“Sister?” The shadows across Li Wei Sheng’s face flickered with the candlelight, highlighting his furrowed brows and deep black eyes.

“Yes,” replied Su Jing Fei in a calm tone. Her eyes were focused on Li Wei Sheng, gauging the latter’s reaction. “My full-blood sister. Not like Su Mei Rong.” She took a breath before continuing to speak, contemplating her words carefully. “The Feng family took my family from me. It was only natural that I take her back.”

Li Wei Sheng was quiet as he processed Su Jing Fei’s words. He seemed thoughtful but not surprised. “The Feng family have done many terrible things with their power,” Li Wei Sheng spoke in a low voice. “However, they’ve survived this long. It is best not to underestimate them.” After investigating the officials of Fuo Lan for awhile, he knew just how deep the corruption ran in this city.

“This one thanks the imperial prince for his concern, but to protect one’s own family, the imperial prince must be aware of the sacrifices to be made.” Su Jing Fei replied coldly. Although her conviction to enact revenge on the Feng family wavered, she never doubted her responsibility to protect her sister, even at the cost of another person’s life.

Li Wei Sheng stared into Su Jing Fei’s black eyes as the two individuals felt at an impasse in their conversation. They both knew the others’ motivations now, and they both were well aware that the enemy of one’s enemy could be today’s ally. Even if they couldn’t exactly trust one another just yet. “I’ll be taking my leave then,” spoke Li Wei Sheng, and Su Jing Fei merely watched as the man left as quietly as he had come. He was definitely a dangerous man; he could kill her anytime he wanted to. She was well aware of this fact. But for now, their motivations aligned against the Feng family, and their careful relationship would have to be mutually maintained towards a common goal. Su Jing Fei just wasn’t sure exactly how she could be a benefit to Li Wei Sheng alive, but it must surely have something to do with bringing out the Feng family’s crimes to light.

It was a few more days of peace for Su Jing Fei and Da Chun before Feng Eu Mei’s wedding took place. Yize and Si Qiang would accompany Su Jing Fei like last time. Da Chun was quite worried for her sister who seemed to always be walking straight into danger at every moment. “Please promise me you’ll be careful,” spoke Da Chun in a quiet voice as she helped her sister get ready for the wedding. “Do you have to go?”

“Yes, I have to,” replied Su Jing Fei with a small smile. “If the Feng family thinks they can scare us into submission, then there’ll be no peaceful days for us.” She took the young girl’s hands gently into her own. “How about we go somewhere after this? Would you like to take a trip somewhere?”

Da Chun’s eyes sparkled just a bit at the idea of travelling since the young girl had never left Fuo Lan her entire life. She nodded excitedly, smiling widely at Su Jing Fei who laughed at the young girl’s enthusiasm. “It’s a promise then! I’ll take you on a trip somewhere after I come back.” Su Jing Fei promised with a smile.

Su Jing Fei finished getting ready for the wedding, wearing simple robes and a simple hairstyle with a few of the dagger ornaments pinning her hair in place. Yize and Su Jing Fei boarded the carriage as Da Chun and the other three yatou bid them farewell at the gates of Mudan-Yu. Si Qiang started the carriage along its path, heading to the Hou residence where the wedding would take place. The journey was quiet and quick, and once they arrived, a crowd had already begun to form outside. Su Jing Fei exited the carriage near the women’s entrance into the backyard where most of the women would be in attendance until the wedding actually began.

The crowd bustled around her, talking excitedly about Feng Eu Mei’s sudden marriage to Hou Jian Yu. There were gossips and whispers about premarital relations, but Su Jing Fei turned a deaf ear to those rumors and kept walking into the moving crowd. Everyone was seated while waiting for Feng Eu Mei’s sedan to arrive at the Hou residence. In the meantime, men and women celebrated the joyous occasion separately, and Su Jing Fei quietly sipped her wine as the minutes passed by.

“Wan’er!” shouted a young woman’s voice. Su Jing Fei glanced to the side, taking in the sight of a young woman scolding a young child who looked quite ruffled up. The young boy was covered in mud as though he had been playing in dirt. The young woman gave an exasperated sigh while scolding the young boy. “How did you get this dirty? What will you do when mother sees you?” She bent down to wipe away the young boy’s dirty face with her handkerchief.

