"Your Highness, His Majesty wishes to see you!" Feng Ming entered Xue Xingyue's study and said respectfully.
Xue Xingyue was startled. Her imperial brother wanted to see her?
"Is there something urgent?" she asked.
Upon hearing this, Feng Ming seemed hesitant. Xue Xingyue said, "Feng Ming, you're being unusually evasive. That's not like you."
"Your Highness, I..."
"Is it about me?" Xue Xingyue looked up at Feng Ming and asked.
Feng Ming was slightly taken aback.
At this moment, Xue Xingyue understood. It was likely related to her.
"Are the ministers in court pressuring my imperial brother again?"
Feng Ming gritted his teeth and said, "Those old geezers, I truly wish I could kill them."
Xue Xingyue smiled faintly, "Kill them, and then what? Who will share the burden with my imperial brother?"
"But they are so intolerant of Your Highness. Back when Your Highness was in Zhen Guan..."
Halfway through his sentence, Feng Ming realized he had spoken out of turn.
"What are they pressuring my imperial brother about?" Xue Xingyue asked Feng Ming, word for word.
Her clear eyes were now as cold as frost, leaving Feng Ming no room to resist.
Feng Ming trembled, "They..."
"Feng Ming, you are my Feng Wei, and you are my eyes. If even you cannot speak frankly, then would I not be blind?"
Feng Ming came to his senses completely. He knelt on one knee and said, "This subordinate admits his mistake."
"Get up. Tell me, what are they asking my imperial brother to do now?"
Feng Ming said, "They say Your Highness has returned to the city and will soon be married. Having command of a hundred thousand troops is somewhat irregular."
Feng Wu, who was nearby, sneered, "Back then, when the enemy invaded, I didn't see them say it was irregular."
"It is indeed irregular," Xue Xingyue said calmly.
Feng Wu was shocked, "Your Highness, you..."
"Enter the palace!" With that, Xue Xingyue walked out of the study.
In the imperial study, Xue Xingchen looked at Xue Xingyue kneeling on the ground. His gaze was calm, but only he knew that his hands, clenched tightly within his sleeves, were trembling.
His imperial sister, his full-blooded sibling. When the enemy invaded and the court was unstable, and no one could repel them, his imperial sister had shed her feminine attire, donned armor, and taken up arms to drive them back.
All of this, his imperial sister had borne the heavy burden of the Xingchen Kingdom with her delicate frame.
This princess, who could have lived wantonly under his protection, had instead defended the vast territory of the Xingchen Kingdom for him.
Now, with the Xingchen Kingdom prosperous and its borders peaceful, these unkillable individuals were doing everything they could to seize the military power that his imperial sister had so painstakingly secured.
He knew he should be angry, should rage. But he also knew that everyone was coveting the military power in Xingyue's hands.
As long as Xingyue held the military power, she would never be able to enjoy her status as a princess.
Therefore, regardless of whether Xingyue hated him or was displeased with him, he had no choice but to reclaim the military power.
"Xingyue, do not blame me. It is only because we were born into royalty."
Xue Xingyue looked up at her imperial brother's thin, pale face and smiled, her eyes glistening. "Imperial brother, Xingyue will never blame you. Never."
Xue Xingchen trembled and turned his head away. "You may withdraw!"
"Yes, imperial brother." She stood up and walked towards the door. As she crossed the threshold, she suddenly stopped. "Imperial brother, take care of yourself!"
Xue Xingchen's body stiffened. He watched her receding figure and finally couldn't help but cough, opening his hand to look at the bright red bloodstains. He fell silent.
His time was running out. He had to provide Xingyue with a stable life. He must.
Ningguo Duke's Estate
A woman looked at Meng Jiangming charmingly, her eyes like pear blossoms filled with tears. "Cousin, do you dislike Xiu Yi?"
