Recalling the heartbreaking scene of seeing Su Ruanruan at the execution ground today, Huo Yan felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and endless self-reproach welled up inside him. He knew that he should have stood by her side and protected her from any harm.
"Ruanruan, we will have our own children in the future." Huo Yan sat down next to Su Ruanruan and held her hand tightly.
However, Su Ruanruan's answer was like a sharp blade, mercilessly piercing Huo Yan's heart.
"Huo Yan, I gave up this child of my own volition."
Huo Yan stared wide-eyed at Su Ruanruan in disbelief, his voice trembling as he asked, "What? What did you just say?"
Su Ruanruan tilted her head slightly, a bitter smile on her face, and then said clearly, word by word, "I said, I drank the abortion pill and personally gave up this child."
These words struck Huo Yan like a bolt from the blue, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope he held. He desperately wanted to hear a different answer, even if it was just a lie!
But the truth is so cruel, Su Ruanruan admitted it herself.
Huo Yan felt his rationality crumble instantly; he couldn't accept this cruel truth. He would rather believe he had misheard, or that it was all just a nightmare, but Su Ruanruan in front of him felt so real.
Disappointment, sadness, pain, and resentment—a complex mix of emotions surged into his eyes like a raging flood, quickly filling every corner of them.
His eyes turned cold, and his hands gripped Su Ruanruan's delicate, fair neck like iron clamps. A hoarse, low voice, filled with anger, emanated from his throat as he questioned, "Su Ruanruan, how could you treat me like this?!"
"How cruel you are!! Why do you have to torture me like this!! Why did you abort our child!"
“I have already been honest with you. There is no romantic relationship between me and Fu Xinrou. I have also asked the Emperor to grant us a marriage. But you still refuse to believe me?”
At this moment, Su Ruanruan was also suffering greatly. She used all her strength to tightly grasp Huo Yan's hands, trying to break free from his grasp.
In that breathtaking moment, she clearly felt the intense hatred emanating from Huo Yan's eyes, a hatred so strong it seemed about to burst forth.
"I... once said that only you and Fu Xinrou are a match made in heaven, and I never had any intention of... inserting myself between you two..."
"But you know how much I hate Fu Hengfeng, and you know how tragically Xiao Xi died and how much pain I felt, yet you still saved his life. You actually saved him! You deserve to die!"
Su Ruanruan stared wide-eyed at the man before her, her heart filled with despair and anger.
She felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe; a strong sense of suffocation surged over her like a tidal wave. Yet, at that moment, she suddenly laughed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Huo Yan slowly released his grip on Su Ruanruan's neck. His once deep eyes were now bloodshot, as if burning with raging fury.
"Su Ruanruan, regarding Fu Hengfeng's matter, I do have my own unavoidable difficulties." Huo Yan's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of helplessness and bitterness.
"But the child is innocent! Do you have no heart? That's not just my child, that's your own flesh and blood! How could you be so heartless as to kill him with your own hands?"
He slowly stood up, his face shrouded in pain, his eyes filled with sorrow and despair.
"Su Ruanruan, why can't I see through you? Do you really have no feelings for me at all? Not even the slightest bit..." His voice was low and hoarse.
Su Ruanruan glared at him fearlessly, "Never! From the moment you saved Fu Hengfeng, you became my mortal enemy! In this life, and in all future lives, I will never have the slightest love for you!"
Her words pierced his heart like a sharp sword, but he was powerless to refute them. Su Ruanruan added through gritted teeth, "I wish you and Fu Xinrou are forever locked in a relationship!"
In an instant, it seemed as if time itself had stopped flowing, and the entire room was enveloped in a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, utterly silent.
Only Huo Yan's heavy, low breathing broke the silence abruptly, like a series of thunderclaps, deafeningly loud.
A long time passed, so long that one might think time had frozen, before he spoke again, but his voice was filled with uncontrollable anger, "Fine, very well!"
"Su Ruanruan, I never expected you to be so heartless and cold-blooded! If that's the case, then I'll grant your wish!"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned around, staggered away, leaving behind only a lonely and resolute figure.
The following morning, Emperor Shun concluded his trip to the hot spring palace, returned to the royal palace, and issued two edicts.
One of the measures was to grant Huo Yan and Fu Xinrou a marriage, and to allow them to get married during their period of mourning.
The second decree conferred upon Su Ruanruan the title of Princess of Yongning County, bestowing upon her a mansion, shops, a hundred acres of fertile land, a thousand taels of gold, and ten chests of jewelry.
Next came the letter of release from concubinage, personally handwritten by Huo Yan.
The common people were unaware that Su Ruanruan was pregnant and had an abortion, but when they heard that Huo Yan had actually given Su Ruanruan a letter of release from her concubine status, some people felt fortunate for Huo Yan—that cursed star had finally left their general behind.
However, some people began to defend him, feeling that a great hero like him should be matched with a noblewoman from a prominent family, so how could he marry the daughter of a disgraced official?
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