“But my toy is missing!” argued the young child, though he seemed to resign to sadness as his older sister wiped the grime off his face to reveal tears. “It was my favorite toy…”

Su Jing Fei was reminded of Mingyu’s crying face, and she felt just a little bit saddened at not having been able to see the young boy in awhile. Getting up from her seat, Su Jing Fei quietly made her way over to the crying young boy and his flustered older sister. “This one can’t help but overhear. Please pardon my rudeness,” spoke Su Jing Fei with a warm smile as she approached the sibling pair. “This one happened to have candies in my handbag.” She took off the small purse on her waist, reaching in and taking out three small sugar candies that she’d gotten from the store earlier that day when she and Da Chun had visited the morning market.

“Oh no, thank your kindness, but…” The young woman looked surprised at Su Jing Fei’s sudden appearance.

“Candy!” The young boy’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the sugar candies in Su Jing Fei’s hand; the sadness of his lost toy was all but forgotten for the moment.

Su Jing Fei chuckled lightly at the young boy’s candid enthusiasm for candies, holding them out for the young boy to take. “Would you like some candies?”

“Thank you!” spoke the young boy excitedly as he wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his robe, reaching out to take the three small candies from Su Jing Fei. He gave her a cheeky smile before popping one into his mouth.

The sister sighed at her younger brother’s rudeness, turning to Su Jing Fei with a respectful bow. “This lowly one thanks Su xiaojie for her kindness. I am Sun Xue Qin, da xiaojie of the city justice official’s family. This is my younger brother Sun Rong Wan. I believe you’ve met our father before.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Su Jing Fei was surprised at the sudden acquaintance with the children of Sun Rong Shu; she hadn’t expected them to appear at Feng Eu Mei’s wedding. However, it made sense that the Hou residence wouldn’t be able to avoid inviting the city justice official’s family unlike the Feng family; especially since they were of a lower ranking noble family to the Sun family. “This one is happy to help.” replied Su Jing Fei with a smile. She invited them to sit with her for awhile, in which Sun Xue Qin accepted while her younger brother happily ate the candies. They chatted a bit about Fuo Lan before a servant came announcing Feng Eu Mei’s arrival at the Hou residence.

There were the ancient traditions of kicking down the sedan door, and everyone looked very cheerful and excited as Hou Jian Yu led the new bride inside. People trailed after them, congratulating the two. As the proper festivities began, Sun Xue Qin left with Sun Rong Wan to find their mother and take their seats. Su Jing Fei bid them a friendly farewell, but it wasn’t long before another person came to keep her a bit of company.

“Doesn’t Su xiaojie wish to see the happy couple?” Came a familiar voice from behind her.

Su Jing Fei made no effort to follow the crowd when she knew that they were heading to the nuptial chambers, but she did get up and perform a respectful bow before Li Wei Sheng. “This lowly one greets the imperial prince.”

“At ease,” replied Li Wei Sheng. The corner of his lip lifted in a small grin. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“This one has no interest in seeing such a performance,” Su Jing Fei said honestly. Her eyes followed the red figure who was led further into the household. She knew from the ancient customs that Feng Eu Mei and Hou Jian Yu would perform three bows; one for the heaven and earth, the second was for the parents, and the third was for each other. Then Feng Eu Mei’s red veil would be removed by her new husband. She would proceed to sit in the nuptial chambers as Hou Jian Yu drank merrily. These customs she was familiar with; both from her own knowledge and the original Su Jing Fei’s many memories of preparing for her wedding to the third prince. She didn’t like the latter thought very much. “I’m only here to show face.”

Together, the two quietly watched the crowd bustle away. “It is good that Feng Eu Mei has married into another household,” Li Wei Sheng said suddenly. There was a hint of warning in his next words. “The Feng family’s fate does not hold good fortunes.”

“Is it better to marry someone against your will to save yourself or suffer with the rest of your family?” Su Jing Fei mused thoughtfully, not really expecting an answer from Li Wei Sheng.

He looked at the young woman beside him, contemplating her strange questions and thoughts. She was truly brave to speak to him so freely, even going against him at times. However, looking upon her now, her physical appearance was nothing extraordinary. She had plain features, simple and easy to look at. However, it was the way she carried herself that exuded a refined aura; the way she walked and moved with grace lifted her up above the rest. There was no doubt that she was a well-bred young woman, but the unyielding nature of her demeanor was quite fascinating to Li Wei Sheng as well. Perhaps, in the future, she could prove to be quite a useful ally against the third prince Chen Hui Zhe.

