Chapter 13

Chapter Summary: Sending Off.

Su Siyang stared at her for a long, long time, as if trying to see right through her. Yu Jing was also very uneasy, afraid that Su Siyang would see through her and realize that she wasn't Sheng Hua.

"Because of Xie Xuan!"

Su Siyang suddenly recalled the scene from just now and stared intently at Sheng Hua before speaking.

When he spoke again, his tone was questioning yet declarative, containing a hint of provocation within his speculation. Ever since Sheng Hua's assassination attempt and Xie Xuan's protection of Cining Palace, Sheng Hua's attitude towards him had drastically changed. He had initially thought she was upset about the royal betrothal, but it seemed it was for something else entirely.

Upon hearing his words, Yu Jing's heart sank, and she quickly denied it, saying, "It has nothing to do with him."

Seeing Sheng Hua's flustered appearance, Su Siyang smiled. A slow smirk played on his lips, but his eyes were filled with ruthlessness as he said mockingly, "General Xie, with your extraordinary talent and spirited demeanor, has even the Empress Dowager taken a liking to you?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Yu Jingyi was a little annoyed. She was talking to him about their affairs, why was Xie Xuan being dragged into this for no reason?

"Heh." Su Siyang sneered and released his hand from Yu Jing's chin. Without that force, Yu Jing breathed a slight sigh of relief.

As Su Siyang approached, Yu Jing instinctively backed away, but she was already against the wall with nowhere to escape. Su Siyang moved closer to Yu Jing's neck, his breath coming in thick gasps. Yu Jing instinctively reached out to push him away, but to her dismay, she couldn't budge him at all.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject will not let go."

As Su Siyang spoke, he leaned closer to Yu Jing's ear, his breath tickling her and making her feel a little uneasy.

"If Your Majesty the Empress Dowager truly wishes to sever all ties with me, then I would not mind presenting some things to Your Majesty."

Ayu was already worried about Shenghua and Su Siyang going there. Although Shenghua and Su Siyang had a close relationship, the situation just now was clearly a bit off. When she secretly turned around to look at Shenghua and Su Siyang, Ayu was startled and hurriedly lowered her head, her face slightly red. After lowering her head, she looked around uneasyly, and only lowered her head again after confirming that no one was there.

From Ayu's perspective, Su Siyang was holding Shenghua, his head buried in Shenghua's neck, seemingly being intimate. The corridor was dimly lit, and given the palace secrets involved, Ayu dared not look any longer.

Hearing Su Siyang's words, Yu Jing was momentarily stunned and stood frozen in place. Although she didn't know what Sheng Hua had asked Su Siyang to do, her intuition told her it wasn't anything good. Lost in thought, Yu Jing didn't come to her senses until Su Siyang had already turned and left. Yu Jing tilted her head slightly, watching Su Siyang's figure slowly disappear into the darkness.

Seeing Su Siyang leave, Ayu quickly turned back to Shenghua's side. Only when she got there did she realize that Shenghua's face was a little pale and her eyes looked strange.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager?" Ayu called out with concern, and hurriedly reached out to help Yu Jing up.

"It's nothing," Yu Jing replied after calming herself down.

"Let's go back to the palace," Yu Jing said.

"Yes," Ayu replied. "Then this servant will send someone to the Zhengyang Palace to inform His Majesty."

"Hmm." Yu Jing nodded and continued towards Cining Palace. When they reached the corridor, Ayu called out, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment, this servant will go and fetch the sedan chair."

Yu Jing reached out and grabbed A Yu's hand weakly: "No need, let's walk."

Ayu looked at Shenghua, her eyes filled with worry, and after a moment of hesitation, replied, "Okay."

The snowstorm hadn't stopped. Ayu held an umbrella for Shenghua as they walked along the path. After a while, Xiaoting and Aci arrived, quietly following behind them. Yu Jing walked, but her mind was in turmoil, constantly thinking about what Su Siyang had just said. Judging from Su Siyang's tone and manner, she felt that what he held was extremely important, perhaps even potentially life-threatening. Thinking of this, Yu Jing felt a little breathless. It wasn't that she was afraid of death—after all, she was a celestial being—but the problem was, she couldn't die now. The Third Princess hadn't even entered the capital yet, and she had already returned to the Heavenly Court. If word got out, the other minor immortals in the Heavenly Court would laugh their heads off.

