Chapter 172 A Failure at the Last Minute I never thought I would fall in love with...
The peace talks failed, and even his last hope of securing a glimmer of hope for the Xiao royal family was completely dashed.
Xiao Chengyan stood there, stunned, for a long time.
Seeing Huan Xun leave, Han Jie quickly walked into the house.
Upon seeing Xiao Chengyan kneeling on the ground, he hurriedly went forward to help him up.
He cursed Huan Xun, who had already gone far away, and said indignantly, "How dare he make His Highness kneel before him? This is too much!"
Xiao Chengyan was utterly despondent, his gaze unfocused as he stared at the ground, his entire being devoid of luster.
This is the outcome he paid for sacrificing his dignity; nothing has changed.
"Your Highness, let's go back," Han Jie advised in a low voice.
Having failed to persuade Huan Xun to relent, and unable to save the lives of his nephews, nieces, sister-in-law, and other innocent women and children, how could he possibly leave?
"Wait!" He suddenly came to his senses, grabbed Han Jie's arm, and said excitedly, "There's also Qiqi. We can go to Qiqi. If she's willing to plead for us, Huan Xun might listen to her."
He was right to say that, but Han Jie looked troubled and hesitated before whispering, "But...but I once stole Princess Shunhe's gunpowder book. Would she still be willing to speak up for us?"
"Yes, definitely. Qiqi is kind-hearted and will never sit idly by while Huan Xun slaughters the entire Xiao family. She will definitely speak up for us." Xiao Chengyan's words clearly showed his strong belief in Yu Nie's character and temperament.
"Let's go, I'll go find her now." With new hope, he didn't want to waste a moment and turned to ask the guards outside the door where she was.
"Cheng Yan." Before he could turn around and move, a voice rang out from outside the door.
To Xiao Chengyan, the voice was like heavenly music, and he turned around in response.
Yu Nie, dressed in a plain robe, stood upright at the door and then walked in.
The long-suppressed longing finally burst forth at this moment.
Xiao Chengyan was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, overwhelmed with excitement and joy.
He stood in front of her, his hands raised and lowered, unsure of what to do.
He wanted to hold her hand, but now she was nominally Huan Xun's fiancée.
He cannot transgress the established rules of etiquette.
With this thought in mind, he finally lowered his hand, turned his face away, as if intentionally avoiding her gaze: "I don't look good like this now, so don't look at me like that."
A few days ago, the situation in the war in Nanyin took a sharp turn for the worse, and he had no choice but to lead his troops back. During the days when he was defending Nanyang against the Beiya army, he hardly slept a wink.
As the city was about to fall, he resolved to live and die with the city, but his generals forcibly took him away from the battlefield and led him all the way to the vicinity of Shangjing.
These days, he is under immense pressure that most people can hardly imagine.
Domestically, his elder brother, Daozun, preferred certain death to surrender, resolutely rejecting peace talks and vowing never to surrender. Externally, reports from the front lines were frequent, with repeated defeats and low morale.
His private visit to Huan Xun was a risky move, as he could be punished by Xiao Daozun at any time.
In the end, he got nothing in return.
Bearing so much pressure, the dashing and carefree Xiao Chengyan of Jian'an is long gone.
Gazing at his gaunt face, Yu Nie pursed her lips and said gently, "You are preoccupied with national affairs, how can you care about anything else? These are just external things, there's no need to worry about them."
Xiao Chengyan slowly turned his head, his eyes filled with deep affection as he gazed at her.
After a long while, he finally asked softly the question that had been weighing on his mind: "How have you been these days?"
Yu Nie smiled and said, "I'm fine."
Looking at his sunken eye sockets, she felt a mix of emotions.
After parting ways in Jian'an, the two met again, but to their surprise, he had almost completely changed.
She sighed softly and said, "I heard everything you just said."
She explained, "I was at the back window when you were talking to Zijing."
This means that she knows everything.
"Then you..." He didn't know where to begin. In matters concerning the Red Falcon Clan, they had no grounds for argument.
