Top Contestant in Competition to Kill Herself
In the square outside the hall, it remained unknown when someone had laid down a layer of thick snow. At this very moment, a girl was dancing barefoot in the snow.
The girl’s red clothes were extremely thin, and they were even more transparent than the fine gauze worn in Summer. In addition to being barefoot, it chilled the hearts of those that watched.
But feeling a chill was feeling a chill. It truly was quite beautiful. White snow and red clothes made it look like the wintersweet in the yard had become a spirit. With every movement, she struck people’s souls.
Kang Yi did not return to her own seat, simply pulling a chair over and sitting near Feng Yu Heng. Watching the person dancing outside, she was truly surprised.
Feng Yu Heng was also surprised, pulling Xiang Rong a little closer and quietly saying: “Fen Dai truly put in some effort into learning this dance!” Although her figure was still lacking compared to a professional dancer, she won in terms of visual impact. Just by being able to wear clothes like this on a cold day and not shiver was enough to cause people to applaud. But, daring to dance this type of dance in the imperial palace in front of the Emperor, Feng Fen Dai was truly a top contestant in the competition to kill herself.
Xiang Rong told her: “Before second sister returned to the manor, she already began learning. Also, when she was learning, outsiders were not allowed to watch. This is also my first time seeing her dance.”
Although the girl in red only revealed her back and had not yet turned around, how could she hide from the sisters that she had grown up with. Feng Yu Heng and Xiang Rong had been able to recognize Fen Dai almost instantly.
She looked away and snuck a look towards the fifth prince to get an understanding. She saw that the person was very emotional and had already stood up from his seat. Staggering, he rushed out of the hall.
This action caused many people to be puzzled, but there were some older officials and their families that knew the reasoning behind this. They could not help but silently curse the girl that was dancing as being a brainless idiot.
Feng Yu Heng no longer looked at the dazed fifth prince and went to observe the Emperor. She saw that the dignified ruler’s face did not show much emotion, but the angry flames that shot from his eyes could not be ignored.
Sitting at his side, the Empress also became apprehensive, as she filled with anger and carefully watched the Emperor, who could explode into a furious rage at any moment. She truly could not understand who exactly would be so bold to dare dance the snow dance.
Feng Yu Heng was also a little curious. Slightly frowning, she began to quietly ponder.
Feng Fen Dai was nothing more than the daughter of a concubine from a government official’s family. She did not have the power to have the eunuchs of the palace help her move the snow, and there was clearly some prior arrangement. Either she had requested the help earlier or someone else who was interested helped her. Either way, it was not so simple to get Fen Dai to dance this beautiful snow dance.
The person playing the flute wore red clothes, and Feng Yu Heng recognized her. Although the red clothing was very normal for today, she appeared to be a normal servant, but she still exuded a cheeky aura. It was Fen Dai’s dance that managed to attract the attention of quite a few men.
When they had come out today, the young misses of the Feng family each sat in their own carriage. She did not have any time to look at which servants the others brought out, which allowed this servant in red clothes to sneak into the palace. Feng Yu Heng had always been curious about where Fen Dai managed to find a dance teacher. She was nothing more than a daughter of a concubine from a large manor. She was unlike Chen Yu, who had support from the outside. Was the person in red clothes someone that she could so easily find?
Her head was full of questions, and at this time, Feng Jin Yuan’s face had turned blue from the fear over what his daughter had done.
He quickly stood up and kneeled in front of the Emperor without another word. Kowtowing with his head on the ground, everyone could see his horror.
Eldest princess Kang Yi was originally enjoying the dance. To her, this was the first time seeing someone dance in the snow while wearing so little. She originally thought it was one of Da Shun’s dancers, but she did not think that it would lead to the prime minister being so terrified.
Seeing the confusion on Kang Yi’s face, Feng Yu Heng kindly told her: “The girl dancing is my fourth sister, Feng Fen Dai.”
“The Feng family’s daughter?” Kang Yi was slightly stunned, but she still did not understand why Feng Jin Yuan would become like this, “Today is the first day of the new year. For the daughter of an official to dance is a normal occurrence. Why is Lord Feng…” She did not finish her sentence because she had already turned her gaze over to the Emperor.
Feng Yu Heng knew that there was no need for her to answer. Eldest princess Kang Yi was thoughtful and perceptive. How could she be unable to see the anger in the Emperor’s eyes. Although she still did not understand why the Emperor would be angry, he was angry. Thinking about it, this dance most likely had some history.
Xuan Tian Ge leaned close to Feng Yu Heng and said: “Has that daughter of a concubine from your family gone crazy?”
Feng Yu Heng shrugged, “There hasn’t been a single day where Feng Fen Dai is not crazy. She dared to try and seduce Xuan Tian Ming in front of me. What else is there that she does not dare do.”
“Tsk tsk.” Xuan Tian Ge said, “A-Heng, you are still too kindhearted. If it were me, if she dared to try and seduce my future husband, I would have had her thrown in a pig cage then drowned.”
Feng Yu Heng laughed. It was not that she was kindhearted. If she wanted to kill Feng Fen Dai in secret, there were hundreds of ways she could do it. Killing someone was easy. It was something that could be done in under a minute. But killing someone in the Feng manor would lead to being suspected by others. Even if nothing could be found, a person’s mind was flexible and would be able to make some guesses. If it was not something that was in her favor, he would not do it.
“Prime minister Feng!” At this time, the Empress began to speak. Feeling that the Emperor at her side was becoming angrier and angrier, the Empress understood that it was time for her to speak, thus she called on Feng Jin Yuan and said: “The girl that is dancing is your family’s daughter, right?”
