Princess Xiangsi - Chapter 54
Feng Xue's brows relaxed completely, her face showing ease and contentment. Her brows seemed to be smiling softly as well. "This dress can be used as a wedding gown! When Qingyi gets married in the future, she can wear this red dress as her wedding gown!"
Qingyi pursed her lips, her face slightly flushed: "No! Qingyi wants to stay with the princess for the rest of her life!"
"You're still young now. Once Qingyi has someone she loves, she won't say things like that anymore. You'll definitely be eager to wear your wedding dress then."
"No way, the princess is everything to Qingyi." Qingyi lowered her head, her ears turning bright red. She quickly changed the subject, "Does the princess have someone she likes now?"
A figure seemed to flash through Feng Xue's mind, but it was so fast that she couldn't even react. She smiled and said, "Perhaps!"
Volume One: A Female Scholar Named Qingyun Worships Among the People (Part 2)
"Who is the princess's current sweetheart?" Qingyi blinked curiously, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Does the princess still like Jun Wuhen?"
Feng Xue hesitated for a moment, then said, "I don't know."
Li Ge is right. Her feelings for Jun Wuhen are nothing more than an intense admiration that evolved from childhood, which leads to a seemingly genuine but actually feigned affection. Add to that Situ Xingyun's recent incident, and now everything seems to have faded.
If possible, being alone is more comfortable.
With a gentle smile, Feng Xue stopped their conversation. "Qingyi, please do my hair and makeup! It's almost time."
"Yes, Princess."
Half an hour later, Feng Xue finished dressing up.
A woman in simple clothes with light makeup appeared in the bronze mirror. Despite her simple attire, she resembled a frozen plum blossom, solitary and unassuming, yet still exuding the air of a princess.
Not many people went to pay their respects today. Apart from Situ Xingyun, Feng Xue, Shuang Die, and a few attendants, there were only a few people present.
It seems that Situ Xingyun doesn't want to be too high-profile.
Inside the carriage reserved for Prince Pingyan's residence, Feng Xue sat quietly in a corner, gazing at the scenery outside the window, silent and with her face slightly tilted back, like an unattainable white cloud.
Situ Xingyun and Shuangdie sat on the other side of the soft couch. Shuangdie seemed to be still asleep, snuggling in Situ Xingyun's arms with sleepy eyes, yawning repeatedly.
Situ Xingyun held Shuangdie in one arm, but his eyes were fixed on Feng Xue, who was staring out the window in a daze, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
A gentle breeze stirred, causing strands of hair on Feng Xue's forehead to flutter like flower stamens, yet more elusive than the wind itself.
Situ Xingyun's heart tightened inexplicably, and his fists clenched suddenly. He hated this feeling.
At this moment, Feng Xue's eyebrows twitched slightly, the wind stopped silently, and the hair on her forehead ceased to flutter. Only then did Situ Xingyun feel slightly relieved.
"Are we going to Xicheng?" This was the first time Feng Xue had spoken up on her own initiative.
Situ Xingyun was somewhat pleased, and his voice carried a hint of joy, "Mm."
Without taking up the conversation, Feng Xue simply nodded slightly and continued to admire the scenery outside the window, her head still tilted back and her eyes still calm and serene.
"Xue'er, have you ever been to Xicheng?" Situ Xingyun pressed on.
Another gentle breeze blew by, and Feng Xue seemed to drift very far away. But when the wind stopped, she turned her head, stared into Situ Xingyun's eyes, and answered firmly, "I went there once when I was a child."
"Did Xue'er encounter anything?" Hearing her answer, Situ Xingyun was overjoyed. He asked again, but he overlooked the meaning in Feng Xue's deep gaze.
“Yes.” After a pause, Feng Xue continued, “But it doesn’t matter anymore.” Her voice was soft and indifferent, more ruthless than water.
Silence returned to the carriage.
The sun shone brightly on the earth, but the weather was still cold. On the empty road, the carriage of Prince Pingyan's mansion slowly drove towards Xicheng.
Despite the cold winter, the maple leaves in Xicheng are still as red as ever, as fiery as fire, and the ground is covered with fallen red maple leaves.
A cold wind blew, and the maple leaves on the ground danced in the air, their red forms fluttering and landing on the hair of passersby.
Situ Xingyun caught a maple leaf that flew down from the sky, a warm feeling flashing in his eyes. He chuckled softly and looked tenderly at Shuangdie, "Butterfly, have you remembered anything?"
Shuangdie bit her lip slightly, her face flushed with two rosy blushes, as radiant as the sunset. Her voice was both shy and sweet, "Your Highness saved my life from thieves in the maple forest. At that time, Your Highness bravely protected me, ensuring my safety. If it weren't for Your Highness, I would probably have lost my life at the hands of the thieves long ago." As she said this, Shuangdie began to sob softly.
Situ Xingyun gently hugged her, patted her back, and comforted her, "Die'er, it's alright now. No one can bully you anymore."
Feng Xue looked at them, and when she heard Shuang Die's words, her clear eyes rippled. She stared at Shuang Die's slightly trembling shoulders, and her brows furrowed slightly.
Suddenly, something seemed to flash through her mind, but Feng Xue didn't grasp it tightly.
Volume One: A Female Scholar Named Qingyun Worships Among the People (3)
Gently shaking her head, Feng Xue cleared her mind of those thoughts and decided to ignore the two people who were being affectionate. She then began to examine the four graves in front of her.
These four tombs were very simple, which was inconsistent with Situ Xingyun's extravagant lifestyle, perhaps due to his long-standing estrangement from his family. Upon closer inspection, the dates on all four tombs were exactly the same: "Died in June of the 215th year of Fengxi."
Feng Xue pursed her lips and thought for a moment. 215... that year was a year of great disaster for Fengxi. She remembered that her father was always frowning that year. If she remembered correctly, a great plague broke out in Xicheng in 215, and Situ Xingyun's family probably died from the plague.
As for Situ Xingyun, he should have been fighting on the battlefield and making great achievements in 215, which is why he was fortunate enough to escape the plague.
At this moment, Situ Xingyun released his hold on Shuangdie's hands, stood before the grave, accepted the three incense sticks handed to him by his attendant, bowed three times, and then placed them on the grave. "Father, your son is unfilial; I haven't been able to properly visit you for so many years. This time, I specially brought my wife to see you." He pulled Fengxue over, "She is Xue'er, the princess of Fengxi." Then Situ Xingyun pulled Shuangdie over and continued, "She is Die'er, and also my wife."
"Father, Die'er will take good care of the Prince." Shuang Die lit three incense sticks on the grave, her voice sounding resolute.
Feng Xue simply nodded slightly at the grave, then lit three incense sticks, but didn't say anything more.
At this point, Situ Xingyun began to recount his background: "I grew up in Xicheng. My father always wanted to raise me to be a brave general who could fight the enemy, so when I reached conscription age, he sent me to the army camp. From then on, I was separated from my family more and more, and I knew very little about my family. I only knew that I had a second aunt and a second brother that I had never met. Unfortunately, the plague in Xicheng that year took them away, but I was still on the battlefield at the time and luckily escaped the plague."