FID – Chapter 814

Chapter 814 — There Is Still Someone Holding a Blade

The two men walked out of the pavilion, then went their separate ways.

As soon as they drew near, Cheng Sheng immediately stepped forward to greet him, “Your Highness, was there any result from the negotiations?”

“Not yet. I’m afraid we’ll have to keep working on it. My silver tongue isn’t quite sharp enough yet,” Feng Qingbai replied with a slight smile. He took the reins of the horse handed to him by a nearby soldier and mounted it with ease. “Thank you, General Cheng, for your protection here. Let’s return the army to camp!”

The man spurred his horse and rode off. Cheng Sheng turned to the soldiers around him, who were all staring at him.

“Did he overhear me badmouthing him behind his back? Or was it one of you lot, who sold me out in secret?”

“General, you must see clearly! We’re your own men. How could we possibly sell you out?!”

“If I find out who it was, I’ll beat his backside raw! Hmph!” Cheng Sheng snorted coldly, waved his hand, and barked, “Return to camp!”

From now on, no more badmouthing the Prince behind his back. Don’t even think about it.

Otherwise, if he called it out like that again, it would be too embarrassing.

Dammit!

Aside from the open space where the pavilion had been set up just now, the area near the Nanling army camp was covered in marshland. If someone was careless and fell in, they’d be swallowed up immediately.

Because of this, the area had almost become a forbidden zone for the camp. The soldiers would never dare to approach lightly, and it served as a natural barrier for the army.

Feng Qingbai didn’t go near it either. He circled around and rode along another path. Not far from the marshes, closer to the Dongyue army camp, there was a deep ravine.

Having studied the map of this area, finding the place was not difficult for him.

When he arrived near the ravine, Feng Qingbai slowed his horse and proceeded slowly. The sound of the hooves echoed between the cliffs on either side.

This made the surrounding area feel even more desolate.

The wind speed around his ears subtly changed, and a faint sound broke through the air. Feng Qingbai tilted his head and dodged a hidden weapon.

He looked up to face the shadow that was descending from above.

In a split second, the two exchanged dozens of moves.

After a hundred moves, they separated.

“Every time you see me, you immediately draw your sword,” Feng Qingbai raised an eyebrow, looking at the man in black, and said calmly, “What is it that you want with me?”

“Leave here and return to Nanling immediately.”

“Why?”

“I told you to leave, so leave.”

With his guard down, Feng Qingbai casually sat down, looking relaxed and at ease. “Your reason?”

The casual demeanor irritated Xue Honglian, who narrowed his eyes, finding it extremely annoying.

When they faced each other before, it was always with an aura of battle, on guard without a moment’s relaxation. But today, Feng Qingbai was acting in a way that was a great mistake.

“Get up, or I will kill you with one strike!”

“If you wanted to kill me, would you have given me a warning beforehand?” Feng Qingbai smiled lightly, then turned his gaze toward the distant grass and birds. “You’re in such a hurry to send me away. Is someone planning to harm me? Are you here to warn me?”

After staring at Feng Qingbai for a while, Xue Honglian leaped to leave.

“Xue Honglian, is the Dongyue Emperor’s mobilization related to you?”

“So what if it is?”

“No wonder he is so impatient and reckless. I thought you were usually a person of few words, yet you managed to convince him. It seems I underestimated you.” The man turned back to look at him, a faint smile at the corner of his lips.

Xue Honglian’s eyes darkened, “I didn’t expect that the usually aloof and reserved Nanling King would be so talkative.”

“You have someone behind you.”

Ding! 

The hidden weapon struck precisely by Feng Qingbai’s feet. “If you don’t want to die, get lost!”

The shadow disappeared in an instant.

Feng Qingbai’s smile faded as he stared in the direction the man vanished. His expression grew colder.

Xue Honglian did have someone behind him.

At present, the three major countries are stirring up the winds and clouds, trying to incite chaos. What exactly are their goals?

It was like stepping into a fog, unable to discern the direction.

