After the Cold and Aloof Husband's Mask Falls - Chapter 64

After accepting the assignment from Emperor Qingyuan, Gu Wanlan left the palace to find Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen was somewhat surprised that she had proactively taken on such a thorny matter, but Gu Wanlan did not explain her reasons. After they reconstructed the events, they realized the most critical priority was finding the remains of the granddaughter whom Old Mrs. Wang claimed had been tortured to death and gone missing.

After making the arrangements, Gu Wanlan returned to the estate as dusk approached.

Upon entering, she vaguely sensed the gazes of those around her lingering on her. Such a thing had been rare since she took control of the Duke’s estate. She was about to summon someone for questioning when Gu Lehuang, seeing her return, hurried forward, looking as if she had been waiting for a long time.

As soon as Gu Lehuang reached her, she grabbed Gu Wanlan’s sleeve and said anxiously, “Sister! I’ve been waiting for you forever! You’re finally back! Something has happened!”

“What is it?” Gu Wanlan’s expression tightened; she truly couldn’t bear to hear of any more “incidents” right now.

Gu Lehuang still found the matter hard to believe, but the facts were before her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, “Xiao Sun came looking for you today and got into an argument with Brother-in-law. That wouldn’t have been much, but in the end, Xiao Sun shouted that Brother-in-law is actually the Head of the Cui Family and that his entry into the Protector State Duke’s Estate was driven by ulterior motives! The news has already spread everywhere!”

“Oh, that…” Hearing this, Gu Wanlan instantly relaxed.

Gu Lehuang froze, staring blankly at Gu Wanlan. “Sister! That is the Head of the Cui Family, a man with immense power! He… he became your live-in husband! Does that not count as a major event?!”

Gu Wanlan looked at Gu Lehuang and comforted her, “It’s alright, don’t worry. I already knew about this.”

Gu Lehuang blinked her eyes. “Then… then what about you and that Cui Jue?”

Gu Lehuang was a clever one; she had sensed something was different, and even the way she addressed him had changed.

Gu Wanlan said tonelessly, “Mhm. I have already written the letter of divorce.”

Gu Lehuang let out a massive sigh of relief. She had long felt that Cui Jue hid secrets, but she never imagined the secret would be so monumental. Her sister had chosen a husband solely to protect the Duke’s estate; no matter how one looked at it, Cui Jue was no longer a top choice—instead, he would cause unnecessary complications. But despite the logic, seeing her sister’s overly calm expression, Gu Lehuang’s heart rose in her throat again.

What if Sister has already fallen for Cui Jue? Wouldn’t this be too cruel for her?

Gu Lehuang was about to say more when she caught a glimpse of a white hem out of the corner of her eye. She immediately shut her mouth.

Gu Wanlan followed Gu Lehuang’s gaze and turned her head, seeing Cui Jue standing beneath the corridor, dressed in white. Gu Wanlan froze for a moment; she had assumed Cui Jue would have left with Xiao Sun, not expecting him to still be in the estate. Sensing the two had things to discuss, Gu Lehuang quickly and silently departed.

Across the protruding plum branches, Gu Wanlan gave a slight nod to the man before her. “For what reason has My Lord come here?”

Only half a day had passed, yet to Cui Jue, it felt as if he hadn’t seen Gu Wanlan for half a lifetime. Seeing that she didn’t move, he walked toward her, pursed his lips, and said in a low voice, “The ink smudged on that letter of divorce; it can’t be used.”

Gu Wanlan was taken aback. She didn’t bother to dispute the truth of it and simply lowered her head. “Then please wait a moment, My Lord. I will go write another one.”

As they crossed paths, a low, husky voice reached her ears: “Could we… not write it?”

Gu Wanlan’s footsteps paused. Thinking of the affection Cui Jue had shown her, her heart tightened. Ultimately, she slowly lowered her eyes. “…Apologies.”

Cui Jue stood behind her, motionless.

Gu Wanlan also stopped in place, looking somewhat blankly at the sky that had been dyed crimson by the setting sun.

Memories of Cui Jue flashed through her mind one by one.

After a long silence, just as Cui Jue thought Gu Wanlan was silently urging him to leave, her voice came unexpectedly: “Do you want to watch the sunset?”

Cui Jue’s eyelashes trembled. He turned back in disbelief and saw Gu Wanlan with a smile on her lips, pointing toward the roof. “The scenery up there should be quite good.”

Despite Gu Wanlan’s repeated insistence that her martial arts were sufficient to carry him to the roof without effort, Cui Jue declined her kindness. He had someone bring a ladder and stubbornly climbed up himself.

On the roof, a gentle breeze blew, and the setting sun filled their vision.

“Like a salted egg yolk,” Gu Wanlan commented, propping up her chin as she critiqued the sunset.

Cui Jue smoothed his robes and sat down about a fist’s width away from her, saying with a faint smile, “When you were at Changping Pass, you loved the boiled salted duck eggs from the Li Shop the most.”

Perhaps because the day of their most intense emotions had passed, the two were unexpectedly able to chat so calmly. They even set aside their grievances to discuss the days at Changping Pass that neither had mentioned before.

Gu Wanlan froze for a moment, appearing to fall into a distant memory, before snapping back to reality a moment later. She propped her chin and turned to smile at Cui Jue. “So, you’re not hiding it anymore?”

Cui Jue looked at the evening clouds in the distance, feeling somewhat helpless. “I never intended to hide it from you. On the second day of our marriage, I was even a bit annoyed that you didn’t remember me at all.”

