Chapter Thirty-Four
Feng Xiyang lay quietly on the bed, beginning to dread the pale blue dawn light that seeped through the window lattice after daybreak. The arrival of daylight meant yesterday had passed, and another lonely day would sweep away yet another green leaf of her youth like the wind.
Though her body was gradually recovering, she remained listless. Xia Jingshi had left that day and never returned, and she no longer had the face to send someone to summon him—he simply didn’t care. To persist would only invite humiliation.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard chaotic running outside. Feng Xiyang instinctively strained her ears to catch the faint murmurs: "...vomiting blood... medical officer..."
Vomiting blood.
Medical officer.
Who else in the Royal City would cause such panic among the servants by vomiting blood?!
Feng Xiyang abruptly sat up. A sudden wave of dizziness, accompanied by darkness, pressed down on her. She swayed and tumbled off the bed. The maid guarding the outer chamber heard the noise and rushed in, just in time to see Feng Xiyang struggling to rise from the floor. The maid gasped and hurried over to help her up. "Your Highness, how did you fall?"
Feng Xiyang stood with her support but only gripped her arm tightly, demanding, "Who vomited blood? I heard someone say someone vomited blood!" The maid hesitated. "This servant isn’t entirely sure, but from the commotion, it seems to be His Highness..." Before she could finish, Feng Xiyang had already shaken off her hand and dashed outside.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, at least put on a robe! Your shoes—you’re not fully recovered yet, you mustn’t catch a chill—!" The maid called after her while snatching up the shoes from the floor and the plain silk cloak draped over the bedside before chasing after her.
Unmindful of whom she bumped into along the way, Feng Xiyang blindly sprinted through the pavilions and terraces, trailed by several maids shouting after her—voices she could no longer hear.
"What does it matter if he doesn’t care? Just because of a little setback, have you forgotten all the vows you made to Father before the wedding?" Feng Xiyang thought hazily as the wind roared past her ears.
She didn’t know where he was, so she would find him herself. Once she did, she would tell him face to face—no matter what he thought, she would never let go.
Love, in its extremity, was inherently blind. One day, she would uproot Fu Yixiao from his heart entirely.
Someone stepped forward to intercept her. Instinctively, she tried to dodge but was a beat too slow, crashing heavily into the person’s arms. Immediately, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, restraining her. She struggled and shrieked, "Let me go! I need to see him!"
"I’ll take you to him," came Xiao Weiran’s calm voice. "But you must return to your chamber and put on your outer robe first." Xiyang’s tension eased slightly, only then realizing she was nearly exhausted from running. If not for Xiao Weiran’s support, she would have collapsed to the ground.
Refusing to return to her chamber, Feng Xiyang wrapped herself in the cloak brought by the maids and hurried after Xiao Weiran. He said nothing more, merely walking ahead at a pace she could match, leading the way.
Passing through the inner halls of the Royal City, Xiao Weiran guided her toward the study.
In the air, the faint, invigorating scent of perilla sandalwood incense drifted. Feng Xiyang’s spirits lifted, and she quickened her steps. Rounding a corner, she was unsurprised to see a crowd gathered at the study’s entrance. Numerous soldiers and attendants stood on the stone steps, anxiously craning their necks to peer inside.Seeing Xiao Weiran arrive, many faces showed relief, and an impatient officer quickly strode forward to meet him. "Xiao Canjun, hurry inside to check—why is she here?" His gaze fell on her, revealing clear rejection.
"I ran into the Princess Consort on the way and came together," Xiao Weiran said casually as he walked inside. "How is His Highness?" The officer kept pace beside him and replied, "The medical officer is already inside. Everyone wanted to go in, but they were afraid the crowd would disturb His Highness, so they’re all waiting outside." Xiao Weiran gave a brief nod and quickly ascended the stone steps, gently pushing the door open.
Feng Xiyang followed behind him with her head lowered. The various stares directed at her made her feel cold from head to toe, her hands already icy to the bone.
The study floor was covered with a large, colorful woven rug. On one side of the spacious hall was a side room draped with brocade curtains and beaded strings. Xiao Weiran strode in without pause, suddenly letting out a quiet exclamation of surprise.
What state would the person inside be in? Pale-faced? Drenched in cold sweat? Clenching their teeth?
Feng Xiyang reached out to part the brocade curtains, her heart leaping into her throat—
At almost the same moment, a gentle voice spoke. "It’s nothing serious. Why is everyone so tense—why are you here too?" The last sentence was directed at Xiyang.
