Chapter 723 - 518: The More the Merrier

On both sides of the road entering the village, there were many newly built shops.

Lights hung under the eaves, illuminating the liquor banners set up outside the stores, the wind blew, creating dancing shadows on a few familiar faces...

A cold shiver seemed to shoot up from the soles of her feet, and Feng Yun blended into the crowd.

Make way, the carriage.

The road had been expanded, flanked by two clear stone channels on either side of the spacious roadway, meandering long, flowing past the front of every shop, extending to every street and alley, and finally converging into Huaxi.

Behind the stone channels, about a zhang wide, were the shopfronts. Therefore, carriages driving through the middle weren’t an obstruction to the businesses at the sides, and people standing in front of the shops could also clearly observe the carriages...

Feng Yun steadied herself, motionless.

From within the carriage, a clear and distant voice suddenly emerged.

"Have we arrived?"

Feng Yun’s scalp tingled.

It was him!

Xiao San.

It was really Xiao San who had come.

Her palms began to sweat slightly, her breathing inexplicably became tighter.

Then a few guards laughed and responded.

"Master, we’ve arrived, we’ve arrived."

"We’re at the entrance to the village..."

Huaxi was no longer just a village.

But the majority of people were still accustomed to calling it a "village," and so did the people of Huaxi.

Most of the people who had come these past days were here to participate in the Changmen banquet, guests of the local lord, making them esteemed guests of Huaxi as well.

Consequently, some people chuckled and joined in the talk.

"Where does the noble guest hail from? Are you here for General Wen’s banquet?"

The noble guest inside the carriage did not speak.

On the carriage shaft, Jixiang bowed his hands towards the person who spoke and replied amiably:

"We are here for the banquet."

The man from Huaxi was very enthusiastic; seeing them continue forward, he said, "Guests attending the banquet mostly stay at the Huaxi Inn or Yue Donglai; which one is the noble guest staying at? May I lead you there?"

Huaxi has grown in size now.

Without someone to guide, it’s easy to take the wrong route.

Jixiang didn’t reply.

He exchanged a look with Ping’an and peered into the carriage.

They had not heard Xiao Cheng’s voice, but the curtains of the carriage behind were pulled apart.

Under the flickering light of the lanterns, a woman’s dignified face was illuminated.

"We’re not staying at an inn; we’re staying at General Wen’s recently completed residence."

The Wen residence was freshly built.

Currently, only Wen Xingsu lived there with his entourage.

Not to mention strangers, even the visiting members of the Jiangxia Wen Family, General Wen’s own uncle, and aunt from his paternal side, were accommodated at the Huaxi Inn and Yue Donglai...

Hearing this, the well-intentioned guide was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, a sharp, sarcastic laugh came from the crowd.

"Oh, isn’t this the noble lady who ran to Huaxi to seize the local lord’s property, and for violating village customs, was publicly chastised with fifty strokes by the lord himself, then driven out of Huaxi... Madam Wen?"

Not mentioning Lady Chen or Madam Feng, but specifically Madam Wen...

It was a clear insult, implying she shamelessly attended her former husband’s son’s wedding to flaunt her presence.

Lady Chen’s face changed color.

She remembered this voice...

The woman from the pancake stall, the contemptible servant known as "Lady Wan."

"You—"

The word seemed to be stuck in her throat.

Lady Chen wished she could tear Awan’s mouth, but considering the embarrassment from the last incident, and the many onlookers, she didn’t want to make a further spectacle of herself, so with a swish, she dropped the curtains.

Laughter erupted all around.

Huaxi had gained quite a few new faces.

But there were also many locals.

Prompted by Awan’s remark, those people remembered Lady Chen’s past ordeal.

The laughter had not yet subsided.

The uninformed couldn’t help but ask, while those in the know couldn’t wait to spread the word through the neighboring ten villages...

Awan searched the crowd for Feng Yun’s figure.

She had clearly seen the lady coming earlier...

Where did she go?

The carriage blocked her view.

Awan straightened her neck and then, from above, heard an excited shout.

"Awan!"

Awan started, and looking up, she saw Daman’s radiant smile.

"Daman?" Awan looked at her, somewhat incredulous.

Daman had changed too much.

During her time at Changmen, Feng Yun treated her without harshness, but where could the clothing, food, and complexion compete with the pampered life at Qi Palace, surrounded by adoration like a favored lady amongst the stars and the moon?

"Is it really you!?" Awan was also somewhat excited.

Daman looked at her with a beaming smile, her gaze wandering to the various shops around.

"Huaxi has changed so much from before, I can hardly recognize it. Awan, how is Lady doing, and how are all of you?"

Awan made a sound of acknowledgment, restrained her expression, and pointed down the road.

"Let’s talk about it later."

