Chapter 232 – Ambushed

Ambushed

Upon returning to the banquet hall with Xuan Fei Yu, she immediately saw that there was an extra young girl sitting with the princes. That girl sat next to the fifth prince, Xuan Tian Yan, and had lifted her cup to drink. Her large sleeve fell to her elbow, revealing a very white wrist. But that wrist was incapable of attracting Xuan Tian Yan’s gaze, as he continued to stare at the white crystal earring.

If that was not Feng Fen Dai, then who else could it be?

“Isn’t she drinking happily with his Highness the fifth prince, so how come you said that something happened to her?” Feng Yu Heng pinched Xuan Fei Yu’s cheeks, but her gaze turned towards Feng Chen Yu, her eyes becoming chilly.

Xuan Fei Yu responded seriously: “Because I once heard father Prince say that fifth uncle’s family is filled with beautiful concubines, but the girls from good families all shun him and do not dare interact with him. Just now, it was fifth uncle who went to invite the Feng family’s young miss to drink, so when I saw it, I quickly ran out to call you. Who knew…” Xuan Fei Yu looked towards the fifth prince and said in confusion: “Your younger sister seems pretty happy.”

Feng Yu Heng coldly snorted and pulled Xuan Fei Yu back to her seat, “Since she is happy, elder sister will not go ruin their fun.”

Xuan Fei Yu nodded, “That’s right, I see that your younger sister does not look like an easy one to deal with. Deity big sister should not go worry about it.”

The young child stayed with Feng Yu Heng to play for a little while longer before running off. Xiang Rong quickly leaned close and lowered her voice to say to Feng Yu Heng: “Nothing will happen to fourth sister, right? I’ve seen her drink many cups of wine.”

“What can possibly happen?” She looked at Fen Dai and saw that girl throw her head back and down another cup of wine. Without any need for the fifth prince to push her, she continued to drink: “Xiang Rong, remember this. The more someone wants to ascend to the position of Empress, the more harsh their fall will be.”

Her voice was raised slightly when she said this. The people further away could not hear it, but Chen Yu, who was next to Xiang Rong, heard it in its entirety.

This left her feeling that Feng Yu Heng’s words were directed at her, but she did not care. Fen Dai suffering a harsh fall did not mean that she would fall. Based on how the third prince had sent someone to pass along a message earlier telling her to hand the earrings off to Fen Dai, she could determine that the third prince was serious about her. She originally was not willing to part with the earrings, but she did not think that a pair of small earrings would actually cause the fifth prince to be so entranced. She could not help but secretly feel shocked.

If she did not give it to Fen Dai, and she continued to wear the full set of white crystal ornaments, would that fifth prince, who had been always absurdly and excessively lecherous, not have rush over?

Originally, she was unable to understand why the eldest prince paid attention to her for no reason. Now that she looked at it, it was not because of her beauty that caused him to take action. It was the opposite, and it was a trap.

Upon thinking of this, Chen Yu immediately picked up her cup and stood up. Walking in large strides, she went towards where the princes sat, only stopping when she reached Xuan Tian Ye.

Feng Yu Heng watched Chen Yu drink wine with Xuan Tian Ye, and Huang Quan spoke into her ear, saying: “Could it be that the his Highness the eldest prince’s trick with the crystal ornaments was seen through by his Highness the third prince?”

She smile but said: “Even if it was seen through, what can we do? Qing Shuang’s matter was merely something I made up, but do you think that his Highness the third prince, who has always been suspicious of others, would not keep it in the back of his mind?”

Huang Quan’s mind went to work, and she became a little joyful, “Young miss means to say that as long as there is a disturbance in his Highness the third prince’s heart, we will not need to worry about him coming back to settle matters later?”

“That’s right.”

