The Slender Waist-Chapter 25 - 21: Accepting the Jester’s Consort

This one night, Feng Yun slept uneasily.

Sometimes it was Pei Jue, sometimes Xiao Ziceng, and it seemed like she also pulled up a radish, a big one that she couldn’t get a grip on or pull out. She woke and slept in a daze, until the golden sunlight streamed in through the gossamer curtains, and only then did she believe the dream had truly ended.

Drawing a long breath, she called Xiaoman over.

"Let’s do a ’startled swan’ hairstyle."

Xiaoman and Daman hadn’t previously served in the inner quarters. Peipei and Huanhuan, the four most clumsy maid-servants in the residence, were thus assigned by Lady Chen to attend to Feng Yun. The previous Meixiang Pavilion was the gathering place for the "old, frail, sick, dim, foolish, and dull" in the Imperial Governor’s Office. The maids giggled and laughed, taking great effort to finally create a satisfactory hairstyle for their mistress, and were overjoyed.

"The young lady is so delicate and beautiful!"

"The maid-servants have never seen a lady more stunning than our young lady!"

Feng Yun adjusted her temples and checked her reflection from left to right in the copper mirror. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Is not Aying beautiful?"

The maid-servants shook their heads repeatedly, "Miss Thirteen’s beauty is petty compared to our young lady’s radiant charm!"

They wouldn’t have dared to say these words before, but now Lady Chen was no longer in charge of the household, and Feng Ying would no longer be trampling on their young lady’s head, so they dared to speak the truth.

After Feng Yun finished her grooming and dressing, breakfast was served.

On Feng Yun’s tray were soup pancakes and white porridge, while the other maid-servants and workers all ate wheat rice. The wheat bran was not cleaned thoroughly, so the cooked wheat rice was somewhat coarse and hard to swallow, but these were already considered particularly good food under the current circumstances.

At least they were enough to fill one’s belly.

"Having food to eat, we are already fortunate."

"Out there, they’re nearly gnawing on tree bark, and we still have grain to eat."

"It’s our young lady who saved us."

Feng Yun listened silently in the inner room, then she pushed open the window and said loudly, "Later, tell the kitchen to roast two jin of salted meat and get some fine flour. Steam a basket of steamed buns to feed your discerning mouths."

Meat again?

We just had meat yesterday.

Could these days be any more blissful?

The women all cheered in unison, "The young lady is easy to please!"

After the jubilation came a faint worry, fearing that the good days would not last long. After all, the young lady was still under the thumb of others, and they must gauge the Great General’s mood.

Moreover, the Great General had not yet returned to the residence, and had not shown favor to the young lady. They feared the good days were just an illusory dream, and that they would soon return to that cold and somber dungeon...

—

From Minor Heat to Start of Autumn is the hottest time of the year.

After breakfast, Feng Yun took her people and left the residence.

She wanted to inspect the Feng Family’s assets left in Andu County.

The lands and fields outside the city, how the Imperial Court would deal with them was not known for now, so she could not act on them yet, but she saw great potential in the shops within the city.

Previously, the youngest branch of the Feng Family was managed by Lady Chen. Coming from a good background and never lacking food or clothes, she was not that interested in money and goods, focusing all her attentions on how to control Feng Jingteng and deal with Feng Yun, leading to the serious mismanagement of the youngest branch’s assets under her hands.

In Andu County, the most well-maintained enterprise of the Feng Family was Yutangchun, a restaurant decorated with polished lacquer and powdered colors. Before the city fell, Yutangchun was managed by the Feng Family’s steward. Once the war began, it was abandoned.

There were a few other shops rented out to others, half of them are now vacant.

Most of the shops showed no signs of vandalism, and the heavy fixtures were still there; only the contents had been pillaged, clearly not the work of the Northern Yong Army but an inside job.

However, those who fled had fled, and those who left had left, and now there was no one to be found.

To accumulate wealth and assets, Feng Yun planned to arrange staff to clean up the shops and open for business again after the dust of the war between Jin and Qi settled down after Start of Autumn.

But currently, there was a serious lack of manpower...

Feng Yun was worrying about this when Steward Fang arrived with his men.

Two richly decorated carriages carrying fragrances, with Lin E, Shao Xueqing, Huan Jiao, and other sixteen stunning beauties, each accompanied by two maid-servants, and escorted by over twenty soldiers, stopped in a grand parade in front of the residence gates, each dressed in gorgeous attire, dressed to kill.

"In accordance with the wishes of the Empress Dowager, bestowing upon General Pei’s dwelling in Andu County Office a residence, along with sixteen courtesans and thirty-two maid-servants..."

In the realms of noble families, keeping three to five courtesans was common, and for the Emperor to grant courtesans to his meritorious officials was standard practice. But to grant as many as sixteen at once was unprecedented in the Great Jin Dynasty.

The residence was already established, and the courtesans and maid-servants had all arrived, but not a single grain of food or a bolt of cloth was in sight. Empress Dowager Li’s intention was more than just gifting someone else’s flowers...

"Come, put up the General Residence’s signboard!"

The Imperial Governor’s Office’s sign had been taken down by Feng Yun and had remained empty since.

