HomeFated HeartsYi Xiao - Chapter 34

Yi Xiao – Chapter 34

Feng Xiyang lay quietly in bed, beginning to fear the pale blue dawn light filtering through the window lattice. Daybreak meant yesterday had passed, and another lonely day would sweep away a green leaf of her youth like the wind.

Her body was gradually recovering, but she remained listless. Since that day, Xia Jingshi had not returned after leaving, and she no longer dared to send someone to invite him – he didn’t care, and pursuing him further would only bring humiliation upon herself.

After an unknown time, she suddenly heard a commotion of running footsteps outside. Feng Xiyang instinctively listened to the faint words drifting in: “…coughing blood… physician…”

Coughing blood. Physician.

Who in this royal city would cough blood and cause such panic among the servants?!

Feng Xiyang abruptly sat up. A sudden dizziness accompanied by darkness pressed down on her. She swayed and tumbled to the floor. The maid guarding outside heard the noise and pushed open the door to check, just in time to see Feng Xiyang struggling to get up from the ground. She couldn’t help but exclaim and rushed over to support her. “Princess, how did you fall?”

Feng Xiyang stood up with her support but only grabbed her to ask, “Who’s coughing blood? I heard someone’s coughing blood!” The maid hesitated for a moment, “This servant isn’t quite sure, but from the situation, it seems to be His Highness…” Before she could finish speaking, Feng Xiyang had already shaken off her hand and rushed out.

“Princess, Princess, put on some clothes! Your shoes! Your body hasn’t fully recovered, you can’t catch a chill…” The maid called out while grabbing the shoes from the ground and the plain silk cloak hanging by the bed, then chased after her.

Heedless of who she bumped into along the way, Feng Xiyang blindly ran through the corridors and pavilions, with several maids chasing far behind, their calls completely unheard by her.

“What does it matter if he doesn’t care? Was it just that little setback that made you forget everything you solemnly promised Father before the wedding?” Feng Xiyang thought hazily as the wind whistled past her ears.

Not knowing where he was, she would find him herself. Once she found him, she had to tell him to face to face-that no matter what he thought, she would not let go.

Love, at its deepest, is inherently blind. One day, she would uproot Fu Yixiao from his heart completely.

Someone came towards her from ahead. She instinctively tried to dodge but was a beat too slow, crashing heavily into that person’s embrace. Immediately, a pair of strong arms encircled her waist. She struggled and screamed, “Let me go! I need to see him!”

“I’ll take you to see him,” Xiao Weiran’s calm voice sounded, “But you need to go back to your room and put on some proper clothes.” Xiyang’s heart relaxed, and she realized she had nearly exhausted herself from running. If not for Xiao Weiran supporting her, she would have likely collapsed to the ground.

Feng Xiyang, adamantly refusing to return to her room, hurriedly followed behind Xiao Weiran wrapped in the cloak brought by her maid. Xiao Weiran didn’t speak again, only walking ahead at a pace neither too fast nor too slow that she could keep up with.

Passing through the inner palace of the royal city, Xiao Weiran led her towards the study. The air was faintly perfumed with the scent of perilla and sandalwood incense, known for its mind-clearing properties. Feng Xiyang’s spirits lifted, and she quickened her pace to catch up. Turning a corner, she unsurprisingly saw a crowd gathered at the study door, with many soldiers and attendants standing on the stone steps, anxiously craning their necks to look inside.

Seeing Xiao Weiran arrive, many faces showed relief. One anxious military officer had already hurried over. “Advisor Xiao, quickly go in and check… Why is she here?” His gaze fell on her, showing obvious rejection.

“I encountered the Princess on the way in, so we came together,” Xiao Weiran said casually as he walked inside. “How is His Highness?” The officer strode beside him, answering, “The physician has already gone in. They all wanted to enter but feared disturbing His Highness with too many people, so they’re all waiting outside.” Xiao Weiran nodded briefly and quickly ascended the stone steps, gently pushing open the door.

Feng Xiyang followed behind him with her head lowered, the various gazes cast upon her making her feel cold from head to toe, inside and out. Her hands had long since turned ice-cold.

A large colorful felt carpet covered the study floor. On one side of the spacious entrance hall was a side room with hanging brocade curtains and pearl strings. Xiao Weiran walked in without pause, suddenly letting out a low exclamation of surprise.

What kind of scene would await inside? A bloodless face? Covered in cold sweat? Teeth clenched tight?

Feng Xiyang reached out to lift the brocade curtain, her heart suddenly in her throat—

Almost simultaneously, a gentle voice sounded, “It’s nothing serious. Why is everyone so worried— Why are you here too?” The last sentence was directed at Xiyang.

It felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body. Xiyang leaned softly against the doorframe, tears already welling up. “What happened to you?”

The physician beside them softly replied, “His Highness has overworked himself. What he coughed up was stagnant blood. It’s nothing serious. He just needs plenty of rest and he’ll be fine.” Xia Jingshi made a sound of acknowledgment. “I’ve troubled you to come all this way, sir. I’m truly sorry. Ning Fei, please see the physician out.”

Only then did Feng Xiyang notice that Ning Fei and Ling Xueying were also standing nearby. Ning Fei answered and led the physician out. Xueying cast a cold glance at Feng Xiyang before following them out. Xiao Weiran hesitated for a moment before also withdrawing.

Suddenly, only Xia Jingshi and Feng Xiyang remained in the room.

Xia Jingshi reached out to help her sit on the soft couch. “If your body hasn’t fully recovered, you shouldn’t be walking around.” Xiyang sat down in a daze, her gaze falling on the few spots of blood on his collar. “Are you alright?”

“The physician already said it’s nothing,” he smiled and turned around. “Sit here for a while. I’ll have someone bring a soft sedan to take you back.”

Xiyang stared blankly at his retreating figure.

She had finally seen him, still with that familiar cool gentleness, but the smile that didn’t reach his eyes brought an icy coldness that coursed through her blood, surging into her heart and stirring her viscera. It was painful. In the end, she still lacked the courage to call him back. The beads beneath the curtain clinked softly as he disappeared.

After seeing off the physician, Ning Fei finally couldn’t hold back his complaints. “You didn’t listen to a word I said on the way here, and the one thing I told you not to say, you blurted out first thing. I think you’re deliberately trying to anger His Highness to death.” Though not fully understanding, Xiao Weiran’s gaze still fell directly on Xueying.

Xueying looked quite remorseful. “If I had known he would cough up blood, I wouldn’t have said it like that. How disgusting…” “You…” Ning Fei was exasperated. “Why don’t you just kill me with anger while you’re at it!”

Turning his head, he met Xiao Weiran’s questioning gaze. Ning Fei sighed, “This morning, we received a letter from Yixiao through a merchant caravan. She asked Xueying to help retrieve some things from the Fu family and also to ask His Highness to return her glass hairpin. It’s my fault too. She was reading the letter beside me, so I casually asked about that person Xushe’s recent situation. The person just said that apart from the prince wanting to marry the girl left behind by you Jinxiu, there was nothing else major.

As soon as Xueying heard this, she dropped the letter and wanted to enter the city. I chased after her all the way, telling her to just make up an excuse to ask for the hairpin and not to mention Yixiao’s marriage to His Highness. She agreed quite readily, but as soon as she entered the study, she blurted out to His Highness, ‘Yixiao is going to marry Feng Suige. She wants you to return her glass hairpin.’ His Highness’s face immediately changed, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood without even putting down the book in his hand.”

Xueying also became anxious, pointing at Ning Fei and asking directly to his face, “Don’t keep defending your prince. Put your hand on your heart and tell me, if it weren’t for Xia Jingshi, how would Yixiao have been abducted there? And how could she not return from Xushe? She’s such a stubborn person, marrying Feng Suige at a time like this – do you think her life will be easy? Moreover, if I don’t tell Xia Jingshi about Yixiao’s marriage, will he never find out?!”

Ning Fei was too angry to speak. Xiao Weiran pulled Xueying two steps away and said softly, “What Xueying said isn’t wrong. It’s impossible to keep it a secret forever. But Xueying shouldn’t have said both things together. It sounds like Yixiao is cutting ties with His Highness.”

Although Xueying was stubborn, she also felt some guilt in her heart. She mumbled, “Then… then what should we do? The words have already been said. Should I go back and explain to him that Yixiao didn’t mean it that way?”

Xiao Weiran shook his head. “No need. I think Yixiao did mean it that way— Anyway, since it’s already passed, there’s no need to explain anything. It’s just…” He pondered briefly, then looked up at the two pairs of puzzled eyes. “Don’t you think something doesn’t add up?”

Ning Fei’s brows furrowed into the shape of a river. “Could it be that Xushe has already harmed Yixiao, and sending a letter asking for things is just a pretense?” Xueying angrily punched him. “You really can’t say anything good! You…” She suddenly stopped and made a sound of realization, looking at Xiao Weiran. “Indeed, something doesn’t make sense— He cares so much about Yixiao, so why won’t he marry her no matter what?”

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