flstandardbreds Chapter 141 The Consequences of Betrayal
Chapter 141 The Consequences of Betrayal
Jiang Mian stood there, silent for a long time.
After a long time, I turned around and walked back.
As I passed through the central hall, I saw the Lady of Pingnan Marquis kneeling in worship before a Buddha statue that depicted a Bodhisattva who grants children.
"May the Bodhisattva bless us! My daughter-in-law has given birth to a precious son. We can keep the child..."
"Thank God, my daughter-in-law has given birth to a precious son..."
Jiang Mian sighed softly and walked away.
She walked slowly, her mind replaying the events of the past few days, and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.
The Marquis's mansion was like a miniature imperial palace; a mother's status depended on her son. If she had no son and was not favored by her husband and mother-in-law, she was useless...
A sudden gust of wind blew by, and the wind chimes under the eaves jingled loudly, startling her back to reality.
The wind and snow were quite heavy today, and the desolate snow-covered hut was covered with a thick layer of snow.
The snow-covered landscape had long since concealed everything that happened that day.
Xiao Hengzhi sat on the stone steps of Xuelu, lightly whittling a long bamboo with a small knife.
"Come out."
He called softly.
Then a man in black appeared faintly from the wind and snow, standing out starkly against the white expanse of snow.
Guiye walked up to him and saw that his head and shoulders were covered with a thin layer of snow. He asked, "Why aren't you using an umbrella?"
Xiao Hengzhi remained silent, and the long bamboo in his hands was sharpened even further.
Guiye looked at the sharp bamboo pole, subconsciously took a half step back, remained silent, and watched his movements with a hint of wariness.
After a long pause, Xiao Hengzhi blew away the bamboo shavings, casually grabbed a handful of snow to clean his hands, and gently opened his lips: "Tell me, why didn't you save her that day here?"
Guiye clenched his fist, frowned, and said, "...You treated her with all your heart, but she went to see the Crown Prince, and the two of you had a secret rendezvous..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden gust of wind swept in—
"boom!"
Guiye felt a tightness in his chest, and his whole body flew backward instantly, crashing heavily into a pillar. Snow fell down, splashing him with cold air.
The slender bamboo pole in Xiao Hengzhi's hand had been thrown out at some point and landed right next to Guiye's feet, trembling slightly, sharp as a blade.
Xiao Hengzhi looked up at him, his voice extremely indifferent: "She had a secret rendezvous with Ning Zhi, so you want her to leave it to fate?"
Guiye's fingertips tightened slightly, and he forcefully suppressed the metallic taste rising in his throat.
Xiao Hengzhi's casual strike was swift, ruthless, and accurate, showing absolutely no mercy.
The Red Slave's inherent ferocity wouldn't allow him to take that blow without resistance.
Besides, he didn't think he had done anything wrong...
Jiang Mian neither loved him nor was she loyal to him.
What harm is there in the death of such a disloyal person!
He hadn't saved her, nor had he harmed her; if she died, it was her fate...
Guiye gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He suppressed the sharp pain in his shoulder, leaped up, and charged at Xiao Hengzhi like a taut bowstring.
He raised his fist and aimed straight at his side of the neck.
He used all his strength in this punch.
Can--
Xiao Hengzhi remained motionless, standing there quietly without even blinking.
The force of the punch grazed the snowflakes, coming within inches of his brow.
Xiao Hengzhi suddenly curled his lips and chuckled softly.
Guiye suddenly stopped.
A chilling feeling suddenly rose in his heart, as if he were locked in by an invisible killing intent, spreading throughout his body.
He noticed it.
If that punch really landed, he wouldn't be able to do anything to Xiao Hengzhi; on the contrary, Xiao Hengzhi would kill him.
Without hesitation, without mercy, without even delay, a single blow would take his life.
A single thought can separate life and death.
Guiye instantly withdrew his strength, staggered and half-knelt on the ground, his face slightly contorted with pain.
Xiao Hengzhi looked down at his disheveled state and muttered, "He's really ungrateful..."
"No... I'm not..."
Before he finished speaking——
Swish!
A gust of wind blew through the air, and before Guiye could react, he felt a sharp pain spreading from the corner of his eye!
"what--!"
His body shuddered violently, blood gushed out from between his fingers, veins bulged on his forehead, cold sweat mixed with blood dripped down, and the piercing pain almost made him lose consciousness instantly.
His right eye... is ruined.
