Feng Xiwu lowered his head and rubbed Lu Qingwan’s cheek with his chin, saying gently, “Don’t worry. Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its owner. I’m not so foolish as to take my anger out on my own people.”
Lu Qingwan had temporarily closed her eyes, unable to see Feng Xiwu’s expression, but she could gauge his emotional fluctuations by his breathing. She knew well that while Feng Xiwu’s reason remained intact, his emotions were truly unstable.
She clutched Feng Xiwu’s sleeve, afraid to let go, lest he lose control and erupt at the Crown Prince’s mansion. Fortunately, Feng Xiwu’s endurance exceeded her expectations.
“Finally, you’ve arrived. You have kept this consort waiting for so long…”
The gentle female voice stopped abruptly mid-sentence. “What’s wrong? Why is he carried in? Were you injured by that madwoman, Yan Ruolan?”
The woman, who had been gentle and virtuous moments before, suddenly became agitated upon seeing that Lu Qingwan might be hurt. “Bai Li, quickly summon the mansion physician!”
After ordering someone to call for the physician, she turned to Feng Xiwu and said, “Feng Wu, what’s going on? How could someone get injured right in your own mansion? Are you, the God of War, just a title?”
Before Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu could explain, she launched into a tirade against Feng Xiwu. In essence, Lu Qingwan’s injury at the Qin King’s mansion was proof of Feng Xiwu’s failure to protect her, a sign of his incompetence. The gentle voice paired with her forthright words was not jarring but conveyed a sense of freedom rarely seen in ordinary wives.
Lu Qingwan was placed on the ground by Feng Xiwu, and she chuckled softly, “This must be the Imperial Sister-in-law. Seeing you in person is far better than hearing about you!” As she spoke, she curtsied towards the direction of the voice. “Qingwan pays her respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.”
The woman blinked, surprised to see her legs unharmed, then quickly recovered. “We are all family, so there’s no need for such formalities. Come, let me see. What kind of celestial being could tame our Qin King?” She then reached out to hold Lu Qingwan’s hand affectionately.
Such interactions between women were not unusual. However, since Lu Qingwan’s vision was impaired and the Crown Princess was unaware, Feng Xiwu, fearing she might bump into something, gave the Crown Prince a meaningful glance. Though the latter didn’t understand the reason, he cooperated by placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder and gently guiding her away. “Alright, sister-in-law, this is your first visit. You’ll scare her if you act like this. Let’s go inside and talk.”
The Crown Princess shot her husband a look and chided, “I just wanted to get acquainted with sister-in-law. How could I scare her?” Lu Qingwan also pursed her lips and said, “Imperial Sister-in-law speaks wisely. We are sisters-in-law, and from now on, we will be like real sisters. How could I be scared by you?”
While the Crown Princess playfully winked at her husband, Feng Xiwu abruptly interjected, “Imperial Brother, I still have some matters regarding the Qian Dynasty that I haven’t fully explained. Shall we go to the study to discuss them?” He then looked at Lu Qingwan and the Crown Princess. “If you are reluctant to part from Imperial Sister-in-law, you can let her play chess with A’wan on the side. We’ll have our talk, and they’ll have their game, with no one delaying the other.”
Though his words were casual, the Crown Prince’s expression flickered. He feigned annoyance at Feng Xiwu’s teasing and grunted, “No need for them to play chess. You first come to the study and have a game of Go with me. If you win, then we’ll discuss the Qian Dynasty matters.” With that, the brothers each led their wives towards the study.
The Crown Princess still wanted to ask when the Crown Prince’s study became a place for women to play chess, but upon meeting her husband’s gaze, she wisely fell silent. She then made light conversation with Lu Qingwan.
“They say the climate in the south nourishes people. Sister-in-law, your skin is truly beautiful. Look at your face, it’s as tender as a peeled egg…”
*Creak.* As the door closed, the Crown Princess’s words ceased.
Feng Xiwu took Lu Qingwan’s hand and said cautiously, “Be careful of your footing. Yes, sit here…” Even with Feng Xiwu’s careful guidance, Lu Qingwan still bumped her armrest before settling securely.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess were both startled. “What’s wrong with sister-in-law? Is her eye injured?”
“It’s not her eyes that are injured, but rather there are too many things in this mansion that she cannot bear to see.” Feng Xiwu spoke, ignoring the Crown Prince and Princess’s expressions, and asked Lu Qingwan gently, “A’wan, we are in Imperial Brother’s study now. There is not a trace of red in this room. Can you open your eyes now?”
Lu Qingwan shook her head. “The acupuncture is used to block my vision. It causes too much damage to the nerves around my eyes. Frequent application will permanently damage my sight. Let’s just say what we need to say here. When I return to the mansion, I’ll have Shen Ci give me acupuncture to restore my vision.”
As the two exchanged words, the Crown Prince understood everything. “Sister-in-law cannot see red?”
Feng Xiwu glared at him fiercely. “It’s all your fault! You said that you faked a corpse for me to pretend to be dead, and that was enough. If you didn’t want people to discover my feigned death, you only needed to destroy the face of the corpse so it couldn’t be identified. Why did you cover it with so much blood? Now, whenever she sees red, she starts to convulse and gag. When she sees blood, she freezes completely. Do you know that our opponents are already using this against her?”
Feng Xiwu spoke too quickly. Lu Qingwan tugged at his sleeve, trying to stop him, but he firmly grasped her hand back. “Feng Xiwu, no, Si Feng Wu, have you forgotten what you promised me?” Lu Qingwan subtly pinched Feng Xiwu’s palm. “You want to tell Imperial Brother and Imperial Sister-in-law everything, and I won’t stop you. But don’t take your anger out on them. This is not their fault. Imperial Brother even saved your life. Don’t do something that gladdens your enemies and distresses your loved ones!”
Feng Xiwu stubbornly kept his face grim and refused to speak. He knew, of course, that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were innocent. But the thought that Lu Qingwan’s psychological trauma was his fault made him intensely hate everyone who had orchestrated his feigned death.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess, having survived under the Emperor’s nose for so long, proved their mettle. They managed to extract the key information from the seemingly nonsensical exchange between Lu Qingwan and Feng Xiwu. “So, sister-in-law cannot see the celebratory colors throughout the mansion?”
After the Crown Princess finished speaking, stunned, the Crown Prince suddenly realized, “No wonder, no wonder Si Lan said that Madam Zhu repeatedly reminded Yan Ruolan that if she wanted to see you, she must wear red. And she went to great lengths to remind Ruo Zhao to adorn the Crown Princess festively to welcome you into the mansion. Ordinary weddings are festive, and weddings in the Qian Dynasty also involve wearing red. Bei and Ruo Zhao wanted sister-in-law to feel at home here, so we agreed to her suggestion. Who would have thought we would be so easily deceived by such a foolish woman.”
Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess immediately declared, “I will have someone remove all these red silks and auspicious characters, and then find vines to wrap around the red pillars.” Although she sounded gentle, her actions were swift and decisive, making it impossible to stop her. It was Lu Qingwan who finally managed to restrain her. “Imperial Sister-in-law, please don’t make such arrangements, or the suffering I’ve endured today by coming to your mansion will be in vain.”