The Slender Waist-Chapter 708 - 511: Unbearable to Look Back

A thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Feng Yun, sitting quietly inside the inner hall drinking tea, hadn’t even taken a sip before it felt as if lightning had struck her mind.

She couldn’t believe what she had heard.

And the words that followed from Tang Shaogong were like lightning tearing through the sky, leaving her astonished beyond belief, unraveling the many mysteries that had long been buried deep within her.

Pei Jue said that Tang Shaogong was a military counselor of the Xie Family Army.

She had suspected a connection between Pei Jue and the Xie Family Army.

But she never imagined that Pei Jue was actually General Xie Xian’s son...

Behind the bewildering coincidences, it turned out not to be fate.

Feng Yun walked to the window.

The sky was overcast, and birds flew low as if a storm was approaching.

When Pei Jue entered, he didn’t make a sound and just stood quietly beside Feng Yun, looking out at the courtyard together.

Silence stretched the passage of time.

The space seemed to shrink, tensing their breaths.

Feng Yun had to admit, Pei Gou was more composed than she was,

He was the one deceiving, yet he stood with an upright posture, calm and collected as if nothing had happened, serenely so.

She admired that.

So she took the initiative to speak first.

"Does Your Majesty have nothing to say to me?"

Pei Jue: "I am waiting for Lady Yun to question me."

The choice of the word ’question’ was quite clever.

Feng Yun sneered, "His Majesty is quite self-aware."

Pei Jue: "It is also to win Lady Yun’s regard, with much effort indeed."

The anger that rushed to Feng Yun’s throat was inexplicably choked back by his words.

Pei Jue’s expression was calm and serious, as if he wasn’t aware of how funny what he had just said was, nor did it seem like he was earnestly teasing her.

"Very well. Then I will ask."

Feng Yun relaxed her furrowed brow, alleviating the heavy pressure somewhat.

"When General Xie had his mishap, you had memories already. So, when Feng Jingteng offered his beauties, you accepted gladly because I am a Feng, and you wanted to take revenge on the Feng Family."

She began with her first question, and without giving Pei Jue a chance to answer, every word she spoke was with conviction.

"Even if during the offerings at Andu, Feng Jingteng had sent Feng Ying or another Feng Family girl to you, you would have still accepted with pleasure..."

"No," Pei Jue interrupted.

"Don’t try to placate me," Feng Yun said with a cool glance at him.

Pei Jue’s tone was chilly: "It’s only because it is you."

Feng Yun snorted.

Sweet nothings are false, but who wouldn’t appreciate them? Especially coming from the solemn Pei Jue with such a serious expression and tone.

She was about to respond to the next statement when she heard Pei Jue adding,

"The person who, at three years old, affected the destiny of the Xie Family Army was you, not Feng Ying."

Feng Yun gasped.

Quite the way with words. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Her gaze at Pei Jue became sharp in an instant.

"So you’ve been waiting to take revenge? Excellent, you finally speak your mind..."

Pei Jue: "The revenge is already taken."

Feng Yun looked at him slowly, "What?"

Pei Jue: "Having shared your bed in a past life for three years, and now another lifetime, all debts of vengeance are repaid."

Feng Yun: "..."

Her eyes narrowed.

If this had been Xiao San or Chunyu Yan speaking, there could have been a teasing undertone to it, but coming from Pei Jue, this man...

He was just so earnest.

He spoke of such provocative things with a serious face, frustrating and amusing at the same time, yet somehow also making a point.

Claiming all of a woman’s finest things, if not revenge, then what is it?

Feng Yun: "So, you hate me?"

Pei Jue: "I hate."

Feng Yun scoffed coldly, and the tall man by her side stepped closer, casting a shadow over her, the advantage of height and build seemingly enveloping her entirely.

In terms of presence, he gained the upper hand again.

"Hate that you hate me."

Feng Yun blinked in confusion.

Pei Jue continued: "Hate that you are enamored with him."

His brow furrowed slightly, without deliberate sentimentality or too much expression, just a cold and unquestionable tone, an attitude like frost...

Then he stretched out his arms, enveloping her in his embrace against the half-open window, his body rigid...

Devoid of passion, his dark eyes cold, yet causing Feng Yun to shiver involuntarily.

Yecheng had just been reclaimed.

Outside, there were occasional patrols passing by...

A chill wind blew in, cooling the nape of her neck.

"There are people outside..."

"Who would dare to look?"

"..."

Feng Yun tilted her head back, staring into the man’s deep eyes.

"So it’s all my fault. You deceive me, and you’ve done nothing wrong?"

Pei Jue: "When have I ever deceived you?"

Feng Yun snorted, "You haven’t lied? You said General Xie Xian was kind to you, but you never said you were his son..."

Pei Jue: "The kindness of raising a child is also a kindness."

Feng Yun raised her eyebrows, about to retort when she heard him continue:

"Lady Yun, you never inquired about my past nor cared about it. In the past life, you contemplated how to leave me; in this life, you think about how to use me. Have you ever bothered to ask?"

Each word he spoke was imbued with a deep sense of grievance.

In the end, he further inquired indifferently, "Setting aside all ties, taking only what each needs. No talk of love or marriage, not becoming a concubine nor bearing children, enjoying the moments together and not entangling when apart. Have I wronged you in saying this?"

Feng Yun was left speechless.

Pei Jue, seeing her silent, slowly leaned in and bowed his head, smoothing out several strands of her hair that had been tousled by the wind.

