Feng Jingye commanded with a cold look on his face.
"Yes," the man replied and hurriedly withdrew.
Empress Chu looked curiously in the direction where the man had left and couldn't help asking, "Ye'er, what are you up to?"
Feng Jingye had never told Empress Chu about his cooperation with Feng Linyuan and his wife, nor did he intend to.
This time, he really wanted to achieve something on his own, so that his mother could see his capabilities and be proud of him.
Therefore, he quickly regained his composure and explained with a smile, "It's nothing. Mother, don't worry."
Empress Chu glanced at the door and then at her smiling son who showed no sign of abnormality. She lowered her eyes slightly.
For some reason, her heart was quite unsettled.
After Feng Jingye finally cleaned the ink off his face, he and Empress Chu went straight back to the main hall.
In the main hall, Feng Linche had already led everyone back from the backyard and was sitting in their respective seats. When they saw him enter, everyone looked normal, as if they had forgotten what had just happened.
He let out a soft sigh. With a quick sweep of his eyes, he keenly noticed that there were a few people missing from the seats.
Feng Jingxuan, Zhuo Lingxiao, Feng Linyuan, and Bai Zheng were all absent!
If only Feng Linyuan and Bai Zheng were missing, Feng Jingye wouldn't have suspected anything. But now that Feng Jingxuan and Zhuo Lingxiao were also gone...
His eyes darkened. He looked at Princess Yunxi, who was smiling and whispering to the person beside her, and asked, "Princess Yunxi, where is my third younger brother? Where has he gone?"
As soon as Feng Linche came back, he noticed that Feng Jingxuan, who was supposed to come to the main hall to console Princess Yunxi, hadn't returned. He was very annoyed, but in front of Zhuo Yi and his son, he didn't ask too much.
Now that Feng Jingye had asked directly, he also paid attention and waited for Princess Yunxi's answer.
Princess Yunxi was slightly stunned. She subconsciously looked at Feng Jingxuan's seat, and a look of momentary confusion flashed across her face.
Just then, the steward of the Third Prince's Mansion walked in. He bowed gracefully to everyone in the hall and said, "Greetings to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress."
"You've come just in time. Where is His Highness the Third Prince?" Princess Yunxi quickly grabbed him and asked.
The steward lowered his eyes and replied respectfully, "His Highness the Third Prince has been preparing for several days to give Princess Yunxi a surprise. He was worried that his subordinates might not handle things well, so he is personally overseeing the preparations in the backyard."
"Surprise?" Feng Linche, Feng Jingye, and Princess Yunxi all exclaimed in unison.
A delicate blush spread across Princess Yunxi's face. "What kind of surprise?"
The steward, who seemed to have received instructions from Feng Jingxuan in advance, explained in detail, "It's something called fireworks. I heard that it was accidentally discovered by an alchemist in the folk.
Ever since His Highness the Third Prince learned that he was going to be betrothed to Princess Yunxi, he has been very grateful for the princess's favor. He has been eager to give the princess a unique betrothal ceremony.
So after he learned about the existence of fireworks in the folk, he secretly bought a whole roomful of them and stored them in the mansion."
It must be said that eight out of ten parts of what the steward said were true.
Feng Jingxuan had spent so much effort building a fireworks room and buying a whole roomful of fireworks. His original intention was indeed to curry favor with someone.
However, at first, he was trying to please his father, Feng Linche.
But now, as time had passed and circumstances had changed, the always intelligent Feng Jingxuan knew very well that the person he should curry favor with now was no longer Feng Linche, who had resolutely abandoned him, but his future wife, Princess Yunxi.
Feng Linche didn't expect that his son would be so attentive to Princess Yunxi.
However, the more affectionate the young couple was, the better it would be for the Great Zhou.
Therefore, he was very happy to hear this and nodded repeatedly, sighing, "Xuan'er has really put a lot of thought into this."
Zhuo Yi also responded with satisfaction, "His Highness the Third Prince is a thoughtful person. Yunxi has indeed chosen the right person."
"Of course!" Princess Yunxi raised her chin without hesitation. Then, looking at the steward with anticipation on her face, she asked, "That thing called... fireworks? What is it?"
The steward smiled respectfully and said, "Princess, please don't be impatient. Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, please move to the courtyard outside the door. The fireworks will start soon."
Hearing this, everyone stood up eagerly, their faces full of curiosity.
Feng Linche took the lead and walked out of the main hall with high spirits and stepped into the courtyard.
Only Feng Jingye frowned deeply, looking as if he had a lot on his mind.
He had just received news from a few people who had returned later than him. It turned out that after he left, Feng Jingxuan had left first, and Feng Linyuan had been called away by Zhuo Lingxiao.
After hearing what the steward said, he learned that Feng Jingxuan had left first to prepare for the fireworks. This made him breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that the missing spy of his might not have been caught by the people in the Third Prince's Mansion.
But what about Feng Linyuan and Zhuo Lingxiao? What were they up to? Could it be that Zhuo Lingxiao wanted to win over Feng Linyuan to deal with him together?
The more he thought about it, the more worried Feng Jingye became.
On the other side, Feng Jingxuan walked in a hurry and finally entered an unremarkable small house.
During this period, because of the discussions about the betrothal, people from the Western Liang, as well as Zhuo Lingxiao and Princess Yunxi, would come to the mansion every now and then.
Feng Jingxuan really wanted to give Princess Yunxi a surprise, so he didn't reveal the existence of the fireworks room to anyone.
Only a few of his trusted subordinates knew about it.
As for the secret room behind the fireworks room, only two or three of the people he trusted most by his side knew about it.
The fireworks room was now much more spacious than it had been a few days ago. In the afternoon, several people had quietly moved half of the fireworks out and placed them in various corners of the mansion.
Feng Jingxuan walked straight ahead without looking around. He passed by the fireworks room, which still contained half a roomful of various kinds of fireworks, and came to the brick wall at the back. He quickly pressed a few times on the wall, and the wall suddenly split open, revealing a door-shaped opening.
The attendant following behind him looked around.
There was no one near the fireworks room now. It seemed that the fireworks were about to start, and all the servants in the mansion had rushed to the front hall to watch the excitement.
But for some reason, he always felt a bit strange.
"Your Highness, I'll stand guard outside," he quickly requested as he saw Feng Jingxuan about to enter.
Feng Jingxuan nodded. "That's fine."
The people in the main hall were still waiting for him. He didn't have much time. After answering, he didn't hesitate at all. He bent down and walked into the not very long passage.
After Feng Jingxuan's figure had completely disappeared inside, the door of the secret room locked itself again. In an instant, he couldn't hear any sound from outside.
This secret room was now the place where Feng Jingxuan plotted important matters. The inner walls were all made of stone, and the sound insulation effect was excellent.
After entering here, he finally didn't have to speak in a low voice anymore, and his footsteps became louder.
The people inside heard the sound and greeted him at the entrance of the passage. "Your Highness."
He nodded slightly and walked in.