Su Jing Fei felt Li Wei Sheng’s probing eyes give her a head-to-toe onceover; her eyes narrowed in his direction. However, before she could say anything, a yatou appeared before them. “This lowly one greets the imperial prince and Su xiaojie. Please forgive this lowly one’s rudeness. The Furen requests Su xiaojie’s presence.”

“Of course, please excuse me, imperial prince.” Su Jing Fei bowed respectfully to Li Wei Sheng before she followed the young yatou away and further into the Hou residence. They walked briskly past the crowd of men who drank merrily, and Su Jing Fei could see Hou Jian Yu blissfully drunk in the middle of it. That young master definitely had a weakness for alcohol.

However, no one paid them any mind as they slipped past the crowd and went even further into the courtyard. A row of yatou stood guard near one house in particular, but instead of going through the front, Su Jing Fei was led to a side entrance and into a waiting room.

“Su xiaojie looks well today,” spoke a familiar voice. “This one did not think that Su xiaojie would come. Of course, Su xiaojie probably didn’t expect to be summoned by me.”

Su Jing Fei’s eyes followed Feng Eu Mei’s entrance from the doorway to the seat across from her. The young woman wore a beautifully embroidered red dress; her hair was adorned in gold pins of various designs. Her slim face was padded down with white powder, making Feng Eu Mei appear ethereally pale against the red of her wedding clothes. Su Jing Fei had suspected that the ‘Furen’ requesting her presence was the new Hou Furen and not Hou Jian Yu’s mother. She was actually quite surprised that Feng Eu Mei sought her out. “This one gives her congratulations to Feng xiaojie.” Su Jing Fei greeted her politely.

“This one is no longer a xiaojie,” Feng Eu Mei replied with just a hint of anger. But it was carefully concealed behind a small smile. “It’s Hou Furen from now on.”

“Yes, please forgive my rudeness, Hou Furen.” Su Jing Fei corrected herself upon Feng Eu Mei’s words.

Feng Eu Mei sat quietly in her seat as her eyes sharply observed Su Jing Fei’s every move. “This one must thank Su xiaojie. It is due to your expertise that I am to be married today to Hou Jian Yu.”

Su Jing Fei gave a polite smile, relaxing into her chair as her hands carefully folded on top of her lap. “Hou Furen jests. This one does not know of what expertise that Hou Furen speaks of.” If Feng Eu Mei wanted to dance around the topic, throwing veiled insults and threats at each other, then Su Jing Fei could do this all day. Feng Eu Mei clearly knew the truth; her scheme had backfired against herself and now she was marrying the Hou gongzi instead of Su Jing Fei in a scandalous quick marriage.

Feng Eu Mei’s eyes narrowed in Su Jing Fei’s direction, her lips pursing slightly. “Su xiaojie is really ambitious. Just because you were once engaged to Chen Hui Zhe, you believe that you possess the fate of the phoenix. But the imperial prince is not the kind of man who will fall for your facades.”

It seemed that Feng Eu Mei possessed some kind of impression that Su Jing Fei had her eyes on Li Wei Sheng. But her motivations were not that shallow. “Hou Furen is mistaken. This one does not care for phoenixes. They may shine brightly, but that light is like a flicker in the darkness. Quick and fleeting.” Su Jing Fei did not desire to marry or become a ‘phoenix’ of this lifetime; not to Chen Hui Zhe nor to Li Wei Sheng. Her only true desire was to protect her sister.

“Hmph,” Feng Eu Mei looked annoyed at Su Jing Fei’s answer, but she spoke no further on the topic. Instead, she turned in her chair, facing Su Jing Fei head on. “But of course, Su xiaojie has other ambitions, isn’t that right?”

Su Jing Fei’s eyes darkened at Feng Eu Mei’s mysterious words, but she did not respond, merely sitting quietly as they both studied the other with an intense gaze. The sound of cheers and growing voices caused Feng Eu Mei to grow a bit antsy, and she finally broke the silence to speak once again. “Su xiaojie, you may think that you are cunning and invincible as the da xiaojie of the Right Prime Minister’s family. And you may be right.” Feng Eu Mei sudden smiled, baring a bit of her teeth as though she was a bit excited. “But that does not mean that the people around you are just as cunning and invincible.”