Hearing this, Quan Heng became excited and turned to Wen Zheng. “Ah Zheng, come on—let’s go see this top scholar who shares your name!”
At that moment, Wen Zheng was consumed by dread. He didn’t want to face any of it.
Even though Ah Heng looked at him with such expectant eyes, he felt as though he couldn’t move an inch.
“I—I think I’ll stay. Look—someone with my name has already become the top scholar. I need to study even harder now… You two go ahead. I’ll just read in the courtyard.”
But Quan Heng wasn’t buying it. She grabbed his arm and started dragging him.
“Come on, I know you. If you’d said you were going to practice swordsmanship in the yard, maybe I’d believe you. Stop being shy—we’re going together!”
Wen Zheng really didn’t want to go, but he couldn’t bring himself to push Ah Heng’s hand away. So, in a daze, he stood up and followed her.
On the way to the main gate, Wen Zheng’s mind was a complete mess. His entire body was trembling with fear.
He’d already imagined a hundred explanations. Maybe it was just someone with the same name by coincidence. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought. Maybe he was just overthinking.
But when they finally reached the gate and saw the scene before them—
He knew that everything was over. Everything had collapsed.
His beautiful dream had reached the moment when he had no choice but to wake up.
Standing at the gate were Quan Minghao and Zhao Qingrong, along with a eunuch, a few guards, and a man in red robes.
And beyond them, a sea of commoners surrounded the entrance to the Yongning Marquis’ manor—packed shoulder to shoulder.
Wen Zheng didn’t dare look at the man’s face—until Ah Heng let out a startled gasp beside him.
Only then did he look up.
And the man looked right back at him, eyes full of hostility.
His face was exactly the same as Wen Zheng’s—except he didn’t have the red mole beneath his right eye.
In that moment, every alarm in Wen Zheng’s heart went off.
As they stepped forward, that man approached Ah Heng and knelt on one knee before her.
Quan Heng instinctively stepped back, unable to believe what she was seeing.
“Who… are you?”
Hearing this, and seeing the pale look on Quan Heng’s face, Shen Zhengyu’s heart ached.
“Ah Heng, I’m Shen Zhengyu. I’m your Brother Ah Zheng. Don’t you remember me? Years ago, we made a promise—if I ever came first in the exams, I’d come marry you. Now I’ve come to fulfill that promise.”
In that moment, Quan Heng felt a stabbing pain in her head.
She looked at Shen Zhengyu, then at Wen Zheng.
Two identical faces stood before her—it was almost impossible to believe.
“I’m sorry… I’ve forgotten. And I can’t accept your proposal.”
Hearing her reject him without hesitation, Shen Zhengyu grew anxious.
“Ah Heng, since you were three years old, I’ve always been by your side. We skipped lessons together, climbed trees to steal birds’ nests, and played tricks on that older sister you hated so much—have you forgotten it all?”
Shen Zhengyu lifted his sleeve. A long-healed scar came into view—it looked distinctly like a bite mark.
“There was once when we skipped class to see a play. You fell and got a long gash on your leg. When the doctor came to treat you, you were in unbearable pain. I was afraid you’d bite your tongue, so I gave you my arm to bite instead. I didn’t expect you to actually bite down so hard—it bled profusely. You don’t remember this?”
A wave of dizziness washed over Quan Heng as she stared at the scar on the man’s arm. Deep down, she knew he wasn’t lying.
All the memories from the past were vividly clear in her mind. There was no doubt—he really was Shen Zhengyu.
But if he was truly her childhood companion… then who was the man who had been by her side all this time?
She turned to Wen Zheng, almost unable to speak. Her voice squeezed out from her throat, one word at a time: “Who… are you really?”
Wen Zheng clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. Blood dripped from between his fingers.
He gritted his teeth, voice trembling, “I don’t know, Ah Heng. I don’t remember anything from before.”
He clearly didn’t want to cry, but the tears spilled uncontrollably from his eyes, streaming down his face.
“You say I’m Shen Zhengyu, then I am. But now… Ah Heng, are you going to abandon me?”
Hearing those words, pain stabbed through Quan Heng’s chest.
She had already fallen for him. She had already accepted him as the man she would marry.
She had taken her heart, crushed it, pulled it apart, pieced it back together, and handed it to him carefully, wholly.
For him, she was even willing to forgo the marriage alliance between the Marquis’ household and the Xie family—ready to cast everything else aside as long as she could be with him.
But everything that had just happened… had completely shattered her faith.
Just then, a eunuch finally stepped forward. He walked up, scrutinizing Wen Zheng from head to toe.
And then—he dropped to his knees.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, how could you be here? His Majesty has been nearly driven mad since your disappearance. Why haven’t you returned?”
