That afternoon, Xuan Tianming sent out two hidden guards and a small group of soldiers to escort the bearded man and his companion as well as Duanmu Cong's corpse to Song Zhou.
Feng Yu Heng went to visit Fu Ya. She was still unconscious; however, there was nothing wrong with her. She was just weak from exhaustion and fear. She would be fine after resting for a while. She just did not know if the Fu shi couple was still alive. In the end, she owed them for this matter. When the time came to take over Song Zhou, she would definitely look for them.
Of the three northern provinces, Guan Zhou was the mountain gate, Song Zhou was the heartland, and Jiang Zhou was the closest to Qian Zhou. It was the true border. Taking over Guan Zhou was easy, but taking over Song Zhou would not be so easy.
After dinner, Xuan Tianming gathered his troops and began to formulate a detailed battle plan. Feng Yu Heng also participated. In regards to Princess Ji An interfering in the discussion of how to lead the army into battle, not a single soldier from Dashun raised any objections. This was not just because she was the commander of the Divine Intent Army, nor was it because she had the Hou Yi bow that Emperor Tianwu had personally bestowed upon her. A person's reputation was like a tree's shadow. Feng Yu Heng's deeds had already spread throughout the army. Moreover, she had killed Duanmu Cong today, allowing all of the soldiers to see such a shocking scene.
Feng Yu Heng was already a legendary existence in Dashun's army. With her at Xuan Tianming's side, everyone that had participated in this battle plan discussion felt a sense of pride.
But she was not able to participate for long. After the vanguard entered Guan Zhou, the people behind them also entered the city. Among them was Wang Chuan and Huang Quan, who had successfully met up with Qian Li's army outside Guan Zhou. There was also Bai Fu Rong, who had served as her substitute.
When Feng Yu Heng came out of the meeting room, Wang Chuan and Huang Quan immediately threw themselves at her. Wang Chuan was still calm, but Huang Quan couldn't control her emotions. She hugged Feng Yu Heng and cried.
Feng Yu Heng helplessly patted her back and said, "If you don't let go, you'll strangle me to death."
Huang Quan stamped his foot and loosened his grip. However, he said, "If Miss doesn't appear, this servant will have to commit suicide in front of His Highness."
Wang Chuan shook his head helplessly, but said, "Miss, this operation is too risky. We originally planned to find a way to enter the city and ask around if we could not see Miss again."
Feng Yu Heng told the two: "It's not as dangerous as you think. Moreover, Ban Zou came. With him here, I will be safe."
Huang Quan snorted coldly and said: "That brat still knows to come from the capital. It seems that Miss did not dote on him for nothing. But I saw that he went to take a look at Fu Ya. Was it a mission that Miss gave him?"
Feng Yu Heng was slightly startled. Only then did she remember that when she went to see Fu Ya, Ban Zou was indeed present, but she did not give Ban Zou this sort of mission. She did not know why that guy was so concerned.
Seeing that Feng Yu Heng did not say anything, Huang Quan wanted to ask more, but he was cut off by Wang Chuan: "Let's not talk about this for now. Miss, there is something that this servant has been thinking about for the past few days."
The three of them spoke as they walked towards the inner courtyard of the Prefectural Manor. When the women of the manor received Xuan Tianming's promise that he would not pursue Zhao Tianqi's crimes, they were completely relieved. They took the initiative to tidy up a few rooms in the manor's inner courtyard for Feng Yu Heng and the others to rest in. When they walked through the first courtyard and passed through the corridor of the second courtyard, Wang Chuan stopped. He pointed at a room in the courtyard and quietly said: "The Bai Clan's young miss lives in there. She came with us from the camp. Ever since His Highness' army met up with Deputy General Qian, we always felt that something was off about the Bai Clan's young miss. Normally speaking, we all knew her when we were in the capital. The Bai Clan's young miss is beautiful, but she does not look beautiful with makeup. We have practically never seen her put on any makeup. Even during the new year, she would at most wear light makeup. But this time, she wore heavy makeup, and her red lips were constantly applied. She even said that she looked very beautiful like this. "
Huang Quan nodded and also said: "We did not see how she looked beautiful. We just felt that it was strange. It was as though she had become a different person. She looked completely different from the Bai family's young miss."
Wang Chuan thought a little then said: "Perhaps she wore this makeup to hide something because one night, this servant saw her cough up blood."
Feng Yu Heng's brow was tightly furrowed. Bai Fu Rong had heavy makeup and coughed up blood. The handkerchief that Qing Le had left behind was a constant reminder that something was definitely going on. She had originally wanted to bring up this matter immediately after seeing Xuan Tianming, but when they met, they were on the battlefield. Later on, she saw that Xuan Tianming was fine, thus the matter was delayed. Now that Wang Chuan had brought it up, she thought a little then simply walked over to Bai Fu Rong's room.
There were soldiers standing guard in the courtyard. After all, this was Guan Zhou. It was a place that the Duan Mu family had managed for many generations. Even if Xuan Tianming's army had successfully set up camp, there was no guarantee that a hidden danger would not appear at any time.
Seeing Feng Yu Heng arrive, the soldiers saluted. Feng Yu Heng asked one of them: "Has the person resting inside ever come out?"
The soldier shook his head, "Replying to imperial daughter, they have not. Aside from adjutant Bai who came once, nobody else has come out of this courtyard."
