"Ah!" Liu Weiwei suddenly gasped.

The three were now onboard the Crouching Tiger and it was about to sail as the race would start soon.

But Liu Weiwei caught a glimpse of Feng Yanyan. To her surprise, the top beauty from Tanglin was actually with a woman of unknown origin. One glance at the lady told Concubine Liu that she could be of high status. But what was more scandalous was the lady was wearing a married woman's hairstyle.

Why would Feng Yanyan be with her? There could only be dubious thoughts.

Long Sangyu turned to his concubine who looked panicking all of a sudden. "What is it?"

They were out here to relax. While it was true that Junwang came here to watch over the proceedings, the concubines had no duty to attend to. They could have fun all they wanted as long as it was within reasonable grounds.

Liu Weiwei was honestly shaken. Any wrongdoing by one of the mei ren could reflect on the group. That was what Liu momo instilled in them for four years. If the prince saw Feng Yanyan having an illicit affair with a married lady, what could happen?

She shook her head, trying to calm down.

But beside her, how could Zhang Yunlei not see what she did? He put on a distressed look too.

Long Sangyu was confused. He saw Concubine Zhang peeking at something but looked like he wanted to ignore it. The prince followed the brief glance and saw Feng Yanyan.

Junwang stiffened.

Walking on deck holding a woman by the wrist was Feng Yanyan.

"Stop fussing." It was an authoritative tone coming from a pretty man. If it wasn't whispered, it would have been effective.

Feng Yanyan glared at the lady. If he didn't fear for his life, he would have taught her a lesson. To actually tease a man in broad daylight... of course, only King Wan Li had the guts to do that.

He looked at the wrist he was holding. It felt warm, the steady beats were felt by his palm. This should be cuffed.

Long Xu Le let him be like she was watching a kid throwing a tantrum. He must have felt uncomfortable. But Wan Li Wang herself wasn't noticing that this was the start of her bad habit of teasing the mei ren.

"Ah, isn't this Gentleman Feng?" A portly and stout man blocked the way all of a sudden.

The edges of King Wan Li's peach-blossom eyes chilled as she looked at Feng Yanyan and the official.

But Beauty Feng was unaware of wangye's scrutinizing gaze.

"O-fficial Pei. Fancy seeing you here..." He didn't know what to say to this nosy official. Why did they have to meet again?

Then he felt wangye's hand wriggle away from his hold. Her Highness, the King probably couldn't stand his antics anymore.

"And this should be Madame Feng?" The stout man made a logical assumption.

These days, any female companion could be called Madame but the female beside the beautiful man had extraordinary bearing. She was elegant and fierce while Gentleman Feng was dainty and charismatic.

They looked like a good pair.

Feng Yanyan was gonna lose it. He was afraid to nod but also more scared of shaking his head.

When he glanced at wangye, she merely raised a brow at him.

Go on, answer him. Her gaze was daring him.

In the end, he licked his lips in agitation. "E-en."

"Oho, so that's why Gentleman Feng didn't appear until now. Of course, pampering a lovely wife is a priority."

Feng Yanyan was uneasy all throughout this exchange. But then, the person beside him spoke even though he prayed that she wouldn't.

"This is?"

He gulped before talking. He might get in trouble if he said the wrong words but... Feng Yanyan was really tempted to say what he was about to say.

"Madame, this is Official Pei, whom I met earlier when I was strolling with Junwang. It's just that the official mistook me to be his Highness' concubine. I didn't even get to clarify before General Su dragged me away!" It was told in an exaggerated but aggrieved tone.

In all Dalong, there might only be Feng Yanyan who complained to his "wife" like this in public.

Where was the pride of men? Where was the loftiness?

Official Pei was flustered beyond belief. He never knew a man could be without shame. The chubby man sweated and didn't know what to say. He felt eyes looking in their direction and his loss of face.

It just so happened that the approaching Ping Junwang and his company heard Feng Yanyan's words.

The trio had different reactions. Liu Weiwei was losing her temper while Zhang Yunlei was mostly curious at what Feng Yanyan was spouting.

How could he have a wife?

Tanglin's Beauties are not allowed to wed until the royalty deems them free after their 23th birthday.

That was if no royal kin took them.

Long Sangyu's knees almost gave way below him. The prince didn't give a damn about Feng Yanyan. It was the woman whose lower face was covered with layers of sheer fabric.