“How can you blame me? Back then, you wore that half-mask all day—you wouldn’t even take it off to bathe. How could I recognize you as you are now?” Gu Wanlan countered immediately.

Cui Jue raised an eyebrow. “You actually tried to peep at me while I was bathing?”

In a moment of carelessness, she had let it slip.

In truth, she hadn’t intentionally tried to peep; it was just the mischief of a youth curious about what lay behind the mask.

Seeing Gu Wanlan’s embarrassed expression, Cui Jue silently changed the subject. He looked toward the seemingly endless distance and asked softly, “What is Madam’s intention in inviting me to view the scenery?”

Gu Wanlan bit her lip. “I wanted to apologize to you, somewhat more formally.”

Cui Jue’s face darkened instantly.

Right now, the words he least wanted to hear from her were “I’m sorry.” He even wanted to get up and leave so he wouldn’t have to hear her rejection.

“Is that so?” Yet Cui Jue stayed, as if in a form of self-torture, speaking in an extremely flat tone.

Gu Wanlan’s mind was actually quite cluttered. She had only made up a random excuse on impulse to make him stay, but once she started talking, her thoughts gradually became clear.

She looked down, counting the patterns on the roof tiles. “Judge a person by their actions, not their heart. Whether at Changping Pass or in Xijing, you never actually did anything harmful to me or the Duke’s estate. Instead, you have always trusted and helped me. I was a bit reckless with my words last night…”

Cui Jue was startled. “Gu—”

Gu Wanlan reached out to interrupt him, raising her voice slightly. “Let me finish first.”

“…Mhm.” Cui Jue relaxed his body, propping up his chin as well to look at Gu Wanlan, who was bathed in the sunset glow.

Gu Wanlan took a breath and continued, “I shouldn’t have mocked you for acting in front of me. I’ve gradually realized that when I tried to entice you before, you refused to be alone with me and insisted on keeping the courtyard door open. And when you and Lehuang were ambushed in the woods, you were the one who led the assassins away by yourself…”

Thinking of something, Gu Wanlan laughed to herself. “As for the fact that you’re truly not skilled in martial arts, I think I’ve confirmed that after yesterday.”

Recalling how he was pinned by Gu Wanlan yesterday and unable to move, Cui Jue’s face darkened. He was a master of many arts, but in the path of martial arts, even after being reborn, he possessed not a shred of talent.

Seeing that she had broken the atmosphere, Gu Wanlan quickly steered the conversation back. “And after we married, the way you helped tidy the house and handle various chores—none of that was fake. Therefore, I think…”

Gu Wanlan paused and turned to look at Cui Jue, her expression extremely serious. “Regardless of your identity, those were the real ‘Cui Jue.’ Gentleness and being principled are traits you genuinely displayed. Thus, I have never truly thought of you as a cold-blooded, treacherous, and sinister thing.”

Cui Jue remained in his chin-propping posture, dazed, but his body instinctively straightened. A look of bewilderment even surfaced in his eyes.

He never imagined that Gu Wanlan had sought him out to say such things.

It was as if in this life, she had once again lifted the curtain of his carriage and pulled him out of the mire. Every drop of his blood began to burn at this moment.

After a long while, he smoothed the turbulence in his soul and found his voice, saying hoarsely, “…You only say that because you haven’t seen it.”

Gu Wanlan nodded. “Perhaps. But I am actually quite glad—glad that the person I chose back then was you. Because I cannot deny that after marrying you, I have lived very comfortably.”

“Just as I must also admit that while I will feel some reluctance to divorce you, it is something that must be done.”

Likely, she truly would never find another person who suited her as well as Cui Jue did. But to keep a Head of the Cui Family by her side… it was truly far too troublesome.

Thinking of this, Gu Wanlan ruffled her hair in frustration.

“I understand.”

Cui Jue actually laughed. He looked at the girl’s slightly widened eyes in the sunset glow and the golden peach fuzz on her cheeks. He felt as if even the winter evening wind carried a hint of warmth.

He liked her so much. So much that… he forgot all pretense. He only wanted to say how much he liked her.

Cui Jue reached out, avoiding her exposed skin, and carefully, gently embraced her—as if he were holding a precious, fragile treasure. He closed his eyes, quietly feeling the warmth radiating from her, and whispered:

“Miss Gu, I understand.”

Giving up did not necessarily mean the end; it could also be a new beginning.

“Mhm.” Gu Wanlan didn’t move, allowing Cui Jue to hold her, and gave a soft response.

Time seemed to stretch out at this moment.

Not until the sun sank in the west and only a single, brilliant golden line remained on the horizon did Cui Jue slowly release her. He fished out the letter of divorce from his sleeve—the one that already bore his seal. He had preserved it well; there wasn’t a single smudge of ink, though the paper was heavily wrinkled.

Cui Jue gently smoothed every crease on the document and handed it to Gu Wanlan, a shallow smile on his face. “Send it to the yamen. Let us divorce.”

“Alright.” Gu Wanlan took the letter and returned a smile.

Cui Jue stood up slowly on the roof, his robes and hair snapping in the wind that had suddenly grown stronger. It was the movement of the wind, and also the movement of his heart.

Facing the wind and the sun that was about to disappear completely, he let out a smile. “Miss Gu, you were right. The sunset is beautiful.”

Gu Wanlan tucked the letter of divorce casually into her sleeve, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and laughed loudly. “Naturally.”

After all. After the sunset. Only then is there new life.