Chapter 31: A Woman Not to Be Taken, A Shameless Man
The distant sun hung low at the edge of the grassland. Within the black line formed by the beast tide, many flying beasts emerged, blocking the light, and the world gradually darkened.
On the high platform of the mausoleum, among the green parasol tree leaves, shadows dappled and fell upon them, as if night had arrived early.
Night often symbolized death and endings, but many times it also represented safety. Under the cover of darkness, people dared to do things they normally wouldn't, dared to reveal feelings they usually hid, dared to say words that were often inconvenient to speak.
Those words were often true words, heartfelt words.
At this moment, they could no longer clearly see each other's faces, only each other's eyes. Fortunately, their eyes were both clean and bright. Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes and was silent for a long time. Suddenly, he said, "Actually, there's something I lied to you about."
Xu Yourong was somewhat surprised and asked softly, "What is it?"
Chen Changsheng didn't answer directly. He said, "The reason I chose to lie to you back then was because... I have a marriage contract."
After saying this, he felt much lighter, and he was very certain why he felt that way.
After hearing this, Xu Yourong was silent for a long time. For some reason, she felt a faint sense of loss, but she didn't know why she felt lost.
Once courage was taken out of the bag, it began to radiate countless brilliance and sharpness. It was hard to put it back in the bag, and hard to make it dim again.
Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes and continued, "But I don't want to marry her. I will break off the engagement."
This was a supplement, an explanation, a declaration, a promise. Although nothing had happened between him and her, and he had no idea what she was thinking, since he had taken the first step in his heart, he had to handle these matters cleanly. Just as his senior brother had said, only by doing things cleanly could one achieve beautiful results.
Xu Yourong felt his eyes were too bright. She lowered her head and thought to herself with slight annoyance, why are you telling me this?
Then, strangely, she thought of her own fiancé. That guy had used every means to marry her... Yes, now she had to admit that her fiancé was outstanding, even more outstanding than she had imagined. But that guy's schemes were too deep, too hypocritical. How could he be as sincere and reliable as this disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect?
Why was she comparing him to that guy?
She suddenly realized this and felt a bit flustered. She asked, "Why don't you want to marry that woman?"
She asked this question to hide her emotional shift, to stop herself from thinking about those embarrassing matters, and also because she genuinely wanted to know what kind of woman he liked and what kind he didn't.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "My fiancée is very famous in our area."
Xu Yourong thought, the bitter cold lands of the northwest, where the once-great families had declined, were indeed a remote place. No matter how famous she was, it was nothing much. She herself didn't know about it.
"She... is very proud."
Chen Changsheng thought carefully. Although he really disliked that woman, he didn't want to speak too badly of her in front of another woman. After choosing his words, he continued, "It might be because of her family background, the different environment she grew up in. She's really proud. I don't mean she's arrogant or bossy, but she's used to handling everything from a position of superiority... including me."
Xu Yourong had never liked those arrogant young ladies from noble families. She said, "You mean she looks down on you?"
Chen Changsheng nodded.
Xu Yourong thought, with such outstanding talent, such broad knowledge, and such sincere character, if his fiancée still looked down on him, how proud and foolish must she be, and how terrible her judgment?
He said, "What I dislike most is her pretentious aloofness. We all grew up eating grains, not like immortals who dine on wind and dew."
Xu Yourong agreed with his statement. Whenever she saw those senior and junior sisters from the outer sect of Nanxi Zhai, with white veils covering their faces, walking silently without their skirts swaying, showing no expression to the world and seeming detached from mortal affairs, she felt uncomfortable. So she often sat alone on the cliffs and would go to the small town every so often to play cards, rediscovering some joy in life.
"But later, for some reason, she agreed to the marriage contract again."
Chen Changsheng continued, "Actually, I know exactly what she's thinking. She just wants to use me."
Xu Yourong thought, probably after he entered the hidden sect of the Snow Mountain Sect and began to display his talent, showing boundless promise, his fiancée changed her mind. At this thought, her opinion of that woman dropped even lower, even to the point of disdain—pride, foolishness, poor judgment—those could still be remedied, but this... was a moral issue.
"A woman like that, it's better to let her go. Breaking off the engagement is the best choice."
She looked at Chen Changsheng and said comfortingly, sympathizing with his plight.
"Yes, that's what I think too. Especially now, I'm even more certain that breaking off the engagement is right."
Chen Changsheng said, looking at her. These words were meant for her.
Xu Yourong, seeing his increasingly bright eyes and hearing the slight tremor in his voice, was stunned. She was an incredibly intelligent woman; how could she not understand what this meant? She felt flustered again, and it was growing stronger.
She remembered that she also had a marriage contract and hadn't told him. She thought this was the reason for her fluster, but she didn't realize that in certain moments, when the heart moves too quickly, it can also cause fluster.
The sky was dim, the parasol leaves drifted lightly, the numbness gradually warmed, and the high platform of the mausoleum was like night.
