Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play

Chapter 760 - 739: Personal Feelings

The Shadow Guards of Xie Jue, though stationed a distance away from the study, remained staunchly loyal to their master. While they couldn’t overhear the conversation inside, their sharp eyes stayed fixed on the study. Ying Er and Ying Liu stood upon the roof, ensuring that no one bypassed them to enter this crucial space. Ordinarily, once Xie Jue entered the study, the lamps would be lit immediately. Yet, after a quarter of an hour, the study remained shrouded in darkness.

Ying Liu couldn’t help but mutter, "What is the Prince doing? Why hasn’t he lit the lamps? Discussing matters in pitch darkness—is he serious?"

Ying Er, "..."

"I know—perhaps the study has run out of lamp oil."

"Then why hasn’t the Prince come out to have someone deliver some lamp oil?"

"Exactly, why?"

"Hah!"

Ying Er stood steadily, sword in hand, choosing not to respond.

Inside the study, only the sound of heavy breathing echoed between the two. Unable to bear it any longer, Xie Jue pushed away the person trapping him, raising a hand to touch his aching neck where he’d been bitten. "What madness is this!"

"I *am* mad—driven mad by you!" Fang Chuning clasped his collar tightly, still pinning him against the door. His voice was hoarse as he growled, "The Emperor has already decreed that I accompany you on this diplomatic mission. Why do you continue avoiding me?"

He had waited in the study for half a day, his mood growing increasingly restless and his anger mounting with every passing moment. The fire of rage he had suppressed for so long finally erupted, unleashing itself upon Xie Jue.

Struggling to steady his chaotic breathing, Xie Jue turned his head slightly to evade Fang Chuning’s proximity, coldly warning him, "Fang Chuning, you’ve crossed the line."

Fang Chuning burst into frenzied laughter, his voice unstable. Suddenly, he grabbed Xie Jue’s chin, forcing him to turn back. Their eyes met in the darkness, and Fang Chuning’s pupils, consumed by fury, burned blood-red. "Back in Fox City, I gave you a choice. Three times—I gave you three chances. You knew my heart, yet you chose to marry. Now you think you can toss me aside with some absurd excuse about societal norms? Xie Tingfeng, dream on!"

"Then what do you want?" Xie Jue retorted, his voice laced with anger. "You and I both know—what happened in Fox City was only meant for Fox City. It was Helian Feng and Lan Ningzhen, not Xie Jue and Fang Chuning. You are the sole heir of the Fang Family. You wish to defy the natural order and follow me—have you asked the Commander? Have you asked Mrs. Fang? You disregard societal expectations, the continuity of the Fang lineage, even your reputation. So, what do you care about? Anning, don’t be naive. You can’t do it!"

"So, you’re leaving me, aren’t you?" Fang Chuning’s voice cracked with desperation, rasping bitterly into Xie Jue’s ear. "Is this how we’ll spend our whole lives—like this? Is it truly impossible?"

"Impossible!" Xie Jue’s hands hung by his sides, wanting to console him but resisting the urge. "Don’t force it. Let it go."

"I *will* force it!" Fang Chuning roared into his ear. He bit down on Xie Jue’s ear with reckless abandon. "Tingfeng, since you’ve provoked me, don’t think you can escape halfway!"

Yanking open the door, Fang Chuning stormed out. On the roof of the neighboring courtyard, Ying Er and Ying Liu pretended not to see him. As he exited the Prince Manor, Ying Liu commented, "He seems angry!"

The study lamps finally flickered to life. Xie Jue sat down irritably, his expression unreadable. He couldn’t help but recall when he had first returned to Ningzhou early, arriving half a month before Fang Chuning. He had been plagued by anxiety, fearing that Fang Chuning might encounter misfortune after sending him off at Fox City. Sleepless and on edge, even while deliberating military affairs, his thoughts had been chaotic.

At that time, they had been married in Beiman for just six months—a half year that felt like an entire lifetime. In those months, Xie Jue came to understand the joys of love, the bonds of companionship, and the beauty of mutual affection. Joy entangled with danger; safety nestled between precarious moments. To survive in the cracks of uncertainty, knowing someone had his back—that itself was a comforting assurance. No matter what, he was not alone.