She was Huan Xun's betrothed wife. What were her thoughts? How would she view this deep-seated blood feud?
What we can glean from this is that Huan Xun absolutely hated Nan Yin to the core.
He had been lying low for so many years, all for the day he would crush the Southern Yin and kill his brother.
As someone who likes and cares for him, would she be willing to let him fail at the last hurdle?
"Then you..." he repeated the two words from before, "Then, will you still speak up for us?"
Yu Nie did not answer immediately.
She remained silent, her eyelids slightly lowered, making it impossible to discern her thoughts at that moment.
This brief silence made Han Jie's heart pound with anxiety.
Suddenly, with a "thud," he knelt down.
"Princess Shunhe!" He looked up at Yu Nie, his voice filled with endless remorse, atoning for his mistake: "Stealing the gunpowder book was Han Jie's fault alone. I was out of my mind. It has nothing to do with Your Highness or anyone else in the royal family!"
To prove his resolve, as soon as he finished speaking, he drew the knife from his waist and held it to his own neck: "If you are willing to speak up and plead for a way out for His Highness and the Xiao royal family, Han Jie is willing to immediately atone with his death!"
"Don't let Han Jie do it!"
"stop!"
Two voices rang out almost simultaneously.
Yu Nie stopped Han Jie's actions.
Watching Han Jie's actions, her eyes were filled with complex emotions, her initial shock turning into a sigh.
"Put the knife down." She straightened up and said, "If your death can undo everything in the past and resolve today's crisis, then your blood at this moment may still have some value."
She said slowly, "But your life cannot bring back the souls of the Crimson Falcon Clan, nor can it quell Huan Xun's long-standing hatred. Going to your death now will only add another layer of pain to your master's heart, and will not benefit the overall situation at all."
Han Jie's hand holding the knife froze in mid-air. Then, he heard her say, "Get up. I will do my best to persuade Huan Xun."
Han Jie looked at Yu Nie in disbelief: "Is what the princess said true?"
Why would I lie to you?
Upon hearing this, Han Jie choked up, and the sword that was across his neck fell to the ground with a clang.
He suddenly bowed down and kowtowed heavily to the ground: "Your Highness is so magnanimous, Han Jie will never forget it."
Xiao Chengyan, standing to the side, also stared at her in disbelief.
He had thought that they would have to spend a lot more time talking before she would agree, but he never expected that she would agree so readily.
"Qiqi." Many words of gratitude welled up in his heart, but in the end he could only say one sentence: "Thank you, thank you for being willing to help us."
Faced with his gratitude, Yu Nie did not look at any of them, but turned around and walked steadily towards the center of the main hall.
She stopped in the middle of the hall and said, "No need to thank me. I will persuade him, not from the perspective of your Southern Yin royal family."
She paused for a moment, then turned to look at them: "I did it all for Huan Xun."
This answer once again surprised both of them.
Then she explained why she did it.
“Slaughter is something that only tyrannical butchers have done throughout history. The pen of history is like iron, and in the end, all that is left is an infamy that can never be washed away.”
“Huan Xun’s future should be a bright and smooth road, not a path following in the footsteps of those tyrants, where the word ‘murder’ becomes an indelible stain on his achievements. Such evil deeds will backfire on him, and I don’t want him to be blinded by hatred and end up becoming someone he himself despises.”
"When a person gets used to solving problems by killing, slaughter will alienate him, making him cold, suspicious, and regard human life as worthless."
After saying that, she looked at Xiao Chengyan: "I will never let him become the kind of person I used to hate the most."
“So, I will try to persuade him,” she finally said, her gaze sweeping over the two people in front of her. “You two go back first and wait for my news.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Chengyan felt relieved.
He knew she wouldn't lie to him.
Even though everything she did was for Huan Xun's sake, to prevent him from bearing eternal infamy, he was still deeply grateful to her. But afterwards, a lingering ache also gnawed at him.
