Seeing Feng Xiyan mounting his warhorse, Tan Pengtai hurriedly shouted, "Great General, we will go back and get something to offer to Fairy Bai!"
Feng Xiyan waved at them without turning around and replied, "Alright."
Arriving at the Great General’s mansion, Feng Xiyan threw his warhorse’s reins to one of the soldiers guarding the gate and rushed inside.
Seeing how urgent he was, the two soldiers exchanged looks before one of them asked, "Is the Yuezhi Tribe attacking again?"
The other soldier shook his head and replied, "Impossible. The battle just ended a few hours ago. How could the Yuezhi Tribe dare to attack again after we defeated them?"
"Then why is the Great General in such a hurry?" the first soldier asked curiously.
The other soldier pondered for a moment and then shook his head again. "The mind of the Great General is hard to guess. We should focus on our tasks and not ask what we shouldn’t."
Hearing this, the first soldier nodded and led the warhorse to the stable.
Meanwhile, Feng Xiyan was busy rummaging through the storage room. Just as he was about to open another wooden box, Huang Wenping arrived.
Walking into the messy storage room, he said, "Young Master, I heard from the servant that you are back."
Seeing Feng Xiyan was busy searching for things, he curiously asked, "Young Master, what are you looking for? Please tell this servant—maybe I can help you find it."
Hearing this, Feng Xiyan looked up. Seeing Huang Wenping there, his eyes lit up as he asked, "Uncle Huang, do you know where my father’s painting collection is?"
Huang Wenping was surprised by his question and asked, "Young Master, why do you suddenly want those paintings?"
Feng Xiyan explained, "Thanks to the weapons and armor bestowed by Fairy Bai, we managed to defend Xiqiang City last night. I want to use those paintings as offerings to express my gratitude."
Upon hearing that they survived last night’s attack thanks to Bai Hanyun’s blessing, Huang Wenping quickly knelt to the sky and said, "Thank you, Fairy Bai, for protecting us."
After kowtowing three times, he stood up and looked at Feng Xiyan. "Young Master, those paintings are gone."
"Gone? Those are my father’s treasures. How could it be gone?" Feng Xiyan asked in disbelief.
Huang Wenping sighed and explained, "Those paintings and other treasures were kept at the Great General’s mansion in the imperial capital. They were gone together with the others."
Hearing this, Feng Xiyan knew that the paintings and other treasures most likely ended up in the emperor’s hands—or in the corrupt officials’ pockets.
Noticing his gloomy expression, Huang Wenping said, "Young Master, although we lost those treasures, Madam secretly kept some here in Xiqiang City."
When Feng Xiyan heard this, sadness flashed in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, "Mother was always prepared."
Looking at Huang Wenping, he asked, "Uncle Huang, do you know where my mother kept them?"
Huang Wenping nodded and smiled. "Of course. Young Master, please come with me."
Following him to his mother’s courtyard, Feng Xiyan looked around at the clean and tidy surroundings.
Noticing that Huang Wenping had kept the place in order after all these years, Feng Xiyan softly said, "Uncle Huang, thank you."
Huang Wenping shook his head and replied, "The Feng family had treated the servants with kindness and sincerity all these years. This is the least this old servant can do to repay Master and Madam’s kindness to me."
Entering the side wing of the courtyard, Huang Wenping took out a bunch of keys, chose one, and unlocked the door.
Pushing it open, he stepped aside and said, "Young Master, please."
Noticing that Huang Wenping didn’t intend to enter with him, Feng Xiyan stepped into the storage room alone.
Standing by the door, he looked around and thought, ’Judging from the thickness of the dust, no one has stepped into this room since Mother passed away.’
After scanning the room, Feng Xiyan walked to the display cabinets and browsed through the items one by one.
Seeing that most were his and his father’s calligraphy, paintings, and the small toys his father made for him when he was a child, Feng Xiyan sighed and muttered, "Mother, I never expect you still kept these toys after all these years."
Putting down the toys on the display cabinet, Feng Xiyan went to check the wooden boxes. Some were labeled with ’For my son’s wife’, and Feng Xiyan hesitated for a moment before opening one of those wooden boxes.
Inside was a set of phoenix crowns and a wedding dress.
Staring at the beautiful wedding dress, he fell silent. In his current situation, surviving was already a miracle. He didn’t dare dream of marriage.
"Mom, your son may never have a wife in this life. It’s a pity that you put so much effort into preparing these for your future daughter-in-law."
Closing the wooden box, he left the labeled ones untouched and checked the others.
After a long selection process, Feng Xiyan finally chose a pair of dragon and phoenix vases bestowed by the founding emperor to the Feng family, along with a set of wine cups and a wine jar from his father’s collection.
He then carefully placed them in a smaller box and carried it out.
Seeing him come out, Huang Wenping asked, "Young Master, have you found what you need?"
Feng Xiyan nodded. "Yes. I might need to use the others later."
Huang Wenping understood that their only hope of survival now was through supplies provided by Bai Hanyun, but he felt sorry for Feng Xiyan, who was using his family’s legacy to buy them.
Feng Xiyan noticed his sadness and said, "Uncle Huang, it’s fine. I believe Father and Mother wouldn’t blame me if they knew that all of these can be used to save the Feng Army and the citizens of Xiqiang City."
Huang Wenping sighed at his words and locked the storage room.