Chapter 399: Chapter 387 Heartache
Fengyu silently looked at him, feeling a slight headache.
"Zhixu, your temper flares without any sense of reason."
"Who’s the one being unreasonable? He’s infected with the plague, and you went to hug him. Are you not afraid of getting infected? Did you even think about how I would feel?" Xie Xun said coldly. "Though repeated infections are rare, it’s not as if they never happen. What makes you so certain you won’t contract it again?"
"That was my mistake. I was so excited to reunite with Xiaoqi that I forgot my place. That’s on me," Fengyu issued an apology in line with his words. "But Xie Xun, what you said—wasn’t that meant to pierce my heart?"
Xie Xun felt a pang of guilt, his anger extinguished like a flame meeting a snowstorm.
He apologized crisp and clean, "I’m sorry. I was speaking in anger and said something I shouldn’t have. It won’t happen again."
Fengyu, "..."
So perfunctory!!!
She began to understand why the Second Young Master always wanted to punch him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t strong enough to take on Xie Xun.
Still fuming, Fengyu’s heart was indeed hurt by Xie Xun’s words. But suppressing the sour ache in her chest, she said faintly, "When I was kidnapped in Ningzhou, Xiaoqi was in the same group. From the moment we escaped, Xiaoqi and I faced life and death together. Xie Xun, do you know how I, in this frail body, managed to survive and return to Ningzhou? It was young Xiaoqi who carried me all the way to Ningzhou. That year there was a famine—we chewed on tree bark, we ate rats. To stay alive, I drank his blood, ate his flesh. When we were nearing Ningzhou’s borders, we encountered bandits in the mountains. We hid atop a cliff and slipped, both falling onto a tree branch sticking out of the precipice. That withered branch could only hold the weight of one person. Xiaoqi let go, giving me the chance to live."
Fengyu’s eyes turned red. "Xiaoqi is an orphan. His parents died young. When we hid in caves to survive, I promised him that from that day onward, he would be my brother. I told him I’d take care of him, give him so much money, and that we would never starve or suffer again. We were so close... just a little closer and we’d have reached the borders of Ningzhou. I could have taken him home. All these years, I later sent people to search at the bottom of that cliff, but all they found were scattered bones. I thought he’d died but couldn’t accept it. Over the years, I’ve lived in contradiction—commemorating him and simultaneously looking for him. I searched for so many years, never expecting to see him again. Xie Xun, if it weren’t for him, I would have died at the base of that cliff, and you would never have met me."
The ecstatic joy of reunion, the treasure regained after being lost, and Xie Xun’s piercing words drained Fengyu of all her energy. After her explanation, her expression grew colder. "I’m done talking. Do as you please!"
She turned into the wind and snow, no longer heeding Xie Xun’s voice.
Xie Xun grew deeply regretful. He chased after her, pulling her back and draping his cloak over Fengyu. Her nose was reddened from the cold as she bowed her head—truly heartbroken.
Xie Xun felt as if his heart were being sliced open. The words "I was wrong. I’m sorry" stuck in his throat, unable to come out. Fengyu lowered her head, refusing to look at him. She freed herself from his grip, speaking in a flat tone, "Your military duties are pressing. Take care of yourself. I’ll go check on Xiaoqi."
When Fengyu was truly angry, she never raised her voice or spoke harshly. That soft, ordinary tone sent Xie Xun plunging into an icy abyss, his face stinging as though he had been slapped hard.
Jealousy can drive one mad—it was what made him speak such wounding words.
But that boy named Xiaoqi—Xie Xun recognized him!
Xie Xun had a remarkable memory, never forgetting a face. When he led his iron cavalry into Jiaozhou for the first time, he had spotted this boy in the crowd.
The boy had asked, "Xie Xun, will you really slaughter all the people of Jiaozhou?"
He remembered those sharp eyes, like a hawk or a hound.
When the boy fell into the snow and gave him a faintly provocative look, and when Fengyu tried so hard to protect him, Xie Xun’s jealousy only flared brighter, and he lost control of his emotions.
He regretted his words the moment they left his lips.
Xie Jue stood at the veranda, watching Xie Xun in the snowy courtyard, shaking his head. He couldn’t help but think of Fang Chuning. In many ways, Xie Xun and Fang Chuning were remarkably similar.
Equally stubborn, equally proud, equally competitive, and equally compassionate—they were both born to be military generals.
But there was one way Fang Chuning was different from Xie Xun.
He had far more restraint when it came to his emotions!
When Fang Chuning’s heart was broken, he would always show restraint, always endure. Even if pushed to the limit of his anger, he wouldn’t utter a single word and would simply rush off to Jiangnan. When he wanted to sulk, he’d sarcastically bring up some old incident to jab his accuser’s heart.
He exercised much more restraint and endurance than Xie Xun did!
It came down to their upbringings as well. Xie Xun had grown up shielded by his father and older brothers, doted on by his mother, aunts, and eldest brother.
Fang Chuning was different. Marshal Fang was far too strict with him, nurturing in him a contradictory nature of rebelliousness and forbearance from a young age.
Xie Jue thought to himself, How enviable!
He had pushed Fang Chuning so many times but never managed to provoke a full-blown argument!
The medical clinic.
Fengyu put on a face mask. Perhaps due to the cold and frost in Jiaozhou, the plague wasn’t as rampant here as it had been in Yangzhou. Xiaoqi had bathed and put on a clean set of clothes. When Fengyu arrived, he was drinking medicine. He looked obedient, a young boy with sun-kissed wheat-colored skin. At fifteen, his face hadn’t yet fully matured, retaining a trace of boyish innocence. His features were handsome, his dark eyes bright and intense.
"Sister..." Xiaoqi called to her joyfully. Fengyu smiled and sat down beside him. "What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor said it’s not serious. I’m strong and healthy, so I’ll recover quickly." Xiaoqi grinned at her, his gaze filled with curiosity and longing. He wanted to touch Fengyu but hesitated.
But as he stared at her, his eyes turned red. "I thought I’d never see you again in this lifetime."
"I thought the same, Xiaoqi." Fengyu cupped his face. "You’re alive, and that’s all that matters. Seeing you makes me so happy."
Nearly a decade of separation—and they both had grown up.
"It’s all my fault. I should have told you my true identity back then. If I had, you could’ve come to the Feng Mansion to find me," Fengyu lamented, countless times regretting why she had been so guarded. Why didn’t she tell Xiaoqi her identity? If Xiaoqi had survived, he surely would’ve come to Ningzhou to find her.
As a sheltered girl confined to the inner chambers, the chances of encountering him had been too small.
This reunion in Jiaozhou was already a blessing from heaven.
"Being able to see you again and knowing you’re doing well is more than enough for me." Xiaoqi, concerned she might contract the illness, quickly added, "Sister, you’d better leave. There’s plenty of time ahead, but if you fall ill, the Prince will definitely chop me to pieces."
Fengyu smiled helplessly. "Alright then, rest up. Once you’re better, I’ll take you to stay by my side."
"Okay!"