The Slender Waist-Chapter 577 - 413 Confession Again

Pei Jue held Feng Yun in his arms, seating her inside the boat cabin. The small boat was lightweight and had a black awning overhead, separated from the world by a curtain. Inside, there was light, tables, and chairs, neatly arranged.

There was no ferryman, no attendants; Pei Jue would have to row the boat himself.

Feng Yun sat quietly, smiling as she watched.

The lantern at the stern swayed gently, and the boat slowly drifted from the shore.

Feng Yun vaguely saw the ferryman standing on the bank, pausing to watch them and chuckled:

"Did he recognize you?"

Pei Jue: "I don’t know."

"He must have. Otherwise, how could he be at ease letting you take the boat?" Feng Yun said with a smile, glancing sideways one more time before asking, "Your Majesty, do you know how to row?"

Pei Jue didn’t respond.

The sound of the oar blades lightly breaking the water filled the air.

"Where to?" he finally asked after a moment.

Feng Yun, who had been staring at the lights on the shore, looked up at his voice, "Just take a look around; do not let people wait too long."

Pei Jue hummed but said nothing.

Another stretch of unbearable silence ensued.

Gradually, the boat moved further away from the dock.

There were no other boats around, nor any people.

A solitary lamp reflected in the ripples of the water, along with a bright crescent moon.

Feng Yun leaned over the deck, bending down.

The moment her hand touched the water, the moon shattered.

Pei Jue set down the paddle, and the small boat came to a halt.

Feng Yun: "Aren’t we going anymore?"

Pei Jue: "Let’s sit for a while."

The sound of the water ceased.

The river was much shallower than when Feng Yun had last visited. As she observed the successive lower waterlines along the shore and was about to sigh, she heard Pei Jue say:

"It is raining."

Only then did Feng Yun belatedly notice the raindrops.

She looked up, her gaze revealing surprise and delight.

"It really is raining. It’s just a pity the rain is light..."

Pei Jue watched her.

Her eyes, sparkling like stars or the moon.

After a silent moment, he suddenly said, "Men pursue fame and fortune for power, status, and family legacy... What about Lady Yun?"

Feng Yun was rejoicing in the light rain during a drought when she was caught off guard by his question. She paused, looking around.

"Is Your Majesty moving the tribunal to the river?"

Pei Jue: "Lady Yun does too much."

So much that he couldn’t see through her.

Feng Yun smiled, her tone even.

"For survival, for living."

Pei Jue lowered his gaze, falling silent.

Even by his side, she felt in danger of survival.

"Then what about Your Majesty?" Since it was a moment of honesty, Feng Yun wouldn’t be at a loss either and asked him right after answering, "Your Majesty does not seem to value power, nor does he seem to care too much about family legacy. So what is the purpose of seeking fame and fortune?"

Pei Jue looked up at her.

After a moment, he slowly answered.

"For survival. For living."

Feng Yun was taken aback for a moment before she couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

"Is Your Majesty joking?"

Pei Jue stayed silent for a long time, gazing at the crescent moon on the water’s surface, and said indistinctly, "I once had a nightmare, wherein Dajin was destroyed by Xiao Cheng, and I died miserably at his hand..."

Feng Yun’s smile faded from her face.

She stared at Pei Jue, silent for a long time.

Pei Jue squinted at her, "Scared?"

"It’s just a nightmare," Feng Yun managed a stiff smile, leaning on his shoulder and pulling her wind-gown tighter around herself. "I too have unpleasant dreams. Luckily, none of the things in those dreams happened."

Pei Jue didn’t speak.

She asked, "Do you think people can return to the past?"

Pei Jue frowned, "What do you think?"

Feng Yun pursed her lips and smiled, "If I could return to the past, at what moment would Your Majesty wish to go back?"

Pei Jue: "I don’t wish to go back to the past."

He watched her intently, then added quietly, "Stay in the present."

Feng Yun curved her lips, "It seems that in Your Majesty’s life, there are no regrets."

She smiled, then spoke again full of longing, "If I could, I would want to go back to when my mother was alive..."

Pei Jue asked, "What would you be able to do if you went back to that time?"

Indeed, before today, Feng Yun had pondered countless times, if this rebirth wasn’t in Andu but earlier, back in Tai City, before her mother was alive, what would she do?

She said, "Then I certainly wouldn’t be speaking nonsense, telling others about that defeated battle. I would keep my mouth shut, not causing trouble for my mother because of me, and most importantly, I would call off my engagement early..."

Pei Jue’s gaze sharpened.

With a despondent demeanor, she sighed, "If I wasn’t betrothed to Xiao San, I wouldn’t have incurred Feng Ying’s hatred, nor would there have been so much trouble..."

Pei Jue asked, "Would you regret it?"

"Why would I?" Feng Yun arched her eyebrows, her smile enigmatic, "I’ve been reborn; could I still be interested in that Xiao San? Having reborn, I naturally have to manage my life anew, let Feng Ying have him early on, then take my mother and find a way to escape from the Feng Family with our books..."

Pei Jue: "And then what?"

Feng Yun looked at his expression, thought for a while, and then said: "Then I would send someone to send you a message, telling you not to go to Andu, not to meet a girl named Feng Shi Er Niang."

Pei Jue raised his eyebrows, "Why so?"

Feng Yun chuckled softly, staring into his eyes and spoke with earnest.

