Chapter 27 This bastard, from beginning to end...
Xue Mingyao's lips stung from Xie Zhuo's impact, and before she could react, his tongue was already deep inside her mouth.
He kissed her forcefully, as if unleashing a raging storm that trapped her within it. She was overwhelmed, her resistance swallowed up, her thoughts shattered, leaving only a hazy, hot, tingling sensation.
In her dazed state, Xue Mingyao clearly felt that intensely hot aura, an aura that made her tremble, bearing the name Xie Qinglang.
She recalled the countless kisses in Xichuan, how their breaths mingled, how they were immersed in an irresistible passion. Only then, his strength hadn't been so domineering.
Xue Mingyao really wanted to cry.
She closed her eyes, her nails digging deep into his waist.
In the afternoon sunlight, Qi Zhao, dressed in blue, appeared silently at the wide-open doorway. After seeing two figures embracing each other, he gently closed the door.
The spring breeze ceased its passage, the birdsong faded, and Xie Zhuo grew increasingly unrestrained, licking and ravaging her as if he wanted to devour her whole.
Xue Mingyao gradually felt she couldn't take it anymore, and finally, when Xie Zhuo bit her lip painfully, she woke up as if from a dream and pushed him away abruptly.
The room was unusually quiet, which made their heavy breathing sound like waves crashing against the shore, never ceasing.
After a long pause, Xie Zhuo looked at the tightly closed door and said in a hoarse voice, "Qi Zhao is as considerate as ever."
*Slap!* Xue Mingyao raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
"Explain what exactly happened to me," she said, her lips trembling.
After Xie Qinglang's identity was restored, the familiar slap came just in time. His face stung with pain, but for the first time, Xie Zhuo felt no shame.
"Your voice has changed because of a throat injury. Over the years, I changed my name and joined the army, becoming a general. That's why, madam."
Xue Mingyao detected an overwhelming sense of mockery in the way the word "Madam" was used.
When he first met Xie Qinglang, he intentionally reminded her of her status as a widow, and instead of calling her a princess, he addressed her as Madam Cen.
He stood before her, his figure quite imposing, a full half-head taller than Xie Qinglang before, and also more robust, no longer the thin boy he once was.
Xue Mingyao raised her head, her cold and arrogant gaze like a needle, dissecting Xie Qinglang's new appearance bit by bit.
His complexion had darkened, his jawline had become thinner, and he was covered in a light stubble, making his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes appear even more profound and deep-set. He now looked more like a general than a scholar.
Her mind was still a mess, with too many emotions overflowing and threatening to overwhelm her.
"Princess, Chen Hanlin is about to leave. Would you like to see him off?"
There were two knocks on the door, and the crisp sound of green branches wafted in.
Xue Mingyao felt as if she had met a savior and strode to open the door.
"Furthermore, the young master has just returned home and sent word that he will come immediately to see General Xie and speak with him—"
Before Green Branch could finish speaking, her eyes suddenly widened, staring blankly at Xie Zhuo behind the princess, "Xie, Xie Qing..."
Xue Mingyao subconsciously thought, "I can't let my brother see him."
She turned and pointed at Xie Zhuo, "You go with Chen Hanlin."
But he wouldn't even call out "General Xie" anymore.
Xie Zhuo paused for a moment, then slowly walked over and stopped beside Xue Mingyao.
Xue Mingyao glared at him.
"Is the matter about the child true or false?" he asked.
Xue Mingyao was stunned for a moment, then her face flushed red. "Of course it's fake! You, don't you even consider your status? Are you worthy of me bearing your children?"
Xie Zhuo's face instantly turned as cold as ice. He looked at her glistening lips and said coldly, "You weren't worthy before."
Xue Mingyao naturally understood his implied meaning, which only intensified her embarrassment. She took several deep breaths before refraining from attacking Xie Zhuo further.
Fortunately, Xie Zhuo didn't say anything more, and took a step to go out with her.
Xue Mingyao was distracted and didn't even have time to say a few words to persuade Chen Liangqing to stay. It was only after a while that she remembered to ask him about the painting.
