Chapter 7 Who will pity me when my beauty fades and my fragrance disappears
"My dear minister, don't you know?" The emperor looked at Liang Shao in surprise and said, "Princess Anping has also found a good man. I have already granted her a marriage two months ago."
As the emperor spoke, he seemed to feel sorry for Liang Shao, and sighed and shook his head: "Two months ago, Prince Xie came to the palace to ask the queen to marry Anping. I saw that Xie Fei was a perfect match for Anping, so I issued an imperial decree for the two of them."
"What!" Liang Shao exclaimed and looked at the emperor in disbelief.
Chen Bing'er, who was standing behind Liang Shao with her head down, smiled imperceptibly. Princess Anping had been promised to someone else, so Liang Shao belonged to her completely. She would not have a princess whose family background, status, and character were superior to hers oppressing her, nor would she have the horrible imprisonment that Liang Shao had mentioned. She was very satisfied with this result.
Seeing Liang Shao's face change drastically, the emperor's mood couldn't help but improve. He glanced at the woman behind Liang Shao and decided to add fuel to the fire, so he said in a soothing tone: "Don't be excited, my dear Liang. I know that you love Anping very much. You have repeatedly requested for marriage before going to the battle. I see that you are so infatuated with him, and I wanted to wait for you to return triumphantly to marry you two, but unfortunately you were in danger and disappeared on the way back."
"But now you have found a beauty. Although she is not as smart and beautiful as Anping, she is also pretty. Besides, she is your lifesaver. I think you must be very satisfied. It is really a happy occasion for everyone." The emperor raised his eyebrows and said with emotion with a smile.
The emperor smiled, and everyone followed suit: "Yes, congratulations to the emperor for getting a son-in-law, and congratulations to General Liang for getting his beautiful wife."
There were laughters of congratulations from all around, but to Liang Shao, every word was a mockery. They were mocking him for not knowing the value of gold and jade, mocking him for throwing away watermelons to pick up sesame seeds, mocking him...
"No - it's not like that..." Liang Shao looked around in a trance, and every familiar face had a mocking expression. He staggered and whispered. He had completely forgotten Chen Bing'er and what he had said before. He only knew the unwillingness and embarrassment in his heart. He followed the voice in his heart and shouted, "Your Majesty! You have clearly granted marriage between me and Princess Anping, how can you grant marriage to someone else again?"
"It is said that the emperor's words are golden. How can you change them at will? This is ridiculous. How can the people of the world believe what you say in the future?" Liang Shao became more and more excited, and finally he even screamed out of control.
Everyone was shocked when he heard this. He was indeed a country bumpkin who dared to say anything. Fortunately, they did not marry their daughter to him, otherwise they would not know how she died.
Everyone looked at Liang Shao curiously, but no one noticed that Chen Bing'er was standing stiffly on the side, with her hands hidden in her sleeves clenched into fists, her nails deeply dug into the palms, and blood was faintly flowing out.
Hearing this, the emperor's face turned livid, and he stared at Liang Shao with sharp eyes. He grabbed the fruit plate on the table and threw it at him: "Why did I withdraw the original imperial decree and instead grant you a marriage with Xie Fei? Shouldn't I ask you this? It was you, Liang Shao, who disappeared and caused Anping to suffer great humiliation. Now that you have returned intact, you have disregarded the marriage and married secretly, and you have not taken my imperial decree seriously at all. I am showing mercy by not questioning you."
"You actually said that I change my orders every day! Who is so lawless?"
Liang Shao came back to his senses at the emperor's roar. His face turned pale in an instant and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but his mind was blank and he couldn't say anything.
Xie Fei sat in his seat and watched from afar, with a barely perceptible smile on his face. It was just an illusion, but Liang Shao was deeply trapped in it. It seemed that this man's mind was very fragile.
But he should have guessed it, otherwise he wouldn't have become proud and complacent after a little achievement, wouldn't have felt that he was in love with Xiwen because of her beauty, and wouldn't have fallen deeply in love with Chen Bing'er's inferior temptation.
The banquet turned into a farce. The emperor was so angry that he shouted, "Liang Shao was disrespectful in front of the palace. Someone take him away and wait for his punishment!"
After everything calmed down, the emperor was no longer in the mood to continue the banquet. He turned to the queen and said, "I'll trouble you to host the banquet. I'll leave first."
After watching a great play today, everyone was still very energetic. The Queen rearranged the singing and dancing, and soon the hall returned to its previous lively state.
Tang You and others also came to Xie Fei, and they were laughing and talking about the farce just now. However, Xie Fei saw Xi Wen quietly leaving the banquet. He thought about it, then quietly got up and followed her.
Going out from the side door of the hall, there is a long corridor with lush trees on both sides. Not far from the corridor is an octagonal pavilion standing in the middle of the lake.
It was already dark at this time. A full moon hung high in the night sky. Small lanterns were hung around the pavilion. The warm candlelight shone through the thin paper and was reflected on the calm lake surface. Clusters of bright peony pots were placed on the steps.
Xiwen sat alone on the steps with a pale face, her hands crossed in front of her chest and hugged her shoulders, her head slightly lowered, her chin resting on her white arms, her thin shoulders heaving, and she sobbed softly.
