Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 905 - 880: Trust
At first, Marshal Fang was provoked by Xie Jue, and then angered by Fang Chuning. If he were not steady, he might have fainted. Even with amnesia, his eldest son remained defiant and unwilling to submit to anyone. He could see that Fang Chuning’s words were not mere perfunctory statements; he indeed trusted no one, not his father nor Xie Jue. He believed only in what he deemed true.
The affair between him and Xie Jue had spread across the land, and now the rumors in Jiangnan never ceased. Whether it was him or the soldiers under his command hearing such hearsay, it was never pleasant. Marshal Fang could never accept his son being linked to such a scandal. All he wanted was to sever the ill-fated bond between Xie Jue and Fang Chuning with a stroke of his sword.
Xie Jue’s firm attitude was unexpected to him. He tried to persuade his amnesiac son but failed. For a moment, he was very frustrated. Everyone says blood is thicker than water. Yet, due to various reasons, he and Fang Chuning were not close from a young age. He treated Fang Chuning as one of his subordinates, not as his son. By the time he wanted to make amends, his harshness over the years had taken its toll; his son had grown up, and he no longer knew how to interact with him. Originally, Fang Chuning’s amnesia was a good opportunity to repair their father-son relationship, but unfortunately, Fang Chuning’s strong sense of suspicion was a major barrier; he was cautious and skeptical of everything. Although he reluctantly believed that this was his father, there was no father-son rapport or closeness that should have existed. Marshal Fang couldn’t force it. Moreover, being busy with official duties meant he couldn’t visit Lu Liu Villa every day to foster feelings with Fang Chuning. Their relationship was maintained just lukewarm.
"Father, since you’re so busy with business, don’t worry about my affairs. I have my limits, and he won’t harm me. With so many people at Lu Liu Villa, he can’t commit murder or arson. In a few days, when he finds it dull, he will naturally leave." Fang Chuning originally hoped for Xie Jue to leave early, and now he was eagerly awaiting it. However, Marshal Fang’s overly strange behavior had sparked his rebellious psychology, and instead, he didn’t want Xie Jue to leave so soon. He wanted to clarify their relationship and why their clashes were so intense. Xie Tingfeng seemed to know his father.
"Fang Tunan, honestly speaking, what do you truly think of Xie Tingfeng?" Marshal Fang couldn’t resist probing.
"Raised in privilege, a noble son borne of a distinguished family, untouched by the common world, yet that’s just surface-level. He’s always seemed like a person with a story. Although eccentric, he’s not annoying." Even though he was kicked into the lake, while he was furious at that moment, he soon forgot about it.
Seeing Fang Chuning’s indifference, Marshal Fang had a bad premonition. To this day, he couldn’t accept that Fang Chuning and Xie Jue actually had feelings for each other. Were it not for Xie Jue pursuing him to Jiangnan and expressing his intentions in front of him, he would have deluded himself into thinking it was indeed the wicked people of Sannan spreading false rumors, or perhaps an unrequited love on his son’s part. He thought they were merely closer than the average brothers, having grown up together and braved the battlefield together, sharing life and death situations, which made their bond stronger than most. How could there be romantic love between them? Yet, unexpectedly, it was indeed true.
"A person who approaches you without reason must have an agenda, if not for wealth, then for..." Marshal Fang gritted his teeth, and Fang Chuning understood his concerns.
"Father, you’re really worrying over nothing. I swear I will never have any entanglements with him. Until I regain my memories, I won’t marry or have children. Give it up." Fang Chuning found his father’s attitude too strange. Since he woke up, he’d been constantly urged to marry and have children on the premise that he was no longer young and should settle down. But with his memory blank, how could he settle down? In any case, he simply couldn’t.
"Fine, remember your words. I’ll give you three days. After three days, I will return. I hope by then you will have sent Xie Tingfeng away." Marshal Fang left in a huff, knowing Fang Chuning’s temperament. The more he forced him, the more rebellious he became. Marshal Fang didn’t want past scenarios to repeat, so he had to suppress his temper and compromise. But he wouldn’t compromise for long. Regarding Xie Jue and Fang Chuning, he couldn’t accept it, nor could Mrs. Fang. No one wanted their son to live the rest of his life under the scorn of others.
Xie Jue also knew that Marshal Fang had left, feeling slightly at ease. It was painful to be rebellious in front of the Marshal. Actually, Xie Jue didn’t want to strain relations with him, as such tension was not beneficial to Fang Chuning. Fang Chuning had always longed for the approval of his father and commander. Xie Jue could understand the humility with which Fang Chuning had once cautiously approached Marshal Fang. He never interfered with the way they interacted with each other as father and son, nor did he want them to break apart because of him.
He loved that man.
He hoped for his beloved’s family to be harmonious, father and son to be on good terms, and brotherly love to abound, with many friends—as opposed to being estranged because of love, leaving him solitary with only Xie Jue by his side. In his youth, he had indeed thought of such a scenario, especially that year when they looked at the seemingly reachable moon while atop the snow-capped mountains, with nothing but the howling wind and each other’s warm embrace to comfort them. He once wished they could stay there forever, just the two of them, unperturbed by the world.
Returning to Ningzhou, they never breached that implicit understanding, maintaining a romantic ambiguity. In his former vision, after seas were calm and rivers clear—after peace prevailed—the two would simply go to some picturesque place to live in seclusion, ignoring worldly affairs, living a carefree life. As they rode together from Ningzhou to the capital, this was precisely their plan.
But later, everything changed.
After losing family members, he also changed, becoming more cherished of the bonds and ties with family. This life, he might never find fulfillment again, but he hoped Fang Chuning could reconcile with Marshal Fang.
"You already knew my dad?"
Fang Chuning admired Xie Jue’s carefree attitude. Even after a quarrel, he remained unaffected, still carving a jade pendant, as if the argument had never happened.
"Ask your dad," Xie Jue said.
"I did. He’s as tight-lipped as ever."
"Then, there’s nothing to say."
"Mysterious, aren’t you. Truth is, I don’t really care." Fang Chuning leaned back smoothly against the willow tree, chewing a willow twig, defiantly. "It’s got nothing to do with me."
"You’re rather carefree. If I really had a grudge against your dad, wouldn’t you plan on avenging him?"
"I’m even skeptical about whether he’s really my dad. Why would I avenge him? Besides, whoever has grievances should settle them themselves. It can’t be that whoever picks me up expects me to avenge them, right? Until I recover my memory, I don’t believe anything said to me." Fang Chuning tilted his head, blinking at Xie Jue. "One day, I’ll remember who I am, where I come from, and where I shall return."
"Why not try to believe in me?" Xie Jue asked. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"People’s hearts are hard to fathom. Who knows what kind of thoughts someone harbors? I only trust myself."
