Actually, Feng Xingzhi had a lot more to say.
For example, he missed her terribly too, the longing was like maggots sticking to the bone, gnawing at his marrow.
She had already taken root deep in his heart in childhood.
Because Feng Xingzhi's look at Ji Yunxi was so tender and lingering, Ji Yunxi couldn't help but suspect, "My lord, have we... met before?"
Feng Xingzhi gave a charming smile.
The hand holding the folding fan moved a bit more briskly.
"No."
Or rather, he had seen her long ago, but she didn't remember him, let alone recognize him.
In his childhood, Feng Xingzhi lost his mother at a young age.
He and his elder brother Feng Jiangming had a hard time in the scheming and treacherous palace.
Since his elder brother was in good health and outstanding in ability, he was soon made the crown prince. Although his elder brother took good care of him, he was busy with political affairs. As the crown prince, there were so many things to learn that Feng Jiangming couldn't always stay by his younger brother's side.
At that time, in order to let his younger brother escape the whirlpool of the deep palace, Feng Jiangming asked the emperor for an imperial edict early to confer a title of prince on his younger brother. So Feng Xingzhi left the palace and moved to the prince's mansion.
Without his mother's protection and being too young, Feng Xingzhi had no specific teacher to teach him spiritual power cultivation, so his spiritual power had been stagnant.
After several tests,
His spiritual power was found to be of the lowest level.
With low spiritual power and being so young, he didn't understand the malice of people and didn't know how to protect himself.
The only person who cared about Feng Xingzhi, his elder brother, was in the palace and couldn't spare the time.
Feng Xingzhi didn't want to trouble his elder brother, so he always reported good news but hid the bad.
But when he was a child, he really underestimated the malice of those kids. They got a lot of benefits from Feng Xingzhi one or two times and suffered no consequences, which made them even more wanton.
One incident left the deepest impression on Feng Xingzhi.
A group of young dandies cornered the young Feng Xingzhi in a dead end. There were high walls on three sides, and the only exit was blocked by those dandies.
Countless feet came down.
Feng Xingzhi hugged his legs and curled up in the corner, suffering in great pain.
At that moment, he even thought that it would be good if he just died like this. He wouldn't be a burden to his elder brother, and he wouldn't have to live such a hard life anymore.
There was no hope in life, and darkness surrounded him.
But just when he was completely desperate, a sharp shout stopped those dandies.
"If you touch him one more time, my bow and arrow won't be polite to you."
The older kids surrounding Feng Xingzhi turned around and saw a young girl in a fiery red dress holding a long bow with an arrow on the string. She closed her left eye slightly, and the sharp arrow was aimed right at those hooligans.
"You, you dare! My father is..."
Before the leader of the dandies could finish his words, the girl let go of the string, and the arrow shot straight at them. They quickly dodged, but the girl's arrow still accurately hit the buttocks of the leading dandy.
The howl was earth - shattering.
Then the girl quickly loaded another arrow and aimed it at them again.
"Ji Yunxi! You..."
"What? Do you still have something to say?"
The girl's slightly raised chin looked so unrestrained and heroic in the sun. She pretended to draw the bow, and the group of dandies scrambled out of the dead end in a hurry.
Against the backlight,
Ji Yunxi walked towards Feng Xingzhi.
Gone was the fierce look from before. She reached out her hand to him gently with a tender smile on her face.
At that moment,
A glimmer of light seemed to seep into the dark world of Feng Xingzhi. Ji Yunxi came with that light and walked into his heart.
She reached out her hand to him.
He placed his hand on hers.
"Remember, if you don't want others to bully you, you must first become strong enough."
"Only when you are strong can you protect the people you care about."
After that incident, every time Ji Yunxi left the mansion, Feng Xingzhi would follow her from afar. She always liked to stand up for the bullied kids. Saving him that day must have been just a casual act for her.
She didn't remember him, but wherever Ji Yunxi appeared, he would always be right behind her.
Until a few years ago...
"My lord?"
"My lord!"
Feng Xingzhi was pulled out of his memories and found that Ji Yunxi's hand was waving in front of his eyes.
"My lord, what were you thinking about? I called you several times but you didn't respond. Father sent someone to call us to the front hall for dinner."
"Nothing, just some old memories. Xixi, shall we go there together now?"
"Okay." Ji Yunxi nodded.
For some reason, she always felt an unusual sense of peace when she was with Feng Xingzhi.
The people of the Ji family were sitting at the table for dinner, and the maids were serving the dishes.
Ji Yuchen and Ji Yunyi chatted with Feng Xingzhi casually. Every question the two elder brothers asked could be easily answered by Feng Xingzhi.
After a few rounds,
The atmosphere at the dinner table became much more lively, and the looks in Ji Yuchen and Ji Yunyi's eyes towards Feng Xingzhi were full of admiration.
Just when everyone was happy,
Ji Yuyan put down her chopsticks and said pitifully in a low voice, "Yuyan really envies elder sister for finding such a good husband as the prince."
There was a hint of sarcasm in her words.
"What, do you regret it?" Ji Yunxi scooped up a meatball with a spoon and put it in Feng Xingzhi's bowl, as if declaring her sovereignty.
Ji Yuyan quickly lowered her head.
"I don't, I didn't. Elder sister, why do you slander me like this?"
Seeing Ji Yuyan acting again, Ji Yunxi was in a good mood today and didn't want to bother with her. She just chatted with Feng Xingzhi on her own.
This made Ji Yuyan even more aggrieved.
"As the legitimate daughter of the prime minister's mansion, shouldn't elder sister consider the reputation of the mansion?"
Ji Yunxi lost her appetite because of Ji Yuyan's words. She put down her chopsticks and said unhappily, "Ji Yuyan, what exactly do you mean?"
"Doesn't elder sister know? People outside are saying that elder sister may have some hidden illness, which is why she chose to marry a..."
Ji Yuyan glanced at Feng Xingzhi, swallowed hard, and didn't dare to finish her sentence.
But everyone knew what she meant.
Ji Qilin's face immediately darkened.
Just as Ji Qilin was about to stand up, Ji Yunxi said to Ji Yuyan first, "Sister is so forgetful. How did you beg me that day? Don't you remember?"
The threatening tone was obvious, and it also protected Feng Xingzhi's self - esteem on the other hand.
Hearing this, Ji Yuyan looked like she was about to cry and retorted, "Sister doesn't mean that she doesn't want to marry Prince Feng. It's just that sister's spiritual power is not as strong as elder sister's. Sister is afraid that she can't protect him."
These words were,
Intentionally or unintentionally, throwing an olive branch to Feng Xingzhi.
It was a tactic of retreating in order to advance.
Making the other person think that she didn't want to marry him but made the concession for his own good.
Ji Yunxi really wanted to clap her hands in admiration. Ji Yuyan's skills of acting like a green tea had really improved over the years of practice.
She still smiled.
Then she stood up and walked to Ji Yuyan's side.
Ji Yunxi picked up a dish for Ji Yuyan and said, "Good sister has really thought it through. From now on, stop having any ideas about elder sister's husband. Elder sister can naturally protect her own man."
"Elder sister, sister doesn't mean that. I just..."
Ji Yunxi leaned over.
With a smile on her face, she whispered in Ji Yuyan's ear, "Can you protect the one in the western suburb?"
The fleeting look of ferocity in Ji Yunxi's eyes scared Ji Yuyan.
She swallowed her words and didn't dare to say another word.