As it turned out, stealing a tender little cabbage from an old man fiercely protective of his young was no easy task.
Whenever Wei Nisheng brought up "Miss Feng," Feng Yan would lift his teacup and say unhurriedly,
"Fu Niang? She's gone back to the palace. Princess Luyang is waiting to study with her."
His tone, his expression-he was the very image of an old fox guarding his cub,
smiling as he hid his own sweet little snow mochi safely away.
And so Wei Nisheng could only give up, taking a pile of books personally annotated by Feng Yan
back to the Small Courtyard outside the West Peace Gate in a carriage driven by Cui Fu.
By the time they returned to the Small Courtyard of the Wei Residence, dusk was approaching.
Qu Niang was busy in the courtyard, Wei An was arranging the books they had brought back, and Cui Fu was unloading the carriage near the gatehouse.
The horse, groomed to a glossy sheen under his care, was leisurely swishing its tail.
Wei Nisheng sat idly on a stone stool beneath the courtyard's jujube tree, propping his chin on one hand as he gazed into the distance.
"Fu Niang, Fu Niang..." he murmured twice, then suddenly smiled. "She really is brimming with blessings."
It was a fine name, and she was lovely too. And of all people, she was Feng Yan's granddaughter.
With that thought, Wei Nisheng was about to call Wei An over to ask him something
when hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard gate.
"Young Master! Young Master!" Wei An shouted as he ran,
his face flushed red, his voice trembling with excitement.
"An imperial decree! An imperial decree!"
Wei Nisheng froze. Before he could react,
Wei An had already seized his sleeve and