Chapter 44 “Your Highness Looks So Sad”

Chapter 44: "His Highness the Crown Prince Looks So Heartbroken"

Xie Yan sat coldly and regally on the high seat, his every movement exuding the innate elegance and haughtiness of royalty. Unlike the languid, teasing demeanor he adopted when facing me, he now embodied the full gravitas of a crown prince, his expression aloof and indifferent, his posture poised and dignified.

His sharp, phoenix-like eyes, when fixed upon someone, exuded an intense, self-assured pressure that could make even the most timid tremble uncontrollably.

"Do you know your master's habits when playing chess?"

As he spoke, he lifted his eyelids impassively to glance at Huai Xin, his gaze both scrutinizing and subtly warning.

His pale right hand rested on the sandalwood armrest, the thin skin revealing faint blue veins, lending him an eerie, sickly pallor—like a morbidly beautiful figure obsessed with wielding power.

Under such oppressive scrutiny, Huai Xin instinctively wanted to turn and look at me. But just as his shoulders began to shift in my direction, Xie Yan’s words immediately halted his movement.

Xie Yan’s tone was as cold as sharp icicles hanging from winter eaves—a mere touch could send a piercing, bone-deep chill through one’s body. "Don’t look around. Answer properly."

He wasn't even overtly threatening, nor did his words contain any explicit menace, yet the sheer intensity was enough to make one's legs tremble uncontrollably.

His frosty expression, slightly furrowed brows, tightly pressed thin lips, and the undercurrent of cold interrogation—all of it was enough to leave Huai Xin bewildered and terrified, flustered and helpless, as if he might lose his life right then and there.

I noticed his knees shaking so violently he could barely stand. I sighed to myself, shaking my head helplessly. It seemed there was no hope left in relying on Huai Xin.

"Y-Your Highness," Huai Xin stammered, truly frightened, his legs giving way as he knelt straight down. "M-my young master does indeed have a bad habit when playing chess."

"Although it’s not a good habit, it’s not so severe as to merit punishment. I hope Your Highness can be generous and forgiving, and pardon our young master this once."

I couldn’t help but feel moved. Despite being terrified by Xie Yan’s accusatory demeanor, his face pale and legs trembling, Huai Xin remained unwaveringly loyal, thinking only of me, worried that I might be punished by the crown prince, and even trying to absolve me of blame.

"What kind of habit?"

Hearing Huai Xin’s words, Xie Yan showed no surprise. His expression remained calm, as if he had already anticipated everything, fully confident and in control.

After all, few people possessed such coarse and willful habits as mine. Moreover, most noble young men nowadays emphasized elegance and propriety—who would be as tactless and rule-breaking as me?

And since Chou Yunqing was peerless in both talent and appearance, gentle and serene in temperament, excelling in every aspect among the selected young masters, it was even more impossible for him to have such a bad habit.

That’s why Xie Yan didn’t take this minor discrepancy seriously. He simply wanted to quickly settle the matter, make me admit defeat completely, and stop any further arguments, firmly establishing my identity as Feng Jiuyue so he could torment me without remorse.

"After Huai Xin demonstrates my young master’s small habit, I hope Your Highness will be gracious and let our young master go."

Even at this point, Huai Xin’s heart was still set on protecting me, even attempting to negotiate with Xie Yan to spare me from punishment.

"He will face his own punishment."

As Xie Yan spoke, his long, cold phoenix eyes fixed intently on me. His pale, dull pupils suddenly flickered with interest as his gaze leisurely drifted to my lips, then slowly traced down to my neck, like a hawk patrolling its domain, holding the life of a fragile rabbit in its talons.

Hearing this, Huai Xin’s face fell at once. He turned to look at me again and again, sighing deeply before muttering under his breath, "It’s not even that big of a fault. Why must you be so harsh on our young master?"

After hesitating for a long while, he slowly walked to the central chess table, took a black piece from the chess basket, and pinched it between his index and ring fingers. With clear impatience, he rapped it sharply against the table multiple times before looking up to explain to Xie Yan.

"My young master developed this bad habit when he first learned chess as a child. No matter how many times his teacher smacked his palms, he couldn’t break it. Later, our master felt sorry for him and overlooked this flaw."

"If my young master truly damaged Your Highness’s chess pieces today, we will compensate for them. May I ask which set of pieces was damaged? Huai Xin will deliver a new set to Your Highness shortly."

"My young master’s health has always been delicate. A mere gust of cold wind can make him seriously ill. He truly cannot bear the slightest hardship. I beg Your Highness to show mercy and forgive him this once."

"Or if Your Highness must punish someone, let it fall on Huai Xin. I am not as delicate as my young master—my hide is tough and thick, and I can withstand beatings. Let me take the punishment in his place."

