Reborn Princess

"The sun and the moon often forget each other, yet they remain close to the heart" - Prologue

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"Faster, faster." The woman in the carriage frowned and muttered to herself.

The bustling streets during the day became desolate due to the riots. She watched the rows of shops on the roadside drift away in the wind, and she was afraid that neither she nor he would be able to wait any longer.

"Uncle Zheng, stop." A deterrent voice came from the carriage.

Then she was seen drawing her dagger, cutting the reins, and leaping on her horse.

"Please go back." Shen Yanlan left after saying this.

"My queen, no!" The old man in his sixties hunched over and shouted anxiously, but what he saw was the woman's back gradually walking away.

"The military token is here, who dares to act rashly!" The woman on the horse sat quietly, holding the reins with her left hand, and the horseshoe tightened the reins. The horse raised its head and neighed. The woman raised in her right hand half of a military token engraved with a dragon, phoenix and flying clouds.

The fighting soldiers looked at the woman on the horse, and for a moment, some of them showed joy and some showed panic on their faces.

Zhou Jingmo on the city wall looked at her cunningly and fiercely. She had indeed deceived herself.

He curled his lips slightly and said mockingly: "Princess, you dare to take out only half of the military token. You are so brave. It's a pity that Prince Ding'an outside the city gate will not be able to see his princess in such a heroic manner."

Shen Yanlan glanced at him coldly and then looked at Xue Songyuan, "General Xue, do you recognize him?"

When Xue Songyuan came to his senses and saw clearly the half piece of Imperial Ink Military Token bestowed by the late emperor, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately saluted in the direction of Shen Xilan.

Zhou Jingmo, who was standing by, realized that something was wrong. Before Xue Songyuan could speak, he shouted to the soldiers, "Shoot your arrows! The emperor has ordered the arrest of the traitor Zhou Cechen. Guard the city gates!"

Xue Songyuan frowned and looked at Zhou Jingmo with a look that seemed to penetrate him. "Your Highness has overstepped the boundaries. Send him to rest." He then ordered, "Open the city gates!"

Seeing that the city gate was half open, Zhou Cechen saw a woman in white in the city. His eyes darkened. She shouldn't have come.

The corners of Shen Xilan's eyes turned red. She looked at the blood on the man's golden armor and face and tried her best to suppress her tears. She...finally saw him.

Zhou Jingmo narrowed his eyes, picked up the crossbow in his hand and pointed it at Shen Lilan. "Since the emperor's uncle and aunt are so affectionate, let's think about who will die first."

Seeing this, the man in golden armor's eyes darkened terribly. He endured the pain in his body, then whipped his horse and ran towards Shen Xilan. She must not be in any danger.

Zhou Jingmo curled the corners of his lips, and the moment Zhou Cechen rode out, he turned and aimed his crossbow at Zhou Cechen.

Xue Songyuan had never expected Zhou Jingmo to do such a horrific thing, and tried to stop him immediately, but it was too late.

"Your Highness, be careful!" Shen Lilan screamed with almost all his strength.

Looking at the man on the horse who was pierced through the chest by three arrows in a row, he stood in front of her and blocked the three arrows for her. The dazzling red spread on the man's military uniform.

Shen Silan felt as if his throat was suddenly strangled, and he felt suffocated and could no longer utter a word.

Hot tears ran down Shen Xilan's cheeks, and she looked at the man who was still sitting on the horse and holding the reins tightly with almost despair in her eyes.

He tried his best but still fell before he reached Shen Lilan.

Blood flowed from the corner of Zhou Cechen's mouth. He lay on the ground, looking at the girl running towards him, slightly dazed.

Shen Lilan knelt on the ground. Seeing that the man was already breathing weakly, she was at a loss.

She didn't know where to put her hands and just kept shaking her head. The hairpin in her hair was shaking and about to fall off.

The woman shouted "No, no..." Her tears poured into the man's golden armor and slid down to the ground.

