The Slender Waist-Chapter 202 - 143: Heart-to-Heart at the Grave

Feng Yun’s heart felt as if it had been struck by something.

This Xie Xian was the Qi Army General who died in battle during the conflict in Bingzhou fourteen years ago. Feng Yun remembered that afterwards, the Imperial Court of Qi Country said he was a traitor, colluding with Jin Court, leading to the defeat in the battle of Bingzhou...

At that time, neither Xiao Cheng nor Xiao Jue had become Emperor, not even Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince of Qi Country at the time was Xiao Zhuo, and Xie Xian was the strongest supporter of Crown Prince Xiao Zhuo. Moreover, he commanded a heavy force and was highly valued by the Qi Emperor...

Feng Yun was young then and did not have a deep impression of Crown Prince Huairen, but she knew that the Crown Prince had an excellent reputation and was dearly loved by the people.

After the battle, Xie Xian’s home was raided by the Qi Emperor, and more than seventy members of his family were executed, leaving his house in ruins. Crown Prince Huairen was also implicated in the defeat of Bingzhou and was accused of "forming cliques for selfish ends, colluding with the criminal Xie Xian to usurp power and position" among eight other major charges. He was stripped of his Crown Prince title by the Qi Emperor and confined in Yuzhao Hall.

It was only after Xiao Jue’s succession that Xiao Zhuo died a violent death in Yuzhao Hall.

Rumors outside claimed that Crown Prince Huairen was killed by Xiao Jue.

The Xie family also perished in the power struggle for succession.

When Feng Yun was young and ignorant, she also asked her mother.

"Isn’t the Crown Prince the most honored among the princes? The kingdom will be his sooner or later, so why does he need to usurp power?"

Her mother said, "Because there are people who want him to usurp power."

Back then, she was full of innocence, unaware that Yuzhao Hall, after Crown Prince Huairen’s violent death, would become a desolate Cold Palace, and never imagined that the last two years of her own life would be spent in Yuzhao Hall.

She saw Crown Prince Huairen’s calligraphy there.

"Year by year I age, as once year after year passed."

"Months come and go in the world, yet years stretch on in this palace."

Those strong and handsome strokes, unwavering in wind or rain, could not affect the usual infighting among Qi Country’s Royal Family, yet often brought Feng Yun to tears...

In the end, that war changed many people, many things, even the course of history. She was merely a bystander. She hadn’t witnessed it firsthand but got swept up by fate, a victim of that war.

How does fate toy with us?

Back then, when the Xie Family was executed, their relatives dared not claim the bodies.

Xie Xian, who died in Bingzhou, however, received a generous burial by the Jin Army Generals at that time...

It has only been little more than a decade.

For her, it felt like two lifetimes.

Feng Yun smiled faintly, though her expression could not hide the chill.

"General, why have you brought me here?"

Pei Jue stared at the desolated grave, and after a long time, he finally spoke.

"Where the weeds spread far and wide, is where the General lies entombed."

Feng Yun furrowed her brow, "Does the General have sympathy for General Xie Xian?"

Pei Jue did not speak.

The one who buried Xie Xian was his father, Pei Chong, which meant that in Pei Chong’s heart, Xie Xian must have been a General worthy of respect. So it was normal for Pei Jue to respect him.

Considering this, Feng Yun suddenly sighed.

"Seeing this scene, does the General... feel moved?"

Pei Jue hummed softly in affirmation.

The two of them stood side by side in front of the stele, immobile, paying their respects to the grave of General Xie who died in Bingzhou more than a decade ago.

Neither spoke for a long time.

Feng Yun suddenly sighed, breaking the silence.

"The General will not end up like that..."

Pei Jue looked down at her, "What do you mean?"

Feng Yun said indifferently, "Has the General not noticed? You bear some similarities to General Xie from back then."

Pei Jue’s gaze grew even deeper than before.

Feng Yun softly parted her red lips, "In command of a heavy force, wielding great power."

If one were to point out a difference, Jin Country at present has no succession conflict. Aside from the son of Li Sangruo, the Emperor had only one sickly legitimate eldest son, named Yuan Shangyi, who was not yet five years old, with a powerless maternal family, frequently rumored to be at death’s door, barely noticeable.

But if Pei Jue harbored such intentions...

Even if the late Emperor had no sons, he had many brothers, and those brothers had many children. The Royal Family of Jin was not short of people eager to seize power, just waiting for someone’s support.

Pei Jue’s lips were tightly sealed, "Are you also predicting my future?"

Feng Yun met his gaze, "Did the General bring me here to hear a prediction?"

Her voice was clear and faint, her face clean and clear amidst the wailing wind, dignified and composed from every angle, but Pei Jue’s gaze was sharply divided, as if he were looking at a bewitching siren. Blooming, enchanting, the dark light in her eyes, the tender smile on her lips, all became alluring and winsome.

He said, "I want to hear."

The surroundings were quiet, his gaze inscrutable.

Feng Yun returned the look with a smile.

It seemed fate was on her side in this life...

The "seed of doubt" she had sown had taken root and broken through the soil.

She thought of the news Ge Guang brought back.

She thought of the delayed reinforcements by the Tiger Guard and Dragon Cavalry.

She thought of Pei Jue’s predicament...

Even if Pei Jue had no intention of rebelling, Li Zongxun would see him as a thorn in the side, and with an overbearing father, Li Sangruo, even if he didn’t want to fall out with Pei Jue, he might still inevitably end up on that path...

Pei Jue could accommodate Li Zongxun.

But Li Zongxun might not be able to accommodate Pei Jue.

Unless...

Pei Jue followed Li Sangruo, willing to humble himself, to become her favored consort.