My heart, which had been racing with every move Huai Xin made, slowly settled back into place. Even the corners of my lips couldn’t help but curl upward into a joyful smile.

It turns out that Chou Yunqing, who always seemed so gentle and mild-mannered, also had such an unexpected side—his chess manners were just as poor as mine since childhood. It was truly astonishing and stunning.

I could hardly contain my exhilaration and couldn't resist turning to glance provocatively at Xie Yan's expression. Sure enough, his jade-like handsome face showed frustrated fury, his brow furrowed with seething rage. His cold, pale, slender fingers gripped the porcelain cup so tightly that he shattered it instantly.

Even then, he still wouldn’t let go. The broken shards pierced deep into the flesh of his palm. If it were me from before, the pain would have brought me to tears instantly.

But Xie Yan showed no reaction. He seemed utterly devastated by Huai Xin's words, as if he couldn't even feel the pain in his hand. He didn't even flinch.

The truth conveyed in Huai Xin's words—that Chou Yunqing was not Feng Jiuyue—shattered Xie Yan's composure in an instant.

Now, he resembled a jade Buddha cruelly deceived by its devotees, abandoned in a desolate temple. His last glimmer of hope had been torn to pieces in a moment, leaving him indifferent to the vultures feasting on his flesh.

Xie Yan, so you’ve finally had your comeuppance.

I couldn’t help but feel a surge of triumph, fierce joy surged through my heart. Thinking back to all the times since we first met, I had never once bested him.

When he first saved my life, I offered him my sincere, foolish love. Later, he used me to frame my father, and I chose to die a pitiful death at home. Even in today’s game, I was certain I would lose and had prepared to take him down with me, fighting to the bitter end.

But heaven showed me mercy, granting me a sliver of hope in this moment, allowing a bright flower to bloom even in the barren desert of despair.

As I was lost in these thoughts, I suddenly heard Huai Xin exclaim in surprise, "Hm?" He was staring intently at the chessboard, puzzled, and asked, "Isn’t this the Exquisite Chess Puzzle His Highness the Crown Prince created years ago?"

"When this puzzle first came out, my young master was utterly obsessed. He hardly ate or slept, spending half a year before finally solving it."

"Now that my young master has the honor of playing against His Highness, it fulfills a wish he’s held for years."

As he spoke, Huai Xin turned to me with a guileless, sincere smile. From that genuine expression, I could tell he was truly happy for Chou Yunqing.

Xie Yan’s chess puzzle was created the year we met. Back then, I was still alive, foolishly entangled with Xie Yan day and night, suffering the pains of love. Meanwhile, Chou Yunqing was living carefreely in distant Yuanzhou, even spending half a year diligently solving Xie Yan’s puzzle. The thought was both ironic and touching.

Ironic because, even without having met Xie Yan in person, Chou Yunqing was already captivated by his chess skills, planting the seeds of admiration long ago.

Touching because Huai Xin’s words had just bluntly revealed to Xie Yan that Chou Yunqing was not Feng Jiuyue. Though they looked nearly identical, they were not the same person. They had lived in separate worlds without crossing paths, yet in the same timeline, their lives briefly intersected because of Xie Yan’s Exquisite Chess Puzzle.

"My young master was humble. Even after solving this nationally renowned puzzle, he had no interest in boasting. He only discussed it with his chess teacher, saying it took him half a year to solve His Highness’s Exquisite Chess Puzzle and that his skills were still lacking, so he needed to work harder."

Once Huai Xin started praising his master, he couldn’t stop—like a poor farmer who painstakingly raised a top scholar, seizing every opportunity to boast about how outstanding and accomplished his child was.

But not everyone appreciated Huai Xin’s enthusiasm. Take Xie Yan, for example—he was never one for kindness to begin with, and now he seemed like a tiger whose whiskers had been tugged, bristling with anger.

Almost as soon as Huai Xin finished speaking, Xie Yan stood up. His tall figure blocked the flickering candlelight as he expressionlessly pulled the remaining shards from his palm and hurled them to the ground. He stretched out his arm, pointing toward the door, his voice like thunder, "Get out."

Blood was still gushing from his hand. Finally noticing it, he brought his bloodied hand to his thin lips, using his crimson tongue to carefully lick the blood, drawing the droplets into his mouth. The light in his eyes extinguished, his breathing heavy and rapid, like a defeated beast licking its wounds in a corner after a fierce fight.

I had intended to mock him maliciously, but I was caught off guard by the gaze he lifted. His eyes glistened with misty tears, the sorrow within them transforming into shattered pearls that fell to the ground.

When Huai Xin and I left, he still seemed shaken. It wasn’t until we returned to our quarters that he regained his composure, leaning in to whisper to me, "Young Master, His Highness seemed utterly heartbroken earlier."