Chapter 70

  Hongyu was taken aback, and before she could react, Li Fei had already left with Xiao Wu.

  Simar clenched his teeth and swallowed the words in his mouth, furious to the point of madness. This crazy girl, at that time, really shouldn't have chosen her as a hostage. It was wrong to listen to that damned Prime Minister's words, saying that the King of Wumeng State doted on this girl, and as long as she was there, he could control the King of Wumeng State, and also use her innocent and upright nature to understand what was happening in the Great Xing Dynasty! If only I had known earlier, it would have been better to take her as a concubine back then and tame her properly!

  "Husband." Hongyu let out a soft sigh, "Let's go apologize instead."

  "No way!" Sima Jiang firmly refused.

  "Husband," Hongyu said softly, "although this Li Fei is a hostage from Wumeng State, if something happens to her, the agreement between Wumeng State and us will not be fulfilled. You still need their help now, and without the help of Ju An Xiangguo, the military power on the border will eventually fall into Wu Meng's hands. Without the military power on the border, it will be difficult to achieve great things in the future!"

  "She knew nothing, how would she think that her own uncle would betray her? She only knew that I defeated her Wumeng country, for the people of Wumeng and her parents' safety, she had to come to the Great Xing dynasty as the emperor's concubine. How could she have imagined?!" Sima Qiang's cold voice and expression, "Thinking that by becoming the emperor's Li Fei Niang Niang, I Sima Qiang would be afraid of her, and she could deal with me? Truly underestimating me Sima Qiang! She still has to pass through my mother's test first! A small Li Fei actually thought she became a phoenix! How ridiculous!"

  "But after all, she is still the emperor's Li Fei, and that little maid called Xiao Wu was given to her by the empress dowager. Even if we can ignore her, it's not good to offend the empress dowager." Hong Yu furrowed her brow, gently stroking the wound on the back of her hand, feeling a bit uncomfortable. It was just a small scratch, but why did she have a lingering pain? "Because of what happened between you and me in the past, the empress dowager has always had a grudge against us. We should be more cautious. Moreover, I just went to ask my mother to propose to the empress dowager on your behalf, suggesting that you marry my sister, Yun Hui Junzhu. Firstly, she can bear children for you, and secondly, as the emperor's niece, it would also help improve your status in the emperor's eyes. If something were to happen at this time, I'm afraid it wouldn't be good."

  Simarong was taken aback, "Why must it be so?"

  "We've always been on the border, and although we hold military power here, the imperial court's military power is still in Wu Meng's hands. Although he is your general, he is also Wu Fei's nephew and the second son-in-law of the prime minister, so it's hard to say whether one day he will replace you." Hong Yu said anxiously, "Moreover, now Sima Zhe's background is stronger than yours, not only because he is the eldest son of the emperor and empress, but also because he married the prime minister's eldest daughter, making him a member of Wu Meng's family. Wu Fei and the empress have a good relationship, so naturally they will lean towards Sima Zhe more in the future. Adding to that, the power of the Murong family, we can only be humble for now. If you marry Yun Hui, it's equivalent to having a connection with the empress, although I also bear the surname Wei, but after all, I am from a side branch and not as good as those born from the main branch. With her, it would be like having another person helping in the imperial court. Besides, Hong Yu has been married to you for many years without bearing children, which has always been a worry for me. Yun Hui is an intelligent and lovely woman, and our sisterly relationship has always been good, so we can definitely get along harmoniously."

  Simazheng didn't make a sound, his impression of Yunhui wasn't deep. If it was just for power, then it didn't matter who he chose. But if Murong Feng hadn't married Sima Rui, he really wanted to marry her. If she were here, he truly couldn't think of anything more important than her.

  That icy and elegant lady, that lovely and agile lady, thinking of their accidental encounter, she was chasing butterflies at that time, couldn't help but curve up a smile at the corner of her mouth, with a very nostalgic expression.

  Hong Yu was taken aback. Could it be that he liked Yun Hui so much? But she had never seen him treat Yun Hui differently, and it seemed like he always kept a distance.

  "Hubby, what are you thinking about? You seem so happy?" Hongyu asked intentionally in a light tone.

  Simarong was taken aback, "Oh, nothing. Since you put it that way, we won't bother her then. At most, we'll just go apologize, anyway we're leaving in two days, so let's endure for a little while longer. But this young girl, I'm afraid she will displease Mother."

  Hong Yu let out a soft sigh and seemed lost in thought.

  In the beautiful courtyard, Ya Li was scolding Xiao Wu, her tone not angry but somewhat helpless, saying: "Xiao Wu, you're really embarrassing me, Empress Li. What's there to be afraid of? It's just the second prince's consort. You're so scared, if you saw the emperor coming here to favor me, wouldn't you faint on the spot?! It's really infuriating. As my maid, you have to learn to be tougher. If anyone dares to bully you, you bully them back. If someone hits you, hit them back. I'll take responsibility for any trouble that arises!"

  Suddenly, Xiao Wu knelt on the ground, knocking his head and crying: "Concubine Li, Xiao Wu has committed a great crime. Xiao Wu doesn't want to implicate Concubine Li or the Fourth Prince either. Please give me a way out, let me end my own life!"

  "Li Fei frowned, saying in confusion: "What are you talking about? I don't understand at all. You're always talking about death, but there's no one else here except for me and you, and a few useless eunuchs outside who can't hear anything. What's going on? Tell me and I'll listen. Is it really that serious? It's just that the second prince's consort scratched her hand, what can she do?! If there's something going on, I'll take care of it for you. Get up, your head is all bruised and swollen from being beaten by Sima Qiang, and now you're going to get an even bigger bump on your forehead? That would be ugly! I have some medicine here, put some on."

  "Empress Li..." Xiaowu sobbed, unable to speak clearly. After a pause, she continued, "Xiaowu really doesn't want to implicate you. The second prince's consort, the woman I met at the pharmacy when I went to buy medicine after you gave me the prescription..."

  Lì Fēi interrupted Xiao Wu's words and said: "Speak slowly, I'm getting confused."

  Xiao Wu stopped crying and said softly, "It was like this. That day, the Fourth Prince heard that Miss's condition had worsened and rushed to Yu Jiao Pavilion to visit her. He found someone had mixed another medicine into the medicine applied to Miss's wound, so he asked me if anyone had appeared when I bought or prepared the medicine. I remembered that when I went to buy the medicine, I met a woman who initiated a conversation with me, used an umbrella to shelter me from the rain, and even helped me carry the medicine, letting me wipe the rain off my face. I thought it must have been then that something went wrong. Later, when Her Majesty and the Fourth Prince were chatting, they mentioned that this kind of medicine is only available in Wumeng State. I don't know what Wumeng State is, but I heard Her Majesty say that within the Great Xing Dynasty, only you and the Second Prince and his wife could possibly obtain this medicine. Today, when I saw the Second Princess, I immediately recognized her - she was the woman I met that day."

  Li Fei frowned, "If it's really her, the wound is too cheap for her. If I were you, I would slash her face and make her unable to see people!"

  "But," Little Wu said with his head down, frightened, "I scratched her ring and got the poison from Miss's wound on it!"