Favored concubine deposed empress? I'll seize your throne and marry you to a powerful minister.

Ling Xianru reached into her sleeve and took something out.

It was a yellowed piece of paper, with sharp and worn folded edges, indicating that it might have been kept in a book over the years and repeatedly opened and examined by others.

Ling Xianru's jade-like fingertips flipped open the folded area, revealing brushstrokes that, after many years, had faded ink and were still immature.

It was six-year-old Wei Rong, who didn't know many words yet, who replied to the thank-you letter with a drawing.

A house sketched with a few strokes, a plaque with the character "卫" (Wei) written crookedly on it, and a little girl with braids standing with her hands on her hips, her mouth drawn into a laughing arc.

Ling Xianru: I was passing through the southern border when I was tricked and trapped in a desolate mountain, almost losing my life. I was saved by you, young lady, and escaped from the wolf pack. Today, I am hosting a banquet at the Shuixiu Tea House in the city to thank you in person for saving my life. I hope you will come to visit.

The signature reads "Ling Xianru" in three characters.

Wei Rong: Happy.

She stared at the letter in disbelief; time had flown by, and fourteen years had passed in the blink of an eye.

She was even able to see her naive painting skills from fourteen years ago, which had been carefully preserved by someone.

"I didn't see you that day. I was already risking staying because my whereabouts had been exposed, so I had to leave the Southern Frontier and hide my tracks," Ling Xianru said with a bitter smile. "Thinking about it later, you probably didn't even know there was a teenager inside."

"......"

Wei Rong was indeed unaware of this; she only regarded the person as a foreign merchant. The caravan was full of men, so how could there be a teenager?

"Because of this, you've remembered it for fourteen years?" Her voice was a little hoarse.

Ling Xianru stroked the letter, his smooth fingertips adding a touch of color to the old paper, making it appear less worn.

"In my youth, I lived a life of constant wandering."

The first time Wei Rong heard Ling Xianru mention her background, it was completely different from what she had imagined.

Wasn't he born into a merchant family in Suzhou, with loving parents and a respectable family background?

But suddenly, Wei Rong remembered the piercing on his earlobe.

"You've had countless people investigate my life story; they all say I was born and raised in Suzhou in a merchant family," Ling Xianru said with a hint of amusement. "But even Your Majesty yourself doubts whether these accounts are true?"

He didn't answer whether it was true or not, only saying, "But actually, before I was fifteen, I never slept well, I was always running for my life."

"What kind of family would let their son run away for fifteen years?"

Ling Xianru did not answer, but stared into Wei Rong's eyes, a glint in them: "That night was my twelfth birthday. When the wolf pack narrowed their encirclement, I thought that the twelve-year struggle had finally come to an end, and that I was going to die there."

Instead of speaking properly, he resorted to physical violence, wiping Wei Rong's lips with his fingertips.

It's frighteningly cold.

"You may not know what that glimmer of hope represents. Even though I was so small and still had that babyish voice, it made me feel that if Heaven hadn't forsaken me, I would surely live on forever."

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Getting close, Wei Rong could even see the obsession in his eyes.

She had long known that Ling Xianru was not as indifferent as he appeared on the surface; his scheming and cunning were far beyond what she could afford to provoke.

But once you truly see it clearly, you'll only be more horrified.

Wei Rong hastily turned her face away: "Don't tell me you had your eye on the baby back then. If you're going to make up a story to deceive people, Prime Minister, you should at least be more careful."

Six years old, an age when I couldn't even write properly.

"Of course not," Ling Xianru said, both amused and exasperated, and was quite frank about the matter: "I'm constantly being chased and my life is hanging by a thread. Even if I had feelings for someone, how could I possibly like a naive young girl?"

My gratitude is genuine, and my invitation to express my thanks is heartfelt.

Suddenly being labeled as an immature kid, Wei Rong glared at him.

"Don't be upset," Ling Xian said fluently, trying to comfort him. "We were not meant to be when we were young, and my family went through a series of misfortunes. I didn't see you again until four years ago."

Four years ago, Wei Rong had not yet married Xiao Heng.

She was still bewildered: "I don't remember ever seeing you before we got married."

Then I recalled that day when Ling Xianru sighed and said something like, "It was all a twist of fate."

"That house outside Changhua Temple was the first residence I entered after arriving in Yunjing. It was no coincidence that you met Songbo before the New Year," Ling Xianru continued, "They had orders to help you if you were in danger."

If she is in danger, we must intervene.

Wei Rong tightened her chest: "To repay a life-saving debt?"

Ling Xianru smiled slightly at the beginning.

He lamented, "The Empress clearly doesn't understand love between men and women. If she had, I should have intervened and snatched her away long ago."

Not wanting to listen to his rambling, Wei Rong glared at him again: "Speak quickly."

"The first time I saw you after I grew up was when you rode with General Wei to the training ground. I don't know why, but after so many years of New Year's celebrations, I recognized you at a glance. I just don't know your surname is Wei and what your given name is."

"But when you ride on horseback, so unrestrained and flamboyant, with your hooves trampling through the streets, I feel that it was right to have survived back then."

If it weren't for this, how could he have met Wei Rong, who grew up to be the most beautiful woman in the world?

Her long hair was tied back, and her red riding outfit made her waist look extremely thin. Her face, bathed in sunlight, was even more captivating.

"Mo Bai found out that you really are that little dumpling from back then, the eldest daughter of the Wei family, the apple of General Wei's eye, the one who gave me life on that bloody night. It seems fate has brought us together again."

"But in reality, so much has changed in the past ten years or so. Everyone is caught in a game laid out by fate, and there are too many things beyond our control." Ling Xianru's voice lowered slightly as she said this: "Fate doesn't always favor us."

Wei Rong sensed a faint regret in her voice.

"At that time, I went to the capital to take the imperial examination. I couldn't be exposed, so I could only raise a carrier pigeon and paint a picture for you. When the pigeon flew back, it was injured and the painting disappeared. But the wound was bandaged with a handkerchief. On that handkerchief, I signed it with the character 'Wei'."

Wei Rong opened her mouth, incredulously saying, "I have never received the painting, nor have I ever seen the carrier pigeon."

How can we then talk about treating the injuries?

However, the ladies of the capital used to love inviting her out, and she did lose her handkerchief once or twice.

Could it be such a coincidence?

"The 'twist of fate' you mentioned last time, is this what you meant? You thought I replied to your letter, but actually, someone else found the carrier pigeon?"

It's not hard to guess who it is; it's Shen Mingxiu, who hesitated to speak upon seeing Ling Xianru.

"You guessed right. In reality, the carrier pigeon never brought back any messages. The drawings were always taken down, and I just thought you were arrogant. But not long after, news came from Yunjing that you had accepted Xiao Heng's marriage proposal."

That year, the situation in Yunjing was turbulent. Wei Rong knew that the late emperor would not tolerate the Wei family, and she was too busy figuring out a way out to care about anything else.

Later, he chose Xiao Heng and was busy with the trivial matters of the wedding.

However, if one were to recall, her marriage was not the only unusual event in Yunjing that year.

There was a young talent who achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, passing all three levels of the examinations with top honors. He also stood out in the palace examination and was personally appointed as the third-ranking scholar by the late emperor.

That person's name was Ling Xianru.