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墨書 Inktalez
"What's wrong? Have you remembered? That over the years, it wasn't just him who accompanied you?"
"Why?" Hui Niang raised her eyes and looked into Yun Sheng's eyes. "If the person I met from the very beginning was you, then why was it Yun Sheng who came to propose to me at my home? If it was you, why did you just watch as I married someone else? If you knew all of this, why did you keep me in the dark and not tell me the truth? What exactly do you want?"
Hui Niang gasped for breath while pressing her hand against her chest. Yun Sheng's expression was inscrutable. He stood still for a moment, then walked up to her and gently asked, "Where's your medicine? You should have brought it with you. I remember that you have a chronic illness, and since our conversation began, you've always carried your medication."
"I want you... to tell me... why?"
Hui Niang reached out and grabbed Yun Sheng's clothing. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She didn't understand why she was crying at that moment—whether it was because of heartache, resentment, or sadness.
"Why do it this way? Tell me! Just tell me! What is the reason behind this?"
"You think I had a choice?"
Yun Sheng smiled, but it was a bitter smile.
"Since I was young, I've always been just a shadow of that person. Everyone knows there is only one child in this family, and that child is called Yun Sheng. Even though I've always been more obedient than him, more sensible, and more diligent in my studies, what does that matter? Just because I was born a little later, everything I have can only belong to him.
My parents wanted him to study and succeed; he didn't like it. So I had to swap identities with him and use his name to attend the Academy. It was fine; I enjoyed it and studied harder than any other child. But he wasn't satisfied because he feared our parents might change their minds and make him my shadow.
I could no longer attend the Academy; my parents used connections to get him an apprenticeship. He went for two days, found it tiring, and couldn't stand the looks from others. So again, I took on his name to become an apprentice. It didn't matter; I thought it was great—I could learn a lot and meet many people, plus the Shopkeeper was very nice. I wholeheartedly played the role of his shadow without caring that everything I gained would be given to him. But he still wasn't satisfied!"
Hui Niang looked into those eyes, feeling a dull ache in her heart. While suppressing a light cough, she reached out her hand to touch Yun Sheng's cheek. But her gaze involuntarily fell upon his broken body. Fear filled her eyes, and her hand dropped down.
Yun Sheng saw this, and the pain and anger in his eyes intensified even more.
"Meeting you is the most beautiful accident of my life. Hui'er, I truly want to give you happiness," Yun Sheng said, lowering his head and holding Hui Niang's hand. Hui Niang instinctively struggled a couple of times, but seeing that she couldn't break free, she allowed Yun Sheng to hold her.
"Then, when I return home, I will tell my parents and him that I have met you and that I want to marry you. I know that since I was young, I have always been his shadow, but it doesn't matter. I can take you away from the Yun Family Gathering to a faraway place. Although I haven't asked you, I know you would be willing, right?"
Hui Niang looked up at Yun Sheng's frightening and unfamiliar eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded.
"Yes! If it were the you and me from that time, I would be willing!"
Yun Sheng released Hui Niang's hand and stepped back to the Ghost Screen.
"I am willing, and you are willing, but they are not. Without me as his shadow, Yun Sheng is just a useless member of the Yun Family. Without me, my parents can no longer boast about their only son to the neighbors. But at that time, I was so naive that I was like a fool. My parents coaxed me into believing that your family was respectable while we had nothing to offer in marriage. Even if we went, we would only be ridiculed by your parents. It would be better to take advantage of our youth to earn some Silver first so that when we propose, we won't lose face.
After careful consideration, I realized they weren't entirely wrong. So that night, I followed the person my parents found for me on a long journey. Before leaving, I wrote a letter asking him to deliver it to you. I promised that whether it took three years or just one year, I would definitely return to marry you."
"And then?"
"And then?" Yun Sheng leaned against the Ghost Screen. "Do you really want to know?"
Hui Niang nodded.
"I was sold by my parents; that was the last bit of value they thought they could exploit from me. The shopkeeper, the clerk, going far away to earn Silver—those were all lies. They couldn't bear to part with me as their shadow but were also afraid of me because they knew that as I grew up, there would come a day when I would stand in the sunlight as the rightful Yun Sheng and not just as his substitute or shadow. So they handed me over to Human Teeth, deceiving me into thinking I was going out to learn a trade when in reality they sold me into slavery."
"Slavery!"
