Denghuangtai

Pei Qingyan's two lines of tears struck Yun Zheng's heart hard.

At this moment, he was truly at a loss, his mind in turmoil.

Having known Pei Qingyan for over a decade, he had never seen her shed a tear. This woman, who could almost be described as having an iron will, was now weeping uncontrollably in front of him. His vision began to blur, and even his heart and every part of his body trembled.

He had seen women weep before him before; the former Princess of Yongchang County, and later the families of some officials who had committed crimes, had all wept before him.

Some looked at him with tears in their eyes and cried silently, looking pitiful; others cried loudly without restraint, their faces contorted in agony.

No matter what kind of crying he did, it had no effect on him. He just felt annoyed by the noise and ruthlessly chased them away from his sight.

But at this moment, he simply couldn't treat Pei Qingyan with such indifference.

Her tears, falling slowly, were full and hot, and his heart ached as if burned by them.

"Ah Yan, don't cry."

The young man who could write beautiful articles in the past can now only utter four dry words.

His fingers moved from Pei Qingyan's cheek to her eyelids, his fingertips slightly cool.

Pei Qingyan had her eyes closed and couldn't see Yun Zheng's helpless expression. She could only feel Yun Zheng's breath on her face and the cool touch on her eyelids.

She had been secretly pleased, contemplating how effective Rong Hua's method of feigning weakness was, and was just about to figure out how to take it a step further. But the next moment, she froze on the spot, even her breath seemed to pause for a second.

A slight coolness landed on the back of my hand, so light it was almost imperceptible, yet it carried a slightly damp weight.

They were tears, Yun Zheng's tears.

The sudden tear, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly disrupted her previous joy, leaving her only stunned and bewildered.

In an instant, a crack appeared in the wall she had built in her heart. Without any external force, tears streamed down her face.

She used her emotions as a weapon, but in the end, she hurt herself as well.

The army was utterly routed.

She reached out to push Yun Zheng away, not wanting him to see her truly vulnerable side.

She pushed him away, but instead of letting go, Yun Zheng pulled her into his arms. She struggled a few times but couldn't break free. Instead, Yun Zheng held her tightly in his arms.

She tried to struggle again, but then she heard Yun Zheng whisper above her head, "Ayan, for the past five years, I've only been able to hold you like this in my dreams."

Yun Zheng lowered his head and placed a tender kiss on her hair, his voice tinged with pleading, "Just take pity on me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Qingyan slowly lowered his hand from Yun Zheng's chest.

Outside, the wind howled, and inside, all was silent. The two embraced quietly, as if it were the only tender moment under the night sky.

But... no matter how much you pretend, the fake can never become real. Even if Pei Qingyan can be controlled by emotions for a while, he can't be controlled forever.

Dreams always end.

"Yun Zheng," Pei Qingyan broke free from Yun Zheng's embrace, looking into his eyes with a coaxing tone, "You told me to trust you, but we haven't seen each other for five years. We've become complete strangers. Ask yourself honestly, can you truly trust me?"

"I can," Yun Zheng replied without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingyan was stunned for a moment.

"Okay." Pei Qingyan's tone was gentle. "With your words, I'm going all in. I'll trust you one more time. Actually, these past years in the North, reflecting on our friendship over the years, I feel quite emotional. Perhaps it's because we trusted each other too little that we've ended up like this."

Pei Qingyan began to rethink his strategy, patiently persuading him, "In that case, why don't we give each other a chance and be honest with each other?"

"Are you really willing?" Yun Zheng's eyes flashed with disbelief. He never expected that what he had been dreaming of would come true so fortunately today.

Pei Qingyan nodded. "Since you've asked, I'm naturally willing. To be fair, we can ask each other questions. You can choose not to answer, but you absolutely cannot lie. What do you think?"

Yun Zheng nodded and gestured for Pei Qingyan to begin.

"Have you really not sent anyone to the North all these years?" Pei Qingyan stared intently at Yun Zheng, waiting to see his reaction.

She brought up the topic again for two reasons. First, the topic had already been repeated between the two of them several times, involving life and death, so even if she brought it up again, it would not arouse Yun Zheng's suspicion or make him aware of her hidden thoughts.

Secondly, she recalled how Yun Zheng first mentioned this matter. At that time, Yun Zheng repeatedly emphasized that he "never thought of hurting you," and never mentioned "whether he had sent anyone to the North," not even uttering a single word of denial.

If Yun Zheng truly did not send anyone to the north, he could have simply denied it. Why go around the main point and insist on saying he did not want to hurt her?

This evasive attitude actually led her to a conclusion: Yun Zheng had sent people to the North.

As expected, as soon as she finished speaking, Yun Zheng's expression stiffened, and he slowly spoke after a long while.

"It has been dispatched."

After hesitating for a long time, Yun Zheng finally told the truth, "The north is bitterly cold, and I was worried that you might encounter danger, so I sent a few people to secretly look after you."

"Are there any letters exchanged?"

"Yes." Yun Zheng suddenly realized, and before Pei Qingyan could ask any more questions, he took the initiative to suggest, "I will send someone to fetch it first thing tomorrow morning."

His initiative saved Pei Qingyan the trouble of guiding him indirectly.

"That's excellent." Pei Qingyan smiled slightly and nodded.

After saying that, she pretended to be generous and continued, "To be fair, it's your turn."

Yun Zheng frowned, deep in thought. Over the years, there were too many things he wanted to know and understand, and for a moment, he didn't know which one to ask Pei Qingyan first.

After a long pause, he finally had an idea and slowly asked, "Have you thought of me all these years?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingyan was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected that Yun Zheng's first question wouldn't be about the secret she hadn't been able to tell anyone all these years, but rather about her feelings...

"Yes," Pei Qingyan replied truthfully. They had known each other since childhood, and their friendship, though broken apart along the way, could not be erased.

"you……"

Pei Qingyan vaguely saw Yun Zheng's mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't hear his voice. Then everything went black and she fainted again.