Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 101: Jealousy

Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Jealousy

Fengyu clenched her teeth, already calculating how to silently kill him. Fang Lingjun was right—lust is a blade, and he truly is a reckless brute.

"Third Prince, abducting common women? It seems your house arrest hasn’t taught you any lessons!" A familiar yet cold voice came from the side. Immediately, two painted boats approached, one to the left and one to the right, blocking the Third Prince’s boat.

On one of the boats stood Feiying and several personal guards.

Xie Xun stood silently at the bow of the boat, tall and graceful like jade, but his whole aura was colder than the harshest winter. His gaze fell on Fengyu, who was huddled at the stern of the boat. Fengyu had been playing the victim all the way, her eyes red and swollen, her flower hairpin lost somewhere, and her hair disheveled. Xie Xun recalled the humiliation that the Third Prince had inflicted upon her that night; his hand gripped the sword hilt, and his killing intent grew stronger.

"Xie Xun, it’s you again!" The Third Prince gritted his teeth, "Who says I’ve abducted a common woman?"

"The Third Miss’s servant reported to the Kyoto Capital Guard, stating that the Third Miss was kidnapped and her whereabouts unknown. I, the Marquis, brought people to search the painted boats." Xie Xun’s voice was indifferent as his boat drew closer. Stretching out his hand, he commanded, "Come here!"

Snowflakes landed on Xie Xun’s palm as he slightly bent forward; his dark eyes reflected the river water, deep and black. Fengyu thought about how Xie Xun always extended his hand toward her without hesitation whenever danger arose. Xie Xun was already losing patience, leaning forward and grabbing her wrist. With his astonishing strength, he forcefully pulled Fengyu onto his boat.

The Third Prince’s boat lost its balance and shook violently. Supporting himself against the boat’s railing, the Third Prince roared furiously, "Xie Xun, how dare you! She’s my woman—let go of her!"

Xie Xun’s wicked energy surged as he kicked the Third Prince’s boat. The small vessel, already unsteady from Xie Xun pulling Fengyu aboard, lost its balance completely. The Third Prince failed to keep his footing and fell into the river.

"Your Highness..." The startled boatman grabbed a bamboo pole and jumped into the river to save the Third Prince.

Xie Xun watched the Third Prince struggling in the water and sneered, "Good, sober up down there!"

The guards pushed the boat away. The Third Prince clung to the bamboo pole, utterly humiliated, and shouted furiously, "Xie Xun, you just wait!"

Feiying kept his gaze straight ahead as his boat followed Xie Xun’s. Xie Xun, looking at Fengyu’s hands, which had turned blue and purple from the cold, took off his cloak and wrapped it around her. The river wind was biting; her cheeks and the tip of her nose had turned red from the chill.

Clean, crisp, and warm air swept over her, and for the first time, Fengyu felt that the cold wasn’t so unbearable. She raised her head and gazed into Xie Xun’s deep eyes. "How did you know I was on the boat?"

"Both riverbanks have been thoroughly searched; you could only be on the river." Xie Xun still hadn’t let go of the Third Prince’s words. "What did he say to you?"

From the moment he saw her, Fengyu could sense Xie Xun’s restrained fury. The kick to the Third Prince was clearly an outburst of rage, mingled with a need to vent.

Fengyu could expertly manipulate the Third Prince, but she could never deceive Xie Xun. "He remembers everything."

She sat inside the painted boat, leaning against the window, recounting their conversation word for word to Xie Xun. This included the Third Prince expressing his desire to take her as a concubine. Fengyu felt that their chat on the boat had gone pretty well until the topic of becoming his concubine came up—then everything fell apart. Fengyu wondered whether she could have sweet-talked the Third Prince into abandoning the idea if Xie Xun hadn’t arrived.

"Do you want to be his concubine?" Xie Xun asked.

Fengyu shook her head, "No."

"Noted!"

Fengyu’s heart stirred slightly. Xie Xun’s succinct reply carried an air of arrogant confidence. Under imperial power, human lives were as insignificant as ants, let alone matters of marriage.

Emperor Jianming had decreed a marriage; even the eldest daughter of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, Xie Junhua, had to enter the palace with tears in her eyes. Would it be any different for her? Could Xie Xun truly stop the Third Prince?

Yet his simple "Noted" gave her a sense of reassurance. As long as she didn’t want something, he would ensure her wish was granted. It was a peculiar feeling—a kind of emotion she had never experienced from anyone else.

"Little Marquis, I’m your creditor. You need to help me resolve this matter." Fengyu mentioned her fifty-thousand-tael loan with enviable generosity. "Consider it an interest waiver."

Xie Xun, "..."

Fengyu wore an expression of confident entitlement. Xie Xun took a deep breath and turned his gaze away.

Xie Xun stood at the bow of the boat, the wind and snow wrapping him in a layer of icy restraint. As the painted boat drifted down the river, the sight of Xie Xun captivated many beautiful young women on the boats flanking them. They tossed flowers and played songs to invite him aboard to enjoy the lanterns and drinks. The scene resembled a parade celebrating a top scholar, with fruits practically filling the cart. For a moment, Fengyu forgot her worries.

Flower lanterns floated on the river’s surface as the water shimmered seductively. Fengyu casually picked up a lantern and noticed a slip of paper inside. It was from a young woman surnamed Xu, who wished for a smooth marriage next year and to marry her ideal husband.

Fengyu smiled, put down the lantern, and as her fingertips brushed the cold river water, she tucked her hands back into the cloak for warmth. She looked up at Xie Xun at the bow of the boat and found him staring at her intently.

As her gaze met his, Xie Xun discreetly shifted his line of sight. Moments later, he turned back and asked, "You played well with him as a child?"

"Uh..." Fengyu was caught off guard and felt a bit confused.

Xie Xun mocked, "I heard the Third Miss was frail since childhood, always taking medicine, yet you managed to chase a carriage for an entire mile? Seems you’ve always been healthy. Which quack doctor exaggerated your weakness?"

His sudden sarcastic remark left Fengyu speechless. She recalled the animosity between the Third Prince and Xie Xun—naturally, they were equally annoyed with each other, making his behavior somewhat understandable.

Fengyu explained, "My health wasn’t great back then. In the Capital City, I was pampered excessively. But after traveling long distances to Ningzhou, I ended up recovering somewhat. My elder sister believed staying indoors was bad for recovery, so she took me out to bask in the sun and play in the streets every day. Our home bordered the Vassal Prince Mansion, so we often played together. The Third Prince was especially mischievous as a child; he loved taking me out to pick dates and catch fish, and he’d often buy me candied haws to eat. I enjoyed playing with him because he frequently bought me sweets like candied haws and malted sugar."

As she got to this part, Fengyu felt a little embarrassed and added, "I grew up taking medicine, so I developed a fondness for sweets. My elder sister worried I’d ruin my teeth, so she never let me eat anything too sugary. Whenever I called him ’Brother’ a couple of times, he’d buy me candied haws or other treats."

During that time, she secretly ate plenty of sweets without her sister knowing.

Xie Xun sneered, "How many teeth did you ruin eating all that candy?"

Fengyu, "..."

Well, before her adult teeth came in, nearly all her baby teeth were decayed from all the sweets the Third Prince fed her. That hard lesson made her rein in her sweet tooth afterward.

"Little Marquis, I was only four years old at the time." Fengyu laughed, "Surely, you’re not going to hold a grudge against a four-year-old?"

The guards on the boat exchanged uncertain glances and wordless signals with one another.

What’s going on?

Has our master been possessed by something? He seems like he’s intent on arguing with the Third Miss! The guards looked toward their noses, then their hearts, avoiding glancing at Xie Xun’s expression entirely.

Xie Xun’s resentment swirled chaotically within him, only to be harshly suppressed again. This unfamiliar emotion made him profoundly uneasy, to the point where he simply chose to ignore it.