The Slender Waist-Chapter 371 - 263 Tea Talk and Tea Affairs

He changed how he addressed her.

Feng Yun was slightly surprised, then broke into a smile.

"Why not?"

Xiao Cheng’s eyes lit up; perhaps his imperial status prevented him from showing too much emotion, but he slowly, ever so slowly, allowed a smile to spread across his face, and he gave Xuchi a meaningful glance.

"Follow me."

He led the way with Feng Yun following behind, making their way to one side in full view of everyone.

To avoid any suspicion, Feng Yun came to a halt at the corner of the corridor.

"We can talk here."

This spot was just out of Feng Ying’s view, allowing her to indulge in wild thoughts, yet it exposed them both to the eyes from the other three sides of the corridors, clear to anyone who passed by.

Xiao Cheng turned around.

His eyes were clear and lofty, like the distant moon in the sky—so distinct, yet indiscernible.

"Was the congratulations you just offered from the heart?"

Feng Yun stood upright, calmly meeting his gaze.

"Sincerely."

Just as Xiao Cheng’s face showed a trace of joy, he saw her smile.

"I don’t care about the annexation of Xinzhou, but since you’ve won, you won’t have any excuse to propose that I return to Qi Country. Being free of you is worth congratulating."

Xiao Cheng chuckled softly.

He was not surprised by her response.

During the past few days of illness, he had sorted out his thoughts quite thoroughly.

He realized that upon his rebirth, most things had stayed on the same track as in his previous life, except for Feng Yun.

It was Feng Yun’s change that led to other changes.

Cause and effect.

He raised his eyebrows, his starry eyes revealing an involuntary tenderness.

"Then your willingness to come with me isn’t just to provoke Feng Ying, right?"

Feng Yun was taken aback, then began to laugh.

It turned out Xiao Cheng was very clear about the intrigue between women.

If he could guess even these tiny subtleties, how could he not see through Feng Ying’s intention to harm her?

He chose to be unaware and disdain to concern himself with it.

"Neither," Feng Yun stripped away her emotions to see things clearly, no longer controlled by her feelings, she was more than capable in front of Xiao Cheng.

"I was just thinking, after the peace talks, we can’t avoid each other as we used to, can we? After all, I am a member of the Feng Family, and you are the Feng Family’s son-in-law..."

Her utterance of ’Feng Family’s son-in-law’ made Xiao Cheng’s brows furrow slightly.

He wanted to be the Feng Family’s son-in-law, her husband.

Seeing him silent, Feng Yun continued, "To put it broadly, you are the Emperor. Speaking more personally, you are only my brother-in-law. I was even planning, after the peace talks conclude, to bring Mr. Pei back to my family’s home to finish the ceremony we never got to have. Ah, we must acknowledge this family connection anyway, so why make it so unpleasant..."

She spoke with an air of nonchalance.

As if she truly had let go of all grievances.

Xiao Cheng’s heart refused to believe, yet he had to accept it.

If she could even forgive Feng Jingteng, how could she harbor resentment towards him for long?

"Good," Xiao Cheng’s attitude was far from the deep passion he displayed that night by Zhu River. Perhaps it was because there were many people in the council hall, or perhaps he had truly come to terms with it—his expression was light, distant, and gentle.

"Ayun, it’s best you can think this way. To turn conflict into peace is also my wish."

Feng Yun smiled faintly, not replying.

They looked into each other’s eyes.

The Xiao San before her was the Xiao San of Tai City.

And Feng Yun seemed to be the dainty lady from Tai City as well.

Nothing had changed.

And yet, it seemed like everything had changed.

Xiao Cheng’s voice suddenly lowered, a hint of huskiness threading his words.

"In this recent severe illness, I had a very long nightmare..."

His eyes darkened as he gazed at Feng Yun, filled with a probing air, he sighed softly.

"I even dreamed of our past life..."

Feng Yun felt a chill in her heart, staring at him in silence.

Xiao Cheng stood next to a column in the gallery, his posture straight and tall, his gaze inscrutable.

"Ayun, in our last life, I had actually married you."

Feng Yun stood rigidly, "Is that so? Such misfortune for me."

"Indeed, it’s misfortune," Xiao Cheng said, "In my dream, I did not treat you well, causing you to suffer greatly, to endure endless torment..."

Feng Yun asked, "How did my story end?"

Xiao Cheng’s brow knitted slightly, "The ending for both you and me was very bleak."

Feng Yun did not know whether he had really dreamt about it or if he was deliberately using it to test something; at that moment, her heartbeat quickened slightly.

"It was just a dream; there’s no need to take it to heart."

"Do you dream, Ayun?" he asked.

Feng Yun’s smile faltered for a moment before she shook her head.

"Occasionally."

Xiao Cheng stared intently at her, his dark eyes reflecting the light falling from the gallery, his emotions unsettled.

"Do you dream of me?"

Feng Yun replied slowly, "I’m not smart; even if I dream of anything, by the next day I would have forgotten it all."

"That’s a pity," Xiao Cheng looked at her affectionately, his eyes brimming with tenderness, "I wish you would dream of me too. Even if it’s an unworthy version of me in the dreams."

Feng Yun let out a laugh, not responding.

Xiao Cheng felt a heavy weight in his heart.

Just in that instant, when his gaze intertwined with Feng Yun’s in the air, he saw her hesitation and surprise.

For the first time, he felt a deep fear.

Ayun wonders if she, too, like him, has returned through rebirth...

