The plum banquet ended completely.
Bai Xilie feared that Bai Zhi’er might have been frightened just now.
So, at the first moment, the Emperor left with the Princess in his arms.
The civil and military officials also took their families, bidding farewell to their fellow bureaucrats.
Bai Zhi’er lay on her father’s shoulder, being carried by Bai Xilie down the Wide Jade Stairs.
Officials leaving around them paused, bowing to make way.
Bai Zhi’er’s watery eyes casually glanced to the side.
And for a moment, she made eye contact with a man whose eyes resembled those of an eagle.
Although that man appeared to be bowing,
he was slightly raising his head, his gaze sinister, and his face didn’t look like that of a good person.
On Bai Zhi’er’s delicate round face, her black eyes, like grape pearls, blinked twice.
She only held the eye contact for two seconds before looking away.
The eagle-eyed man was holding the hand of his five-year-old daughter.
"Dad," his daughter stared at the sight of Bai Zhi’er being carried away, "what kind of dress is the Princess wearing? I want it too!"
The man quickly lowered his head, smilingly speaking with his daughter, "Alright, Dad will have someone deliver it to you tomorrow!"
At that moment, a cold laugh sounded behind them—
"The soft silk cloth on the Princess, a hundred gold for a bolt. Even though Vice Minister Zheng’s monthly salary is only ten silver, he indulges his daughter greatly, agreeing so readily, indeed generous."
The eagle-eyed man immediately furrowed his brows.
He quickly adjusted his emotions, and when he turned to face Feng Fuce, he was wearing a flattering smile.
"Marquis, I only have Moxin, naturally I fulfill her every request, even if I must endure some hardship myself, it doesn’t matter."
"Now the Marquis is still young, when you have your own family and children in the future, you will understand my fatherly heart."
Having said that, he laughed heartily.
Feng Fuce slowly walked down the steps.
After hearing the other’s words, he responded with only a cold laugh.
"Vice Minister Zheng, how is your work at the Ministry of Revenue going?" Feng Fuce stopped.
Appearing somewhat superior, looking down imperiously.
Zheng Jin cupped his hands, "Everything is well with me, thank you Marquis for your concern."
He couldn’t help the doubts in his heart.
Why did this Marquis Wan suddenly stop him to say these things?
His daughter Zheng Moxin was getting a bit impatient.
"Dad! I want to go home; it’s too cold outside." She tugged at Vice Minister Zheng’s sleeve.
Her face was full of impatience.
Zheng Jin hurriedly soothed, "Moxin, be good, Dad will say a few words to the Marquis, and then we’ll go back."
Feng Fuce smiled, his long eyebrows relaxed, with insight and coldness.
"Since your dear one is so anxious, I’ll be brief."
"I vaguely remember, Vice Minister Zheng’s mother was the daughter of a noble family from the former dynasty."
Zheng Jin’s heart tightened, he unconsciously squeezed the hand holding his daughter.
He tried to maintain a calm face, "Indeed, but Marquis, my mother passed away many years ago."
"And I am deeply appreciated by the Emperor, which is why I can stand in the court. As for the former dynasty, it is now another country, in my heart, there is only Great Chu."
"The Marquis brings up the past in public, I wonder what the meaning is?"
Feng Fuce’s thin lips slightly pressed, his expression indifferent, looking like a half-smile.
His black eyes cold as ink.
"I have no other intentions, just today saw that even a mere Chief of the Secretariat could know that the Duohun Wood is poisonous, intending to harm this Marquis."
"Therefore, I couldn’t help but think, Duohun Wood is rarely seen in the Capital, only common in Lizhou, and Lizhou happens to be Vice Minister Zheng’s ancestral hometown."
Zheng Jin’s pupils contracted, he quickly let out a dry laugh, covering his panic.
"The Marquis jests, but coincidentally, I dare not bear such a crime."