"Yes! A slave for those wealthy families to amuse themselves with—living in darkness and dying without anyone knowing." Yun Sheng said as he rolled up his sleeve. On his arm were numerous scars along with a large tattoo featuring the character for "Martial."
With the Empress in power, the surname Wu is well-known among the common people. Hui Niang, although born in the Yun Family Gathering, understands what this surname represents.
"Those days were unbearable, but I never gave up because I always remembered the promise I made to you. Finally, I escaped, enduring a difficult journey and relying on begging to return to the Yun Family Gathering. But it was too late; they told me you were going to marry him. If I wanted to see you again, if I wanted you to be well, I could only continue to be his shadow. Only then would they help me conceal my escape. What else could I do? I had no choice but to submit. At least at that time, I couldn't think of a better way."
"So, all these years, the one who treated me well was you, and the one who treated me poorly was Yun Sheng?"
Hui Niang finally voiced the question that had been on her mind.
"On the night of our wedding, although I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep. In a half-dream state, I saw someone standing at the foot of my bed. By the pale moonlight coming through the window, I vaguely saw your face. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, the bedroom was empty, filled with a strange scent. When I heard snoring and turned to look at the side of the bed, I thought it was just an illusion or a dream from my half-awake state. Yet clearly, when I lay down, I saw a dark shadow outside the window. That was you, wasn't it?"
Yun Sheng said nothing, but his expression revealed everything.
"On New Year's Eve, because I made the food too salty, my in-laws were furious and punished me by making me kneel in the courtyard. Although it didn't snow that night, it was still extremely cold. You saw that I was underdressed and brought me clothes. My in-laws' anger didn't subside, so I dared not get up and knelt until late at night. Eventually, feeling weak and fainting before collapsing, it was you who rushed over with a worried expression and held me in your arms to warm me up, wasn't it?"
Yun Sheng remained silent, but Hui Niang began to cry while smiling. Her hand finally reached out to Yun Sheng's side and gently rested on his hand: "At that time, I found it strange that you treated me so well yet turned cold towards me after I awakened. But how foolish of me; I thought you were just being considerate of my in-laws' feelings and feared they would make things difficult for me. It turns out it was me all along—I misjudged my husband."
"Hui'er—"
"Why didn't you? If only you had then, I would have gone with you; we could have started our lives anew. If only you had then, perhaps so many things wouldn't have happened later on, and we wouldn't have become what we are now."
"If I had then, would you have believed me?"
Yun Sheng countered Hui Niang's statement, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Indeed, such an unbelievable thing—if she hadn't experienced so much afterward—how could she ever believe it?
“At that time, even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe me, and they wouldn’t acknowledge my identity. In your eyes, I would only be a deceitful person with ulterior motives. No one would believe me, not even you, Hui'er. Moreover, I thought that as long as I followed their arrangements and did what they wanted me to do, they would treat you well. Hui'er, do you know? It’s hard for someone who has been a bitter slave to bring happiness to a woman! I thought that what I couldn’t give you in this life, he could replace me and give to you.”
Yun Sheng's lips trembled as he spoke. It was evident that it was extremely difficult for him to express these words.
“Fox, do you know what a bitter slave is? Why is it that someone who has been a bitter slave finds it hard to bring happiness to a woman? Is it because the past experiences are too painful and leave psychological scars?”
Xing Ruyi had been silent for a long time due to the shocking content she heard. At this moment, she was sitting cross-legged on the ground without any grace, turning her face upward to ask the fox, who stood straight like a pine tree and looked elegant like an immortal.
“Do you know what forbidden indulgence is?”
“I have never indulged in laziness in my life; however, forbidden indulgence in the human world is difficult. I remember the explanation of forbidden indulgence is: prohibited, exclusively for the royal family.”
“Can you see the mark on his arm?”
“With his arm in such a terrible condition, how could I see it clearly? However, vaguely, I can tell it’s some kind of Martial Character. Oh, I understand now. This Yun Sheng… oh no! It should be Yun Sheng, was sold to the Martial Family by his parents and Brother for forbidden indulgence. He is too ashamed to speak those two words and instead refers to himself as a bitter slave because in his eyes, that is a more miserable existence than an ordinary slave. Looking at him, although he isn’t as good-looking as you, Fox, he is still more refined than an average man. So he is very likely to be— a male pet!”
“My Fox Demon has finally become smart again!”
The fox gave Xing Ruyi an approving glance that she hadn’t received in a long time.
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