“Wei Zi, investigate all the strategists around the Dongyue Emperor. Report back in three days!”

Daring to rebel right after the late Emperor’s passing and successfully taking the throne, the Dongyue Emperor was certainly not a fool. For him to be persuaded to mobilize troops against Nanling at this time wasn’t something Xue Honglian could do on his own.

It wasn’t that Xue Honglian lacked the ability, but if he were the mastermind behind everything, he wouldn’t have appeared to warn him to leave.

That’s what made Feng Qingbai suspicious. 

Xue Honglian was just a sharp blade, but at the other end of the blade, there was someone holding it.

That was the true mastermind behind the scenes.

As the fog clears and the layers are peeled back, there will always come a day when the truth is revealed.

By the end of August, Liu Yusheng received something sent from the border.

It was packed in a small box, brought over by Feng Mohan.

At the time, she was just about to have dinner.

The only person who would send her things from the border, other than Feng Qingbai, was no one else. Liu Yusheng couldn’t wait and immediately opened the box.

Inside was a scroll.

When unrolled, the scroll revealed a simple portrait of her. Beside the portrait, there were two lines of poetry.

— ‘For her, I have worn myself thin, when will you loosen your clothes?’

Quickly closing the scroll, Liu Yusheng’s fair face turned bright red. She glanced at the two people sitting next to her, her face turning even redder.

They were all sitting at the dining table. She had opened the painting without hiding it, and the words were probably seen by both Xiao Feng’er and the Empress Dowager.

Who would have thought that Feng Qingbai would tease her like this? It was totally unlike his usual serious self!

No, after marriage, he hardly ever acted seriously!

“Imperial Aunt, don’t hide it, I saw it all.” Feng Mohan shook his head, making a tsking sound, “I really didn’t expect it. Is that really my Imperial Uncle?”

“Xiao Feng’er!” Liu Yusheng was both angry and embarrassed. She grabbed her chopsticks and pretended to strike the boy on the head.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t! Aunt, be careful! Your belly is already showing, don’t get too excited, and avoid any big movements. Be careful with everything!” Feng Mohan raised his hand to stop her, his face changing color in fright. He didn’t dodge and instead repeatedly reassured her.

If she were to try to hit him and cause any harm, he couldn’t take the responsibility!

Liu Yusheng rolled her eyes and gently patted her slightly swollen belly. “I’m not that fragile. Do you think a light tap would make it disappear?”

Feng Mohan put his hands together and begged for mercy. Every time her hand touched her belly, his heart would skip a beat.

“Let’s eat,” the Empress Dowager spoke up, stopping the playful banter between the two.

Liu Yusheng had been living in the Yangxin Hall for a month. She saw this kind of scene every day, and after getting used to it, she was no longer surprised.

“I heard that your grandparents and parents are coming to the capital to visit you.” Occasionally, during meals, she would take the initiative to say a few words.

It had become a habit, something that she had gradually grown accustomed to.

She knew it wasn’t ideal, but she couldn’t stop herself.

“I didn’t ask them to come. Now that I live in the palace, with the Empress Dowager keeping an eye on me, what could possibly go wrong? I have good food and drink every day. In the past month, I’ve gained quite a bit of weight.” Liu Yusheng answered with a smile, casually adding a piece of her favorite dish to the old lady’s bowl.

She didn’t use a service chopstick.

The Empress Dowager frowned but didn’t say anything more. 

She just ate the food as though it were poison.

Liu Yusheng turned her head to the side and secretly laughed.

“You did that on purpose?” The old lady’s voice had lowered a couple of pitches.

“Of course not! I didn’t mean to. It’s just that when I was at home with my grandparents and parents, we were used to serving food for each other like that, and I forgot to change the habit. Please don’t blame me, Your Majesty.” Liu Yusheng turned her head back, widening her eyes with an innocent expression. “Although I didn’t use service chopsticks, I’m healthy and absolutely don’t have any contagious diseases.”

The Empress Dowager’s face darkened.