One after the other, they entered the main hall. Ji Yu lowered his head and presented a cup of hot tea. Nalan Xuan settled into a chair padded with thick cushions, cast an unobtrusive glance at Ji Yu, whose expression he could not see, and said nothing. Xiao Jiu already understood and went to summon the visitor.
After dismissing everyone else, Nalan Xuan watched as Xia Xue, led in by Xiao Jiu, knelt before him and bowed. “This servant greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy lasting peace and good fortune.”
“I told you not to come to Fengyi Palace unless it was necessary. Now you have waited here for me so openly for half the day. What ‘necessary’ reason do you intend to give me?” Nalan Xuan’s seemingly gentle gaze brushed over Xia Xue where she knelt, and instantly made her feel as though needles were pricking her back.
Fighting to suppress her trembling and fear, Xia Xue practically had to grit her teeth to force the words out. “Then may this servant ask whether Your Majesty still intends to keep the promise you made me?”
Nalan Xuan raised a brow. How long had it been since someone dared question him to his face? Yet he did not become angry. “Oh? What have I done to make you doubt me?”
“Your Majesty promised me that his life was mine, that I alone would be the one to make him suffer a fate worse than death. But after seeing him today, it seems Your Majesty has nearly driven him mad already. Naturally, this servant cannot compare with Your Majesty. And precisely because of that, I cannot help wondering whether I will still have the chance to satisfy this hatred myself.” Xia Xue suddenly lifted her head and met Nalan Xuan’s gaze without the slightest attempt to avoid it.
“Heh. You truly have surprised me. No matter what, the two of you are blood siblings. Can you really bring yourself to be that ruthless?” Resting an elbow on his knee, Nalan Xuan leaned forward and studied Xia Xue with keen interest for a long while. Only after finding no flaw in her did he continue at an unhurried pace. “It is not that I refuse to give you the chance. I simply have my doubts. Blood is thicker than water. If the moment comes and you truly cannot go through with it, would all my effort not have gone to waste?”
“But Your Majesty, you clearly said…” Nalan Xuan disliked being interrupted when he spoke, yet today a lowly servant had done exactly that. Xia Xue spoke anxiously, hatred surging violently in her eyes.
“Do not rush. Let me finish.” He did not sound displeased, but neither did he sound kind. A single glance from him was enough to silence Xia Xue just as she hovered on the verge of an outburst. “I am only collecting a little interest first. The final, fatal blow will of course be yours to deliver, if you still want to when the time comes.”
His eyes narrowed meaningfully. Danger and bloodlust filled their depths, while the smile on his lips was enough to freeze a person where they stood.
“I do. Of course I do. I have waited far too long for this day!” Xia Xue glared fiercely, enunciating every word through clenched teeth. Naturally, the hatred in her voice was not directed at Nalan Xuan. That only made him more curious. The records did mention the old case in which the Han clan had been collectively punished, but they contained little more than the court’s broad official account of what had happened. The twists behind it were unknown. On the surface, the imperial court had been the one to wipe out the Han family, yet the survivor of that massacre hated her own younger brother. It was difficult to understand.
“I am very curious. No matter what, the two of you are blood siblings, yet you can actually bring yourself to want him dead. If one day he gains power, he might even be able to restore the Han family. With enough imperial favor, perhaps he could even clear the family name. As the Han family’s only surviving heir, he should be especially precious to you. I truly am curious.” Nalan Xuan lounged back in his chair and shifted into a more comfortable position, absently winding a loose strand of hair around his fingers, letting it go, then winding it again.
“The Han family was never wronged, and there is no need to clear our name or restore anything. If the Han family had one great sin, it was giving birth to that unfilial son! If he had not gone poking around and taken something he should not have, provoking those criminals into our home, how could my family ever have ended up like that? Your Majesty wonders why this servant hates him. Then tell me, how could you not hate someone who destroyed your entire clan and even ruined the marriage you were meant to have for the rest of your life? I was already fourteen then. He and I had grown up together. He was outstanding, and many young ladies from eminent families had their eyes on him, yet he promised his whole life to an ordinary woman like me. Your Majesty does not know how happy I was. I had never been so happy before. The man I thought I could only watch silently for the rest of my life actually came to my home to ask for my hand and said he wanted me.”
As she spoke, Xia Xue’s gaze grew distant. Though her eyes were fixed on Nalan Xuan, it was as if she were looking through him toward a faraway past, toward the laughter she had once known. A rare smile blossomed across her face, happiness rising from the very bottom of her heart. Her features were not especially beautiful, yet at that moment they were dazzling. Moisture gathered in her bright eyes and tears spilled down her cheeks. Then, all at once, her expression changed and her voice rose into a hoarse scream.
“And what did Han Ruifeng do?! Father hired a tutor to teach him properly, but all he cared about was running wild outside! It would have been better if he had died out there than brought such a disaster home! Han Ruifeng was the one who invited the wolf into our house! The charges the court brought against us back then may have come about through a chain of mistakes, but they were true. The only difference was that Father was not the one who became entangled with those people. Han Ruifeng was! If the late emperor’s decree had only killed the Han clan, so be it. Why did it have to drag him into it too?!”
“If he had not come to our home with betrothal gifts just one day earlier, if he had not promised me his life, he could easily have found a woman a thousand times better than me in family background and beauty and lived out his days in peace! Instead, he was implicated because of me! Even distant relatives could not escape, much less relatives by marriage! What did he ever do wrong? What did I ever do wrong? Why did we have to pay the price for what that bastard did? And Father, talking about preserving a branch of the family line, chose to sacrifice so many people. So many people! Yet he alone was allowed to live. The very culprit who caused everything was the one who survived! How could you expect me to endure that?!”
Her voice was raw with grief, every word soaked in hatred. “Your Majesty would not understand, nor would you want to know, what I had to go through to crawl out from a pile of corpses back then. No matter what price I have to pay, I will drag him down to hell with me. This is what he owes all of us. If he is allowed to live peacefully in this world, none of those who died back then will ever rest in peace!”
“So, Your Majesty, forgive this servant’s insolence, but please do not act on your own again. His life is mine. I alone will decide what suffering he endures.” It was no longer a plea. It was a declaration drawing a clear boundary.
Nalan Xuan merely shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Of course. I should have no further score to settle with him anyway. And even if something remains unpaid, I trust you will give me a satisfactory answer. But there is one thing you must remember. I can refrain from acting, but if you encounter any problem or need any help at all, I can grant you whatever you require.”
“Thank you for granting this servant’s wish, Your Majesty.” Xia Xue said no more. She rose, bowed, and took her leave. “This servant withdraws.”
Nalan Xuan did not stop her. He simply sat there, relaxed, watching the retreating figure of Xia Xue, or perhaps the woman who could now be called Han Qiuwen, with narrowed eyes and a smile on his face. As expected, debts always have to be repaid. A wrong so unforgivable that even one’s own blood cannot tolerate it, a hatred so deep that even family must personally exact repayment… If even those closest to a person can feel this way, Feng Xuanyi, then what I ask is hardly excessive. Perhaps one day, I too will have a debt I cannot avoid repaying. As for when you should repay yours, I have already calculated it for you.