Palace Coup 58

Xie Miaoxuan walked extremely slowly. Dressed in a white robe, with a waist as slender as silk and her hair cascading loosely behind her, she drifted gracefully into the hall from the outside.

Upon reaching the center of the hall and seeing the room full of Xie clan elders, her eyes turned slightly red, and with a pale face, she attempted to squat down to pay her respects. Yet the moment she moved, she almost collapsed entirely, and it was only by the narrowest of margins that Xie Yuanju managed to steady her.

"My lady, ever since the head of the family passed away, you fell ill as well, and you were even urged incessantly by Clan Leader Xie to travel north without a moment's rest until your health was utterly broken. Then you suffered another fright last time. The physician explicitly stated that you must recuperate properly. The elders all cherish their younger generation and would never force you in your sickly state to perform such grand courtesies..."

Xie Miaoxuan had long since stripped away her lavish attire. To feign illness, she wore only a plain-colored long gown this time, walking with slight breaths as if she had just received the news and rushed over. Her three-thousand strands of dark hair were completely unadorned, her complexion ashen, and her lips so pale they blended seamlessly with her skin.

At a single glance, she looked precisely like someone recovering from a severe illness.

"Yet the elders are all waiting for my greeting."

Her voice was sweet and soft, drifting like the wind into Xun Cheng's heart.

As he watched the young maiden drifting gracefully in from the outside, her hair brushing against the bridge of her high-pudding nose, her fox-like eyes shining like glazed beads, that single glance she cast his way was exceptionally cold and detached, yet he felt as though a current had run through his entire body.

The tip of her foot seemed to step right into his eyes.

And from his eyes, it stepped into his heart.

A greed unlike anything he had ever known welled up from the depths of his soul.

He must have her.

His eyes narrowed slowly in a dangerous arc.

Xie Yuan supported Xie Miaoxuan as she stood in the hall, soothing her gently, "Clan Leader Xie is an elder; naturally, he cherishes the younger generation. With your health still unrecovered, it is already remarkable that you forced yourself out to see people. The elders certainly would not put on the airs of seniors and cause you to expend your life force to perform this junior etiquette."

Xie Yuan found these words grating to the extreme, as though they were slapping his face and accusing him of lacking benevolence as an elder.

Just what kind of medicine was Xie Miaoxuan selling in her gourd, putting on this act?

Yet if she only now understood the need to show weakness, it was far too late.

He unceremoniously exposed her, "It is far too late to start playing your little drama now. What? Seeing the Imperial Guard surrounding the place has frightened you? Weren't you the one who could single-handedly lead a dozen men to charge and slaughter a hundred? Weren't you the one who hurled a long saber to kill me? Where is your bold spirit now?"

Xie Miaoxuan looked at Xie Yuanju in a daze. He shook his head at her, his eyes carrying an identical expression of bewilderment.

Xie Miaoxuan asked with a puzzled air, "Did Clan Leader Xie forget to take his medicine before leaving the house? What on earth are you talking about? I cannot understand a single word."

With a posture as delicate as a weeping willow in the wind, she took out a silk handkerchief to wipe away sweat that did not exist. "A delicate maiden like me—how could I possibly hurl a flying dagger to injure you? Leaving aside the fact that I lack the sharp eyesight to aim accurately, even if I possessed it, just look at me: does this look like someone with that kind of strength?"

"Let alone the dozen or so retainers you claim pressed the attack and overwhelmed a hundred men! Does that not imply every single one of them could fight ten? To find even one such person would be difficult, let alone a dozen or more! Clan Leader Xie speaks utter nonsense without any bottom line, casually slandering me with empty teeth. I believe everyone seated here is not as foolish as you; such obvious lies shatter at the slightest poke."

Her eyes grew moist, the corners reddening as she let out a soft sob, looking utterly unable to bear the grievance.

