Special Chapter: The last princess (2) (Part 1)
I had been in Hua Yang Hall for three months. During these three months, I had gone to every place in the Eastern Palace. Everyone knew that I was the mute girl who was picked up by Feng Xiao. They saw that I was only a child, so they didn’t hinder me much from wandering around.
Three months was enough for me to remember the layout of the Eastern Palace. Except for Feng Xiao’s study that I couldn’t enter, I had my presence at all his other places.
What made me worried was that there were very few times to see Feng Xiao in the past three months. After he placed me in the Hua Yang Hall, he never appeared in front of me again. Aunt Xi Mei said that I should please Feng Xiao and get his likes. That way I could survive here. So, I made a decision.
“You want to be a palace maid?” Dong Rui was surprised, “Isn’t it good now, miss? There’s His Royal Highness, no one will bully you!”
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” I wrote on paper.
Dong Rui looked at it for a long time and smiled. “Miss, allow this servant to report to His Royal Highness.”
However, Feng Xiao didn’t come see me in the end. That young man who held me in Chao Tian village never appeared again. Only Dong Rui brought back a reply. Feng Xiao agreed to let me start from the lowest rank for palace maid.
Dong Rui brought me a small size of the palace maid’s clothes. I took off the robes on my body and started as a small palace maid.
Many people didn’t understand my choice. People thought that I should ask for more things through the favor of Feng Xiao. I heard everyone’s comment but didn’t respond. Aunt Xi Mei said that no one would be guarded against children. I didn’t think so. Feng Xiao’s cold shoulder at these times was sufficient to show that I was merely a small wave and didn’t attract his attention.
If I wanted to stay at Feng Xiao’s side, I had to have such ability and qualifications. Only in this way, I could avenge my royal father one day.
The palace maid who was in charge of matters wasn’t particularly tolerant of me because I was brought back by Feng Xiao. She treated me equally and was still strict with me. Under her teaching, soon I was able to do my job and became a qualified palace maid in the Eastern Palace. I was assigned to the garden of the Eastern Palace.
Although the garden of the Eastern Palace wasn’t comparable to the Imperial Garden in the imperial palace, it was still colorful and full of flowers.
Feng Xiao wasn’t married, so there weren’t any female masters in the Eastern Palace. The only person who often came to play was Feng Xiao’s little sister, Feng Huang. When I first saw Feng Huang, I was surprised. I thought I saw a fairy from the heaven. Feng Xiao gently stood beside Feng Huang and picked up the petals on her shoulders. The two of them standing in the garden was just like fairies.
Feng Huang was the same age as me, but the nobleness of her gestures was entirely innate. Seeing me looking at her, she wasn’t angry but instead nodded to me and smiled. That smile made me forget that I was sweeping the floor and I foolishly stood there.
“Brother, you hire child labor! You’re even willing to let such a small girl work. If mother knows, she’ll scold you again!” The voice of Feng Huang was as gentle as the butterfly in the wind. When I saw her coming over, my breathing slowed down.
“What’s your name?” Feng Huang held my hand. I recognized the brocade on her body. It had long been known that little master Feng Huang was much doted on by Ming Yue Cheng. It seemed to be true.
I didn’t know why. When I saw Feng Huang and Feng Xiao together, I felt a sad feeling in my heart. Everything they enjoy now should have belonged to me. If my royal father was still here, if my royal father got the throne, I would have been the honorable princess Rong Hua and not a little palace maid with a broom.
“Long Er, she can’t talk.” Feng Xiao explained my silence and told my name to Feng Huang. From the eyes of Feng Huang, I saw pity. Compared to her brother Feng Xiao, Feng Huang was a simpler girl.
“Brother, let Rong Hua go with me! I lack a study companion!”
I had heard that as long as Feng Huang asked, Feng Xiao would meet her request. But this time, Feng Xiao looked at me for a long time. If it hadn’t been for the sun up in the sky, I thought I fell into the ice cave. My intuition told me that Feng Xiao doubted my identity. That was why he did this to me. In a panic, I lowered my head and my tiny fingers grabbed the broomstick firmly, and even at some point, I was about to stop breathing.
