The Slender Waist-Chapter 283 - 196: Reunion After Many Lives_2

"I wondered why the Princely Heir was so kind to help, so he harbored such thoughts?"

Chunyu Yan raised his eyebrows with a smile, "You said before, I am a businessman."

Feng Yun scoffed, "What benefits did he offer you?"

Without answering, Chunyu Yan stretched out his hand to pick up the hand warmer, leaned back lazily on the soft couch, and looked at Xiao Cheng:

"The person is here, Brother Zicheng, speak your mind."

Xiao Cheng nodded slightly, his gaze deep as he looked towards Feng Yun.

"I came today to ask Ayun in person, why did she abandon me?"

Feng Yun laughed upon hearing this.

She really wanted to hold a mirror that reflected past and present lives to let Xiao Cheng have a good look at himself, at everything he had done. After doing such things, his words and deeds now were laughably ludicrous.

Regrettably, there was no mirror of past and present lives, and the Xiao Cheng before her would not understand her resentment...

"Qi Jun, choose your words wisely."

Feng Yun looked at the face that was both familiar and strange.

"I am already someone else’s wife, and you also have a wife and concubines, moreover, this is a critical moment for the peace negotiation between our two countries. We should avoid any suspicion. You should not have come."

"Why?" Xiao Cheng took another step forward, "Abandon me without a care?"

Feng Yun glanced over the playful smile on Chunyu Yan’s face, furrowed her brows, feeling a mixture of emotions within.

This man, who brought her into his home with much fanfare only to coldly watch her being pushed into the pit of fire. The man she had once put her hopes in, truly loved, and thought she could grow old with in harmonious matrimony, was the very mastermind who wanted to sever her limbs, imprison her in the depths of the palace, and doom her to a point of no return...

And he asks across lifetimes, why she abandoned him?

Feng Yun pondered, her smile careless and indifferent.

"Qi Jun is exceedingly astute and wise beyond his years, how can you not understand this simple matter?"

Xiao Cheng couldn’t see through her thoughts.

In front of him was the seventeen-year-old Ayun, who should be innocent and cheerful, who tried so hard to gain his favor, who so wanted to marry him.

Yet now, with him standing right before her, her eyes revealed not a shred of affection, not even indifference, but rather hate and repulsion.

"Does Ayun resent me, for taking Feng Ying as my legitimate wife..."

Feng Yun lowered her head, fiddled with the tea cup in her hand, appearing indifferent, yet her heart was in turmoil.

At this time, the events that would lead to the massive grudge and love-hate relationship between her and Xiao Cheng had not yet happened, and if she showed too much emotion, she might arouse suspicion.

Especially with Chunyu Yan sitting nearby, whose intentions were completely inscrutable.

She endeavored to hide her inner loathing, her eyes revealing a hint of melancholy.

"The past is past, why mention it? Feng Jingteng is right, it’s all fate."

Outside was the relentless downpour.

Like beads off a broken string, they smashed against the windowpane.

"This is my fate."

As she brushed back her hair, the fragility inadvertently displayed in her eyes, sparkling with tears, was like a grip on Xiao Cheng’s throat.

His own throat tightened, longing to rush forward to hold her, to embrace her tightly, and to confess his boundless yearning after all these years apart.

But...

Although there was a betrothal between them, their interactions were in fact minimal, and their encounters always brief. He had been cold to Ayun before, so cold it was almost inhuman. His departure from the capital to guard the tomb before their wedding had especially wounded her heart.

If he suddenly became eager, it might frighten Ayun, who knew nothing of it.

Xiao Cheng restrained himself, his tone gentle, trying to be as calm as possible.

"At that time, you were in the enemy camp, and Feng Family’s patriarch was pressing hard. For the sake of the greater scheme, I had no choice but to deal with him..."

"Deal with him?" Feng Yun narrowed her eyes and smiled. Her soft hand caressed the teacup as she asked indifferently:

"Dealing with him meant sending me to the frontlines to die? Dealing with him meant marrying Feng Ying as your wife? I have never resented you for not wishing to marry me. Pursuing benefits and avoiding harms is human nature. What I resent is your ruthlessness, your intent to put me to death..."

"I did not..." Xiao Cheng began to say something, but when his gaze caught Chunyu Yan’s almost smiling expression, he swallowed his words.

"I only learned about the Andu County incident afterward. Had I known earlier how heartless your father was, I certainly wouldn’t have agreed..."

"Knowing that, would you have refrained from marrying Feng Ying as your wife? You would have. Because you have always known what you want; you need the support of the Feng Family and the Chen Family, which I could never provide."

Feng Yun looked at him and smiled faintly.

"Of course, none of these matter now. You don’t need to put on an act of profound regret, after all, you and I... were never close."

Xiao Cheng choked up.

Ayun, at the age of seventeen, had been nothing to him — not a wife, not even an acquaintance, merely strangers.

He had thought of her countless times, yet she regarded him only as an enemy...

Into Xiao Cheng’s cool gaze crept an inexplicable hint of misty rain, and his voice softened again.

"I was not good enough before, and it’s only right for you to hold grievances. Let us not dwell on the past and who was right or wrong. My visit today is to ask you for a heartfelt answer, can you come back to Tai City with me? Just give me a nod, and for the peace talks in Xinzhou, I will find a way to gain Jin Country’s agreement."

Feng Yun looked at him, silently tugging the corner of her mouth.

Her heart, which had been racing with anger, calmed down because of his words.

Jin Country would certainly agree.

Li Sangruo would be glad to see her leave.

If Xiao Cheng really mentioned this matter later, and with the cooperation of Jin’s delegation, troubles would likely arise.

Feng Yun chuckled, looking up to retort:

"I have just begun my blissful marriage with Mr. Pei, why would I return to Tai City?"

Xiao Cheng frowned slightly.

In the dim light, the woman spoke of Pei Jue with a smile brimming in her eyes, which were lustrous like autumn water. Her tone was leisurely and lazy, revealing a rare charm.

Feng Yun was beautiful, her delicate features more arresting than the bloom of spring, and Xiao Cheng had always known this.

But during the years they spent together, she was mostly unhappy and seldom smiled. And even on the rare occasions that she did, her smiles were reserved and dignified; he seldom saw her so enchantingly alluring, like a flower drenched in night rain, full of the essence of spring.

Xiao Cheng’s eyes darkened as he gazed at his own wife.

"The conflict between two countries shouldn’t involve women in the battlefield, Pei Jue won’t cherish you. The rushed marriage in Bingzhou was merely to provoke me into sending troops. Ayun, why do you have to do this?"

Pei Jue didn’t treasure her, but did he, Xiao Cheng, cherish her?

Feng Yun found it amusing.

Yes.

Xiao Cheng had again gouged at her heart.

Reminding her to remember that no man in this world would truly cherish her, care for her.

But what of it?

She would not cherish anyone either, only use them.