The carriage turned around and headed towards Huguo Temple, but halfway up the mountain, Shen Wan got off the carriage.

Following her memory, she walked forward and saw a Bodhi tree in the distance, and a man sitting in a wheelchair under the tree.

Her lonely figure was heartbreaking to see. Who could have imagined that the man sitting in a wheelchair, unable to stand up, would raise a rebellion in the Northwest two years later and seize half of the Great Chu in less than a year, causing Xie Jingyin a long and complicated three years of trouble? She also lived for three more years thanks to the Prince of Ling.

Unfortunately, Prince Ling was a devoted lover with someone he cherished deeply. When Xie Jingyin found out, he had someone disguise themselves as his beloved and hang them on the city wall to lure him to rescue her. In the end, Prince Ling was pierced through the heart by a thousand arrows and died.

When she died, she was still clutching the jade pendant given to her by her beloved...

Shen Wan walked over, and the man turned around when he heard her footsteps. When he saw that it was her, he was surprised for a moment, and then hurriedly stuffed something into his arms. Shen Wan caught sight of a jade pendant tassel and immediately felt that she had come here to humiliate him.

Although Prince Ling had also sent an invitation and was waiting for her here, he was thinking of his beloved and was just waiting casually, but she actually came.

Xie Jingyan was extremely handsome, and even in a wheelchair, he exuded an air of nobility and inviolability. His gaze fell on Shen Wan's face, and his tone was distant, "Miss Shen has come to the wrong place. Prince Jin is not here."

Everyone in the capital knew that she favored Prince Jin, and Prince Ling was no exception.

Shen Wan said, "I came to find you."

Looking for him?

Something flashed in Xie Jingyan's eyes as he asked, "What do you want with me?"

Shen Wan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "I want you to marry me."

Xie Jingyan's lips curled up. These words seemed to please him. In her previous life, after Shen Wan married Xie Jingyin, she had seen him a few times, but she had never seen him smile. She didn't expect him to look so handsome when he smiled. However, his words were very unpleasant to hear. "Yesterday, she went on a hunger strike to marry the Prince of Jin, and today she wants to marry me. Is Miss Shen really that fickle?"

...Have her father given a gag order regarding her hunger strike? It didn't spread even in her previous life, so how could Prince Ling know? This man is indeed very secretive.

Shen Wan was silent for a moment, then said, "He is not a good match for me."

"Neither do I."

Xie Jingyan's voice was low, his eyes were dim, and his hand rested on his knee.

Shen Wan had expected Xie Jingyan to refuse. She said, "I will find someone to heal your leg. I don't really want you to marry me. It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement."

In his previous life, Xie Jingyan recovered his leg in six months, but now, he probably doesn't know that someone can cure him. She's throwing out this bait, and he should take the bait.

Sure enough, Xie Jingyan turned his wheelchair to face her, but his eyes held an unfathomable emotion. He looked very serious as he pondered, even with a hint of self-deprecation and a touch of amusement. "Is there anything that the Prince of Jin can't give you, but I can? My broken leg?"

Shen Wan, "..."

Seeing the self-deprecating smile on his face, Shen Wan felt a pang of heartache for him.

The former Prince Ling was once the center of attention, and even her marriage was closely related to him.

Fifteen years ago, the emperor was assassinated while hunting. Her father, the Marquis of Pingyang, sacrificed himself to shield the emperor from an arrow. The arrow only missed his heart by half an inch. Her father suffered from a high fever for three days and three nights before he survived.

When her father recovered from his illness, it was the time when she was one month old. The emperor personally visited the Pingyang Marquis's residence to celebrate her one-month birthday. Seeing that she was still a lovely baby, he wanted to betroth her to the youngest prince at the time, namely Prince Ling, Xie Jingyan.

Xie Jingyan's birth mother, Consort Chen, was then favored by the emperor and came from the Grand Tutor's family. If they were to be engaged, the position of Crown Prince would almost certainly be Xie Jingyan's. The Empress at the time, who was also the birth mother of the eldest prince, strongly opposed the marriage. She argued that Xie Jingyan was still young and might not get along with her when they grew up. If they were a good match, that would be fine, but if they disliked each other and became a resentful couple, it would go against the emperor's wishes. In any case, the emperor had many princes, and they were all around the same age. It would be better to arrange a marriage first, and then decide which prince would marry her when she came of age.

The Empress made the arrangements perfectly, and the Emperor followed suit. This led to the situation where, before her coming-of-age ceremony, all the princes sent her invitations to meet. Her former glory had become her current shackles.

When Xie Jingyan was twelve years old, the emperor ordered him to learn martial arts from his father. However, he only stayed at the Pingyang Marquis's residence for three months. There was a small accident between them that could not be told to outsiders. Later, when Consort Chen had an accident, he was implicated. Overnight, he went from being the emperor's most beloved prince to the emperor's most hated son. He was even demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum, where he stayed for four years.

Later, he caught a chill at the imperial mausoleum and almost died. It was her elder brother who went to the mausoleum to see him, discovered his condition, and pleaded with the emperor on his behalf. Only then was the emperor allowed him to return to the capital.

However, less than six months after returning to the capital, he went hunting with the emperor and accidentally fell off his horse, breaking his leg. From then on, he was confined to a wheelchair.

Shen Wan was lost in thought when Xie Jingyan suddenly spoke, pulling her back to reality. He asked, "Why did you suddenly change your mind and choose me over Prince Jin?"

Shen Wan truthfully replied, "He only married me because of the military power my father held."

Xie Jingyan laughed, his eyes shining brighter than the stars in the night sky. "How do you know I'm not?"

“I wish you were,” Shen Wan muttered softly.

If he truly valued the country, he wouldn't have been so easily lured to his death. In his previous life, he would have fought to the bitter end and might have been able to pull Xie Jingyin off the throne.

To be honest, she was quite curious about who his sweetheart was.

Shen Wan spoke softly, and Xie Jingyan didn't hear her. He guessed it wasn't anything nice, so he didn't ask. He just leaned back in his wheelchair and looked at Shen Wan, saying, "You'd better think this through. Once I agree, there's no going back."

He was worried that she might have acted on a whim and changed her mind. He didn't know what she had gone through that day, so it was normal for him to have this worry. He probably thought in his heart that she was fickle and promiscuous.

Shen Wan didn't hesitate and immediately raised her hand to swear an oath to him.

But before she could speak, Xie Jingyan agreed.

"Okay, I'll marry you."