Reborn Princess

Shen Lilan put a bonnet on Su Wan and got off the carriage himself.

"Mr. Song, the person is in the carriage."

Song Yan bowed to Shen Yanlan and walked towards the carriage. He seemed not afraid of the powerful but afraid of letting his wife suffer any injustice.

Shen Lilan walked towards Zhou Cechen. The man sitting on the horse lowered his eyes to look at her. She had to look up at the man on the horse.

Seeing this, Zhou Cechen was about to dismount but was stopped by Shen Lilan. He looked at Shen Lilan with some confusion.

"Shall we go back on horseback?" Shen Lilan looked at Zhou Cechen.

Qi State has an open-minded society, and it is not uncommon for two people to ride on one horse, but that is something that only happens between loving couples. Zhou Cechen's eyes darkened and he said secretly, "Okay."

He got off the horse first. Song Yan had already carried Su Wan out. After he sent Su Wan back to the carriage of the Song Mansion, he bowed to Shen Yanlan and Zhou Cechen and said, "Song would like to thank the prince and princess for saving the lady. I will come to thank you another day."

Song Yan rose to this position through imperial examinations, without any complicated relationships behind him. He was highly valued by Zhou Hengyan and promoted to the fourth rank. He seemed to have the bearing of a scholar, but Shen Xilan, who had lived his life again, knew that the humble man who bowed in front of him was not as simple as he seemed.

Shen Xilan and Zhou Cechen said nothing and just accepted Song Yan's intention to come and express his gratitude.

After Zhou Cechen got on the horse, he stretched out his left hand towards Shen Lilan. Shen Lilan handed his hand to him and was pulled onto the horse. The actions of both of them were seen by the people around them. Shen Lilan sat peacefully on the horse in front of Zhou Cechen, and the two of them rode away.

Song Yan looked at the two people walking away and raised his eyebrows slightly. Is this the rumored couple who are in appearance but not in spirit?

After returning home, it was already late. Shen Lilan and Zhou Cechen returned to Xiaolanxuan. After the calligraphy and painting was placed in the carriage for Zhou Cechen to see, Shen Lilan knew that some people were about to start making small moves.

In the huge Xiaolanxuan, besides her personal servants Lu Nong, Bi Rui, Chao Yun, Liu Chun and the two servants Chun Hua and Qiu Shi given to her by Zhou Cechen, there are nearly twenty servants and maids of all sizes serving her. She will not use those who are unfaithful anymore.

After dinner, Shen Lilan and Zhou Cechen parted ways.

The fact that Shen Lilan was able to go out of the house with Zhou Cechen to go to the market today shows that her health is fine. Even if Zhou Cechen is reluctant, he cannot take Shen Lilan away by force.

……

At night, Birui and Lu Nong helped Shen Lilan take a bath and change clothes. After Shen Lilan got into bed, Birui lowered the curtains on both sides of the bed, but was suddenly stopped by Shen Lilan.

At this time, there were only Shen Lilan, Lu Nong and Bi Rui in the bedroom. Shen Lilan said, "You two should keep an eye on Liu Chun for the next few days."

Birui and Lunong were stunned for a moment before they bowed and said, "Yes."

"Do you want to know why?" Shen Lilan asked them.

If it were in the past, with Lu Nong's personality, she would have definitely asked why. However, since Shen Lilan fell into the water, her personality has not changed drastically, but her majesty has become even greater. Everything she ordered was an absolute command, and as a maid, she had no right and dared not to ask.

"When you work for me, the worst thing to do is to betray me." These simple words made Lu Nong and Bi Rui both kneel down. "Your Highness, we swear to be loyal to you until death and have no second thoughts." They spoke at the same time.

Shen Yanlan chuckled after hearing this and said, "Get up. Only you two know what happened tonight. Don't let Liuchun find out."

"Yes."

……

At this time, in Liyuan Pavilion, Tang Song was reporting, "Your Majesty, after Prince Huaiyuan was sent to the Dali Temple, the Dali Temple Minister listed a lot of evidence, but there were no witnesses."

