Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 868 - 844: The Funeral

Fengyu originally thought Xie Xun’s trip outside the palace to see Xie Jue would soothe his mood somewhat, making him less anxious and worried. Unexpectedly, Xie Xun left the palace full of excitement, only to return as wilted as a frost-bitten flower. Dispirited, Fengyu sent off all the attendants in the palace and poured him a cup of chilled tea. The weather was scorching, making it hard to drink hot tea, especially for a man like Xie Xun, whose inner fire runs strong — he particularly liked chilled tea in summer, so Fengyu often kept it prepared.

"How is Second Brother?"

"He has lost some weight, but he looks fine."

Fengyu knew that merely looking fine was of little consequence. Since Fang Chuning died, Second Brother hadn’t rested, and then he rushed back tirelessly. Along the way, it wasn’t clear if he had a conflict with the Ruler, or if the Ruler blamed him, and the world’s rumors were so malicious and humiliating — how could he truly be well? Even if Second Brother never cared about others’ attacks, this time the rumor was extraordinary, it must have affected him. Fengyu only sighed, "You shouldn’t be anxious yourself, hope that time can slowly fade it away."

She didn’t know how to comfort Xie Jue, such a blow can’t be brushed aside with a few light words from someone else, and Fengyu herself felt bad. This pain was no less than when she witnessed her sister leap from the battlements years ago; she could understand Xie Jue’s suffering.

"Second Brother said he wants to leave the capital, go on a long journey. I asked him where, and he wouldn’t say. Might he do something foolish?" Xie Xun had been wracking his brain on the way back to the palace, trying to figure out how to keep Xie Jue. Upon hearing Xie Jue wanted to go on a journey, he became tense, especially as Xie Jue had specifically instructed Ruyi not to move Mingzhu back home, seeming prepared not to return home for long. He feared Second Brother might seek to end his life.

Fengyu was also startled, but comforted Xie Xun, "Don’t terrify yourself, Second Brother isn’t one to seek death, he still has you, Ruyi, and Mingzhu. He won’t do something foolish."

"That may not be for certain. The matters of Father and Eldest Brother have always been a thorn in Second Brother’s heart; he feels it was because of him, for he defiantly went as an intermediary to Beiman, angering the Beiman, exacerbating the conflict. Thus, during the peace negotiations, Beiman people allied with Yuwen Jing to kill the Marquis Mansion’s entire family. Furthermore, he was too confident, got ambushed by the Beiman, injuring his eye, then delayed a day or two to treat it and didn’t return sooner, so the tragedy at the Marquis Mansion happened. He’s been tormented, unable to move past the shadow. Now the Marquis Mansion’s setup is unchanged from years ago, and his heart still harbors the old dream. Now Fang Chuning is gone, I reign over the world, Ruyi is cared for, he’s genuinely without any attachments, not likely to seek death, yet now who can stop him? What if he doesn’t want to live?" Xie Xun was somewhat panicked, urgently grasping Fengyu’s hand, "Ayu, what should I do? Help me think of a way, I don’t want Second Brother leaving the capital."

Fengyu was also frightened by Xie Xun, in the blistering heat, Xie Xun’s hand felt icy. "I have a premonition that if we let him leave, I might never see him again in this lifetime."

"That won’t happen!" Fengyu hugged his head, pulling him close to her chest, gently soothing him, "Second Brother may just have something to handle, will he take Shadow Guards with him?"

"He will!"

"Since he’s taking Shadow Guards, then there won’t be a problem, the Shadow Guards will watch over him," Fengyu soothed, "Don’t terrify yourself."

"No way, I need to find a way to stop him from leaving the capital!" Xie Xun was still uneasy; this matter was a thorn in his heart, daring not to slacken in the slightest.

One way Xie Xun thought to hinder Xie Jue’s departure was to delay the peace talks, but Lin Helin disagreed, "The people of Sannan are currently panicked, and Han Ziqi is in the capital. The sooner the peace talks are concluded, the sooner the people’s hearts can be reassured. The longer you delay, the easier it is for chaos to arise. If chaos arises in Sannan, thousands of miles away, sending troops to suppress it, wasting resources and money." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Xie Xun couldn’t tell Lin Helin about Xie Jue, and Lin Helin perceptively asked, "Does your majesty have any concerns?"

"No, proceed with the advancement!" Xie Xun was distressed, rubbing his brow.

What other solution was there?

Right, he feigned illness!

A terminal illness!

But upon feigning illness, Zhang Lingzheng felt his pulse and casually said, "Your majesty’s pulse is strong, I can’t diagnose the cause, might you have more specific symptoms?"

Xie Xun claimed chest pain, enough to hinder breathing, yet Zhang Lingzheng found nothing diagnosable. The men of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion were all robust, dismissing heart disease talk, Xie Xun’s complexion seemed flushed and healthy, not like someone ill. Zhang Lingzheng suspected him of feigning illness.

Xie Jue happened to enter the palace to accompany Ruyi and Mingzhu, coldly saying, "Don’t mind him, he’ll recover on his own."

Zhang Lingzheng shrugged, leading a group of Imperial Physicians out. Under Xie Jue’s chilling gaze, Xie Xun had to sit up, Fengyu felt embarrassed.

Xie Jue said, "The new dynasty was just established, its roots are unstable. At this time, if you remain bedridden — are you dissatisfied with how smoothly the new policies are advancing, or is the national treasury inexhaustible?"

Childish!

Fengyu hurriedly explained, "Second Brother, don’t be angry, he didn’t intend to publicly announce it."

It was just a show for you, she couldn’t stop it.

Now that Xie Xun was the Emperor, besides Fengyu and Xie Jue, truly no one else could persuade him. Xie Xun internally had an understanding, "I don’t want you to leave the capital unless you tell me what you’re doing, then my people can follow too."

"It’s private, I don’t want to mention it, don’t ask."

"What private matter can’t be mentioned?" Xie Xun retorted, "If you’re handling something, let the Shadow Guards go too. If that doesn’t work, there are so many people in court, why must you do it personally?"

Seeing they were about to argue, Fengyu simply found an excuse to slip away. If she couldn’t provoke it, she could avoid it. As Fengyu predicted, she hadn’t left long before Qiuxiang came to report that His Majesty and Prince Yan were arguing, dismissing the palace maids and eunuchs.

Qiuxiang had never seen Xie Jue get angry and was slightly frightened. Xie Xun usually returned to the palace, always gentle and humorous in front of Fengyu, treating those around her very well, thus the palace maids and eunuchs at Changshou Palace weren’t too afraid of him, lacking the danger of serving a temperamental monarch.

"Regardless of them, they’re not going to fight!" If the argument got tense, it would be Xie Xun getting hit; he didn’t dare hit Second Brother after all, Second Brother wasn’t very durable, yet Xie Xun was thick-skinned and sturdy. She wasn’t worried, even if they were kicked out, he wouldn’t lose face.

"Go prepare the meal!" Fengyu calmly ordered, though she couldn’t help pondering, what private matter did Second Brother need to attend?

Lin Xiao said that Fang Chuning disappeared without a trace, possibly burned to death in Chaoyang Palace, but no one had seen Fang Chuning being burned to death in Chaoyang Palace.

Could Second Brother think Fang Chuning is still alive?

But the Fang Family was preparing Fang Chuning’s funeral. This was what Fang Lingjun wrote to her today, and the letter also mentioned the Fang Family didn’t want Xie Jue to attend the funeral. Fang Lingjun feared any unpleasantries might arise, hoping Fengyu could tactfully inform Xie Jue, leaving Fengyu troubled about how to address this matter.