the truth
"Well..." Jiang Yan was about to express her thoughts when Chen Run, who was already standing in the courtyard, turned around and called to her, "Ruyi, come in."
Jiang Yan, realizing he could no longer plot with Huang Ying, glanced at her worriedly and went inside, saying, "This place has a nice environment!"
Chen Run's eyes seemed to be glued to Jiang Yan, making Jiang Yan very uncomfortable.
"Compared to the Prince Duan's mansion, it is far inferior."
Jiang Yan vaguely sensed that she smelled jealousy, and looked at him in confusion, only to see him looking as if she had deeply hurt him, and that he was in great pain and misery.
Jiang Yan was speechless. He sighed inwardly, then pretended not to notice anything and continued to laugh.
"What Young Master Chen said is true. I think this place is also very nice!" He planned to take a stroll around.
But Chen Run suddenly pulled her into his arms.
"Ruyi, don't call me so formally!" That bright, pleading look in his eyes was different from the look he had just given me when he was in excruciating pain. Moreover, Jiang Yan could also keenly sense the suffocating pressure emanating from him.
You really can't judge a book by its cover!
Chen Run may look like a gentle scholar, but deep down he must be a ruthless person, otherwise Prince Su would not have made him his advisor!
"Young Master Chen, please don't do this!" Jiang Yan was afraid that others would see this and that it would reach Shangguan Zeyu's ears, so she began to struggle anxiously.
But Chen Run's embrace was like an iron cage, and no matter how hard she struggled, she could not escape it.
The oriole noticed her embarrassment and anger, and shouted at her.
"Young Master Chen! Release this servant and my mistress! Otherwise, if the Prince finds out, we won't be able to explain ourselves."
But to everyone's surprise, after hearing these words, Chen Run not only did not let go of Jiang Yan, but hugged her even tighter, as if he was making a silent declaration of war against Shangguan Zeyu.
Huang Ying was so anxious that she was about to run up, but she was pulled away by two maids who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Jiang Yan was afraid that she was in danger, so she struggled and shouted wildly.
Chen Run's voice was calm and gentle as he said, "She'll be fine. I just want to spend some time alone with you, Ruyi." Then he gently rested his chin on Jiang Yan's right shoulder.
Jiang Yan felt very uncomfortable and didn't like him treating her like this, but the more she struggled, the harder he exerted himself. In the end, she had no choice but to stop struggling.
Chen Run stood there holding Jiang Yan for a very long time before slowly lifting his head from Jiang Yan's shoulder.
Jiang Yan looked displeased, but seeing his eyes filled with deep affection, as if she were a sinner, she couldn't bear to treat him like that.
"Ruyi, you said that although you went to the Prince's mansion, your heart has always belonged to me. Do you remember?"
Jiang Yan was extremely embarrassed.
She wasn't Liu Ruyi, and she hadn't made any vows of eternal love with him. Although he was indeed handsome and charming, and certainly fit her aesthetic, she wasn't promiscuous; if something didn't happen, it didn't happen, and she couldn't pretend.
"Lord Chen..."
Call me Runlang!
Jiang Yan couldn't bring himself to call him that. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "Can I call you Arun?"
Chen Run didn't say anything, he just looked at her with a mournful expression.
Jiang Yan decided to ignore it. She thought that he was so jealous that he could kill her with sourness. If she let him release his jealousy at will, she might actually die from the sourness.
So, ignoring his reaction, she said, "Ah Run, I'm not lying to you. I really don't remember anything. You need to explain what happened between us, and maybe I can remember something."
Chen Run looked at her with a questioning gaze, as if he did not agree with what she said.
"Arun! I'm already married into the royal family, and I have no choice in what I do. I..." Before Jiang Yan could finish her heartfelt and moving words, Chen Run hugged her tightly again as if he were going crazy, his voice thick with emotion.
"Ruyi! No matter who you marry, no matter where you are, I will bring you back to my side! I swear to God!!!"
Jiang Yan despises this kind of hindsight-based remedial behavior the most.
Thinking that given his family background, he should help Ruyi when she was in a difficult situation, so that Ruyi wouldn't have suffered those tragic experiences, and he and Ruyi wouldn't have been separated.
"Ruyi, believe me! It won't be long before we're never apart again!!"
Jiang Yan heard his voice deepen, and she wasn't sure if he was crying, but she didn't like it and didn't want to pretend, so she asked the question that was on her mind.
"You say you love me, then let me ask you, why didn't you stop me from marrying into the royal family? You knew I didn't want to marry, so why did you watch me being forced?"
The grief in Chen Run's eyes was even deeper, like a bottomless abyss.
He felt as if someone was stabbing his heart with a knife, the pain was unbearable.
