It was the first time Xie Xun felt repulsed seeing a man getting so close to Fengyu. Even though he knew Fengyu could never like Prince Kang, Xie Xun still felt a strong sense of possessiveness.
Xie Xun sneered coldly, "This Marquis was asking about Fengyu."
The chilly early spring wind swept across the river, brushing past the restaurant. The palace lanterns swayed, and the cold breeze snapped Fengyu out of her slight intoxication. With annoyance, she thought about her rotten luck—saying just one bad thing, and he happened to overhear it.
"Ayu, say it boldly. This Prince will back you up; he wouldn’t dare do anything." Prince Kang struck a pose as if he were Fengyu’s reliable protector, infuriating Xie Xun so much that his fists itched to act.
On the day of Lin Cheng’s wedding, he really should have kicked this idiot into the lotus pond.
Fengyu massaged her temples and leaned weakly on the railing, trying her best to subtly distance herself from Prince Kang. She even entertained the thought of kicking him downstairs too. Feigning frailty, she groaned, "My head hurts so much—I feel dizzy."
When Prince Kang reached out to support Fengyu, Xie Xun was faster. He pulled Fengyu into his arms, encircling her waist tightly with his fingers against her soft, delicate frame.
Her waist is so slim!
With a warm and fragrant beauty in his arms, Xie Xun’s possessiveness was somewhat soothed, but not entirely. Clueless about how to settle these emotions, he maintained a calm exterior.
A waist so slender it felt like it could break with a tight grip, paired with a lingering floral fragrance. On the journey back to the Capital City from Shun City, he had held that waist and touched it before, once captivated and unable to divert his eyes.
Fengyu struggled, glaring at Xie Xun as if to say, Are you out of your mind?
"So you really do fancy Fengyu. Anything this Prince wants, you insist on snatching away. No wonder you ruined my plans during the Lantern Festival." Prince Kang taunted, "Ayu doesn’t like you one bit. You’re just wishfully thinking—you’re so laughable!"
"Shut up!" Xie Xun and Fengyu spoke in unison. Prince Kang was startled silent while Fengyu, red-faced with anger, pushed Xie Xun away. "Why are you here?"
On this moonlit night at Wangjiang Restaurant, the third floor belonged solely to their party. How did Xie Xun even appear here?
"If this Marquis weren’t here, how could I have overheard Third Miss’s disdain?" Xie Xun stared at her slightly flushed face, his finger gently brushing over her reddish cheek as though smearing rouge. "Drunken truth?"
So, she couldn’t stand him. She loathed him.
All those moments of mutual understanding, tolerance, and playful teasing were nothing but his one-sided wishful thinking, a fool’s dream. How could he forget that Third Miss always seeks profit and avoids harm? Why would she choose to sink alongside him?
Indeed, it was nothing more than his delusional obsession.
Noticing the fiery anger in Xie Xun’s tone, Fengyu was about to explain, but from the corner of her eye, she spotted Princess Huazhen approaching. Her scalp tingled with alarm as memories of kneeling painfully on stone slabs and the menacing glare of the white tiger flashed vividly in her mind. Should Princess Huazhen misunderstand that Xie Xun liked her, Fengyu might very well be skinned alive by the Princess.
In a heartbeat, Fengyu ripped off her bracelet and shoved it into Xie Xun’s hand. Then the world seemed to spin—both of them swapped bodies. As soon as Fengyu’s soul entered Xie Xun’s body, she gave him a deliberate shove.
"What are you doing?" Princess Huazhen’s voice called from behind. From afar, she had already seen Xie Xun, Fengyu, and the Third Prince entangled at the viewing platform.
Having just entered Fengyu’s body, Xie Xun was utterly confused. Before he could regain his footing, Fengyu, using his body, pushed him so forcefully that he fell hard to the ground.
From Prince Kang and Princess Huazhen’s perspective, what they saw was Xie Xun violently pushing over Third Miss while Third Miss glared daggers at the young marquis, as if she intended to kill him.
