Chapter 955

Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily and said: "Mother, I really admire your imagination—how could you mistake a man for a woman?" He felt a bit strange; why would Mother ask like that? Could it be that Huo Shengnan has revealed some flaw? Logically speaking, that shouldn't happen—Huo Shengnan has always concealed herself well; everyone in the Hu household, up and down, hasn't seen through her disguise as a man. Mother and she have only met twice, each time just a brief encounter, with no deep interaction. Could it be that I've exposed myself somewhere?

Xu Fengyi said: "You don't need to lie to me; I'm your mother, I raised you from childhood, I still don't know what scheming ideas you have in your heart. Moreover, some things can't be hidden—the way you and that Huang Feihong look at each other is off; it's not at all like how men look at men. Mother, as someone who's been through this, what don't you understand?"

Hu Xiaotian grinned and said, "Mother, don't you know? In this world there are also men who look at men more eagerly and find them more pleasing than women."

Xu Fengyi spat, "You little brat, still trying to fool me? The day I returned, when your friends came to pick me up, I inadvertently grabbed her hand—skin like congealed fat, soft and boneless—how could that be a man's hand? And after I seized her hand, her eyes clearly showed some panic."

Hu Xiaotian, hearing this, realized he could no longer hide anything, and smiled narrowly: "Son, whatever I do, I really can't hide it from Mother."

Xu Fengyi said, "You and she, a lone man and woman, live together in the same courtyard, facing each other's doors, with no avoidance—just how far have you gone?"

Hu Xiaotian broke into a sweat on his forehead from his mother's question; he hadn't expected his mother to be such a formidable figure. He decided not to conceal anything any longer, sighed, and said: "Mother, I dare not hide it from you—in fact, we not only now live together in the same courtyard, but we have also accompanied each other a thousand li from Yongdu, sharing life and death, and in private we have already pledged ourselves to each other for life."

Xu Fengyi said, "She is……"

Hu Xiaotian said, "She is the one called the greatest female general of Da Yong, Huo Shengnan!"

Xu Fengyi's eyes widened in shock, her phoenix eyes staring wide as she said, "You mean the one who plotted to murder Princess Anping and personally shot the Black Hu Fourth Prince, Wanyan Chixiong?" Huo Shengnan has recently become famous throughout the world, because the Dakang princess and the Black Hu prince were successively killed in Yongdu. The Da Yong side claimed both deeds were done by Huo Shengnan, posted a bounty and ordered her arrest nationwide; Xu Fengyi had also heard of this.

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "It's indeed her, but those two incidents have nothing to do with her—both assassination attempts on me happened to occur while she was present, and she can testify for me; in fact, the whole thing is a frame-up by the Da Yong court. Since they couldn't explain things to Dakang and the Black Hu, they pushed her out to take the blame."

Xu Fengyi always believed everything her son said without doubt; she nodded, sighed, and said, "This girl is also a poor soul."

Hu Xiaotian said, "How could it be otherwise? She is deeply devoted and righteous toward me. This time, when I went to Da Yong on an envoy mission, if it weren't for her help, I would probably have died in Da Yong and never had a chance to see Mother again." He was worried his mother might have other thoughts, so he said that.

Xu Fengyi said, "Since she feels such deep affection for you, you must absolutely not let her down."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Mother, actually, there is more than one who feels such deep affection for me."

Xu Fengyi said, "Who else?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Mother knows her too—she's the female constable who accompanied me to Xichuan Qingyun to take up office."

"Murong Feiyan?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

Xu Fengyi had certainly seen Murong Feiyan before, and her impression of her was quite good; she said softly, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Miss Murong for a while either. I don't know where she is now."

Hu Xiaotian knew he would eventually have to tell his mother all this, so he simply laid it all out today, briefly recounting Murong Feiyan's story. Upon hearing it, Xu Fengyi couldn't help but feel a jolt of alarm—not because of Murong Feiyan's identity, but because Murong Feiyan had previously been the deputy commander of the Imperial Tomb Guard; these past two days, fifty thousand laborers at the tomb have rebelled and set the tomb ablaze, causing an uproar. If Murong Feiyan were dead, it wouldn't matter so much, but if she were still alive and the court found out, they would certainly hold her accountable. Huo Shengnan is wanted by Da Yong, while Murong Feiyan is intolerable under Dakang law. "My dear son, you really know how to pick wives—you've managed to gather two major criminals from two countries at once. If this gets out, the Hu family will surely invite tremendous trouble!"

Seeing his mother silent for a long time after hearing his words, Hu Xiaotian knew she must be worrying, and he smiled, saying, "Mother, don't worry; I have my own way to properly settle this."

