Chapter 140: No Longer the Same

"Be a good girl, Xuan'er." Seeing Feng Qingxuan shake her head, Yun Ming's voice turned much more serious...

A wave of anger rose in Feng Qingxuan's heart. Why was she always expected to obey blindly? Everyone was adopting her elder brother's tone to lecture her, completely taking it for granted that she would obediently yield...

"Fine!" Feng Qingxuan replied, turning around to head back to the Xuanying Pavilion from another direction...

Watching Feng Qingxuan's receding figure, Yun Ming muttered to himself, "She's angry..."

Feng Qingxuan walked straight outside the Xuanying Pavilion and bumped into Lady Mei. With a wronged expression, she called out, "Aunt Mei..."

Seeing Feng Qingxuan acting so spoiled, which bore a striking resemblance to Xuanyuan Yuan, Lady Mei asked, "Aunt Mei has thought of a way to restore your original appearance. Would you like to try it?"

Hearing this, Feng Qingxuan's eyes lit up as she nodded vigorously...

Yet, the next second, she looked at Lady Mei with guard and asked, "How long will it take to recover?"

Noticing Feng Qingxuan's guarded look, Lady Mei knew she hadn't given up on the idea of going to Yuedu: "Just a day, but once the blade is used, your face cannot be exposed to dust. You will need to wear a veil and gauze curtain for two months."

Feng Qingxuan thought it over seriously. She secretly planned to follow Yun Ming to Yuedu. Aunt Mei had probably seen right through her intentions, coming neither too early nor too late, but precisely at this moment...

"Forget it, I'm already used to how I look now. There's no need..." Feng Qingxuan refused.

Seeing that this young girl was clearly tempted just moments ago only to suddenly change her mind, Lady Mei asked, "Have you fallen for that sickly weakling Yun Ming?"

Feng Qingxuan frowned. She disliked Lady Mei calling Yun Ming a sickly weakling.

"Yet I heard that sickly weakling is already betrothed..." Ignoring Feng Qingxuan's displeasure, Lady Mei continued.

Feng Qingxuan froze, turned back to look at Lady Mei, and asked, "Bet... betrothed? Betrothed to whom?"

Lady Mei did not answer Feng Qingxuan's question. Instead, she said, "Xuan'er, your current appearance is just a disguise created from Mianyin's face. It really leaves much to be desired..."

Pausing for a moment, Lady Mei added, "Aren't you... afraid that sickly weakling won't like it?"

Feng Qingxuan froze, recalling Yun Ming's stern tone just now. He had never spoken to her like that before...

"Is Brother Yun Ming going back to Yuedu to find his un-wedded wife?" Feng Qingxuan muttered...

No wonder Sishao Qianyu had told her earlier to wait for him to come and propose marriage, while Yun Ming had shown no reaction. When he told her to wait for him at the Prince Yuan's Mansion just now, he hadn't mentioned coming to propose marriage either...

"Most likely. It seems to be the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan's Mansion," Lady Mei remarked casually as if by accident.

Not knowing that Luo Yanqing was already dead, Feng Qingxuan immediately recalled who that person was: "It's Luo Yanqing!"

Feng Qingxuan had seen Luo Yanqing before at the Mingke Residence. Luo Yanqing seemed to have glanced at Yun Ming intentionally or unintentionally a few times, which meant she had feelings for Yun Ming...

And Luo Yanqing seemed quite attractive, too.

Feng Qingxuan pressed her lips tightly together, frowning as she thought that Luo Yanqing was already an older maiden, yet she herself seemed a few years older than Luo Yanqing. She was now an elderly, unattractive county princess who couldn't get married...

Sishao Qianyu had married into the Prince Zhan's Mansion at eighteen, which was considered a bit late, but at least she had been betrothed to her elder brother at fifteen. Feng Qingxuan had never thought of her as old before, but looking at it now, she truly was an old, unattractive county princess who couldn't find a husband...

Upon careful reflection, if Aunt Mei wanted to stop her, she could easily do so without touching her face. She might as well just agree...

