Pin Shanhe

The Fourth Prince's Mansion.

"What did you say? Consort Ning actually wants to recognize Shen Fu as her goddaughter?"

This was indeed a bolt from the blue for Jun Qiyuan.

There were rumors that Consort Ning had taken a liking to Shen Fu and wanted to match her with the Second Prince, Jun Jingyan.

The Second Prince already had a mother of high status, the Imperial Concubine, and a maternal family, the Grand Tutor's Mansion, as his backing.

If he were to marry Shen Fu, he would have the added power of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

What right does anyone else have to be the crown prince?

Therefore, he went to great lengths to curry favor with Shen Fu, even at the cost of his dignity and self-respect as a prince, and finally won her heart.

Unexpectedly, everything was ruined by a "wrong marriage" scheme!

He wasn't too worried at first, thinking that Shen Fu would eventually be unable to escape his grasp.

But they forgot that it's not just "love" that can win people over, but also "family ties."

If Shen Fu really becomes the adopted daughter of the Imperial Concubine, wouldn't the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion naturally become part of the Second Prince's faction?

Then all his efforts were wasted!

Meng Wan had suffered a lot of anger at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion today, and she was so frustrated that she was about to explode.

"You'd better think of something quickly, or she'll get too smug!"

"What can I do? Can I stop them from 'recognizing each other as relatives'?"

Jun Qiyuan clenched his fists, and a surge of anger welled up in his heart as he thought about how everything he had painstakingly built had come to this.

"If it weren't for you, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

Meng Wan was stunned.

After understanding what he meant, her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"You regret carrying out that plan, don't you?"

Jun Qiyuan remained silent; his silence spoke volumes.

If it weren't for the mistaken marriage in the bridal sedan chair, Shen Fu would have already married him, and the power of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion would have been under his control.

She wouldn't have gotten entangled with the Xuan King, and so many things wouldn't have happened.

"So, you're just going to stand by and watch me marry another man?"

Well... he didn't have that idea either.

My initial plan was to make her wait for me for a while.

When he holds power and ascends to the throne, he can openly and legitimately be with her, making her the most honored woman in the entire Great Yong Dynasty.

But before that, their relationship must be kept secret.

Because he cultivated an image of being deeply affectionate and devoted in front of others.

If Shen Fu and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion found out, they would definitely not agree to this marriage.

Despite all the planning, no one expected that Meng Wan would be chosen to marry the Prince Xuan.

He couldn't just stand by and watch his women marry other men, so he came up with a plan to have them get into the wrong bridal sedan chairs and kill two birds with one stone.

He was too confident, believing that Shen Fu couldn't live without him!

No matter what happens, she will wait for him.

But unexpectedly, things spiraled out of his control.

Seeing Meng Wan heartbroken and in tears, he felt bad too and quickly stepped forward to embrace her.

How could I bear to lose you? If you hadn't saved me back then, I wouldn't be who I am today.

My thoughts drifted back twenty years...

Back then, Emperor Yong was traveling incognito when a sudden downpour occurred. He took shelter at the home of a scholar.

The scholar's daughter was young and beautiful, and the two hit it off, so everything fell into place naturally.

Before leaving, Emperor Yong revealed his identity as the emperor and left behind a double-dragon pendant as a token, saying that he would send someone to fetch her to the palace when he returned.

But unexpectedly, they never returned.

After Emperor Yong returned to the palace, war broke out on the border. He was busy summoning his ministers to deal with the situation and had long forgotten about this matter.

Later, he found a "new love" and never thought of his "old love" again.

Little did they know, the woman was pregnant.

She waited patiently for the emperor to bring her to the palace and make her a concubine.

Her belly grew bigger and bigger, and before she knew it, it was time to give birth.

Instead of receiving an imperial edict bestowing upon him the title of imperial concubine, he announced that he had taken a group of new women into the palace.

She probably understood that emperors are fickle and those so-called "vows of eternal love" are nothing more than jokes for amusement.

Due to the severe miscarriage, she suffered a difficult labor and postpartum hemorrhage, and passed away after giving birth to a son.

That child was Jun Qiyuan!

The grandfather was heartbroken by his daughter's death and felt that the matter was not honorable, so he kept it a secret and raised him alone.

When he was eight years old, his maternal grandfather fell seriously ill. Knowing that he could no longer take care of him, he called him to his bedside and took out the double dragon pendant.

Only then did he realize that his father was actually the emperor, the supreme ruler!

My maternal grandfather's dying wish was for me to go to the capital to find my relatives, and then he passed away.

He was just a child back then, and the journey to the capital was long and difficult.

Before they even got to the capital, all their money had already been swindled out of them.

Fortunately, he had sewn the double dragon pendant into his close-fitting clothes, which allowed him to keep it.

At that time, he was already ragged and starving, lying on the snow by the roadside, looking just like a beggar.

So many carriages passed by, but not one stopped for him.

He thought he was going to die, and just when he was in despair, a little girl suddenly appeared.

She had someone bring him to the car to warm up, and seeing that his high fever wouldn't go down, she even had someone call a doctor.

After waking up, she told him her name was Wanwan.

She not only saved his life, but was also like a ray of light to his vitality.

What sustained him was his journey to the capital, where he happened to arrive just as the emperor was leading his ministers to the ancestral temple for a sacrificial ceremony.

He stumbled into the ranks and was nearly strangled by the guards.

It wasn't until he saw the double dragon pendant that Emperor Yong ordered someone to bring him over. After questioning him, he learned that he was actually the son born to that woman from back then, the prince he had abandoned among the common people.

And so, he finally recognized his ancestors and returned to his roots.

But he never forgot the little girl who saved him back then.

While in the carriage, I overheard her conversation with her servants and learned that their home was also in the capital.

Later, he secretly kept an eye on a girl named "Wanwan".

Finally, it was discovered that the carriage of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion had passed through there at that time, and their daughter was named Meng Wan.

His thoughts returned, and looking at the woman with teary eyes before him, he felt an overwhelming pang of heartache and guilt.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I was just too impatient. I wanted to be with you as soon as possible and give you the best of everything in the world."

A hint of unease flashed across Meng Wan's face, but she quickly concealed her expression.

"So, the person you love is still me, and you haven't fallen for that Shen Fu, right?"

"How could that be? I was only using her!"

Thinking back to the time when he pursued Shen Fu, he did everything he could to flatter and please her, even resorting to relentless pursuit, completely trampling his face and self-esteem underfoot.

This was a disgrace to him!

He was determined to expose her haughty attitude once he "turned the tables" and make her kneel at his feet to experience the taste of servility.

But for some reason, when he saw her leaning against another man's chest, a surge of anger welled up inside him.