That must have been the original idea of Li Sangruo and her father – to entrap the Great General with the snare of love and pull him into their camp. Once entwined in a romantic affair, Pei Jue’s military power would become the bricks and tiles of their path to reign supreme, and their road to heaven would be wide open...

But what if Pei Jue wasn’t Li Sangruo’s bedside companion?

A single mountain cannot harbor two tigers; a confrontation would be inevitable sooner or later.

Feng Yun felt increasingly certain that it was right to win over Pei Jue.

To strike at Li Sangruo, there was no better weapon than Pei Jue...

"What are your thoughts, Lady Yun?"

Pei Jue stepped closer, his voice light yet the pressure from his towering height made Feng Yun involuntarily shiver.

"I can’t remember," she hugged her arms, her voice scattering with the wind, "At the time of the war, I was only three. Perhaps it was divine guidance? Now I can’t recall a thing..."

She didn’t want to involve her deceased mother any further, she looked up and met Pei Jue’s gaze, pursed her lips, and offered a faint smile.

"I can’t know what the future holds for the General, but since I have chosen you, whether you turn to banditry or raise an army in rebellion, I will be there to support and strategize with you."

The phrase ’raise an army in rebellion’ wasn’t something she said for the first time.

Pei Jue had scolded her the last time she mentioned it; this time, however, he remained silent.

Feng Yun understood.

Li Zongxun’s distrust had triggered Pei Jue’s alertness.

The seed of suspicion had indeed sprouted.

Then let her continue to water it.

"General," she chuckled softly as if afraid of the cold, slipping her hand into the crook of Pei Jue’s arm to get closer to him; looking up to meet his eyes, her own sparkled with seductive fire, lucent yet sorrowful.

"About the incident in Huaxi Village a while back, I didn’t want to disturb the General with my problems. But now, I have no choice but to tell you..."

Pei Jue watched her dark eyes mist over, his tone slightly deepened, "What happened?"

Feng Yun’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she recounted to Pei Jue how Zhang Erbing and the Imperial Cavalry Division stole grain and dumped it into the river in Huaxi Village, how they threw filth on her, and how they went on to commit murder and frame others before publicly accusing her under someone else’s orders.

"That night, if I had not been lucky enough to encounter you on your return, my reputation would have been ruined, and I might have been eternally parted from you, General..."

When she mentioned the Imperial Cavalry Division, no emotion could be seen on Pei Jue’s face, nor any surprise, but when she spoke of eternal separation, it seemed to hit a nerve; his dark eyes deepened as he bent down and held Feng Yun in his embrace.

"That won’t happen."

His breath was cool beside her ear.

Feng Yun looked up to see his handsome face in close proximity, feeling his body heat, her lips curling slightly, "I was all the way in Huaxi Village, with no quarrel with the Empress Dowager, yet she still sought my ruin. If one day I return to the capital with you, within arm’s reach..."

She didn’t finish her sentence.

Just gazing at him, her lips slightly pursed, the worry in her eyes flickering like a hazy veil of mist, she portrayed a vulnerability and softness Pei Jue found irresistible.

His grip tightened significantly.

"My own people, I will protect," he declared.

Feng Yun suddenly felt a sour tang welling up inside; she stepped back slightly, looking at him and chuckling lightly.

"How will you protect? A gentleman may be guarded against, but not a villain. You can guard against the first day, but not the fifteenth. In the face of imperial power, the General is but a subject; the Empress Dowager is the mother of the Emperor, possessing supreme authority. If she wishes me dead, can you really protect me? Or do you think the bandits from Jieqiu Mountain and the ruffians from Huaxi Village will never appear again?"

In her past life, she had been harmed by Li Sang more than once.

Her emotions inevitably fluctuated. Watching Pei Jue frown in silence, she suddenly felt a surge of resentment.

"If one day the Empress Dowager seeks to take my life, will you risk everything to protect me? Even to the point of raising an army in rebellion?"

His pupils abruptly darkened. Feng Yun, seeing he remained silent, tiptoed closer and then reached out to kiss his mouth. Angry, Feng Yun was quite crazy, her aggression matching Pei Jue’s past assaults on her, truly a case of the pupil outshining the master.

"General, speak."

Caught in a firestorm, Pei Jue was breathless. Glancing at the lonely standing stele, he grasped her slender waist and pulled her away forcefully.

"Lady Yun!"

"Why not call me ’Waist’ anymore?"

Feng Yun narrowed her eyes slightly, her body responding sensitively as she continued to press closer.

"Don’t you prefer calling me ’Waist’? With just a mention of the Empress Dowager, not even ’Waist’ is said anymore?"

Her voice, devoid of any emotion but filled with infinite seduction, drifted through the wind, causing Pei Jue’s breath to quicken. Touching an unknown tender nerve, he suddenly grasped Feng Yun’s neck and bent down to kiss her fiercely.

This kiss was wild.

Whenever she pushed him to his limits, it came to this.

Feng Yun tilted her head back, making a light humming sound between his lips.

Initially, she just wanted to force him to confront the matter of Li Sangruo, not to share impassioned kisses before a grave. But as soon as he pressed against her, his touch was all conquest, his fingers seeking the sweetness of rain, and swiftly, she melted in his arms like magic.

Their kiss was longer than any they had shared, instinctual and primal. During the rush of emotion, her head spun briefly, the brightness of day seemingly out of sight, and the fear of sinking snapped her back to reality. She reached out to push him away.

But Pei Jue gave her no chance to escape, as enamored as if she held sweet candy in her mouth, he tangled and sought after it relentlessly until they were both gasping for air, only then he let her go.

"You forbade it," he said.

His thumb gently wiped her now damp lips.

"You said, only General Wen may address you so."