novelraw Chapter 437
Chapter 437
Chu Ruoyan jolted and sat bolt upright.
She saw the man with a smile on his lips. The movements of his hands did not stop, but the gaze he fixed upon her was deep and lingering.
Chu Ruoyan's spine stiffened slightly, feeling she could no longer hide it. "All of you, step down for now."
Yulu and the others retreated as ordered, leaving only the Emperor and Empress in the Kunning Palace.
She weighed her words carefully. Yan Zheng did not rush her. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the woman's soft voice finally sounded, "Yan Zheng, suppose—just suppose—I had not married you back then. What would you have done?"
The massaging pressure on her waist suddenly ceased. The man paused for a moment and asked in surprise, "Why do you ask?"
"Answer me first."
Yan Zheng thought carefully for a while. "If that were the case, I would probably have gone mad."
Chu Ruoyan sat up straight and looked at him. The man withdrew his hands and tapped his knuckles absently against the low table. "If you hadn't married me, the Old Dowager would have died, and Second Sister-in-law might not have been able to stay. The General's Manor would have collapsed and its people scattered. With only Wenjing and me left, I reckon I would have done many extreme things to protect him..."
Chu Ruoyan was stunned. "Protect him?"
"Yes. Given the Yan family's situation at the time, we would either be the butcher's knife or the meat on the chopping block. It wouldn't matter if I died, but I would have had to secure a way out for Wenjing no matter what. As for the Marquis of Pingjing's Manor, I would definitely have slaughtered them all, leaving not even a chicken or dog alive. The same goes for the Earl of Yongding's Manor, who stole the thousand-year-old wild ginseng. As for Ansheng..."
He paused. "Without you, I probably wouldn't have had the mind to investigate the truth of my birth. But by then, nothing would have mattered anyway. I would likely have feigned compliance while waiting for a chance to seize power, and then slaughtered her and the entire royal family behind her."
At this point, he actually kept one sentence hidden.
He would not have spared a single one of the Murong family's officials, either.
As if guessing it, Chu Ruoyan stared at him intently with her bright, clear eyes. "What about my father? And my uncle, Gu Sun, and the others? Would you have spared their lives?"
Yan Zheng fell silent. After a long while, he raised his hand to caress her cheek. "Ayan, it's just a hypothetical. Don't upset yourself over it."
"But what if it wasn't a hypothetical?" she blurted out, the panic returning to her eyes. The man's gaze darkened. "What exactly is wrong?"
Chu Ruoyan clenched her fingers tightly and suddenly let out a bitter smile. "Yan Zheng, I had a dream. In the dream..."
She slowly began to recount that nightmare.
From dreaming about the crushing defeat of the Yan family army at Hangu Pass, to him returning with crippled legs, the two families breaking off the engagement, her marrying someone else three years later, all the way to the day of her wedding when he massacred the entire Marquis of Pingjing's Manor and forced her father to jump off the city wall—she told him everything.
She didn't leave out a single word.
At first, Yan Zheng only felt astonished, thinking he had done something wrong to cause her to have such a nightmare...
But as she went on, every single event was practically identical to the hypothetical scenario he had just described.
His eyes gradually darkened until they became a profound abyss. He grasped the woman's slightly trembling hands, and when she said in a quivering voice that he had forced Chu Huaishan to jump off the city wall, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.
"Ayan!"
His deep voice was resolute with every word. "Have another dream, and kill the me in that dream."
Chu Ruoyan, who had been anxious, wondering if she should have spoken and how he would react if she did, was instantly stunned.
She pushed him away and looked up. "What... did you say?"
"I said, kill the me in that dream." Yan Zheng looked into her eyes, utterly serious. "The Yan Zheng of that time was already a walking corpse. Life and death did not matter to him. The only thing that made him feel alive was slaughter. So you wouldn't need to feel guilty about killing him; it would be a release for him."
Chu Ruoyan had never expected to hear such words, and her usually sharp mind went blank. "But... but you are so powerful, how could I possibly kill you..."
"I'll teach you." After Yan Zheng spoke, he took her hand and placed it over his heart. "My fatal weakness in that dream was Yan Xun. You could easily use people and matters related to him to threaten me. However, the Rong family wouldn't carry enough weight; you'd have to use Wenjing to force me to commit suicide. But you couldn't force it too hard. You could say things like you'd ensure Wenjing's safety as long as I died. If that still didn't work, you could also—"
Before he could finish, slender jade-like fingers pressed against his lips.
Chu Ruoyan looked at him in disbelief. "Do you even know what you're saying? You're exposing your fatal weakness. What if one day we fall out..."
"I know." Yan Zheng caught her fingers and said slowly, "Ayan, I just want to tell you that if one day I betray you, you can take my life at any time, just like in the dream."
It was as if she had heard a thunderclap. She couldn't utter another word; only the Emperor's cold, deep voice echoed in the hall.
"Ayan, Yan Zheng has never seen much light in this life. If my eldest brother was the first ray, then you are the last. So whatever you do is right. Even if one day we are no longer as we once were, it will definitely be me who has betrayed you, not you who has betrayed me."
Chu Ruoyan covered her mouth as tears welled up and spilled from her eyes.
This man, this Emperor, had not made any vows of eternal changelessness, yet his words were far more beautiful than that.
He told her that he would support her no matter what decision she made.
He also said that even if she wanted to leave, it must be because he had wronged her first.
Even though he had been hurt the most and betrayed the deepest by this world, he still came to her offering his whole heart...
Without reservation.
"Yan Zheng, Yan Zheng, you are truly a clever fool, hopelessly foolish..."
The young lady kissed him haphazardly, from his eyes to his lips, and then to his ear.
Flames surged in the Emperor's eyes, but he restrained himself and held her chin. "Ayan, no, you haven't given birth that long ago..."
How could Chu Ruoyan care about that? Her heart felt sour, bitter, joyful, and sweet all at once. She simply broke free and pressed closer to him.
A nimble tongue swirled at a certain spot on his throat. The man's body suddenly shuddered, and he saw the young lady with red eyes, calling him with a trembling voice: "Yan Zheng, you are worth it!"
A rush of blood shot straight to his head, and all of the Emperor's reason was burned away.
He lifted her chin and pressed down heavily, the atmosphere in the hall becoming thick and intimate.
Outside the palace doors.
Hearing the noises, Nanny Zhou could not help but frown. "Her Majesty gave birth only two months ago. Isn't the Emperor being too impatient?"
Yulu slapped herself twice. "It's all because of my big mouth. Why did I have to mention Lord Su out of nowhere! The Emperor must have heard it and gotten so jealous that he disregarded Her Majesty's health..."
The two were the Empress's trusted aides, which was why they dared to utter a few words. The other palace servants had long since buried their heads low, terrified of hearing something they shouldn't.
Not long after, the sounds inside gradually quieted down, followed by the Emperor's satiated voice: "Yin Shun, bring the water."
Yin Shun, who had already prepared the hot water, hurriedly directed people to carry it in. Yulu asked strangely, "Why was it so fast today?"
In the past, they would toss about for at least an hour or two. It seemed to have only been the time it takes to drink two cups of tea just now, right?
The worry in Nanny Zhou's eyes deepened.
The Emperor had seen Her Majesty giving birth. Could it be that he developed a psychological block because of it, and so... he is no longer capable in that regard?