Xie Fei approached the pavilion silently, was silent for a while, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it over.
A hand holding a silk handkerchief suddenly appeared in the hazy vision, with slender fingertips and distinct joints.
Following the hand, Xiwen raised her head and looked at the person who came. The man was wearing a white brocade robe with gold thread. He was handsome with gentle eyes and eyebrows. He was none other than the Prince Xie Fei who had amazed everyone at the banquet.
Xiwen was stunned, and was so dazed that she forgot to cry. Crystal tears hung on her curled eyelashes, and her bright eyes were still filled with mist, and her eye sockets were slightly red.
Xie Fei inexplicably thought of the white rabbit jade ornament in his arms. His eyes darkened and he extended the hand holding the handkerchief towards her again.
Xiwen hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the handkerchief and said in a muffled voice, "Thank you, my lord."
Xie Fei nodded silently, slowly stepped onto the stairs, and slowly walked into the pavilion.
After Xiwen wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, she looked at Xie Fei hesitantly. For a moment, she didn't know whether she should follow him in or whether she should return the handkerchief in her hand to him.
In the blink of an eye, Xie Fei was already sitting at the table drinking wine. She didn't know where the wine came from, and she couldn't remember whether Xie Fei had brought any wine with him.
As if he noticed her gaze, Xie Fei looked towards her and said in a clear and cold voice, just like him: "Would you like to drink?"
Xiwen's eyes lit up and she was about to agree, but the next moment she lowered her eyes, shook her head and said softly: "No, my body is not suitable for drinking."
As she said this, her disappointment was evident on her face, and the handkerchief in her hand was wrinkled from being squeezed, and it was obvious that she was very eager in her heart.
"My wine is medicinal wine, it will not harm your body." Xie Fei took out a teacup from the plate, poured a cup of medicinal wine and placed it on the table. He raised his chin and said lightly, "Try it."
After hesitating for a while, Xiwen finally couldn't help herself. She walked to the table and sat down. She carefully picked up the teacup and sniffed it, praising, "It smells so good."
"But why does your medicinal wine have a faint floral and fruity scent?" Xiwen wondered.
"Flowers and fruits are a kind of medicinal herbs. What's so strange about that?" Xie Fei said indifferently.
Xiwen nodded in understanding, took a small sip from the teacup, hmm, so sweet, with a hint of sourness, the floral and fruity aroma lingered in her throat, the fragrance filled her heart, after taking a sip, she felt a warmth all over her body.
"It's really delicious." Xiwen looked at Xie Fei with sparkling eyes and couldn't help but praise him.
"Really?" Xie Fei said, "If you like it, drink more. This wine is good for you."
"Yeah!" Xiwen smiled sweetly, her eyebrows and eyes curved like a crescent moon. She held the teacup and drank it obediently like a child.
Xie Fei smiled slightly, turned his head and looked at the dimly glowing lake in a daze.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiwen's soft and charming voice began to complain: "Why... why is there no more wine? Where's the wine?"
Xie Fei was startled, and then he saw that the wine jug on the table had fallen on the table. The jug was empty, and Xiwen was half lying on the table, supporting himself with his elbows, holding the half-drunk teacup in his hand.
"You are drunk." Xie Fei said as he leaned over and snatched the teacup from her hand with one hand, and half-hugged her waist with the other hand to help her sit down.
Xiwen smiled, tilted her body, and leaned on Xie Fei, half-closed her eyes and looked into the distance, and said softly: "I'm not drunk, I know what I'm doing..."
Xie Fei looked at her sideways, her fair cheeks were slightly flushed, her pink lips were still moist from the wine, the corners of her mouth were raised in a slight smile, but there was clearly a hint of sadness between her slightly furrowed brows.
"Are you sad? So sad that you want to drink to drown your sorrows?" Xie Fei sighed and asked softly.
"Are you sad?" Xiwen raised her head and thought for a while, looking at Xie Fei with a hazy look in her eyes. After a while, she shook her head, "Yeah, yeah~ I just don't understand."
As she spoke, Xiwen stood up with the help of the table, walked to the railing of the pavilion, took a deep breath, and continued to speak while leaning against the pillar: "Why can a person just stop loving someone just because he doesn't love them anymore?"
"He also promised me that he would never let me down in this life, how could he fall in love with someone else in the blink of an eye?"
"He was fine before he left, but in just a few months, he forgot all the promises he made to himself."
"Look at him. He says he loves me, but he makes me so embarrassed."
At the end of her speech, Xiwen even laughed sarcastically, and tears fell down her red cheeks, and with a "pa ta", they hit the ground and turned into a teardrop.
Xie Fei took a deep look at Xiwen and said calmly, "From the beginning, he was attracted by your beauty."
"That's right." Xiwen was startled, nodded, then frowned and asked, "If that's the case, then why did he stop loving her and instead fall in love with that pretty girl?"
The author has something to say:
I... was listening to my friend talking about her love history, which she was going to use as material for her next novel. Then, I swallowed my own flag again. My face was swollen o(╥﹏╥)o I promise to update every night at 8 o'clock in the future. This time I'll steam it! ! !
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