Ning Wanwan, who lost her mother early and faced Lin Zhengyang’s bias, understood the loneliness of lacking parental love. However, she was luckier than Si Zhan because she had a loving grandmother.
She took Si Zhan’s hand, assuring him, “Even if everyone leaves you, I will never leave.”
Si Zhan fixed her with an aggressive gaze, declaring, “You are my wife, marked with my trace. Even if you leave, I will find you across heaven and earth. In this life or the next, I’m stuck to you, Wanwan.”
Ning Wanwan laughed, finding Si Zhan’s rascally behavior both exasperating and endearing. After a moment, she seriously looked into his eyes and asked, “Don’t you want to ask me why I know some unknown past life secrets?”
Si Zhan smiled at her, “When you want to tell me, you naturally will.”
“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.”
Ning Wanwan, though unaware of the specifics, sensed Qianan must be truly challenging. Still confused, she asked, “But why did the troop-hiding plan only start six months ago? If the bandit-nurturing plan has been ongoing for years, shouldn’t the troop plan have started earlier?”
Si Zhan took her hands, looking into her eyes. “Before, I never thought to compete for anything. My only desire was you. Knowing my life was short, I feared I couldn’t give you lasting love. I thought the Crown Prince was your best destination, so I wanted only to watch over you…”
“Until six months ago, when I discovered you cared for me. Despite trying to control my desires, I wanted to possess you. That was when I secretly initiated the troop-hiding plan.”
Ning Wanwan’s heart trembled. She had never imagined her past self would leave such a deep mark on Si Zhan’s life, nor that her every move could influence his destiny.
Si Zhan continued, “Later, I learned my illness might be due to poisoning. I suddenly understood I had a glimmer of hope to survive… Heaven knows how happy I was.”
“His lips curved in a smile, as if the joy had not yet dissolved, ‘So, I immediately resolved to reclaim you at any cost. Unexpectedly, heaven favored me, allowing you to become my wife so quickly.’
His smile vanished, his phoenix eyes darkening as he spoke fiercely, ‘Rest assured, if I can protect your peace for a lifetime, even if it means turning the entire world into a river of blood, I, Si Zhan, will not hesitate.’
He was raising troops to protect her lifelong peace.
‘Don’t!’ Ning Wanwan quickly raised her hand to cover Si Zhan’s mouth, her tone urgent.
Si Zhan was stunned, then gently moved her hand, softly asking, ‘What’s wrong?’
Ning Wanwan looked at him, her water-like eyes trembling, speaking with hidden worry, ‘In your previous life, you turned the world into a river of blood and died under universal condemnation. This life, I don’t want your hands to stain with the blood of any innocent people or loved ones again.’ Her gaze became extremely determined. ‘Brother Zhan, I absolutely won’t hide behind you for protection. I want to stand beside you, together defying fate.’
Hearing this, Si Zhan felt his heart surge and embraced Ning Wanwan. After a long moment, he trembled, ‘Okay.’
The two leaned silently together for a while. Si Zhan lowered his head, looking at Ning Wanwan’s soft crown with moist eyes, hoarsely reminding her, ‘Wanwan… it’s getting late.'”
Ning Wanwan suddenly sat up in shock from Si Zhan’s embrace.
Ning Laotian was up early, supported by Chang Mama, waiting at the main gate. As the Yiwang Mansion’s carriage appeared on the street, she happily hurried down the steps.
Before the carriage could stop, Ning Wanwan impatiently lifted the curtain and poked her head out, immediately seeing Ning Laotian standing at the gate with a smile. She jumped out of the carriage, excited to see her grandmother.
Before the servants could put down the mounting steps, she leaped down and threw herself into Ning Laotian’s arms, exclaiming, “Grandmother, Wanwan has come back to see you.”
Ning Laotian hugged her, laughing heartily, “Oh, my Wanwan has finally returned. Grandmother has been waiting.”
Si Zhan also got down from the carriage and, walking to Ning Laotian, cupped his hands in greeting, “Huaijin pays respects to Grandmother.”
“Good, good,” Ning Laotian said, nodding with satisfaction. “Come, let’s go inside and talk.”
In the Gu Shou Hall, Ning Laotian sat in the main seat, with Ning Wanwan next to her on a small stool. She held Ning Laotian’s arm and asked, “Has Grandmother been well recently?”
“Fine, fine,” Ning Laotian replied, her smile mixed with a bit of helplessness.
“You’ve only been away from Grandmother for a few days.”
Ning Wanwan pouted, “But I feel like I’ve been away for a long time.”
Si Zhan looked at her indulgently, “Wanwan, if you miss Grandmother, you can move back to keep her company for a while.”
Ning Wanwan’s eyes lit up as she turned to Si Zhan, “Can I?”
“Absolutely not,” her grandmother interrupted.
Ning Wanwan looked at her grandmother’s reproachful expression. “You’re a new bride. How can you go back home right after getting married? People would laugh at you.”
Si Zhan laughed, “Grandmother, there’s no problem. Wanwan can come back anytime she wants.”
Her grandmother looked at Si Zhan with gratitude and then took Ning Wanwan’s hand. “You can see Grandmother often, but staying isn’t possible. After a woman marries, she belongs to another family. Returning home right after marriage would lead to gossip about being an abandoned wife.”
Ning Wanwan nodded, “Okay, I’ll just come back to see Grandmother often.”
After chatting for a while, it was time for lunch. Ning Wanwan helped her grandmother to the Jade Hall for an afternoon rest.
