The Red Fades, the Fragrance Disappears; Who Will Pity It? (12)
She only realized after hearing Liang Shao and Chen Bing"er"s conversation for herself that she wasn"t really so indifferent.
Since she was young, she knew she was different from the other princesses. The never-fading scent of medicine hovering in the palace, the veiled, peculiar stares from others during palace banquets that she had resigned herself to, her empress mother"s great worry towards her future marriage…
But no matter what, there had never been someone who spoke so bluntly in front of her. They had even covered it and comforted her.
She saw it in their eyes. She understood it in her heart.
She couldn"t bear to see their worry and sadness. She had always stopped herself from caring. She only found out today that it would hurt so much to hear it herself, especially because of the one saying these words…
He had asked her father emperor and empress mother for her hand in marriage before. At that time, he didn"t say it like this, but it turns out he had looked at her this way in his heart.
Then what about Xie Fei?Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Was what he said the same as what he thought in his heart? Did he really love her? Was his kindness to her just because he was taken in by her beauty? Was it just a moment of impulse? She was just a medicine bottle. Was it no problem that she couldn"t bear his children and continue his bloodline?
Too many questions made her head spin. Liang Shao"s words kept ringing in her ears. In her confusion, it became Xie Fei saying them one word at a time. She staggered; in the next moment, she fell weakly into the person who had come.
Her pale little face was filled with exhausted tears. She lifted up her hazy, tearful eyes. Seeing Ting Lan, she couldn"t hold back her unhappiness. She sobbed, "Ting Lan… I want to go back to the carriage, I want to go back to the palace1…"
Ting Lan"s heart ached, her eyes also filling with tears. She had never seen Princess so sad, as if she would collapse in the next second.
She patted Xi Wen"s back with all her strength, choking back her sobs and coaxing, "Alright, alright, this servant will take Princess back to the carriage." As she spoke, Ting Lan supported Xi Wen and walked towards the door, not forgetting to signal behind her back to Xie Fei standing at the corner.
Xie Fei"s gloomy, handsome face watched Xi Wen leave the courtyard, her frail and thin body pressed timidly against Ting Lan"s side, her steps stumbling as if she would fall over any second.Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Xie Fei"s heart clenched inexplicably. Fury surged in his heart, his reason practically destroyed in a second.
The always indifferent and in-control Xie Fei couldn"t control himself and wanted to vent. Voidlike black mists unconsciously wrapped around him, immediately turning his aura horrifying to the extreme.
His originally cold eyes were also covered by black mists, fixing on the two people in the pavilion. His voice was cold enough to make people shiver. "Liang Shao."
Lu Qi, who was following at Xie Fei"s side, was scared by his aura until his scalp went numb. He thought that Young Master"s body seemed to have a bit of strangeness. In the blink of an eye, it was like he had turned into a different person.
It gave him the feeling of… yes, the feeling of killing intent and a deadly air. This kind of killing intent and deadly air could only be learned from piles of corpses, but how did Young Master have it?Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Why care about so much? Everyone had their secrets. He only needed to be loyal to the young master. Thus, he carefully asked, "Young— Young master… should I?" As he spoke, he made a slitting throat motion.
Yet Xie Fei didn"t respond to him. His eyes flitted across the pavilion, looking at the servant girl holding nuptial wine in front of the bridal chamber not far away. The corner of his lips slightly exposed an unsympathetic smile. "Killing him is letting him off easily."
Lu Qi froze, hesitantly asking, "Young Master"s meaning is?"
Xie Fei turned to glance at Lu Qi until he saw Lu Qi"s hands quiver. Finally, he said, with a smile that wasn"t a smile, "Doesn"t he want to continue his bloodline?
"This young master will let him be the last of his line!"
Lu Qi immediately understood Young Master"s meaning. He lowered his eyes, respectfully agreeing, "Yes, this subordinate understands. I will go now." Lu Qi"s figure flashed, and he disappeared.
When Lu Qi had finished and returned to Xie Fei"s side, a group of military men who were familiar with Liang Shao crowded around him, escorting him to the bridal chamber. Tang You and the others saw the sky was darkening. They were only acquaintances with Liang Shao and were about to take their leave when they saw Xie Fei stand up and follow along to the bridal chamber. Thus, they also followed along.
