Reborn Princess

Zhou Cechen's eyes darkened, and he said, "I did use some tricks to marry Lan'er, and I deceived my father-in-law and mother-in-law." Then he bowed and said, "Jinzhi admits his mistake."

Li Helai, the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion, married Shen Jiyuan as the general's wife. She has enjoyed the greatest honor since her birth.

She stood in front of the window and heard Zhou Cechen's words and said coldly: "I am afraid that I can't bear the prince's apology."

"My Lan'er is different from the noble ladies in the capital. More than a decade ago, I followed the general to fight in the northern desert. She was born in that desolate land."

"At that time, the late emperor was afraid of the Shen family's military power, but was also troubled by the war on the border, so he detained my son in Yanjing City, calling him 'study with the prince', while the general and I stayed in Mobei for more than ten years."

"Mobei is not as prosperous as Yanjing, but it is indeed free and carefree. Lan'er has lived freely in such an environment for eight years."

"You only know that Shen Lilan is well-behaved now, but you don't know that she was not like this when she was a child. Back then, she was like a little sun in the desert."

"Later, my son's martial arts talent was valued by the people around the late emperor, and they strongly recommended my son to the late emperor to train on the battlefield. However, the late emperor was very suspicious, so how could he allow the Shen family to stay in Yanjing without any ties, so he sent the imperial guards to send Lan'er back to the capital."

"She was only eight years old that year."

"How can I bear to let her stay alone in Yanjing? But only in this way can I protect the Shen family and herself."

"I told her that she had to follow the rules in Yanjing, and she had to be calm and patient."

"But she is only eight years old. She happily told me that she can do it alone. She likes the prosperity of Yanjing."

"How could I not know her character? She is free and uninhibited and doesn't want to be bound by rules."

"In the following six months, I taught her how to write, how to draw and paint, how to play chess, and how to behave."

"But she can never concentrate on learning. She says she doesn't like these things, she doesn't like rules, she doesn't like writing."

"In the third year of Yongzhen, the new emperor ascended the throne. The general and I were recalled to Yanjing. But when Lan'er, whom I hadn't seen for four years, stood in front of me and looked at me as if I were a stranger, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to hug her but she took several steps back."

"From then on, she attached great importance to rules. She seemed like a completely different person. She was no longer the little girl who chased the pony in the desert and shouted, 'Mom, mom, come and help me.'"

Zhou Cechen clenched his palms. He didn't dare to think about how she had survived those four years alone in the capital.

"When His Majesty granted the marriage, the general and I wanted to draw our swords and confront him, asking why we couldn't decide our own life and death, coming and going, and marriage!"

"Your Majesty wants us to guard the border, Your Majesty wants to detain my son and daughter, Your Majesty also wants to decide the marriage of my children?"

"You royal relatives are so majestic! We must kneel down to receive the imperial edict and thank the Lord for His grace. The general held the imperial edict and angrily asked Lan'er if she was willing. If she was not willing, our Shen family would risk everything to disobey the edict. Lan'er said she was willing."

"Yes, she is no longer the little sun that wanted to pick stars and moons and run freely in the desert. Now she is just like me, bowing to the rules."

Li Helai's face was extremely cold. She looked at Zhou Cechen with an oppressive look in her eyes and said, "So today I want to ask you, why did you use all means to marry Lan'er? Was it for the military power of my Shen family or..."

Before Li Heluo could finish his words, he saw Zhou Cechen throwing up his clothes and kneeling on the ground.

Li Helai was stunned for a moment and looked at the man kneeling on the ground coldly. "What are you doing?"

"Jinzhi deceived his father-in-law and mother-in-law and used all means to marry Lan'er for no other reason than to win the heart of one person." Zhou Cechen spoke sincerely.

Hearing Zhou Cechen's words, Li Helai said, "Get up."

After saying that, Li Helai turned around and said, "You don't have to kneel to me. I'm telling you all this today because I want you to treat Lan'er well. Her journey has not been easy, and she is not as doted on as people in the capital say."

"She is my wife, and I will protect her forever."

……

In the dining room, Shen Xilan looked at her father who had been pouring wine for Zhou Cechen. She reached out to Zhou Cechen and grabbed his sleeve with concern.

The two of them were having a quarrel today, and besides, they were talking to their father and mother at Shen's house the whole time, so they didn't get to say a word to Zhou Cechen.

Zhou Cechen felt the force on his sleeve. He turned his head to look at Shen Xilan, held her hand in his, and gave her a reassuring look in return.

Shen Jiyuan saw all of this and he refilled Zhou Cechen's glass of wine.

"I heard that you were the one who was judging the recent case of corruption and bribery of officials."

"Yes."

Shen Jiyuan drew Zhou Cechen's attention to the wine table again.

Shen Lilan frowned and was about to stand up to stop Shen Jiyuan from pouring more wine for Zhou Cechen, but Zhou Cechen pulled Shen Lilan and pressed him down on the chair.

Seeing this, Li Helai said to Shen Yanlan, "Come with me and let them drink as much as they want."

Shen Yanlan was naturally unwilling, she held Zhou Cechen's hand tightly, and Zhou Cechen said in a hoarse voice: "Go."

Shen Lilan had no choice but to let go of Zhou Cechen's hand.

In Li Hetao's warm room, Shen Xilan sat on a chair and drank the tea that Li Hetao poured for him.

"Is he kind to you?" Li Heluo asked her.

"he's good."

"That's the same answer you gave me when I first came back."

Shen Lilan curled his lips, as if no matter what his attitude was, he was always nice.

"It's different. He was the good one before, but now it's me and him who are good together."

Li Helai was somewhat surprised by Shen Xilan's answer.

"He has feelings for you."

"I have the same for him."

Hearing this, Li Heliao smiled.

"Have you ever blamed me?" Li Hetao asked her.

Back then, between her and Shen Siyao, Li Helai chose to let Shen Xilan return to Yanjing.

Shen Xilan never told Li Hechao that even if Li Hechao chose to let her sister go to Beijing, she would have begged her mother to let her return to Yanjing.

Compared to the prosperous and stable Yanjing, Shen Siyao is more suitable for riding a horse on the endless grassland. She is very good at using a silver spear. Compared with herself, Shen Siyao has more of a general's demeanor.

"No." Shen Yanlan replied.

The warm room suddenly became quiet.

Li Hetao stood up and took out a string of green beads from the cabinet, which were extremely transparent.

"I prayed for you at the temple in Jiangling. Keep you safe."

Shen Lilan stretched out her hand: "Mother, let me wear it."

Li Helai smiled and put the bracelet on Shen Xilan's wrist. It fit her perfectly.

……

"It's snowing again." Shen Lilan looked at the large flakes of snow falling from the sky.

Li Heluo said, "It's getting late, ask the driver to drive slower on the road."

"Okay." Shen Lilan glanced at Zhou Cechen, whose face was slightly red. He seemed drunk.

Zhou Cechen bowed to Shen Jiyuan and Li Heluo and said, "Jinzhi, goodbye."

Li Helai smiled and nodded, but Shen Jiyuan didn't look at Zhou Cechen and glanced away.

"Dad!" Shen Lilan called Shen Jiyuan.

Shen Jiyuan had no choice but to pretend to be an old man and said, "Treat my Lan'er well."

"No excuses."