Chapter 19: The girl in white (2/2)

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Zhu Fenfang stayed back for a few minutes before leaving the tea house. She had her maid Xiao Chu call her carriage around, the carriage, clothes and jewellery even though they weren't as expensive as Zhu Fengyin's and Zhu Fei Fei's, were some of the benefits she got from her father.

While she wasn't one of the favoured daughters in the family, she still received the standard benefits of any daughter of a noble family. She didn't receive much attention and care from her noble father because of her mother's origin.

Unlike her sisters and brothers, she didn't have any powerful relatives that Minister Zhu could make use of. Her mother was the concubine daughter of the He family. The He family was once a powerful military family but were now in decline.

Minister Zhu married her mother back then as a favor to Madam Lu, back when her father and the previous Duke Wu were still close. That was before her father became power-hungry and ruthless.

Maybe if she had powerful relatives, her father would see her in a different light. She was more beautiful and intelligent than any of her sisters yet her father didn't give her any attention. He didn't involve her in any decisions and plans he made.

It was always only Fengyin or Feifei, he never even introduced her to any one of his followers. Which was annoying, no matter how hard she tried, she could never be compared to his precious Zhu Fengyin.

Every plan he made was always in Zhu Fengyin's favour. As soon as Zhu Fengyin was born he got her betrothed to the Sixth Prince, she would have been a princess consort if it wasn't for Madam Zhu and Zhu Feifei's involvement.

Zhu Fenfang had been overjoyed when that happened, she had thought that finally, Zhu Fengyin would know how it felt to lose face. However, her joy was short-lived because minister Zhu found her another match. Even though the Lu family was in decline, they were still members of the royal family.

The Empress was Duke Wu's aunt, they still held a majority of the military power and were still the second richest family after the royal family. The Lu family was a very old line with roots that were dated to the founding fathers of the empire. They had been producing Empresses and defending the borders for generations.

Zhu Fengyin still had a good match, at least she would become a duchess and get to run a household. Zhu Fenfang had been suppressed since birth by Zhu Fengyin, she wasn't going to let that happen again.

No she would never let that happen, she would never marry Lu Yaozhu. He was just a second son with no power of his own. If she married him, she would have to bow to Zhu Fengyin for the rest of her life. Which wasn't any different from her life in the Zhu Family.

Zhu Fenfang aimed higher; unlike Madam Zhu and Zhu Feifei, she wasn't going to aim for a favored prince without any power.  She had her eyes on the crown prince, the Emperor may favor the sixth prince but with his reputation right now, the Sixth Prince would never inherit the throne, the Crown Prince's position was very stable.

Zhu Fenfang was seated in the carriage with Xiao Chu, on their way back to the minister's residence when there was a loud commotion outside. Zhu Fenfang pulled the curtains on the window to the side and looked out the window.

A rider lost control of their carriage and was headed straight to where a child stood. The child chased after his toy. The carriage was going too fast, someone needed to get the child out of the way.

Zhu Fenfang stopped the carriage and rushed out. She ran out of the carriage and pulled the child into her hands, the force was a little high, she fell with the child in her hands.