Chapter 33 This Life
Today is the last day that Chen Yanyun will use his heart's blood to nourish the Stone of His Past Life.
The inner courtyard of the Chen residence was so quiet that only the sound of the wind outside the window could be heard. Everything seemed orderly, but it concealed the anticipation he had suppressed for forty-nine days.
Just as the personal servant brought in the medicine, Chen Li entered with a letter from Suzhou. He said softly, "Third Master, everything is normal in Suzhou. Seventh Young Master is busy with his duties from dawn till dusk and hardly has time to spend with Seventh Young Mistress. Seventh Young Mistress is usually bored and often goes next door to play with her one-year-old son. She is quite well-behaved."
Chen Yanyun leaned weakly against the headboard, covered with a thick brocade quilt. Although his face was still a little pale, he looked more energetic than a few days ago.
He took the letter, his fingertips tracing the words about Gu Jinchao on the paper, and a knowing smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
The image of Gu Jinchao teasing the child instantly flashed into my mind—she must have arched her eyebrows, spoken in a very soft voice, gently poking the child's cheek with her fingertips, her eyes full of tenderness.
This scene reminded him of a scene in his dream, where Gu Jinchao treated their child Xuanlin with the same gentleness, even the lullabies he hummed to lull him to sleep were filled with sweet warmth.
In a daze, he could hardly distinguish whether it was a fantasy or a memory from a past life. He only felt that the emptiness in his heart was about to be filled by this expectation.
"knew."
He placed the letter beside his pillow, his gaze falling on the wooden box on the bedside table, the smile in his eyes gradually turning into urgency.
He gestured for the servant and Chen Li to leave, then reached into the wooden box and took out the Stone of Past Life—after being nourished by his heart's blood for forty-eight days, the originally grayish stone had become translucent and white, with a faint warm glow on its surface, like a piece of carefully polished warm jade.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Yanyun took out the familiar curved knife from the hidden compartment by the bedside and gently ran it over in the candlelight.
The blade reflected the obsession in his eyes. He took a deep breath, steadied his grip on the knife, and gently slashed at the old wound on his chest once more.
Blood slowly seeped out, and he quickly placed the Stone of His Past Life on the wound, watching as the pure white stone gradually turned pale red, the warm light becoming increasingly pronounced. He stared intently at the stone, his breathing becoming rapid—after forty-nine days of waiting, today would finally reveal the outcome.
The glowing stone of his past life pressed against Chen Yanyun's chest, its warm glow seemingly alive as it seeped into his skin. The stinging wound gradually stopped hurting, and even the dizziness caused by blood loss lessened.
He stared at the increasingly bright light on the stone, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and finally, everything went black before his eyes, and he fell into a deep sleep.
When he regained consciousness, he was surrounded by a thick, white fog, so thick that he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, and he was the only one standing in the fog.
Chen Yanyun understood immediately—he must have entered the illusion of the Stone of Past Lives. He suppressed his eagerness, slowed his pace, and slowly explored, trying to find the exit of the illusion or traces of his past life.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the thick fog gradually dissipated, and a familiar figure slowly appeared.
It was Master Liaokong.
Chen Yanyun immediately stopped, put his hands together, bowed deeply to the other person, and respectfully said, "Master."
Master Liaokong stroked his long beard that reached his chest, looked at him calmly, and offered no further pleasantries.
With a gentle flick of his whisk, a soft white light enveloped Chen Yanyun, and the scene beneath his feet abruptly changed the next second.
The deafening sounds of gongs and drums and the laughter of the crowd rushed into Chen Yanyun's ears. When he looked up, he found himself standing next to a bustling street.
In the middle of the street, a wedding procession was slowly approaching, and the groom sitting on a tall horse was none other than himself, dressed in a bright red wedding suit!
At that time, "Chen Yanyun" was radiant with a smile he couldn't hide as he was surrounded by people as he arrived at the gate of the Gu residence.
Before long, the gates of the Gu residence opened, and Gu Jinchao, dressed in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, walked out with the help of her maid. Her figure under the red veil was slender and graceful. Although her face could not be seen, one could see a hint of shyness from her slightly reddened ear tips.
"The bride is coming out..." With the emcee's shout, "Chen Yanyun" and Gu Jinchao stood side by side.
Gu Dezhao and Madam Ji sat in the main seats, their eyes filled with reluctance and relief.
The two figures looked exceptionally well-matched against the backdrop of the red silk.
After bidding farewell to the Gu family, the wedding procession proceeded in a grand procession toward the Chen residence.
Chen Yanyun followed behind the group, his gaze sweeping over the crowd in front of the Chen residence, when it suddenly fixed on a figure behind the gatehouse—it was Chen Xuanqing!
At that time, Chen Xuanqing was wearing a plain long robe, and his figure was thinner than it is now. His face was expressionless, and he looked calmly at the wedding procession, as if the festivities in front of him had nothing to do with him.
Chen Yanyun carefully scanned his clothes again. He wasn't wearing any wedding ornaments, so it seemed that he was still unmarried.
The scene abruptly shifts, the boisterous wedding scene vanishes instantly, replaced by the familiar study of the Chen family mansion.
Chen Yanyun stood in the corner of the study, watching "himself" sitting upright behind the desk, a secret report between his fingers, his face so dark it could drip water.
Chen Li stood before the table, head bowed, his voice extremely low: "Third Master, it's all cleared up. Seventh Young Master stayed at the Ji family's residence for a while and had some interaction with Madam. Later, Madam seemed to... fall in love with Seventh Young Master, repeatedly... sending him handkerchiefs, but Seventh Young Master never accepted them..."