Xu Fengyi said, "I'm not afraid; it's just that these two girls have stirred up such big trouble. Have you considered that they'll have to hide their names and live in obscurity by your side for life, never able to show their true faces? Would they really be willing to follow you like that forever? Actually, given your circumstances, taking three wives and four concubines would not be excessive, but there's still one thing you must be careful about. Although I haven't had much contact with the Yongyang Princess, I can also sense that this girl seems unusually different toward you; her courteous treatment of me and your father is not because of your father, but because she cares about your feelings. This time she had me released early, probably because she feared you'd get angry."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Mother, you're overthinking." Actually, he himself had also been thinking along those lines; perhaps Qiqi really had developed feelings for him—she was at the age when her emotions were just awakening, and given her age she hadn't had many chances to interact with other males; he was probably the young man she had interacted with the most, and he himself was quite outstanding. Thinking of this, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help feeling a bit smug, as if his charm were simply irresistible.

Xu Fengyi said, "Although I'm just an ordinary woman, my judgment on this matter is extremely sound. If the Yongyang Princess truly has you in her heart, do you think she would tolerate you having other women?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Mother, between a man and a woman it takes mutual affection. Although she holds the title of Yongyang Princess, in my eyes she's merely a willful, spoiled little girl—I have no such thoughts about her at all, and besides, she's not even of age, far from the time to discuss marriage."

Xu Fengyi sighed, "After she took me and your father away, Quan De'an once came to see us, chatting about how you two met, and in the conversation he revealed the Yongyang Princess's appreciation of you and even asked for your birth date and time."

Hu Xiaotian said, "He asked for my birth date and time?"

Xu Fengyi nodded and said, "Think about it—why would he ask about that out of the blue? Nine times out of ten he's taking it to compare with the Yongyang Princess's birth characters to see if your stars match. Although my natal family has tried hard to distance itself from the court, the court isn't likely to let us Xu family off easily; at a time like this they'd probably try to bind our fate to the court's through some means."

Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air and said, "Mother, you mean they want to recruit me as a prince consort?"

Xu Fengyi said, "Not only do I think so, but your father does too. If the imperial family truly comes to propose marriage to our Hu family, how would you respond?"

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, "Can I really decide this matter? If the imperial family really comes to propose, that would be a great honor for the old Hu family; if I refuse, it would be an affront to the throne, and everyone would think the Hu family doesn't know how to appreciate favors, and that I, Hu Xiaotian, am throwing away face. As for Qiqi's stubborn temperament, she might fly into a rage and exterminate the Hu family root and branch; worse, she might go so far as to castrate herself and send me to the palace to serve as a eunuch for life. But if I agree to this marriage, I'd become a prince consort—called 'prince consort' if spoken nicely, but in reality not even as good as a reverse‑married son‑in‑law. In history, which prince consort ever had a good end? The princess would never allow a prince consort to take three wives and four concubines; since ancient times it's been 'let the princess set fire, but don't let the prince consort light a lamp.' I say, what a huge trouble, what a huge trouble! The most crucial point is that this little girl Qiqi—I don't like her at all; she's just a green‑horn maiden, lacking the pure kindness of youth, a complete schemer of dark malice. If I were to get involved with her for the rest of my life, my happiness would be gone."

Xu Fengyi saw her son silent for a long time, knowing he was surely torn, and she sighed, saying, "Son, if that day ever comes, our Hu family won't be able to say no. I'm telling you this not to make you grudgingly comply, but to let you know you must not wrong yourself for anything. Your father will soon leave Dakang, and my greatest concern is you. If Dakang truly cannot accommodate our Hu family, then leave quickly—with your abilities you can surely carve out a world of your own."

"Mother!"

Xu Fengyi shook her head and said, "Don't worry about me; if it's because of me that you wrong yourself and suffer all your life, I'd rather die!" Her phoenix eyes widened, her gaze firm and resolute—she had already made up her mind.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Mother, things might not actually come to that; before my father was dismissed he was merely a third‑rank official, mismatched in status—how would the royalty even look at us?" This remark was as much self‑comfort as it was comforting his mother—"Surely it won't come to this, surely it won't get that bad!"

Xu Fengyi smiled and said, "Not bad; perhaps I'm just overthinking."

At that moment, a voice came from outside the door—Hu Fo said, "Madam, Young Master, the Minister of Rites Wu Jing-shan, Sir Wu, has arrived!"

Xu Fengyi and Hu Xiaotian exchanged a glance; she did not understand why Wu Jing-shan had come calling, for in the past, when Hu Buwei served as Minister of Revenue, they had little contact. Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "He has come to find me; I and Sir Wu can be considered friends of life and death." He and Wu Jing-shan together went to Da Yong to escort the bride, enduring all kinds of dangers; this mission also made them become forget-year friends.

Hu Xiaotian said to Hu Fo, "Quickly, please invite Sir Wu in." He stood up and went out to greet him. (To be continued~^~)