I had to meet Hongdi, attempting to reason with him to reject this condition. He smiled and asked, “Are you sure you want to refuse?” I hesitated, and seeing my uncertainty, he nodded. “Or you can meet him first. You will definitely like him.”
I gritted my teeth. “Thank you for your kindness, but I currently do not want—”
A tall, elegant man stepped out from behind the screen, stunning me and causing me to forget my prepared reasons. Hongdi laughed, “I knew you wouldn’t want to refuse him.”
The man wore a blue robe and a wooden hairpin, smiling gently. “A Yao, I’m back.”
The princess of Nanrui and the doctor who cured her cold soon married, and this romantic story spread throughout Nanrui and two other countries. An Jin’s presence was just the remedy for my heartache; with him here, what illness could not be healed?
After the incident in Qi Kingdom, An Jin returned with Xia Zhichun, hoping to reunite with his mother-in-law and put the secret department behind him. However, she refused to leave Qi Kingdom for Nanrui. Just as he was about to inform me of the situation, his mother-in-law passed away.
Grief-stricken, An Jin began preparing her funeral, burying her and his father-in-law together per her wishes. While managing the chaotic funeral arrangements, he encountered a group of highly skilled assassins. Despite his martial arts abilities and assistance from several elders, he was injured, severing the tendons in his left hand. Without timely treatment, that arm lost its function, and I wept bitterly, holding his powerless hand. An Jin reassured me that he had returned and everything would be fine.
The assassins were likely sent by Yan He and Xia Zhichun. Neither Western Liang nor Qi Kingdom could accommodate us, leaving Nanrui, under the protection of the royal family, as our only safe option.
I begged Hongdi for another wedding to give An Jin an official status in Nanrui. Although Hongdi had initially hoped I would marry General Shen for the family’s loyalty, he eventually agreed due to my insistence and An Jin’s possession of the black gold symbol.
