Shen Fu was a stubborn man.
As long as he believed this was for his benefactor’s protection, he would never let her leave, no matter what.
Besides, after what had happened to Xuan i, she didn’t want to drag him into her ss, so she obediently returned to her room.
"Tsk, tsk. Prince Qing is quite the thoughtful one, isn’t he?"
Cao Ying, as a seasoned love guru, cut right to the heart of the matter. "I’ve never seen Prince Qing care about anyone this much! Just tell , how many tis has he saved you now? He even made an enemy of the National Guardian General for you... The way I see it, his feelings for you are..."
"A bond of true loyalty!"
Song Lianhe cut her off, correcting her seriously, "He just can’t stand to see the Song Family bullying . He’s just being chivalrous."
Cao Ying gave her a strange look. "Do you really think so?"
Song Lianhe froze for a second. A strange feeling stirred in her heart, as if sothing was about to break through the surface.
Just then, Huai Xu personally brought in a bowl of dicinal soup. "Princess Consort, it’s ti for your dicine."
"Just leave it there. Thank you, Young Master Huai..."
Song Lianhe’s head snapped up. "Wait! Young Master Huai, what did you just call ?"
"Princess Consort!"
Huai Xu was refined and courteous, the very model of a gentleman; he would never joke about sothing like this.
"The marriage between you, Second Miss, and King Qing was personally bestowed by the Holy Emperor. Though the grand ceremony hasn’t taken place, it’s only a matter of ti before you’re called ’Princess Consort’."
"You... hold on. This is a lot to take in. I need a minute."
Song Lianhe let Shuang Ye help her to a chair and slowly sat down. After a long mont, she asked nervously, "The imperial decree... wasn’t it fake?"
’It was just an act, for Zhou Junlin’s benefit. Otherwise, staying behind in that situation would have only led to more chaos.’
Before Huai Xu could speak, Cao Ying exclaid, "What are you talking about? Who would dare joke about sothing like that? Forging an imperial decree is a beheading offense!"
"..."
’So... all of it was real.’
’The Holy Emperor really arranged a marriage between and Zhou Cangyan?!’
Song Lianhe stood there in shock, her ears ringing.
’It felt like I’d just managed to climb out of one fiery pit, only to fall straight into another.’
’And what was the villain’s ending? Shot to death by a thousand arrows!’
’The only two people with the most miserable deaths in the whole book were and the villain.’
’Good grief. Now that we’re shackled together, is this supposed to be a competition to see who can die a more tragic death on the road to ruin?!’
Song Lianhe couldn’t stay calm. She paced around the room anxiously, hands raised in exasperation. "How could this happen?"
’The Holy Emperor orders a marriage, and Zhou Cangyan doesn’t even object? What is he playing at? If he’s saddled with a burden like , what about his grand plan?’
Cao Ying could understand her feelings. If it were anyone else, it might be one thing, but this was the "Heavenly Kill Slash"! Look at what happened to Xin Haiyun. Sure, she had done wrong, but... but he’d skinned her! He was capable of sothing so cruel, which just went to show how truly vicious his nature was!
’If soone married him, he might just skin them alive if he got unhappy...’
HISS...
Cao Ying shuddered and looked at Song Lianhe with pity.
"He must have been frad!"
Song Lianhe stopped abruptly. Under Cao Ying’s astonished gaze, she said with absolute conviction, "Soone must be trying to harm him, and that’s why they’re making marry him!"
’So this whole arranged marriage is a trap!’
Cao Ying: "..."
’Well, whatever makes you happy.’
She went along with Song Lianhe’s line of thinking. "If that’s really the case, you don’t need to worry too much. He is a Prince, after all, and the Holy Emperor’s own brother."
Song Lianhe’s expression turned serious. "That’s precisely why he’s in more danger."
"What did you say?"
Her voice was too quiet for Cao Ying to hear clearly.
