng, who had a gentle disposition, interesting conversation, and broad knowledge.

  Murong Feng bowed and said softly, "Feng'er wants to go home for a while. Since childhood, Feng'er has lived with her grandmother, who doted on her. Now that Feng'er is married, she wants to personally light an incense stick for her grandmother and tell her in person. Please, Grandmother, grant Feng'er permission and give her a few days' time."

  The empress dowager helped Mu Rong Feng up, seeing that Mu Rong Feng's face was slightly tinged with sorrow and his eyes had a hint of mistiness. She couldn't help but feel pity for him and said: "Alas, originally it should be Rui Er accompanying you together, but this unfilial son is always staying at the Drunken Flower Pavilion, entangled with that courtesan... Alright, Feng Er, I'll give you a golden token. In the Great Xing Dynasty, there's a golden token cast by the emperor himself, bestowed upon virtuous and respected imperial consorts in the palace. This token happens to be in my hands now, and I'm giving it to you. With this token, you can move freely within the Great Xing Dynasty; even Rui Er won't be able to make things difficult for you."

  "Thank you, Grandmother." Murong Feng accepted the gold medal and softly expressed his gratitude. For Murong Feng, this was an unexpected gain.

  "Maple, you'd better go and come back early." The empress was reluctant to part with her, although they had only been together for two days. She actually liked Maple more than her own grandsons and granddaughters. "Otherwise, I'll get that disobedient son from the Drunken Flower Pavilion to accompany you back? You're alone, and I'm really a bit worried."

  Murong Feng smiled lightly, "Grandmother doesn't have to worry, you can choose two people from the palace who are good at martial arts and calm in nature to accompany Feng'er. As for Zuihuatang, it's absolutely not necessary for Grandmother to show up, family scandals should not be spread outside, if Grandmother intervenes and it spreads to the ears of ordinary people, it will only add trouble. However, Feng'er has a mind to go and see what kind of woman she is, that can make the Fourth Prince infatuated, let's take a look at which point Feng'er is not as good as her."

  "Good, good." The empress agreed readily and thought for a moment before saying, "Now that you mention it, I recall having a guard with exceptional martial arts skills. His two children are also quite talented. I'll send someone to fetch them and have them accompany you on your journey."

  Drunken Flower Pavilion, music and dance rise to the peak, oriole songs and swallow dances, bustling extraordinary. The signboard of Drunken Flower Pavilion, Yu Jiao, lives alone in Yu Jiao Building, everyone knows that this Yu Jiao Building was built by the Fourth Prince himself, but despite this, Yu Jiao still performs at Drunken Flower Pavilion because she is extremely skilled in music and dance, and the Fourth Prince did not hide her away just because he built Yu Jiao Building.

  Yu Jiao Yi's face appeared, and the large Drunken Flower Building was packed with people. In the elegant private room in the center sat a young man in plain clothes, looking less than twenty years old, with clear eyebrows and eyes, and an elegant temperament. He just sat quietly there, already making other onlookers feel dull and discolored.

  Yu Jiao took a glance and secretly praised in her heart: what a fine young master. But she didn't know which family's prince he was. The young master saw Yu Jiao looking at him, the corner of his lips slightly raised, a hint of smile flashed by, Yu Jiao's face turned red, even though she was a courtesan, her heart couldn't help but skip a beat, she hastily adjusted her clothes and bowed to everyone, just as the music started, she was about to dance, when suddenly there was a "pop" sound, one of the strings on the zither in front of the musician broke, everyone was stunned.

  Suddenly, a flute sound rose, crisp and pleasant to the ear. Yu Jiao raised her head, and in that elegant seat, a young man in white clothes held a bamboo flute in his hand, and the melody was exactly what he blew out. Yu Jiao was an extremely good singer and dancer, and upon hearing this flute sound, she knew that this person's skills were extremely high. Although she had never heard this melody before, it was really moving. After listening to several sections, Yu Jiao swung her long sleeves and danced elegantly, and the audience watched with their eyes fixed, shouting in excitement.

  The sound still lingered, and Yu Jiao looked again to find that the elegant hall was empty with no one in sight. Faintly, she heard someone say with a laugh: "Miss Yu Jiao has excellent dancing skills, I have something to attend to and will take my leave first, let's meet again another day to appreciate your performance." However, she only heard the voice but didn't see anyone.

  Yu Jiao stood there, lost in thought. The dance she had just performed was truly a perfect blend of music and movement, exhilarating and refreshing. As she raised her eyes again, she saw Sima Rui staring at her coldly, his face not looking too good. Yu Jiao's heart skipped a beat as she wondered if it was because the little girl he had brought back the other day was still arguing with him.

  Ignoring the crowd below, Yuè Jiāo immediately returned to Yuè Jiāo Pavilion. Sīmǎ Ruì had arrived a step earlier and was sitting at the table drinking wine, with a melancholy expression on his face.

  "Is Murong still refusing to talk to you?" Yu Jiao asked softly as she sat down in front of Sima Rui.

  "Many young people have a lot of nonsense to say, what are they talking about? I've already married her third sister, and I must treat her well. Why should I listen to her?" Sima Rui said with hatred, but suddenly a scene flashed in his mind - on their wedding night, Mu Rong Feng sat on the bridal bed, using a tired and helpless tone to ask him to remove the red cloth from her head, and mentioned that since he had no feelings for her, she had no intention of it either, speaking in a straightforward and unyielding manner. He couldn't help but smile slightly, thinking that Mu Rong Feng was quite lovable after all. She was indeed the first woman to dare speak to him like that.

  Yu Jiao didn't know what he was thinking, but suddenly saw him smile, and in that smile, there seemed to be a hint of longing. Her heart skipped a beat, she lowered her head, not daring to say more.

  That day, Sima Rui "kidnapped" Murong Xue. She saw the famous beauty Murong Xue for the first time and was indeed envious. It was true that she was a national treasure, a heavenly fragrance, and a city-toppling beauty. No wonder Sima Rui was so bold as to kidnap her from the Murong Wangfu. He was the fourth prince of the current dynasty, but he had already married Murong Xue's sister as his wife. Kidnapping his younger sister-in-law, what kind of thing was this?