"Xie Xun, what’s wrong with you? Ayu’s health isn’t good, and you shoved her like that!" Prince Kang, feeling protective, rushed to assist "Fengyu"—who was actually Xie Xun in her body. Yet Xie Xun angrily swatted away Prince Kang’s hand and said coldly, "Don’t touch me!"
Prince Kang looked down at his own hand, both aggrieved and flabbergasted. Why had Ayu suddenly become so harsh? Xie Xun stood up angrily, only to step on Fengyu’s pomegranate skirt, nearly tumbling again. His face darkened like a storm.
What madness was this? Why did she pull out the Soul Suppressing Pearl without warning?
"Who pushed her? She couldn’t stand still by herself. Don’t blame me for that!" Fengyu, now speaking with Xie Xun’s face, adopted the demeanor of a scoundrel, devoid of any grace.
While Prince Kang had a temper, he had always treated his concubines and palace maids kindly, never resorting to violence. But to see Xie Xun act so crude, physically shoving the frail Third Miss, was a shock to him.
"Ayu doesn’t like you, and you’re so embarrassed and angry that you resort to pushing her? What, do you think you’re some kind of golden treasure that everyone must like?!" Prince Kang shouted in rage.
"I like Fengyu?" Fengyu, arms crossed, looked down at Xie Xun with disdain and mocked, "Do I like her because she’s weak and fragile? Or because she’s ignorant? Or is it her inability to live past eighteen? Do you take me for an idiot to fancy her?"
Princess Huazhen, "..."
That’s way too harsh!
Even Princess Huazhen, who looked at Xie Xun through rose-tinted glasses, felt he was being outrageously improper.
Xie Xun was so enraged he nearly coughed up blood. This body of Third Miss was too fragile—he suspected he might die of fury. Exactly who are you insulting?
Fengyu thought to herself, Young Marquis, I’m insulting myself, not you. There’s no need to glare at me so viciously. If you started crying instead, it would be much more fitting.
Princess Huazhen, utterly baffled, asked, "What is going on here, Old Three?"
"Sister, Ayu and I were having a private conversation, and he was eavesdropping nearby. Ayu said she couldn’t stand his arrogant and rude manner, and he got embarrassed and angry. He’s deluding himself into thinking Ayu should like him. When she doesn’t, he becomes violent." Prince Kang grew increasingly furious as he spoke. "Sister, how could you even kind of person? If you marry him, he’ll beat you black and blue in the future."
Fengyu finally understood Xie Xun’s fury. The young marquis’s reputation was being thoroughly destroyed—no wonder he was so mad.
Princess Huazhen finally pieced things together. "Xie Xun, you rejected the marriage proposal because your true love is Fengyu?"
Fengyu smirked with a classic scoundrel’s grin. "Fengyu wants a live-in son-in-law. Does this Marquis look like someone who would play that role? Besides, this Marquis has seen beauties as numerous as fish in the river—full-figured, slender-waisted, all with their own charms. But her? She won’t even live past eighteen..."
"Shut up!" Xie Xun roared, though the fragile voice of Third Miss lacked any intimidation.
Fengyu spread her hands wide, cocky and overbearing, shaking her head mockingly. "Oh, embarrassed now? Selfish, hypocritical, and vengeful. This Marquis vows to remain unmarried but will never marry Fengyu."
Xie Xun took a deep breath, his emotions churning tumultuously. Aggressively shutting his eyes, he rubbed his temples, unwilling to look at the despicable appearance of his own face—truly, his reputation was in tatters.
At least you’re self-aware enough to acknowledge your shortcomings!
Who asked you to make decisions on this Marquis’s behalf?
Prince Kang hadn’t expected anyone to change faces so quickly. Moments ago, he appeared wounded by Fengyu’s disinterest, yet in the blink of an eye, he was acting like he despised her.
Why don’t you take up acting? Your face-changing skills are superb!
Princess Huazhen, watching one scoundrel face off against another who seemed ready to collapse from sheer fury, further reinforced her belief that Lin Yu Yan was attempting to manipulate her with falsehoods. Third Miss didn’t have the demeanor of someone seducing Xie Xun, and Xie Xun clearly didn’t harbor feelings for Fengyu.
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