Chapter One Hundred Thirty
The young soldier held Feng Xiyang firmly as he stepped out of the house, forcing the surrounding Piao Cavalry guards to retreat. With full vigilance, he brought Feng Xiyang before the Holy Emperor. An Imperial Guard stepped forward to take her from his grasp, and only then did he kneel and bow at the Holy Emperor's feet. "This humble servant acted without orders and deserves ten thousand deaths. I beg the Emperor—" Before he could finish, the Holy Emperor lashed out with a kick. "So you know you deserve death?!" The soldier neither dodged nor resisted, enduring the blow with a dull thud that reverberated through his chest. He was sent sprawling backward, and the moment he hit the ground, several blades were pressed against his neck.
Feng Suige watched as Xiyang fell into the Holy Emperor's hands and stamped his foot in frustration before turning toward Yixiao. However, Xiao Weiran had already reached her first, pulling her into his embrace. Sidestepping Feng Suige's outstretched hand, Xiao Weiran sneered, "I’ve got her. You’d better tend to your own people!"
Feng Suige glanced at the exhausted Yixiao, a pang of guilt flickering in his heart, though he had no intention of explaining further. He gave a slight nod, but Yixiao struggled free from Xiao Weiran’s hold and grabbed Feng Suige’s sleeve. "That soldier isn’t a bad person—don’t harm him..." The Holy Emperor let out a cold laugh. "To secure your own escape, you didn’t hesitate to trade Feng Xiyang. Fu Yixiao, what a ruthless scheme!"
Pressed to the ground by the blades, the soldier still managed to cry out urgently, "That’s not what happened—" "Then what did happen?!" The Holy Emperor shot him a disdainful glance before leaning closer to the pale-faced Feng Xiyang with a sinister smile. "If you die, the biggest obstacle between her and Xia Jingshi disappears. Tell me, isn’t her plan brilliant?"
Feng Xiyang spat at him but still cast a doubtful glance toward Yixiao. Yixiao, frantic and furious, struggled to find the words to explain when Feng Suige spoke coldly, "Is using women as shields and measuring others by your own vile standards all you’re capable of?" Then, he offered Xiyang a reassuring smile. "Don’t listen to his lies. Even if Yixiao wanted to compete with you, she’d do it openly—don’t be afraid. With your imperial brother here, you’ll be safe."
A flicker of admiration passed through Xiao Weiran’s eyes as he lifted Yixiao into his arms. As he brushed past Feng Suige, he paused and murmured, "I’ll take care of Yixiao. You needn’t worry."
Though his expression remained composed, the Holy Emperor’s repeatedly thwarted plans had left him flustered. Watching helplessly as Xiao Weiran and several Embroidered Army generals swiftly escorted Yixiao away, he gritted his teeth and declared, "Since things have come to this, further delay is pointless. Let today’s matter end here. All grievances and debts will be settled once I return to the Holy City!" With that, he signaled to the Imperial Guards holding Feng Xiyang. "Move out!""Wait!" Feng Suige strode forward. "You come and go as you please—do you think this is some child's game?!" The Holy Emperor raised an eyebrow. "And what if it is?" Feng Suige clenched his fist in secret, saying bitterly, "If you must leave, then leave Xiyang behind..." "Do not bargain with me," the Holy Emperor sneered, pinching Feng Xiyang's chin and slanting a glance at Feng Suige. "The rules are set by me. If you don't like them, you don’t have to play—we can fight to the death. With her by my side, I won’t be too lonely in the afterlife!"
"Let her go, and I'll go with you," Xia Jingshi suddenly spoke, causing a wave of gasps around them. "Your Highness!" "Think carefully, Your Highness..."
Raising a hand to silence the protests from the generals, Xia Jingshi said calmly, "She is injured—if you are a man, do not torment a woman." The Holy Emperor threw back his head and laughed. "Don’t play games with me. What are you scheming...?" "I’m merely making a suggestion. You can consider it," Xia Jingshi interrupted evenly. "If anything happens to her on the way, you won’t be able to bear the consequences."
The Holy Emperor’s expression darkened. After a moment’s thought, he looked up at Xia Jingshi. "Fine, but you must show sincerity!" "Sincerity?" Xia Jingshi frowned. "What do you consider sincere in your eyes?" The Holy Emperor curled his lips mockingly. "You must ride in the same carriage as me until we rendezvous with the Imperial Guard Barracks. Of course, you may bring your guards, but they must stay on the periphery. Unless there’s an emergency, they cannot approach the carriage!"
An uproar erupted in the courtyard. Many generals wore expressions of disdain, and some even shouted curses. With a clang, someone’s blade was drawn, followed by a series of unsheathing sounds.
Xia Jingshi lowered his gaze in thought before looking back at the Holy Emperor. "Speaking of sincerity, shouldn’t you return Xiyang first?" The Holy Emperor smiled. "Very well. Everyone else, step back ten paces. You come forward slowly." With that, he gestured for the soldier holding Feng Xiyang to move forward.
Feng Suige watched coldly from the side, his voice firm. "If anything happens to you before reaching the Holy City, Su Sha will not stand idly by!" Xia Jingshi nodded at him with a faint smile. Under the tense gazes of everyone present, Xia Jingshi began walking step by step toward the Holy Emperor, while Feng Xiyang was pushed forward by the soldier, slowly making her way toward Xia Jingshi.
Feng Xiyang’s eyes had been fixed on Xia Jingshi’s face since he spoke, and now tears streamed down her cheeks.
She hadn’t been wrong about this man.
Just as she had told Father before the wedding, no matter what danger arose, he would never abandon her.
Though she didn’t know what hardships he had endured during his captivity under the Holy Emperor, in her recent bouts of wakefulness and delirium, she had vaguely heard Feng Suige instruct the physician to take the remaining Black Chalcedony Marrow to treat Xia Jingshi’s injuries—too many had paid the price for her recklessness, including him.
Even if he had wronged her, this price was enough. She couldn’t let him fall into the Holy Emperor’s hands again...
She couldn’t!Thus, at the very moment the two were about to pass each other, Feng Xiyang mustered all her strength to break free from the Imperial Guards restraining her and lunged fiercely toward Xia Jingshi. Caught off guard, the guard was pushed back half a step and instinctively drew the long blade from his waist.
A collective gasp rose from the crowd.
"Princess!"
"Consort!"
"Xiyang!"
"Husband..." Following this soft, almost amused whisper, the sharp blade carved a brilliant arc through the air, descending straight toward her. The searing pain that erupted across her back forced her neck to arch instinctively, her slender frame bending into a graceful curve midair. Amid the flurry of her cascading hair, her eyes shone with an unprecedented radiance.
Stunned, Xia Jingshi barely managed to catch her falling body.
In the chaos, the dumbfounded Holy Emperor was swiftly overwhelmed and pinned down by a surge of Military Generals, while four Imperial Guards who attempted to resist or flee were quickly cornered against the wall.
"Xiyang!" Feng Suige's roar shook the heavens. Without even checking whether Feng Xiyang was alive, he snatched a long blade from a nearby guard and swung it at the Holy Emperor.
The previously subdued Imperial Guard, eyes wide with horror, struggled violently and screamed hoarsely, "You must not harm the Emperor!"
With a sharp clang, blade met blade. Feng Suige's weapon nearly flew from his grip, while his opponent's sword snapped in two, the force splitting his palm open, blood streaming down. Feng Suige looked up furiously, only to meet a pair of earnest eyes. "Phoenix Prince, saving the Consort should come first. After all, he is still the Emperor of Brocade."
It was Shang Yun, the commander of the Piao Cavalry Camp who had followed Xia Jingshi.
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