Feng Qian's eyes welled up with tears. Seeing her elder sister so heartbroken, Feng Zihe finally made up his mind: "Alright, I'll take you out. Let's be careful."
"Thank you, Seventh Brother."
The two women made their decision. Feng Qian instructed the two maids, Lian Yi and Xiao Ke, and then the two of them slipped out from behind the palace. When Feng Zihe came in earlier, he found that the defenses behind the palace were a bit weak, so as long as they carefully went around it, they should be fine. After all, they had lived in the palace for many years, and the guards might not be as familiar with the inner palace as they were, so it was not impossible for them to escape.
In the darkness, two figures carefully avoided the lights under the palace eaves, darting quickly through the dark, hidden corners and heading straight for the palace wall.
Along the way, although there were many patrolling guards, no one noticed them, and Feng Qian breathed a sigh of relief.
Before she could even catch her breath, she saw countless torches suddenly blaze around the previously dark palace walls, illuminating a secluded corner of the inner palace as bright as day. Feng Zihe and Feng Qian were shocked. Looking up, they saw countless archers drawing their bows and nocking arrows under the bright torches, waiting for a command to unleash a volley of arrows that would pierce the hearts of Feng Zihe and Feng Qian. The two looked extremely pale and took a few steps back, huddling together.
Feng Zihe said in a deep voice, "It seems that my royal brother was prepared. He knew that I would come to rescue you, so he set up an ambush. Moreover, these people do not look like palace guards. They are likely people trained by my royal brother. They only obey his orders and do not care about the status of us princes and princesses."
After Feng Zihe finished speaking, Feng Qian's dark eyes were filled with anger as she roared at the sky.
"Feng Zixiao, come out here! Come out here for me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a figure appeared in the distance, dressed in a magnificent brocade robe with a brocade ribbon and black hair, exuding an extraordinary and sinister charm. However, his face was as cold as ice, and he spoke in a sinister tone: "Feng Zihe, Feng Qian, you betrayed me once. Did you think I was still not on guard?"
Feng Qian was speechless at her brother's behavior. She no longer felt any brotherly affection for him, so her face darkened: "What exactly do you want?"
"I have already said that in three days it will be the day you marry General Yun's son, Yun Feng. You are dreaming if you think you can escape. Now you have two paths at your feet: one, you can immediately retreat back to the palace and wait for your marriage in peace; two, I will give the order and you will be riddled with arrows."
Feng Zixiao's words were cold and chilling. Feng Zihe and Feng Qian seemed to have no doubt that he would not hesitate to order his archers to fire a volley of arrows and kill them on the spot.
Although Feng Qian did not want to marry, she looked at her seventh brother beside her. She could not harm him. She didn't care about her own death, but she could not implicate her seventh brother. So she said in a deep voice, "Fine, release my seventh brother. I will go back to the palace."
Feng Zixiao's eyes were icy cold. He waved his hand and ordered his subordinate Lei Hongjun: "Immediately send the Seventh Prince back to the Jing Prince's Mansion. You all stay outside the Jing Prince's Mansion and guard it, and do not let anyone disturb the Seventh Prince."
"yes."
Dozens of figures from Lei Hongjun sheathed their black iron bows and arrows, their cloaks billowing like water. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen of them landed in front of Feng Zihe, their faces expressionless. They respectfully gestured for him to enter: "Prince Jing, please."
The Seventh Prince, Feng Zihe, knew perfectly well that he had been placed under house arrest by his elder brother, but he didn't say anything and turned to leave. Now his elder brother was starting to be wary of him, probably because he was afraid that he would affect his throne. It was laughable that he had never thought of this before. Helping Ling'er was just a pretext. His real purpose was to prevent him from affecting his throne and to be considerate of him.
Prince Jing was taken away. Feng Qian was preparing to return to the palace when she suddenly heard crying coming from afar. Soon she saw several Lei Hongjun dragging two palace maids over. Their movements were rough and cold, showing no tenderness or pity for the women. As soon as the two palace maids were brought over, they were pushed to the ground.
Upon closer inspection, Feng Qian realized that the two maids who had served her since childhood were Lian Yi and Xiao Ke.
Why are you arresting them?
Feng Qian spoke in fear, staring intently at Feng Zixiao, wondering what he was planning to do.
In the darkness, Feng Zixiao, with a bewitching smile on his lips but bloodlust in his eyes, gently stroked his slender fingers and spoke slowly and deliberately: "If you successfully marry into the Yun family in three days, these two palace maids will be fine. If you do not enter the Yun family, I will immediately send them to the military camp to become military prostitutes."
Upon hearing this, Lianyi and Xiao Ke's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately burst into tears: "No, no, Your Majesty!"
Feng Qian couldn't bear this blow. Her brother was so cruel, or perhaps he knew her weaknesses too well. It seemed that returning to the Great Zhou Dynasty would be a disaster for her. At this moment, she was utterly despondent and coldly said, "Don't make things difficult for them. I will marry them."