It was inconvenient to speak with so many people around; she was in a hurry to find Feng Yun and didn’t wish to chat with Daman in public.

Daman nodded with a smile, watching faces both familiar and unfamiliar flicker by like lantern slides, and slowly drew the curtain closed.

"Brother-in-law, I think I just saw my sister. Do you think she could be here to pick us up?"

"Impossible." Xiao Cheng’s voice was light and indifferent, lacking the excitement Daman had imagined, his tone calm, with an almost sorrowful heaviness.

"Don’t you want to see her?" Daman asked.

If he didn’t want to, he wouldn’t come.

But who can guess the Emperor’s mind?

Xiao Cheng did not reply.

Sitting alone quietly, the patchy lamplight from outside fell upon his handsome face, as usual, but now with a breathtaking coldness.

Whispering voices carrying laughter seeped into the carriage.

Lady Chen was so angry that her face was red and her ears were hot. The hands resting on her knees, ceaselessly tugging, she gritted her teeth, "Bitch, bitch!"

"Mother, please calm down." A hand gently rested on the back of hers, giving a gentle squeeze, "There’s no need to argue with a mere concubine."

Lady Chen’s gaze softened as she looked at her daughter.

"Aying..." She gripped her daughter’s hand, "It’s all because your mother is incapable, subjecting my daughter to such grievances."

Feng Ying shook her head.

Lady Chen looked at Feng Ying and lifted her hand to straighten her daughter’s veil.

"Don’t worry, now that we’ve come to Huaxi, we must cure your face at any cost. I’ve sent people to inquire, and Doctor Yao is a godly healer with miraculous skills, surpassing even the Imperial Physicians in the palace. Even the Young Emperor of Xijing was cured by him."

Feng Ying hummed in acknowledgment, "This time, mother must take a rest from her temper, and we can’t have another conflict with sister. It would make father uncomfortable, and the Emperor... unhappy."

Lady Chen chuckled coldly, "Are you still speaking for her? You care about sisterly affection, but has she ever showed you half the consideration? I suspect that this Golden Boudoir Guest is definitely different from what Shi’er Niang uses. Maybe it was her meddling..."

"Mother!" Feng Ying chided in displeasure, "Keep your voice down."

Walls have ears.

Lady Chen calmed down a bit.

"Hmph, this time, I must get to the bottom of this and not let her get off easily..."

Feng Ying frowned, "This is elder brother’s wedding celebration, mother..."

"I know, I know," Lady Chen, disliking her daughter’s meek appearance, snappily replied, irritated with her lack of fighting spirit, "I have my own discretion; you don’t need to worry about me. As for you, when did you become so weak like dough, allowing that bitch Daman to oppress you without a chance to turn over..."

Feng Ying lowered her eyes, offering her mother a gentle smile.

"Mother, there’s no need to be anxious."

-

Now it was Awan who was anxious.

She didn’t find Feng Yun and thought her eyes had deceived her.

She immediately gave a few instructions to the workers in the shop and hurried towards the manor.

Huaxi had become a little town that never sleeps.

At this hour, with food and entertainment aplenty, the crowds were bustling and lively.

Walking her way here, she hadn’t seen Feng Yun, and when she returned to the manor, nobody was there either.

"Where could Lady have gone?"

She was eager to tell Feng Yun about the Feng Family’s matters.

Upon hearing this, Alou laughed, "The Lord is getting married, and Lady sent out invitations to head to Bingzhou. With Lady Chen coming, Lady has already planned ahead; no need to panic..."

"But..." Awan hesitated, "Daman has also come."

Alou was taken aback for a moment.

Then smiled again, "So she’s here. After being away for so long, it’s about time for her to come back and visit Lady."

Awan: "Daman was accompanied by a young gentleman in the carriage, with guards calling him master. Who do you think it could be?"

Alou’s pupils dilated, his entire body tensed.

"Could it be... Qi Jun?"

Awan nodded.

-

Alou sent people to search for Feng Yun everywhere.

And at this very moment, Feng Yun was at the village entrance...

However, she and Awan were going in opposite directions, heading out of the village.

Xiao Cheng and the Feng Family staying at Wen Xingsu’s home was no big concern for her; after all, that house was built by swindling money from Feng Jingteng and Xiao Cheng.

If someone else spent the money, as long as her eldest brother didn’t expel them, she had no reason to say more.

But...

She felt suffocated.

Both because of Xiao Cheng’s arrival and because of Pei Jue’s absence.

If Pei Gou dared not to return this time, she truly could turn her back on him...

"Are you waiting for me?" A voice suddenly came from the other end of the road.

The lighting here was already dim without the lamps from the shops and businesses, so Feng Yun had not noticed the two people walking along leading their horses, as well as the guards following them.