“Will you believe whatever I say?”
“Yes!” Si Zhan answered decisively.
“Do you believe… people can be reborn?”
Si Zhan was stunned, his smile disappearing.
Ning Wanwan thought he didn’t believe her and lowered her head, “Just treat what I said as a joke.”
Si Zhan raised his hand to cup her face, forcing her to look up into his eyes. “What happened to you in your past life?”
Ning Wanwan’s eyes brightened. Was Si Zhan believing her?
She paused, then said, “In my past life, I married Si Yi but was thrown into the Cold Palace and tortured for three years… it was you, wearing iron armor, who rescued me. Unfortunately, I died soon after.”
Dark clouds quickly gathered in Si Zhan’s eyes, forming an endless storm.
He finally understood why Ning Wanwan had become cold towards Si Yi and started caring about him; she had died tragically in a previous life.
Si Zhan tightly embraced her, his voice cold as ice, “Rest assured, in this life, with me protecting you, I will never let anyone harm you!”
Si Zhan believed her.
Ning Wanwan hugged Si Zhan tightly, saying, “I know, Brother Zhan will protect me. In this life, I will also protect you no matter what.
Qi Songmin was known for his litigious nature and open communication. Any slight news would quickly spread throughout Biandu. However, the matter of bandits in Qianan had not made a ripple there, puzzling her: “If that’s the case, why hasn’t the news of ‘rampant bandits’ in Qianan reached the imperial court?”
Si Zhan coldly sneered, “Not a single official or gentry has clean hands. As long as we grasp their weaknesses, they’ll obediently tuck their tails and remain silent.”
Harboring bandits and hiding troops—being both bandits and soldiers—was truly a stratagem of deceiving the heavens. Ning Wanwan realized that Si Zhan was far more deeply hidden than she had imagined.
Si Zhan’s cunning was unmatched, making one want to applaud.
“What’s wrong?” he asked when he noticed Ning Wanwan lost in thought.
Ning Wanwan swallowed and stared at him, asking, “So, Qianan has actually been under your control all along?”
Si Zhan furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, “Qianan’s situation is complex. Neither the imperial court nor I can fully control it.”
