Chapter 44

  "Your Majesty is in high spirits, I finally found my way here with great difficulty. Your Majesty is too biased, having a heavenly sister like you, and forgetting about me, an old acquaintance who's also your elder sister." She said, stepping forward to warmly take Mu Rong Xue's hand, her tone slightly sorrowful as she continued, "Little sister, I heard that something happened at home the other day, causing your already frail body to be even more unwell. Have you recovered in these past few days?"

  Murong Xue's shy smile was somewhat unaccustomed, after all, the person in front of her was originally her elder, and now being called "little sister" by the other party made her feel a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable. Moreover, Liu Fei didn't seem as scary as Da Jie said, so she could only smile slightly and say: "Thank you, I'm already much better."

  Liu Fei smiled coldly in her heart, thinking that Mu Rong Qing Lang was still a child, speaking with a childish tone and not yet shedding his naivety. It seemed that he had been spoiled by the old man, Mu Rong Qing Lang, to the point of being shameless, marrying his own sister's husband. But on the surface, Liu Fei continued to smile sweetly, holding Mu Rong Xue's hand as if they were really good sisters. Even Mu Rong Feng, hiding behind a cluster of flowers, looked at her with some doubt. What kind of person was this Liu Fei? Why did Sima Rui say that she would bring no good news from the moment she arrived here?

  "Alas, the world is unpredictable. Don't take it to heart, little sister. I'll come over and take a look at you. Seeing that your complexion is fine, my heart is truly at ease." Liu Fei glanced at the Emperor, half-scolding and half-coquettish, saying, "Your Majesty, you're also too careless. Don't you know that Princess Yalai of Wumeng Country has gone missing? You just let little sister live alone in Warm Jade Pavilion, what if that princess does something outrageous and hurts little sister?"

  "Is that so?" The emperor was taken aback, "I haven't heard Qiang mention it before."

  "That's what Qiang'er said, he's worried that the Emperor will be concerned." Liu Fei looked at Murong Xue again and said to the Emperor, "Qiang'er said that Princess Yalai has been spoiled by the King of Wumeng since she was a child, and her customs are different from ours in the Great Xing Dynasty. He's worried that she might harm Snow Concubine, so he specially asked me to bring a strong and skilled guard to take care of Snow Concubine. This guard used to be one of Qiang'er's soldiers, and was sent by Qiang'er to protect my safety a year ago. Now, considering Princess Yalai's arrogant nature, I think she won't pose a great threat to the Empress, Wu sister, or me, as we're all older and have skilled guards by our side. However, Snow Concubine is still young and innocent, so Qiang'er is worried that Princess Yalai might not treat her well. With this guard around, I can rest assured." She then turned to a young and robust man standing behind her and said in a calm and authoritative tone, "Zhao Gang, come pay your respects to the Emperor and Snow Concubine."

  Zhao Gang is not too old, tall and strong, robust and sunny, with slightly dark skin, thick eyebrows and big eyes, dignified and imposing. He looks at the Emperor and Snow Concubine, kneels down and pays his respects: "Guard Zhao Gang has seen the Emperor and Snow Concubine."

  His Majesty took a glance, "So it's Zhao Shuaiwei, you're one of the most reliable guards by Liu Fei's side. Liu Fei, how can you bear to let your most reliable person come over and take care of Xue'er?"

  The empress pouted, saying with some resentment: "I knew the emperor would suspect me. Wouldn't giving the best guard to Princess Xue be enough? Do I have to choose the worst person for my sister? Where did I get such a vicious heart?"

  The emperor smiled, "You're really good at talking your way out of things, I suppose I misunderstood you. Alright, since Consort Liu is willing to let you come over, then come on over, Zhao Guard. Remember to take good care of Xue Er, if anything happens to her, I won't forgive you!"

  Liu Fei pouted and said stubbornly: "If Your Majesty is still not at ease, I'll have Zhao Gang return immediately to avoid any suspicion. Are you still not at ease?"