The crowd erupted in shock.
Especially Quan Minghao and Zhao Qingrong—they were stunned speechless.
They had taken this boy in out of kindness, never expecting that he was the Crown Prince.
At that moment, Zhao Qingrong’s confusion was finally resolved.
No wonder she had found him so familiar the first time they met. Now, looking closely, the boy shared five parts resemblance with the current emperor, and three parts with the late empress.
Though the Crown Prince had been kept from public view for years, she had glimpsed him at several palace banquets.
Even with his face half-hidden behind a mask, the part she had seen matched this boy exactly.
But now—how could two people look exactly the same?
If they weren’t related by blood, could there truly be two strangers in the world who looked so alike?
Wen Zheng, staring at the kneeling eunuch, felt his head splitting with pain. His face went pale, and he instinctively staggered back a few steps.
“No—I don’t know you. I don’t know this ‘Crown Prince’ you speak of. You’ve got the wrong person!”
At this, the eunuch grew anxious. He fumbled in his robe and pulled out a portrait, unfolding it in front of everyone.
The man in the painting was identical to Wen Zheng.
Even the mole beneath his eye was perfectly matched.
There was no more room for denial.
“Your Highness, during your disappearance, His Majesty has been sending me to search for you in secret. I’ve always carried your portrait. Now that your identity is confirmed, please return to the palace with me!”
Wen Zheng was terrified. Looking at Ah Heng’s tear-streaked face, he was filled with panic and dread.
“Ah Heng, believe me—I really don’t remember anything! I don’t want to be some Crown Prince. Let’s leave this place, please. Let’s go to a village where no one knows us, just the two of us, living our lives together.”
The eunuch sneered coldly, “Your Highness, as heir to the throne, how can you entertain such irresponsible thoughts? Even if you’ve lost your memory, now that you know who you are, you must return to the palace!”
Wen Zheng ignored him. Instead, he strode over to Quan Heng, took her hand, and trembled as tears streamed down his face.
“Ah Heng, believe me. Don’t leave me. Don’t give me up. Please.”
Quan Heng felt faint, the pain in her chest unbearable.
From the moment the eunuch named his identity, she knew they could never go back to what they were.
In that instant, the figure from her dreams—his face and his silhouette—became startlingly clear.
In her dreams, she was pinned beneath Wen Zheng, violated by him. He never cared about her pain—only about fulfilling his own cruel desires.
No matter how she struggled to escape, just as she reached the edge of light, he would catch her again—and the torment would be even worse.
Time after time.
She thought she had finally escaped that nightmare. That by being with her Ah Zheng, she had found peace.
But now she realized—she had been in his trap all along. There was no escape.
The brutal kisses in her dream, and the forceful kisses in her memories from “Ah Zheng,” began to merge.
The face of the cruel, murderous Crown Prince fused with the man standing before her.
So it turned out… the redemption she had believed in was just a deeper descent into h*ll.
Suddenly, her chest surged with rage and grief. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining Wen Zheng’s robes red.
Her vision darkened, her body went limp—and she collapsed on the spot.
Everyone gasped.
Shen Zhengyu shoved Wen Zheng aside and shouted, “Call a doctor!”
Then, carrying Quan Heng in his arms, he followed Ziyun to Mingyue Pavilion, placing her on the bed and watching over her anxiously.
Soon, the doctor arrived. After checking her pulse, he looked at the worried faces of Quan Minghao and Zhao Qingrong and sighed.
“My Lord, My Lady, the young miss collapsed due to an emotional shock. I’ll prescribe some medicine. Please have it brewed and administered on time. But most importantly, she must avoid any further emotional agitation during this time.”
The couple nodded repeatedly.
After instructing Ziyun to prepare the medicine, they stood by their daughter’s bedside, hearts filled with turmoil.
Turning around and seeing the two identical faces of Shen Zhengyu and Wen Zheng only deepened their distress.
Their daughter lay in pain before them. As her parents, their hearts burned with helpless anguish.
At that moment, they no longer cared about offending the Crown Prince.
They issued a clear command to both men: “Young Master Shen, Your Highness—our daughter is unwell. Please leave her room.”
The two men had no choice but to leave.
But as soon as they reached the courtyard, Wen Zheng grabbed Shen Zhengyu by the collar, slammed him against the wall, and threw a punch—drawing blood from his lip.
“I don’t care who you are or where you came from, Shen Zhengyu—but Ah Heng can only belong to me.”
Wen Zheng’s fury was on the verge of exploding, especially as he stared at the faint smirk on Shen Zhengyu’s face.
“So get lost. Leave her side, now!”