Feng Jin Yuan quickly replied: “Responding to your Highness, it is indeed this official’s daughter of a concubine.”
Once these words were spoken, some of the people that did not recognize Fen Dai also understood. So that girl in red was the daughter of a concubine from the prime minister’s manor.
After all, the matters from that time were obscured. The people that did not know about it were in the majority. Hearing that this was a daughter of Feng Jin Yuan’s family, they began to praise without knowing what was good for them: “So it was the Feng family’s daughter! I never thought that she would have this sort of ability. She truly is skilled!”
“That’s right! I never thought that the daughters of Lord Feng’s family would all have such hidden abilities. Previously, there was county princess Ji An, who broke the iron essence. Now, there is one who is dancing in the snow barefoot. I truly am a little expectant of what the other daughters are capable of.”
The more Feng Jin Yuan heard, the more he felt panicked. These people were basically pouring oil on the fire. But what could he possibly say? They did not understand the situation, so they naturally thought it was a good thing. But his heart understood how happy the Emperor was when that deceased imperial concubine performed this snow dance.
Feng Jin Yuan was truly regretful at this moment. When he returned to the manor, he had heard that Fen Dai was learning to perform this snow dance. He originally thought that she simply wanted to try and capture the fifth prince’s heart and would just dance for him privately, but he absolutely never thought that this girl would be so bold and dare to dance in front of the Emperor. Feng Jin Yuan felt that he had made a large mistake on Fen Dai’s situation.
Speaking of, when daughters of officials of similar rank to his had to marry, they would have chosen a good husband. There was no need to mention the daughter of the first wife, as they were the majority of the family’s glory. Even if it was the daughter of a concubine, they were used to help pave the road for the daughter of the first wife or they were used to prepare an escape route for the family.
In the Feng family, he had made plans long ago for Chen Yu. Feng Yu Heng had also been promised to the ninth prince. As for Fen Dai and Xiang Rong, Feng Jin Yuan was also preparing to send them into a prince’s palace. As for which prince they would be sent to, he still had not figured that out. But since the fifth prince had already expressed his desire, he did not have any intention of refusing. Either way, Fen Dai was still young. In the following years, he would still have a chance to take a look.
But today, this girl’s boldness had already drawn fire on herself. Whether or not her life would be spared remained to be seen.
Feng Jin Yuan was both angry and afraid. Kneeling on the ground, he did not even dare to raise his head. If Fen Dai were to be abandoned, he would not feel distressed at all. But whether or not he felt distressed was one matter, the face of the Feng family was another. If something happened on the first day of the new year, how should the Feng family pass the rest of the year?
Looking at the panicked appearance of Feng Jin Yuan down below, the Empress could not help but glance towards the Emperor. After all, this was the family of a standard first rank official. She had to try and figure out what would be the best decision.
However, the anger in the Emperor’s eyes did not appear to be weakening in the slightest. In fact, it became more and more furious. If it continued like this, perhaps he would explode!
The Empress’ heart trembled. She could not allow the Emperor to explode over such a thing on this day. After all, it was not just officials and their families present. There were also foreign envoys. It was the idea of not airing dirty laundry. If outsiders were to see it, what sort of situation would that be?
Thus she quickly spoke: “Prime minister Feng, your daughter is dancing quite beautifully. This one thinks that she dances very well. How about she remains at the palace from this day forward, so she can perform this dance for his Majesty and this one at any time.”
Feng Jin Yuan was startled, remain in the palace from this day forward? Was that not essentially putting Fen Dai under house arrest? What was the difference between that and death? And even performing this dance at any time, the Emperor became furious just from seeing it once, how could he possibly watch it at any time. Feng Jin Yuan felt a sudden surge of emotion. He wanted to strangle Fen Dai to death. She was unable to accomplish anything but was able to spoil everything. He had managed to relieve the disaster with great difficulty and earned some merit. In addition to Feng Yu Heng’s earlier performance, he was truly quite happy. He even planned to praise Feng Yu Heng for a while after they returned. Since this second daughter had this sort of ability, he would need to soften his attitude and take the initiative to try and reconcile. But Fen Dai causing trouble like this caused all the good feelings to disappear.
“Your Highness.” Although he already gave up on this daughter, as a father, he could not be too distant in front of all these people. Thus he could only grit his teeth and say: “My youngest daughter is still young. She is completely ignorant. Would your Highness please pardon her!”
The Empress began to play dumb, “This one wishes to keep her in the palace. This is a good thing. What sort of thing is Prime minister Feng saying?”
“Your Highness!” Feng Jin Yuan once again brought his head to the ground, “My youngest daughter is completely ignorant!”
These words were very clear, and everyone was able to tell that something had happened.
The song from the flute and the dance outside continued. The fifth prince, Xuan Tian Yan was completely outside and staring blankly. He was completely oblivious to what was happening inside the hall.
As for the people seated in the hall, they began to react. Something had gone wrong with the dance being performed by the Feng family’s young miss.
“Prime minister Feng.” The Empress put on a serious expression, “This one is being graceful. What other requests do you have?”
Feng Jin Yuan had been blocked and rendered speechless. Indeed, this was a grace. If it were not for the Empress speaking up, and the Emperor had spoken instead, Fen Dai’s blood would have been spilled on the spot.
Thus he kowtowed and did not say another word, accepting it.
But at this time, eldest princess Kang Yi, who had been sitting near Feng Yu Heng, suddenly stood up. Walking over to the middle of the hall, she stopped next to Feng Jin Yuan and said: “Your Highness, the Feng family’s fourth young miss’ thoughts were clever. Kang Yi is truly grateful.”
Once this was said, everyone was shocked.
Grateful? What are you grateful for?