Chapter 431: Chapter 431: What Are You Reminiscing About?

Song Lianhe froze, watching the two of them from a distance.

She couldn’t tell what Song Xilan was saying, but Xilan was gazing up at Zhou Cangyan, and he was looking back at her.

Although she couldn’t see their expressions clearly, she knew Zhou Cangyan’s temperament. If he were the least bit impatient, he would never look the way he did now.

She looked at the halos above their heads. No matter how they had changed before, they were now light and swirling, their colors gentle and lustrous. They were a perfect, picturesque couple.

’Is it because Zhou Cangyan has become the male lead that his fated partner has appeared?’

No wonder his attitude toward Song Xilan had changed. She didn’t need anyone to tell her; she could just feel it.

"They’re just talking. It doesn’t mean anything," Xuan Mei said suddenly.

Song Lianhe lowered her gaze slightly and turned away.

"Let’s go inside."

Xuan Mei frowned and looked down at them.

’Could they be discussing some important intelligence?’

’That’s the only possible explanation!’

—

Song Lianhe took up residence at Dao Yuan Temple.

She didn’t even inform Zhou Cangyan.

"My Lord? My Lord?"

The Shadow Guard was reporting the matter but noticed his master was lost in thought.

"Hm."

Zhou Cangyan lazily raised his eyes to glance at him. "Why is she staying there?"

"The Princess Consort said that Emperor Cheng Xiao is most likely at the temple. Since she promised the Empress she would find him, she is determined to do her best."

Zhou Cangyan frowned. "She’s being reckless with her own safety."

He immediately ordered, "Have Shen Fu take his men to Dao Yuan Temple and protect her."

"Yes, My Lord."

The Shadow Guard acknowledged the order, then hesitated for a moment before quietly looking up at him.

"Is there something else?"

Zhou Cangyan seemed somewhat distracted.

The Shadow Guard recalled Xuan Mei’s words and said hesitantly, "This subordinate thought... that My Lord would go protect the Princess Consort yourself..."

Zhou Cangyan’s frown deepened.

After a long pause, he said, "This Prince will go when I have time."

He said nothing more after that.

After leaving the study, the Shadow Guard still wore a look of disbelief. "My Lord is actually letting the Princess Consort stay at Dao Yuan Temple all by herself!"

Xuan Qi was under the corridor, head tilted up at the night sky, paying him no mind.

"Hey, say something! Did My Lord and the Princess Consort have a fight? But they were fine when we escorted her to Dao Yuan Temple today! It’s just that..."

Without turning his head, Xuan Qi finished the sentence, "...it was after he saw Princess Consort Ling that My Lord started acting differently."

"Yes, yes, exactly!" the Shadow Guard exclaimed. "Did she put a Gu on our lord?"

Xuan Qi’s lips twitched into a slight smirk as he turned to look at him. "Back then, even the Poisonous Insect King was a bit afraid of My Lord. What could an ordinary Gu do to him?"

"If it’s not this and it’s not that, it couldn’t be that My Lord has had a change of heart, could it?"

The Shadow Guard said it casually, but as the words sank in, his expression slowly turned to horror. "Don’t tell me I’m right?!"

But Xuan Qi seemed unfazed. "He’s a man."

"But My Lord is different! We’ve all seen how good he is to the Princess Consort! How could he just change his heart like that? I don’t believe it! And I won’t accept it!"

It felt as if someone he had always idolized had suddenly fallen from their pedestal. His entire faith had just collapsed.

Compared to him, Xuan Qi was very calm.

"The one thing in this world that’s hardest to understand is love. No matter how much he loved someone before, it can’t compete with the appearance of his true fated one."

"You mean... Song Xilan? No, no way! If it was her, why didn’t it happen sooner?"

Xuan Qi didn’t argue with him. He just continued gazing at the night sky and said quietly, "I’d advise you to just do your job and turn a blind eye to everything else."

Hearing this, the Shadow Guard grew dejected. He squatted in a corner without another word.

Xuan Qi let out a soft chuckle. "Such a naive boy."