Lost in thought, Yu Jing unknowingly arrived at the gate of Cining Palace. She stepped inside, and A Yu followed her into the hall. Yu Jing sat on the couch and calmly instructed, "You may all leave."

"Yes," Ayu and the others following behind her bowed in response.

They slowly withdrew, the palace doors were closed, and the palace was silent except for the sound of burning charcoal.

Xiaoting followed Ayu out and asked in a low voice, "Sister Ayu, what's wrong with the Empress Dowager? Didn't you go out to sober up? Why does she look so distraught?"

"Nothing much, I don't know why the Empress Dowager is like this." Ayu said, glancing back at the palace door that had just been closed.

"But, aren't we supposed to stay up all night tonight? Will the Empress Dowager still be able to stay up?" Xiaoting asked with some concern.

"It's best not to interfere too much in the Empress Dowager's affairs. It's just New Year's Eve, nothing serious. Go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare some of the Empress Dowager's favorite snacks. She didn't eat much at the banquet. Oh, and also, have them warm up a bowl of hangover soup. The wine tonight was a bit strong, and I saw that the Empress Dowager choked a little. If she drinks it before settling down, her headache won't be so bad tomorrow."

"Yes, I understand." Xiao Ting replied and withdrew.

When Xie Xuan returned to Zhengyang Hall, Xie Ying was still sitting in his seat waiting for him. It seemed that he had been waiting for a while. When he saw Xie Xuan, he complained with some dissatisfaction, "Why did you take so long?"

Xie Xuan was still in a daze and shook his head absentmindedly.

Xie Ying noticed that something was wrong with Xie Xuan and asked curiously, "Why is your face so red?"

Xie Xuan awkwardly touched his face and asked, "Really?"

"Perhaps the wine was a bit too strong," Xie Xuan explained.

“I’ll have Tu Bai go get a bowl of hangover soup,” Xie Ying immediately replied.

"No need, elder sister, I'll be fine after sitting for a while." Xie Xuan said as she sat down next to Xie Ying.

Xie Ying watched Xie Xuan sit down, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Xuan'er, I remember you had a good capacity for alcohol when you were at the border. How come you got drunk after just a few drinks when you came back?"

Upon hearing Xie Ying's words, Xie Xuan paused, unsure how to respond.

"Xie Ying!"

Suddenly a woman's voice rang out from the side. Xie Ying turned her head and looked over, smiling as she replied, "Tao Tao, it's been so long since we last saw each other since you got married."

Xie Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them start chatting. Just as he relaxed, he saw Su Siyang. Su Siyang looked like he had just come in from outside; some snow remained on him, much of it melted, leaving deep and shallow stains on his purple official robes. Su Siyang noticed Xie Xuan's gaze, and their eyes met. Xie Xuan saw that Su Siyang's eyes were noticeably red, and his gaze held a hint of provocation and hostility. Xie Xuan was somewhat bewildered, and before he could investigate further, Su Siyang had already looked away and walked past him.

He had no connection with Su Siyang and didn't understand the source of Su Siyang's hostility. Suddenly remembering something, he looked up at the seat of honor; Sheng Hua hadn't returned. She seemed a little drunk earlier, and he wondered if A Yu was in danger traveling alone. Just as he was about to look away, a young eunuch entered from outside and whispered a few words in Xu Xinshu's ear. Then he saw Xu Xinshu nod and walk over to Qi Jin, saying something. Qi Jin first glanced at the spot where Sheng Hua had been sitting, then waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

"Hey, are you able to return to the manor tonight?" Xie Ying asked Xie Xuan after finishing her conversation with Tao Tao.

Xie Xuan gently shook his head and said, "I'm on night duty tonight."

Xie Ying frowned slightly upon hearing this, and said with some dissatisfaction, "Tonight is the first day of the new year. Can't we go home on the first day of the new year? I'll have Father talk to the commander of the army."

"Sister," Xie Xuan said, reaching out to stop Xie Ying as she was about to stand up. "No need."

