Chapter 31: The Rebirth of Zhao (5)
"Greetings to His Majesty the King of Zhao—"
The two palace maids were so frightened that they immediately knelt down and saluted Zhao Ziheng.
"My daughter Ling Menghan has met King Zhao——"
"Princess, please don't be polite. Everyone, please stand up!"
The Ling family is a royal family of the Han Dynasty. Princess Quan's real name is Ling Menghan. Not only is her name beautiful, but she is even more beautiful. No wonder she is named "Quan". She really lives up to her name. She looks like a clear spring. After she finished her greetings, she slowly stood up, but did not raise her head...
"Princess, if you feel bored, could you please walk with me?"
"...Meng Han feels very honored to be invited by King Zhao——"
In terms of etiquette, Menghan was completely a model princess, and it was impossible to imagine that she had just climbed a tree.
"Then let's go—"
Zhao Ziheng made way for Meng Han to go first. She of course understood the meaning and took a step forward...
It turned out that the walk Zhao Ziheng mentioned was not in the palace, but in the royal city. Zhao Ziheng, who had changed into ordinary aristocratic clothes, and Meng Han, whose face was half covered with a veil, walked on the streets of the royal city that were being restored, and there was nothing unnatural about them.
"…Why did you bring me here—"
Meng Han had never left the palace since she was a child, and only stepped out after she married into the State of Zhao. But she had never walked on the streets of the city like other people did now.
"I just want to take you for a walk. Due to internal strife and invasion by other countries, Zhao State is no longer the same as it used to be—"
"…Will you tell me about this outsider?"
Meng Han's words attracted Zhao Ziheng's attention, but he quickly shifted his gaze and continued to look ahead: "Soon you will no longer be an outsider--"
"What do you mean by that?"
Although Meng Han asked Zhao Ziheng back, she already knew what Zhao Ziheng meant.
"At the end of this month, you will become the wife of the General of the Cavalry—"
"What--"
Zhao Ziheng's words hit Meng Han like lightning, causing her to stop.
"Say it again, you will become the wife of Zhao Ziyin, the most outstanding general of my Zhao State—"
In response to Menghan stopping, Zhao Ziheng also stopped and turned to face Menghan with a very cold expression.
"Why is it——"
"Originally you were supposed to marry the King of Zhao. I don't know how much you know, but things have changed. I don't have to abide by the contract I made with the King of Han. It's not that I want to shirk my responsibility, but the seal on the contract was not mine. Although I have promised to marry you, the deaths of King Ling and the Queen, as well as the soldiers and civilians who died in this civil strife, I cannot completely exclude the Han Kingdom from it. According to what the Han Kingdom has done, it would not be surprising even if I killed you. Since the King of Han wants to protect you, I don't have to be obsessed with whether to execute you. Marrying you to the general is the best choice for the two countries to maintain the alliance. Zhao Ziyin is the son of my uncle and my cousin. He has been fighting on the battlefield for many years. His bloodline and character are enough to become the first princess of the Han Kingdom, your husband--"
Without any emotion, as if it was a tough unilateral decision, and regardless of Menghan's objection or not, Zhao Ziheng told her the truth one by one.
Trembling, shocked, terrified, with all kinds of emotions, Meng Han stared at Zhao Ziheng. She never expected that what he told her was such a cruel and ruthless fact. Originally, she thought Zhao Ziheng would not be so cruel, until this moment. As the saying goes, one should not joke with a king. Now that Zhao Ziheng said so, what else can Meng Han expect?
The momentary emotional shock caused tears to well up in Meng Han's dark and beautiful eyes. Without any ability to refute or refuse, Meng Han turned around and ran away...
Watching Meng Han running away, Zhao Ziheng's eyes were filled with sadness, but a short pain is better than a long one. He couldn't let another person suffer the same fate as Lin Wei. Whether being hated or scolded, his heart could no longer allow him to endure the same trauma , otherwise he would completely collapse. With pity in his heart, Zhao Ziheng chased after Meng Han...
It was like falling into the abyss of hell.
Menghan was running on the streets that were being restored. Of course, the streets were a bit messy due to the restoration, and the traffic of foreign caravans also made the streets crowded. She was accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. Menghan crawled on the ground and cried bitterly. This was an experience she had never had before, and she had never suffered such injustice.
"Hey, are you okay?"
A passerby stopped and kindly asked Menghan who was tripped and fell to the ground.