Song Lianhe couldn’t explain. The unease in her heart grew. A plot point that wasn’t in the original book had just occurred, and the ending was now uncertain. How could she not panic?
She suddenly looked up at Cao Ying. "Sister Cao, where’s the maid you brought with you?"
—
Song Lianhe thought she had left the Prince Qing Mansion unnoticed, until soone called out to her from behind.
"Sister i?"
She turned to see Xuan i dressed in black, her long hair tied back with only a red ribbon. Her posture was perfectly straight, showing no sign of injury.
Xuan i looked impassively at the person before her, who had her hair in a maid’s double bun, and said bluntly, "It will be useless even if you go."
Song Lianhe froze for a mont, then quickly asked, "Do you know where he is?"
"The Ministry of Justice."
As expected. Song Lianhe recalled the book ntioning that the Ministry of Justice was the highest judicial body in the Da Cheng Country. Any officials or mbers of the imperial family who committed a cri had to be handed over to the Ministry for investigation.
’As the villain, there were too many people who wanted to bring him down from the shadows. Once he entered a place like that, they would never let him walk out with his na cleared.’
She suddenly recalled last night. In a daze, she had seen him personally lift Lin Shuniang’s morial tablet. For soone so arrogant and unruly, his face held a rare solemnity and respect. He had ordered the steward to set up a morial hall in the Prince Qing Mansion and invite eminent monks to pray for the deceased’s soul.
’At that mont, I’d completely forgotten that the man was the villain. In my eyes, he was practically glowing, and even the halo above his head seed to grow gentler...’
’Yes, gentle.’
’The idea of the villain’s halo turning gentle was both horrifying and bizarre, yet it stubbornly occupied my mind.’
’I was even starting to think that soone like him didn’t deserve the unfair treatnt he received in the original story!’
Song Lianhe’s eyes suddenly hardened with resolve. "Take there!"
’Even if, for this one mont, I had to beco the kind of goody-two-shoes character I’d always despised, I didn’t care. I have one principle: I’ll be good to those who are good to !’
’It’s a fair exchange, not a choice to be weighed.’
Xuan i watched her with a scrutinizing gaze and suddenly asked, "In what capacity will you go?"
"I’m going as..."
’As the victim and the Second Miss of the Song Family, of course!’
Her words caught in her throat. Sothing occurred to Song Lianhe, and her eyes lit up. A slight smile played on her luscious red lips. "As the Princess Consort of the Prince Qing Mansion, of course!"
’Since the imperial decree is real, I might as well make good use of this title.’
But was the Ministry of Justice a place one could simply walk into?
「Outside the East Yang Gate of the Imperial Palace.」
"Brother, please, just help Lianhe!"
Cao Ying hugged her brother’s arm, shaking it and wheedling.
"No."
Cao Jin refused coldly. "This is the Imperial Palace, and I’m on duty. If there’s nothing else, go ho."
He turned to leave, but Cao Ying quickly ran after him, spreading her arms to block his path. "Brother! I don’t care, you have to help her!"
Cao Jin frowned, glanced at his younger sister, and suddenly asked, "I seem to recall you saying that she was the person you despised most."
Cao Ying’s face flushed. "I... I do still dislike her! But that doesn’t conflict with helping her. It just proves that your sister——is a magnanimous person who doesn’t hold grudges! As my older brother, shouldn’t you be proud of that?"
"I’m not."
Cao Jin refused again and directly called over two of his subordinates. "If she causes any more trouble, detain her."
"Yes, Commander!"
"Brother... Brother!"
The guards held Cao Ying. "Miss, you should go back. The Commander ans what he says."
Cao Ying kicked and struggled in frustration. "You’re not my real brother!"
Inside the palace walls, near an archway, Cao Jin abruptly stopped walking.
He gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, his knuckles slowly turning white. His handso, heroic face showed a rare trace of tension.
Behind him, leaning against the wall, a slender figure had appeared at so unknown point.
"Commander Cao, might I ask you for a favor?"
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