“Brother, don’t scare Rong Hua. She’s still a child.” Feng Huang seeing me like this, quickly helped me out. In an instant, the cold that was frozen around me disappeared. “If you like her, take her with you then!”
After Feng Xiao and Feng Huang left, my legs gave out and fell on the ground.
I would never forget the expression of Feng Xiao, where his purple eyes were covered with ice behind the long eyelashes. Although I didn’t know what had gone wrong and made him change so much, but I could feel him doubting me and guarding against me.
Before I could ponder over the cause of the problem, I was brought into the imperial palace of Nan Feng by Feng Huang.
This was my first visit to the palace. Even though I knew a lot about the imperial palace of Nan Feng from the description of aunt Xi Mei. I had also once fantasized in my little head about how magnificent the imperial palace was. But I was still attracted by the beautiful scenery in front of me.
“Rong Hua, you’ll live here from now on. You can rest assured that no one will bully you. There’s me! Even brother can’t!” Feng Huang generously found a residence for me. Let me go from being an orphan girl to a study companion of Feng Huang.
In Nan Feng, there were three noblest persons; one was Ming Yue Cheng, the second was Feng Xiao and the third was Feng Huang.
But for the people in the palace, the noblest person was Feng Huang. Ming Yue Cheng and Feng Xiao treated her like a treasure. All the food and clothing expenses were the best, even I as the study companion was enjoying the best treatment. My status had also risen because of Feng Huang and became miss Rong Hua among the people.
Aunt Xi Mei said that ten years wasn’t too long for a gentleman to take revenge. Feng Xiao had already become suspicious of me. I must have the trust of Feng Huang in order to survive in this palace.
In the next five years, I had been careful and cautious, firmly remembering my identity and tried my best to play the role of a study companion. As time passed, I almost forgot my identity until eunuch Luo came to me.
That day, I picked up the red plum blossom and planned to go back. A eunuch with a crooked body stepped on the snow appeared in front of me. “Paying this eunuch’s respect to Princess Rong Hua….”
His voice was old and gloomy. When I heard him for the first time, I was startled and quickly looked around. It was winter and there was no one in the Plum Garden. I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked at eunuch Luo and pretended that ‘I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Hehe, Princess is very sharp-witted.” That eunuch took out a jade and handed it to me. After seeing the word ‘Xi’, my eyes became warm. ‘Xi’ was the name of my royal father. This was the jade that imperial grandfather gave him when he was born. Aunt Xi Mei said that if I could enter the palace, someone would take the jade of wangye1 to meet me. I think the eunuch in front was the person who aunt Xi Mei talked about!
“Luo Su?” I spoke softly.
“It’s this slave.” Luo Su heard me speak and his eyes became red. People in the palace thought that I was a mute girl. No one knew that I could actually speak. I just pretended that I couldn’t. “Princess has suffered! If wangye was still here, he’ll certainly be happy to see Princess being so sensible!”
Luo Su’s words were very emotional and made my heart tremble. After living a quiet life for so long, Luo Su’s arrival finally disrupted it.
I took what Luo Su gave me and quickly returned to the room. After I calmed down, I went out of the room. I put the red plum blossoms in the vase and put it in front of Feng Huang.
“It’s really pretty!”
Feng Huang liked red plum blossom. The bright red plum blossom set off her devastatingly beautiful face. The person and flower complemented each other. It was very touching.
“Rong Hua, thank you!” Feng Huang took out a plum blossom and put it in my hair.
Feng Huang’s manner was very good. Although she was the most beloved girl in Nan Feng, she wasn’t arrogant because of this. She was always modest and amiable. Looking at Feng Huang, I would feel inferior. Not only because god gave her perfect looks, but also because of her noble character. I often wonder if my royal father became the emperor, could I, as the princess, be as noble and pure as Feng Huang.
After returning to the room, I opened up what Luo Su had given me. There was a piece of paper inside, which was densely packed with the people my royal father had put in the imperial palace of Nan Feng in those years as well as the weakness of powerful officials. Since the death of my royal father, Luo Su had been hiding quietly in the palace. It had been ten years now. His life was saved by my royal father, so I would never doubt his loyalty.