Seeing Xie Xuan's expression, Xie Ying squinted and sat down, whispering, "Is it your own choice to guard this place?"

Xie Xuan remained silent and did not respond.

Xie Ying then continued, "You! You're always thinking about your subordinates, but you never think about yourself!"

Upon hearing Xie Ying's words, Xie Xuan replied, "They are also other people's parents and brothers. I usually get more rest than they do. Now that it's a holiday, I thought I'd let them rest too and reunite with their families."

Although Xie Ying scolded him, she was very concerned about Xie Xuan. She paused for a moment and said, "Then remember to wear more clothes at night and secretly bring a hand warmer so you don't catch a cold. By the way, when I go to the palace with my mother to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager tomorrow, I will bring you some of your favorite sweets."

"Okay," Xie Xuan replied with a smile.

After a while, Qi Jin and Zhang Qingcen also got up and left their seats. After they left, the people at the banquet also left one after another, leaving only a few adults with a good capacity for alcohol.

"Sui Sui, let's go too." Xie Jin walked up to Xie Ying and Xie Xuan and said to Xie Ying.

"Father," Xie Xuan called out to Xie Jin. They hadn't greeted each other earlier because they were quite far apart at the banquet.

"Mm," Xie Jin nodded in response.

"Have you been doing your job well these past two days?" Xie Jin then asked.

When Xie Ying heard Xie Jin ask this, she pouted and said, "Father, you know what kind of person Xuan'er is. How could he not be conscientious when he's on duty? He's still on night duty today, the first day of the new year!"

Hearing Xie Ying say this, Xie Jin smiled with satisfaction and patted Xie Xuan on the shoulder, saying, "As a man of seven feet tall, one should be willing to endure hardship and defend the country on the frontier. Now that we have returned to the capital, we must not forget our duties."

"Yes, I understand," Xie Xuan nodded in response.

As they were talking, Li Wei, who was exchanging pleasantries with several noblewomen, also came over.

"Mother," Xie Ying and Xie Xuan called out in unison.

Li Wei smiled slightly, then gave Xie Xuan a meaningful look before walking to his side and asking in a low voice, "Well, did you find a girl you liked at the banquet today?"

"Mother!" Xie Xuan interrupted, not expecting Li Wei to ask this.

Li Wei pursed her lips and said, "What's wrong with that? Men should marry when they're of age, and women should marry when they're of age. You're not young anymore. If you really find a good girl, I can ask your father for her hand in marriage. Otherwise, there are so many young masters from noble families in the capital. What if someone else snatches her up first?"

"I understand," Xie Xuan replied. "Father, Mother, Elder Sister, it's getting late, the wind and snow are heavy, and it's cold. You should go back to the manor to rest."

Li Wei pointed at Xie Xuan with a helpless smile, saying with a hint of indulgence, "You, you!"

"Madam, let's go back first," Xie Jinyi said.

"Okay," Li Wei replied, but still reminded him, "Make sure you dress warmly when you're on night duty, don't catch a cold."

"Let's go, Madam. He's not a child anymore," Xie Jin said, taking a few steps forward and seeing Li Wei still talking to Xie Xuan.

"I understand," Li Wei replied impatiently and walked towards Xie Jin.

"Let's go." Xie Ying followed behind Li Wei, turned around and raised an eyebrow at Xie Xuan.

They had barely left when Xie Xuan prepared to return to Cining Palace for his night watch. He had only taken two steps when he heard Su Siyang's voice behind him.

"Thank you, sir."

Xie Xuan turned to look at Su Siyang. He had been talking with his family for a long time, and by now, most of the people at the banquet had left, but the palace maids and eunuchs who were cleaning up had not yet come in. Su Siyang was also alone, with no one serving him. In the vast Zhengyang Hall, only the two of them stood in the middle of the aisle.

Su Siyang's purple robe exuded nobility, while Xie Xuan's scarlet attire was flamboyant. The two stood facing each other, drawing considerable attention.

Seeing that Su Siyang had not spoken for a long time, Xie Xuan was about to ask when he heard Su Siyang say, "I am a little drunk. Lord Xie, could you take me with you?"