Shen Lilan looked at the man and became more and more desperate. "Don't go, don't go..." The girl hugged the man in her arms and cried helplessly.

Zhou Cechen stretched out his hand, and Shen Lilan immediately took the man's hand and stroked his face.

"Don't cry, Lan'er... I'm not in pain," Zhou Cechen said intermittently with difficulty, "I won't be able to protect you from now on... I just hope you're well." Veins were exposed on the man's forehead.

Shen Lilan watched the man speaking with difficulty, and she knew he was in pain.

"No...no, I don't want to. Let's live together," Shen Lilan said weakly.

Hearing the word "together", Zhou Cechen's smile became even more intense.

Shen Lilan saw the pale face of the man in his arms. He was already dying but still had a smile on his face.

Her heart tightened, she felt powerless, regret and despair intertwined, and she knew that she would never see him again.

A tear slid down from the corner of Zhou Cechen's eye.

Shen Xilan had never seen him like this in his life. He was the high and mighty King Ding'an. He was very steady and even when he was angry, people around him could hardly notice it.

Zhou Cechen wiped away the tears from the corners of Shen Lilan's eyes with his thumb.

"Lan'er... I trapped you for five years. I ruined you..."

Hearing the man's words, Shen Lilan could do nothing but shake her head, "No... No... I never regretted marrying you... I... I was too stupid..."

"It's my fault... Zhou Cechen, please don't... don't leave me, okay? I love you, I..."

Shen Xilan choked as she spoke, her voice becoming smaller and smaller until she could no longer speak. She just cried, and there was nothing she could do.

Zhou Cechen looked at the person in front of him with deep eyes. It turned out that she liked him.

The words "I love you" made Zhou Cechen more attached to this moment, even if it only allowed him to look at her one more time.

The breath of the person in his arms was getting weaker and weaker. Shen Yanlan's heart also sank a little bit with his breath. He was really going to leave this time...

"Zhou Cechen! Zhou Cechen..." The girl shouted over and over again, but no one responded.

At the city gate, Shen Xilan was holding Zhou Cechen in a daze, her face was pale, her eyes were lifeless, and her wide-sleeved white dress had already been stained blood red.

"I am incompetent, please... punish me, madam." Yanci knelt on the ground and saw the man in Shen Lilan's arms. The master he had followed since childhood had already...

The corners of his eyes turned red as he tried to hold back his tears.

"My queen, I'm sorry."

All the soldiers led by Yanci knelt on the ground, clasped their fists and responded, "Your Majesty, please accept our condolences." In an instant, everyone knelt down towards Zhou Cechen and Shen Lilan.

Shen Lilan was still holding Zhou Cechen motionlessly.

It gradually began to drizzle. It was April and the rain was chilly. At the gate of Yanjing City, there were dead bodies everywhere and soldiers were kneeling on the ground, unable to get up. No one dared to look at the noble woman in front of them and the man in her arms.

The sky gradually darkened, and a group of people still knelt in front of Shen Lilan as before.

Only Yanci, who was kneeling in the front, saw Shen Lilan trembling.

"Princess, please follow me back to your residence."

Shen Lilan did not respond.

Yanci bravely stood up and walked forward, wanting to carry Zhou Cechen back to the carriage.

"Get lost." A woman's gloomy voice came, and her words were stunned.

He stopped his hand in mid-air, but after a moment, he changed the position of his hand and hit Shen Lilan's neck hard, and Shen Lilan fainted.

It was already midnight the next day when Shen Yanlan woke up. When he opened his eyes, the room was dark.

She lay on the bed, not knowing what time it was, how long she had slept, or what she should do.

One drop, two drops, those crystal tears flowed out uncontrollably, wetting the beauty's cheeks and the pillowcase on the couch.

Looking at the dim and weak moonlight coming through the window gap, Shen Lilan couldn't wait for it to light up.

……

"Your Majesty, these are the prince's relics from the military camp. I have sorted them out and given them to you." Lu Nong handed a wooden box to Shen Lilan.

