The light on Xu Zhuohua's face dimmed instantly, as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
She lowered her eyelashes, her long lashes casting a soft shadow beneath her eyes.
Yes, how could she forget?
If Cheng Muyun really cared about these things, why would he be willing to stand behind Xiao Wuxin and Chen Hede and be the invisible driving force?
He relinquished the credit, took the blame, and even willingly hid his own name in the folds of history, never uttering a sound.
She used to think that he might have no choice, or that he was waiting for the right opportunity.
But now I truly understand that he really doesn't care at all.
He didn't care what future generations would say or what history books would write; he only believed in the scales in his own heart, burying himself in doing what he thought was right, like a silent camel, carrying a heavy burden step by step, never thinking of looking back to see if anyone was applauding.
The candlelight on the corner of the table flickered, casting Cheng Muyun's shadow on the wall, tall yet lonely.
Xu Zhuohua suddenly felt a lump in her throat and gently touched the back of his hand: "But I care."
Cheng Muyun paused, and when he looked up, his eyes reflected her reddened eyes.
He didn't say anything, but simply took her hand in his own, the warmth of his palm sending shivers down her spine.
“I know you don’t care,” Xu Zhuohua’s voice choked with emotion, her fingertips digging into his palm, “but I do care. I don’t want to see you do so much, yet be cursed as a traitor for the rest of your life. Those you protected, those who climbed up by stepping on your achievements, why should they forget you?”
Cheng Muyun chuckled softly, his fingertips stroking the back of her hand, conveying all the unspoken grievances she had expressed through his actions: "Silly girl."
“I’m not stupid!” Xu Zhuohua glared at him, but tears involuntarily streamed down her face. “You think that sentence ‘Cheng Muyun was executed’ in the history books is just a casual remark? But behind it lies the path you paved with your life! The blood of hundreds of thousands of brothers in the Dongzhou Army! Why should it be erased with just a stroke of the pen?”
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently. Cheng Muyun suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, his voice as soft as a sigh: "Because it's good that the road has been paved."
"What?" Xu Zhuohua struggled in his arms, but was held even tighter.
"The road has been paved, and future generations can walk more steadily. That's enough." Cheng Muyun's voice came from his chest, with a steady tremor. "As for who paved it, what does it matter if no one remembers? Zhuohua, it's enough that you remember me."
Xu Zhuohua suddenly stopped struggling.
The wind picked up again outside the window, making the window frames creak.
She could clearly hear his heartbeat, each beat steady as a mountain.
It turns out he understood everything—his resentment, the injustice of history—but he had long since taken these things less seriously than anyone else.
She slowly raised her hands, wrapped them around his waist, buried her face in his clothes, and said in a muffled voice, "Not enough."
"Um?"
“It’s not enough for me to remember it all by myself.” Xu Zhuohua’s voice was muffled, but it carried a stubbornness. “I want to write it down, to carve it into my memory, so that future generations will know that there was once a man named Cheng Muyun who lived his life as a shadow for this land.”
Cheng Muyun didn't refute her anymore, but lowered his head and placed a light kiss on the top of her head, as if tacitly agreeing or indulging her.
The person in my arms was still sobbing, her shoulders heaving like a wronged little animal.
He suddenly felt that perhaps being remembered like this wasn't such a bad thing.
Cheng Muyun, who had been stubborn for the first half of his life, suddenly felt a soft spot sink into his heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com