Chapter 5 How many more lies are you going to tell?
Yan Cang remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on Chu Yunjin's face, before finally speaking: "Why?"
"Hmm?" Chu Yunjin looked up. "What?"
"Didn't you always insist on a divorce? You even threatened to kill yourself," Yan Cang asked, his voice filled with an overwhelming sense of sorrow and restraint. "Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
Chu Yunjin held his hand quietly, considered for a moment, and said seriously, "My guilt last night is one reason, but another reason is that I had a dream."
Yan Cang frowned slightly. A dream?
"See? You're starting to make up lies again." Yan Jinyue sneered, as if she had finally seen through Chu Yunjin's tricks. "You just said you tossed and turned all night without sleeping, and now you're saying you had a dream. How many lies do you have to tell before you stop?"
Chu Yunjin ignored her, because she was indeed talking nonsense: "I dreamt that the prince and I were a loving couple, but because of constant instigation, I misunderstood the prince. I also dreamt that the prince, still recovering from his injuries, led troops to the border, and didn't return to the capital for six years. He never got to see the Imperial Concubine again until his death, and the Imperial Concubine died in sorrow..."
At this point, her eyes reddened, and she suddenly choked up, "I...I didn't want to hurt the prince, I just...at first I just couldn't accept being forced into marriage, without even the right to say no, but I...I couldn't bear to see the prince suffer..."
Yan Cang stared at her reddened eyes, his brows furrowing slightly: "It was just a dream."
"No, it wasn't a dream, it felt too real." Chu Yunjin wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, her pale face showing clear signs of lingering fear. "Someone really tampered with the cane, it was this long..."
She gestured with her hand, then spoke uncertainly, "It should be this long of needle. It would have entered the prince's spine during the strike... Although it didn't immediately cripple him, it would have caused injuries that would never heal. The prince angered the emperor because of the divorce agreement, and was banished to the northern frontier by his father. Without an imperial decree, he was forbidden from returning to the capital for life. The climate in the northern frontier was cold and harsh, and the prince had to fight continuously, so his injuries worsened. Several years later, he... died in the war in the northern frontier..."
She became increasingly heartbroken as she spoke, tears streaming down her face: "It's all my fault, I was so wicked, it's all my fault, sob sob sob..."
Yan Jinyue stared coldly at Chu Yunjin.
She didn't believe a word the woman said.
She wasn't the emperor's brother, and she had absolutely no patience for Chu Yunjin.
She also didn't believe that a woman with a bad reputation would suddenly change her personality—especially without experiencing any dramatic upheaval.
Was it all just a dream?
What a ridiculous explanation.
She spouted nonsense, merely to gain the trust of her imperial brother.
Who knows what schemes she has up her sleeve for her brother?
But Yan Cang clearly didn't think so.
Looking at Chu Yunjin's tear-streaked face and hearing her painful and regretful cries, his heart clenched. He no longer had time to doubt her intentions. He pursed his thin lips and silently wiped away her tears.
“Dreams are all fake,” he said somewhat stiffly. “If it’s just because of a dream, you don’t need to be afraid. I’m willing to set you free and guarantee you a smooth and worry-free life from now on.”
Chu Yunjin suddenly threw herself into his arms: "I don't want freedom, I only want you, sob sob sob... Yan Cang, I want you to be safe and sound, I want to live a good life with you, I want us to be happy from now on..."
Yan Cang couldn't be sure if she was telling the truth.
He couldn't believe that a dream could bring about such a dramatic change in a person.
These are not the truth.
The truth is that she never liked him. No matter how much he liked her, gave her all the best things, tolerated her, and endured her bad temper, she would not be moved at all—simply because he forced her into marriage.
But no matter what the truth is, as long as she is willing to stay in the palace and live with him, he will not refuse her.
He silently watched the woman who had thrown herself into his arms and was crying.
Ignoring Yan Jinyue's fiery glare, Yan Cang gently patted her shoulder and said, "Don't cry."
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