CHAPTER 14

Inside the courtyard, as Lian Sheng and Yi Huan entered, Yi Qiancheng was reading a letter. Upon their arrival, his gaze shifted slightly, and he calmly folded the letter and slipped it back into its envelope.

Lian Sheng glanced at the letter, feeling a strong urge to take a closer look.

She had a premonition that the letter must have something to do with the current situation in Yingdong!

But Lian Sheng forced herself to look away, not wanting to reveal her curiosity too blatantly. She knew Yi Qiancheng couldn’t possibly ignore Yingdong entirely. After marrying her, he must have ulterior motives. If he merely hated and despised her, why had he so easily agreed to accompany her back home before?

Perhaps because Yi Huan and Fu Chengyu were present, Yi Qiancheng didn’t make things difficult for Lian Sheng. He took the medicine bowl and drank it all in one go. He wasn’t worried about Lian Sheng poisoning him; after all, at this moment, she needed him more than anyone else.

“Fu Chengyu,” Yi Qiancheng called.

Fu Chengyu turned his gaze toward him, responding with a casual “Hmm” while staring at Yi Qiancheng.

“I thought you weren’t returning until next year.”

“That was the original plan.” Fu Chengyu chuckled lightly. “But I heard you got married to a new wife, so I rushed back to take a look.”

Yi Qiancheng’s lips curled slightly, his gaze sweeping over Fu Chengyu.

“You’ve seen her now. Since Master Fu Yi is waiting for you at home, you can leave.”

“General, you’re truly heartless. Now that my task is complete, I’m of no use to you, and you want to kick me out immediately.”

Lian Sheng put down the empty medicine bowl Yi Qiancheng handed back, silently observing the interaction. It seemed that these two men didn’t get along very well. Yi Qiancheng didn’t treat Fu Chengyu as a subordinate, and Fu Chengyu’s attitude wasn’t exactly deferential toward Yi Qiancheng either.

The two of them didn’t seem like friends, yet there wasn’t a hostile atmosphere between them either. It was peculiar.

Apparently, things in Shaji weren’t as straightforward as they appeared on the surface. With Fu Chengyu’s return, certain changes within Shaji were bound to unfold.

And when Yi Qiancheng said, “Master Fu Yi is waiting for you at home,” didn’t that mean Fu Chengyu was Fu Yi’s son?

Lian Sheng had been trying to meet Master Fu Yi but hadn’t been able to. Now, upon realizing Fu Chengyu was his son, she felt a bit unsettled. While Master Fu Yi seemed loyal and devoted, Fu Chengyu’s words and demeanor suggested he was quite different from his father.

Perhaps, Fu Chengyu didn’t hold Yi Qiancheng in high regard at all.

“Since the general doesn’t welcome me, there’s no point in staying. Instead,” his gaze swept across everyone in the room, lingering briefly on Yi Huan before moving away, “why don’t the young lady escort me out?”

Yi Qiancheng’s expression turned slightly cold but said nothing. Yi Huan nodded.

“This way, Master Fu.”

Yi Qiancheng’s gaze darkened momentarily, but he refrained from commenting further. Fu Chengyu followed Yi Huan out of the room.

Lian Sheng blinked, quickly catching on. The way Fu Chengyu looked at Yi Huan was… odd.

But this wasn’t something she needed to worry about for now. Sitting beside Yi Qiancheng, she met his disapproving gaze and said, “Husband, does your previous promise to accompany me back to my family still hold?”

With her big, expectant eyes on him, Yi Qiancheng shifted his gaze to the window. The word he was about to utter, “Yes,” took a detour and turned into: “I don’t remember.”

Lian Sheng’s eyes widened in shock, astonished by his shamelessness.

“Then… can you promise me again now?”

“I’m injured. I don’t want to go.”

“…” She truly didn’t know how to persuade an injured man to embark on a long journey.

“How about we go when you’re feeling better?” She bit her lip. “This is my first time getting married. Returning to my family is tradition.”

“Oh? First time? Are you planning on having a second?” His gaze suddenly shifted back to her, sharp and chilling.

“No, no! My life belongs to my husband, and my death will too. I only love you.”

He suppressed the strange and inexplicable sense of joy in his heart, deliberately keeping his face stern. “I don’t lack people around me, but I do happen to be short of a ghost.”

“...”

Ha, her husband really deserved a beating.

“But for now, Lian Sheng only wants to be her husband’s woman.” Lian Sheng sighed silently in her heart. Since arriving in Shaji, her skin had thickened immeasurably. Saying such things no longer felt like a challenge.

Yi Qiancheng reclined lazily, no longer looking at her. “I’m going to sleep. We’ll talk about returning to your family after I wake up.”

Lian Sheng’s eyes lit up, and a smile played at her lips. “Alright! Then I’ll stay here and watch over you.”

So she could discuss it with him the moment he woke up.

Yi Qiancheng closed his eyes, hiding all the emotions in them. He didn’t insist on sending her away, simply drifting off to sleep.

Lian Sheng waited until his breathing grew steady and even, but Yi Huan never came back. She started to feel a bit worried—could something have happened to Yi Huan? Fu Chengyu didn’t seem like he had good intentions.

