Ren Rude gave a faint smile and stroked his beard, "Itās all thanks to your pure and kind heart, Lady, that after so many years away from the capital, you still remember old affections."
Feng Yun forced a bitter smile and shook her head, then after exchanging a few more pleasantries with him, she took Kong Yunāe and bid farewell to leave.
As the two of them walked and talked, it seemed as if a cold glint was following behind them, as if longing to pierce through her spine.
Feng Yun smiled calmly and said to Kong Yunāe:
"Yunāe, in my farming tool workshop, there are a few small rooms recently built, where during the day workers are busy and at night no one disturbs. Itās warm and quiet, if you feel constrained living in the manor, staying there for a few days might be good."
Kong Yunāe readily agreed: "Iāll follow your orders, Ayun."
-
The night fell in Huaxi Village, and all was silent.
In the tool workshop, the light in Kong Yunāeās room had just been extinguished.
Then someone knocked on the window, making a āthudā sound.
She seemed to have anticipated this and sat quietly for a while before getting up to open it.
Their gazes met as they faced each other.
Kong Yunāe stood there without inviting him in.
"Do you need something from me, my lord?"
The face of the visitor was hidden in shadows, with only his eyes shining brightly.
"Yunāe..." he gently called out, "why have you come to Andu?"
Kong Yunāe remained silent for a long while.
"My affairs are none of your business."
She turned her back to him, "You better leave quickly, lest someone sees you and I can no longer find peace in Andu..."
The person outside, clearly understood.
But his eyes, reflecting the silver moon on the horizon, shone astonishingly bright, showing no intent to leave.
"May I see that child? His name... I heard you call him Hengyang? Did you give him that name?"
Kong Yunāe turned to look at him, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"That child is the son of me and my dead husband, whatās it to you what his name is? Now go away."
The visitor watched her silently.
"Then why did you call for me to come here..."
Kong Yunāeās face changed slightly, "I did not call for you to come here."
Realizing something, her eyes reddened, and she reached out to prop the half-open window.
"Go away, just go..."
The visitor braced his arm against the window, forcefully swung it open from the outside, leapt inside, then pulled Kong Yunāeās arm strongly and held her tight in his embrace, the unbearable longing heavy in his breaths.
"Yunāe, I havenāt forgotten you for a single day. How have you been... all these years?"
Kong Yunāe bit him in anger and struggled in his arms, panting heavily, "What good does it do not to forget? Jin Ge, stop pestering me, if you canāt do anything for me, why bother me?"
Jin Ge: "I can, I can do anything for you."
Kong Yunāe said in exasperation: "What can you do? Marry me? Or take me away to fly high and far..."
Jin Ge was taken aback for a moment, then looked down at her.
"Would you really be willing to leave with me?"
Kong Yunāe didnāt speak, but tears began to fall.
"Back then when I asked you to take me away, you refused. And later... when I had become such a person, how could I still go with you?"
Jin Ge stared at her tear-stricken face as if he was nailed to the spot.
After locking eyes for a moment, he suddenly clenched his teeth, "The one who ruined your innocence and humiliated you that year, once I find him, Iāll surely kill him to avenge you..."
Kong Yunāe said, "You canāt avenge me."
Jin Ge, "I can..."
Kong Yunāe was crying her heart out, not wanting to bring up the past again, that spectacle under everyoneās gaze, when she was stripped bare and displayed in front of the temple for countless eyes to see her insulted and body exposed, like a nightmare etched into her bones...
Even in front of the man she had once loved, she felt as if she was naked with shame.
She even remembered that Jin Ge had stood in the crowd that day, standing next to the imposing and refined Young Master Xiao San, watching her expressionlessly with those cold and detached eyes, a sight she would never forget for the rest of her life...
"Just go! Thereās no possibility between us anymore. Hengyang is not your son. My son and I have nothing to do with you. Iāve come to Andu to live with Ayun. Iāll have a peaceful life for the rest of my days. Donāt come looking for me again. It would only cause people to see and misunderstand..."
"Too bad, Iāve already seen everything."
A voice, neither light nor heavy, came from outside the door.
Feng Yunās face was hidden in the shadow, indifferent and resolute.
She just watched the scene before her, neither surprised nor scornful.
Kong Yunāe murmured low, "Ayun..."
Jin Ge shielded her behind him and looked at Feng Yun, "Why did you secretly bring Yunāe to Andu? Whatās your purpose?"
With a light laugh, Feng Yun said, "Of course, to help you fulfill your long-cherished wish..."
The expressions on Jin Geās and Kong Yunāeās faces changed simultaneously.
Then they heard Feng Yun say, "Donāt you want to avenge Yunāe? Donāt you want to find the culprit who tarnished her innocence and made her a public spectacle in Yunshui Temple that day, the one who sent her into the abyss?"
Jin Ge, "Yes. I want to know who it was."
Feng Yun asked, "And what will you do when you find out?"
Jin Ge, grinding his teeth, "Even tearing him into eight pieces would hardly soothe the hatred in my heart."
With a smile, Feng Yun said, "Good, then Iāll tell you..."
"Ayun!" Kong Yunāe breathed heavily, seeming on the verge of fainting, clutching her chest, almost suffocating.
"Please," she shook her head, tears streaming down, "I donāt want to hear it anymore, Iām begging you, Ayun, donāt say it..."
With a smile, Feng Yun said, "Yunāe, why punish yourself for a manās mistakes? What happened back then wasnāt your fault. Youāve been carrying the blame for a manās crimes for so many years, while the real perpetrator roamed free. Both you and your lover have been in agony. Why?"
"Ayun..." Kong Yunāeās shoulders trembled, her body shook like chaff, crying as if her heart was being torn apart.
"Donāt be afraid, today I will take revenge for you." Feng Yun took a torch from Xing Bingās hand, her faceās coldness like that of a sculpture freshly removed from an ice cellar, devoid of any sentiment.
"Iāve already brought the person here."
Without waiting for her wave, two soldiers escorted a man with a build similar to Jin Geās, appearing tall and robust, over to them.
His mouth was gagged, unable to speak, his eyes filled with terror and fear.
"Tie Ma?" Jin Ge looked at him in surprise, his face filled with disbelief.
"Why have you bound him?" He glared at Feng Yun and then turned to look at Kong Yunāe.
Feng Yun just smiled, "This is the person youāve been looking for."
Kong Yunāe suddenly burst into loud crying.
Jin Ge stood frozen.
Memories rushed into his mind like a flood, and he realized something. His face turned ashen, his eyes cold as ice in the light of the flames.
"Was it you?"