Chapter 7: The Heart’s Choice

After her father was cleared, Wan’er’s name spread throughout the capital. No longer just a “virtuous young lady,” but a woman of rare cunning and courage. Rumors began to spread that she would become the future crown princess, because Xiao Yichen himself had openly declared after the trial that he wished to marry her as his principal wife, and this time not merely as a political match.

But this time, standing before a formal proposal from the man who would one day be emperor, the very thing she had longed for in her past life so much that she paid for it with her life, Wan’er found her heart strangely calm, without the slightest flutter.

“I know you’ve changed,” Xiao Yichen said, standing in the garden of the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence, his eyes for once showing real sincerity. “But I truly want to give you a worthy place at my side. I promise this time I’ll treat you with all the respect you deserve.”

Wan’er was silent for a long while, then gently shook her head. “Your Highness is a man of great ability and worthy of a noble throne. But I understand very well that what Your Highness needs in a consort is the power and prestige that come with her, not the person I truly am. In this life, I hope to find someone who, even without wealth or glory, can see and cherish who I really am.”

That night, Pei Ziqi, just back in the capital after escorting an army supply convoy, came to the Lin residence with a bunch of wildflowers he had hastily picked by the roadside. Not the rare, prized blooms people usually gave to young ladies, just simple flowers of the fields.

“I don’t have much to give you,” Ziqi said, unusually flustered. “Only this sincere heart, and a promise to always be by your side to protect you, whether you’re the noble daughter of a great house or just the ordinary girl I met at the market that day.”

Wan’er took the flowers, her eyes suddenly wet. This was the sincere, uncalculating love she had been searching for across two lifetimes.

“Yes,” she said softly, her voice trembling but full of true happiness. “But this time, I want us to come to each other as we truly are. No secrets, no scheming.”