Chapter 112: You Are an Eyesore

Meiji returned from the main courtyard to Xuanying Pavilion, where she found Feng Qingxuan sitting beside Yun Ming, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Meiji asked.

Feng Qingxuan was pondering the entire sequence of events: "I am wondering if Huangfu Chen truly loves Weishao Qianyu."

Unfamiliar with the entanglements between these young people, Meiji asked with a smile, "And what about you? I heard you were almost betrothed to Huangfu Chen once..."

"But it never happened, did it?" Feng Qingxuan murmured, her tone revealing that she had intentionally delayed the engagement.

Feng Qingxuan was now twenty-three, several years older than Weishao Qianyu. Meiji glanced at the reclining Yun Ming, understanding clearly that he likely did not have much time left. That day outside Guanlin City, Meiji knew that half of the Mu'ai Pavilion's assassins had been dispatched to kill him. Although she didn't know who he was, she recognized the "Cold Gu" poison from the Mu'ai Pavilion and guessed he was the man Weishao Qianyu was determined to save. With Weishao Qianyu wanting to save him and Xuanyuan Ran wanting him dead, Meiji intervened, rescued Yun Ming, and staged a ruse to make it appear as though he had died. She had sealed his heart meridian without hesitation, fearing that if the meridian were damaged, finding an antidote would be futile—much like the late Emperor.

Feng Qingxuan’s thoughts drifted back to her childhood at the Xibo Marquis Mansion. During her most helpless and desperate days, Yun Ming had always been by her side, a fact she knew well. Later, when Huangfu Chen appeared and visited her daily, Yun Ming gradually distanced himself. One day, Huangfu Chen told her he could erase those memories, and Feng Qingxuan chose to do so without hesitation. She was nine then, having lived at the mansion for a year. After forgetting the memories of the mountains behind Qinfeng Garden, Feng Jinye and Huangfu Chen left for the border, and Yun Ming stepped in to care for her in his brother's stead. Later, when Feng Jinye returned triumphantly from the campaign against Xiyan and established the General’s Mansion, Feng Qingxuan finally left the Xibo Marquis Mansion.

From that time on, Feng Jinye, Huangfu Chen, and Yun Ming often gathered at the original Prince Zhan’s Mansion. Feng Qingxuan was always cared for meticulously by the three youths; they were more like three older brothers to her. When she turned thirteen, she began to realize the distinction between men and women and slowly grew distant from Yun Ming. She found that whenever he came to visit, she felt nervous and unnatural, whereas Huangfu Chen, like Feng Jinye, made her feel at ease.

When Feng Qingxuan was sixteen, a major event occurred in Yue Capital: the God of War was assassinated, Huangfu Chen was wounded and fell into a coma, and Yun Ming was poisoned. At a loss, Feng Qingxuan watched as both men disappeared from her life. She then resolutely left the capital to seek an antidote. Even Feng Jinye believed she had gone for Huangfu Chen’s sake. In truth, she had gone for Huangfu Chen, but she had also gone for Yun Ming. Later, when Huangfu Chen awoke, Feng Jinye asked if she wanted him to petition for a royal marriage, but she refused each time. Not long after, when Feng Jinye became betrothed to Weishao Qianyu and went on another campaign against Xiyan, Feng Qingxuan gradually became the "old princess" of Yue Capital who could not be married off.

"Aunt Meiji, there is one thing I cannot figure out," Feng Qingxuan said suddenly. Meiji looked at her in confusion. Feng Qingxuan continued, "The 'Pupil-Capturing' technique you spoke of is a secret art of the Xuanyuan clan. Why, then, was Weishao Qianyu able to make my brother lose his memory?"

Meiji paused, struck by the thought. She did not know the technique herself, so why would Weishao Qianyu? Was it because she was the "Weishao Heavenly Maiden"? Meiji suddenly recalled the many times she had mistakenly taken Weishao Qianyu for someone from the Xuanyuan clan.

***

Feng Jinye carried Weishao Qianyu back into the house, her mind reeling with the events of the past years. Xuanyuan Ran had been plotting for over twenty years, but why did it involve the Weishao family? Weishao Qianyu searched her memory for anything she had heard about what happened to her family when she was six. Suddenly, a memory surfaced: at six, she had nearly been betrothed to Lin Yichu. Her mother had rejected the proposal. Her aunt had once said the real Lin Yichu had perished in the fire at the old Weishao residence, and the man who appeared later was an agent of the Mu'ai Pavilion.

It was a chain of schemes. If she had been betrothed to Lin Yichu and later married him, the "Heavenly Maiden" would have been under Xuanyuan Ran’s control. Since Xuanyuan Ran possessed the "Shadow-Cultivation" art, could he have eventually replaced the real man with a puppet, thus achieving his goal? But the plan was thwarted because the Weishao family was destroyed. Enraged, Xuanyuan Ran killed her mother and burned the residence; after all, she was the only one useful to him. That must have been the first time his scheme went awry. Since then, his plans seemed to fail repeatedly because of her. She suspected that what Xuanyuan Ran hated most was her marriage to Feng Jinye.