For a long time, no sound was heard.
"Actually... I also have a marriage contract." On the high platform shrouded by night, Xu Yourong's voice was very soft. If one didn't listen carefully, it could easily be drowned out by the rustling of the green leaves on the parasol tree.
"Ah?" Chen Changsheng's voice sounded very surprised, completely unexpected, and then quickly faded like water.
"Is that so? So that's how it is."
Perhaps the emotion in his voice was too obvious; anyone could hear his disappointment and sadness. So Xu Yourong's second sentence quickly followed, her tone a bit fast, a bit urgent, but the meaning in her voice was certain, without any wavering.
"But I don't want to marry him either. And I definitely won't marry him."
Again, it was an explanation, a supplement, a declaration... Could it be a promise?
The high platform in the night fell silent again. After a moment, Chen Changsheng chuckled.
Xu Yourong felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed, saying, "What are you grinning about?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Nothing."
If Tang Thirty-Six were present, he would definitely add at this point, "No one would believe there's nothing between you two."
Soon, Chen Changsheng came to his senses, thinking that her situation might not be the same as his, or he might be overthinking. He was curious and also a bit uneasy, asking, "You... what kind of person is your fiancé?"
Xu Yourong said softly, "I've known him for many years. Although later I almost forgot his existence, actually, I knew him when we were very young. I remember very clearly that back then, he was a very annoying child."
Chen Changsheng said with feigned righteousness, "Little boys are often very annoying... I'm no exception."
Xu Yourong said, "Anyway, because of something, I decided to ignore him. I didn't expect that a few years later, he would pester me again."
Chen Changsheng thought, acting like that was indeed lacking in self-respect.
"In our area... marriage contracts are very important matters, and this marriage was arranged by the elders, so it's very difficult to simply break it off."
Xu Yourong thought he was a disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect in the northwest. The "our area" in her words naturally referred to the Central Plains. To Chen Changsheng's ears, it sounded like she was talking about the demon domain where the Xiu Ling tribe lived.
He thought, the Xiu Ling tribe had endured so many hardships, and now the surviving members were very few. Reproducing was the top priority, and only allowing marriage within the tribe was indeed strict, but it was somewhat cruel for a girl longing for love.
"Since it's been so many years... hasn't your fiancé improved at all?"
"No. That guy's temperament hasn't changed at all; it's even become worse."
Xu Yourong, thinking of the things mentioned in Shuang'er's letters, grew more and more dejected as she spoke, "I have to admit, that guy does have some outstanding qualities, but... he also has many flaws that are simply unacceptable."
This was the first time Chen Changsheng heard her speak with such resentment. He thought, it seemed she really hated that fiancé.
"On the surface, he appears indifferent to worldly affairs, kind and honest, but in reality, he's scheming and adept at social maneuvering."
When she said this, Xu Yourong was thinking of how that guy, upon first entering the capital, had somehow connected with the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education and became a student at the National Academy. Using the struggle between the old imperial family and Her Holiness the Empress, he stirred up countless storms, which also allowed him to gain a foothold in the capital and reap great benefits. How could such a person be a naive country boy?
Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "Acting hypocritically is indeed not good."
Xu Yourong said with slight sarcasm, "It's more than that. This person also curries favor with the powerful. I don't know what... methods he used, but he managed to ingratiate himself with a noble. I won't go into the details."
These words naturally referred to the relationship between someone and Luoluo. Chen Changsheng said sincerely, "Logically, I shouldn't say anything since I'm an outsider, but... a man like that is indeed not worth keeping."
As he spoke, he wondered what exactly those "methods" were.
In his view, her fiancé was a more dangerous enemy than her senior brother, because it seemed she was complaining, angry, and criticizing. But as the saying goes, only with hope comes disappointment. Her complaints, anger, and criticism also showed that deep down, she might have had some hidden expectations for that fiancé. Naturally, he wanted to know more.
Xu Yourong didn't immediately answer his question. She remained silent.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, could those methods be so shameless that they were hard to speak of?
At this moment, Xu Yourong was thinking of the letters from the capital.
Those letters came from Shuang'er, whom she trusted most, and from Mo Yu.
In Shuang'er's letter, a scene was described.
In the spring-lit library of the National Academy, he was hugging and cuddling with that young demon princess.
In Mo Yu's letter, a scene was described.
In the dragon lair at the bottom of the well at Beixin Bridge, he was embracing the girl transformed from the black dragon.
Yes, even with many flaws, they could be explained, at most breaking off the engagement and becoming strangers. But it wouldn't lead to such disgust. Only these matters were unbearable. If she could tolerate them, that would be the greatest humiliation to herself.
"He likes to flirt with women."
She described it as calmly and objectively as possible, "And they're all naive young girls."
The high platform of the mausoleum, shrouded in night, was silent.
After a long time, a heavy thud suddenly sounded, followed by Chen Changsheng's angry voice.
"What a shameless scumbag!"