"Of course I believe you."

Princess Zhaoyang answered without hesitation.

"We've been married for over twenty years. If I don't trust you, why should I trust a stranger I've only known for a few days?"

Upon hearing her words, the Marquis of Yong'an felt a great sense of relief.

But he was even more puzzled.

"Since you trust me, why..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

A bitter taste rose on the tip of my tongue.

What's there to ask?

Linlang is her daughter, how could she not treat her well?

Upon seeing Linlang, Marquis Yong'an would think of that down-on-his-luck scholar and the suicide note he left behind.

The suicide note was written with both tenderness and resentment, and he was particularly concerned about the past that the person described between the two of them.

He never imagined that in the year he and his wife separated, while he was immersed in the grief of losing his parents, his wife was having a romantic time with someone else and even had a child.

Whenever he thought of this, he felt like taking a knife and killing someone.

But that person was already dead.

The daughter he left behind was also deeply loved by his wife.

He could only suppress all his sorrow and anger in his heart, suffering torment day after day and night after night.

Even so, he didn't dare ask his wife a single question about why she betrayed him back then.

He feared her answer would crush his already shattered heart into dust.

Princess Zhaoyang lowered her eyes and remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "If I were to tell you that I have been lying to you for over twenty years, would you forgive me?"

Marquis Yong'an's heart immediately jumped into his throat.

More than twenty years?

Did she like that down-on-his-luck scholar from the beginning, and was it her request to the emperor for a marriage decree that ruined her chance at marriage?

He actually interfered in her relationship with someone else?

Marquis Yong'an immediately felt as if he had eaten bitter melon, his mouth was extremely bitter.

But he still forced back his heartache and replied, "No matter what you've hidden from me, I won't care."

As long as she is still willing to stay by his side.

That's enough.

"Is that so?" Princess Zhaoyang smiled bitterly. "Even if the person you fell in love with at first sight wasn't me at all?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qingyin almost blurted out the words "Frog Fun".

This is too big a juicy story; she's afraid she'll be in deep trouble.

Yi Shuihan was also shocked.

He knew better than anyone that the old man had fallen in love at first sight and would marry no one but her.

I've never heard that the old man had poor eyesight when he was young, and with his mother's appearance, it's impossible for anyone to look like her.

How could I possibly mistake someone for someone else?

The Marquis of Yong'an was so shocked by the thunder that he couldn't recover for a long time.

He has a photographic memory; no matter what book it is, he can memorize it all after just one reading.

Moreover, it's someone you're attracted to.

"Are you misunderstanding something?"

He stared blankly at his wife.

"I have never liked anyone else."

Princess Zhaoyang turned her head away and looked out the window.

"The person you saw under the flowering tree is not me, but my twin sister."

Xiao Qingyin: "..."

Yi Shuihan: "..."

Marquis Yong'an: "..."

He was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning, and it took him a while to find his voice again.

"How come I've never heard of you having a twin sister?"

Princess Zhaoyang sighed.

"The year my mother was pregnant, a meteorite fell from the sky and destroyed the ancestral temple. At that time, my father was obsessed with Taoist magic and listened to the advice of a sorcerer."

The sorcerer said that this was a sign of a demon descending to earth, and if the demon was not eliminated in time, it would overthrow the dynasty.

The emperor asked him where the demon was, and he said that the demon would be born this year. It was intolerable to the heavens and would transform into twins to escape the heavens.

So the emperor secretly ordered that all twins born that year, regardless of gender, be killed without exception.

Not long after the order was given, the imperial physician diagnosed that the Empress Dowager was carrying twins.

This imperial physician was a confidant of the Empress Dowager and did not report the news to the Emperor.

My mother wanted to keep the child, so when she was seven months pregnant, she took the opportunity of returning to her parents' home to visit her family and gave birth to my sister and me.

She took her sister back to the palace, while I was sent to my third uncle's place in Guanbei.

My third aunt gave birth to a baby girl who died, so she asked me to take the place of that baby girl.

I grew up on the Guanbei Grassland.

The study was very quiet, with only her gentle voice audible.

"I never knew I had an older sister until after I came of age, when she came to visit me on the grassland."

She only found out she had a younger sister after she came of age, and she was very curious about me, so she asked her mother to come to the grasslands.

My sister spent a month playing on the grasslands, and I couldn't bear to part with her, so I disguised myself and went to Beijing with her.

The capital city is very prosperous and bustling, but it also has many rules and regulations. It's not as carefree as the grasslands, so I didn't stay long before returning to the grasslands.

However, from that year onwards, I would return to the capital every spring to reunite with my sister and mother.

Two years later, in that spring, not long after I returned to the capital, my father betrothed my sister to you.

Your older sister has always been well-behaved and obedient, and even though she had never met you before, she had no objections to this arrangement.

I secretly went to see you and told her that you were just a bookworm who only knew how to recite poems and paint all day long, and that it was all meaningless.

My sister said it's okay, all she can do is compose poems and paint, which is a perfect match for you.

I feel sorry for my sister, but she was content, so I can only let her go.

Upon hearing this, Yi Shuihan couldn't help but give her father a sympathetic look.

Listen to this, your mother doesn't even think much of you.

You deserve it; you've spoiled her for so many years without realizing you've spoiled the wrong person.

Marquis Yong'an ignored him.

He stared intently at his wife's face, his thoughts drifting away without him even realizing it.

That fleeting glimpse under the flowering tree etched in his heart was the face of the princess, a face that perfectly matched his aesthetic sensibilities.

As for the princess's temperament, he knew nothing about it and only found out after he returned.

Everyone said that the princess was quiet and elegant, with exceptional beauty, so he assumed she was a gentle and virtuous person.

However, after they got married, he discovered that her gentle and virtuous nature was only a facade; hidden inside was a free-spirited and lively soul.

This discovery delighted him.

Because he himself was outwardly law-abiding but inwardly unruly.

Over the years, he has repeatedly expressed his gratitude for the blessings of fate that allowed him to marry such a perfect match.

Only now do I realize that the person he first fell for and the person he ended up marrying were not the same person.

"...As the wedding date approached, I heard that white deer were appearing in Xicheng Mountain, so I dragged my sister along to the mountain to look for them."

Princess Zhaoyang continued.

His tone suddenly shifted, from lighthearted to somber.

"We searched the mountains for a long time but couldn't find the white deer. Just as we were about to leave, a group of assassins suddenly appeared."

When the guards and assassins were fighting each other in close combat, I protected my sister and deflected the arrows.

The assassins realized I was difficult to deal with, so they split off a portion of their forces specifically to target me.

I was so focused on my sister that I didn't notice someone shooting a sneak attack at me.

My sister saw it and rushed to shield me from the arrow..."

At this point, Princess Zhaoyang broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Marquis Yong'an stepped forward and embraced her.