It was only after Aran had died in her past life that Chu Hengyuan finally saw Murong Qingyan for who she truly was. Only then did he realize how much Aran had done for him, while he, in his self-righteous arrogance, had indulged Murong Qingyan, even allowing her to force that cup of poisoned wine down Aran’s throat.
If Murong Qingyan was the executioner, then he was the accomplice. Later, when Leng Yi and the others presented evidence of Murong Qingyan’s countless crimes, slowly clearing Aran’s name, he finally understood how absurd his life had been all those years.
A woman who loved him—how he had pushed her away, wounding her heart bit by bit. Even until the moment of her death, he had not spared her a single glance. How helpless, how terrified, and how cold her heart must have been when she departed.
When he threw the evidence of her crimes before Murong Qingyan, she did not change her expression. She claimed that everything she had done was out of love for him, that anyone who stood in her way or acted as a thorn in her side had to be removed, one by one. She insisted that only she could stand by his side; only she was worthy of the position at his side.
Murong Qingyan transitioned from her initial calmness to a state of near-madness. Watching this woman who resembled a demon, willing to stop at nothing to achieve her goals, Chu Hengyuan was filled with a wave of disgust. He longed to tear her to pieces right then and there, but that would have been letting her off too easily.
In the end, Chu Hengyuan had Murong Qingyan turned into a human hog. He had the imperial physicians keep her alive every day, placing her before Aran’s grave so that she would have to repent before the headstone day and night.
Later, ignoring the objections of his ministers, Chu Hengyuan insisted on marrying Aran’s spirit tablet and posthumously conferred upon Gu Ranran the title of Empress Chunyi. Yet, Aran knew none of this, and had she known, she likely would have found it laughable.
As Chu Hengyuan approached the end of his own life, his love for Aran grew ever more intense, and his obsession with her deepened. In his final days of delirium, he saw Aran. He apologized to her, but the moment he reached out to touch her, she was right there, yet impossible to grasp.
"Aran, Aran, Aran, forgive my selfishness and my ignorance. I realized everything too late in this life. I failed to give you comfort; I failed to let you experience the taste of love. If there is a cycle of reincarnation, if there is a next life, I will surely come to your side with no regard for myself. I will love you and protect you well; I will spend my life accompanying you, and everything you desire, I will give to you."
"Aran, wait for me! I am coming! I am here to be with you!"
Carrying this obsession, Chu Hengyuan was reborn at the end of his life. In this lifetime, while he was leading the imperial mission to manage the floods in the south, a landslide occurred, and a falling boulder struck his head. After two days in a coma, he awoke, carrying the memories of his past life.
Upon waking, he disregarded his injuries. With the decisiveness of his previous life, he swiftly resolved the tasks of the southern mission. He did not linger for a moment as he hurried toward the Capital. Chu Hengyuan had returned, but he was uncertain if Aran was still in his Prince's Estate as she had been in his past life. Only by seeing her with his own eyes could his heart beat as it once had.
When he found that figure he had missed for so long among the crowd at the gates of the Prince's Estate, he was overcome with emotion. He longed to pull her into his arms right then and there and tell her how much he had missed her. Yet, he feared startling her; she did not know how cruel he had been to her in his past life.
He had intended to return immediately to her side to protect her after reporting back to the palace, to never again let her participate in dangerous missions, and to bring every beautiful thing in the world to her. But he had returned too late. When he saw Aran collapsed in the courtyard, he could not help but hate himself for letting her suffer harm once again.