Divine Doctor Mommy Is A True Big Shot

Chapter 47 - 47 47 Little Wolf Dog Brother

?Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Little Wolf Dog Brother Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Little Wolf Dog Brother Dongfang Lianhua gave a bitter smile.

“Originally, I shouldn’t have told you about this, especially since you are about to get married and are busy preparing for the Yuxiu Academy exams.”

Feng Luochen is Feng Bailing’s younger brother, one year her junior. Just like Feng Bailing, he was raised by Aunt Xue. Being the legitimate son of the Princess’ Mansion, he was wild and uncontrollable.

Four years ago, just after Feng Bailing was sent to the Other Manor, he was expelled from the Imperial Academy. Feng Zhanlian, considering him an uneducated idler, sent him to the Fengtian Academy in the north for schooling.

This letter was a complaint from the Dean of Fengtian Academy.

“How can you be so useless, dropping out just because you were bullied. Tell me, who spoke ill of you, I’ll teach them a lesson!”

“That hypocrite Dongfang Li, daring to break off the engagement! I told you long ago that he and Feng Xiangxue were already exchanging flirtatious looks, you should’ve given up hope, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“Wait for me, once I have made enough achievements, I will ask the Emperor to restore the Princess’ Mansion to us, and I’ll bring you back home.”

His prison clothes were stained with blood, his lips parched, bearing wounds left by torture.

Tall and sturdy, his youthful appearance yet to fade, he faced exile with indifference.

He insisted she not see him off. Without looking back, he walked away from the prosperous Chu City towards the harsh and cold frontier battlefield.

That was her brother, who always spoke coldly and looked down on her from childhood.

For her, he had beaten those who mocked her at the Imperial Academy, resulting in his expulsion.

For her, he confronted Dongfang Li, and was then framed by villains and clanged in prison.

For her, he volunteered for military service, hoping to reclaim the Princess’ Mansion through his valor.

Courageous in battle, he stormed into the enemy camp and ultimately was pierced by over a hundred arrows, dying on the frontier battlefield.

That was her brother, Feng Luochen.

In that life, she never saw his last moments and let him die in a foreign land.

Her vision gradually blurred — Feng Bailing thought that in the years she had been reduced to the streets, she had already cried all her tears dry.

“Luochen was neglectful and unambitious, wasting his days with bad company, failing repeatedly in the academy reviews, and even picked up a gambling addiction. He owes the local gambling house 150 gold taels.”

Dongfang Lianhua’s voice brought Feng Bailing back to reality.

Dongfang Lianhua was also distressed over this son.

Feng Zhanlian came from a scholarly background and despised warriors; both his sons pursued scholarly careers, and as the legitimate heir, Feng Luochen was sent to the Imperial Academy early on.

But he was consistently underperforming there, weaker even than the average child student, and Feng Zhanlian felt his own face had been utterly lost.

He hoped there would be an improvement after sending him to Fengtian Academy, but only saw him worsening.

Debts must be paid; the gambling house threatened that if they didn’t receive 150 gold taels, they would chop off Feng Luochen’s hands.

150 gold taels is not a small amount; in the 22nd century, one gold tael is equivalent to over ten thousand.

“Mother, have you ever considered that Luochen might be behaving so recklessly because he simply hates studying?”

That life saw Feng Bailing expelled from Feng Mansion, Dongfang Lianhua died of rage, and Feng Luochen returned from Fengtian for the funeral, covered in injuries, reportedly escaping from a gambling house.

He broke off the father-son relationship with Feng Zhanlian at the funeral and went to settle accounts with Dongfang Li, during which Noble Princess Consort Xiao and others took the opportunity to file a complaint against him. He was imprisoned for years, until his death in battle.

Feng Bailing, having experienced modern education in the 22nd century, came to realize more deeply the importance of teaching in accordance to one’s aptitude.

