Chapter 71: Fu Er, I Can Too

Chapter 71: Fu Er, I Can Too

Years had been exceptionally kind to him, with his face still very handsome and little change in his demeanor. His cold, elegant appearance carried a somewhat intimidating aura of authority. The only difference was the depth of maturity that age had brought, making him even more unapproachable.

The feeling of being overwhelmed by his aura in those nights from years ago suddenly surged back.

She wanted to step back, but her feet felt like lead, refusing to move. Her body swayed as if on the verge of falling.

But the Xia Fu of today was no longer the naive young woman of the past. She forced herself to steady her posture, lowered her gaze, and curtsied to him.

Instinctively, she was about to call him "Family Head," but she changed it to "Cheng Mingyu, the head of the Censorate" at the last moment.

Her voice, cold and detached, carried a chilling distance.

This single title extinguished half of Cheng Mingyu's initial fervor at seeing a familiar face.

Mother was right; she had become increasingly serene, shedding her former helpless timidity. She had gained a composure that came from enduring trials and hardships. Cheng Mingyu had thought that after nineteen years of separation, seeing her again would feel utterly strange. Yet, the truth was, the image that had haunted his memory countless times infinitely overlapped with the face before him. Chen Chunya still radiated a stunning brilliance, like a fleeting reflection across her brows.

The warm wind and the warm embrace of the setting sun intertwined around them, while nearly twenty years of time stretched infinitely between them.

But it was this "Cheng Mingyu, the head of the Censorate" that cut through the surging emotions, leaving Cheng Mingyu unable to regain the ease with which he once faced her.

Both fell into a heavy silence.

They sat at opposite ends of a long bench.

Xia Fu folded her hands, her slender fingers hidden beneath her wide sleeves, demure and quiet.

Cheng Mingyu, as always, sat with his hands resting on his knees, upright and composed.

Habitually hiding the turbulent emotions within, they remained polite and distant towards each other, since they had never been particularly close in the past.

Cheng Mingyu's gaze lingered on her, unblinking.

Countless nights and days, he had dreamt of her jumping off the cliff, shattered and devoured by wild beasts. Those horrific images had haunted him, robbing him of sleep.

He wanted to examine every inch of her skin, every bone, to ensure she was unharmed, to find where she had been hurt.

Xia Fu felt extremely uncomfortable under his scrutiny, and after a long moment, she raised her eyes, calmly smiling at him.

"Family Head, have these years been kind to you?"

This address, though not what Cheng Mingyu wanted to hear, at least had a familiar ring.

"Thank you for taking care of An An all these years," Xia Fu said with a tranquil smile.

This sentence made Cheng Mingyu even more uncomfortable, as it carried not only politeness but also a deliberate distance, a guard against any overstepping.

Cheng Mingyu decided not to comply with her wishes. "I promised back then that I would take care of both of you for life."

You mother and daughter...

Xia Fu was startled, her thoughts naturally pulled back to the past. He had indeed made that promise, a man of his word. She knew he would take care of An An.

As for taking care of her... Xia Fu's cheeks flushed slightly. What time was this, what era? Why bring that up now?

She deliberately ignored the remark.

But Cheng Mingyu muttered a self-deprecating laugh.

"But I didn't do it."

Xia Fu understood all too well what he "didn't fulfill," which made it even harder for her to respond.

Xia Fu actually didn’t want to discuss this kind of issue with Cheng Mingyu, but Cheng Mingyu wouldn’t let her sidestep it.

"Xia Fu, how badly was I hurt back then?" His voice suddenly softened, like the hand he placed on the qin table earlier, gently plucking at her heartstrings.

Xia Fu secretly took a deep breath and shifted her gaze to meet his dark, deep eyes. "I was bedridden for three years and spent ten years in a wheelchair."

If this is what you wish to hear, so be it.

Cheng Mingyu's expression immediately darkened, his eyes tightening as if they might split like silk.

Heartache, sorrow, regret, worry, and pain all surged in his chest, blocking any questions he had been about to ask.

He fell silent for a long time.

"And how did you get better later?"

Xia Fu smiled nonchalantly, "The old consort took care of me day and night, with medicinal baths, and I slowly got better."

Cheng Mingyu dared not imagine the process, which couldn’t have been much better than those nightmare scenarios.

He closed his eyes, the words "I'm sorry" stuck in his throat.

"And now, do you still have any lasting effects? Any ailments left behind?"

"I'm fine," Xia Fu continued to smile, with complete peace of mind, "Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to marry the Yunnan King."

Cheng Mingyu's heart tightened as he met her crystal-clear eyes, which were calm and undisturbed.

His heart clenched in pain.

"Xia Fu..." Cheng Mingyu suppressed the overwhelming pain and asked her seriously, word by word, "Was marrying the Yunnan King your choice? Or were you coerced?"

Xia Fu was so beautiful that it was possible the Yunnan King was enamored with her. Weighed down by such immense gratitude, she could only agree to marry him. This could explain why the Yunnan King was so distrustful, seeking to keep her close through An An.

Xia Fu was slightly stunned, wondering why he would even ask such a question. "Of course it was my choice. The Yunnan King wouldn’t have forced me."

"Is that so?" Cheng Mingyu's thin lips tightened slightly. He too had his moments of arrogance, trusting his own judgment.

"Is it because you fell in love with him, unable to resist marrying him, or are you bound by gratitude?"

Confronted with his penetrating question, Xia Fu choked up.

Why did Cheng Mingyu say she wasn’t cunning? Because she wasn’t good at lying.

She wasn’t good at lying to An An, and with Cheng Mingyu, she wanted to lie but didn’t know how to lie to him.

This hesitation gave Cheng Mingyu the answer.

Xia Fu was still Xia Fu, just as innocent and naive as An An, and this mother-daughter pair only made his heart ache even more.

He leaned back slightly, let out a long sigh, and when he opened his eyes again, all that remained in his gaze was pity.

"Fu Er, if it isn’t born from genuine feelings, I don’t want you to compromise yourself. Let me repay the Yunnan King’s favor. Leave him, okay?"

Xia Fu looked at him, his gentle and powerful demeanor stirring an inexplicable sense of grievance in her heart. It was this very expression years ago that made her fall into anguish, unable to control herself.

Suddenly, like a rose with thorns, she stood up abruptly, putting several feet between them. Her cold gaze fixed on him, her voice indifferent as she said,

"What gives you the right to interfere with my life?"

She vented, "He loves me and is willing to do anything for me. When I'm sad, he comforts me. No matter what I want, he'll go to great lengths to get it for me. Does whether I admire him matter? I live my life with him, free and easy. I don't have to worry about others coveting him. I don't need to guess his thoughts. In front of him, I can cry, make a fuss, laugh, act spoiled. Why should I leave him?"

Cheng Mingyu listened carefully to every word she said, then rose slowly.

The lake breeze rolled over, lifting his garments, his sash fluttering in the wind, framing a face unmatched in the world, like a celestial being.

He stepped closer to Xia Fu. Though she wanted to retreat, she forced herself to meet his overwhelming gaze.

Xia Fu saw Cheng Mingyu's eyes dyed by the setting sun, filled with the glow of regret from nineteen years of separation, the determination to not miss another moment, and a gentleness any woman would find hard to resist.

"If it's just because he loves you, is willing to care for you meticulously, to let you live a carefree life, to pamper you, protect you, then Fu Er, I can do the same."