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She was completely oblivious to the undercurrents, her face glowing with excitement as she exclaimed, “I’m going back to make cat food!”
Feng Shuo stared at her rosy cheeks, his gaze darkening slightly.
Suddenly, he reached toward her ear.
Jiang Yanyi instinctively wanted to step back at his movement but couldn’t help herself.
Feng Shuo brushed past her ear, sending a tingling sensation down her spine, and plucked a dried bamboo leaf from her hair.
Jiang Yanyi blinked in surprise at the leaf in his hand, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Thank you.”
Feng Shuo tossed the leaf aside and asked, “Is there food specifically for cats?”
“Of course! The mother cat just had kittens, so I’m going to make something to help her produce milk,” Jiang Yanyi replied.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed a subtle shift in Feng Shuo’s expression.
Realizing how direct she had been, she felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her; she had forgotten that they were in ancient times, and such frankness might be inappropriate.
Feeling awkward, she was relieved when Feng Shuo didn’t pursue the topic any further.
She took her food container, but before heading back, she remembered about Aunt Guo and asked, “By the way, how is Aunt Guo doing?”
After seeing Aunt Guo walk over unharmed when Chu Changping rescued her, she had felt reassured.
However, the subsequent events had distracted her, and she hadn’t had the chance to mention Aunt Guo’s situation to Feng Shuo.
Feng Shuo replied slowly, “Her husband’s memorial day is in these few days, so she asked for leave to go pay her respects.”
Jiang Yanyi felt a heaviness in her heart as she recalled Aunt Guo’s expression when she spoke of her deceased husband.
She asked, “Was Aunt Guo’s husband really a butcher?”
Feng Shuo nodded. “She was originally a martial maid in the Mu family, and that butcher was her fellow townsman. Five years ago, when the Mu family was confiscated, she protected the two young masters of the Mu family while escaping. Her husband died at the hands of the imperial guards while trying to protect her.”
Jiang Yanyi sighed, feeling a sense of sadness.
The incident involving the Mu family seemed vaguely familiar; she recalled hearing about it from someone.
After thinking for a long while, she finally remembered a name: “Was there a young master in the Mu family named Mu Xuanqing?”
Feng Shuo’s expression shifted, a shadow of pain flickering in his eyes. “Do you know him?”
Jiang Yanyi shook her head. “I don’t know him, but I suddenly recalled my cousin mentioning the second daughter of the Xie family who was betrothed to him.”
The Xie family had a prestigious background, and the second daughter was originally engaged to the martial heir, Mu Xuanqing.
However, after the Mu family’s downfall, the engagement was naturally voided.
Others feared being implicated by associating with the Mu family, leading to the Xie family keeping their distance from her as the former fiancée of the martial heir.
The Xie family was worried about their daughter’s marriage prospects, but suitable matches were reluctant to approach them, fearing they might be associated with the Mu family.
The few who sought them out didn’t meet their standards, and seeing that the second daughter was nearing twenty-nine, they grew increasingly anxious about her fate.
Two years ago, her cousin Chu Chengmao had topped the imperial examination, seeking to marry the second daughter of the Xie family.
At that time, Chu Changping was still the general of Yun Prefecture, and with his background and character, he was an excellent match.
The Xie family immediately agreed to the marriage.
However, it was the second daughter herself who had stepped forward to decline the proposal, claiming she was unworthy of Chu Chengmao, but anyone with keen eyes could see that she was holding on for the martial heir, Mu Xuanqing.
Feng Shuo had heard about the matters between the Chu and Xie families as well.
As a cold wind blew past, he instinctively pressed his hand against the deep scar that ran across his shoulder, his expression growing heavy. “He originally had the chance to go back and marry the second daughter of the Xie family…”
Jiang Yanyi looked at his somber expression and suddenly remembered what Chi Qing had told her: that his brother had taken a fatal blow for Feng Shuo.
She also recalled that Aunt Guo had been a martial maid of the Mu family, yet now she had feelings for Feng Shuo…
She arrived at a bold conclusion: Chi Qing might be the young master of the Mu family, and his deceased brother was the martial heir, Mu Xuanqing!
Jiang Yanyi was startled by her own thoughts.
Feng Shuo seemed to understand what she was thinking, but he remained silent, merely gazing at the sky with deep, distant eyes that held an indescribable melancholy.
He stood in the cold wind like an insurmountable peak in the northern frontier.
“Even kings and nobles’ lives are as insignificant as grass. What kind of life can the common people expect?”
His voice was soft, but each word weighed like a thousand pounds.
Jiang Yanyi’s heart trembled inexplicably at that moment.
She seemed to understand why so many soldiers under his command respected him, and why the emperor feared him.
When Jiang Yanyi returned to her courtyard, Feng Shuo’s earlier words echoed in her mind, causing her heart to beat inexplicably faster.
She slapped her own face, silently cursing herself for being so flustered.
But the way Feng Shuo had said those words, along with his expression and tone, really struck a chord with her!
