But she made the wrong bet; there's no "what if."

“Li Yi, if you become my son-in-law, you will be respected and your position will be no lower than the official rank you earn through your own efforts. No one will look down on you.”

The girl sobbed and pleaded, she still wanted to try, why couldn't it work?

Everyone else can do it, but she can't?

“Princess Helan, I will never be happy in my life. What Li Yi wants is to do something practical for the people of Great Yan. My husband, no, I can’t do it.”

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Helan felt his blood run cold and his hands and feet turn icy.

The girl said, trembling:

"In that case, I wish Lord Li all the best in his career. Let's part ways here."

When Helan turned around, she could barely stand. It was Cen Ang who used his internal strength to prop her up, his arms supporting the girl's entire body.

The Yuwen family would never bow their heads in front of outsiders, especially not for something like this. Therefore, the princess had to walk back with her head held high in front of Li Yi.

must.

After Yuwen Helan returned to the palace, she started howling. The concubines in the harem and the palace heard her howling every day, which made the Empress go to Lan Youxin again.

“Others may think that once he becomes the emperor’s son-in-law, fame, fortune and glory will be within his grasp, but we know perfectly well that this is not Li Yi’s fault.”

Lan Youxin disagreed with what her mother-in-law said at this moment.

"Mother, it's not like that. When Helan first came back, he cried for several days, but I managed to comfort him."

"Then the infuriating thing happened. Li Yi's father arranged a marriage for him. When Helan heard the news, she cried so hard that everyone in our palace was driven crazy by her."

"It's true, Mother. But Fan Helan said she wants Li Yi to be her husband. I'm leading troops to seize Li Yi now, and we'll consummate our marriage that very night."

“I asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted Li Yi to be willing. But now, she doesn’t want him anymore, even if he is willing. She doesn’t want Li Yi either. My aunt said she’s unhappy, but she’ll be fine after crying for a few days. She told us to be patient.”

The Empress slumped on her phoenix throne, utterly helpless against her sister-in-law, who was about the same age as her child.

"How about you let Ah Cen take her out for some fun?"

Lan Youxin pursed her lips. To be honest, she was fine with it; they could all go out and have fun together. But A-Cen might not be happy about it. A-Cen wanted to scold her when she saw her crying, but she couldn't because Yuwen Helan was her master.

"Okay, I'll go ask Ah Cen."

After saying that, Lan Youxin reached out, stretched her skirt a couple of times, and returned to the palace.

Today is the day off for the two elder aunts who serve the Crown Princess. Perfect, I can take Yuwen Helan out for a walk.

Hua Luan originally planned to have a meal with Wang Zheng at a restaurant, but her aunt brought three people with her.

Yuwen Helan, Cen Ang, Lan Youxin.

They followed her in a neat and orderly fashion.

The quick-witted and perceptive Aunt Hua said somewhat shyly:

"Those... are all my colleagues."

The baby-faced boy didn't believe it; he had met Yuwen Helan before.

But he didn't make a fuss. After entering the private room, he pointed at Yuwen Helan and said:

"This person doesn't seem to be... the palace steward, does he?"

Seeing Wang Zheng asking her a question, the girl, whose eyes were swollen like a frog's, whimpered:

"No, I am a princess, but you don't need to bow today. These two brought me out to play. Do you know any fun places in the capital?"

In fact, ever since Hua Luan helped him last time, Wang Zheng and she had exchanged letters privately, and the atmosphere between them was rather sweet.

Unfortunately, there are too many light bulbs.

Not only are there many people, but two of them are also completely oblivious to their own limitations.

Cen Ang didn't care about such things. She felt that Hua Luan wouldn't get married because she couldn't bear to part with the Crown Princess.

It's normal for a man to feel attracted to someone he meets.

As for her, Zhao Kai's parents had already agreed to her marrying into the family, so what else could he say?

So, Aunt Cen took a plate of pastries and watched the commotion from the window of the private room. She mainly wanted to see the various passersby below, and the sense of busyness, combined with the presence of her friends, made it all feel incredibly real to her.

But Lan Youxin and Yuwen Helan are different.

He sat down and looked at Hua Luan's slightly blushing face, then at Wang Zheng.

Then the Crown Princess pursed her lips at her aunt and gestured with her eyes to something under the table.

That means the two of them held hands.

"You two have only known each other for a short time and you're already holding hands?"

"I've known Li Yi for six months, but we haven't even held hands yet."

"..."

"..."

"..."

These two sentences made everyone present laugh, including the person involved, but only Cen Ang replied seriously:

“Then Princess Helan should reflect on herself. Why can Luan’er hold hands so quickly, but you can’t? You’re not even as good as me.”

"you?"

Yuwen Helan was a little skeptical. Cen Ang, who in the palace didn't know her name, and who liked her?

"right."

Aunt Cen nodded.

"Who is it? Who are you holding hands with?"

The cold-faced girl answered seriously and formally:

"Zhao Kai, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy and the newly appointed third-ranked scholar, not only held hands with me, but even kissed me..."

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't say this, you can't tell anyone."

Lan Youxin got up, took a piece of pastry and stuffed it into Cen Ang's mouth. She had forgotten to teach her this. After all, it was Cen Ang's first time, so it was normal for her to feel proud of it.

But Cen Ang remained proud as he spoke, nodding his chin at Yuwen Helan.

The princess is so angry, she's turned into a little hamster again.

After learning that he was engaged, Li Yi had his father keep him tied up at home.

It's not a lock, it's a tether.

Lord Li knew that he couldn't keep the child locked up; as long as the child had all four limbs intact, he would surely run away and break off the engagement.

It's possible to go to a woman's house in the middle of the night.

But Li Yi must completely sever any thoughts of getting along with Yuwen Helan.

Yes, the two did indeed separate.

But what if it resurfaces?

“Father, I’ve done my part in cutting off contact with Helan, but marriage is absolutely out of the question.”

“I may not be able to be the prince consort, but I have her in my heart. At worst, I will remain unmarried for the rest of my life and let her find a prince consort and live a peaceful life. We can just let things be as they are between the two of us. We must not bring in another innocent girl and ruin her life.”

Lord Li ignored him and ordered his men to tie him to the bed, turning him into a caterpillar.

After a happy day, Yuwen Helan started crying again on the quiet and dark road back to the palace.

"At that time... Li Yi and I... fell in love around that time."

Lan Youxin and Hua Luan were quite patient, gently persuading her from the side.

But Cen Ang was different; the veins on his head were throbbing from Yuwen Helan's crying.

Immediately afterward, the cold-faced girl and the Crown Princess whispered to each other:

"Your Majesty, please take the Princess back to the palace first."

"And what about you?" the Crown Princess countered.

"I'm going to treat Princess Da Yan's heart ailment."