It’s because she knew too well the deep affection from her past life that she became so heartless after being reborn.

She even completely defied reason by rejecting him without hesitation and marrying Pei Jue.

Does she know that Pei Jue died because of her?

No, she doesn’t. Pei Jue was still alive when she died.

After all, they were just mandarin ducks, not a true husband and wife; even in death, they could not share a coffin.

"What are you talking about?" A voice intruded from the side.

The two turned their heads and saw Pei Jue’s tall figure standing at the edge of the circular aqueduct, his shadow reflected on the clear water’s surface, as cold as frost.

Feng Yun smiled and paid her respects to him, "My lord."

Pei Jue followed the small aqueduct’s cobblestone edge and slowly climbed the steps, walking towards Feng Yun, drawing close to her. He gently wrapped his arm around her waist, his possessive palm tightening.

"What business does His Majesty have with my wife?"

Xiao Cheng stared at the hand on Feng Yun’s waist. His already sickly pale face became even paler.

His hand curled slowly, slowly shaping a faint smile.

"General Yuan you. His Majesty was merely reminiscing with your esteemed wife about some old tales from their youth, something the general surely wouldn’t mind?"

He was the very image of a gentleman, even his veiled criticisms were subtle.

An ordinary person would have responded with a few grand, polite platitudes.

However, Pei Jue was no ordinary person and did not pretend to be a gentleman.

He stared coldly at Xiao Cheng, the flames in his deep, bottomless eyes fiercely rolling.

"I mind."

After uttering those two bland words, he took Feng Yun’s hand, not giving an inch of face, and turned to leave.

Without a word of farewell.

Leaving behind a gaze that made one’s scalp tingle...

Jixiang approached the still motionless Xiao Cheng and said in a low voice, "General Pei really is a warrior, not observing even a bit of etiquette."

Xiao Cheng watched the fading figures of Pei Jue and Feng Yun hand in hand, lips pressed into a thin line, straightened his robe, and walked along the corridor.

The corridor stretched out, seemingly endless.

Pei Jue and Feng Yun turned a corner and entered the chamber side by side.

Once they were inside, the door closed behind them.

The guards and servants on both sides smiled without saying a word.

Xiao Cheng paused in his tracks, imagining them being affectionate inside, and felt as if his heart had been pierced by a blade, his head throbbing painfully...

He pressed his forehead, lowering his eyes, only to see Feng Ying walking towards him slowly.

She asked with a smile, "Did Your Majesty manage to persuade your elder sister?"

Xiao Cheng frowned and countered unhappily, "What matter?"

Feng Ying could see his pain.

Every time she did, it was a mix of sadness, irony, and relief.

She said, "Your Majesty has been eager to have your elder sister return to Qi, haven’t you? Right now, with the three challenges, it’s clear we will beat Jin in two, thus winning Xinzhou, but that leaves no conditions to be met... If elder sister knows Your Majesty can’t take her away, she must be feeling restless..."

Xiao Cheng stared at her.

From his elevated position.

Without uttering a word.

Feng Ying felt a chill down the back of her neck from his gaze and said in a low voice, "I too long for my elder sister to return to Tai City, to reunite with our parents and relatives..."

Xiao Cheng: "Is that so?"

Feng Ying’s eyelids twitched slightly.

Xiao Cheng’s robe fluttered in the cold wind, his expression unusually calm.

"Yes, but unfortunately I am powerless." Her eyes were watery, conveying innocence and vulnerability.

The face that had been slapped by Feng Yun had lost its swelling but still bore marks, hardly concealed by thin gauze, visible in the wind as if accusing Feng Yun of her misdeeds.

"I know elder sister despises me. But my wish to reconcile with her and serve Your Majesty together is sincere. The three of us, for a lifetime..."

Xiao Cheng hesitated, "Is everything you’re saying true?"

Feng Ying covered her heart with her hand, her voice fine as a filament, "I swear, every word is from the heart."

Then she slowly stepped forward, looking at Xiao Cheng, "Before, when Ayun was young and naïve, out of uncontrollable feelings for Your Majesty, I didn’t realize that my amorous actions were seducing my sister’s husband, and I hurt my elder sister. Fortunately, that day, my elder sister’s slap awakened me..."

She bowed her head, exposing a stretch of fair neck.

"Ayun is filled with shame. It’s no wonder that Your Majesty looks down on me... it’s all my own fault."

Xiao Cheng remained silent.

At the end of the veranda, there was an unceasing murmur of discussion.

The entire hall was abuzz with conversations about the upcoming competitions.

Jin Country’s defeat and Qi Country’s victory seemed to be the common consensus of everyone...

Xiao Cheng suddenly grew restless.

Feng Ying was right.

Winning meant gaining Xinzhou but losing the chance to take back Feng Yun...

If it had been earlier, he would have chosen the former without hesitation, but now he was frustrated by this.

"Your Majesty?" Feng Ying had said much, but seeing Xiao Cheng standing in the wind, his face changing unpredictably, uncertain what he was thinking, she felt slightly uncomfortable and fidgeted with the hem of her dress.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Xiao Cheng came back to reality and looked at her impassively.

"There’s no need to belittle yourself."

After speaking coolly, he turned and walked away.

Feng Ying’s gaze lifted slightly, and she felt a chill.

What a pity that her heartfelt confession was disregarded by him altogether.

"Dong!"

The sound of a gong resonated.

The attendants from Yunchuan, accompanied by the gong’s sound, shouted announced.

"The second round, ’Rise with Every Step’, begins in a quarter of an hour."