Feng Yu Heng curved up the corners of her lips and looked towards Xuan Tian Ye. What could he do if he had seen through the crystal ornaments? So what if he did not allow Chen Yu to fall into the fifth prince’s grasp? Xuan Tian Ye, you may believe that you have reached a draw with me, but what you do not know is that even when I lose, I will leave an unseen mark. According to me, you are truly a little lacking in this game of chess.

When the birthday banquet came to an end, the snowfall outside had become a little heavier. The carriages for each family were waiting outside the gates. As madams and young misses got in one, it would immediately leave, and another carriage from behind would move up a bit. Feng Yu Heng watched this and felt it was a little like waiting for a bus in the 21st century.

She stood in there in the snow, expression slightly vacant. In that instant, she began to feel a little dizzy, as she was unable to recognize what time she was in. Was in Da Shun or was she in front of the military’s dormitory.

“Second sister.” Xiang Rong’s voice forcefully dragged Feng Yu Heng’s consciousness back, “Fourth sister drank a little too much. I will go sit in a carriage with her to prevent anything from happening to her.”

Feng Yu Heng nodded, “Good.” She then said to Huang Quan: “Go with the third young miss; otherwise, if Feng Fen Dai causes a ruckus, those girls will not be able to hold her down.”

Huang Quan was a little worried about her, “Then what about young miss?”

“Don’t worry. I still have Ban Zou.” When she finished talking, she walked towards her own carriage.

There, she heard a young miss with a loose mouth say: “After losing something as precious as the phoenix hairpin, she still has the nerve to come out and show off. She truly is too shameless.”

“Take a look. The carriage she is sitting in is just a normal carriage. Why is she not sitting in the carriage awarded by the imperial palace?”

“It was most likely taken back by his Majesty, right?”

“That’s right! Having failed to heal his Highness the ninth prince’s legs, thinking about it, her title as future Princess Yu will soon be lost as well.”

Feng Yu Heng suddenly stopped walked and turned around, looking back at the gossiping girls in ridicule, “Since you are so willing to protest about the wrongs that Prince Yu has suffered, your feelings for his Highness Prince Yu must be quite deep. How about I report to father Emperor and have him cancel my engagement to his Highness Prince Yu then sanction a marriage for the young misses. How about it? Oh right, his Highness can only have one official princess, so you will need to think about it a little. Who among you will be the official princess, who will be the secondary princess, and the rest can only be concubines.”

Her words caused the faces of the young misses to turn bright red. Deciding to take a couple steps back, she continued: “Or perhaps after I marry into the palace, if these young misses still do not have anyone wanting to marry them, I can ask his Highness to accept you into the palace, but you will only be able to suffer as concubines. But…” She looked around and suddenly flashed a bewitching smile, “But his Highness once said that he only wishes to marry A-Heng alone. As for any others, he does not even want to have another girl to share a room with.”

Her words thoroughly enraged one of the girls, who could not help but raise her voice: “You could not even treat his Highness Prince Yu’s legs. Even if we can not share a room with him, what are you so happy about? In a few years time when you do not have a single child, do not come crying to us!

“Don’t worry.” Feng Yu Heng’s eyes revealed a frigid look, “You won’t be able to wait for me to cry because I have never seen a person who insulted a prince in front of others continue to live. Young miss, you’d best beg for your good fortune.” After saying this, she turned around and left.

The young miss from who knew which family immediately blanched after hearing what Feng Yu Heng said. Looking towards the other young misses who had been standing with her, she saw that they had dispersed, as though she were some sort of beast. They did their best to avoid her.

Feng Yu Heng entered her carriage on her own, and the driver immediately set the horse in motion, pulling the carriage through the snow.

Following her departure, the Feng family’s three other carriages also left. Those young misses did not dare say another word, as they began to ponder what would come of the girl who had been unable to hold her mouth.

Huang Quan and Xiang Rong had both gotten in Fen Dai’s carriage. Even though Feng Yu Heng was quite a distance from them, she could still hear Fen Dai’s constant shouting behind her. Sometimes, it would be about his Highness the fifth prince. Sometimes, it would be about his Highness the ninth prince, and there was even a time she began singing.