  The emperor stroked Liu Fei's face and said, "Alright, I'll go to your Héyáng Palace tonight, thank you for taking such good care of my Xue'er."

  The empress smiled coyly and said in a soft voice: "Your Majesty, you're really naughty."

  Beside her, Murong Xue's eyes flashed with a hint of jealousy. Ah, in the past few days, the Emperor had never left Wenyu Pavilion, but tonight he was going to Liu Fei's Heyang Palace. Would he go to the Empress's Zhengyang Palace or Wu Fei's Pingyang Palace tomorrow? Could the Emperor bear to abandon her? However, Liu Fei was also kind and considerate of her, so how could she possibly show jealousy in front of the Emperor?!

  Simarui slightly sneered, "This Liu Fei, how could she have such a good heart! I'm afraid that after this, Murong Xue will hardly be able to rest easy again."

  Murong Feng said in a low voice, "I also find it strange. Empress Liu would never like Murong Xue, so why would she be willing to send her most trusted guard over to serve Murong Xue? And he's still such a young and handsome guard, isn't she afraid that Murong Xue will cause trouble in the future?"

  "It's likely that Liu Fei is eager for it." Sima Rui said coldly, "This Liu Fei is the most skilled at using her wits. Based on Murong Xue's simplicity and ignorance, she will definitely be deceived and suffer a loss."

  Murong Feng looked at Sima Rui and said, "You seem to have a deep prejudice against her."

  Simarui let out a light sigh, "You've been in the palace for less than a month, how could you know the dangers that lurk within? Although the Daxing dynasty is prosperous and peaceful, the imperial palace can't avoid intrigue and disputes. This Liu Fei, if you interact with her more in the future, you'll understand what kind of meticulous person she is. Do you know who Hongyu is? She's the current second prince's consort."

  Murong Feng shook his head and thought: How would I know? I even learned about Murong Feng's affairs from Chun Liu, how could I possibly know what goes on in the palace.

  "If you didn't know, it's normal. I remember you said that you've been living with your grandmother since childhood and only returned to the Murong Wangfu at around 14 years old. If not for Hongyu, there wouldn't be a Sima Qiang today." Sima Rui let out a light sigh, looking at Murong Feng, and quietly said, "You also heard from your grandmother that Hongyu and Yinhui were extremely close, actually, they were half-sisters with the same father but different mothers. Yinhui's mother was the younger sister of the empress dowager, while Hongyu's mother was a concubine of the emperor's brother, gentle in nature, and had a good relationship with the empress dowager, who treated Hongyu like her own. When they were young, the two girls would often come to the palace to play, and Hongyu was especially close to your older brother, often playing together. Later on, Yinhui and Hongyu both became princesses, at that time, Sima Qiang's mother, Liu Fei, wasn't favored yet, just a beauty, and Sima Qiang hadn't been made the crown prince - this palace isn't just our four princes, there were other brothers too, but only we four had the qualifications to be crown prince. He was always following a master in the palace learning arts, rarely seen, naturally not familiar with Hongyu, didn't even meet her face-to-face. However, just when Hongyu was about to get married, during an outing, she encountered some rascals, at the critical moment, 'coincidentally' met Sima Qiang, who came and saved the beauty, perhaps because of being too gentle with your older brother, without passion, not as exciting as this event, after a few interactions, the two had a husband-and-wife relationship. This matter naturally shouldn't be spread around, looking at the empress dowager's face, the emperor could only permit Sima Qiang and Hongyu's relationship and grant Sima Qiang the crown prince identity. To avoid your older brother getting hurt, they let Sima Qiang go guard the border. Sima Qiang was Wu Mounge's esteemed disciple, naturally not a name in vain, at the border he won many battles, thus, relying on his son's prestige, Liu Fei gradually caught the emperor's attention and became one of the three palaces' He Yang Palace, until now."