After listening, Chen Yanyun remained expressionless, but his fingertips suddenly clenched the secret report, the veins on the back of his hand bulging clearly, and even his knuckles turned white.
That suppressed anger could be clearly felt even through the illusion.
He remained silent for a long time before finally squeezing out through gritted teeth, "I understand."
Standing in the corner, Chen Yanyun felt a chill run down his spine.
The scene shifts again, the study scene fades away instantly, and the view of the Chen family's courtyard unfolds before your eyes.
Chen Yanyun stood under the corridor, watching "himself" dressed in casual clothes step into the central courtyard.
Upon seeing this, Xiuqu, who was guarding the courtyard gate, immediately rushed over in a panic, twisting the hem of her clothes with both hands, her voice trembling: "Third Master, why have you come here..." Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Chen Yanyun's cold gaze, and could only lower her head, not daring to say anything more.
Chen Yanyun ignored her and walked straight to the west side room.
The moment he pushed open the door, his gaze was fixed on the room—Chen Xuanqing was standing next to Gu Jinchao, both of them looking somewhat unnatural. The maids around them all had their heads down, looking flustered, and didn't even dare to breathe.
A surge of anger instantly welled up in "Chen Yanyun's" heart. The warmth in his eyes vanished instantly, leaving only a cold, sharp gaze, like a knife tempered by the cold, staring straight at the two of them.
Yet his smile remained refined, the curve of his lips unchanged, as if the chill he felt just moments before was merely an illusion.
He walked slowly to Gu Jinchao's side and sat down, his arm casually resting on the armrest of the soft couch, seemingly relaxed, yet he was half-protecting Gu Jinchao by his side.
Gu Jinchao's body stiffened abruptly, cold sweat instantly seeping from her back. The embroidery thread between her fingers fell to the ground with a "plop," but she dared not pick it up, and could only lower her eyes to pretend to be calm.
"I was outside the courtyard just now and heard you two chatting quite animatedly," Chen Yanyun said, his voice gentle yet carrying a suffocating pressure. "What, were you talking?"
Chen Xuanqing's lips were pale, and he called out softly, "Father." Then he added, "...It's nothing, just about Xi'er practicing the zither."
Chen Yanyun smiled and asked Gu Jinchao, "Is that so?"
Gu Jinchao clenched his fist under his sleeve to maintain a smile and nod.
These two clumsy explanations sounded particularly jarring to Chen Yanyun.
The coldness in his eyes intensified, and his fingers tightened their grip on the armrest, turning his knuckles white. The anger in his heart was almost about to break through his disguise.
"Get out!"
Chen Yanyun's voice finally broke through his refined facade, filled with suppressed anger, and slammed into Chen Xuanqing.
Chen Xuanqing trembled, wanting to say something more, but was forced back by "Chen Yanyun's" cold gaze, and could only turn around and quickly leave the west side room.
The room fell silent instantly, with only Gu Jinchao's tense breathing remaining.
It wasn't until she was resting at night that she went to Chen Yanyun's side, her voice tinged with grievance: "Husband, I... I no longer like Xuanqing. Now, the only one I care about is you."
Standing under the corridor, Chen Yanyun watched this scene, his heart feeling as if it were being tightly gripped by something, his chest tightening in waves.
"All causes and effects have their own inherent conditions."
Master Liaokong's voice suddenly rang out behind him, carrying a Zen-like calmness: "Your dream is not an illusion, but a fragment of your past life's memories, and also the root of your obsession."
Chen Yanyun turned around abruptly, his eyes filled with pain and confusion: "Master, if we loved each other in our past life, why can't we be together in this life? Why is that?"
Master Liaokong sighed softly, pointed to the direction above his head, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Someone has defied the heavens and forcibly reversed the natural course of cause and effect."
"Chen Xuanqing?" Chen Yanyun blurted out almost immediately, though it was a question, his tone was full of certainty.
Besides him carrying the memories of his past life and recklessly taking Gu Jinchao away, who else could have such a rebellious ability to disrupt his and Gu Jinchao's destiny in this life?
Master Liaokong neither nodded directly nor denied it. He simply closed his eyes and slowly said, "Going against the will of Heaven will eventually come at a price. Benefactor, what you see now is only a corner of your past life. If you want to see the whole picture, you must let go of your attachments in order to understand cause and effect."
"Hahaha—" Chen Yanyun suddenly laughed loudly, his laughter filled with resentment and indignation, echoing in the empty illusion and causing the surrounding white mist to sway slightly.
He pointed into the void, his eyes blazing with anger: "She is clearly my wife! She is my lawfully wedded wife, Chen Yanyun! She was before, and she should be now. Why should it be my turn to let go of my obsession?"
As the laughter subsided, the madness on his face faded, leaving only a cold ruthlessness. He pronounced the name, word by word: "Chen Xuanqing."
"Well done, truly well done!" He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, and even the stone of his past life in his palm seemed to be slightly hot. "How dare you go against my will, carrying the memories of your past life, to snatch someone from my side!"
Master Liaokong, standing to the side, watched him consumed by his obsession, shook his head gently, and sighed, his voice drowned out by the wind: "Benefactor, the coming and going of fate is all predetermined. Forcing yourself to cling to it will only increase your suffering..."
“Destiny?” Chen Yanyun turned his head sharply, his eyes as sharp as knives, interrupting Master Liaokong’s words, “My destiny has never been determined by heaven, much less by Chen Xuanqing!”
He raised his hand to his chest, where the lingering pain from the blood draw still lingered, but it paled in comparison to the intense resentment welling up inside him. "If he can defy fate to snatch someone away, I can defy fate to take them back! Jinchao is mine, in this life and the next, she can only be mine!"
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