The bamboo pole in Xiao Hengzhi's hand was still stained with blood, tilted slightly, and the blood dripped onto the snow, leaving a bright red stain.
He looked down at Guiye, his tone still calm: "I remember telling you before that you must not hurt her, and that you must protect her."
"Yes......"
"Then why not listen?"
Guiye trembled all over, enduring the pain, and stammered, "I acted impulsively... I felt she... wasn't worth your time..."
"Ha...not worth it? Have you considered what would happen to you if something happened to her?"
Guiye covered his right cheek and remained silent, not daring to argue further. He simply lowered his head and said, "I know I was wrong."
Xiao Hengzhi looked at him, his eyes indifferent as frost and snow, and his voice slowly fell: "I saved your life with great difficulty back then, so today, I will not kill you."
After speaking, he looked away, turned around, and slowly walked back to the stone steps, where he sat down again.
"But I don't need you anymore, so get lost."
He picked up the knife and then a long bamboo pole, his movements as light and leisurely as before, as if the murderous intent and violence he had just felt were nothing but an illusion.
Guiye knelt in the snow, his body ice-cold. Blood was flowing more and more from his right eye, dripping down his cheek onto the white snow, the red and white contrasting sharply, a shocking sight.
He used all his strength to support himself, took one last look at Xiao Hengzhi, and then turned and disappeared into the whiteness.
The raging wind and snow concealed the bloodshed, and all fell silent.
The snowflakes on the bluestone slab were swirled up, making a soft, rustling sound.
Xiao Hengzhi sat there for a long time.
He gazed at the vast expanse of snow, his eyelashes covered in snow, like a silent statue.
The faint smell of blood still lingered in his palm, making him feel dazed.
Guiye deserved to die.
He betrayed, retaliated, and disobeyed orders...
If it were anyone else, he would have erased the traces without hesitation.
But in the end, he spared his life.
It wasn't just because he had single-handedly rescued him from the Red Slave Beast Grounds, but also because he felt a pang of reluctance...
After all, he's not very old, so it's normal for him to have some temper.
Xiao Hengzhi felt he was becoming more and more like a normal person, and he developed a sense of compassion.
But what followed was a mix of complex emotions... which even he himself couldn't explain.
It was as if a thick, heavy sense of self-reproach was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.
This was the first time he felt that he couldn't protect Jiang Mian.
No matter how much he schemed and plotted, this time, when she was in danger, the one who saved her... was Ning Zhi.
In an instant, an absurd idea that he couldn't control suddenly occurred to him—
Perhaps, Jiang Mian really should go to Ning Zhi's side.
......
Just as his thoughts were slightly disturbed, a clear voice pierced through the wind and snow.
"Your Majesty?"
Xiao Hengzhi slowly raised his head and saw a slender figure walking towards him in the snow.
Jiang Mian wore a fluffy white cloak and held a green umbrella.
The umbrella brim was pulled low, and the wind and snow fell on the umbrella surface, sliding down in a soft rustling sound, making it seem unreal, like a figure in a painting amidst the vast white sky.
Only as I got closer could I gradually make out her features.
Jiang Mian stood before him and asked, "When did Your Highness come out? What are you doing sitting here?"
In fact, Xiao Hengzhi himself was unaware of how pitiful he looked at that moment.
Snow covered his head and shoulders, his eyebrows and eyes were covered in frost, and his shoulders were covered in snow.
He looked like a lonely stray dog forgotten in the snowy night.
Jiang Mian couldn't help but reach out and brush the snow off his shoulder.
"How long has Your Highness been sitting? You're practically a snow sculpture now. Don't you feel cold?"
Xiao Hengzhi did not answer. He just looked at her quietly, staring at her face so close to his for a long time.
"Why is Your Highness staring at me like that?"
He suddenly smiled, took her hand, and sat down beside him.
"Nothing. What brings you here? Were you looking for me?"
Jiang Mian lowered her eyes and answered naturally, "Yes, I didn't see the prince when I went back to my room, so I came out to look for him and found him here."
"Do you need something from me?"
"It's nothing serious, but it's freezing cold. If anything were to happen to Your Highness..."
"worry about me?"
Jiang Wan paused for a moment, then nodded.
Xiao Hengzhi looked at her, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression, as if trying to find a trace of truth in her face.
Jiang Mian turned her head away and raised her hand to rub her nose, which was red from the cold.
Watching her movements, he suddenly felt a pang of tenderness, reached out and gently stroked her nose, then casually handed her a small bamboo trinket.