As soon as Dong Yuan finished speaking, Wei Huai, who had been keeping his eyes lowered, suddenly raised his head and stared straight at him. Those peach blossom eyes, usually filled with mirth, were now brimming with murderous intent, glowing with an eerie green light, as terrifying as a malevolent ghost that devoured flesh and blood.
A gentle breeze swept by, and in an instant, Wei Huai savagely seized Dong Yuan’s throat, lifting the man up with one hand.
Dong Yuan’s feet dangled in the air. Even beneath the thick layer of powder on his face, it was clear that his complexion had turned purple-red in a flash, his neck bulging with veins and deformed under Wei Huai’s grip, deeply indented on both sides.
Amid the terrified screams of the female officials and palace maids, Wei Huai slowly swept his gaze over the crowd, his expression icy and brutal. “Anyone who dares call her ‘Noble Consort’ again, I’ll crush their throat—just like this.”
He was about to crush Dong Yuan’s windpipe when a familiar voice suddenly came from the flower-decked palanquin. “Don’t do this, Seventh Brother. Let him go.”
Qixue’s voice was still as gentle and captivating as ever, his tone soft like a feather brushing against the ear, yet it made Wei Huai’s body stiffen instantly. His arm went limp as he let go of Dong Yuan.
Dong Yuan collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing violently. He couldn’t get up for a long time. Wei Huai didn’t spare him another glance and walked to the window of the palanquin, forcing a miserable smile. “So you’re still willing to call me ‘Seventh Brother.'”
“…”
Qixue sat inside the palanquin, and through the gauze curtain, he could clearly see Wei Huai’s disheveled state and his bloodied hands. A tumult of emotions surged in his heart. He opened his mouth, wanting to say many things, yet not knowing where to begin.
Before seeing Wei Huai, Qixue had thought he would be terrified and anxious, fearing Wei Huai’s rage or being dragged back to be locked away and punished.
But now that they had truly met, everything had happened even more suddenly than imagined, yet he didn’t feel as panicked as expected. Instead, a sour melancholy and faint heartache welled up in him.
He had never wanted to hurt Wei Huai or make him suffer. He had wanted them to part on good terms, but due to twists of fate, things had turned out that way. He had no choice but to ruthlessly abandon Wei Huai. Now, it was time to give him an explanation.
“Let’s talk somewhere else.”
Qixue said softly to Wei Huai, “Come with me back to Chenglu Palace. I’ll have someone change you into clean clothes, and your wounds need medicine too.”
Hearing Qixue’s concern for him, Wei Huai’s breath hitched, and dense pain spread through his heart. He rasped, “Alright.”
He followed behind the palanquin as the procession resumed. Dong Yuan crawled up from the ground, his throat marked with horrifying purple-black bruises. Yet he still wore that smiling face as he leisurely took out a powder box from his bosom and dabbed powder over the discolored skin.
Once he had covered the marks, his voice hoarse, he said mildly to everyone present, “Remember this: the one who just blocked the palanquin was nothing but a mad eunuch who offended the Noble Consort’s procession. He’s already been hauled off to the Demon Beast Garden and chopped to pieces.”
“You heard nothing else and know nothing. If I find out anyone disrespects Her Ladyship behind her back or spreads rumors, their entire family won’t live. Got it?”
His ruthlessness shocked everyone, and they all bowed their heads at once. “Yes, Supervisor Dong.”
…
In front of Jianzhang Hall.
Before Wei Huai had charged forward, the palanquin had already traveled some distance, quite far from Jianzhang Hall.
The officials and noblewomen only saw a figure rush to the front of the carriage but couldn’t make out the person’s face or hear what was said.
After a moment, a palace maid from Chenglu Palace came to announce that it had merely been a deranged inner servant who had escaped from the Imperial Hospital. The guards had been caught off guard, allowing him to collide with the palanquin, and he had now been dealt with.
Everyone exchanged glances but said nothing. Regardless of whether the explanation was true or false, they had no choice but to accept it.
None of them recognized the “madman” as Great General Wei Huai. Only Helan Ji, who had known Wei Huai for a long time and was familiar with his build, identified him.
“…” Helan Ji’s gaze darkened, and he said in a low voice, “Follow them.”
At his command, the Nightmare Demon’s slender black shadow appeared soundlessly, slithering across the ground like a shadow and swiftly trailing after the palanquin.
–
Chenglu Palace.
To talk with Wei Huai, Qixue had deliberately chosen a side hall. As soon as he entered, he dismissed the attendants and waited for Wei Huai to arrive.
After a simple bath, Wei Huai, draped in an inner servant’s robe, came to the side hall. The moment he entered, he flung off his outer garment and sat bare-chested before Qixue, his muscular and toned upper body on display, his expression gloomy and dejected.
A brazier burned in the side hall, making the temperature pleasant, but it was still odd for Wei Huai not to wear a shirt. Qixue suspected he was deliberately seducing him and asked somewhat displeased, “Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
Wei Huai replied, “I’m not an inner servant. I won’t wear their clothes.”
Qixue had only just moved in, so Chenglu Palace had no extra garments prepared—only a few unused inner servant outfits. Wei Huai, when not on the battlefield, was the epitome of a refined young noble, particular about his food, clothing, lodging, and transport. Naturally, he looked down on eunuch attire.
Especially in front of Qixue.
