Ling Qingwan rarely saw a trace of helplessness on Wei Xun's face, and she was more certain of what she was thinking. Thinking of the day when she fell off the cliff, she really believed in Wei Xun and was so absurd that she fell with him, which made Ling Qingwan laugh.
How come I failed in my previous life and am still so stupid in this life
"After I came back, I still couldn't figure out why those men in black wanted to kill me. Although I'm not a good person, I wouldn't have such a deep hatred for anyone. It wasn't until I learned from my brother that Zhou Peng had betrayed you and left the army on your way back to Beijing. You and I happened to run into each other at that time, and I was worried that you would make public the fact that I killed Hongxiu, so I saved your life. I never thought that this rescue would almost cost me my life in the future."
"I don't blame myself for saving you. What really makes me disappointed in you is that you lied to me." Ling Qingwan turned sideways, sat upright, and faced Wei Xun.
"Wanwan, please listen to my explanation..." Wei Xun frowned.
He was anxious to grab Ling Qingwan's hand, but Ling Qingwan glanced at him coldly. Wei Xun paused and then silently took his hand back.
"You know Zhou Peng must have held a grudge against you for not being able to kill you that night. And I, the one who saved you, naturally became a thorn in his side. You are a high and mighty prince, and it is difficult for him to get close to you. As for why he killed me, it was simply to relieve his hatred, or because he naively thought that my life and death could threaten you."
"You know all these things. So taking me away from the palace banquet, going out of the city, and even jumping off a cliff were all part of your plan. And I'm just a chess piece for you to catch Zhou Peng." Ling Qingwan said at the end, her words choked a little.
"I did this to protect you! If I let Zhou Peng go..."
"Tell me first whether my guess is right or wrong." Ling Qingwan interrupted Wei Xun.
"Yes... except for the last sentence." Wei Xun was embarrassed, but finally told Ling Qingwan the truth.
Ling Qingwan smiled bitterly.
"Since I'm doing this, I must be absolutely sure that I can protect you." Wei Xun's face showed an anxious expression. He was full of expectation, hoping that Ling Qingwan would be more lenient towards him.
"I know." Ling Qingwan's lips curled slightly, with a faint smile still on her face.
"If you hadn't lied to me and told me the truth from the beginning, I might not be as sad as I am today. Unfortunately, you chose to hide it from me. So I have reason to suspect that you have been pestering me and showing me kindness these days, all for the sake of your plan to be implemented smoothly. Even now, when you explained to me and begged for my forgiveness, I couldn't feel a trace of sincerity, only falsehood."
Wei Xun was extremely helpless. At this point, he had no idea how to prove his feelings to Ling Qingwan. If Ling Qingwan knew nothing about these things, it would be easy for him to explain. But Ling Qingwan knew everything. What she cared about most was Wei Xun's deception, and Wei Xun had indeed lied.
"Go away." Without waiting for Wei Xun to speak, Ling Qingwan ordered him to leave.
Wei Xun knew that no matter what he said today, it would not work, so he had to leave in displeasure.
A gust of wind blew by, and tears welled up in her eyes. Ling Qingwan gathered her clothes and staggered back to her room.
The next day, when Shen Chengzhou sobered up, Ling Qingwan went to the study.
"Have you really thought this through?" Shen Chengzhou confirmed again and again.
Ling Qingwan had just fallen off a cliff and had not recovered yet, but she told Shen Chengzhou the news without any warning. Shen Chengzhou was surprised and worried, fearing that something had happened between her and Wei Xun, which had saddened Ling Qingwan.
"Grandfather, Qingwan has really thought it through." Ling Qingwan said in a firm tone.
Shen Chengzhou had promised Ling Qingwan before that as long as he was around, Ling Qingwan would decide her own marriage. Whether it was Song Zhiqing or Wei Xun, if she didn't like either of them, she would not marry either of them.
After the next morning court session, Shen Chengzhou did not leave, but went to the Yangxin Palace and had a secret talk with the emperor for an hour. When he returned to the general's mansion, it was already noon.
Ling Xiao came to visit Ling Qingwan and was wondering why Shen Chengzhou came back so late today. Shen Chengzhou happily rushed to the backyard and told Ling Qingwan the result.
"The Emperor agreed!"
"What did the emperor promise?" Ling Xiao was confused.
"Qingwan thanks grandpa." Ling Qingwan was as calm as water, neither happy nor sad on face, her whole person was extremely indifferent.
"Grandfather, Wanwan, I don't understand what you are talking about." Involving the emperor must be a big deal. Ling Xiao couldn't help but get nervous.
"The emperor has promised not to marry Wanwan to the crown prince or the prince." Shen Chengzhou replied.
"What do you mean?" Ling Xiao didn't react. After all, Ling Qingwan was fine when she came back from the back mountain two days ago, and she was worried about Wei Xun's safety. Ling Xiao was jealous because of this.
"During this period, rumors about me have been rife. I wanted to keep things quiet, thinking that I could get over it by ignoring them. I never expected that this farce would get worse and worse. I am a girl, still in the boudoir, and not yet married, and I have been rumored to be with a man. This really damages the reputation of the Marquis's and the General's Mansions. After much thought, I asked my grandfather to plead with the Emperor to cut off my contact with the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince."
Ling Qingwan was afraid that Ling Xiao would worry, so she patiently explained everything to him. As for the inside story, Ling Qingwan did not reveal a single word.
Ling Xiao has a straight personality and has been wielding swords since he was young. He has few friends in the city. Over the years, he has only been good friends with Wei Xun and Tan Hongbo. If he told him about this, Ling Xiao would be in a very awkward position, since one side is his beloved sister and the other side is his close brother.
Even though Ling Qingwan was unwilling to admit it, she had to admit that Wei Xun was indeed very loyal to his friends.
Even though Ling Qingwan deliberately concealed some things, Ling Xiao was still angry and felt that Wei Xun had hurt Ling Qingwan's heart. As soon as he left the general's mansion, he went to the prince's mansion.
As luck would have it, Tan Hongbo was also in the prince's mansion that day.
Ling Qingwan heard what happened next from Ling Xiao himself. Ling Xiao went to Wei Xun to reason with him, and the two of them couldn't agree on a solution, so they started fighting. Tan Hongbo tried to stop the fight, but he was not as good as the two in martial arts, so he failed to stop the fight and accidentally injured himself.
Ling Xiao and Wei Xun both had bruises on their faces. Tan Hongbo's condition was even worse, as he accidentally broke his leg and could only lie in bed in his mansion, unable to go anywhere.
"Hiss." Ling Xiao took a breath of cold air.
"Does it hurt? If it hurts, just bear with it." Ling Qingwan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She lowered her head, picked up a drop of ointment and rubbed it on the corner of Ling Xiao's mouth.
"Tomorrow I will ask my grandfather to teach me a few moves. I will definitely be able to beat Wei Xun." Ling Xiao was not convinced and swore angrily.
"Still fighting? If you can't win again, I'm afraid your grandfather won't just ask you to stand in horse stance for two hours." Ling Qingwan couldn't help laughing anymore.
"Why are you making fun of me too?" Ling Xiao got so excited that he pulled the wound on his mouth and cried out "Ouch" before he could finish his words.
"Slow down." Ling Qingwan quickly supported Ling Xiao. "If your injury doesn't heal, if your mother sees it, she will be very worried."