CHAPTER 235: CHAPTER 235 PROTECTING THE WIFE

Feng Shu only felt it was absurd!

An emotion that had never existed, a youthful memory that had long faded eleven years ago, and yet, the Princely Heir of an entire nation dared to pose such a preposterous question.

At the very moment she was about to be wed!

She had encountered confessions numerous times before. Through years of traversing across the lands, she had attracted the attention of many outstanding men. She would always make it clear to them—she was engaged, her fiancé was guarding the frontier, and he was the love of her life. She had also encountered men who persistently sought fleeting romance with her. To them, Feng Shu’s methods were firm, severing all their unwarranted thoughts.

But the Crown Prince was different. He was the Princely Heir, the future ruler of Yanyang. She was his subject. Feng Shu wondered how she could sever this bond without harming the relationship between the royal family and the Marquis Mansion.

She also understood that if she gave the Crown Prince even a shred of hope, this obsession and regret would transform into hatred, and Xie Zhang would inevitably be its bearer.

Feng Shu said, "Your Highness, I have never felt romantic affection for you. Back then, you were refined and courteous, treating us like younger sisters. All four sisters of the Feng Family sincerely regarded you as an elder brother. If I hadn’t met Xie Zhang, even if the Prince Manor had proposed marriage, I would not have agreed. In truth, if the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion hadn’t proposed to me, after the age of ten, I would have entered the Su Family registry, changed my name, and eventually married and bolstered the Su Family’s reputation. Therefore, Your Highness and I are not destined to be."

She wanted to isolate Xie Zhang from this, and indeed, this had been her intention back then.

The Crown Prince’s eyes were a deep shade of crimson. "You’re willing to deceive me just to protect Xie Zhang?"

"Your Highness, every word I have spoken is true." Feng Shu reflected on how, back then, the late emperor had clashed with the noble families to enforce new policies. The vassal kings had been drawn into this turmoil. What family would willingly marry their daughters into the royal family? If the noble families had overturned imperial power, Yuwen’s dynasty would have turned to ashes, and the royal clan would have faced devastating calamity. No one was willing to offer their daughters to the Yuwen family.

"If you intended to join the Su Family registry, why did you accept the Marquis Mansion’s proposal? In what way am I different from Xie Zhang?"

Feng Shu felt a flicker of anger. If he weren’t surnamed Yuwen, if he weren’t the Princely Heir of an entire nation, she truly wanted to ask: How dare you compare yourself to Xie Zhang!

In her heart, Xie Zhang was the finest man in all of Yanyang.

"Because I..." The words "because I admire Xie Zhang" nearly blurted out, but fearing they might provoke the Crown Prince, Feng Shu took a deep breath. "I grew up as the daughter of a military general. I’ve always been naive, idolizing great heroes. He happens to be a great hero who battles on the frontlines, fulfilling my childhood dreams."

The Crown Prince’s entire body grew cold. She admired great heroes!

Indeed, Feng Shu admired great heroes. He had known this since his youth, when they sat on the walls of the Prince Manor, chatting beneath ripening apricot trees. Feng Shu had said she wished to marry a towering hero someday—someone like her father who protected the nation. Because of these words, the Crown Prince had once thought of going to the battlefield, to become her hero. But he was the Princely Heir of the Prince Manor; how could Emperor Jianming ever allow him to take such risks?

He had loved Feng Shu for many years, deeply understanding her preferences and her vision for the future.

He drew closer to Feng Shu, clasping her arms tightly, nearly crushing her bones. His gaze was frenzied and obsessive, yet his tone was as gentle as flowing water, violent yet sinister. "Shu’er, as long as it’s a great hero—if it’s not Xie Zhang—then it could be anyone, couldn’t it?"

Feng Shu was in pain from his grip. Their proximity allowed her to feel his scorching breath, as though he might kiss her. Shocked and furious, Feng Shu struggled, nearly tempted to commit the unforgivable by slapping him.