"Because once you knew her, you’d be ruined by her hands."

Pei Jue was silent, his eyes burning.

Feng Yun didn’t get a response from him and frowned, huffing discontentedly.

"What’s with the solemnity, Your Highness? Isn’t it funny?"

"Not funny." Pei Jue grabbed her hand and held it tightly, "When Lady Yun went back to that time, what she should have done was prevent the battle that led to the annihilation of the entire army..."

Feng Yun was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"I never thought Your Highness would think so highly of me. A mere child, with just a few words, could change the outcome of that battle?"

Pei Jue said pointedly, "You have your mother, and those books."

Feng Yun’s gaze became intense as she was sucked into a maelstrom of memory.

What was her mother like back then?

A mere woman, what could she have stopped?

Feng Yun’s memories of her mother had actually faded a lot, all she could remember were some scattered fragments.

But in her impression, her mother seldom went out to socialize and didn’t have many close friends...

"It wouldn’t work," she shook her head, seriously thinking over the situation at the time, "Even if I had foreseen the annihilation of the Xie Family Army in that war and could cajole my mother into taking me to the Xie Residence to tell them about it, no one would have believed it. They would’ve suspected me of being a demon and sought to kill me to appease the heavens even sooner..."

Pei Jue asked, "So, how exactly did you find out that the Xie Family Army was destined to be annihilated in that battle?"

Many people had asked that question, but Feng Yun had never answered it directly. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Because she didn’t want her mother’s tragic death to become a matter of course in someone else’s mouth.

She was not a demon.

Certainly her mother was not either.

But if she revealed the truth, that she had only happened to overhear her mother talking about it in her sleep, how was she to explain the logic in that...

Because that would involve, how did her mother come to know of it?

Was there a conspiracy behind the war, or had someone carefully planned it all, letting her mother know inadvertently?

Seeing her silence, Pei Jue didn’t press further, just gazed into her eyes, quietly waiting.

After a while, Feng Yun finally spoke.

"How I came to know exactly, I’ve somewhat forgotten. I was too young at the time, hardly remembering anything, perhaps I heard someone in the residence mentioning it, or maybe it was just my wild imagination, babbling nonsense that happened to come true?"

Just happened to.

How could there be so many coincidences in the world?

Pei Jue saw the flickering in her eyes and nodded.

"So it seems, the matter originated with the Feng Residence. At the very least, it is related to the Feng Family."

Feng Yun frowned, "Why is Your Highness so concerned about that battle?"

Pei Jue countered, "Has Lady Yun ever considered that your mother’s death was a silencing act?"

A twinge shot through Feng Yun’s heart, and her eyes widened in shock.

She had contemplated that possibility, but she had never told Pei Jue that she had overheard the details from her mother; yet Pei Jue had made such a guess and judgement.

"Was it the Feng Family, right?" Pei Jue suddenly leaned in, gently caressed her face, lifting it to meet his gaze.

"Did Feng Jingyao orchestrate that conspiracy? Was it the Feng Family from Xuzhou that caused the entire Xie Family Army to perish on the battlefield, leaving none alive..."

Feng Yun shook her head, "I don’t know."

She was telling the truth.

But a trace of coldness flowed in Pei Jue’s eyes.

"If one day I make the Feng Family pay with blood for blood, would Lady Yun hate me?"

Feng Yun stared at him, lost in thought.

In his eyes, there was the clear moonlight and also the distinct reflection of her figure.

At that moment, as their gazes met, only each other existed.

But in the depths of her heart, a wave of desolation surged up unbidden.

"What ties do you have with the Xie Family, Your Highness?"

Pei Jue didn’t answer.

That meant he didn’t wish to answer.

Feng Yun’s mind raced at high speed, reasoning through many events and their consequences...

Everyone said that Pei Jue was a ruthless killer and indifferent to women. Before Feng Jingteng, it wasn’t that no one had tried to seduce him with beauty, but his residence was spotless, devoid of even a single concubine.

Why then, at the fall of Andu City, would he accept Feng Jingteng’s "filial piety"?

Was it truly because of her, Feng Shi Er Niang’s, reputation and exceptional beauty?

Feng Yun shivered.

She didn’t want to delve too deeply...

The thrill Pei Jue had given her when he carried her from the hilltop to the pier was still there; she would rather believe it was her unparalleled charm that even the War God General would fall for...

Then to admit...

That at the beginning, she wasn’t actually favored by Pei Jue.

Even if Feng Jingteng hadn’t chosen her, Feng Shi Er Niang, but instead Feng Ying or any other Feng Family girl that day, Pei Jue would have accepted her the same.

"Are you cold?" Pei Jue noticed her tense body, wrapped his arms around her, and massaged her shoulders.

"Let’s go back."

Feng Yun looked up, her heart chilling slightly, and just as he leaned down to carry her into the cabin, she suddenly asked, "In Your Highness’s heart, am I still a member of the Feng Family? One of the people you seek retribution against?"

Pei Jue gently encircled her and picked her up on the spot.

She was so light, almost effortlessly lifted by him to sit in the sheltered cabin.

Pei Jue drew the curtain, turned her reluctant face towards him, and lowered his head to kiss her lips softly.

"You can make amends in another way."

Feng Yun looked up.

His breath on her face carried an unbearable tickle.

"Lady Yun, bear me a child, our child."