It took me three days to memorize all the people written down on the list. Maybe everything was god’s will. Most of those people were assigned to Feng Xiao’s Eastern Palace, which was more convenient for me.
After memorizing it all, I burned the paper. Everything was so cautious that no one was aware of it. For the past five years in the palace, although Feng Huang protected me, I knew clearly that in this dark palace, no information that could be used against me could be left behind. Otherwise, the one that was going to die wasn’t me but everyone.
Special Chapter: The last princess (2) (Part 2)
Now, Ming Yue Cheng doesn’t deal with the court’s matter anymore. Five years ago, Feng Xiao had begun to participate in the political affairs. The whole political court is now in the hand of Feng Xiao.
In fact, Feng Xiao wasn’t the child of Ming Yue Cheng. Contrariwise, it was me and Ming Yue Cheng who had an inextricable connection.
According to seniority in the family, I should call Ming Yue Cheng imperial uncle. In those days, in order to clear the obstacle for the crown prince (FX), Ming Yue Cheng killed many people, including the imperial family of Nan Feng who opposed to Feng Xiao’s succession of the throne. My royal father was among them.
My royal father, Ming Yue Xi, was the legitimate prince of Nan Feng. If Ming Yue Cheng didn’t return to the country, this dynasty might had belong to my royal father. Unfortunately, life had its ups and downs. The prince (MYC) who was imprisoned in Xi Qi became the ruler of Nan Feng and imprisoned his brothers in the capital, including my royal father.
When Ming Yue Cheng wanted to make Feng Xiao the crown prince, my royal father summoned the ministers day and night. In the eyes of my royal father, Nan Feng belonged to the Ming family. No matter what, it wasn’t the turn of Feng Xiao. Ming Yue Cheng doing this was undoubtedly selling the country.
“He ruined Nan Feng was just to please that demonish girl of Bei Zhou! He’s just selling the country!” When he got agitated, my royal father would bang the table hard and spit everywhere.
At that time, I was young. I didn’t know who the demonish girl that my royal father talked about was. Until he had come to a bad end, only then did I got to know that the person royal father mentioned was the mother of Feng Xiao…Feng Qi Qi.
Royal father unscrupulously attacked Ming Yue Cheng and Feng Xiao in wangfu1. Until the time, when he repeatedly called Feng Qi Qi ‘demonish girl, wangfu then faced imminent catastrophe.
I never knew that imperial uncle’s protection over Feng Qi Qi would be so deep. He personally came to the wangfu to question royal father. But it so happened that, that day royal father was unhappy. He had drank wine and even talked irresponsibly. He even shouted out imperial uncle’s secret.
“Imperial brother, don’t think that you can hide those things you do from all the people. Everything you do is for that demonish woman! Because of that demonish woman, you give up the harem of three thousand beautiful women! Because of her, you even don’t want an imperial heir! She can bewitch you into this. She’s just a wicked woman!”
“Bastard!” Ming Yue Cheng gave royal father a slap in the face, so hard that his mouth was bleeding. Aunt Xi Mei quickly covered my eyes and hid me. Afterwards, wangfu was cleaned up. Aunt Xi Mei had fled with me and took me out of the capital. After that, we rooted in Dayu Mountain.
I was young at that time. I couldn’t remember many things clearly. I only clearly remembered the words royal father shouted. “That demonish woman is going to ruin my Nan Feng! The hatred of destroying the country is absolutely irreconsilable!”
I engraved these words in my heart because it was these words that brought death to my royal father.
The reason why eunuch Luo came to me now was because Feng Xiao was about to get married. He thought that this was an opportunity. I had seen Feng Xiao’s fiancée Nalan Zhu. She was a beautiful, gentle and kind girl. As soon as Feng Xiao saw her, his purple eyes would turn gentle.
I once met them in the Imperial Garden. Feng Xiao was holding her hands and carefully cherished her. Although Nalan Zhu wasn’t a weak woman, she could save tiger cubs from the wolves when hunting in winter. But in front of Feng Xiao, she was like a cute and helpless-looking woman and nestled against Feng Xiao. The two together were like a fairy couple, making people envy.
Eunuch Luo said that when Feng Xiao married, Feng Qi Qi would definitely attend her eldest son’s wedding. This was a good opportunity to strike.
