The Slender Waist-Chapter 743 - 533: The Blooming of the Silktree Flowers

Chapter 743: Chapter 533: The Blooming of the Silktree Flowers

Feng Yun entered to find Xiao Cheng sitting by the wooden table in the guest hall, drinking.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there, two wine pots already emptied.

It seemed as though the wine had indulged his thoughts, so different was tonight’s Xiao Cheng from the cold, distant, and unapproachable Qi Jun Feng Yun remembered.

She walked somewhat slowly.

Xiao Cheng watched her.

She also watched Xiao Cheng.

There were no barriers between them, their gazes starkly exposed.

Those of past lives and this life filled their minds and eyes, yet the other’s feelings remained inscrutable...

Xiao Cheng stared at her pale face, like a peach blossom blooming at the start of spring, delicate and dripping with charm, and her clear, black eyes, deep as a starry autumn night...

Still so beautiful.

No, more beautiful than before.

So beautiful as to defy all description.

"Ayun," his voice was slow.

A fire seemed to blaze within him.

No one knew how long he had thought of her.

How ardently he wished, upon opening his eyes, to see her approaching him lightly, calling out gently, "Mr. Xiao."

Xiao Cheng’s face was flushed with drink, his eyes startlingly bright.

Feng Yun looked at him coolly.

"Your Highness didn’t summon me just to watch you drink and be merry, did you?"

Xiao Cheng: "What merriment? Without you, I have no joy to speak of."

Feng Yun let out a low chuckle.

"That’s not something Qi Jun should say."

Xiao Cheng took another empty wine cup from the table, slowly filled it.

"Today, Pei Jue sent an edict, asking me to leave."

Feng Yun had heard of it.

She neither agreed nor objected, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.

Xiao Cheng said, "I’m leaving Andu tomorrow. For old times’ sake, come sit down and talk with me."

Feng Yun remained standing and didn’t move.

Her gaze shifted from the wine to Xiao Cheng’s face.

"I don’t believe a semi-drunk Qi Jun has the sincerity to talk."

"I’m not drunk," Xiao Cheng watched her, "I’m only drinking to muster courage." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Feng Yun didn’t buy these ghost stories.

She knew all too well who Xiao Cheng was.

His current posture, even turning cautious before her, wasn’t because he had changed, but because Feng Yun herself had...

She was no longer Feng Shi Er Niang of the last life, isolated and without support.

That Feng Shi Er Niang had no family to rely on, only him to cling to, so he could manipulate her at will, without need for cherishment.

He could summon her or dismiss her, coax her with sweet nothings when pleased, or cast her aside when not, leaving her powerless to respond...

He could act wilfully.

She could not.

But now, with her changed status, he couldn’t control her at all.

Having lived two lifetimes, Feng Yun finally understood, strength was reason, and so-called love also required equal power...

Otherwise, those of lower status should not yearn for emotions they shouldn’t have from those above them, those who are weak against the strong, but rather strive to become strong themselves.

She sat down with a smile.

Across from Xiao Cheng, she watched him lazily.

"Speak, Your Highness. I’m listening."

Dominant and cold, like Xiao Cheng used to be towards her in her previous life.

Xiao Cheng’s handsome eyes dimmed.

"Ayun, before you is not Qi Jun, but Xiao San."

Feng Yun’s eyebrows arched slightly.

If not for the identity of Qi Jun, being merely Xiao San, he would only deserve a slap, how could he expect her sweet words?

She smiled faintly, "Then may I ask, Third Young Master Xiao, what would you like to say?"

Xiao Cheng: "I want an answer."

Feng Yun looked at his reddened eyes, expressionless, "What answer?"

"Why did you change your heart?"

Xiao Cheng leaned closer, passing the cup of wine he had poured to her.

His calm face could not stop the faint ripples in the wine...

His hand was trembling slightly.

"Have you forgotten the words you once said?"

"The Hehuan Tree you planted bloomed last year. Don’t you want to go back and see it?"

Feng Yun regretted coming in.

The Xiao Cheng she could not forgive was all too easily awaking the deceased Feng Shi Er...

Before leaving Tai City, she had covertly planted a Hehuan Tree outside the Jingling Royal Residence’s wall, kneeling before it to make a wish to the tree spirits.

"Xiao San must come to marry me."

"Xiao San, come take me home quickly."

"Xiao San, be safe and healthy, and come marry me back home."

In her memory, Feng Shi Er’s face was somewhat blurred.

Thinking of her, Feng Yun smiled.

"No." She smiled, "I have never changed, always been like this."

Xiao Cheng shook his head, "In Tai City, you were different."

Feng Yun: "You said it yourself, that was Tai City."

She watched Xiao Cheng’s eyes coldly, leaving no room for sentiment, using the coldest words to stab at his wounds like a knife.

"The Shi’er Niang from Tai City, what was she? Weak, helpless, alone. My stepmother beat me, my stepsister bullied me, even the beggars on the streets could humiliate me... Xiao San, back then, you were my life-saving straw. I had to rely on you, hope for you, wait for you to marry me, to change my fate against the heavens..."