Yu Qingmei sighed, "I don't want to get involved with you either, but I can't bear to see you die like this. How much sentiment is there left?"

"Isn't it just death anyway? Marrying someone like that is no different from being dead." Rong Mengyu said.

"This is not just a matter of your life, it's about the lives of dozens of people in your Rong family. The marriage arrangement has already been decided, there's no turning back. Even if you say those things, what can be done? Can't you see that Dong Qi Wang has no interest in you?"

Rong Mengyu bit her lip, her eyes filled with unwillingness, “If it wasn’t for that woman interfering, how could he have been indifferent to me? I met Dong Qi Wang first.”

When it comes to feelings, there's no such thing as first come, first served.

"So you're not going to help me, and you're still going to stop me?" Rong Mengyu said angrily.

Yu Qingmei shook her head. “No, this is the last time I’m stopping you. We don’t live only for ourselves. Right now, it’s for our parents, siblings, and in the future, there will be husbands and children. I can’t bear to see you so stubborn and misguided. But if you insist, what can I do?”

Then don't pretend to care about me anymore. Rong Mengyu threw down a heartless remark and angrily left.

But they were already preparing to set off again, after all this was just a short break.

Rong Mengyu was unwilling to accept this, but she could only wait for the next break to find another opportunity.

When it got dark, they set up camp right there.

The flames danced in the night wind, like a vibrant woman full of life.

Qin Suwen's face was flushed slightly by the firelight. She quietly added dry wood to the bonfire.

"Since you're here, young lady, come out. Why hide and seek?"

Yong Mengyu was a little surprised. How did she know she had come?

He was already speaking very softly.

"You know I came, which means you are the person I'm talking about, Qin Suwen," Rong Mengyu said with certainty.

Qin Suwen raised her lips in a knowing smirk, “Why do you insist on knowing who I am?”

"I truly admire your audacity. You, a person who has been sentenced to death, dare to appear so brazenly before everyone's eyes and shamelessly agree to the Eastern Qi King's proposal for marriage. Do you even deserve to?"

Qin Suwen smiled gently, not angry at all. Instead, she felt a bit sorry for the woman in front of her, quite pitiful.

Miss Rong wouldn't think that without me, the choice of relatives would fall to you, would she?

"Me..." Rong Mengyu pursed her lips, "What's wrong with that?"

"Xiao Lin, has he ever looked at you properly?" Qin Su asked, her gaze fixed on her eyes that were tinged with anger. "You're a woman betrothed to someone else, would I, Li Chao, stoop so low as to offer such an esteemed and virtuous woman in marriage? Would I force someone betrothed to another to participate in a betrothal ceremony?"

She often wonders what this woman is thinking.

It's not like there's only her in the world, why does everything have to be given to her?

"Stop talking about it, I know you are Qin Suwen."

Qin Suwen looked at her, "Who I am, does it matter?"

"You are Qin Suwen, it is her, isn't it?" Rong Mengyu said again: "It was the Empress who defied the imperial decree to save you, right?"

Qin Suwen threw the last twig into the fire, stood up, and said, "Miss Rong, the fact that I can stand here with my head held high means that I'm insignificant to anyone. We have no grudges against each other, and I don't want to make things difficult for you. Please stop bothering me."

"You are her, you are she."

Qin Suwen sighed, "So what? What do you want to do? Announce it to the world? Who would believe you? Do you think only your eyes can see?"

"What are you telling her all this for?" Xiao Lin walked over and nonchalantly draped his arm over Qin Suwen's shoulder.

Qin Suwen thought about refusing, but the man tightened his embrace, domineeringly declaring their relationship.

Rong Mengyu was stunned, "Your Majesty, do you…do you know who this person is? Do you know what she used to do? She's had men before, she…"

Xiao Lin shook his head, he was really stupid.

Where on earth does this kind of woman get her confidence to think she's good enough?

"Miss Rong, who is she? What kind of experiences does she have? I know her better than you do. She's had men, and that man was me."

"Feng Mengyu shook her head. "No... You don't know, she... she was a prostitute before, kept by the former crown prince. She... she doesn't deserve you!"

"Be quiet! I think Miss Rong must have had a dream and is talking nonsense. Didn't we bring the imperial physician? Let them take a look at you!"

Xiao Lin said coldly, his eyes full of disdain.

"Come here, take Miss Rong back."

"I...Your Majesty, please listen to me. She really is... I absolutely didn't speak out of turn, everything I said is the truth! Please don't be deceived by her..."

Xiao Lin immediately covered Rong Mengyu's mouth. When someone looked over, Xiao Lin said, "Miss Rong is a drunkard, how could she talk nonsense after getting drunk?"

That person, having seen him with Qin Suwen, awkwardly turned his head away.

Qin Suwen sighed.

Xiao Lin smiled and said, "Don't let this affect your mood. I'll take you somewhere."

Where?

"Follow me!" Xiao Lin said, then grabbed her hand and ran.

After running for a while, she was already separated from the main group. Qin Suwen wasn't afraid though, after all, even if Xiao Lin did anything to her, she wouldn't worry.

But she didn't expect that she actually saw her beloved daughter.

"Niannian? How did you bring Niannian here?"

Qin Suwen asked in surprise, "Where has she been these two days?"

"Xiao Lin, what's wrong with you? How could you act without permission?"

"Speak up!"

Qin Susu held her daughter, kissing her again and again. She had truly missed them, as the two of them had never been apart before.

Xiao Lin saw the excitement on the faces of the mother and daughter as they looked at each other, and knew that his decision had been right.

"You miss her, and she misses you too. I begged your foster parents to let me bring her out before this. Rest assured, my people will take good care of her."

"Where is she? How come I haven't noticed her all this time?"

Qin Suwen asked excitedly, "But what if Niannian comes out with me? Wouldn't she be in danger? After all, some people say she..."
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“I feel more at ease with her right under my nose, especially with Chi-Chi along too. She's in the maids’ carriage. I thought she'd be a crying mess, but no, this little thing is uncharacteristically quiet. She seems captivated by the scenery outside and hasn’t uttered a word the whole way.”

He's right, she has indeed been absent-minded these past two days.

Xiao Lin embraced the mother and daughter, "Su Wen, trust me, I keep my word, I will definitely protect both of you. I couldn't give you a wedding before, but when we return to Dong Qi, you will be my official princess. Everything I said, the sun and the moon can witness!"