It is sad, sometimes, to think of how brutal Jiang Cheng's honesty has always been and that it has brought him no joy, whereas all the sweet lies in the world gave Jin Guangyao everything he ever wanted (for a time).

"Sandu Shengshou is a kind man with a complicated past, please give him another chance at my request."

Easing that in gently, he goes ahead with the rest of the information she upends.

"I am three months into my self-imposed seclusion at Cloud Recesses," he reveals, since that is a timestamp that will say everything it needs to should the others need to know. "Coming here was ... a shock. In particular, because there are no lakes or rivers upon the mountains of Gusu, which initially made me think I had somehow fallen all the way down into the lake of Caiyi Town. This place is far more unfortunate, I can say."