The Slender Waist-Chapter 163 - 120: Not to Share a Husband

Tu Boshan brought her here, considering her as one of his own, with nothing to hide.

"This is where we forge iron, create weapons, and produce fireworks,"

He paused for a moment, stroking his beard and smiling, "I had never thought that the force of firecrackers and fireworks could blast open the hard rocks of mountains..."

Feng Yun thought for a moment and cautiously said, "I cannot be certain it will succeed, but my mother’s books say, ’apply the method as prescribed and see if it can break through the difficulties.’"

Tu Boshan’s eyes lit up, "If the explosives referred to by the young lady can be used on the battlefield..."

Feng Yun’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Using them to harm people is unacceptable. Besides, the power of these explosives is extremely low, sufficient for blasting rocks, but not impressive on the battlefield."

Lady Tu, listening by the side, suddenly asked with a smile:

"Ayun’s mother sounds like an interesting person; I wonder if there will be an opportunity to meet her?"

Feng Yun pondered for a moment.

"My mother passed away many years ago, otherwise, I am sure she would have become good friends with Lady Tu."

"What a pity, such a pity."

Lady Tu looked at her with surprise, thinking she had said something wrong, and hastily apologized, then treated Feng Yun with even more affection and compassion.

Feng Yun left the Tu Family Fort on the morning of the next day.

After a night of discussion concerning the making of explosives, she and a few craftsmen had come up with a preliminary plan; whether it was feasible remained uncertain.

Fortunately, the Tu Family Fort had been researching and improving various apparatuses for many years; the craftsmen were all enthusiastic, and Tu Boshan also gave his full support, so the matter was settled.

When Feng Yun left the house, Lady Tu reluctantly escorted her to the gate of the fort.

"Ayun, when I am free, I will come to Huaxi Village to see you."

"I await Lady Tu’s honored visit."

"Good, good, good child, the road back is rough, be careful."

Feng Yun smiled in response and bowed again in respect.

"Lady Tu, please return. There’s no need to see me off any further."

Lady Tu agreed verbally, but when Feng Yun got far enough on the donkey cart and looked back, that graceful and beautiful figure was still at the gate, waving to her.

-

The village school in Huaxi Village was being repaired quickly; the craftsmen said the roof would be put on in another two or three days, but no news had come from Xinzhou yet.

However, Ge Guang, whom Feng Yun had sent to the Central Capital, had returned.

He arrived in Huaxi Village at dusk, and without having a drink of water, he rushed to find Feng Yun.

Ge Guang looked haggard, with red bloodshot eyes and dark circles underneath, and his thick lips were chapped and bleeding.

Feng Yun poured him a cup of cold tea, and Ge Guang gulped it down in one go.

"Thank you, young lady. I haven’t closed my eyes for two days and haven’t had the chance to drink water..."

As he explained his disheveled appearance, Feng Yun uttered a word of appreciation for his hard work.

"How is the Central Capital, did you see Luo Ji?"

Ge Guang nodded, "I saw her."

Originally, Feng Yun had sent two servants with Luo Yue to the Central Capital, and it was through contacting them first that Ge Guang managed to meet Luo Yue.

"Luo Ji has grown plumper, she seems to be living very comfortably..."

Being plump was the most direct standard of living well in those days.

Ge Guang did not elaborate on Luo Yue’s comfortable life but frowned and glanced at Feng Yun’s face as if unsure how to proceed.

Feng Yun noticed his expression, poured him another cup of tea, and handed it to him.

"Take your time."

"Yes," Ge Guang drank and cleared his throat.

"The existence of the Imperial Cavalry Division is highly detrimental to the Great General."

He said, "Luo Ji did not elaborate, but from what I gathered, someone is using the palace’s Imperial Cavalry to secretly investigate the officials of Jin Country, creating leverage for blackmail... The most pressing issue is, Luo Ji also told me some news."

"What news?"

"She heard from Wei Zheng that Song Shou’an sent the Imperial Cavalry to both the Tiger Guard and Dragon Cavalry army camps. She does not know the specific details, but given the wartime, the Imperial Cavalry’s involvement in army affairs is probably not a good thing..."

The Tiger Guard and Dragon Cavalry are both Jin Country’s armies.

Although not as combat-ready as the Beiyong Army, they still have considerable numbers and influence.

"As soon as I got the information, I hurried back to report," he said, then handed a letter to Feng Yun, "This is from Luo Ji for you, young lady."

Feng Yun glanced at Ge Guang, not opening the letter immediately, and casually inquired about matters in the Central Capital.

"I also found out another piece of news, though I’m not sure if it’s a big deal..."

Ge Guang hesitated for a moment and then said, "The other day, whilst dining in a city tavern, I overheard someone at the next table saying that the daughters of Prime Minister Li Zongxun’s household, whether marrying into the royal family or aristocratic families, from daughter to granddaughter, even great-granddaughters, forge marriages everywhere to woo various powers. They also said Prime Minister Li has grand ambitions, to the extent his own grandson is the Emperor, yet he still schemes like this. Could it be, at his advanced age, he still aspires to sit on the Dragon Throne for a couple of days?"

Feng Yun thought of Cui Zhi.