"Can Aunt Mei perform the procedure on me today?" Feng Qingxuan asked with a pout, her eyes constantly warning Lady Mei not to play any tricks on her...

Lady Mei shook her head repeatedly, thinking how much she truly resembled her mother: "Not today. I still need to prepare some things. How about tomorrow?"

Seeing that Lady Mei sounded somewhat sincere, Feng Qingxuan nodded in agreement.

Lady Mei thought to herself that the saying "A woman adorns herself for him who pleases her" was indeed true. There was no woman in the world who didn't care about her appearance, especially in front of the one she loved...

Just as Feng Qingxuan was talking with Lady Mei, she saw Yun Ming walking over from afar. Remembering his betrothal, Feng Qingxuan glared fiercely at Yun Ming, turned her head away, and strode into the Xuanying Pavilion...

Lady Mei paid Yun Ming no mind and followed Feng Qingxuan into the Xuanying Pavilion...

Yun Ming instinctively wanted to follow, but just as he took a step forward, he halted. He really had pushed this little ancestor too far, but then again, angering her was still better than having her tag along to Yuedu and risk her life...

Yun Ming had originally intended to move out of the Xuanying Pavilion, but realizing he had already angered Feng Qingxuan, moving out might produce the opposite effect. After thinking it over, he decided to stay at the Xuanying Pavilion for two more days...

By dusk the next day, Feng Jinye and Huangfu Chen appeared once again on the roof of the Prince Yuan's Mansion. Yun Ming also sought them out, making it feel just like the old days before a military campaign, when the three of them used to drink on the roof of the Prince Zhan's Mansion...

Yet their state of mind was different today, and beneath their feet was no longer Yuedu, but Guanlin City. Guanlin City lacked the dazzling prosperity of Yuedu, but it possessed a serene and tranquil beauty...

A lingering trace of spring, and the lamplight of countless households across the fields.

Tomorrow, they would set out for Yuedu, a journey that concerned the remainder of each man's life.

"Three years," Yun Ming uttered flatly.

It had been a full three years since the three of them last drank together on a rooftop. The last time was the day before Huangfu Chen escorted grain provisions to Guanlin City...

"Will the next time be yet another three years?" Yun Ming asked.

At this moment, what Yun Ming did not know was that Feng Jinye and Huangfu Chen were thinking there likely would not be a next time.

"That sword strike—let Qianyu do it!" Huangfu Chen suddenly said. "Do not let all our efforts fall short at the very end!"

Feng Jinye looked angrily at Huangfu Chen and kicked out forcefully, sending a glazed roof tile flying directly toward Huangfu Chen...

"You really start fighting over the slightest disagreement?" Yun Ming muttered to himself.

Yun Ming could tell that Feng Jinye had already endured Huangfu Chen for many days...

Inside the main courtyard, Sishao Qianyu was packing up Feng Jinye's belongings for tomorrow's departure. It seemed she had never packed luggage for Feng Jinye before...

Sishao Qianyu could not help recalling the days when she had just married into the Prince Zhan's Mansion. It was only a few months ago; although their days had been filled with bickering, they were far more carefree and joyful...

Rummaging to the bottom of the chest, she unexpectedly found two pear-blossom embroidered cloaks...

Xuechun had brought both cloaks along from the Prince Zhan's Mansion. Sishao Qianyu picked up the black one; the ties on the collar were ones she had sewn herself...

As Sishao Qianyu shook the cloak open, a tie suddenly fell off. Staring blankly at the loose tie, she wanted to sew it back on, but she didn't even know how to thread a needle...

While Sishao Qianyu was lost in thought, Xuechun rushed in to report: "Your Highness, the Prince and Lord Huangfu are fighting on the roof!"

"Isn't that a regular occurrence? What's there to make a fuss about?" Sishao Qianyu said indifferently.

Xuechun grew anxious: "But... but the Prince has smashed so many glazed tiles! It's going to cost a fortune to replace them!"

Reminded by Xuechun, Sishao Qianyu immediately dropped the cloak and hurried out: "Night Eleven, go up there and count how many roof tiles were smashed!"