As soon as I heard the name of that demonish woman, I forgot all the things like -endurance and hide oneself- that aunt Xi Mei said to me. Feng Xiao was my enemy, Feng Qi Qi even more. Because of Feng Qi Qi, royal father died unjustly. Everything was because of her!
I followed Luo Su’s arrangement and met the people on the list. After years of observation by eunuch Luo, he concluded that these people were loyal to my royal father a. As for the ministers, they had also recently received an anonymous letter, which detailed the evidence of their bribery. For a moment, the court was in turmoil. I felt that everything was in my hands. When I looked at Feng Huang again, I gave her back the pity look that I had seen in her eyes.
One day, I would return to my position and destroy those who brought me harm!
Because of Feng Xiao’s wedding, Feng Huang moved to the Eastern Palace to help him prepare. I as the study companion also came to the Eastern Palace again. After five years, I was no longer that submitting and lonely mute girl. Feng Xiao also became a more mature and steady young man from that elegant youngster.
Looking at the Eastern Palace decorated with lanterns and colored banners, and filled with joy, I felt an inexplicable sadness in my heart. I didn’t know from when, Feng Xiao was like a small seed that planted in my heart. It gave birth to a small bud and grew into a dense of branches, let my heart gradually be filled with him.
I envied Feng Huang, was jealous of Nalan Zhu and hated all the people that Feng Xiao treated well. Envy, jealous, hate. The source of all crime….
I don’t know if it was because I fell for Feng Xiao that I changed the target of revenge from Feng Xiao to Feng Qi Qi. I stubbornly believed that the direct cause of the death of my royal father was Feng Qi Qi and not Feng Xiao.
I forgot his indifferent eyes of that time when I left the Eastern Palace and also forgot aunt Xi Mei’s advice that “killing Feng Xiao was the best revenge against Feng Qi Qi”. As early as when Feng Xiao lowered his body and asked my name in a low voice, that purple-eyed young man had entered my heart.
Because my embroidery was very good, the future crown princess asked me to help her make her wedding dress. Looking at the expression of Nalan Zhu’s begging, I felt satisfied inside. It turned out that she wasn’t perfect. She also had things that she couldn’t do. I put all the longing for my wedding on this wedding dress as if every stitch and thread outlined my happiness.
I carefully sewed the wedding dress, and hid the ‘dark fragrance’ on the gold threads and sewed the wedding dress with it. ‘Dark fragrance’ could make people unconscious. My aim was to let Feng Xiao lose consciousness at the wedding night. After that, I and my royal father’s men would take the opportunity to kill Feng Qi Qi to avenge my royal father.
From the beginning to the end, I didn’t want to hurt Feng Xiao. I just wanted to make him faint. I just wanted to let him avoid this organized and planned revenge, but I was wrong. I had the intention to let him go, but others wouldn’t. When Luo Su’s sharp knife was turned to Feng Xiao, I screamed.
“Princess, please move away….” Luo Su frowned.
“Eunuch, our enemy is Feng Qi Qi and not the crown prince!”
“Princess, you’re confused! How can Feng Xiao be the crown prince of our Nan Feng?! His surname is Feng. He’s the son of that demonish woman. He’s your enemy!”
Even after Luo Su said these, I still refused to move. I still believed that in the whole matter, Feng Xiao was innocent. When my royal father died, Feng Xiao was just as old as I am now. How was it his fault? The people that should die were Feng Qi Qi and Ming Yue Cheng!
“Eunuch, in any case, you can’t kill Feng Xiao. The people we want to kill are Ming Yue Cheng and Feng Qi Qi. They’re the murderers of my father!”
My insistence made Luo Su helpless. Luo Su could only step back and took everyone to the other palaces. For a moment, Eastern Palace was brightly lit and noisy everywhere. Just when I thought all the dust had settled and the dynasty of Nan Feng would return to my hands again, a sword was placed on my neck.
“You, when did you wake up?” I looked at Feng Xiao and was shocked. There were also Nalan Zhu who was at the side, the matron of honor, and the palace maids. They all stood up.
“I have been awake the whole time.” Feng Xiao’s voice was still deep and low with a charming magnetism but piercing cold.
