112 Sudden Words

The Ugly Consort Who Came as a Dowry

Duan Nanyu’s body had recovered remarkably well, and his wounds were gradually healing. He would occasionally come to Yun Xueyan’s quarters for a walk, but he no longer forced anything upon her. Before long, life had grown unexpectedly peaceful.

Sitting in her room, Yun Xueyan found herself increasingly unable to let go. She was lost, unsure how she ought to treat Duan Nanyu. All she could do was remain silent; she no longer even possessed the strength to blame or hate him.

While she was lost in thought, Ziyu entered with Mu Wanying.

“Consort Yan, Consort Ying has arrived.”

Yun Xueyan looked up. Mu Wanying was smiling at her, and Yun Xueyan returned the smile.

“Ziyu, you may leave for now.”

After watching Ziyu depart, she rose and walked over to Mu Wanying.

“What brings Consort Ying here?”

“Your face…” Mu Wanying hesitated. “Can it not be healed?”

Yun Xueyan raised a hand and touched her own face, then shook her head.

“Whether it heals or not no longer matters to me. Since I chose to leave it exposed once more, I will not concern myself with it again.”

“What about the Prince?” Mu Wanying asked quickly.

Yun Xueyan deliberately lowered her eyes and clasped her hands together.

“What happened to the Prince?” she asked, pretending not to understand. With a faint smile, she looked at Mu Wanying. “Why are you suddenly asking about him?”

“The Prince truly is not as cold and ruthless as he appears. He is merely protecting himself in his own way.” Mu Wanying pulled Yun Xueyan down beside her and clasped her hand tightly. “Do you remember the time I made you wash the clothes? I actually knew your identity then.”

Yun Xueyan stared at her in silence, slightly startled.

“Back then, I only wanted to test whether the Prince truly cared about you.” Mu Wanying gave a soft laugh, her eyes brimming with amusement. “As it turned out, he did.”

“Cared?” Yun Xueyan echoed. There was a trace of disdain in her voice. “When has he ever cared about me?”

“It was precisely because he cared that he hurt you. You must understand that the Prince is a man who does not know how to express himself. He grew up surrounded by deceit and treachery; suspicion was necessary for survival. Without it, he might not have lived to adulthood.”

There was truth in Mu Wanying’s words, yet Yun Xueyan still could not come to terms with Duan Nanyu’s treatment of her.

“Let me finish. I am leaving the Prince’s residence tomorrow. There are some things I do not want you to remain unaware of forever.”

“You are leaving the Prince’s residence?” Yun Xueyan asked curiously.

“Yes. I will leave tomorrow and return to the Mu family. The Prince has granted me permission. In truth, when I first came to the residence, I was the one who begged him to marry me. At that time, the Mu family had been framed and could find no opportunity to clear its name, so I went to the Prince and pleaded with him, offering anything as a condition.”

“He agreed?”

“He agreed without setting any conditions, without even pausing to think. I assumed he must have had another purpose, which was why he accepted so readily. Yet after our marriage, and even after my family was vindicated, he never touched me—not once. He never even visited my courtyard.”

Mu Wanying spoke with growing emotion. In her eyes, Duan Nanyu was her benefactor.

“Only later did I learn that, because of what happened to his mother, the Prince would give his true affection to only one woman in this life—or rather, he intended to marry only one woman.” Mu Wanying smiled gently as she looked at Yun Xueyan, warmth shining in her eyes. “At first, I thought that woman was Yun Xiyin, and in the beginning the Prince truly did treat Yun Xiyin well. But later I discovered that the one he cared about was you. He became furious when you resisted him. He lost control when you were stubborn. In your presence, he could not restrain his temper—and he even grew jealous. I never saw him behave that way toward any other woman.”

Yun Xueyan gave a cold laugh and shook her head in denial. Those were merely the things Mu Wanying had seen on the surface.

“He treated me harshly because of the Princess Consort.”

“Yes!” To Yun Xueyan’s surprise, Mu Wanying agreed. But what she said next only plunged Yun Xueyan deeper into confusion. “It was because you made him feel that loving you would mean betraying the Princess Consort. So he hurt you and distanced himself from you, using that distance to convince himself that he did not care.”

Yun Xueyan’s heart trembled violently. Mu Wanying’s words left a deep mark within her.

“I will say no more. The Prince has now recognized his own feelings, though he is troubled by them as well. The day before he departed, he came to ask me whether he was also a fickle-hearted man. At the time, he said he would treat you well. He never expected such a thing to happen.”

Mu Wanying rose to her feet, still wearing a faint smile.

“If the opportunity arises, I would still like to accompany you with my music.”

With that, Mu Wanying turned around, drew in a deep breath, and then exhaled it forcefully.

“I hope you will forgive the Prince this once.”