He said, "Yes, it's my fault! If I had seen your faults earlier, if I had understood your suffering and your plight sooner, I would have rather died than allow you to marry into the royal family. It's all my fault! It's all my fault!!"
Chen Run's eyes were as red as an apple baked by the autumn sun, and soon tears welled up in his eyes.
"I thought you really didn't love me anymore! I thought what you said was true! My heart wasn't strong enough! I didn't understand you! If my heart had been stronger, if I could have trusted you more, none of this would have happened."
"Ruyi, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! It's all my fault!!"
Jiang Yan felt a pang of sorrow in her heart upon hearing this. Seeing how pitiful and pained he was, her heart ached even more.
But she took a deep breath and continued to press, "Tell me, what exactly happened? Why are we, who love each other so much, now separated like this?!"
Chen Run was in even more pain, looking as if he was about to die from the pain.
Jiang Yan hardened her heart, gritted her teeth for Liu Ruyi's sake, and kept staring at him, wanting to see if he was telling the truth or lying to deceive Liu Ruyi.
He closed his eyes, looking utterly despondent. After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, his voice filled with endless sorrow and helplessness.
"That night of the fifteenth, I received the kite you flew for me. I was overjoyed and opened the letter attached to the kite... but unexpectedly, you said in the letter..." Chen Run was in too much pain to speak, and took a deep breath before opening his eyes again and saying.
"You said you don't love me anymore. You said you're getting married and told me never to contact you again. With just that one short sentence, all our affection is wiped clean, as if it never happened. How can my heart not ache?"
Chen Run's sorrowful and grief-stricken eyes could overwhelm Jiang Yan.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Ruyi, on rainy nights when we shared our sorrows, you comforted my loneliness, understood my complaints, and helped me see hope for the future. On nights when peach blossoms bloomed, we played the zither and lute in harmony; on nights when cicadas chirped and frogs croaked, we appreciated the charm of ancient poetry; on autumn days when the air was filled with the fragrance of fruit, we talked about which fruits were sweet and which were sour, and how wonderful it would be if the moon were always big and round! We even said that when the snow fell heavily, we would build a snowman together. You said you hoped that snowmen would appear in pairs, so that they would never be lonely."
"Ruyi, I went to the Liu residence to look for you the very next day, but they said you weren't there! I made a scene at the Liu residence for three days, and in the end, my father sent people to arrest me and take me back. I was flogged and imprisoned for a year. Ruyi, I cried bitterly at the Liu residence, calling your name. Did you hear me? Did you feel my heart beating with sorrow and grief because of you?"
"Ruyi, you had no choice, did you? I know. Otherwise, you would never have given up the bond between us that is deeper than the sea! Ruyi, I went to find you as soon as I was released from confinement, only to find that you had already married! I went to find you, but my father sent people to arrest me and take me back. That's how it happened that you sent me the last letter."
"Ruyi, I know, I know you can never forget me! I know your heart will always remain with me! Ruyi, wait for me, soon I will take you away! I will never allow anyone to hurt you again!!!" As he said this, the grief in Chen Run's eyes transformed into endless hope and resilience, and even someone who did not know him would never doubt him.
Jiang Yan felt very upset. She wasn't sure how much of Chen Run's "one-sided account" was true, especially his claim that he had delivered a letter to her. Wasn't that nonsense?
When did she write him a letter? And when did she deliver it to him? It was only the second time she had met him, wasn't it?
"During the time we knew each other, did I ever tell you about my life at the Liu residence?"
“I did say that.” Chen Run gradually fell into his memories. “Although you said you were doing well, that your father treated you well, your mother treated you well, your sister treated you well, and even the servants treated you well, I could tell from the poems you wrote that you were not doing well. You were very lonely and very sorrowful.”
"Ruyi, I was wrong back then. If I had agreed to join Prince Su's side with my father earlier, I would have married you sooner, and none of this would have happened! Ruyi, it was my fault, I was wrong, please don't blame me, okay? Okay?"
Chen Run's eyes were truly ever-changing, and every glance was so captivating that Jiang Yan couldn't help but look towards him.
Just like now, even though Jiang Yan knew there was a lie in his words, she still couldn't help but believe him.
“I need to think carefully about what you said. If you still have the letters I sent you, I hope you can ask someone to pass them on to me so that I can recall the feelings I had when I wrote those letters.”
"Great!" Chen Run nodded excitedly, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope after drowning. "Ruyi, I have carefully kept everything you gave me—the kite, the letters, the items. I'll take you to see them now."
But Jiang Yan refused him: "It's getting late, I should go back."
Chen Run's expression froze instantly. Reluctantly, he pulled Jiang Yan close, hugging her tightly like a child afraid of being abandoned, unwilling to let go.
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