Chapter 146 - 109: Intimate Friends in the Boudoir_2

"Is this Hengyang? You’ve grown so much."

Having said that, she stuffed a packet of jujube paste cakes she had prepared earlier.

"Good child, call me Auntie Yun... There are snacks in the carriage, you and your mother should get in and have a chat."

Kong Yun’e didn’t say much and turned to glance at Weng Li.

Feng Yun read the room and smiled, "We owe a great debt to Sir Weng for his assistance this time, otherwise who knows when we sisters would have been able to meet again..."

Weng Li looked at the two of them and laughed heartily as he courteously bowed his hands in return.

"No worries, no worries, it was just on my way. No need for thanks, my lady. If there’s anything you need in the future, just ask."

"I will come and trouble you again, Sir Weng," Feng Yun said with a smile.

The two exchanged bows beside the ox cart and bid each other farewell.

Feng Yun led Kong Yun’e onto the ox cart, and with her entourage, they set off with great momentum.

When they had gotten far from Shiguan Dock, she finally allowed her smile to fade.

"Has everything gone smoothly on your journey here?"

Kong Yun’e bowed her head slightly and nodded, her face showing an unspeakable awkwardness.

"Ayun, I never thought that after so many years, you and I, sisters, could still meet..."

Feng Yun chuckled softly, "Indeed, back then I treated you as a sister, but you sided with Feng Ying and schemed against me in the shadows. I thought you might gain some advantages, not expecting you to end up in such straits..."

A forced, bitter smile appeared on Kong Yun’e’s face as she hugged her emaciated son tightly.

"Why have you brought me to Andu?"

Feng Yun slightly furrowed her brow, looking at the three-year-old child embraced in her arms.

She uttered two words with an indifferent tone.

"To help you."

"Why help?" Kong Yun’e asked. "I have harmed you. Have you forgotten?"

"I am kind." Feng Yun said gently, looking at her, "Didn’t Sir Weng tell you about my situation?"

"He did mention some. Ayun, you’ve also had a hard life."

Hearing her words ring with sorrow, Feng Yun couldn’t help but laugh.

"Which unfortunate person looks like me? With food, clothes, fields, estates, a loving husband, and servants at my beck and call?"

Her words carried a hint of faint sarcasm, which brought a reddening to Kong Yun’e’s eyes, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

"If you, Ayun, are truly living well, I can rest at ease..."

Then thinking of her own desolation, she gave a wry smile, "My family was massacred by thieves, and my own family regards me as a curse. These years haven’t been easy for us, mother and child alone..."

Feng Yun glanced at the child in her arms.

The little child, seemingly sensing the adults’ emotions, clung nervously, bewildered and afraid, to his mother.

She said, "Once you arrive at Andu, you can rest assured and follow me."

Kong Yun’e looked at her face, familiar yet strange, "They say, Ayun, you are now with, with..."

When they spoke in private about Pei Jue, the words were quite unpleasant, so she didn’t know how to address Pei Jue in front of Feng Yun.

Feng Yun smiled knowingly, "Yes, I am now with that bloodthirsty, heartless Pei, the ’King of Hell’."

Kong Yun’e’s pupils shrank, almost unable to meet her gaze.

"Ayun, do you still blame me?"

"Blame you for what?"

"You were originally Xiao... the emperor’s wife by marriage, had it not been for me listening to Feng Ying’s words and causing misunderstandings between you, perhaps the person enjoying glory and wealth in Tai City would be you now..."

Feng Yun burst into laughter.

"There were never any misunderstandings. Besides, I am truly living in glory and wealth now, thanks to your help."

Kong Yun’e couldn’t tell if her words were sincere or ironic.

Because Ayun herself had once told her how much she loved Xiao San, committing herself for life.

What a pity, that dazzling gentleman was loved not only by Feng Yun, but also by Feng Ying, and countless ladies in Jin’s capital flocked to Xiao San like ducks, with incidents of showering him with gifts happening more than once...

Back then when they were young, she couldn’t understand why people would ostracize and hate Feng Yun for no reason—Feng Yun, who was so pretty and gentle, who smiled at everyone, almost bending over backward to socialize, yet never endeared herself to others...

Only as she grew older did she gradually understand...