"The families of the victims were bribed, and no one came forward to testify that it was Prince Huaiyuan, so they had to give up. The crimes were also taken by Prince Huaiyuan's subordinates. The Dali Temple Minister had no choice but to warn Prince Huaiyuan to follow the laws of Daqi."

Zhou Cechen looked uncertain when he heard this. He naturally knew that there would be such a result. How could the prince of Western Xinjiang be punished arbitrarily for a crime he had committed in Yanjing City for no reason when he came to Beijing? As long as it did not involve the affairs of the court, ordinary officials could not do anything to him.

He continued, "In two days, the Emperor will host a palace banquet after Prince Huaiyuan arrives in Beijing. Prince Huaiyuan's visit to Beijing this time is not an ordinary tribute envoy, so the guests invited to the palace banquet are all royal children or important officials of the court."

If it were an ordinary envoy paying tribute, the people invited to the palace banquet would be more numerous, with officials from the Ministry of Revenue, Hanlin scholars, and Nei Shi Sheren all attending. However, this banquet was more like a royal family banquet, and the officials invited were all officials of the second rank or above or those specially authorized by the emperor.

"Tell those people outside Huaiyuan Palace to keep a close eye on them."

"Yes."

"Go back."

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Cechen glanced at him and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Chunhua and Qiushi told me that the princess likes to take them with her when she goes out today, and her attitude has also improved. Also, after returning home that day, the queen had an argument with Old Lady Shen and Yu Panchun, all because they belittled Concubine Yang. Also, Old Lady Shen had been intentionally or unintentionally asking the princess to take the cousin as a concubine for the prince, which made the princess angry."

After saying these words, I thought that their princess was really different from before. She always spoke and did things in a way that surprised people.

After saying goodbye, Zhou Cechen stood alone in the bedroom. It was quiet in the night, and even more so without her.

……

In the Wanhe Hall of the West Mansion of the Shen Mansion, a maid knelt on the ground with her head bowed.

"You are such a loser that you can't even do such a small thing."

The maid only felt a chill all over her body and trembled as she said, "That day, I followed your instructions and had someone put calligraphy and paintings in the carriage. After the prince found out, that person was punished and expelled from the palace, but she did not betray me."

"It's just that I've been feeling anxious lately."

Wang Ciyuan paused while she was holding the Buddhist beads. She winked at Matron Liu who understood and handed the white porcelain bottle in her sleeve to the maid.

"Don't you want to be Zhou Cechen's woman? At the palace banquet tomorrow, find a way to get Zhou Cechen to take it."

There was a gleam of ruthlessness in the maid's eyes.

"Yes."

……

Two days later, in the carriage of Prince Ding'an's Mansion, Shen Xilan and Zhou Cechen sat in the main seats. Shen Xilan was wearing a cang reed-colored waisted long skirt with a sky-blue wide-sleeved outerwear, which matched perfectly with Zhou Cechen's dark green outfit.

Zhou Cechen said softly to Shen Lilan, "You don't need to salute other officials when you enter the palace later."

With his current rank, he no longer needs to salute any officials.

This was the first time that Shen Yanlan had entered the palace for a banquet in the name of Princess Ding'an since her marriage, and he was afraid that she would not be able to adapt.

Shen Lilan was thinking about Bi Rui's report today. After hearing Zhou Cechen's words, he smiled and said, "Okay."

The carriage stopped at the Xuande Gate of the Imperial Palace. Zhou Cechen and Shen Lilan changed to the sedan chair. All the way, Shen Lilan was thinking about what Birui had said to him before getting on the carriage.

Yesterday, Liuchun went out of the house alone under the pretext of going out to buy something and entered the Shen's house. She didn't expect that Liuchun and Wang Ciyuan would be unable to hold back so soon. Could it be that his action of returning home that day irritated Wang Ciyuan? In his previous life, Liuchun took action two months later, but in this life it was much earlier.