Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 287 : Xie Jianshen’s Ruthlessness (2)

Chapter 287: Chapter 287 : Xie Jianshen’s Ruthlessness (2)

For as long as they knew each other, the two siblings had always maintained a good relationship between them.

It was the first time Xie Jianyu sat opposite Xie Jianshen with a myriad of complicated feelings swirling within him. He felt like he never truly understood the elder brother in front of him.

While Xie Jianyu was still in a daze, Xie Jianshen extended his arms and pulled Xie Jianyu into his arms.

"Little Yu, I have missed you."

The warmth of Xie Jianshen’s embrace remained the same. It was the same warmth that accompanied Xie Jianyu as he grew up with no mother and a father who was too busy to take care of him.

The person who had always been there for him was Xie Jianshen.

Xie Jianyu leaned against Xie Jianshen’s shoulders and hugged him in return.

"Elder brother."

Xie Jianshen let out a soft sigh, his warm breath tickling Xie Jianyu’s left ear.

"Little Yu, do you blame me?"

"..."

Xie Jianyu’s body could not help but stiffen when he recalled the sight of Qingyun’s shaken form and Mingyu’s frantic report after she awoke from her coma.

"Ask what you need to ask," Xie Jianshen loosened his hug and looked Xie Jianyu in his eyes. "Between us brothers, there is no need for formalities."

Xie Jianyu’s cheek muscles grew taut when he raised his eyes and stared into Xie Jianshen’s eyes.

"Brother, what exactly did you do to Qingyun?"

Xie Jianshen was the very picture of innocence when he calmly replied, "I made her sit in front of the lion’s den the entire day unless she has something to say about your disappearance."

Xie Jianyu clawed into his thighs.

"Brother, why?" He asked, anger bubbling in his heart. "Why must you do that to Qingyun?"

Xie Jianshen shot his younger brother a look.

"You tell me. If I disappear and my personal maid knows nothing about it, what will you do?"

"... I..."

Xie Jianyu swallowed hard, his throat constricting with anxiety. If Xie Jianshen suddenly disappeared, he would turn Shuiran Palace upside down to find him. Like his brother, he would not tolerate the maid’s silence. He would use every means at his disposal to force her to talk.

"But not like this," he heard himself saying. "Brother, you broke Qingyun. It was too much for her to handle."

Xie Jianshen’s ramrod-straight posture radiated an aura of authority and power. His eyes were like shards of ice, their frigid gaze piercing Xie Jianyu to the core.

"I did not lay hands on her because you favor her. But you cannot expect me to go back to Shuiran Palace with empty hands. It is my responsibility as your elder brother to take care of you."

Take care of him?

Did it include feeding him abortifacient to get rid of his child?

Xie Jianyu’s countenance darkened visibly. Since they already stepped into the water, might as well get drenched.

"Brother, I want to know what happened on the day Mingyu landed in the lions’ enclosure."

Xie Jianshen had nothing to hide.

"I assume that she eavesdropped on my conversation with your husband before she tried to escape and accidentally landed among the lions."

"What did you and Zhang Fengxi talk about?"

Xie Jianshen pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at Xie Jianyu, who stared at him without batting an eyelid.

"Zhang Fengxi came to consult me about your pregnancy, and I gave him some abortifacient in return."

The mere thought that Xie Jianshen betrayed him was already hard enough to digest. And yet Xie Jianshen sat opposite him and acted like he did nothing wrong at all.

"Brother, why?" Xie Jianyu choked out with a lot of efforts. "Why did you do that?"

Xie Jianshen’s icy facade cracked momentarily as he caught a glimpse of the pain of betrayal in his younger brother’s eyes. He squeezed his eyelids shut, willing the unwanted emotion away. When he opened them again, his gaze was steeled with the unwavering conviction of his innocence.

"Little Yu, I heard that you knew the content of your Birth Reading for a while now."

Birth Reading?

His Birth Reading?

"If that’s the case, then I don’t understand how you can be so foolish. What merit is there to give birth to a tiger child at the cost of shortening your lifespan?"

Ah.

So this was what Zhang Fengxi talked about when he spoke about Xie Jianyu’s death after giving birth to the child. The Goddess of Fate and Destiny did not speak to him.

No.

Ironically, she did share with Zhang Fengxi and Xie Jianshen some information through the Birth Reading.

But that was not the main point here, was it?

Anger climbed Xie Jianyu’s cheeks, causing his face to turn red from rage.

"Do not speak of my child as a ’tiger child’," he hissed. "He is my child, whatever clan he belongs to!"

Xie Jianshen sucked in a deep breath to suppress his own rage. His Little Yu had always been an obedient child. When did the baby dragon learn to bare his teeth and show his claws to him?

"Little Yu, don’t forget that you are a person of the dragon clan," Xie Jianshen slowly said. "There is no reason for you to sacrifice your life for the tiger clan."

"Indeed, Brother, I am a person of the dragon clan," Xie Jianyu agreed. "But I am NOT anyone’s puppet. I have the right to decide my own life."

Xie Jianshen inhaled sharply, his chest expanding and contracting like a bellows. His eyes flashed with anger as he glared at his younger brother, who met his gaze with persistent determination.

"And what, pray tell, is your decision?" he asked while clenching his fists together.

"I am going to give birth to my child," Xie Jianyu replied calmly.

Xie Jianshen stood, his imposing figure casting a shadow over the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince’s gaze met his, unyielding and defiant.

"Do whatever you want," Xie Jianshen spat, before storming out of the room.

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Author’s note : The 2 Chapters for today are rather heavy (⁠;⁠;⁠;⁠・⁠_⁠・⁠)

Thus the early release.

I wrote a difficult Chapter yesterday and I have to write another difficult Chapter today.

Think about the happy ending, my readers. Have faith in me (⁠｡⁠•́⁠︿⁠•̀⁠｡⁠)