She could clearly see the madness in his eyes, and her heart raced with alarm. What did he mean?

"You..."

The Crown Prince stared at her face inches away, and the torment in his heart surged. A voice roared madly within him: Break her legs and lock her in the palace! She’s his, her gaze should only ever fall on him alone.

Kiss her, imprison her!

The whole world belongs to you.

She belongs to you—that is only rightful and just!

Feng Shu could sense that he was unraveling. She hadn’t expected the seemingly meek Crown Prince to possess such strength or behave so maniacally. Just as the Crown Prince pressed closer, a pair of hands seized his wrists. Feng Shu caught a familiar scent and found herself shielded by warm, broad arms.

Xie Zhang’s gaze was sharp and filled with restrained anger, and he addressed the Crown Prince directly by name, "Yuwen Jing, let go!"

Having trained in martial arts since childhood, Xie Zhang inherited the tall and commanding stature of the Marquis Zhenbei. Towering a full head above the Crown Prince, his aura—honed by over a decade of warfare—was so formidable that even the Crown Prince’s high rank could not suppress it. The Crown Prince fixed Yuwen Jing with a sinister look, but Xie Zhang brusquely forced his hands away, pulling Feng Shu gently backward by two steps, holding her protectively. His gaze fell to her pale face, and his heart wrenched in pain.

"Brother..." Feng Shu softly called to him.

Xie Zhang gently stroked the parts of her arm the Crown Prince had gripped. "It’s alright."

"Xie Zhang, you dare defy me!" The Crown Prince’s wrists ached faintly, his violent emotions surging again, finding the scene before his eyes unbearably offensive.

Xie Zhang answered coldly, "Your Highness, you’ve had too much to drink."

With this single sentence, he resolved the matter.

"I know exactly what I’m doing!" The Crown Prince, however, refused to step down. Fixated on his belief that Xie Zhang had stolen Feng Shu away from him, he said, "Feng Shu grew up with me—if you hadn’t intervened, my Crown Princess Consort would have been her."

"Utter nonsense!" Feng Shu trembled with rage. What truly frightened her was the Crown Prince mentioning these things before Xie Zhang—not because she feared Xie Zhang might misunderstand her, but because the idea itself was absurd. Childhood friendship? Stolen love? The entanglement between her, the Crown Prince, and Xie Zhang was merely the Crown Prince’s own delusion.

Xie Zhang gently rubbed Feng Shu’s arm in a gesture of reassurance, then turned to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, events from more than a decade ago are long past, and both people and circumstances have changed. Even if I did intervene to claim her affection, we are still betrothed by our parents’ will—a legitimate and rightful pairing. Your Crown Princess Consort is Lin Yushu. What’s done is done. Your unrequited feelings for Feng Shu are understandable. She is deserving of everyone’s affection. But you should consider your dignity. As the Princely Heir, lusting after another man’s wife tarnishes your reputation. You already have a Crown Princess Consort, and a legitimate heir. By speaking of this past now, are you hoping for a response from her? Whether to make her your concubine or to find the courage to discard your current Crown Princess Consort and elevate her to the status of your primary wife? If you can achieve neither, then your drunken words bring her nothing but trouble."

The Crown Prince’s breathing grew heavy. "How do you know Shu’er wouldn’t prefer to be my concubine, rather than endure the hardships of Ningzhou by your side?"

"She wouldn’t!" Xie Zhang replied icily. "Even if you offered her the position of Crown Princess Consort or promised her the future title of Empress, she would never choose to live confined in the palace as your caged songbird. You may cherish her, but you don’t truly understand her. The new policies are about to be implemented—your focus should be on matters of governance. I can treat this as a moment of drunken indiscretion. Once we are wed and stationed in Ningzhou, far from the imperial court, time and distance will inevitably erase these youthful affections from your heart. If you cannot forget, then let it remain a bittersweet memory, buried deep within you. I will pray for your long life and for peace across the realm."