Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 859 - 835: Unable to Appreciate Kindness
Dugu Jing led ten thousand Beiman Soldiers to Mudan City. Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin came out to meet him. Seeing the arrival of the Beiman Army, both Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin were very pleased and simultaneously relieved; although Han Ziqi had surrendered, they worried about unexpected events, plus Xie Jue was too quiet. Whenever he was quiet, they feared he would suddenly make a bloody decision, so having Dugu Jing there made them feel relatively safer. Dugu Jing was assertive and straightforward, inherently at odds with Xie Jue. If the Prince made a decision he disagreed with, Dugu Jing could protest and refuse, something Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin didn’t dare to do, lacking the courage. Neither Lin Xiao nor Zhang Boxin wanted a massacre in Mudan City, so they lived in daily trepidation.
Upon meeting, Dugu Jing’s first question was, "Is it true that Fang Chuning is dead?"
He traveled through the night without stopping, covering a two-day journey without sleep to reach Mudan City. As he passed through towns, he didn’t rest, yet the rumors were plentiful, especially closer to Mudan City. Dugu Jing found them intensely annoying, uncertain why he felt disturbed. The reasoning was that although he and Xie Jue harbored hatred, standing from Beining’s viewpoint, he had lost almost everything over years guarding the border. Despite Xie Xun’s ascension, Xie Xun and the Xie family’s strong family views meant they wouldn’t trade everyone’s lives for the throne.
After Xie Xun’s ascension, new policies were implemented, with Xie Jue painstakingly pushing them as the main force, laying a solid foundation for Beining’s initial stability. He shouldn’t be reputed so poorly by these foreign citizens, for the rumors along the way were utterly unpleasant, driving him somewhat agitated. His impression of Sannan people plummeted, nearly equating them to gossip mongers.
Lin Xiao paused, hurriedly lowering his voice to say, "Marquis, Mr. Fang is assumed dead, with neither alive nor dead seen. He likely perished in flames. You... must not bring this up before the Prince."
Nobody dared mention this before Xie Jue, not even the Shadow Guards.
Dugu Jing was slightly stunned, unexpectedly finding Fang Chuning’s death rumors true. No wonder the senior general was so sorrowful. Although he felt great regret for Fang Chuning’s death, he wasn’t deeply hurt, regretting merely having lost a rival. As a military general from Beiman, since following his father to battle at fourteen, he often faced loss, losing close confidants and well-acquainted generals, routinely burying his brothers, having long become numb.
Since becoming the main general, he grew indifferent to death, yearning more for victory, desperate to leave the icy homeland, strive to bring warmth to the people, even if it meant sacrificing numerous brothers in the process.
Zhang Boxin briefly recounted the events, and Dugu Jing understood roughly, "Despicable Sannan people, cunning scoundrels!"
Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin also appreciated his vocabulary, being able to sum it up so precisely was rare.
Dugu Jing went to see Xie Jue. Xie Jue was very calm. Dugu Jing briefly reported the battle situation. With the Beiman Army as the vanguard, and Sannan lacking defensive terrain, it was almost a smooth ride with minimal casualties, quickly reaching the capital. If Xie Jue’s orders had arrived a bit late, Dugu Jing’s vanguard would have reached Mudan City.
Xie Jue said, "Understood. After the army enters the city, don’t disturb Mudan City’s residents; station half outside and half inside the city. Arrange military affairs, Internal Affairs Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin will assist you. I have further details to discuss with Han Ziqi. We depart for the capital in three days."
"Yes!" Dugu Jing thought, perhaps Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin exaggerated; Xie Jue’s state seemed unchanged, nothing like grieving a lost brother, much less seeking death over a lost lover and rampaging. The Xie Jue he knew had always been calm and rational. Indeed, seasoned military generals rarely are moved by the loss of brothers, having long grown numb amidst battlefield carnage.
Dugu Jing thought, rumors truly are false. Look, this noble and powerful Prince is calmer and steadier than before.
"Did the General leave any message for me?" Xie Jue suddenly asked.
Dugu Jing shook his head and truthfully said, "After receiving the news from Mudan City, the general was alone overnight and later merely instructed me to lead troops swiftly into Mudan City, with no additional words."
"Got it!" Xie Jue lowered his eyes. Strangely, Dugu Jing felt, at this moment, Xie Jue seemed a bit pitiful, a term never once associated with him.
He sat in broad robes within the light, obviously warm light, yet falling on him it conveyed a chill akin to ice and snow. Xie Jue’s complexion was like snow, as if a person with a dead heart, appearing normal, yet internally shattered. Even such a simple beam of light seemed capable of breaking him apart.
More fragile than ice!
Dugu Jing secretly pondered, it must be his illusion!
This heartless man, how could he be pitiable, how could he be fragile? It’s said when the Marquis Mansion was annihilated, he neither paused nor shed a tear, promptly advancing on revenge. No wonder after Fang Chuning died, he took action against the Priest Court, their misfortune indeed.
Having grown up in Beiman, Dugu Jing considered priests sacred, yet Xie Jue’s slaying of priests hardly impacted him, after all, these weren’t Beiman’s priests.
"Prince, please accept my condolences!" Dugu Jing felt he’d be working under Xie Xun anyway, intending to feign consolation.
"Get out!" Xie Jue said coldly.
Dugu Jing, "..."
All right then! Just like the general, these Beining people really don’t recognize kindness.
