Xie Jianyu conveniently did not show up the next day at Crystal Jade Pavilion.
It did not matter.
Zhang Fengxi did not plan to let him off the hook.
Instead of going straight back home after the class ended, Zhang Fengxi made a detour to Fuxi Palace.
When he arrived at the gate, he loudly demanded to meet with the Fuxi Palace Master.
Fuxi Palace was a huge palace, second only to the Golden Dragon Palace. It was the home to the next heavenly emperor, so everything starting from the eaves to the grass that grew in the garden was of the highest quality.
Maybe this was why Xie Jianyu had such an insufferable personality. He stuck to his moral compass and looked down on everyone who broke the rules. He was prude. Arrogant. Inflexible.
No wonder he had no friends.
No wonder he was alone all the time!
Those who were close to him were nothing but sycophantic dogs!!!
"I am sorry, Prince Zhang Fengxi, but the Crown Prince is currently occupied with guests."
Pah!
What guests???
Zhang Fengxi shoved the head servant aside impatiently. He was not there to talk to a mere servant. He wanted to give Xie Jianyu a piece of his mind.
"Prince Zhang Fengxi, please stop."
"Your Highness... please don't make things difficult for us..."
Zhang Fengxi rolled with his eyes.
Difficult? He was about to show them what it looked like if he truly was trying to make things difficult for them.
Soft zither music flowed from the inner part of the palace. Zhang Fengxi stepped off the floor and flew in the direction of the music.
While he was floating in the air, he caught sight of Xie Jianyu. The young man had only his inner robe on. He was practicing swordsmanship in the inner courtyard. His movements were light, flowing into each other in accompaniment of the zither music.
The one who played the zither was Shi Qingyue.
Shi Qingyue!!!
"Xie Jianyu, you hypocrite!!!"
Zhang Fengxi cried out furiously. He pounced at Xie Jianyu, who intercepted his attack with astonishment.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"How dare you report Wenyuan to the Emperor???" Zhang Fengxi howled like a wounded animal. "He was just crowned as the Ethereal Beauty of the year! He is innocent! You saw one kiss and you thought that we did something promiscuous!"
Xie Jianyu struggled to parry Zhang Fengxi's attacks. Not because he lacked the skill, but because he was afraid of hurting Zhang Fengxi.
Ideally, Xie Jianyu should discard his sword first, but Zhang Fengxi did not leave him any second to switch to a close-combat fight. All Xie Jianyu could do was block Zhang Fengxi's attacks and not attack in return.
"You said that an omega and an alpha are not supposed to be alone without supervision! Look at what you are doing right now! You are spending time alone with Shi Qingyue! Is she not an omega???"
Zhang Fengxi bit into the inner part of his cheek as he rained down on Xie Jianyu with his insults.
Never mind that Xie Jianyu was an omega and not an alpha. Wasn't Xie Jianyu pretending to be an alpha, anyway?
Xie Jianyu did not answer the accusation. Or maybe he did not have time to formulate the right answer.
Zhang Fengxi was emboldened by Xie Jianyu's silence. He pushed hard at Xie Jianyu's shoulder and sent him flying to a nearby pillar.
Shi Qingyue rose from her seat and cried out in horror, "Crown Prince!!!"
Xie Jianyu fell from the pillar to the ground. Panting heavily, he pressed a hand against his chest.
"Crown Prince! Oh, dear heavens!"
Shi Qingyue rushed to Xie Jianyu's side. Watching them acting sweet and lovey-dovey like that was enough to make stomach acid rise to Zhang Fengxi's throat.
"I am not going to apologize for today," Zhang Fengxi growled at Xie Jianyu. "Go ahead and report me to the Emperor again. I will accept any kind of punishment. It is worth beating you up."
Xie Jianyu lifted his eyes and stared at Zhang Fengxi through a curtain of tears. It hurt so much to breathe, let alone talk.
Zhang Fengxi left before he saw the other people who poured from inside the Fuxi Palace.
"Crown Prince! What happened??" Shi Qingqing, Shi Qingyue's beta cousin exclaimed in confusion.
"Little Uncle!"
Jiang Muchen was also there. He hastily put down a tray full of baked goods before he rushed to take a look at Xie Jianyu's injuries.
"I am fine," Xie Jianyu said.
Zhang Fengxi did not hit him that hard. He only left a bruise or two.
"That asshole!" Jiang Muchen rose to his feet, his face distorted into a mask of anger. "I am going to kill him!!!"
"Muchen, stop it."
Xie Jianyu's authoritative voice extinguished Jiang Muchen's murderous aura in a blink of an eye. Xie Jianyu turned to look at Shi Qingyue.
"Did you report Liu Wenyuan to the Empress?"
Shi Qingyue pursed her lips in response.
