Chapter 197: Chapter 161: Farewell

Pan Jiaojiao still couldn’t enter the palace.

Not only did she fail to get in, but Fu Xuan also couldn’t get in.

The guards who were initially very kind to them were suddenly replaced by another batch of people. They wore stern expressions, extremely wary of anyone trying to approach the palace gates.

It was as if a tourist attraction without a gate the day before had suddenly transformed into an impenetrable fortress, with two fierce white tigers at its entrance.

Pan Jiaojiao had originally followed Song Yan’s instructions to find Fu Xuan. Using the words Song Yan taught her, she successfully persuaded Fu Xuan to agree to take her into the palace. But when they reached the palace gate, they realized they were just dreaming; neither of them could get in.

Fu Xuan cried. How could he tell his sister he realized his mistake when he couldn’t even get in?

Pan Jiaojiao also cried. She understood one thing: there was a significant change in the palace. Her father had always been a steadfast supporter of the Royalist Party. Now that something had happened to him, it certainly wasn’t simple!

With her not-so-smart mind, Pan Jiaojiao thought it over repeatedly and finally understood the problem. Something must have happened with the drugs and the Princess. She needed to find Song Yan! Song Yan was smart; she would definitely know what to do!

Fu Xuan was originally still upset because the Princess was avoiding him. Seeing the woman who came with him suddenly walking away briskly, he felt a tinge of doubt.

Earlier, she was even more anxious than he was. Yet, she left so decisively. Did she have a clue?

Thus, Fu Xuan followed closely behind Pan Jiaojiao.

Song Yan looked at the two people in front of her without much expression.

“You all…” Song Yan hesitated, finding it rather absurd, “Are we… very familiar with each other?”

Fu Xuan replied straightforwardly, “No, we’re not.”

If we’re not familiar, why are you here looking for me?

Song Yan’s gaze towards Fu Xuan turned slowly dangerous. She disliked men with ill intentions towards the Princess the most.

Fu Xuan, however, was naturally immune to such a gaze. Having been a playboy for years, he had seen all sorts of storms.

He could even threaten Song Yan with his eyes: Do you think I would still care? I’ve spent six years as a playboy in brothels and taverns; my face is now as thick as the walls of the Northern Land! I killed fish for ten years in the Xingyang Prince Mansion; my heart is already as cold as my blade! Only when I see the Princess does my heart warm; a mere ordinary woman cannot make me…

“You can’t enter the palace?”

This short sentence broke Fu Xuan’s defense.

He used all the words he learned throughout his life to contradict Song Yan, to express his unique status in the heart of the Princess.

After listening, Song Yan said blandly, “So what? You still can’t get in.”

Fu Xuan: ╳§°∮￥＊

But Song Yan no longer paid attention to him.

Pan Jiaojiao hurried forward, starting to cry and complain, “This has never happened before. Could the Princess be in danger…”

Song Yan nodded, “I suspect this matter might be related to the two Princes.”

“The Princes!” Pan Jiaojiao covered her mouth in surprise. Could this be the legendary usurpation?

Even Fu Xuan paused for a moment, thinking seriously with a stern expression.

Seeing that the two believed her, Song Yan continued, “The two Princes have come of age, yet the Crown Prince has not been established. Presumably…”

Song Yan didn’t finish her sentence, leaving half of it for the two people in front of her to guess.

“I noticed the guards at the palace gate had been replaced. Now there is no news from my father in the palace, and neither is there from the Princess. Could it be that they’ve already…” The more Pan Jiaojiao thought, the more frightened she became.

But Song Yan shook her head, “They won’t be in trouble this time, but in the future, it’s uncertain.”

Again, Song Yan spoke only half of what she meant, leaving the rest for Fu Xuan and Pan Jiaojiao to guess on their own.

“Mr. Fu, although this does not count as a lone man and two women in a room, spending too much time with us could damage our reputations. Could you please take your leave?”

Fu Xuan didn’t want to leave; he wanted to listen more! But he knew he couldn’t stay.

After all, Song Yan had already told him so much, going above and beyond.

The rest of the matter could only be figured out by him from clues and details.

He pondered every word Song Yan said and finally realized it seemed she said everything, yet she said nothing. In brief, the core idea was that the Princess was in danger.

Fu Xuan believed this point.

After all, the Princess’s body was almost taken over by a Demon. Fu Xuan was willing to believe that there was a huge conspiracy targeting the Princess behind this, but with his current ability, he could not find out.

He was merely a playboy at the moment.

If he didn’t feign this unlearned image, his father would pass the throne to him, and he would become the next Prince Xingyang.

Fu Xuan was not the eldest in his family; although a legitimate son, he had three older half-brothers. These three half-brothers were not born of the same mother, but they got along very well, especially when dealing with him.

Because they had no discord among themselves, their father trusted them greatly.

However, these well-reputed brothers usually seemed gentle but were very strict towards him.

When he was four years old, reading the Three Character Classic for the first time, he listened to the teacher, though reciting it brokenly, his voice was loud. His eldest brother overheard and approached him with disdain, saying, “As the legitimate son, you can’t even recite properly.”

After that, his voice for recitations grew much softer.

At five years old, he wore clothes specially made by his mother, all in white. His mother said he looked handsome, but his second brother remarked, “Little brother, you’re too dark, wearing this looks mismatched.” At that time, he didn’t quite understand what ’mismatched’ meant, but he knew it wasn’t a good word; he never dared to wear white again.

The teacher said, the body, hair, and skin are given by the parents and should not be damaged easily. But when he was six and learned he could go to the Capital with their father, his third brother pricked his ear with a needle.

It hurt so much, and he was even more upset; he had defied the teacher’s teachings, becoming an incomplete person.

The third brother said it wasn’t intentional, but he knew it was.

Fu Xuan involuntarily reached up to touch the earring in his right ear; originally, it was his sister who put it on for him.

His sister said he looked good like this.

His sister said his recitation sounded nice.

His sister said he looked handsome in white.

But he still liked red the most; red is the color of blood and doesn’t get dirty easily.

Fu Xuan didn’t want to become Prince Xingyang.

Prince Xingyang couldn’t marry the Princess.

However, if he were only a Commandery Prince, how small he would be in the Capital, not even able to cross the palace walls. If someday the Princess were trapped in the palace, would he also be powerless, just watching like now?

He pretended to be a playboy for so many years just to prevent his father from passing the Xingyang Prince’s title to him, so he could marry the Princess.

But after arriving in the Capital, he realized only by becoming Prince Xingyang would he be qualified to stand beside the Princess, only then would he be capable of protecting her.

Hahaha, how absurd.

It turned out that from the moment of his birth, some people were destined never to be his.

Although the Princess never harbored romantic feelings for him, this could be considered a consolation, perhaps.

Fu Xuan felt that today’s wind was quite strong, with sand irritating his eyes, making him feel very uncomfortable.

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