"I will finish it after I return home and spend some more time on it. Then I will frame it and send it to your residence."
"Thank you for your trouble." Xue Mingyao smiled perfunctorily, her pace quickening.
Chen Liangqing frowned imperceptibly, noticing out of the corner of his eye that the lip rouge on her lips had smudged and become much lighter in color.
The three walked together, with Chen Liangqing on the far left, Xue Mingyao in the middle, and Xie Zhuo on the right, with a considerable distance between them, enough to fit a few more people.
But Chen Liangqing felt that the one who was far away from her was herself.
He didn't say anything.
After seeing the two off, Xue Mingyao hurried back to appease her brother. Xue Xingtai returned from the ancestral home after several hours' drive and, upon hearing that Xie Zhuo had left, was greatly displeased. He asked her how her conversation with Xie Zhuo had gone. Xue Mingyao was in a state of unease and had no intention of revealing Xie Zhuo's identity to her brother. After stammering a few words, she used the excuse of feeling unwell to return to her courtyard.
Xue Xingtai persisted, but fortunately her sister-in-law intervened and changed the subject to their child, allowing Xue Mingyao to escape.
As Xue Mingyao walked up the steps after leaving her brother's room, her legs suddenly gave way and she almost fell.
Fortunately, a green branch helped her steady herself.
"Princess, what exactly happened today? Why does General Xie look like Xie Qinglang...?" Green Branch asked softly.
"That's Xie Qinglang." Xue Mingyao gritted her teeth. "That bastard, he's been playing me for a fool from beginning to end!"
The embarrassment burning in her chest caused Xue Mingyao's face to turn bright red, from her ears to her cheeks, and the burning sensation continued until nightfall.
She locked herself in her room, silently recalling the moments she had shared with Xie Zhuo over the past few months—from his story about his fiancée being taken by a villain, to her description of how infatuated her lover from Xichuan was with her, and now to her triumphant announcement that she had given birth to a son for Xie Qinglang.
Xue Mingyao was so angry that she burst into tears, buried her face in the soft pillow, and wished she could just die.
She completely lost face in front of him!
Amidst her anger, there was a tiny bit of joy. Xue Mingyao knew what that joy was, and it only fueled her anger further. A drop of water poured onto the raging fire instantly turned into white smoke.
Outside, the night was as still as water. After listening to Lüzhi recount Xie Zhuo's identity, Qi Zhao fell into a long silence.
“Who would have thought he would have such good fortune? I’ve met General Xie so many times with the princess, but I never connected him with Xie Qinglang…” Green Branch murmured.
“He has a great talent for martial arts,” Qi Zhao suddenly said. “He learned archery very quickly, and he has also read all of General Cen’s military books.”
What Qi Zhao didn't say was that in the beginning, the princess often ordered him to take Xie Qinglang into the woodshed, and Xie Qinglang always resisted. The first few times, his resistance was like throwing an egg against a rock, but later he gradually became more capable, and the last time, it seemed that he dodged three or four moves from him—Xie Qinglang had memorized all his grappling techniques.
But no one could have imagined that the sickly scholar of yesteryear would transform into a general commanding thousands of troops amidst the clash of swords and bloodshed.
The evening breeze was gentle, and the two stood there for a while before falling silent. Qi Zhao returned to his room, and Lüzhi simply sat on the steps, thinking about the past between the princess and Xie Qinglang, her mood becoming melancholy.
Heavy, muffled thumping sounds came from inside the room. Green Branch knew that the princess was taking her anger out on the pillow.
Princess Yongning had a bad temper, especially when she was a child. After Madam Xue died young, General Xue did not remarry but took several concubines. One of them was particularly favored and disrespectful to the princess. She was also suspected of embezzling the second concubine's monthly allowance, which angered the young princess so much that she rushed over and slapped her twice.
The concubine wept bitterly before the general, and the general punished both sides equally, then let it go. But the young princess was not satisfied and insisted on getting rid of the concubine. That night, the young princess and the general argued, and the princess smashed everything she could in the room. In the end, the concubine was divorced, and the young princess won a complete victory.
