CHAPTER 241: CHAPTER 241 RESTRAINT

Xie Xun thought, he was a bit unlucky!

The first time he took Fengyu out of the city for a secret meeting, he was caught by his elder brother and Feng Shu. After getting engaged, he took Fengyu hiking, couldn’t resist kissing her, and again, they were caught.

A bit unlucky indeed!

Xie Zhang had a helpless look, pulled Xie Xun aside, and he couldn’t hear what Feng Shu was saying to Fengyu, but from her expression, he knew Feng Shu was reprimanding Fengyu.

Xie Xun was a bit unconvinced, "Why?"

Xie Zhang crossed his arms, looking at Xie Xun, raising an eyebrow with a half-smile. His younger brother had always been mischievous and reckless. If Xie Jue was ice, then Xie Xun was fire. With two distinctly different younger brothers, Xie Xun was almost raised by him. As long as they were in the Capital City, Xie Xun followed him around like a tail, calling him brother here and brother there.

When he wasn’t clinging to his elder brother, he was showing off his strength to his Second Brother. A bit older, he was full of energy and managed to get himself into trouble everywhere. He was smarter and stronger than children his age. Whenever the children his age, or slightly older aristocrats, insulted Xie Jue, they’d get beaten up by Xie Xun. Marquis Zhenbei and the Marchioness would drag him to apologize but demand the other party apologize to Xie Jue too.

Xie Xun was particularly sincere in his apologies, quick to kneel if necessary. He could write a piece of poetry reflecting on himself even when getting whipped by Marquis Zhenbei, always very earnest.

The next day, he’d be swinging his fists again. Those who dared to report him to their parents would be hung up and beaten. His wild nature was such that Marquis Zhenbei broke three whips on him.

Upon going to the battlefield for training, he gradually became more stable.

As a Marquis Mansion’s son, naturally suited for the battlefield, Xie Xun harbored ambitions for conquering the Beiman that others couldn’t understand. Marquis Zhenbei and Xie Zhang would ache at the thought of Xie Xun’s dandy appearance when he first arrived in Ningzhou to fight the enemy.

War, killing is extremely cruel. Young men eager to serve the country think that only killing the enemy is a man’s glory. Those who have never been to the front even dream of raising a curved sword one day in great battle.

When they go to war fueled with passion, they will see blood and broken limbs; they will see comrades who just greeted them yesterday being beheaded.

They will see their comrades pierced through by swords and knives, then they’ll understand...peace is the ultimate purpose of war.

This is why his brother would quickly mature on the battlefield, gradually becoming calm and no longer fixating on exterminating all Beiman. When Xie Zhang sent Xie Xun from Ningzhou back to the Capital City, he gently told him to listen to their mother’s words upon returning, find a beloved woman, and live a peaceful life.

Upon returning to the Capital City, the Marchioness tentatively asked him what kind of woman he liked.

Suffering from leg poison and irritable, Xie Xun angrily burned the paintings sent by the Marchioness. Her hair turned white with worry as she secretly wrote to Xie Zhang and Xie Jue asking if there were any close friendships Xie Xun made in the army.

When Xie Zhang and Xie Jue received the letter, they exchanged glances and were eerily silent.

Perhaps because he was too wild, his incompatibility with aristocrats, or he simply liked playing with his brothers, he never had close friends growing up. Despite Xie Jue’s cold exterior and aloof heart, he still had Fang Chuning. Xie Xun did not, his connections with aristocrats were mediocre.

As a child, Xie Xun was a berserker, busy showing off his strength and getting into trouble, uninterested in making friends. As the direct son of the Marquis Mansion, many sought his friendship, but Xie Xun dismissed them. He sincerely felt unmatched in the world, thinking others unworthy of his friendship, arrogant yet wildly proud.

While aristocrats valued humility and courtesy, he exemplified the opposite, receiving many beatings for it.

As he reached thirteen or fourteen, growing more sensible, the family started paying attention to suitable marriage prospects. The Marchioness took Xie Xun to several flower-viewing banquets, but he didn’t remember the girls’ names. Many girls admired him secretly, and some declared their love fervently, but Xie Xun locked his heart away, leading the Marchioness and two aunts to find it increasingly odd.

At thirteen or fourteen, during the awakening of love, both their sons showed no interest in girls; Xie Jue’s nature was understood, but Xie Xun was not. The Marchioness was anxious and restless, prompting her to ask Xie Zhang and Xie Jue their opinions, not daring to let Marquis know about the letter.

Even in the army, Xie Xun didn’t seem particularly close to anyone, aside from liking to compete with Fang Chuning, like two peacocks showing off their tails. Xie Zhang and Xie Jue also pondered what kind of girl Xie Xun might like.

Xie Jue said, "He likes a maidenflower."

Xie Zhang, "?"

"Control freaks like maidenflowers," Xie Jue said decidedly.

Xie Zhang raised an eyebrow, "Then why aren’t you?"

A rare flash of panic crossed Xie Jue’s face, "..."

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to deny liking maidenflowers or to claim liking someone else.

When Xie Zhang saw Fengyu, he finally understood that Xie Jue’s words had a hint of truth. After all, Third Miss really looked like a delicate and obedient maidenflower.

"Fengyu is still young, and Shu’er dotes on her. From what I saw earlier, it looked like you were bullying her, what good face can you expect?"

Xie Xun recalled the scene in the palace corridor where his brother was pressing Feng Shu against a pillar kissing her and said coolly, "We’re brothers, let’s not point fingers."

Xie Zhang chuckled, "I’m about to get married, and I’m the elder brother. Shu’er has no elder sister to constrain her. Envious?"

Xie Xun’s eyes turned red with jealousy, "Still three years until marriage for me. What are you doing taking her out? Isn’t that against the rules?"

Xie Zhang pressed his fist to his lips, smiling, "Brother’s matters, younger brother shouldn’t meddle."

Xie Xun, "..."

Feng Shu was scolding Fengyu, and Fengyu obediently listened while inwardly cursing the Little Marquis. He always liked to kiss her in private, as if he was her skin, insisting on sticking to her. Without a kiss or touch, it seemed he couldn’t move on to the next thing. Fengyu found it repulsive, yet captivating, making her unwittingly become contrary. So she gave in eventually—who’d have thought they’d be caught by her sister.

"Sister, I was wrong," Fengyu obediently admitted, "I’ll definitely keep my distance from Xie Xun."

Feng Shu wasn’t trying to turn her into a prude, just afraid Xie Xun, young and impetuous, might do something before marriage. She and Xie Zhang were about to marry, so it wasn’t a concern for them.

Their marriage wasn’t for several more years, what if they had an accidental child and damaged their reputation?

"You can only hold hands, you understand?"

Fengyu had a sudden realization. The essence of people is to allow officials to set fires while forbidding commoners to light lamps, and her sister was no exception—she complained inwardly but dared not talk back to Feng Shu.

"Got it!" Fengyu thought, as long as Xie Xun can restrain himself.

Feng Shu, having experienced it, knew the feeling of being unable to control oneself. She trusted Fengyu had self-control but worried that Xie Xun was of an age of vigorous energy. Her sister wasn’t one for strict morals; she really feared they might have an accident before marriage.