"What?" Cen Yu hadn't registered what was said. Jun Yan was supposed to call him Father? What a dream!
"Stop dreaming. How could Jun Yan possibly call you Father... Who is Jun Yan?" After arguing for a while, Cen Yu finally remembered. Who was Jun Yan?
"My child, Xiao Jun Yan," Xiao Man interjected at the opportune moment.
Cen Yu finally understood. Jun Yan was Xiao Man's and Wen Mohan's child. "Why would Jun Yan call Nangong Yu Father?"
"Are you asking me?" Xiao Man asked with a look of innocence.
"Yes, I'm asking you. You're not going to get back together with Nangong Yu, are you? Your husband's body is barely cold, and you're already flirting with your old flame. Do you have any regard for Mohan?" Cen Yu asked, exasperated.
"What does that have to do with you?" Xiao Man asked indifferently, her eyes scanning her surroundings.
"How can it not concern me? I am Mohan's good friend!"
"You were, but you've already fallen out."
Cen Yu was speechless. He couldn't find a retort. Yes, Mohan had broken ties with him. Even Xiao Man hadn't forgiven him. No, this heartless woman Xiao Man would never forgive him. She simply disdained to kill him. If necessary, this woman wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
"So, you've gotten back together?" Cen Yu asked again.
"What business is it of yours?" Nangong Yu reached out to help Xiao Man. They didn't need many words between them; a single glance was enough to understand each other's thoughts.
Cen Yu gritted his teeth, wanting to lash out. But he wasn't their match, and thinking of how Xiao Man would resort to violence if provoked, he swallowed his words and walked alongside Chu Qingge.
"A woman's chastity is so important. Why don't you say something about her?"
"A'man is the Blue Moon Empress, destined to have countless consorts. You talk about chastity to her? Are you out of your mind?" Chu Qingge looked at him as if he were gravely ill.
"Nangong Yu is also the Emperor of Yusheng, with countless women in his harem, and he has a confidante. Is Xiao Man willing to be just one of his countless women?" Cen Yu retorted. Both of them were rulers; they couldn't possibly become consorts to each other, could they?
"Don't you think you're asking the wrong person?" Chu Qingge sighed, helpless. "I'm not A'man. If you ask me, I don't know what she's thinking."
Cen Yu snorted. He had disliked Xiao Man for so many years; it was impossible to change that overnight. Suddenly, a hidden arrow shot towards Xiao Man. Without thinking, Cen Yu shielded her. However, being on a downhill slope, Cen Yu took the full impact, tilting backward. He knocked into Nangong Yu and Xiao Man, who were walking ahead, sending them tumbling down.
Chu Qingge cried out in alarm. Seeing people chasing after them, she ran down quickly. But there were three paths ahead. In her panic, she randomly chose one and pursued them.
Feng Moran, who had caught up, looked at the three paths and decisively chose the middle one, as he saw Xiao Man roll into it.
Chu Qingge, holding her child, ran frantically in the darkness, with only one thought in her mind: she absolutely could not fall into Feng Moran's hands. Once captured, she would become a bargaining chip to threaten Xiao Man. If it came to that, she would rather die than be taken by Feng Moran.
Suddenly, Chu Qingge snagged on something and fell to the ground. She quickly twisted her body to protect the child in her arms, landing on her back with a pained cry. At the same time, she heard another cry of pain.
"Who, who's there?"
"Chu Qingge, you did that on purpose!" Cen Yu's enraged voice came. This path was a continuous slope downwards. After he fell, he rolled all the way to the bottom. Already injured by the hidden arrow, rolling down had given him a concussion. Just as he was recovering and trying to stand up, Chu Qingge, rushing down, stepped on him and almost crushed his internal organs!
"Cen Yu, it's you. You scared me to death. I thought it was an enemy." Chu Qingge patted her chest and checked on the child in her arms, relieved to confirm he was unharmed.
Cen Yu took out a luminous pearl to light their way and looked back. "Feng Moran isn't pursuing us?"
"He must have gone after A'man," Chu Qingge said, her face etched with worry. "What do we do?"
Cen Yu pulled out the hidden arrow, sprinkled powder on the wound, and took an antidote pill. He wasn't sure if there was poison, but it was better to be safe. Feng Moran was such a vile person; he was known for using underhanded tactics.
"Are you alright with your injury?" Chu Qingge asked cautiously. She had never liked Cen Yu, as she and Xiao Man were sisters, and Cen Yu had always been antagonistic towards Xiao Man, with his cold taunts and barbed words. This extended to her as well, and she wouldn't have paid him any mind if he hadn't been injured saving Xiao Man.
"I won't die," Cen Yu replied. After tending to his wound, he stood up, leaning against the wall. "Let's go. You walk behind me. We don't know what dangers are in here."
Chu Qingge obediently walked behind Cen Yu. "I used to think you were quite bad. Now, it seems you're not entirely terrible."
Cen Yu chuckled at the assessment. "So, am I bad or not?"
"Like an apple that hasn't completely rotted."
Cen Yu didn't much like that comparison. If an apple wasn't completely rotten, even if only slightly spoiled, given Chu Qingge's status, she would likely discard it without hesitation.
"Would you eat a rotten apple?"
"No," Chu Qingge replied frankly. "What I mean is, you're not beyond hope. Perhaps you can still struggle."
Cen Yu smiled. "Have you ever asked Xiao Man what kind of person I am?"
"No. A'man doesn't like to judge others. There's only one person I've ever seen who makes A'man grit her teeth in anger."
"Feng Moran."
"Yes."
"Compared to him, I'm indeed not that bad. That man is truly rotten to the core," Cen Yu said in a low voice. "If it weren't for his interference, perhaps none of us would be in this state."
"Let the past be the past. Look forward. Everything might be fated. Struggling is futile. It's better to follow this path and walk bravely. You'll surely forge a different world."
"Shouldn't I just give up and lie down?"
"Only the dead lie down!" Chu Qingge retorted impatiently. "As a woman in my prime, a new mother, how can I just give up? I still have to accompany my husband on the battlefield, cook delicious meals for my son. How can I lie down here?"
"Don't you have anything you want to do for yourself?" Cen Yu inquired. In Chu Qingge's heart, it was all about her husband and son. Did she have no desires for herself?
"Yes. To live well!"