Hearing the voice, Meng Han got up from the ground, but her veil was loosened. The kind passers-by were stunned when they saw Meng Han's appearance. Many passers-by stopped and all their eyes were focused on Meng Han...
The looks from all around made Meng Han feel deeply afraid. She looked at the looks from passers-by in fear, not knowing what to do...
"Are you okay?"
To Menghan, a strange voice echoed in her ears. She turned around to find the source of the voice. It turned out to be Zhao Ziyan. Of course, she had no idea who the person in front of her was.
"Get up!"
Zhao Ziyin helped Menghan up. Of course, he also noticed the gazes from all around him, so he said: "Come with me——"
Zhao Ziyin pulled Menghan away from the crowd quickly. As expected, Menghan's appearance alone made her the focus of everyone along the way. Zhao Ziyin noticed this and quickly pulled Menghan to a sparsely populated alley...
"Put on the veil—"
Not allowing rejection, and not wanting to use a strange tone, Menghan subconsciously followed Zhao Ziyin's words and put on the veil. After seeing her put on the veil, Zhao Ziyin took Menghan out from the other end of the alley...
"Where do you want to take me?"
Meng Han finally came back to her senses from the fright, shook off Zhao Ziyan's hand, stopped and wanted to ask him more questions.
"Should we go find the Emperor first, or does Princess Quan want to return to the palace right now?"
"you--"
Zhao Ziyan’s words certainly surprised Meng Han. She clearly came out with Zhao Ziheng, and very few people knew her identity. How could the person who suddenly rescued her from the predicament know her identity?
"Who are you?"
"I am Zhao Ziyin!"
"What--"
Meng Han couldn't help but feel shocked by Zhao Ziyin's answer. She had just learned from Zhao Ziheng that she was going to marry another man, but she didn't expect him to appear in front of her at this moment. To be honest, Zhao Ziyin was as handsome as Zhao Ziheng in terms of appearance. Moreover, he looked more like someone who had experienced countless battles than Zhao Ziheng, and he looked more mature and calm than Zhao Ziheng...
"...It seems that you have already known about me from the Emperor?"
In fact, Zhao Ziyan had been following behind Zhao Ziheng and Menghan, protecting them in secret. Of course, he knew nothing about the conversation between Zhao Ziheng and Menghan, but from Menghan's expression, it seemed that Zhao Ziheng had already told Menghan about him and Menghan.
"He still did it. Then I'll make it short. Whether you agree or not, you will become my wife. This has nothing to do with the emperor. It's my own idea. Because Zhao is in great need of Han's food aid, marrying you is the best choice. The emperor can't fall in love with anyone else. Even if you marry him, it will only increase his pain. So I asked the emperor to let me marry you. As a general of a country, I may not match your status, and I don't have any feelings for you, but I haven't married yet, and I will try to accept you and give you the love you deserve."
Menghan did not answer, so Zhao Ziyin told her his thoughts first. His main purpose was not to let Menghan have hostility towards Zhao Ziheng. After hearing what Zhao Ziyin said, Menghan was stunned. She did not expect Zhao Ziyin to be so frank and honest. This was somewhat similar to Zhao Ziheng. Could it be because of the blood relationship between them?
"...So I'm a pawn used to contain the Han Kingdom, right?"
"That's true, actually!"
Meng Han found it hard to believe that the frankness and directness of the story was true. What kind of people were Zhao Ziyin and Zhao Ziheng? How could they torture others at will and treat them lightly?
"What if I say no?"
"I said, whether you agree or not, you will be my wife."
"Oh! It's really like a tiger in troubled times being bullied by a dog. I never thought that a princess of a country like me would be treated and humiliated like this—"
"If that's what you think, then fine. If you want revenge, just come to me—"
What should I say? Zhao Ziyin was too straightforward. Facing his straightforwardness, Meng Han wanted to cry but had no tears. Is this how she should behave when she swears allegiance to Zhao Ziheng? Should she take the due revenge for Zhao Ziheng?
“Ha, haha—”
Menghan suddenly smiled foolishly, her voice full of pain. Passersby looked down on her and just glanced at her before walking away.
Zhao Ziyin may not be as considerate and insightful as Zhao Ziheng about women's hearts, but seeing Meng Han like this made him, a man who had experienced many battles and countless things, shaken. He didn't know how to comfort her, so he chose to take her away...
