Chapter 856: Chapter 596 The Grand Finale (Six)_3
Feng Jingteng looked at his cold and piercing gaze, and suddenly seemed to understand something. Slowly, he knelt down and sighed heavily.
"I understand everything, Your Majesty’s efforts are solely for rescuing Shi’er Niang..."
Xiao Cheng responded with a mere hum, but it was relatively polite.
"Minister Feng, go back and take good care of yourself. If that day comes, I will still have use for you."
Feng Jingteng became excited at these words.
Did this mean if Feng Yun returned, he would be restored to his position?
Being the Emperor’s father-in-law was certain after all.
He was, in truth, not so attached to Lady Chen, but after so many years together as husband and wife, ignoring her would be unreasonable.
Having received Xiao Cheng’s promise, a glimmer of light appeared in his brows and eyes.
As he prepared to leave, he thought about his daughter who had been waiting outside for so long.
"Your Majesty, I still have one more request." Feng Jingteng summoned all his courage and awkwardly smiled, "Consort Xian has been kneeling since morning, all through the day. Why not hear what she wishes to say?"
Xiao Cheng hesitated for a moment before signaling Jixiang with a glance.
"Summon Consort Xian."
Jixiang exhaled in relief, "Understood."
-
Feng Ying entered the chamber and subconsciously lowered her head, paying her respects to Xiao Cheng before silently kneeling.
"This humble wife greets Your Majesty..."
The wide veil hat and light silk draped over her brows and eyes, leaving only a glimpse of her pale and slender neck.
Xiao Cheng’s gaze turned heavy, "Consort Xian, you have greatly disappointed me."
Feng Ying froze slightly.
She had not yet spoken, but her throat was already choked with emotion.
The man before her was her husband, and yet, she had not seen him for a very, very long time before today.
To have a husband she could not even meet, and now—he said he was disappointed in her.
When Xiao Cheng saw her silence, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Consort Xian, I am very busy. If you have nothing to say, leave."
His voice was low, his face full of impatience.
Feng Ying’s veil trembled lightly upon her head, the eyes beneath the silk cold and sharp.
"Why does Your Majesty need to be so indifferent?"
After pausing for a moment, she bitterly smiled, "In this lifetime, I owe you nothing. Calculating it all, it is Your Majesty who owes me."
Xiao Cheng’s expression changed abruptly, "How dare you!"
In front of him, Feng Ying had always been a noble lady of a prestigious family, graceful in her demeanor, and eternally poised regardless of circumstance—even if her beauty had been marred, she never allowed her aura to falter.
But today, perhaps because she had knelt outside for too long or because the sun had addled her mind—her words grew bold, her tone filled with indignation, and her speech became uncharacteristically sharp.
"My Feng Family has been loyal to Your Majesty, never once disloyal. My uncle died a wrongful death, not because he betrayed the Imperial Court, but simply because Your Majesty... needed to eradicate the loyal ministers who helped you ascend the throne in order to consolidate power."
"Consort Xian." Xiao Cheng’s voice turned icy, "Have you gone mad?"
Tears rolled from Feng Ying’s eyes, "I am not mad. The downfall of my family, the indifference of my husband—none of this drove me mad. How could my mother’s imprisonment suddenly make me lose my sanity?"
Xiao Cheng’s lips pressed into a tight line.
"Have you finished speaking? Consort Xian, I have already shown you leniency. Do not be ungrateful."
Feng Ying laughed, laughed until her tears fell again.
"I have admired Your Majesty for so many years, without ever committing a great fault, yet I do not understand why I have ended up like this... Your Majesty, where is my Xiao San brother now? Do you know? I wish to find him and share my grievances..."
Xiao Cheng’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Feng Ying continued, "Your Majesty, loving someone, yearning for them and never receiving—it’s so bitter, truly bitter... that clawing pain deep within, Your Majesty, have you ever felt it?"
Xiao Cheng did not respond.
His face showed a faint flicker of emotion.
To yearn and never receive—indeed, it was bitter.
As Feng Ying looked at his face devoid of any trace of feeling, tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
"In this life, I will never find a true love."
As her words fell, she suddenly bowed deeply, her forehead touching the ground as she sobbed and choked on her cry, "If that’s so, I beg Your Majesty to grant me a path of survival."
Xiao Cheng: "What are you saying?"
"I beg Your Majesty’s permission to leave the palace, become a nun, and find a quiet refuge to end this miserable life."
She slowly kowtowed.
Each bow seemed to sever a part of her emotions, "Feng Ying of the Feng Family pleads to leave the palace, from this day forward parting ways with Your Majesty without resentment or attachment, no longer bound as husband and wife."
Xiao Cheng was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Granted."
That single word was devoid of emotion.
Feng Ying’s tears fell like a string of broken pearls, streaming down her face.
So truly, he had never regarded her as a wife.
Her departure, her presence—it mattered not to him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy."
Feng Ying glanced at the tea on the desk before him and slowly moved closer, kneeling upright and tilting her head upward to say:
"We were husband and wife once—today, let us drink a cup of farewell wine."
Xiao Cheng said nothing.
Feng Ying raised a sleeve and poured two cups to the brim.
Then, under Xiao Cheng’s indifferent gaze, she picked up her cup.
"Xiao San brother... in this life... never again."
She lifted her sleeve high and slowly drank the bitter wine to the last drop. Then kneeling on the ground, she placed her hands flat before her and performed a solemn farewell bow to Xiao Cheng, remaining there and refusing to lift her head.
Xiao Cheng gazed at her briefly, then picked up his cup and drank it all in one go.
