Chapter 43

Liu Changning was suddenly bumped into, her arms full. She frowned and quickly pushed away the man in front of her.

She took an imperceptible step back, her clothes slightly disheveled from the collision. She lowered her head to smooth out the wrinkles, and when she looked up, an enchanting handsome face came into view.

Liu Changning’s hand paused almost imperceptibly as she adjusted her clothes. She stood in place, tucking the fallen strands of hair behind her ear, a flash of surprise passing through her eyes.

She never expected to encounter him twice today in Jinling City.

Two years had passed, and her convenient husband seemed unchanged. He wore a crimson cotton robe embroidered with auspicious patterns, a plain white half-moon watery silk waistband, and the red cotton robe accentuated the man’s most alluring waist and buttocks, outlining a faintly visible curve.

His raven hair cascaded like a waterfall, half-tied and half-loose. Perhaps because he had nearly fallen just now, a few strands of hair disobediently fell on his crimson lips, which trembled, as alluring as a peony bud, unknowingly enchanting.

Liu Changning pressed her lips together, disapprovingly scanning the newcomer once more.

At this moment, a drizzling winter rain was falling outside the corridor pavilion, but her convenient husband seemed unaffected by the cold. On such a cold day, not a single button of his cotton robe was fastened, exposing half of his long neck. The cotton robe was originally thick and form-fitting, with the waistband tightly cinched, accentuating his tall and handsome figure, indeed adding several degrees of allure and charm.

Liu Changning had traveled for a year, experiencing the norms for male virtue set by elders and wife-masters of this era. Her convenient husband’s daily attire should have been severely criticized by scholars and intellectuals.

A man with a beautiful face and unkempt clothing could easily be labeled as unchaste and impure if not careful. This era had rigid and harsh doctrinal standards for the dress and behavior of young men.

She had traveled almost all the states and prefectures of the Jin Feng Dynasty. Except for the male courtesans in brothels wearing loose clothing, she had never seen any other young man so bold. Even male merchants who appeared in public all followed etiquette and dressed properly.

The person before her now, at the feet of the emperor, acted as he pleased, flamboyant and unrestrained, unbound by etiquette.

There was only one possibility: someone of high status and power was backing him.

A few years ago, she knew his identity was not simple. Now seeing him again in Jinling City, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, one glance revealed his extraordinary status.

If his family background was that of royalty or nobility, it might not be possible to acknowledge him this time.

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes, nodded in greeting to the person opposite her, and made to step aside to let him pass first.

Unexpectedly, as she raised her eyes, she met his gaze that seemed both sorrowful and joyful.

Liu Changning’s body, about to turn away, froze in place, her eyes flickering slightly. In her mind flashed a pair of identical eyes, so black they seemed as if ink could drip from them.

Within those eyes was overwhelming sorrow tinged with relief and joy.

Eyes filled with such complex emotions made one unable to look away, inexplicably stirring something in one’s heart.

Having been pushed away, Pei Yuanshao slowly raised his head. The woman not far away wore a silver half-mask covering her face.

Half of her face was exposed to the air, but her full appearance was not visible.

A pair of cold, clear eyes stood out particularly.

Her eyes were not round, but almond-shaped. The corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, and at this close distance, one could see the faint color in her pupils – not a stark black and white, but a glassy tea color.

Pei Yuanshao felt his body trembling slightly. The same eye color, the same figure.

Just now, when he had bumped into her embrace, her falling long hair had tickled his nose, carrying that familiar scent of grass and wood that nearly brought tears to his eyes – it was all the same.

Even though the half of her face visible bore no resemblance to that person, he seemed bewitched, desperately wanting to see her true face behind the mask.

If she had changed her appearance, if this was a dream, if she hadn’t died…

Pei Yuanshao seemed to hear the beating of his own heart, dead for so long. For the first time in two years, it… pounded so forcefully that he threw away his last shred of clarity and followed his heart’s desire.

His hand hovered in the air, trembling as it covered that hard mask.

The mask felt cold to the touch, and his extended fingertips reflexively retracted slightly, but the sound in his heart wouldn’t allow him to withdraw his hand.

Pei Yuanshao closed his eyes briefly, then suddenly exerted force with his fingers, pulling off the mask.

The face of the woman before him was fully exposed to the air – her hair piled high, eyebrows delicately shaped. Her complexion was like the spring dawn, refined and otherworldly.

He had seen that face before – it was the face of the world’s number one person, Prime Minister Liu. This person had personally draped a dignified red silk over him on the day of his miserable death.

On that day when snowflakes were falling, he had memorized her features.

At the moment of his rebirth, he had thought that when they met again, he would surely smile at her, express his thanks, and repay the kindness of gifting him clothes that year.

But at this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to smile, nor even muster the energy to utter a greeting.

The pounding in his heart ceased, leaving only bleak disappointment.

This person was not that person. She was the future Prime Minister Liu Changning. The aura of nobility that permeated her entire being was something that person could never imitate.

That person had grown up in poverty, unable to read or write.

Even the divorce letter she had written for him was traced from someone else’s calligraphy model, with even the name written incorrectly. How could she possibly impersonate the eloquent Liu Jieyuan?

That person was born a tenant farmer, with limited knowledge. She had stumbled upon a purple lingzhi mushroom on the mountain and mistaken it for an ordinary mushroom. How could someone so naive and endearing impersonate the knowledgeable Liu Cangyun?

But such a person had stood before him like a reliable wall when he was being slapped.

She had repeatedly shown impatience with his wanton behavior, yet did not look down on him, treating him as an equal. Inadvertently, what she gave him was tolerance and trust.

Only in her eyes was he not a wanton young man, not a young man dependent on women for survival, but a proper person, equal to her.

As Long Diqing in his previous life and this one, apart from the various experiences in the water prison in his previous life.