"Feng Jinye, why did you spend over a decade searching for the Lu girl?" Weishao Qianyu asked suddenly, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"It was you I was searching for," Feng Jinye replied.

Weishao Qianyu nodded, her jealousy unabated. "Can you tell me why you were looking for me?"

Her dissatisfaction amused him, though he suddenly remembered that when they first married, he had also been prone to jealousy of himself. "You saved my life, and I wished to repay you," he explained solemnly.

"I have been thinking about why Xuanyuan Ran targeted the Weishao family. I suspect that my marrying you was the one thing he could not bear to see." Weishao Qianyu murmured, "The legend of the Heavenly Maiden seems to have some truth to it; it seems all his plots have encountered obstacles because of me... It feels as if there is a divine will in all of this."

Feng Jinye remained silent. He realized that Xuanyuan Ran had used everyone around Weishao Qianyu to manipulate her, yet none had succeeded—not Lin Yichu, not Feng Qingxuan, and neither Huangfu Chen nor Huangfu Xi. Now, Yun Ming and Lu Yanran were held by the Mu'ai Pavilion. Weishao Qianyu suddenly worried for Lu Yanran and remembered Rui'er. "I have been back for days; why haven't I seen Rui'er?"

At the mention of the boy, Feng Jinye’s brow furrowed. Ye Shi had been investigating the child’s whereabouts, but there had been no news. "What are you thinking about?" Weishao Qianyu asked, poking his waist.

"Rui'er has returned to the Duke Lu Mansion," Feng Jinye said. This was the first time she had heard him use the name; he usually referred to the boy as "that brat" or simply "him."

***

Weishao Qianyu looked at Feng Jinye, then thought of Rui'er, struck by how much they resembled one another—at least five points of similarity. Recalling Lu Yanran’s claim that Lin Yichu was not the child's biological father, she whispered, "I keep feeling that Rui'er looks remarkably like you... Could it be that..."

Her words left Feng Jinye flustered and tense. A seed of doubt had been planted, and he feared that if his own lost memories concealed some transgression, something unthinkable might have occurred. The connection he felt when he saw Rui'er in danger at the city gate had been profound.

"Could Rui'er be the son of Huangfu Chen or Huangfu Xi?" she speculated.

Feng Jinye felt a wave of relief. Once suspicion takes root, it is easy to become paranoid. It was highly possible that the boy belonged to one of his cousins, especially since Lu Yanran had been part of the Mu'ai Pavilion. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Perhaps only because Rui'er reminded him so much of himself as a child. He even had the illusion that the boy shared his surname.

Lu Yanran had been in the Mu'ai Pavilion for many days, having returned to this place after much wandering. Her state of mind had changed, perhaps due to the events that had transpired or the influence of Weishao Qianyu. She realized that the obsession forced upon her by the "Pupil-Capturing" technique had been broken. It had happened the day Duke Lu came to find her at the mansion.

Huangfu Chen, trapped within the pavilion, thought of the situation in Guanlin City. He had wanted to keep Weishao Qianyu there, but he let her go again, even giving her a hint. He had handed her the assassination order for Feng Jinye, intending for her to kill him, yet he knew she never would. Nor would Huangfu Xi allow her to do such a thing. Such a contradictory act did not seem like something he would normally do, and he hoped she would realize that.

There existed a type of Gu poison that women of the Gu tribe often fed to themselves to ensure their beloved would belong only to them. The woman would know all the secrets and dangers of the poison but would be physically unable to speak of its existence; even if she tried to write it down, her mind would go blank. Huangfu Chen carried such a poison. It had been administered by his mother to a woman to keep him in check. He found it laughable; any possibility between him and Weishao Qianyu had long since vanished. That day on the eastern outskirts, he had intentionally let those words be heard by Feng Jinye.

Ever since Lu Yanran learned that Huangfu Chen was the Young Pavilion Master, she had been in a daze. It was no wonder Rui'er resembled Feng Jinye; there was indeed a connection. She smiled bitterly—the boy was destined to have no father.

Huangfu Chen rose silently and, looking back, saw a figure disappearing at the end of the pavilion corridor—it was Weishao Qianyu’s cousin. Realizing Lu Yanran might become a pawn for Xuanyuan Ran to use against Weishao Qianyu, he followed her. Lu Yanran never expected to cross paths with him again, but he blocked her way. "Go to the Assassination Pavilion and take a contract, then get out of here as fast as you can. You are an eyesore!"

Lu Yanran stared at him in astonishment. She had assumed he didn't know who she was, but clearly, he did. She glared at him, her eyes asking: "Who is the one bothering whom?"