"Why must you slander me so indiscriminately without distinguishing right from wrong? After all, my father was your own biological younger brother. Could it be that he, too, was subjected to such slanders by you since childhood?"

She raised her handkerchief to dab at the corners of her eyes, the naked mockery within her gaze positioned so Xie Yuan could see it clearly.

"You!"

Xie Yuan had never expected that Xie Miaoxuan could counter-attack even at a time like this.

She truly refused to shed a tear until she saw the coffin.

"Such a sharp tongue! Your denials are completely useless. I have human witnesses! Your eldest aunt and sisters all witnessed your fierce bravery with a saber in hand. Since you clearly possess supreme martial arts, it is far too late to pretend to be weak and childish now."

"Yuanju, did you see me performing any gravity-defying feats as Clan Leader Xie claims?"

He cooperated by shaking his head. "No."

"See? None of my people saw it." Xie Miaoxuan said with aggrieved grievance, "Clan Leader Xie claims that Eldest Madam Xie and Xie Miaoxuan are witnesses, but they are your family; naturally, they would speak on your behalf. I fear that if you claimed feces were fragrant, they would lean in to sniff and agree that you were right."

Xie Yuan shouted, "Impudent! At the time, I brought over a hundred retainers! Those men are witnesses as well!"

Xie Miaoxuan widened her pair of fox-like eyes, the clarity in them filled with visible disbelief. She exaggeratedly covered her mouth and gasped, "Over a hundred men! Where are they, then? Call them out to confront me. Otherwise, everyone seated here has heard Clan Leader Xie's slander, and you must all testify to my innocence."

Xie Yuan was so angered by Xie Miaoxuan's web of sophistry that his soul nearly ascended to the heavens, and he waited for Xun Cheng to speak.

Only Xie Miaohan noticed that Xun Cheng's gaze had been lingering on Xie Miaoxuan the entire time. Unable to restrain herself, she blurted out, "The retainers my father brought last time were clearly all snatched away by you! Where on earth can my father find people to bring out and confront you?"

"What? You say I, by myself—" Xie Miaoxuan looked as though she had been frightened, pointing at the tip of her own nose and blinking her eyes to appear even more innocent, "—a delicate lady whose shoulders cannot carry a burden and whose hands cannot lift a heavy weight, snatched over a hundred retainers? This... no person of sound mind could ever believe such a tale."

"Your First House is making such false accusations against me right in front of the clan elders. Will the elders please uphold justice for me?"

A flame flickered in the depths of Xie Miaohan's eyes as well. "Do you dare call your maid Cui'er out to confront you? That scoundrel Xie Qi clearly left you immense wealth, which is why you were able to train every single retainer left to you into a supreme martial artist. Call her out; she can testify to all of this."

"This... sister, what are you saying again? Neither what you nor Clan Leader Xie is saying makes any sense to me."

Xie Miaoxuan sighed helplessly.

"Did your First House not send people to welcome me north this trip? When did my father ever leave behind immense wealth? When he left the Xie clan alone, the entire clan knew he departed with clean hands, without even a single tael of silver on his person. Even if he later managed things diligently and tried his utmost, it was barely enough to raise me into adulthood. And as for Cui'er—you ask her to testify? She was long ago bought off by you! No wonder her whereabouts have always been so abnormal lately."

Xie Miaoxuan widened her eyes in shock, covering her mouth with trembling hands as the tears that had long hung in her eyes finally spilled over.

"I understand now! It turns out you welcomed me to the capital not because you pitied my lonely and helpless state, but because you coveted that so-called family fortune? Even my personal maid has been co-opted by you!"

Xie Yuan could no longer argue her down, thoroughly enraged by her performance. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

From the moment Xie Miaoxuan arrived, supported by Eldest Madam Xie, he had walked right up in front of her. With this sudden strike, Xie Miaoxuan had no way to dodge it whatsoever.

Though, if she could dodge it, that would be even better.

Let's see how long this ostentatious Xie Miaoxuan could keep up her frail little act.