It wasn’t Feng Yun they disliked but Feng Yun, Xiao San’s fiancée.

That status brought Feng Yun nothing but continuous nightmares, never any benefits...

Don’t talk about her keeping a low profile; even if she were on her knees, nobody would like her.

In Tai City, within that circle dominated by noble ladies, the mere mention of the name Feng Yun would draw countless malice and envy, let alone with Feng Ying’s instigation and malicious acts...

Feng Yun and Kong Yun’e were serious about considering each other the best of sisters.

Kong Yun’e did not have a mother either, suffering endless torment from her stepmother at home. The two girls, both pitiful in their own ways, had endless conversations since childhood on the banks of Zhuque Bridge, in Yueya Alley, and even swore in front of the Buddha, "to share both troubles and joys."

In her youth, Feng Yun told Kong Yun’e everything, without hiding anything...

A surge of memories flashed before her, and Kong Yun’e bit her lower lip, "Ayun, back then... I really had no choice."

She hugged her son, who was still oblivious, and murmured, "I’ve also learned my lesson, and all this... is probably heaven’s way of punishing me."

Feng Yun smiled faintly.

"It was not easy for you to be my friend back then. As for what happened later, I have forgiven you..."

Kong Yun’e looked at her, seemingly unable to believe it.

Feng Yun did not say much else, giving Kong Yun’e’s son a piece of fruit.

"Yun’e, I only understood later on. Bowing one’s head and trying to ingratiate oneself with others is futile... The truth must be proven with one’s strength."

Kong Yun’e, staring at her, was at a loss for words and could only nod in silence.

Feng Yun asked with a smile, "When Weng Li came to you with my letter, asking you to leave with him, you just left?"

Kong Yun’e hesitated for a moment, then, looking into Feng Yun’s eyes that seemed to already know the truth, she lowered her gaze.

"They sent me; I had no other choice."

It went without saying who "they" were.

The one Weng Li obeyed was Xiao Cheng.

A mother and orphan with nowhere to turn, even if there were hesitations, had no chance to resist.

Kong Yun’e added, "I guess, His Majesty still thinks of you."

Thinks of her, as to why she’s not dead yet?

Feng Yun couldn’t help but laugh, "Then I should thank him."

Kong Yun’e looked at Feng Yun’s face, feeling that her original features were becoming increasingly blurred.

It was still Feng Yun, Feng Shi Er Niang as bright as ever, yet she seemed somewhat different.

She couldn’t tell what Feng Yun was thinking.

"Why did Ayun ask me to come to Andu, exactly?"

Feng Yun chuckled, "Did they ask you to inquire?"

Kong Yun’e shook her head, "They only said you were going through a hard time and asked me to keep you company; they didn’t explain anything else."

This was somewhat unexpected for Feng Yun.

She reached out to touch Kong Yun’e’s child in her arms, placing her hand on his head affectionately, "Don’t you want to find Hengyang’s real father?"

Kong Yun’e’s face turned deathly pale.

"Ayun..."

This was her deepest, most painful secret.

No one in this world knew that Hengyang was not the legitimate blood of her deceased husband.

Why did Ayun, who came to Andu earlier, know everything so clearly?

Kong Yun’e’s fear was apparent.

Feng Yun smiled slightly, her expression carrying a trace of eeriness.

"Don’t be afraid, I won’t tell anyone."

Kong Yun’e’s voice trembled, "Ayun, could it be that you truly have the gift of foresight?"

Kong Yun’e knew everything about Feng Yun from childhood. Feng Yun was very lively as a child and would often make startling statements, saying strange things unknown to others.

Her greatest feat was predicting a military campaign that ended in complete annihilation. After that, the young ladies of the prominent families in Tai City, one by one, jabbed at her backbone, cursing her as a monster, a harbinger of disaster. Even the adults would avoid her, as if she was the instigator of that war, as if she were responsible for the soldiers dying in the field.

Of course, Kong Yun’e’s circumstances occurred later, after Feng Yun returned to the capital from Jin Country, and at that time, she would not have known...

Having returned from the dead, naturally, she became prescient.

"You can think so, if you want."

Feng Yun neither admitted nor denied it.

Having Kong Yun’e be wary of her was not such a bad thing.