General Ge bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Your Highness. She is merely a countrywoman from the mountains; please do not take offense."

When Chang Zhanwang saw that Emperor Maoyuan was also among them, he wanted to put on airs in front of Qiao Zhen, but he was powerless to do so. After all, Emperor Maoyuan, now known as "Mao Yuan," was of the same status as Qiao Zhen. He waved his hand indifferently, "It's alright. I came uninvited, so please don't feel that I'm being presumptuous, General Ge. I came incognito, so let's skip the complicated formalities."

He took the jade pendant from Emperor Maoyuan's hand, looking at the familiar patterns and words. He could vaguely recall the stunning woman who had once captivated him speaking eloquently to him. He asked, "Madam, may I ask where this jade pendant came from?"

Qiao Zhen looked at Pan Zhao, then snuggled into his arms. Her meaning was clear: she was leaving the choice to Pan Zhao.

Pan Zhao hugged Qiao Zhen to give her a sense of security. He looked at Chang Zhanwang warily, suddenly reached out and snatched the jade pendant, and then said, "Your Highness, it was given to me by an old friend. He was a very important old friend, but he has already left. He once said that he wanted to make his home wherever he went, but he had no relatives or friends, so he wandered around. Sometimes he would ask people to bring me things."

Regardless of what Chang Zhanwang and others thought, Qiao Zhen believed that Pan Zhao was unwilling to acknowledge Chang Zhanwang. After all, Pan Zhao was reborn, and perhaps in his previous life, before he returned to Xuecun to find the original owner Wu Zhen, he had already experienced the hardships of being the heir of Chang Zhanwang.

But it's fine if they don't recognize it, anyway, the red pattern on Pan Zhao's shoulder is very faint on his bronze skin, and it's basically invisible.

Chang Zhanwang looked at Pan Zhao with a guarded expression, and couldn't help but reflect on himself. Had his predatory gaze been too blatant? "Ahem, I was just looking. But this jade pendant was indeed given to my child by my wife. At that time, I was preoccupied with my ambitions and neglected my wife and child, which led to their deaths at the hands of villains. If your old friend ever sends you anything again, could you ask where he is?"

Pan Zhao's intuition was always accurate, and he said, "I will."

When Qiao Zhen heard Chang Zhanwang mention his wife and children, she couldn't help but lift her head slightly from Pan Zhao's embrace. She bit her bright red lips, half conflicted and half unwilling.

Emperor Maoyuan, disguised as "Mao Yuan," noticed Qiao Zhen's hesitant expression and asked, "Sister-in-law Pan, why don't you just say what you have to say? The General and the Prince are both reasonable people."

Qiao Zhen seemed to have mustered her courage then, and she said hesitantly, "I have come today to tell General Ge some things. My husband and I rescued Yan Rupu, who was trapped in a pit in the village, blah blah blah..."

She embellished the story again, and then turned to "Mao Yuan": "Young man, if you get married, you'd better watch out for your wife and children. I was lucky to escape from that shady inn by climbing over the wall. I thought Yan Rupu was kind-hearted because she kept talking about repaying kindness, but who knew she would do such a despicable thing with her brother!"

Chang Zhanwang cast his deep gaze at Qiao Zhen: "This lady speaks with great composure, unlike a country bumpkin, and is more like the well-mannered daughter of an official."

Pan Zhao looked at Chang Zhanwang and could sense the hostility in Chang Zhanwang's eyes. He defended his wife, saying, "My wife's family is a wealthy family in the town. Our Luojin Town is very poor. Teachers who want to earn more money can even take in girls from wealthy families in the town as students. My wife can read, write, embroider, and cook. She is probably much more capable than those daughters of officials!"

Chang Zhanwang apologized without holding back, "It was my fault, General Ge. You little brat, you have the same style I had back then! When Yuanxue married me, I said the same thing to Father."

General Ge glared at Pan Zhao and Qiao Zhen, making a blaming gesture, "This is the Prince, how can they bear the Prince's apology? However, Pan Zhao's wife's embroidery skills are indeed superb. Your Majesty, go to the accounting office later and get fifty taels of silver to make up for the money for Mrs. Pan."

“It is necessary to repair it. If Madam wants to embroider anything else in the future, just tell me and I will give it to her as a gift. As for the previous embroidery, since you have already bought it, you should pay the full amount.” Qiao Zhen looked timidly at General Ge.

General Ge said, "That's fine too."

Pan Zhao and Qiao Zhen left after asking them to leave.

General Ge also dismissed his steward.

The rest of the people knew that "Mao Yuan" was Emperor Maoyuan. General Ge bowed to Emperor Maoyuan and said, "Your Majesty, Pan Zhao's wife had no ill intentions. Please forgive her for her rudeness just now."

Emperor Maoyuan instantly released his imposing aura, raising his hand to stop General Ge from speaking next. "It's alright. Ignorance is no excuse. If we're really going to punish someone, then we should punish the Imperial Uncle. Knowing that I am the Emperor, he still dared not to pay his respects."

Chang Zhanwang bowed and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Maoyuan pondered what Qiao Zhen had just said and asked, "What does Imperial Uncle think of Pan Zhao just now?"

Chang Zhanwang was somewhat downcast. Pan Zhao had a keen sense of danger, and in this respect, he was quite similar to him. "If what he said just now was all a lie, then he is most likely the owner of that jade pendant, which doesn't quite make sense. If he just admits that the jade pendant is his, the status and wealth of the Chang Zhanwang heir will all be his. Would an ordinary person give up something so readily available?"

Emperor Maoyuan shook his head. He thought about Pan Zhao's simple-minded yet shrewd performance in the army and was initially unsure of what to do. "Let's wait and see." He joked, "General Ge has impressed me this time. I thought this would allow General Yan to rise to the top in one step, but I didn't expect Ge Xinghai to appear out of nowhere."

General Ge dared not show off in front of the emperor. He humbly said, "It was all Pan Zhao's idea just now. That child looks simple-minded and a bit silly, but fools are often lucky. He has been taught by a wise man since he was a child."

Emperor Maoyuan was a shrewd man. Having witnessed the full spectrum of human nature and encountered all sorts of officials in court, how could he not recognize that Pan Zhao's wife was Qiao Zhen from the army? It was a pity that such a talented woman was a woman. But at the same time, he was also glad that she was a woman and had a simple-minded and easily manipulated husband.

In the Yuanping Kingdom, there was little distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, but the patriarchal system was very clear. Because talented people were women, and women posed no threat whatsoever, there was little need to worry about Qiao Zhen stabbing people in the back when using her.

Qiao Zhen was very dependent on Pan Zhao, or more accurately, she and Pan Zhao were deeply in love. Pan Zhao was easily manipulated by General Ge, and General Ge was easily manipulated by Emperor Maoyuan. In any case, they were both Emperor Maoyuan's people, so Emperor Maoyuan turned a blind eye to Qiao Zhen's disguise as a man to enter the military camp.

Qiao Zhen knew all about Pan Zhao's rebirth, so she deliberately probed, "I always felt that Mao Yuan was no ordinary person. Just now, General Ge and the other generals seemed to have some... um..." She carefully chose her words, "...respect? And Chang Zhanwang, I offended him just now. How could someone who has been in a high position for so many years forgive me so easily?"

Pan Zhao carefully restrained Qiao Zhen's waist with his arms, "I don't know either."