If he wore an inner servant’s clothes, it would be as if he were one of those who served Helan Ji and Qixue at night. It was humiliating enough already; wearing it would make him truly seem like a pathetic eunuch, forced to watch his own spouse entwine with another man. How could Wei Huai endure that?
He couldn’t voice these thoughts. After the shock and fury, he now felt mostly pain and heartbreak. The rage had burned him to ashes, leaving him utterly drained in body and soul. All he wanted now was to hold his A Xue and sleep soundly.
Yet seeing Qixue in the Noble Consort’s formal robes, Wei Huai knew even embracing him was now a luxury.
Wei Huai lowered his head, his expression hard to discern. Seeing that he didn’t seem to be seducing him but simply refused to wear the inner servant clothes, Qixue let it go.
His gaze fell on Wei Huai’s scarred wrists. The hot bath water had worsened the wounds, the torn flesh blistered red and white. It hurt just to look at, and Qixue couldn’t help saying, “I’ll apply medicine for you.”
He had the Nightmare Demon fetch the medicine. Seeing Qixue able to command even it showed Helan Ji’s favor toward him, filling Wei Huai’s heart with sourness and bitterness, making his hands tremble slightly.
Qixue took his hand, dabbed on the ointment, and gently spread it over the wounds. Seeing his hand shaking badly, Qixue lightened his touch even more. “Does it hurt a lot?”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Even as Wei Huai said this, he flipped his hand and grasped the back of Qixue’s, placing it against his cheek. He rubbed against Qixue’s palm, planting soft kisses. Amid the intimacy, his tears soaked Qixue’s fingers, leaving cool trails.
“Seventh Brother…”
Seeing him cry, Qixue paused, a faint sourness rising in his heart. “Don’t cry. We can talk it out properly.”
Wei Huai gripped his hand tightly, refusing to let go. “Do you hate me?”
Qixue echoed, “Hate you?”
Wei Huai closed his eyes, each word like a sharp blade flaying his flesh. “Hate me for imprisoning you, hurting you, forcing you to marry me.”
He didn’t dare look at Qixue when asking, afraid of seeing cold hatred on that stunningly beautiful face.
“You say hate you… Of course not.”
Qixue stroked his damp eye corner. “Were you so worried I’d hate you? I’ve never thought that way. I just found being imprisoned by you troublesome because I had to leave. I left you a letter before, saying I had matters to attend to—it wasn’t a lie.”
“You imprisoned me, so I found a way to escape. If I couldn’t, it meant I wasn’t as capable as you, so I’d try another way. It’s that simple—why would I hate you? No reason.”
“As for the piercings you put in my chest, it didn’t hurt, so I didn’t even feel angry, just a bit inconvenienced.”
“Seventh Brother, do you know why? Because I like you. I see you as someone close, so I’m tolerant of you. It’s hard for me to get mad at you, especially since I wronged you first and let down your feelings for me.”
Every word was sincere from the heart, meant to ease Wei Huai’s mind. But unbeknownst to Qixue, they were like dull knives, slowly torturing Wei Huai, neither killing him cleanly nor letting him live in peace.
Wei Huai opened his reddened eyes and asked, choking back sobs, “A Xue, since you do have feelings for me, why did you have to leave?”
“You said you had matters to handle, and I said I could go with you. What exactly is it you need to do? Is it just marrying His Majesty?”
“You’re right.” Qixue said softly. “What I need to do is marry His Majesty. I’ve always wanted to become his consort.”
“I’m sorry. I used you from start to finish. At Prefect Xu’s banquet, I went to great lengths to seduce you just so you’d take me back to Shangjing.”
“But Seventh Brother, you didn’t lose out, did you? I’m so beautiful, and my body is lovely too. I traded my beauty for your protection—it’s fair. You love my body so much, and I made you so happy. Surely that pleasure outweighs the cost of escorting me to Shangjing?”
Qixue’s voice was exceedingly gentle, patiently reasoning with Wei Huai, yet it chilled him to the bone.
His whole body felt cold, his eyes filled with bone-deep agony. “So you thought I only lusted after your beauty, that’s why I brought you to Shangjing?”
Qixue was stunned. “Wasn’t it?”
“No.” Wei Huai enunciated each word. “It was because I fell in love with you at first sight that I brought you to Shangjing.”
“A Xue, you are indeed beautiful. I admit your looks moved me, but that was all. If you had only beauty and nothing else, I wouldn’t have taken you from the banquet. I knew what Prefect Xu was scheming, and I despised his calculations, so I wouldn’t touch you lightly.”
“I’m not a man who chases beauty. Before you, I didn’t even have concubines because I don’t value carnal pleasures. Our nights of passion were because I like you—that’s what sparked my desire for you.”
“I was moved because you licked my blade. You knew your seduction was failing, so you took a desperate gamble to make me see you differently.”
“You succeeded. In that moment, I found you so clever, so vibrant. I couldn’t resist your allure and kissed you. At that point, I’d already decided to take you to Shangjing, because I knew if I let you go, I’d regret it for life.”
Wei Huai gazed at Qixue, pain and infatuation intertwined, indistinguishable in intensity.
“As I carried you away from the banquet, I thought to myself, I want to marry you, spend my life with you. As long as you’re with me, every day will be joyful.”
“I wasn’t wrong. Every day with you was pure bliss. But A Xue, you’re so cruel. You left me, taking all my happiness with you.”
“Now I have nothing left.”
“A Xue, do you still think what you did to me was fair?”