"If it weren’t for my persistent nagging, you would have long since abandoned me amidst chaos."

Feng Yun let him finish without interruption.

Before Pei Jue arrived, she had amassed a heap of anger to question this deceitful man, but now, her arguments turned to accusations against her...

The one aggrieved was him.

The pitiable one was him.

The one bearing humiliation and hardships was still him.

And she...

In his words, appeared to be nothing but a heartless woman!

When had Pei Gou’s mouth been greased with lard?

Usually quiet and reticent, but when it came to speaking, each word he pinpointed her vulnerabilities.

No, this was wrong...

This was very wrong.

Feng Yun slightly regained her composure, dodging the handsome face before her that could easily unsettle one’s heart, she stood up straight and looked him in the eye.

"You’ve lied to me about more than just this. What about Li Sangruo? How do you explain that?"

Upon mentioning Li Sangruo, a hostile glint emerged in Pei Jue’s eyes.

"I don’t want to disgust you."

Feng Yun pursed her lips, her silent laugh.

She did not know whether to believe him or not.

Pei Jue: "Do you want to hear my story?"

He cupped Feng Yun’s cheek in his palm, his fingers gently caressing her soft and fair skin, his face was cold and stern, his voice icy and detached. It was like a sudden gust of winter wind invading the heart—striking hard and then gently falling.

He had yet to speak, yet Feng Yun’s heart inexplicably ached.

Intuition told her it wasn’t a pleasant story.

She gazed at him, her smile blooming.

"I’m all ears."

Pei Jue said, "The year our family was exterminated, I was nine years old."

His voice was as if from another world, calm and solitary, as though he was narrating someone else’s tale.

General Xie Xian and his wife were married by imperial command. Madam Xie had rosy lips and bright teeth, her beauty unparalleled; General Xie was dignified and handsome, endowed with both brains and brawn. They were a couple envied by all, but unknown to others, after their marriage, their harmony dissipated, and they detested each other to the point of having nothing to say in private. Although they had a son and a daughter, their affection was exceedingly weak.

When the news of General Xie’s death in Bingzhou reached Madam Xie, she had just taken her son and daughter back to her parents’ home far in Cang Zhou to celebrate her grandfather’s birthday.

Cang Zhou was over 200 miles away from Tai City, so the news was significantly delayed. As soon as Madam Xie received the news, she hurried with her children back to Tai City to mourn.

It was as if fate would not let them perish; on their journey, they ran into the Imperial Cavalry of the palace, who were headed to Cang Zhou for an arrest, and inadvertently learned that the Xie Residence was being purged, with plans to cut the grass and remove the roots...

No one knew how Madam Xie felt about General Xie, but maternal instinct did not let her surrender in weakness during the crisis. Instead, she chose to flee with her children.

She could no longer return to her husband’s family, nor to her own family.

With the vast world before them, where could she and her children find shelter?

Madam Xie gritted her teeth, disguised herself and her children, and headed west, planning to flee to Yunchuan...

En route to Yunchuan, they’d have to pass through Bingzhou.

But at that time, Bingzhou was occupied by the Jin Army.

Madam Xie could have taken another route, but she went to Hengqu Pass.

At one end of Hengqu Pass was the Qi Army, and at the other end, the Jin Army. To the west led to Yunchuan, to the north to Bingzhou.

She took her children out of Hengqu Pass, went northward, not entering Bingzhou City, but instead made sacrifices on the outskirts of the city to General Xie Xian and the souls of the dead soldiers from the Xie Family Army, set up spiritual tablets, burned paper money, and said many words that were left unsaid to General Xie Xian in his lifetime...

This was their sole display of marital affection.

And it also led to a great disaster for them...

After paying tribute to General Xie, on the road to Yunchuan, they were pursued by the Nanqi Cavalry...

Nine-year-old Pei Jue could wield a sword and engage in physical combat, but he was too young, and during his first real battle, he was severely injured. Several loyal servants fought to their deaths to hold off the pursuers, allowing Madam Xie to flee without choosing her path with her children...

But loyal servants could only hold off the pursuers temporarily, not forever.

In desperation, Madam Xie hid her injured son and daughter in different stacks of rice straw in the fields and went alone to lure away the pursuers...

"Before leaving, Mother, with tears, admonished me, telling me that I was the last male of the Xie Family, the only bloodline of the Xie Family Army, and that I must find a way to survive..."

"Mother ran very fast, without looking back..."

The dignified and poised Madam Xie never had an uncomposed moment of frantic flight in her life, but along the afterglow of the setting sun, she ran resolutely, getting farther and farther...

"Later, I found my mother’s corpse among the barren grass."

Pei Jue’s eyes lightly closed.

He did not look at Feng Yun, his voice was hoarse as if clogged with sand.

Before her death, his mother was violated.

Her eyes bulging wide in terror, her body in disarray, still clutching a man’s clothing in her hands, refusing to let go...

He did not tell Feng Yun what it was like for a nine-year-old child to witness his mother being desecrated to death—the excruciating agony it caused...

Yet Feng Yun felt her chest swell with a sour pain just from his expression.

She gently embraced Pei Jue, "If you want to cry, just cry, no one will laugh at you."

Pei Jue: "I won’t cry."

The man’s eyes were sharp, like frost and snow.

"Whether as General Xie’s son or Pei Chong’s son, neither should cry."

Feng Yun sniffled, "Then what happened to you and your sister... How did you get separated? How did you transform from being a scion of the Xie Family to a young master of the Pei Family?"