Everything my royal father left for me was ruined this evening. Those hidden in the Imperial Palace and the Eastern Palace were dug up. All of them were killed by Ming Yue Cheng immediately. Before Luo Su died, he sighed a long sigh at me, as if he hated iron for not becoming steel. Also, as if he felt guilty for not completing the task given by my royal father.
As for other people, I knew that some died unwillingly, some died resentful. Luo Su’s loyalty was unquestionable. However, other people had lived peacefully for so long but stepped on the road of death because of my arrival. So, I could see their hatred for me in their eyes.
“Just kill me….” I looked desperately at the man on the high platform. This was the first time I spoke. Except for Feng Xiao, others were obviously surprised.
“You can talk? Rong Hua, why are you doing this?” Feng Huang looked at me incomprehensibly.
In the past five years, she had treated me as her best friend and shared her joys and sorrows with me. Including her little secret of secretly loving Ming Yue Cheng, she had told me. She had never discriminated against me because I was a mute girl. She sincerely cared for me and treated me like an equal to her.
Looking at the beautiful eyes of Feng Huang, all her kindness to me, all came to my mind. I couldn’t compare in character, manner and kindness to the girl in front of me at all. She was the perfect embodiment, making me feel inferior. That was probably why I wanted to destroy her happiness. Because I was unwilling. I was the real princess!
I closed my eyes and tried to force all the good of Feng Huang out of my head. She was the daughter of that demonish woman. She wasn’t my friend. She never was!
When I opened my eyes again, my eyes returned to calmness and indifference. I looked at Feng Xiao. He didn’t look at me. Instead, he held Nalan Zhu’s hand tightly. Their hands intertwined together. At this moment, it was so offending to the eyes, so much that my heart hurt.
“You already know who I am, right?” Although I was only fourteen, almost fifteen, but my voice had some maturity that was inconsistent with my age. It was also slightly hoarse for not speaking for a long time.
“Yes.” Feng Xiao raised his head. His purple eyes were cold and cheerless without a trace of waves. It made me scared. He knowing it was one thing, but he admitting it was another thing. It seemed that my road to revenge was a failure from the beginning.
“Then why did you bring me back? Why did you carry me in your arms?” I shouted hysterically.
Feng Xiao would never know that that hug of his was the driving force for me in these past years. He who was so clean and beautiful and didn’t bother with the dirt on my body. When he held me, it reminded me of the embrace of royal father. It was also that kind of warmness and refreshing.
“Because you’re the last princess of the dynasty.”
I didn’t understand Feng Xiao’s words at the beginning. Just until later, I understood it.
After being imprisoned in Ting Fo nunnery, only then did I know about a lot of things from the past. Because of Feng Xiao’s one sentence ‘young children are innocent’, Ming Yue Cheng gave up on tracking my whereabouts. He (FX) brought me back because he wanted to keep the bloodline of the Ming family. In order to protect him (FX), imperial uncle had executed too many people. Feng Xiao wasn’t a cold-hearted person. He didn’t want Ming Yue Cheng to carry too many bad names on his back. That was why he (FX) took me back to the Eastern Palace. However, in the end, I failed Feng Xiao who had given me the opportunity.
The person who told me these things was Feng Huang. When she came to see me, she was already the bride of Ming Yue Cheng. I saw a never before seen happiness in Feng Huang’s face. That sweet smile diluted the melancholy that she had for years. Seeing her happiness, I was really happy for her.
“Rong Hua, Cheng (MYC) has retained your title. If you want, you can leave here anytime and start a new life. My brother will help you!”
When Feng Huang left, the door of Ting Fo nunnery that had been closed for many years was never locked again. Looking at the open world outside, I knew that they had given me freedom.
In the days at Ting Fo nunnery, I felt an unprecedented peace in my heart. Living in revenge for so many years, I had forgotten my age. I’m now only eighteen years old. It was the best years of life. It was just that seeing the world outside, I couldn’t take a step out.
Perhaps this was my best destination. Only listening to the Buddhist sound, I could let my soul that was immersed in hatred get a moment of peacefulness.
TLNote: This is the end of this book. Thank you all for surviving till the last chapter. I wish you all the best and hopefully we will meet in a new book.