Feng Yu Heng did not say anything else. She increased her pace until she arrived in front of the door. Reaching out, she pushed it a few times but was unable to push it open. She raised her voice and said: "Fu Rong, I am Heng. I have come to see you."
After a while, a voice finally came from inside. The voice was not loud, and it was indeed Bai Fu Rong; however, it sounded like she did not have much strength "Heng, I'm so tired. Let me sleep for a while. Let's talk about it later!"
Feng Yu Heng furrowed her brow slightly and quickly made a decision. She very quickly said: "That's fine. You must be tired from the long journey. Rest well. Tomorrow morning, we will eat breakfast together." After saying this, she turned and left.
Wang Chuan and Huang Quan followed along. Huang Quan was impatient and quickly asked: "Young miss, what do you plan on doing?"
Feng Yu Heng pondered a little then said: "If she can just obediently stay in her room, that's fine. Either way, we will need to see her tomorrow to talk about it. Right "She asked the two," Has his Highness noticed the change in Bai Fu Rong? "
Wang Chuan nodded and said: "Young miss, don't worry. His Highness already said that when this servant went to find third young miss, I ended up bringing the Bai family's young miss back. There was already a problem with this. His Highness also has the same thoughts as young miss. Let's see how she does things. Just wait and see. "
Feng Yu Heng guessed at the change in Bai Fu Rong and returned to the innermost courtyard. At this time, Bai Fu Rong propped herself up in bed.
She had been a perfectly fine girl, but in just a few months, she seemed to have aged a few decades. Her hair was dry and yellow, and her face was bloodless. Even her lips were as white as the snow in the North. Not only this, but her face, which should have been at its most beautiful, had already begun to show fine lines and dark spots. If someone did not know her, they would be able to tell at a glance that she was definitely above 30 years old. Even like this, she was still 30 years old for a commoner's family. She was very different from the girls of large families that took good care of themselves.
Bai Fu Rong did not have much strength left. Sitting in bed, she was like an old woman looking at the door. She could practically hear the footsteps of Feng Yu Heng's group leaving. As she listened, two streams of tears began to fall from her eyes. Her tears were not transparent. Instead, they had a faint bloody color. It was as though they were the blood of her heart. Every time a tear fell, her vision would become a little blurry.
She forcefully held back her tears, as she did her best to raise her head and hold back her tears. She did not dare see Feng Yu Heng. In fact, she did not dare see anyone else. This old face was the result of her lying to the people of Qian Zhou about Feng Yu Heng's whereabouts. During the day, she could only rely on heavy makeup to cover it up. Even at night, she did not dare remove the makeup.
Xuan Tianming had once asked her why she had put on makeup like this. She used the excuse that girls liked to be beautiful to cover it up; however, Bai Ze coldly snorted and said that it was not beautiful.
She also knew that it was not beautiful. Not only was it not beautiful, but it was also very ugly. But what could she do? Since she chose not to sell out Feng Yu Heng and not betray Dashun, she needed to accept the consequences that she deserved. The people of Qian Zhou had never been merciful. After taking a single pill, she began to show signs of aging in less than seven days. This sort of aging worsened every three days. Bai Fu Rong did not know how much longer she could endure. In any case, she had now seen Feng Yu Heng safely reunite with Xuan Tianming. She was finally able to feel at ease.
She thought that even if she grew older day by day until she died, she would not have any regrets.
Faintly sighing, she slowly got out of bed. Today was the day of aging that occurred once every three days. She could clearly feel that she had aged nearly ten years compared to the day before. Even walking was a little more sluggish.
Bai Fu Rong walked over to the table and wanted to pour herself a cup of water. When she picked up the teapot that was filled with water, her hands trembled slightly. Who knew if it was because she had just cried, but the spout of the teapot was not aimed at the bowl, as it spilled halfway onto the table. She calculated that with her current age, she should be nearing 60. How long could a person live? 70? 80? For a normal citizen, 60 was considered a long life, right? In another three days, or at most six days, she would be saying goodbye to this world.
"Mr. Heng." She gently muttered, "You invited me to eat breakfast together tomorrow, but with my appearance, how could I dare go see you."
She put down the bowl and vigorously coughed for a while. She had just drunk a mouthful of water, yet she was able to choke to this degree. Bai Fu Rong recalled her time in the capital. There was an old granny that had taken care of the manor for many years that was like this. She swayed while walking, and her legs and stomach trembled. When she spoke, her mouth leaked air, and she would choke a few times while drinking water. Her father said that they could not send servants away because they were old. In any case, this was a home, and they could enjoy their later years.
But now, she was also in her later years. That's right, she had lost quite a few teeth. She only had one front tooth remaining. She did not even dare open her mouth too much to speak, fearing that someone would see through her.
Bai Fu Rong had a bitter expression on her face. Where was the carefree young miss of a large family from the past. The days of following Feng Yu Heng, Xuan Tian Ge and the others around the capital felt as though they were a lifetime ago. It was as though they had happened in her previous life. As for her current life, it was about to come to an end.
She stood up and wanted to return to the bed to continue lying down. At this moment, she heard someone knocking on the door again. Following that, a voice that she wanted to hear, but didn't dare to hear, was heard, "Hey! Xiao Bai! Do you want to starve to death by not eating dinner? "
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