"Princess, Princess."
Lianyi and Xiao Ke were terrified of being sent to the military camp and of the princess marrying such a man. Their cries were heart-wrenching, but the people on the high walls showed no sympathy for them. Instead, they were annoyed and ordered Lei Hongjun, who was standing beside him, "Take them away and ask the princess to return to the palace."
"yes."
Feng Zixiao vanished in a flash. Lei Hongjun's leader immediately ordered his men to take the two palace maids away and keep them under guard. Then, he personally and respectfully invited the princess back to the palace to await her marriage.
As the night passed and dawn broke, Feng Qian, inside her palace, knew that the situation left her with no choice. Lian Yi and Xiao Ke had been captured, and now she could only wait to get married. Having accepted her fate, she stopped thinking about anything and slept soundly until daybreak. When she woke up, she felt another pang of pain in her heart.
Outside the door, a palace maid entered and respectfully asked, "Princess, would you like to wash up?"
Feng Qian waved her hand. Right now, she didn't want anything, she just wanted peace and quiet; her mind was a mess.
However, the palace maid in front of the door did not retreat, but remained there until Feng Qian looked up impatiently and saw the palace maid enter the palace. Although her face was ordinary, her eyes were familiar to her. Upon seeing her, Feng Qian's lips moved slightly: "Sese, is that you?"
The palace maid who entered was none other than Se Se, a subordinate of Helian Qianxun. Se Se had disguised herself and looked like an ordinary maid, so she did not attract attention. She walked up to Feng Qian and bowed, saying, "Princess, rest assured, I have come to protect you on my master's orders."
Upon seeing Sese, Feng Qian forgot her worries. Sese had come, so what about Helian Qianxun? Had he come too? With this thought, hope welled up in her eyes.
"Where's Helian Qianxun? He's here too."
"Yes, Princess, the master said that you should rest assured and wait for your marriage, and that he will take care of everything."
Sese didn't say what Helian Qianxun planned to do, but Feng Qian inexplicably believed him. Since he had appeared and sent Sese into the palace, he couldn't just turn a blind eye and watch her get married. Thinking this, she couldn't help but smile happily. Sese sighed, "Why do I sometimes feel that the princess is like a child?"
"Princess, please rise. Let me help you wash up."
"Alright," Feng Qian said happily, her previous worries and anxieties vanished, and she felt at peace. After washing up, she had breakfast and went to her mother's palace to pay her respects. She chatted with her mother for a while, and the Empress Dowager, seeing that her daughter was in good spirits, assumed that she had agreed and smiled broadly. For some reason, seeing her mother's expression, Feng Qian felt a pang of pain in her heart. Did her mother really have the heart to watch her jump into the fire? But it was clear that for the sake of her son's empire, she was prepared to do so.
But no matter how heartbroken they were, the days passed quickly. Two days later, the princess's wedding took place, and the entire capital was bustling with activity. Early in the morning, the streets were packed with people, creating a lively atmosphere. The bridal sedan chair from the Yun family set off early to carry the bride to the palace. Yun Feng, full of vigor, sat high on his horse, dressed in a bright red groom's suit, and even exuded a handsome air as he swaggered into the palace.
In the palace, the Empress Dowager personally dressed Feng Qian in her wedding gown and placed a phoenix crown on her head. She felt a pang of sadness in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she said nothing in the end. Feng Qian, on the other hand, spoke softly: "Mother, please take care of yourself from now on. I will not be able to take care of you anymore."
Today is the wedding day, and Helian Qianxun will definitely try to steal the bride. The reason he chose this day is to comfort her soul. She is also a daughter who was married off from the palace, but so what?
As soon as Feng Qian finished speaking, the Empress Dowager laughed: "Silly girl, you live very close to the palace. If you suffer any grievances in the Yun family in the future, come to the palace to find your mother. Your mother will not let the Yun family bully you."
"Thank you, Mother."
Feng Qian stopped speaking. Lian Yi and Xiao Ke, who were outside the hall, came in. Seeing that they were alright, Feng Qian breathed a sigh of relief. This was the agreement that allowed her to get into the bridal sedan chair. If her brother hadn't released Lian Yi and Xiao Ke, she wouldn't have gotten into the sedan chair. She didn't know if her brother was too confident or thought that she couldn't escape his grasp, so he agreed.
Outside the main hall, the voices of eunuchs could be heard: "The auspicious time has arrived. Princess, please board the bridal sedan chair. Princess, please board the bridal sedan chair."
General Yun's son, Yun Feng, walked in from outside the hall, beaming with pride. The Empress Dowager draped a wedding veil over Feng Qian's head, then took her daughter's hand and placed it in Yun Feng's. She spoke gently yet authoritatively: "Yun Feng, you must treat the princess well. If she is unhappy, I will not let it go."
Feng Qian, beneath the red veil, had a slight smile on her lips and a cold expression on her face. Her mother was truly hypocritical.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty."