Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 124 Lust

Chapter 124: Chapter 124 Lust

Lin Xiao took a sip of hot tea with a smile, "Big Brother, since when did you have the leisure to meddle in the affairs of the Kyoto Capital Guard?"

"Don’t joke around. Just answer what I ask."

Lin Xiao idly spun the teacup in his hand, "The Marchioness wants to arrange a marriage for him. Young Marquis is unwilling, argued with the Marchioness, and went to the riding grounds in the outskirts to relax."

"Is this true?" Lin Cheng’s gaze was sharp, as though trying to pierce through him.

"I went to the riding grounds myself today. He was training horses," Lin Xiao replied nonchalantly, tossing the teacup onto the table, preempting any suspicion. "I’m your blood brother—would I lie to you?"

Lin Cheng’s back injury throbbed faintly. Though Lin Xiao was wilful and brash, he had little respect for lying. Lin Cheng did not doubt him. Yet, the few burly men they had encountered outside Xiangguo Temple that day—odd accents, robust builds—indeed seemed unlikely to belong to Xie Xun’s camp.

Still... it was too much of a coincidence.

Fengyu had safely returned to the Capital City and had not left her residence. Feng Shu, on the other hand, was in the city, had gone to Linglong Beauty Parlor to check the accounts, then had invited the three ladies of the Marquis Mansion for a meal at Wangjiang Restaurant. They spent the afternoon shopping. If Fengyu truly had met with trouble, Feng Shu would hardly be so carefree.

The failed mission had provoked the Crown Prince’s wrath. Now that the target had been alarmed, attempting to assassinate Fengyu again would be near impossible. Lin Cheng seethed inwardly. Could it be that Fengyu was truly blessed by fortune, always narrowly escaping disaster?

If it wasn’t Xie Xun protecting her, then who were those men?

Lin Xiao noticed Lin Cheng’s shifting expression and felt uneasy. He didn’t wish to deceive his elder brother, but an order was an order—he had no choice. "Brother, your wedding is approaching. Right now, recovering your health is the most important thing. Surely you don’t plan to enter the bridal chamber with injuries?"

"I don’t need you to tell me. I know what to do." Years of service in the Forbidden Army, but this was the first time he had suffered such a severe punishment, and that too in front of witnesses. Lin Cheng was displeased. "Lin Xiao, keep an eye on Xie Xun. If he does anything unusual or if anything happens, inform me immediately."

Lin Xiao fell silent, the weight on his chest making him feel suffocated. Lin Cheng barked at him, "Did you hear me?!"

The agitation strained Lin Cheng’s back injury, causing him to grimace in pain. Lin Xiao lowered his head and murmured, "Understood."

A gust of wind howled through the corridors. Lin Xiao felt an unbearable chill throughout his body as he stood in the courtyard, glancing about in a daze. Behind him lay the family he relied on for survival—a nimbus of firelight paved the ground, revealing everything. Ahead stretched a deep, boundless night—dark ink interrupted only faintly by glimmers of light, the future uncertain.

Should he retreat, or should he advance?

He had no choice!

Upon hearing that his elder brother had been injured and had entered the city, Xie Xun swiftly left the Capital without a word. When he arrived at the riding grounds, Flyshadow relayed the details: Xie Xun had suffered severe injuries. The Marquis Zhenbei Mansion’s soldiers heavily guarded the grounds inside and out. The scene was anything but ordinary. Flyshadow confessed truthfully that Xie Xun’s life or death was uncertain and asked that he and Zhang Boxin keep it a strict secret and quietly await further updates.

Where had he gone? What was he doing? No one knew.

Lin Xiao knew that his father and elder brother had placed him in the Kyoto Capital Guard as a form of punishment. Later, when Xie Xun assumed command of the Guard, they wished for Lin Xiao to monitor him.

The Young Marquis seemed aware of this but showed no fear or suspicion towards him. Lin Xiao couldn’t comprehend why. Out of loyalty to this trust, he could only keep the secret to himself.

At the end of the day, he was a member of the Kyoto Capital Guard first, and a son of the Lin Family, Lin Cheng’s younger brother, second.

Lin Xiao couldn’t understand. The Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, known for generations of heroism and staunch defense of the borders—why were the noble families so envious? So guarded? If the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion wanted to rebel, they would have done so long ago.

Xie Xun shared a roasted pheasant with Fengyu and drank the hot soup, letting its warmth seep into their bodies. Xie Xun added a few firewood sticks, the flames roaring with intensity. The moon hung bright in the sparse starlight, turning the desolate wilderness into a picturesque scene.

"Xie Xun, your wounds need dressing." The governor had prepared medicine and had specifically warned her that the Young Marquis’s knife wound was severe, requiring daily dressing and forbidding overnight travel. He needed rest above all.

"Do you know how?"

"I do!" Fengyu replied casually, "Strip off your clothes."

Xie Xun hesitated as he looked at her. He had borne the pain throughout the journey, planning to wait until they returned to the Capital to tend to the wound, fearful of alarming Fengyu. He had never imagined the pampered Fengyu would know how to dress a wound, especially since she had vomited in terror when she saw him severing the arm of a Beiman warrior.

"Forget it."

"Take it off!" Fengyu said tersely, her tone selfish and commanding. "If your injuries worsen and you die, who will escort me back to the Capital?"

"Third Miss, your words are truly auspicious," Xie Xun retorted sarcastically, "I’ve rushed in to save a damsel in distress and am escorting you back—how much is this worth?"

"I’ll reluctantly waive three months’ interest for you."

Xie Xun removed his cloak, partially unfastened his tunic, revealing his heavily injured arm and back. "So, your life is only worth three months’ interest?"

Fengyu caught a whiff of blood and couldn’t be bothered to argue. The Young Marquis, half-naked, seemed impervious to the cold. His physique was enviable—healthy and well-proportioned without excessive bulk, his bones symmetrical. His jawline curved seamlessly to his shoulders and back, exuding a lethal allure.

It was his first time exposing his bare torso in front of a young lady. He felt slightly awkward and let the shadows and firelight partially conceal the blush forming on his face. Uncomfortable, Xie Xun focused intently on the flames, as though expecting a flower to bloom within them.

Fengyu kept her eyes trained forward, shifting closer to Xie Xun. As she undid his dressing, his arm bore two deep gashes—bloodied flesh starkly visible between stitches that struggled to close the raw wounds. The arrow wound on his back was less severe, yet strained by his bow-and-arrow use earlier that day. Blood seeped through, staining the dressing crimson. If the curved blade had been slightly sharper, the Young Marquis’s entire arm might have been severed.

The first knife wound had been to protect her when there was no time to save himself. The arrow wound on his back was also from shielding her. Fengyu felt a flicker of gratitude as she murmured awkwardly, "Fine, you’re exempt from the interest entirely."

Xie Xun offered a forced compliment, "...so generous."

Not bothered by his sarcasm, Fengyu soaked a cloth in warm water to clean away the blood before carefully applying the medicine. Xie Xun kept his gaze fixed on the fire, though his neck flushed red. Fengyu noticed his veins rising along his neck, mistaking it for pain. Leaning closer to his arm, she simultaneously applied medicine and gently blew on the wound.

Xie Xun’s pupils contracted, his entire body tense. Her breath mingled with a faint herbal scent as it swirled around him, igniting an itch that spread from his arm to his chest, tantalizing and ungraspable. His young, vigorous frame felt like it was on fire, muscles taut with suppressed energy. In the stillness of night, the sound of his swallow was strikingly audible. Fengyu glanced at the movement of his adam’s apple and blinked.

"Are you thirsty?"

Xie Xun’s breaths quickened, abruptly bending one knee to haphazardly pull his half-loosened garments around him, as if trying to conceal something. His voice rasped, "Stop blowing, just apply the medicine."

"Does it hurt?" Fengyu whispered as she blew against his wound, almost kissing the broken skin. Xie Xun turned his gaze toward the Third Miss, her face flushed by the firelight. His throat dried, his pupils brimming with restrained desire. He endured it harshly, veins pulsing under the strain, his breaths erratic.

She tempted him unknowingly. In this desolate wilderness, alone with her, she had no idea the peril she might invite.

Xie Xun’s voice came out hoarse, "It doesn’t hurt."

Fengyu found it odd. Xie Xun’s body was rigid, sweat trickling down his face and carving a path over his collarbone. Beads of perspiration formed along his back and neck, painting his figure with a strange kind of allure.

The vivid hues of passion seemed to rise amidst the still night.

"But you look as though you’re in pain."

Xie Xun: "..."