Shen Lilan asked, "Is it me?"

Lu Nong didn't understand what Shen Lilan said and was slightly stunned.

"If I hadn't gone, he wouldn't have died."

After listening to Shen Lilan's words, Lu Nong said softly, "Your Majesty, the prince led an army of 30,000 to repel the Xiongnu and returned to the court. The soldiers were already exhausted, but were stopped outside the city gate. After fighting for two hours, the whole army was already annihilated."

"The prince was seriously injured in many places. In order to protect the loyalty and reputation of the soldiers and to protect the entire Da Qi, he ordered them to die together."

"If it weren't for Your Majesty, the entire Yanjing would have long been the territory of King Xuan, and the entire Da Qi would have been..." Lu Nong didn't say anything else.

But both of them understood that this might really plunge the entire Da Qi into turmoil and lead to a situation of division and separatism.

Shen Lilan didn't say anything else.

She opened the box and found only a sachet and a letter inside.

Shen Lilan gently picked up the envelope and opened it carefully. She wanted to know if there was any trace of him inside, even just a little bit.

The thing in the envelope made her dazed. There was a red bean in it. She still remembered that before Zhou Cechen went to the war, she had secretly put a red bean in the sachet she had sewn for him.

Shen Yanlan gently opened the letter, which contained only one sentence:

"I miss you so much."

Shen Lilan clenched the letter paper tightly with both hands, tears welling up in her eyes like a dam bursting. "Why, why... the Ink Soldier Talisman can save your tens of thousands of troops but can't save you..."

From the moment I married him, I had planned to treat him with respect for the rest of my life.

Everyone thought that marrying him was an exchange of interests, and she used to think so too.

But during the two years she spent with him, she changed her view of men. His kindness to her was never pretentious, and the love he had from the bottom of his heart could not be faked.

The woman clutched the letter in her arms and sobbed.

He is gone, I can't wait for him anymore...

……

"Snapped!"

The storyteller slammed the wake-up stick in his hand on the wooden table, making a dull sound.

"The story of this woman who risked her life to save tens of thousands of soldiers five years ago is a story that everyone admires. But this woman is really pitiful!"

"It was said that this woman rarely smiled after her marriage, and everyone thought she was forced into marriage, but who would have thought that she never smiled again after her husband died. It was obvious that these two people loved each other."

"One of these two heroes led the army to repel the Huns, and the other saved tens of thousands of soldiers with a military token. I thought they could live a peaceful life after returning, but unexpectedly, the two of them will never see each other again." The gentleman stroked his beard and sighed, "What a pity."

After hearing this, a woman in a white hat placed a silver ingot on the small wooden table and left with her maid.

The waiter saw the silver on the table and hurriedly ran out to thank him, "If Madam likes it, please come and drink tea often."

The woman had an indifferent expression and no emotion could be seen as she turned around and got on the carriage.

In the carriage, Lu Nong frowned and looked at Shen Lilan cautiously, "Madam, don't listen to that gentleman's nonsense. I will ask someone to tear down the store tomorrow."

The woman seemed not to have heard anything and remained calm.

Lu Nong noticed the woman's expression and seemed to want to say something but hesitated, and no longer dared to speak.

"It's time to end." The carriage was quiet, and suddenly a woman's calm voice was heard.

Lu Nong looked at Shen Lilan, wondering what she was thinking...

The Ding'an Palace was extremely quiet at midnight. The lights in Xiao Lanxuan had long been turned off. Shen Silan saw through the window lattice paper that there was heavy snow in the yard and a heater was lit in the house.

"It's so cold..." Shen Lilan looked at the glaring red on his wrist, which was getting more and more and couldn't stop flowing down.

The woman smiled, and at that moment when she curled her lips in a faint smile, a tear flowed from the corner of her eye.

"Lan'er is here to see you."

Five years after Prince Ding'an's death, Princess Ding'an hanged herself in Prince Ding'an's Palace and died.