Meng Jiangming looked at his delicate cousin, who appeared so fragile, and felt only impatience. However, considering how long his cousin had been with him, he patiently stepped forward, took Jiang Xiu Yi's hand, and reassured her, "Xiu Yi, you already know my feelings for you, don't you?"
Jiang Xiu Yi bit her lower lip. Her already charming expression became even more delicate with this gesture. "Cousin, Xiu Yi naturally knows your affection for Xiu Yi. But I've heard that Princess Xingyue is a rough person. Will she tolerate Xiu Yi?"
"No, Princess Xingyue is a very approachable person. Xiu Yi, you don't need to worry." Meng Jiangming thought of Princess Xingyue's refined beauty and noble aloofness at the Wan Jun restaurant yesterday, feeling an indescribable sensation.
Jiang Xiu Yi shed two lines of clear tears. She knew her cousin liked her delicate appearance, and she waited for him to comfort her. But after a long while, he did not. She looked up and saw Meng Jiangming lost in thought.
"Cousin..."
Meng Jiangming blinked and turned back to look at Jiang Xiu Yi's slightly resentful expression. He quickly said, "Cousin, please put your mind at ease!"
Just as Jiang Xiu Yi was about to speak, a young servant rushed in from outside. The servant whispered a few words into Meng Jiangming's ear.
Meng Jiangming shot up and said to Jiang Xiu Yi, "Xiu Yi, I have something else to attend to. I must leave now."
Without waiting for Jiang Xiu Yi to respond, Meng Jiangming left in a hurry.
Jiang Xiu Yi frowned, her previous fragility completely gone. She called to her maid, "Go and inquire where cousin has been going recently."
Soon, the maid returned with the news. Meng Jiangming had gone to the Wan Jun restaurant yesterday, and Princess Xingyue had also been present.
"Princess Xingyue, it's Princess Xingyue again! Why is she so persistently present?" Jiang Xiu Yi said through gritted teeth, a fierce glint in her eyes.
The maid was startled and quickly lowered her head. Her mistress was only truly gentle when facing Duke Meng; otherwise, she was usually like this.
"Go and send a token to the Anhe Palace. I wish to see my aunt."
The maid was taken aback. Jiang Xiu Yi angrily said, "What? Are you not listening to me?"
"Your servant would not dare." The maid, terrified, immediately knelt on the ground.
Jiang Xiu Yi let out a cold command. To dare to snatch the man she fancied, she would make Princess Xingyue pay the price.
The annual royal hunt began. Xue Xingyue had intended to go alone, but the day before, the wife of the Ningguo Duke had sent an invitation, inviting her to go together. Unable to refuse her future mother-in-law's invitation, she agreed.
Before dawn, Meng Jiangming was woken by his mother.
Meng Jiangming looked at Jiang Shi, who was brimming with excitement. He couldn't understand why his mother was so happy about a mere hunt.
"Ming'er, wear this outfit today." Jiang Shi presented the clothes she had been choosing all night.
Meng Jiangming did not reach out to take them. Instead, he looked at Jiang Shi and asked, "Mother, you seem a little off today."
"What's wrong with me? You hurry and get ready, you must dress up nicely." As she spoke, Jiang Shi thrust the clothes she had chosen all night towards Meng Jiangming.
Meng Jiangming took off the clothes and asked Jiang Shi, "Mother, what's going on? I'm attending a hunt, not a wedding."
"It's no different from attending a wedding," Jiang Shi said cheerfully.
"Mother, what is wrong with you?" Meng Jiangming asked.
Jiang Shi let out a cold snort and pointed at Meng Jiangming's forehead with her finger. "Waiting for you to introduce me to a daughter-in-law is as good as relying on yourself."
Meng Jiangming was stunned and looked at Jiang Shi. "Mother, what do you mean by that?"
Jiang Shi said triumphantly, "Yesterday, I had the servants in the estate send an invitation to Princess Xingyue, inviting her to the hunting grounds together."