Huh? The Tyrant Cries After My Inner Thoughts Were Exposed!-Chapter 207: Prodigal Son

Su Juan earnestly advised, "Look at you, the sole son of the Duke Ping Mansion, are you truly willing to continue carrying the reputation of a wastrel?"

Xie Xun was silent for a moment, "What’s wrong with that?"

Not just anyone can be this kind of wastrel!

Su Juan continued, "Don’t you want to achieve something great?"

Xie Xun waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, you already know me, I’m only suited for drinking and playing, how could I accomplish anything great?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Su Juan’s attempt to awaken Xie Xun’s ambition was once again thwarted by him.

Just when she was about to say something else, Xie Xun changed the subject, "When you were talking with Song Qianhang inside today, it seemed like Liu Xuan overheard something."

When he came out with Liu Miaoying, he happened to see Liu Xuan walking away, so he probably heard something and deliberately avoided going in.

Su Juan looked at Xie Xun with a peculiar expression, "Oh."

[He eavesdropped himself and then slandered Liu Xuan, implying that he also eavesdropped.]

Xie Xun: "???" Can’t he eavesdrop!?

Su Juan would not believe anything else, [There is no second person like him in the entire Capital City, how could he eavesdrop!]

Xie Xun finally understood, Liu Xuan is the prized one from the heavens.

He glanced at Su Juan, picked up the wine jug remaining on the table, and spat lightly at Su Juan as he left, "He is a rigid and stubborn person, no one in the Capital City wants to be the second one of him!"

Why would a handsome and dashing young master like myself need to compare myself to him?

Su Juan: "..."

[Indignant and embarrassed?]

...

The next day, during a rest day, Su Juan entered the palace to dine with the Empress and happened to meet Liu Xuan, and the two discussed some recent official matters.

Halfway through the conversation, Su Juan suddenly asked, "You’ve known Xie Xun since childhood, has he always been like this?"

Liu Xuan looked puzzled.

Su Juan: "Now he spends his days drinking and playing, without any ambition. When I brought it up last night, he didn’t want to discuss it."

She thought, since Liu Xuan and Xie Xun had known each other since childhood, he should know more about Xie Xun.

Liu Xuan paused, seemingly hesitant, "Not always like this."

Seeing Su Juan’s curiosity, he slowly began to explain.

He remembered when he used to visit the Xie Mansion with his father. Xie Xun always loved to pull him along to practice swordsmanship and various spear techniques, saying that a scholar is useless, and a man should join the army and fight, just like his grandfather and father, to protect the country.

Back then, Xie Xun was very strict with himself, striving to learn everything to perfection. None of his peers learning martial arts with him could surpass him.

It happened once that he had a conflict with other students at the Imperial College and was punished by the scholar there for his loose tongue, a matter even the Emperor knew about, resulting in a three-month house arrest.

Afterwards, he lost interest in everything, stopped attending the Imperial College, and made a group of friends to indulge in drinking and revelry daily.

He advised him many times, but Xie Xun never listened and never mentioned anything about being a Great General and protecting the country again.

Su Juan was surprised and suddenly understood, "So you’ve always followed Xie Xun, fearing he might stray down a path of murder and mayhem, or kidnapping women?"

Liu Xuan was slightly taken aback, then chuckled, "No, it’s just that I have nothing better to do and follow him around."

"What you mentioned, he would never do."

No matter how much Xie Xun changed, Liu Xuan believed he would never lose his true heart.

Su Juan smiled, "You have a lot of faith in him."

[Xie Xun, oh Xie Xun, look at how others see you, then look at how you see them, sigh.]

...

During the meal with the Empress, seeing Su Juan eating little, the nanny beside them noticed and immediately instructed someone to hurry up with the sweet soup.

"Not to your taste?" asked the Empress.

Su Juan shook her head and smiled, "No, it’s quite delicious."

The Empress looked curious, "You don’t usually eat so little, is something on your mind?"

Usually, when Su Juan came to the palace, she would devour food, making the Empress happy, but today she seemed lost in thought.

Su Juan was actually pondering what Liu Xuan said.

"Grand Empress Dowager, do you remember that year when Xie Xun had a dispute with others at the Imperial College and was punished by the scholar and even by Grandfather?"

The Empress was slightly taken aback, "Why are you asking about this?"

Of course, she remembered, how could she forget?

Seeing the Empress’s reaction, Su Juan continued, "It came up in casual conversation today, and I was curious about why he was punished."

The Empress paused, contemplating that perhaps it was time her granddaughter learned about this. She looked at the nearby nanny, who immediately dismissed everyone from the hall and stood guard at the door to prevent anyone from entering.

Seeing this setup, Su Juan guessed that the punishment of Xie Xun was not simple.

The Empress asked, "Among the military generals, do you know who was the most beloved in the past century?"

Su Juan hesitated for a moment and shook her head.

If referring to those still alive throughout the century, naturally, it would be Duke Ping, but evidently, the Empress was not referring to him.

The Empress slowly said, "The former commander of the Dingbei Army, Pei Lianshan."

Su Juan put down her chopsticks.

"Back then, the Pei Family was extremely powerful, Pei Lianshan held the military power, and no family in the Capital City’s aristocracy could match Pei Family’s influence. Most members of the Pei Family held key positions in the court, making them the target of many rumors and wariness."

"The Second Prince rebelled, and the Pei Family was implicated. No one dared to speak out, but most Military Generals did not believe Pei Lianshan would rebel. They felt the evidence in the treason case was insufficient, the testimonies were perfunctory, the conviction was too harsh, and the Pei Family died unjustly, with rumors spreading everywhere."

"From a young age, Xie Xun admired those generals who fought in battles and protected the country. He heard a lot about Pei Lianshan. The Duke Ping Mansion, similar to the Pei Family back then, was being watched by many. Xie Xun was young, just about ten years old at the time, and when provoked, spoke some words defending the Pei Family. These words were exaggerated by someone with ulterior motives and reached the Emperor’s ears, resulting in his punishment."

The Empress didn’t continue with further details, but Su Juan could guess the rest.

Defending traitors is a grave crime, and with someone adding fuel to the fire, it’s akin to the Emperor planting a seed of doubt about the Duke Ping Mansion, similar to the Pei Family back then.

Xie Xun’s punishment of facing the wall and reflecting was a period of realizing the intricacies of such matters. From that point on, he dared not stick his neck out.

He should have grown into someone just as outstanding as Liu Xuan and Cai Yi, yet fearing the Emperor’s heart, he hid his brilliance, spending his days in revelry, transforming into a truly extravagant and ostentatious wastrel, failing to achieve anything while dispelling the Emperor’s suspicions of the Duke Mansion, letting the past fade, avoiding the focus of those with ill intentions in the court, and protecting the Xie Family.

Recalling Liu Xuan’s earlier hesitation, Su Juan finally understood that Liu Xuan always knew about these things, so he never viewed Xie Xun like others did.

The burdens Xie Xun carried were never less than those of Liu Xuan.