It was the peak of their passion—until their identities were abruptly exposed, forcing them to flee Beiman. Back in Ningzhou, Xie Jue knew everything that happened in Fox City had to be treated as nothing more than a dream. As the dream faded, all emotions tied to it were left behind, never to surface. Even during countless sleepless nights, no matter how profound his longing or nostalgia, he dared not reveal a trace.

His father declared that Fang Chuning had gone to Liu City on an assignment. Xie Jue had no choice but to trust it.

After Fang Chuning’s return from Beiman, Xie Jue was forced to feign ignorance. Both men, deeply attuned to one another, buried everything from Beiman in their hearts, turning it into their sweetest yet most secretive memory.

Aside from them, no one else knew. They played deaf and dumb, continuing their performance as brothers with bonds seemingly carved in stone. That which was meant to be buried forever—a facade of genuine kinship—would carry them through a lifetime of deceit.

Perhaps, they would eventually marry women, father children, and during festivals, toast alongside their families, pleasantly drunk.

If not for the downfall of the Marquis Mansion and the Xie Family’s rebellion, perhaps their lives would have followed that predetermined path.

But now, everything had changed.

Ever since their disguises were stripped away, they both understood that their silent, mutual understanding had shattered. Xie Jue himself had faltered, harboring selfish desires, but he could not blame Fang Chuning.

It was his own indulgence in selfishness—willfully planting seeds of hope in Fang Chuning—that led to this mess. And now, he sought to sever this bond.

He had gone back on his word, indecisive and contradictory!

Xie Jue pressed his temples, beset with headache. Torn between choices, unable to settle his mind, he could handle any challenge with poise—except the emotions lingering from Fox City. He could admit to them but didn’t want to confront the consequences.

The consequences mattered not because of gossip but because of the hard fate awaiting Fang Chuning.

He had intended to cut all emotional ties, yet Xie Xun had meddled, insisting Fang Chuning accompany him on this diplomatic mission. Had he been firmer, requiring Fang Chuning to make a choice beforehand, this might’ve been avoided. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Only now did love’s depth dawn upon him—how even he, consumed by it, could hesitate and act erratically.

"Damn it!" Xie Jue suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, hastening out of the study. "Ying Er, intercept him before he enters his house!"

"Yes!" Ying Er, who had been stationed on the roof the entire time and dared not rest, immediately leapt down to carry out the order. He dashed towards the Fang Family ahead of Xie Jue.

Xie Jue mounted his horse and rushed towards the Fang Family Mansion. At this hour, the city was under curfew, and the deserted streets only made their galloping horses conspicuous.

Though the Prince Manor and Fang Mansion were both located in East City, there was still some distance between them. By the time Xie Jue arrived at the Fang Family gates, Ying Er was already there waiting. Xie Jue dismounted quickly, and Ying Er reported, "Prince, I couldn’t catch up to him."

"How long has he been inside?"

"Less than one stick of incense’s time."

Ying Er, anticipating Xie Jue’s arrival, had already informed the household. In their circles, abrupt, unannounced visits were rare—especially late at night. Such a gesture must imply urgent matters.

Mrs. Fang herself came out to greet Xie Jue after receiving the urgent report. His tone was slightly panicked, and etiquette momentarily abandoned, he blurted out, "Aunt, I need to see Anning. It’s urgent."

"Come in quickly, then. He went to the study to speak with his father, but you—"

Mrs. Fang hadn’t finished her sentence before Xie Jue hurried past like a whirlwind towards the main courtyard, leaving her puzzled by his uncharacteristic agitation. She had never seen Xie Jue in such a state before.

Xie Jue practically sprinted to the Commander’s study. Upon arriving, he found the guards stationed far away from the building, its doors locked in silence. His chest tightened as dread crept in. A guard moved to announce his arrival, but unable to wait, Xie Jue, for the first time in his life, cast aside decorum and burst into the study uninvited.

Inside, the room was brightly lit. Fang Chuning knelt at its center, while the Commander’s face was stern as water, fixated on him. Xie Jue shut his eyes with pained regret, conflicting emotions churning in his heart—a mix of remorse and an ironic sense of relief, as though the blade hovering over his heart had finally come down.

Had he arrived too late?