With a grand gesture from Steward Fang, several soldiers huffed and heaved up a signboard with a black lacquer background and gold lettering, bearing the imperial seal and red stamp, inscribed with the four large characters "Grand General Residence"—imposing and dignified.

"Everyone have a good look, this is the private home of General Pei in Andu. Serve the General well and don’t let others usurp the nest and mistake the Master."

The original residents of the house were silent as a tomb.

The sixteen beautiful concubines bowed in unison, "We will carefully follow the will of the Empress Dowager."

Eunuch Fang looked at Feng Yun with satisfaction as her facial expressions changed. He gave her public instructions and arranged for the concubines to enter the residence.

Lin E finally had the chance to hold her head high with pride, her chin lifted even higher, "Rest assured, Eunuch, I will not disappoint the Empress Dowager. I will properly educate the sisters and serve the Great General well."

Eunuch Fang’s brow twitched as he cast a sidelong glance at her.

How foolish this woman was! Did the Empress Dowager send her to "serve" the General? She was here to disgust the Feng Family daughters.

However, Lin E’s words could make the Feng daughters uncomfortable, so Eunuch Fang nodded in agreement, then asked Feng Yun with a look of disgust.

"Does Feng Ji have anything to say?"

Speak, cry, ideally wail—then he could return and make his report.

Eunuch Fang was full of expectancy, but Feng Yun simply gave a graceful curtsy.

"I understand. Please thank Her Highness on behalf of the Great General."

Eunuch Fang’s forehead twitched again.

What kind of response was that? It was as if she was the lady of the house.

Feng Yun indeed had a thick face and was not easy to deal with.

Eunuch Fang glared at Feng Yun, who looked back at him with a half-smile, clearly understanding his intentions.

The Great General was not at the residence, so who was he performing for?

For a woman to willingly add sixteen stunning beauties to her lover’s harem was beyond most. Li Sangruo was truly ruthless and magnanimous; no wonder she had the ability to touch the empire and achieve great things.

If so, she would gladly accept them on Pei Jue’s behalf then.

As soon as Eunuch Fang left, Feng Yun wasted no time in summoning Lin E, Shao Xueqing, Huan Jiao, and the other fifteen as well as their maidservants to Qingshan Hall. She assigned them to the shops to sort through the clutter and clean up the place for work.

"In the General Residence, you must abide by the household rules."

"The grains of this world are not for free eating!"

"The General Residence doesn’t support idlers!"

"To eat, you must work."

"Whoever disobeys will starve."

Feng Yun arranged everything with a pleasant demeanor, even coming up with future titles for the sixteen beauties. This one "Flour Cake Xi Shi," that one "Beef Dish Diao Chan". Given their beauty, she wasn’t worried about her shop’s success...

Lin E had ambitions before coming to the residence, dreaming of becoming a phoenix overnight. Who would have thought, the General hardly even stayed there, they didn’t get to see him at all, and they were instead subjected to Feng Twelve’s torment.

The concubines were full of complaints but were completely helpless against Feng Yun.

The guards of the residence all followed Feng Yun’s orders; everyone from top to bottom was from the Feng Family. Feng Yun was like an emperor within the General Residence, her word law. The only one who could support them, the Great General, was far away in the military camp. Not to mention he might not interfere, even if he wanted to, he was too far to reach.

"That lady from Changmen Academy has truly gone mad!"

"We will be bullied to death by Feng Twelve."

"Say less, in the future, we sisters will be serving the Great General together. Shi’er Niang comes from a prestigious family, she is of noble status. It’s only right for her to be a bit authoritarian; just endure it if you can."

"Feng Twelve is not the General’s wife, why should she treat us this way?"

"Humph! She’s not just not the General’s wife. Sisters, think about it, we were given to the General by the Empress Dowager, we have titles, identification, and imperial command, rightful and legitimate. What does Feng Twelve have? Nothing at all, at best she’s just a shameless concubine... We’re clearly above her, yet she has the audacity to step on our faces?"

"Alou, stop bringing it up, why should sparrows dispute with hawks? Let’s get back to work."

Within the Grand General Residence, Feng Yun held her pet otter, leisurely stroking its thick footpads, listening to Alou report the private conversations of those concubines and laughing heartily.

"Starve!"

"Curse me once, starve for a day."

"Curse me thrice, starve for three days."

"Speak well of me, and get rewarded... handsomely rewarded!"

"What reward should I give, let me think... I’ll reward the General’s first night."

"And those two sweet-talking beauties, no need for rough work anymore, arrange for them to help Zhuang Rong with embroidery and garment making. Nourish their skin to be even more lustrous, and if the General takes a fancy when he’s back, their fortune is made..."

"..."

Alou, young as he was, nearly laughed himself into wrinkles.

He favored this current Shi’er Niang far more than the one before.

This Shi’er Niang was more responsible than a man; everything she did and said commanded their respect. Those who followed her saw hope in their days and even looked forward to orders from Changmen. Whenever an order came, their blood would boil with excitement.

But Alou was also worried.

Ignoring the concubines sent by the Empress Dowager was one thing, but starving them? How could that be acceptable?