"Liang Shao, quickly lift the new bride"s veil, let us see what kind of beauty the new bride is to let you get so befuddled you won"t even drink fine wine."
"Exactly, Liang Shao you really put romance before friendship. Us brothers took so much effort to come and drink a bit, but you only think of this beauty. We should punish, we should punish!"Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
"Punish three cups of wine, three cups of nuptial wine, punish the bride too."
In the middle of the noise, Liang Shao lifted Chen Bing"er"s veil, waiting for Chen Bing"er"s delicate eyes to open. Liang Shao and the men behind him were all stunned.
Chen Bing"er"s appearance was clear and attractive; her looks were already pretty good. Today she had also drawn exquisite makeup, her head adorned with complicated beaded hairpins. This delicate beauty carried spring waves, arousing the rough crowd who had been suffering from drought, forcing them to secretly swallow back their saliva.
The wedding matron at the side brought the servant girl, beamingly welcoming them in. She first fed a raw2 dumpling to Chen Bing"er"s mouth. She asked smilingly, "Is it raw?"
Chen Bing"er lowered her eyes bashfully. Nervously, she said, "Raw."
The lovable voice immediately caused Liang Shao"s heart to ripple. He turned to look at the people behind his back stupidly looking at his wife.
Seeing the people stunned by his wife until their souls had left their bodies, Liang Shao became both proud and unhappy. On one hand, he was proud that these people completely satisfied his vanity. On the other hand, he was unhappy his own wife was seen by other men. Under these conflicting views, his reason finally prevailed over his desire. Liang Shao slightly moved to block their predatory gaze, unhappily saying, "Okay, that"s enough. You"ve seen the new bride and you"re still not going? Are you waiting for me to chase you out?"
One of them came back to his senses first. He pulled at the others, chuckling, "Liang Shao, don"t run away. After you drink three cups of nuptial wine, we"ll leave!"
As he spoke, his eyes swept over Chen Bing"er"s red lips. Beauties were most enchanting when they drank. If he didn"t satisfy his eyes then he"d be tossing and turning in bed that night.
Hearing him, the others all started taking at once. As soon as Liang Shao this, he knew if he didn"t drink the nuptial wine they absolutely wouldn"t leave easily. He ordered the wedding matron to pour three cups, and together with Chen Bing"er drank.
"Good enough?" Liang Shao turned the wine cup over, showing that not even a single drop was remaining. He urged, "Quickly leave, quickly leave, each minute of a spring3 night is worth a thousand pounds of gold. This daren is going to the bridal chamber!"
As he spoke, Liang Shao"s big hands pushed, and the people were directly pushed to the doors. They called out to go drink with entertainers, jostling to step over the house doors. Suddenly, a strong, cold, and terrible aura descended. Liang Shao and the others had fought in close quarters on the battlefield for many years; their awareness towards this dangerous feeling was originally greater than than the average person. They shivered involuntarily, stopping their hands in a flash and simultaneously turning to the door.
"If you want to enter the bridal chamber, I"m afraid you"ll have to ask if this young master agrees or not." Xie Fei walked towards them slowly, wearing a black and red silk robe, his hands behind his back. With each step, the pressure on them increased, as if stepping on their hearts.Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
The people felt that the turn of events was anything but good. What Xie Fei just said was clearly about Lian Shao. Although they were just Liang Shao"s brothers, it wasn"t to the extent that they would offend Xie Fei. Then, talking about Xie Fei"s imposing manner, even if they all gathered together, they probably still couldn"t beat him.
Thinking in this way, the few people hurriedly to say respectfully, "Young Master, we…"
Before they finished a single phrase, Xie Fei flung his wide sleeves, sending them rolling out the room and falling at the side. His indifferent eyes glanced at the battered and exhausted people. He said coldly, "Get lost. This young master won"t hit unrelated people."
Everyone looked at the scene in shock. They had never before known the graceful and elegant Young Master Xie was unexpectedly strong to this extent. Was this still a person? they couldn"t help but ask themselves.