The Shadow Guard tilted his head to look at him. "Yeah, not as worldly and experienced as our Senior Brother Xuan Qi! Oh, right, what was the deal with that person you were with before? Tell me about her!"

Xuan Qi shot him a glance, his eyes icy.

’It felt like he could summon a ten-foot-long blade to my neck in the blink of an eye.’

The Shadow Guard gave a sheepish laugh. "Fine, fine, you don’t have to say."

—

That night, Song Lianhe tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She finally sat up.

Xuan Mei had disappeared after dinner, leaving only Chun Hua in the room with her.

But now, even Chun Hua was gone!

Song Lianhe slipped on her shoes, threw a robe over her shoulders, and pushed the door open to step out onto the veranda.

The mountain air was chilly. She tightened her robe and retreated back into the room.

Just as she closed the door, an arm wrapped fiercely around her waist. Before she could cry out, a hand covered her mouth. She was spun around, and when she looked up, she saw a familiar mask...

The dead memories came flooding back.

Song Lianhe’s mind went blank with a buzz, filled with images of that dilapidated shack, of the immobilized man she had done as she pleased with...

She was still in a daze when the man hoisted her over his shoulder.

The man threw her onto the couch, and what followed was the most familiar and intimate of acts...

Song Lianhe suddenly snapped back to reality, life flooding back into her eyes. In a brief moment when he was lost in his passion, she moved with lightning speed and snatched off his mask—

In the middle of the night, a few strange cries could be heard. They sounded like a crow, or perhaps an eagle, calling out with great delight and a hint of gloating.

Inside the room, Song Lianhe sat at the table with her arms crossed, her eyes locked on the black-clad man reclining on the couch.

She let out a derisive snort and spoke first. "You’re quite skilled at this sort of thing, aren’t you? Sneaking in to steal a moment of passion."

The man on the couch wore only a black inner robe, open at the chest to reveal his chiseled abs. His eyes held a lighthearted smile as he gazed at her.

"Between a husband and wife, this is called spicing things up."

"Hah. Spicing things up?" Song Lianhe shot a hateful glare at the silver mask on the table. "So, you never told me because you wanted to see me make a fool of myself?"

Zhou Cangyan pressed his lips together, a satisfied smile playing at the corners. He looked utterly content.

"You’re mistaken, my wife. How could your husband bear to see you make a fool of yourself? I was merely feeling nostalgic for the past and wanted to meet you this way."

"Nostalgic?"

Song Lianhe was good at picking up on keywords.

’She suddenly thought of the scene she’d witnessed earlier today. Is he trying to use the past to awaken something?’

’Old feelings? Or his conscience?’

Her thoughts were a mess. And just now, the two of them had... In short, the situation was complicated. The only way to communicate effectively was for both of them to calm down.

She abruptly stood up. "Alright, it’ll be dawn soon. It wouldn’t be good for you to be found here. You should go back."

This attitude of hers—casting him aside after they were done—displeased Zhou Cangyan.

He sat up lazily. "In such a hurry to send me away. Who are you hoping to see?"

Song Lianhe furrowed her brow and turned her head to look at him. "Zhou Biwu, don’t you dare try to pin the blame on me just because you have a guilty conscience!"

She took a step forward and jabbed her finger hard into his chest. "Don’t think I can’t tell that something’s off with you tonight! You know perfectly well who you saw that made you like this! The only reason you came here was because you were desperate to confirm something! And you know exactly what that something is!" 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Her eyes were bright and clear, and as she glared at him, she showed no sign of backing down.

She looked so delicate, but when she got angry, she was like a little wildcat with all its fur standing on end.

Zhou Cangyan watched her for a moment, then suddenly grabbed her hand and flipped her over, pinning her beneath him.

"We can talk about what’s clear or not later. Right now, there’s still business to attend to."

Sensing the sudden shift in him, Song Lianhe froze. "You—"

Zhou Cangyan gave her no chance to resist. His thoughts right now were his own, uninfluenced by any outside troubles.