There’s a saying that perfectly describes love: “It starts with appearance, falls for talent, and stays loyal to character.”
Since she had known Feng Shuo, this was the first time she had witnessed him embody the grand spirit of a prince.
Without his battle attire, he was a noble youth who was willing to play five-in-a-row with her and indulge her childish whims.
Yet in armor, he was the King of Liao South, leading a formidable army of two hundred thousand men, facing life and death together with them.
Jiang Yanyi felt a subtle emotion rising in her heart; it seemed she really had developed feelings for Feng Shuo.
However, if she were to be honest, she couldn’t pinpoint what was so lovable about herself in Feng Shuo’s eyes.
She also couldn’t think of any irreplaceable reasons for him to choose her.
Previously, Jiang Yanyi had been troubled over why Feng Shuo liked her, wanting to achieve clarity so she could maintain a respectful distance.
Now, however, she found herself pondering what it would take for her to stand alongside him if they were to walk this path together.
In terms of emotions, Jiang Yanyi felt a bit conflicted; for instance, she was already considering how to preserve her dignity in case there ever came a day when “former friends’ hearts could easily change.”
To be pragmatic, even if Feng Shuo continued to treat her well, their relationship would surely face challenges if they ended up together.
As a prince, he needed to consolidate power, and the most secure and intimate way to do that would likely be through marriage.
If that day ever came, Feng Shuo would have no retreat.
He could only keep moving forward, for if he took a step back, countless lives of those behind him would be at stake.
Compared to her status, how could he possibly make a choice that would sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of his comrades?
As she chopped the pork on the cutting board, Jiang Yanyi found herself lost in thought, realizing that the path she had chosen had changed, and she needed to rethink everything about her future.
She had to grow stronger in order to protect everything she wanted to safeguard.
“Huahua, the meat is already minced,” Qiu Kui said, waving her hand in front of Jiang Yanyi.
Snapping back to reality, Jiang Yanyi used two knives to scoop the minced meat into a nearby dish. “This is meat soup for the cats. It doesn’t hurt to chop it finely.”
In her previous life, Jiang Yanyi had been too busy with work to own a cat, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying videos of cat care and cat food preparation.
Practically speaking, she was confident in her ability to care for them.
Wild cats were much easier to raise than pet cats; they didn’t have such picky eating habits.
However, the mother cat now needed to nurse five kittens, requiring sufficient nutrition for milk production.
The best food for nursing cats was certainly crucian carp, but it was expensive, and fresh fish wasn’t always available in the market during cold weather.
Therefore, Jiang Yanyi opted for pork, mixing an egg into the minced meat, then boiling it in water until cooked, serving it along with the broth.
Since cats could eat raw meat, they naturally had no special demands for food. It was said that salt was harmful to cats’ kidneys, so Jiang Yanyi didn’t add any seasoning.
Qiu Kui, sitting behind the stove, asked, “What were you thinking about just now, Huahua?”
As Jiang Yanyi was packing the cat food into a container, she thought for a moment and replied, “I was thinking of ways to make money.”
“We have more people now. Once the shop opens, we can buy more pots every day!” Qiu Kui assumed Jiang Yanyi was worried about the lack of income in the shop these days.
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, “Making money by selling pots would be enough to live comfortably for a lifetime, but it’s still far from being wealthy enough to rival a nation!”
With her small stature, she couldn’t handle military power, and she had no access to political authority.
The only feasible path seemed to be to grasp the economic chain.
After preparing the cat food, Jiang Yanyi took it to Feng Shuo’s residence and placed it outside the kittens’ nest so that the mother cat could eat as soon as she returned.
Anticipating the mother cat’s swift return, she spent the entire afternoon in Feng Shuo’s room reading, occasionally running outside to check, but she never saw the mother cat.
She couldn’t help but worry; if the mother cat abandoned her kittens, it would be dire.
Newborn kittens found it extremely difficult to survive without their mother’s care.
Fortunately, the warmth from the heating system ensured the kittens didn’t freeze.
Jiang Yanyi reached out to check, finding each kitten warm to the touch, which eased her worries.
When she entered the room again, she saw Feng Shuo at his desk handling documents.
He glanced at her and said, “A few little creatures, and you care this much?”
Jiang Yanyi replied, “It’s not like you didn’t care, didn’t you have someone put up those wind barriers under the eaves?”
Feng Shuo responded flatly, “That was done by the servants in the courtyard. I’m not aware of it.”
Jiang Yanyi had long since become accustomed to his tendency to speak nonsense.
Without his orders, how could the servants have had the courage to place the barriers under the eaves?
Liking cats wasn’t something to be ashamed of, so why was he being so stubborn?
Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but imagine a future when the kittens grew up and Feng Shuo would act dismissively about them in front of others, yet secretly sneak away to pet them with great care, almost like a thief.
She couldn’t help but chuckle.
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Alfarcy[Translator]
Hello Readers, I'm Alfarcy translator of various Chinese Novel, I'm Thankful and Grateful for all the support i've receive from you guys.. Thank You!