How could he not recognize his sister? Of all the people here who were always afraid to look straight at wangye's face, only Long Sangyu could recognize her silhouette from afar.

Wait...

Maybe that applied to Feng Yanyan now too.

One glance from his sister and he knew that he shouldn't call her King at the moment. Long Sangyu lowered his gaze in acquiescence.

"It's this Prince's fault for not clarifying it, causing Gentleman Feng to feel bad. Why don't this prince invite you for a meal inside our booth?"

He then turned to the official. "This prince heard that Official Pei is needed to start the race. Will not be troubling the official then."

It was like the chubby gentleman saw a life-saving grace. He immediately grasped it. Grateful for the prince's generosity. But whatever goodwill he felt for Gentleman Feng earlier was now replaced with animosity.

"Ah, yes. Thanking the prince for reminding this official. I'll be off then. Err... Gentleman Feng, Madame Feng, Your Highness." With one last bow, he almost ran off with his stubby feet.

Feng Yanyan and Long Xu Le ended up following Junwang to somewhere more private. The curious gazes also left them at the same time. 

Like a ticking time bomb, Liu Weiwei finally exploded.

"Feng Yanyan, what kind of scandal is this?! Since when did you get a wife?" She was whispering but her tone was livid.

As Liu momo's niece, the rules instilled in her were stricter than the rest even though she looked to be a pushover brat most of the days. Seeing a mei ren engaging with an outsider was unforgivable.

Feng Yanyan felt like his arm would be torn by this girl. Was she a bird of prey in her last life?

But he ignored the woman who was almost trashing him. And looked at the person whose eyes had lightning flashing in them.

The King was in a foul mood.

"Your Grace, please punish Feng." He hung his head in submission, even biting his lip.

Liu Weiwei paused. What, your Grace? She had never seen Feng Yanyan admit defeat so readily.

When she looked at Junwang to await his judgment, she saw the outsider woman tearing away the fabric on her face.

Concubine Liu felt some sort of familiarity on those painted petal-like lips, high-bridged nose and peach-blossom eyes.

The woman walked to Feng Yanyan under Junwang's gaze.

The audacity! Liu Weiwei's eyes widened but she couldn't quite process the next thing that happened.

Long Xu Le gripped the concubine's wrist, looked at her brother in distaste and threw the hand away.

"How dare y-" Her voice was shrill in contempt.

"Sangyu." But that one word shut her up.

Liu Weiwei fell to her knees, speechless. How... 

Just how could it be Wangye?

A few paces away, Zhang Yunlei followed suit.

Feng Yanyan felt like he was watching a live drama. It was too sensational!

The change in Liu Weiwei's face was too fast. Zhang Yunlei's doubts showed and now it was tainted with bewilderment.

From start to finish, Junwang was clenching and unclenching his jaw. And he noticed his sister contemplated hurting Liu Weiwei for a split second. 

Beauty Feng was touched but it was unfortunate he didn't get to see some action. He even forgot the pain in his arm for a moment.

"Punishment, always asking for punishment." It was a dark, brooding voice.

It was the same frigid voice that Feng Yanyan first heard from her when they met. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt a tug on his arm. Cold fingers grazed his skin as his sleeve was rolled up to reveal red marks.

Long Xu Le scowled and was even more irritated. She couldn't avoid it as it would still be utter disrespect to beat up her brother's woman. The King wondered if Old Master Feng would still blame her for something like this.

But even so, since Feng Yanyan was now under her protection, it was annoying when random flies tried to hurt him.

"It's just a small mark." The man shrugged as Long Xu Le was examining it.

"Ben dian detests lies and manipulation the most." She warned him.

If he asked for punishment again as he did earlier, pretending to be aggrieved to use her name against his opponents... And if he designed another wordplay as he did earlier with Official Pei, he would not be forgiven. He relied on his honey tongue too much to get what he wanted, trapping people, and using another person's hands to crush his enemy.

Her Highness, the King didn't like that. There was no need to turn the situation around in a roundabout way or to scheme to get Wan Li Wang's backing.

She was already his backing despite him not knowing.

Although she had no idea why Old Master Feng liked to keep him in the dark about his own family, Long Xu Le was against it. In due time, Feng Yanyan would know everything. And if Wangye found it really annoying, she might even be the one to reveal it to him. 

Edited: Feb. 16, 2023