She got angry several more times afterward and smashed up the house a few more times. The biggest time was when General Xue forced her to marry General Cen. Green Branch remembered clearly that after the princess had turned the whole house upside down, General Xue asked her, if she didn't want to be Mrs. Cen, then whose wife would she want to be?
The princess named the two princes and the son of a Grand Secretary. General Xue shook his head and said that since you have no one you truly love, you might as well marry someone who truly cares for you.
The princess said she had received countless sincere feelings, so it was Cen Zongjing's turn.
General Xue said that she was too young and did not understand people's hearts, and always mistook the false for the true.
When the princess argued again, General Xue brought up the marriage prediction made by the fortune teller, and said that Cen Zongjing was someone he had personally promoted, and that his character and abilities were reliable, and that he would never let her suffer any injustice.
In the end, the princess couldn't fight against the powerful and married him. All the things in the house were smashed for nothing.
Who could have foreseen that General Xue's carefully chosen son-in-law would die so young?
Later, perhaps due to her advancing age, the princess became much more restrained when she got angry. She would either vent her anger by practicing martial arts or by hitting a few pillows with her fists, and that would be the end of it.
Just like tonight.
After listening to three intermittent muffled thuds, Green Branch heard the princess calling her.
She went in and gathered up the eight brocade pillows lying haphazardly on the couch. Seeing that the princess's complexion was alright, she felt relieved and helped the princess bathe and go to bed.
After midnight, the night sky was as black as ink, with no moonlight, only damp frost. The chirping insects that usually sang were all silent for some reason, and Princess Yongning's courtyard was deathly quiet.
Xue Mingyao lay on the bed with her eyes wide open.
The fire in her heart was still burning, growing ever brighter. One moment she saw Xie Qinglang at seventeen, the next she was Xie Zhuo now, and the conversations that annoyed her kept echoing in her ears.
She couldn't possibly sleep.
Xue Mingyao suddenly sat up, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.
The maid on night watch in the side room rubbed her eyes, her voice trembling with surprise, "Princess...Princess?"
"Don't panic, I'm going out for a bit."
Qi Zhao, who was in a light sleep, was also taken aback when he saw his master. Xue Mingyao was wrapped in a black cloak and wore a hood, and gave the order expressionlessly, "Come with me to the Xie residence."
"Princess, it's the middle of the night now, why don't we go tomorrow..."
"If you don't want to, then go back to your brother's side and serve him. Don't stay here. I can go by myself." Xue Mingyao said coldly, then turned and left.
Qi Zhao silently drew his sword and followed, helping her climb over the Xue family's courtyard wall to get out.
The short distance from the Xue residence to the Xie residence was shrouded in darkness, with no stars or moon. Xue Mingyao carried a dimly lit palace lantern, her neck craned, and walked with incredible speed. The hem of her cloak fluttered in the night breeze from time to time, revealing a corner of her moon-white nightgown.
A servant in the Xie household got up in the middle of the night and witnessed two dark figures jumping down from the high wall. Terrified, he shouted, "Thieves! Catch the thieves!"
A shout roused the Xie family mansion from its slumber.
Xue Mingyao seemed not to hear, dusted herself off, determined her direction, and strode straight towards the main courtyard where Xie Zhuo was. The servants of the Xie household grabbed sticks to stop her, but Qi Zhao easily deflected them.
Upon hearing the news, Liu Quan and Steward Liu rushed over and met Xue Mingyao face to face, as if they had seen a ghost. Xue Mingyao's face was cold, and she didn't say a word. She shuffled through the moon gates in her wooden clogs.
Having recognized her as a princess, no one dared to stop her anymore, but they couldn't very well pretend they hadn't seen her and go back to rest. The servants lit the lamps and followed the princess and her maids, panting, all the way to the main courtyard.
Upon hearing the news, Xie Zhuo had just put on an outer robe and stepped out of his bedroom when he saw Xue Mingyao, dressed in black, rushing in from the corridor with a murderous aura. The flickering lamplight made her face glow brightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