Her mother married into the Cui Family, a great aristocratic family of Jin Country.

And Cui Zhi herself was to marry Ao Qi, the eldest son of the Ao Family.

She thought of Chunyu Yan again.

His mother was a cousin of Li Zongxun.

She remembered, in her last life, Li Zongxun had also intended to marry a girl from his own family to Chunyu Yan as the Crown Princess.

As for his own daughter, Li Sangruo...

She was married to the late Emperor of Jin Country.

When the late Emperor kicked the bucket, Li Zongxun didn’t let his daughter idle; he immediately pushed her towards Pei Jue...

"Miss..." Ge Guang scratched his head when he saw her silent for a long time, "Did this servant overstep with the questioning?"

"No," Feng Yun looked at him approvingly, "You did very well."

With such a nose for news, she hadn’t picked the wrong person.

"Go have something to eat and get a good night’s sleep. Don’t worry about anything else."

"Yes," Ge Guang bowed and took his leave.

After he had gone a good distance, Feng Yun took out the letter from Luo Yue.

Just like last time, the letter was processed and needed to be heated over a fire to reveal its contents.

From the letter, Feng Yun understood the reason Ge Guang said Luo Yue had "gained quite a bit."

Luo Yue was pregnant, a recent discovery, and Wei Zheng was ecstatic, treasuring her like a precious gem.

When the child was born, it would be Wei Zheng’s first child; no matter the gender, it would carry a different significance for Wei Zheng.

Luo Yue stated that she wanted to take good care of herself during the pregnancy and did not want that scoundrel to bother her, so there would be a long period when she couldn’t probe him.

With the mentality of not letting benefits flow to others, she wanted to push Wei Zheng towards Shao Xueqing, thinking it better than him bringing back two others from outside to compete for favor...

Luo Yue asked Feng Yun’s opinion, wondering if Shao Xueqing was reliable or not...

After pondering for a while, Feng Yun replied, "If a toothbrush should not be shared, how much more a husband? Better handled by oneself than by others. Luo Ji has plenty of ways, there’s no need for my instruction, right?"

(Toothbrush: An early form of toothbrush.)

-

Unable to get news from Xinzhou, Feng Yun was a bit restless.

She sent Xing Bing to look for He Qia at the General Residence.

But unexpectedly, He Qia had gone to Wanning City and had not returned.

The person in charge of Wanning was named Dou Changquan, also an official under Pei Jue’s command, and an old friend of He Qia.

Not willing to wait any longer, Feng Yun arranged her estate’s affairs, hopped into her donkey cart, and headed for Yutangchun to wait for He Qia and collect debts at the same time.

Yutangchun was close to the General Residence, so if He Qia returned, she could find him quickly.

To her surprise, upon entering Yutangchun, she saw He Qia’s son, He Chuandong.

The young master of the He family had just come from the General Residence, dining in Yutangchun with two associates.

At the moment, he was managing some miscellaneous affairs for He Qia, appearing upright; on the table was no ordered wine, just ordinary meals.

Feng Yun saw Wen Hui busy at the counter, completely unaware that the man was her husband from her past life, and with a smile said,

"That is Young Master He, send over a pot of fine wine and add two dishes, free of charge."

Wen Hui looked up, startled, and nodded repeatedly.

"This concubine’s service is inadequate; I will take care of it immediately."

Without waiting for Feng Yun’s instructions, she prepared the wine and dishes and personally delivered them to the table.

"Young Master He, this is a small token of regard from our establishment, please enjoy."

He Chuandong, upon seeing the lovely smile of the lady, got up flustered and bowed to Wen Hui.

"The shopkeeper is kind-hearted, but we are just having a simple meal and shouldn’t accept such a grand gesture. Please take it back."

Wen Hui said, "Young Master He, there’s no need to be modest. You work hard for the people of Andu, a little wine is nothing."

He Chuandong stood awkwardly; it wasn’t right to accept or decline, and his face flushed red. Seeing him like this, Wen Hui let out a chuckle, gestured for the server to place the wine and dishes, and then bent down to pour wine for the three men.

"Please enjoy, Young Master, and don’t hesitate to visit us often without minding formalities."

He Chuandong thanked her repeatedly. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Thinking to himself that with such hospitality, how could he even dare to come back again...

His two associates, however, kept glancing at him,

After Wen Hui left, they whispered, "Could that madam have taken a shine to Brother He?"

He Chuandong felt even more embarrassed, his cheeks burning, "Such words must not be carelessly spoken. It doesn’t matter for a man, but as for the shopkeeper..."

He thought of the commotion Yuan Dalang caused last time and sternly signalled with his eyes.

"Do not ruin someone’s reputation without cause and attract controversy."

The two associates quickly clamped their mouths shut.

After finishing the meal, Yutangchun indeed did not charge them, but Feng Yun was waiting at the counter, smiling at He Chuandong.

"Take care, Young Master He. When your father returns, please pass on a message for me; just say I am waiting for his news at Yutangchun."

Upon seeing Feng Yun, He Chuandong finally realized the reason for the hospitality and thanked her with a bow. Glancing at Wen Hui beside her, he hastily bid her farewell as well and then beat a hasty retreat.