Between them lay the dramatic changes in the landscape, and also the figure of another man.
He gazed at her, knowing that a decisive battle was inevitable between Bei Ye and Nan Yin.
Realizing that this parting might very well be the last time they see each other in this life.
Xiao Chengyan was suddenly filled with reluctance. His throat moved, but instead of immediately thanking her, he asked the untimely question that had been buried deep in his heart: "If it weren't for Huan Xun, would Qiqi... like me?"
Without much hesitation, she met his gaze, gently shook her head, and said calmly, "No."
This answer is concise and to the point, without any unnecessary embellishment.
She paused slightly, perhaps feeling that her words were not tactful enough.
Her tone softened a bit, and she continued, "Actually, before Huan Xun, I never thought that I would fall in love with anyone in my life."
"Huan Xun was an unexpected surprise, but I know very well that I will never fall in love with anyone else, even if I met you first."
Her words were gentle, but her meaning was clear.
Faced with such an answer, the faint flame in Xiao Chengyan's heart was completely extinguished, replaced by a helpless sense of relief.
He understood perfectly well that fate was a mysterious and unpredictable thing, and could not be forced.
He gazed at her silently, and after a moment, nodded, a smile appearing on his lips—the only one he'd shown in recent days: "I understand."
This was not the end; a sentence carrying endless regret and expectation flowed out, as if it were his last humble plea.
"I only wish... if there is an afterlife, I can meet you before him."
These words stirred a sense of reluctance in her eyes.
Yu Nie opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but at that moment, a deep voice suddenly rang out: "Your Highness Prince Guangning need not think about the next life."
Hearing the sound, the three of them turned around at the same time.
Huan Xun arrived at the door at some unknown time, his face hidden in the shadow of the lantern above his head, making it impossible to see clearly.
Xiao Chengyan's prayer about the next life had clearly reached his ears without missing a single word.
He strode in, grabbed Yu Nie's wrist, pulled her to his side, and looked at Xiao Chengyan with eyes as cold as ice: "I thought the Prince of Guangning had already left, but I didn't expect him to still be here. Is he waiting for me to personally see him off?"
Despite his impolite manner, Xiao Chengyan was not angry. He simply explained, "I was just having a few words with Qiqi."
"lush?"
Huan Xun laughed when he heard him call her that, then took a step forward, his tone full of warning: "Who gave you permission to call her that? Don't let me hear those two words coming out of your mouth again. You are not worthy."
"You!" Han Jie wanted to stand up for his master, but Xiao Chengyan stopped him.
Huan Xun didn't give him a chance to speak and directly ordered him to leave: "My mansion cannot keep members of the Xiao family."
After saying this, he summoned Sun Fujie and said, "Send His Highness Prince Guangning away."
"Yes, General."
After giving his instructions, he didn't look at Xiao Chengyan again, gripped Yu Nie's wrist tightly, and turned to leave.
No matter what she said, he didn't stop walking.
The wind in the corridor lifted his clothes, and he pulled her along without looking back towards the bedroom.
Yu Nie vaguely guessed that Xiao Chengyan might have overheard her conversation. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so angry.
She called his name the whole way, but he ignored her and took her straight back to the bedroom.
Cuiwei was startled by his expression and followed him, urging him to release his princess. Xie Cheng realized something was wrong and tried to persuade him to talk things out.
But Huan Xun shut all these noises out.
After pulling Yu Nie into the bedroom, he slammed the door shut and bolted it, completely isolating them from everything.
“Huan Xun…” she called out to him.
He led her to the table, pressed her shoulders, and made her sit on the round stool. Then he bent down and knelt in front of her.
This posture should have been one of looking up or submitting, but the way he did it somehow carried a sense of oppressive force, making people feel fear.
He held her hand, which was resting on her lap, but didn't speak immediately. He kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought.
She stroked his face, trying to soothe his agitation.
But then he suddenly looked up, staring straight at her, and asked in a low, calm voice, "So even you... are going to stop me?"
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