The people lying on the ground were shocked. Unexpectedly, they weren"t even Xie Fei"s match. So, hearing Xie Fei"s words, they didn"t even dare to cough, holding their chests and lowering their heads, bending and leaving.
The entire courtyard was silent. Although Liang Shao was completely stunned in his heart, he was the host, and adding on how he had already thrown away his face at the Chrysanthemum Viewing Festival, this time he absolutely couldn"t shrink back. He furrowed his eyebrows, unhappily looking at Xie Fei. "What does Young Master Xie mean by this? This Liang doesn"t know how he has offended Young Master, but Young Master has ruined my wedding and injured my guests. I ask Young Master to please give this Liang an explanation, or even if Young Master"s status is high and skill martial arts is high, I, Liang Shao, will disregard Young Master and become irreconcilable adversaries!"
"An explanation? Does this young master seem like the kind of person who will give an explanation?" Xie Fei said indifferently, looking at Liang Shao.
"Then don"t blame me for being discourteous!" Liang Shao pulled out a blade from the nearby bodyguard and gripped it in his hand, rushing at Xie Fei with a shout.
Indifferently glancing at Liang Shao, Xie Fei stepped softly on the ground. He disappeared in a second, appearing directly at the bridal chamber.
Chen Bing"er had long heard that noise from outside. She was about to get up and go outside to look, but in the next instant she faced Xie Fei"s cool gaze. She didn"t have time to make a sound. Her legs softened and she fell onto the ground.
Her body flew into the air as if it wasn"t hers. Chen Bing"er looked in horror as Xie Fei took her out of the house, exposing her to all of the people"s watchful eyes. At the same time, her brain suddenly burst with stabbing pain, like there were needles vigorously poking at her acupoints. She couldn"t hold back and began to shout. "Liang-dage… save me, ah, quickly save me… ah… I— Bing"er… Bing"er hurts to death!"
"Xie Fei! Let go of Bing"er, if there"s a problem then come at me! What skill does bullying a delicate girl count as?" Hearnig Chen Bing"er"s cry of pain, Liang Shao immediately fired up, clenching the sword in his hand and going to rush over.
But before he even took a step, Xie Fei"s fingers flicked and a burst of air hit his kneecaps. Liang Shao"s knees buckled, falling face-first to the ground like a dog eating dung. In this situation that was just like a hundred weights hanging by a hair, Liang Shao turned his hand, propping the sword on the ground, and preventing him from falling to the ground in a sorry state.
"You? Can"t withstand a single blow." Xie Fei pensively said, walking slowly in front of Liang Shao.Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
Liang Shao froze, the veins on his forehead pulsing. He struggled, wanting to say something, but the taste of blood burst from his throat, gushing out of his mouth.
Chen Bing"er stared into the distance blankly, terror still on her face. She didn"t return to herself until Liang Shao had slapped her cheeks red. She spat out a breath of air. Lifting her eyes to look at Liang Shao, she hugged him tightly, beginning to cry bitterly. "Liang-dage… I"m scared…"
Liang Shao hugged her, his heart hurting. He coaxed hoa.r.s.ely, "Don"t be scared, don"t be scared, Bing"er is a good girl. Liang-dage is here."
The author has something to say:
Thanks to darling "Mere Worldly Possessions" for watering with 1 nutrient bottle (づ￣ 3￣)づ
Little cutie "Mountain Liang" for watering with 1 nutrient bottle
Xie "h.e.l.l"s Emissary" Fei: I"m just Xie "King of h.e.l.l" Fei"s spokesperson.
1↩: 我想回宮 is one word off from "I want to go home" (我想回家). (TヘT)
2↩: yes… a raw dumpling… In Chinese, raw is 生, sheng, which is also the same character used to say "have children" (生小孩). The conversation is
Wedding matron: 生不生? (Is it raw?/Will you have children?)
Chen Bing"er: 生。(Raw./Yes I"ll have children.)
Actually, it"s ambiguous whether it"s raw or simply undercooked (it can be interpreted both ways in Chinese), but I went with raw for more fluid dialogue.
3↩: Spring also means l.u.s.t; a spring night is a night of s.e.x lol.