As if all her strength had drained away, Xiyang leaned weakly against the doorframe, tears welling up. "What happened to you?"
The medical officer nearby replied softly, "His Highness is simply overworked. The blood he coughed up was stagnant waste—nothing serious. He just needs more rest to recover." Xia Jingshi gave a quiet hum. "I’m sorry to trouble you to make a special trip, sir. Ning Fei, please escort the doctor out."
Only then did Feng Xiyang notice Ning Fei and Ling Xueying standing to the side. Ning Fei acknowledged the order and led the medical officer out. Xueying cast a cold glance at Feng Xiyang before following. Xiao Weiran hesitated for a moment, then also withdrew.
The room was suddenly left with only Xia Jingshi and Feng Xiyang.
Xia Jingshi reached out to help her sit on the couch. "If you’re not fully recovered, you shouldn’t be walking around." Xiyang sat down numbly, her gaze falling on the few bloodstains on his robe. "Are you really alright?"
"The medical officer already said it’s nothing," he replied with a smile, turning away. "Sit here for a while. I’ll have someone prepare a sedan chair to take you back."
Xiyang stared blankly at his retreating figure.
She had finally seen him—still the same familiar, cool gentleness. But the smile that didn’t reach his eyes sent a chill through her blood, piercing her heart and twisting her insides with pain. In the end, she still lacked the courage to call out to him. The beads beneath the curtain clattered softly as he disappeared from sight.
After seeing the medical officer off, Ning Fei finally couldn’t hold back his frustration. "You didn’t listen to a single word I said on the way here. I told you not to say certain things, yet you blurted them out first thing. I think you’re deliberately trying to anger His Highness to death." Though unclear about the specifics, Xiao Weiran’s gaze fixed intently on Xueying.
Xueying, however, looked deeply regretful. "If I’d known he would cough up blood, I wouldn’t have said that. It’s disgusting..." "You—" Ning Fei choked on his words. "Why don’t you just kill me too while you’re at it!"Turning around, Ning Fei met Xiao Weiran's questioning gaze and sighed. "This morning, I received a letter from Yixiao delivered by a merchant caravan. She asked Xueying to fetch some things from the Fu family and also to retrieve her Glass Hairpin from His Highness. It's my fault—while she was reading the letter beside me, I casually asked about Su Sha's recent situation. The merchant mentioned that aside from the Imperial Son marrying that woman you Brocade left behind, there were no other major events. As soon as Xueying heard that, she dropped the letter and rushed into the city. I chased after her, telling her to just make up an excuse to get the hairpin and not mention Yixiao's marriage to His Highness yet. She agreed readily, but the moment she entered the study, she blurted out, 'Yixiao is going to marry Feng Suige—she wants you to return her Glass Hairpin to her.' His Highness's face immediately changed, and before he could even put down the book in his hand, he coughed up blood."
Xueying was also frantic, pointing accusingly at Ning Fei. "Stop defending your precious Highness at every turn! Search your conscience—if it weren't for Xia Jingshi, how could Yixiao have been kidnapped and forced to stay in Su Sha, unable to return? She's so stubborn—do you really think her life will be easy marrying Feng Suige at a time like this?! And besides, even if I didn’t tell Xia Jingshi about Yixiao’s marriage, do you think he’d never find out?!"
Ning Fei was too furious to speak. Xiao Weiran pulled Xueying aside and said softly, "Xueying is right—we can’t hide it forever. But Xueying, you shouldn’t have brought up both things at once. It made it sound like Yixiao was cutting ties with His Highness."
Though Xueying was defiant, she also felt a pang of guilt and mumbled, "Then... then what should we do? The words are already out. Should I go back and explain, say that Yixiao didn’t mean it that way?"
Xueying shook his head. "No need. Honestly, I think Yixiao did mean it that way—but never mind. What’s done is done, and there’s no point explaining further. However..." He paused thoughtfully, then looked up at the two pairs of wide, puzzled eyes fixed on him. "Don’t you think something doesn’t add up?"
Ning Fei’s brows furrowed deeply. "Could it be that the people of Su Sha have already harmed Yixiao, and sending for her things is just a pretense?" Xueying angrily punched his arm. "You really can’t expect anything decent from that mouth of yours—" She suddenly stopped and gasped, turning to Xiao Weiran. "There really is something off—if he cares so much about Yixiao, why has he refused to marry her all this time?"
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