She had never felt any favor towards those who were drunk, and she did not have anyone at her side to speak with. With nothing to do, she simply closed her eyes to rest.

On snowy days, the roads were difficult to travel. Even if the carriage went as fast as possible, it would not be as fast as usual. Feng Yu Heng felt that this trip back to the city was too slow and long. She was almost about to fall asleep and could not help but ask the driver: “How have we still not arrived?”

The driver helplessly replied: “Responding to second young miss, it’s snowing too heavily. Some of the smaller streets can not be used, so we are currently taking the long way.”

She no longer asked any further, after all, Ban Zou was following from some hidden place. The driver was also one of the county princess’ manor’s people. Absolutely nothing could happen in this situation.

But…

She straightened up her back to sit up straight. Her right eyelid was twitching the entire time. The old saying goes, when the left eye twitched, it meant fortunes ahead. When the right eye twitched, disaster loomed. Although she did not truly believe these words, the feeling of a bad premonition in her heart forced her to be a little more attentive.

Feng Yu Heng’s instincts had always been very accurate. Just as she had begun to think of this, she suddenly heard Ban Zou’s voice come from outside, saying: “Master, be careful!”

She subconsciously leaned to the side, and an arrow suddenly flew past her right ear from behind. The arrow passed straight through the curtain and plunged into flesh. The driver outside did not even have a chance to shout before falling to the ground.

With the driver dying, the horses immediately lost their direction. While whinnying loudly, they began to run wildly.

Feng Yu Heng ducked down in the carriage and strained her ears to listen for the movements outside.

All she heard were the sounds of Ban Zou fighting with someone. Very quickly, it fell silent once again. Then a gust of wind rushed over and sat at the front of the carriage.

She did not hide, as her frequent contact allowed her to recognize Ban Zou’s figure and the sounds of his movements. Sure enough, the horses that had been galloping wildly without direction once again calm down upon being directed once more.

“Is master all right?” Ban Zou drove the carriage while asking her. He sounded a little out of breath, revealing that the person outside had not been easy to deal with.

“I’m fine.” She sat up straight and lifted the curtain. Seeing that Ban Zou did not seem injured, she finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Here.” Ban Zou turned around and handed something to her, “I removed this on the driver’s body. I don’t think it looks like something that belongs to Da Shun.”

Feng Yu Heng received the arrow and let down the curtain. Holding it in her hands and looking at it for a while, she was unable to reach any conclusion. She could not even see if it was something that was made in Da Shun.

Just as she wanted to discuss it with Ban Zou, she suddenly thought of something and practically moved without thinking. Placing her right hand on her left wrist, she rushed into her space.

Just as she entered her space, she shouted out: “Ban Zou! Stop the carriage!”

Ban Zou subconsciously bent down, and at that same moment, another pair of arrows flew past his head, scraping by his scalp.

Both arrows had flown through the carriage from behind. The force behind them treated the sturdy wood of the carriage like paper, as it was completely incapable of reducing their speed.

Ban Zou was angry. He wanted to go find the people and fight them, but he also worried about Feng Yu Heng. For a while, he was very troubled.

As for the person who had entered the space popped back out. Upon coming out, the first thing she asked was: “Are you injured?”

Ban Zou immediately said: “No, you?”

“I am fine.” Feng Yu Heng’s panic rose and fell in quick succession. Her right hand remained on her left wrist, not daring to remove it, as she feared that she would not have time to dodge the next time an attack came.

“Such precise archery.” Although she was nervous, she could do nothing but speak words of praise, “Such archery…” Her mind suddenly shifted and remembered what Xuan Tian Ming had once told her about the divine archers from Qian Zhou country, “Ban Zou!” She lifted the curtain and hurriedly gave an order: “Don’t go back to Tong Sheng pavilion! We are going to the Yu Palace!”