Please enjoy the love story in Second Take On Romance <3
Although Zhang Fengxi spouted harsh words in front of Xie Jianyu, he regretted his actions the moment he climbed the back of his spiritual mount and headed back to Longjing Palace.
It was not because he feared retribution. A duel between two -- allegedly -- alphas was normal. Besides, Xie Jianyu had his Winter Frost and Zhang Fengxi did not have any weapons with him.
It was because, despite everything that happened in the past, he hit Xie Jianyu again. Unable to think about what to do to repay the omega who gave birth to their child in his past life, Zhang Fengxi wanted to leave Xie Jianyu alone. Xie Jianyu should be safe and sound as long as Zhang Fengxi did not interfere with his life.
But look at what happened.
They fought from the first day they met.
Sigh.
"You should apologize," Zhang Fengxi's inner voice whispered to him, full of reproach. "So what if Xie Jianyu reported the matter to the Golden Dragon Palace? He slandered neither you nor Liu Wenyuan."
The one who issued the decree to punish Liu Wenyuan was not the Crown Prince, but the Heavenly Emperor.
The Heavenly Emperor was wise. He did not punish Liu Wenyuan because he favored Xie Jianyu.
...
Heavens.
Just what had he done?
Arrrrghhhhhh.
Anyway, a man must concede his wrongdoing. Reluctant he might be, but Zhang Fengxi decided to swallow his spit and apologize to Xie Jianyu the next day at Crystal Jade Pavilion.
He only forgot one thing.
Xie Jianyu had one avid follower, who was determined to protect his little uncle from Zhang Fengxi's evil schemes.
Jiang Muchen gave Zhang Fengxi the stink eye throughout the class. He quickly dragged Xie Jianyu away as soon as the class ended, not giving Zhang Fengxi any chance to redeem himself.
Xie Jianyu himself acted as if Zhang Fengxi did not exist.
Dear gods.
It all went wrong.
Zhang Fengxi dragged his sorry self back to Longjing Palace. As soon as he arrived, he heard a familiar melodious voice.
"Prince Fengxi!"
Zhang Fengxi widened his eyes.
Was it a dream?
Liu Wenyuan, his Wenyuan, was running toward him like the beautiful fairy he was.
Zhang Fengxi took him in his arms and squeezed him lovingly.
What a wonderful surprise. But wait.
"Wenyuan, why are you here? What happened? Weren't you grounded?"
"I was!" Liu Wenyuan confirmed. He raised a hand and caressed Zhang Fengxi's cheek fondly. His eyes were sparkling with gratitude when he asked, "Didn't you beg the Emperor to pardon me?"
"..."
No?
No, he didn't.
How could he?
He did not have such access to the Heavenly Emperor.
Heck, he was just one of the insignificant princes of the nine palaces!
Before Zhang Fengxi opened his mouth to say no, Liu Wenyuan already flooded him with a wave of praises.
"I am so relieved. That woman Shi Qingyue has been holding a grudge against me because I won the Ethereal Beauty title. She must be so happy that she got to report my misconduct to the Empress."
Dear gods in heaven.
Shi Qingyue.
The Empress.
But of course.
The Empress was one of Shi Qingyue's aunts!
The person who reported Liu Wenyuan was not Xie Jianyu. It was Shi Qingyue!
Zhang Fengxi was half deaf when he continued listening to Liu Wenyuan's happy rambles.
"Anyway, I am so happy."
Liu Wenyuan gave Zhang Fengxi another squeeze.
Behind them, Liu Wenyuan's chaperone cleared her throat.
"Prince Wenyuan, we should go back," she said. "Your father only allowed you one shichen to go back and forth."
"Oh, yes, of course!"
Liu Wenyuan beamed at Zhang Fengxi.
He stood on the tip of his toes and kissed the other young man on the cheek.
"Thank you, Prince Fengxi. Thank you for clearing my name."
Zhang Fengxi was frozen on his spot.
The servants in his palace giggled, thinking that he was just too happy after getting one kiss on the cheek.
No, that was not it.
Zhang Fengxi felt terrible.
He not only accused Xie Jianyu of doing something he did not do, but he also attacked him!
The only person who could reverse a decree was the Emperor.
Zhang Fengxi did not need to be a genius to know who exactly went to the Golden Dragon Palace to beg for Liu Wenyuan's release.
There was no mistake this time. It was Xie Jianyu.
Please enjoy the love story in Second Take On Romance <3
Você também pode gostar
Comentário de parágrafo
O comentário de parágrafo agora está disponível na Web! Passe o mouse sobre qualquer parágrafo e clique no ícone para adicionar seu comentário.
Além disso, você sempre pode desativá-lo/ativá-lo em Configurações.
Entendi