Chapter 40 Opportunity
Returning to the hall, Sun Wei found Xie Xiao still sitting in the corridor in a daze.
"Princess." Seeing Sun Wei coming back, Xie Xiao hurriedly stood up and saluted.
"Why is the young general here alone?" Sun Wei asked, "Where are the crown prince and General Chu?"
"Brother Chu just took the prince to discuss matters. I'm waiting for them here."
Sun Wei looked surprised.
"Since it's a meeting, it must be related to the Crown Prince's trip to the East Sea," she said. "This matter is also related to the Northern Palace. Why doesn't the Young General go with him?"
Xie Xiao was silent for a moment, then said, "I just said that General Cheng Yu will be acting as the governor of the Northern Prefecture. I am in mourning and it is not appropriate for me to be present."
Sun Wei looked at him without saying anything.
"Young General, have you not eaten yet?" she asked. "I am about to eat. How about you stay here with me?"
Xie Xiao smiled and had no objection.
Although Sun Wei was young, as the consort of Prince Yuzhang, she was a generation older than Xie Xiao. When they sat down in the hall, she sat at the head of the table like an elder, while Xie Xiao sat at the bottom.
"Does the prince like the young general's paintings?" Sun Wei asked during the meal.
Speaking of the painting, Xie Xiao's face lightened up, and he said, "The prince said that this hall is empty, and this painting would be a great place to hang it."
Sun smiled and said, "Since the prince likes it, who made the young general unhappy?"
Xie Xiao was stunned, then became dejected again.
"It's not that anyone has offended me," he said. "I'm just thinking about something."
Sun Wei looked at Aju and asked her to send the outsiders away.
"I think the young general is still worried about the Northern Palace." She said softly, "Since the young general is worried, why not go to the prince and General Chu to see what they are discussing?"
Xie Xiao took a sip of the soup and then put it down.
No matter how delicious the fish soup is, it will taste bland.
He smiled bitterly: "It's beyond my ability, so I won't ask."
"Is it that the Major General is incapable of doing so, or is it that the Major General simply doesn't want to know?"
Xie Xiao's face suddenly flushed: "What do you mean, Princess?"
Sun Wei didn't say anything, just looked at him calmly.
After looking at each other for a moment, Xie Xiao looked away.
"The princess is right," he said softly, "I don't want to bear the responsibility of this, so I don't want to know at all. I am a coward."
Sun Wei was speechless for a moment. She knew the pain in Xie Xiao's heart.
A sixteen-year-old boy was at the age of wanton indulgence, but he was burdened with the honor and future of the entire Xie family. He couldn't bear it, so he could only use the excuse of mourning to temporarily put the Northern Palace behind him.
"No one is perfect. Everyone has moments of fear, and I'm not ashamed of that. Young General, don't be too hard on yourself. On the contrary, your willingness to be candid with me requires immense sincerity and courage, and I admire you greatly."
Xie Xiao still kept his head down.
The rain gradually got heavier and the sound was noisy, but Sun Wei could distinguish the sound of rain from Xie Xiao's sobs.
Sun Wei looked at A Ru, and A Ru hurriedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to Xie Xiao.
Xie Xiao didn't take it, but just wiped it with his sleeve and raised his head.
"I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself, Princess." He took a deep breath. "My father passed away not long ago, and my mother and sisters are still grieving. As the eldest son and brother, there are many things I can't tell them. In fact, I often can't sleep at night because of fear. Sometimes when I force myself to sleep, I dream of my father's bloody face..."
He closed his eyes in pain, gritted his teeth, and whispered, "I killed my father."
Sun Wei listened quietly.
There is a strange feeling in my heart.
No one understands Xie Xiao better than her.
Because Sima Jun's dead appearance often appeared in her dreams.
It's just that she's luckier than Xie Xiao. She can still start over again, but Xie Xiao can't. If it were her, she would probably be even more at a loss.
At this moment, any words of comfort seem pale and powerless, and it is best to let him have a good cry.
"Marquis Changyang would surely be relieved to know that the young general is safe and sound," Sun Wei said in a gentle voice.
The midsummer rain came quickly and suddenly. After a while, a ray of sunlight leaked from the sky and fell in front of the porch.
Xie Xiao calmed down, glanced at Sun Wei, and felt more guilty.
"I lost my composure." He whispered.
Sun Wei shook his head: "It's okay. Let's eat. If you don't eat now, the food will get cold."
Xie Xiao didn't have much appetite, so he only ate a little.
"Princess," Xie Xiao said, "I often think that both you and the prince lost our father. If I could be as strong as you, I wouldn't have these worries."
"Young General, you've only just gotten to know the Crown Prince. Over time, you'll understand that the Crown Prince has his own worries, just as much as the Young General's," Sun Wei said. "I think the Young General is only sixteen. Why not wait until he's the same age as the Crown Prince before making a final judgment?"
Xie Xiao thought for a moment and said, "The princess has only been in the Yuzhang Palace for a short time, how could she know all this?"
Sun Wei paused, her expression calm. "It is precisely because I am new here that I dare not neglect you. These days, I have tried my best to understand all the affairs of the mansion, and I have also learned a lot about the difficulties faced by the prince."
Xie Xiao laughed at himself and said softly, "Although the princess is a woman, she is more responsible than I am."
Sun Wei said, "Young General, you must not underestimate yourself."
Xie Xiao sighed, looked outside, and said, "I don't know what to do. When I think of the Beifu, I feel like it's a huge beast, suffocating me. Just like now, I know that something big is happening in the Beifu, but I don't even dare to ask."
Sun Wei did not answer, but asked, "Does the prince believe me?"
"You should believe it."
"Why?" Sun Wei asked with great interest. "Although I saved the young general's life, how do you know that I didn't have other intentions?"
Xie Xiao shook his head: "Since the princess is willing to save me, she won't harm me. If I can't even trust my savior, who else can I trust?"
Sun Wei said seriously, "I will not betray the young general's trust, nor will I harm him. If you don't know what to do about the Northern Palace, why don't you listen to me?"
Xie Xiao hurriedly said, "Princess, you have something to say, but you can say it."
"Ten days from now, the Crown Prince will visit the Northern Palace, and the Major General must return to the Northern Palace."
Xie Xiao was startled, his expression darkening again: "Why?"
"As the young general predicted, the Northern Prefecture will be in chaos. At this time, the heir to the Changyang Marquisate should be present to stabilize the morale of the army."
Xie Xiao smiled bitterly: "If I were so important, the prince and Brother Chu would not let me stay here while they discuss matters, right?"
Sun Wei shook her head: "I believe that no one can replace the position of the young general."
Xie Xiao lowered his eyes, and his long eyelashes trembled slightly.
"Princess, could you please let me think about it?" he asked.
Sun Wei agreed.
"I hope the young general will go. But if the young general is not ready, I will not force him. Everything depends on his wishes."
Sun Wei was exhausted after a day of talking. She asked Cao Song to take Xie Xiao to the outer courtyard, then returned to her room to rest.
As A Ru settled Sun Wei, she said, "I didn't expect that a descendant of the illustrious Xie family would be such a crybaby. Why would Princess help him? He might be a hopeless case."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
