Miss Truth-Chapter 691: Extra II Sang Chen - (5)

Both turned their backs to each other and silently dressed, the atmosphere growing somewhat heavy.

"I’m sorry," Du Jiangli said.

"Yes, it should be I who apologizes to the Wife," Sang Chen said, ashamed to the point where he wished he could sink into the ground. He still remembered touching her body, "I will go to the Du Family to propose marriage as soon as I leave."

A look of sorrow crossed Du Jiangli’s face. Indeed, as Liu Qingsong had said, once there had been physical intimacy, Sang Chen would inevitably take responsibility. But she couldn’t feel happy at all.

Sang Chen was a person who, once he committed to something, would never turn back until death. Just as he determined that he had no relationship with the Cui family, no matter how humbly Mrs. Cui acted, he maintained this belief for twenty years; just as he believed in his heart that he would like Ran Yan for a lifetime, no matter how the world changed, he would steadfastly believe that his affection for her would last forever.

But he didn’t understand, if one truly could be so resolved, then where did the notion of the heart acting against one’s will come from?

"Perhaps I was wrong," murmured Du Jiangli. She shouldn’t have any more extravagant hopes, wouldn’t it be nice to just wait for him for a lifetime? At least it was better than before, in her past life she could only face an endless wait, but in this life, she could occasionally see him.

She was too greedy, wanting to have more.

"It’s my fault," insisted Sang Chen, hanging his head.

Du Jiangli turned to look at him, and under the moonlight, his handsome face still had a hint of unsubsided flush, which was heart-stirring.

"There are many women in Chang’an who won’t marry anyone but you, sir. Why do you indulge only me?" Du Jiangli asked with a smile.

The boldness of Tang Dynasty women was something Du Jiangli did not quite equal in extravagance. Sang Chen appeared gentle, but once his bottom line was touched, he would stick to etiquette and not give face. Many women had thrown themselves at him, and Sang Chen had refused them with righteousness, leaving them to be scolded harshly and to leave in tears. Only when Du Jiangli came to him, he would flee in turmoil.

Du Jiangli saw him sweating profusely, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then used her sleeve to help him wipe the sweat from his forehead, "Sir, would you like to wash in the river again?"

Sang Chen thought to dodge, but his body remained still, letting her wipe his forehead.

"You don’t know, I once had a dream. In the dream, I was married. My husband was a mighty Great General, defending the nation. I used to imagine what he looked like, counting on my fingers when he might return from the battlefield. Later, the Court sent someone to tell me he had died in battle. I was devastated but also felt proud," Du Jiangli sat with her knees bent, her face against her knees, looking at Sang Chen with a tilted head, "I couldn’t bear the thought of him being exposed in the wilderness, so I took the servants to the battlefield to retrieve him. I heard others say that it was already a corpse in pieces, and although I had never seen him, somehow, I believed that I would recognize him the moment I saw him! Even if it was just his remains."

"What happened then?" Sang Chen, who had been listening to Du Jiangli speak, temporarily forgot the embarrassment and looked up at her.

"Then I lost my footing and fell off a cliff, right at your feet, hehe," Du Jiangli knew this was somewhat absurd, but that’s indeed how it happened.

Seeing the confused look on Sang Chen’s face, Du Jiangli said jokingly, "The first time I saw you, I felt as though I had found him."

It was a strange feeling; Sang Chen was just a scholar, yet Du Jiangli felt he was the one she was looking for. Sometimes, she doubted whether she was just using that as an excuse to pester him after taking a liking to him.

But now she truly regretted it; this incident seemed to have backed Sang Chen into a corner where he might live his entire life in self-reproach and pain.

"Actually..." Du Jiangli leaned close to Sang Chen and whispered, "I am not really the Du Family’s Wife."

Sang Chen was taken aback.

"I am a fox from this mountain," Du Jiangli initially wanted to say a lone ghost, but she was afraid to faint him. After all, a fox is a living creature. "Have you ever heard that a fox, after living for a hundred years, can transform into a human?"

"That’s a lie," Sang Chen didn’t believe it.

"If I were a human, how could I fall from such a height and not die?" Du Jiangli said earnestly.

Looking at her, Sang Chen half-believed and half-doubted, "Really?"

"Really, and I will be leaving in a few days. I like you, so I want you to take me back," Du Jiangli grasped his hand, "I am a fox, not a wife, so touching a bit is no big deal. Half a month ago, I even saw you petting a rabbit."

"But a rabbit is not a wife," Sang Chen frowned, feeling the soft little hand in his palm, conflicted about whether this counted as taking advantage of her.

"I was jealous because I saw you touching the rabbit," Du Jiangli edged her way into his embrace, "I even saw you holding the rabbit."

Sang Chen looked down and saw Du Jiangli puffing her cheeks, a jealous expression on her face, truly resembling an adorable little fox, "I have read in a miscellany before that foxes can turn into humans."

As he said this, his gaze fell on her rounded chest, and he quickly turned away, "You should just turn back into a fox."

"I can’t do it by myself." Du Jiangli thought for a moment, "If you kiss me, I can change. Try it if you don’t believe me."

Sang Chen was doubtful but thought Du Jiangli had no reason to lie to him. So he bent down, briefly touched her lips like a dragonfly skimming the water, and stared at her with wide eyes, "Why hasn’t it..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a pain in the back of his neck and suddenly fainted.

"So innocent." A slight smile crossed Du Jiangli’s face; she carefully dressed him, then carried him on her back and started walking home, "Dead weight."

As she walked, she said, "My lord, I have no escape. Everything has come to this point because of my own doing, my own ruined path, but I have no regrets... At first, I always felt that fate was too unkind to me, but after tonight, I feel very content."

In her previous life, Du Jiangli’s father was an Imperial Censor, and whenever he traveled to solve cases, she always liked to sneak along. Every time her father thought about it, he would be scared; since he couldn’t stop her, he hired someone to teach her some self-defense martial arts. It just so happened the body Du Jiangli now inhabited was naturally good at martial arts and had good physical strength, so carrying Sang Chen posed no problem at all.

After sneaking Sang Chen back into his room, Du Jiangli carefully cleaned up the traces she left behind. After changing into her clothes, she wrote a farewell letter and climbed over the wall into the Temple.

Causing a stir among the temple’s monks, she handed the letter personally to the abbot of Ci’en Temple to pass on to the Du Family.

The Temple was no place for a female guest, so the abbot temporarily settled Du Jiangli in an area usually meant for hosting visitors.

Late into the night, Du Jiangli sneaked out and returned to the forest.

Sitting by the water where she and Sang Chen had been before for a long while, she then headed up the mountain. She actually knew the way here; the original owner of this body often played in this area, and she had some impressions in her mind.

When she reached the peak, the eastern sky was already revealing a hint of light.

With the mountain breeze whistling on the cliff, Du Jiangli took a moment to recall that she had arranged all her affairs, erased all traces, and aside from Liu Qingsong, no one would know she was with Sang Chen tonight. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)