But then she thought again. Since Yi Qiancheng had allowed Yi Huan to see Fu Chengyu off, it must mean he was certain Yi Huan wouldn’t be in any danger. Her concern was probably unnecessary.

Lian Sheng was very tired. Her body still ached, but she didn’t want to falter at a critical time like this.

Her gaze landed on the bedside table, where the letter Yi Qiancheng had been reading earlier lay.

Her heartbeat quickened, and her breathing hitched for a moment.

Yi Qiancheng was asleep now. If she took a quick look, he wouldn’t know.

It was an enormous temptation. That letter most likely contained news about Yingdong, which she had been desperately wanting to know.

Her father, brother, the townspeople, the soldiers—everything about them.

It was an irresistible lure.

Lian Sheng gritted her teeth and carefully reached for the letter. She told herself that if she saw even a single sentence unrelated to Yingdong, she would put it back immediately.

She glanced at Yi Qiancheng.

He was sound asleep, showing no signs of waking.

Lian Sheng cautiously unfolded the letter and opened it—

“Yingdong’s commander-in-chief, Lian Qi, launched an offensive against Xiqiang, achieving a great victory and burning half of Xiqiang’s food supplies. City Lord Lian has been sending frequent letters to the imperial capital, questioning their deployment...”

“So, did you see enough?” Yi Qiancheng’s cold voice suddenly cut through the silence beside her.

Lian Sheng’s hands shook, nearly dropping the letter. She looked up and met the man’s sharp gaze.

His eyes were clear, filled with smug mockery, without the slightest hint of sleepiness!

He had deliberately lured her into opening the letter!

…

Yi Huan had escorted Fu Chengyu to the edge of Yi Qiancheng’s courtyard before stopping.

“You shouldn’t have come back.” She looked up at him, her eyes calm and her voice steady.

Fu Chengyu wanted to laugh, but found he couldn’t.

“What, don’t want to see me? Aren’t you pretending not to know me? And now, what’s with this commanding tone?”

“I’m not commanding you. I’m simply stating the truth. Staying in Fengmu would be best for you,” Yi Huan said softly, furrowing her brows ever so slightly. Her delicate features made even a frown look beautiful.

Fu Chengyu suddenly stepped closer, his presence oppressive. “Who do you think you are? A year ago, I might have been swayed by you, but not anymore. Not now, not ever.”

Yi Huan felt uneasy under the intensity of his approach and unconsciously stepped back.

Truthfully, she didn’t want to hear Fu Chengyu mention the past.

Watching her retreat, Fu Chengyu let out a cold, bitter laugh. “Yes, just like that. Stay away from me. Don’t get too close, or who knows? I might lose my mind one day and do something to you again.”

He added, self-deprecatingly, “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Yi Huan clenched her fists. His words pulled her back to that chaotic, bewildering night a year ago.

Her fragile heart felt uneasy, and she adjusted her breathing to avoid being dragged into memories by him.

She had grown up with Fu Chengyu, and she knew that this display of sharpness was just his way of masking his vulnerability.

When Fu Chengyu truly feared nothing, he would always be smiling.

Yi Huan couldn’t help but study him. The man before her hadn’t changed in a year. His appearance had matured slightly, perhaps grown a bit taller. But inside, he was still the same paranoid, ruthless man.

The odd thing was, she had lived in relative harmony with someone like him for many years.

Perhaps it was because she was outwardly fragile, while Fu Chengyu was inwardly sensitive and fragile.

As a result, he never dared to act too aggressively toward her, and she never dared to provoke him. Except for one time—a year ago—when she urged him to leave Shaji and go to Fengmu.

Now that he had returned, Yi Huan decided not to provoke him further.

She calmed herself and, trying to sound like the old friend she once was, gently asked, “Did you live well in Fengmu?”

“If I say I didn’t, would you feel guilty? Would you pity me, even a little?”

Yi Huan pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry.”

“Heh, those two words again. Yi Huan, the words I hate most are ‘I’m sorry.’ Don’t put on that self-sacrificing face for me. You’ve always known what I want!”

But she had always refused to give it to him.

Apart from apologizing, Yi Huan really didn’t know what else to say.

She had come down the mountain this time, never expecting to see Fu Chengyu again. Behind her calm exterior, she was flustered.

She had never known how to face Fu Chengyu—not before, and certainly not now.

It seemed that no matter what she did in front of him, it was always wrong.

Her thoughts turned over and over in her mind, but in the end, all she could say was one sentence.

“Please don’t hurt my brother.”

The emotions in Fu Chengyu’s eyes shattered inch by inch. Her simple words were like the sharpest blade in the world, easily cutting through his feathers.

“I won’t,” he heard himself say.

A year ago, he wouldn’t have.
A year later, he still wouldn’t.

Because you’re here.

Author’s Note: Mini-Theater

Years later—

Two men reminisced about their past.

Fu Chengyu: Don’t you think our experiences are quite similar?

Yi Qiancheng (with a cold face): I don’t think so.

Fu Chengyu (smiling): They’re the same, the same! Except I got slapped in the face first, then tasted sweetness, while you had the order reversed.