Jiang Xingyan returned to her tent, utterly dejected.
Yun Chunfeng wasn’t there—only Huo Ci.
She stared blankly at his flustered, at-a-loss expression.
Not saying a word.
A wave of intense foreboding rose in Huo Ci’s heart.
Just half an hour ago, Yun Chunfeng had been gleefully showing off to him:
“Xin Zhui is badly injured—the young lady must be worried sick.
This humble one will go deliver some top-quality medicine to her right away. I guarantee it’ll heal Xin Zhui with one dose and put the young lady’s mind at ease.”
Huo Ci had subconsciously curled his lip, silently grumbling that the man was just showing off like a peacock, flattering himself for no reason.
Xin Zhui had endured far worse than a few lashings. Since when did she become so delicate?
But now, only A Yan had returned alone.
And her expression was off—very off.
“A Yan, you—”
Jiang Xingyan cut him off:
“Back then, when you said you’d be good to me for my whole life… did you really mean it?”
Thump.
Huo Ci’s heart skipped a beat. He froze on the spot.
Wait—how did he get dragged into this?
He cautiously nodded.
Even though that promise had been part of Old Master Jiang’s condition for helping him, it had also been a hope he’d never dared to dream of.
Jiang Xingyan looked at him with hollow, empty eyes.
Huo Ci guiltily dropped his gaze, bracing himself to be questioned about why he hadn’t kept his word.
But she didn’t ask.
“After that, I kept relying on you to do everything for me. Letter after letter, begging for your affection.
Did you ever get tired of it?”
Huo Ci wanted to pound his chest and say, “No, I didn’t!”
But in the end, he wasn’t that shameless.
To be fair, back before they returned to the capital, Jiang Xingyan’s girlish, clinging ways had charmed him completely.
Whatever she asked for, he gave.
But in the end, his heart was never really set on romance.
After returning from Jiangnan, he gradually stepped back into the center of power, taking on the heavy responsibility of securing a future for the people of the Western Zhou.
And A Yan? She was still that same young woman who needed to be doted on.
Over time, resentment began to grow in his heart.
He couldn’t stand that she was terrified of even a little kitten, insisting he rush back from the military camp to chase it away.
He also couldn’t understand how she could be so needy all day long.
He was only drilling troops at camp—and yet she’d cry her eyes out until they were swollen red.
It even earned him criticism from Old Master Jiang.
He had his own ambitions and vendettas. Love was something he only noticed now and then, when the mood struck.
He knew it was wrong.
Old Master Jiang had given him a new lease on life—how could he be so ungrateful?
He kept suppressing his impatience, privately thinking that A Yan was just lacking a sense of security after moving from Jiangnan to the capital.
Surely, after they married, she wouldn’t overthink things like that anymore?
Well, everyone knows what happened next.
Jiang Xingyan stopped relying on Huo Ci for anything.
She stopped pinning her hopes on anyone at all.
She would never again so easily give her whole heart to another person.
Only now did Huo Ci realize how much he missed the A Yan of those days.
The A Yan whose eyes and heart were filled with only him.
She’d wrap her arms around his and say in that soft, whiny voice: “A Ci, go chase that kitten away—I’m so scared! But be gentle, don’t frighten it. It’s innocent too, you know~”
Jiang Xingyan watched the tears streaming down Huo Ci’s face and understood what he couldn’t bring himself to say.
“Yeah… it does get annoying, doesn’t it.”
“N-No, that’s not it. I’m the jerk. I’m the one without the good fortune, the one who didn’t know how to cherish you.
A Yan is wonderful—truly wonderful.
Blame me. Blame my blind eyes and my foolish heart. My stupid loyalty and filial piety. Blame me for not knowing what’s good for me.
Yun Chunfeng… he’s not like me.
He only has you, A Yan.”
Huo Ci had never imagined that a day would come when he’d speak well of Yun Chunfeng.
Especially not in front of A Yan.
His heart felt like it was being sliced back and forth by the dullest blade, then stabbed at repeatedly without being able to pierce through.
All that remained was the sharpest tip, driven deep into the softest part of his heart, twisting relentlessly.
He just wanted to make A Yan feel a little better.
“He only has me, so he treats me this well.
But if he had other things on his mind… he’d find me just as superfluous as you did, right?”
Huo Ci took a big step forward, standing firm in front of Jiang Xingyan for the first time.
“He wouldn’t!”
Jiang Xingyan was startled.
The resolute look in his eyes baffled her.
Given their history, shouldn’t he be kicking Yun Chunfeng while he was down?
Why was he singing Yun’s praises instead?
Huo Ci took a deep breath, momentarily suppressing the pain that spread through his entire body with every breath. He spoke slowly, deliberately:
“Anyone else might. But he wouldn’t.
If he valued anything more than he values A Yan, he wouldn’t have given up everything just to avenge you.
In the past life, when he slaughtered my entire family, even when the heavens themselves warned him, he never backed down an inch.
I don’t know what price he paid in the end.
But I do know this—he is the one person in this world who would never betray A Yan, never let her suffer the slightest wrong.”
Huo Ci looked at Jiang Xingyan with pitiful, pleading eyes—so tangible they might as well have been solid.
As if to say: As long as A Yan is happy, he would sing anyone’s praises.
Jiang Xingyan felt her face grow inexplicably warm.
But then she remembered Yun Chunfeng walking away from her, his back disappearing into the distance, and she let out a stubborn hmph.
“But he left me! He just walked away!”
WHOOSH!
A figure flashed at the entrance of the tent. A broad-robed silhouette suddenly dropped down from above, swinging back and forth outside.
Qiu Yan’s frantic voice rang out:
“State Preceptor, please don’t do anything rash!”