From a young age, Feng Luochen learned the literary arts, and in that lifetime, he even managed to beat Dongfang Li once before establishing numerous military achievements on the battlefield.

He was straightforward and had a wide circle of friends. These behaviors, which Feng Zhanlian considered inferior, were in line with his true nature that favored martial skills and fierceness.

“But when he was a child, during the ritual of Zhuazhou, he clearly picked up the calligraphy tools.”

Dongfang Lianhua muttered.

“That’s because Aunt Xue wanted to win Feng Zhanlian’s favor and deliberately placed candies next to the calligraphy set. Luochen was so young; how could he understand these things? He’s more like you, fond of practicing martial arts.”

Feng Bailing smiled, with Dongfang Lianhua feeling a mix of emotions in her heart.

She too had been suppressed by the Queen Mother since she was a child, learning to follow rules and to speak carefully. Gradually, she lost touch with her own desires.

Even towards Feng Zhanlian, her affection was sparked by the harem concubines praising the newly honored top scorer for his literary grace, after which she sneaked a few glimpses and convinced herself that she was enamored with him.

“Could it be that all these years I was wrong.”

Dongfang Lianhua murmured to herself.

“Mother, as things stand, we must first figure out how to gather these 150 gold taels. The Medicine Shop will give it to me, but the Feng Family will certainly not.”

Feng Bailing said not without irony.

“I don’t have much silver at my disposal; you know the land tax for these years all went to Aunt Xue.”

Dongfang Lianhua’s jewelry, which was gifted by the Emperor, could not be pawned.

“The money should be demanded from the person who holds it; our money is not that easily taken.”

Feng Bailing had clearly calculated the accounts; the Princess’ Mansion’s three shops were valuable, but still didn’t compare to the land tax.

Dongfang Lianhua, personally titled Princess Yong’an by the late Emperor, was entitled to the revenue of a thousand households, effectively a hundred households. Each year, she received land tax amounting to twenty thousand stones, which based on the rice price of Great Chu was equivalent to twenty thousand silver; every year, Aunt Xue could lay hands on two thousand gold.

Over these years, the Feng Family lived luxuriously, the elderly Lady adorned in gold and silver, Feng Xiangxue and Feng Ruoyan lived like Commandery Princesses, and even Aunt Xue’s son Feng Zhao’an’s societal interactions were funded by this money.

When Feng Bailing went to the south wing and opened up about this money, Aunt Xue’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Ah Ling, it’s not that Aunt doesn’t feel for you. This year’s land tax revenue fell short, delays in collection, little is left in the mansion’s treasury. Spring has come; your grandmother’s room in the east wing is leaking and needs repairs. Also, both your sisters need to prepare gifts for school, each requiring money. Your marriage can wait a few months; once Prince Shun’s Mansion sends the engagement, we can then prepare your dowry.”

Aunt Xue thought to herself.

Whether you can get married is still uncertain; Princess Consort of Prince Shun wants you to excel in the Six Arts, keep dreaming.

“The east wing is the oldest part of the Princess’ Mansion, long overdue for repairs. Come summer, it gets too hot and is truly unfit for Grandmother to live in. The west wing, on the other hand, is very quiet and cool, having just been renovated a few years ago, and even has a Buddhist hall. Why not move Grandmother to the west wing? Mother and I, along with Xiao Li, could move into the east wing. This way, we can save at least a thousand taels of silver. As for the school gifts, I’ll trouble Aunt to prepare an extra set, I plan to take the exams for Yuxiu Academy this spring, and then Prince Shun’s Mansion will come to engage me.”

Feng Bailing’s words left the usually articulate Aunt Xue speechless.

The former Feng Bailing always listened to her words without objection, one and the same. But the Feng Bailing now, clever and eloquent, had rendered Aunt Xue completely unable to respond.

“I must be hearing things, you’re considering taking the exam for Yuxiu Academy? Have you forgotten how you were driven out before?”

A fragrance wafted through from behind.