Night Eleven froze, then heard Sishao Qianyu continue: "Charge the entire bill to Huangfu Chen. Go to the military camp outside Guanlin City tonight and get the money back!"

Huangfu Chen would definitely renege on his debts the moment he left tomorrow!

"Night Nine, Night Ten, hurry!" Sishao Qianyu commanded. "Surround Huangfu Chen, make him sign and seal the I.O.U., and then let them continue fighting so this Princess can sleep in peace!"

Hearing this, Huangfu Chen stopped. With several successive kicks, Feng Jinye sent dozens more roof tiles crashing directly toward Huangfu Chen...

Huangfu Chen jumped off the roof to dodge, and the tiles crashed entirely onto the other roof tiles, doubling the damage...

Sishao Qianyu burst out laughing, leaning over to whisper to Xuechun, "Add a few more taels of silver to every single tile. We definitely won't lose out!"

Huangfu Chen was about to walk toward Sishao Qianyu when he was intercepted by Night Ten and Night Nine. Moving with lightning speed, Xuechun had already prepared the I.O.U...

Glancing at the three thousand taels of silver written on the I.O.U., Huangfu Chen let out a cold scoff, picked up a brush to alter a few characters, threw it to Xuechun, and strode away...

Taking the I.O.U. from Xuechun, Sishao Qianyu sighed and handed it to Night Eleven...

She supposed she had gone too far, but things had always been this way—only now, they could no longer return to the past.

As Huangfu Chen departed, the crowd dispersed...

Yun Ming returned to the Xuanying Pavilion to check on Feng Qingxuan. She was still deep in unconsciousness; Lady Mei had performed the procedure on her today, and she had yet to wake up...

"She won't wake up until three days from now," Lady Mei said.

She had lied to Feng Qingxuan. This girl might look smart on the outside, but just like her mother, she was easily prone to foolishness...

Yun Ming gave a faint smile, imagining how Feng Qingxuan would surely stamp her feet in anger three days from now.

By the time three days were up, they would have already arrived in Yuedu, making it impossible for Feng Qingxuan to catch up to their schedule...

The night was quiet. Only Feng Jinye and Sishao Qianyu remained in the main courtyard...

"Feng Jinye, why don't we watch the stars together tonight?" Sishao Qianyu suggested.

It reminded her of the Star-Watching Festival at the beginning of the year, when they had watched the stars together at the Prince Zhan's Mansion.

Feng Jinye nodded, deeply aware that this night was destined to be sleepless.

Sishao Qianyu leaned against Feng Jinye's shoulder just as she used to, but both of them knew that the future they had once envisioned was bound to change...

"Feng Jinye," Sishao Qianyu murmured softly.

"Mn."

Feng Jinye gave a low acknowledgment. Neither of them spoke further, just sitting quietly as the stars gave way to dawn...

Sishao Qianyu used to say, "Watch the sunrise in the morning, watch the glow in the evening." Because she could not wake up early in the past, Feng Jinye had only ever sent her home during the twilight hours to watch the evening glow...

This was her first time watching the sunrise, yet this sunrise signaled that the two of them were heading toward parting ways...

Last night, Huangfu Chen had returned to the military camp outside Guanlin City, accompanied by Night Eleven and a squad of dark guards. Night Eleven was carrying the I.O.U...

At the Prince Yuan's Mansion, Huangfu Chen had changed the three thousand taels of silver on the I.O.U. into an equivalent value of grain, and Night Eleven had come specifically to transport the provisions...

Suddenly recalling the trace of guilt that had flashed in Sishao Qianyu's eyes when she looked at the altered I.O.U., Huangfu Chen felt a surge of blood rise in his chest as he turned away, narrowly swallowing back a mouthful of fresh blood...

Sishao Qianyu's temperament had not changed in the slightest, yet amidst the twists of fate, everything had changed—nothing could ever return to the way it was.

The Heart-Devouring Gu within Huangfu Chen also served as a constant reminder that the past was forever gone.