Chapter 220 At Least She's a Princess
"I was so happy for a while, thinking it would be so easy to find."
Tuoba Yan'er gave Jiang Wan Ning a resentful look, "Who knew it was your scheme?"
Jiang Wanning said, "Don't worry, if Your Highness finds the person, we will safely send them to the Lingxiao Sect."
"There's just one condition."
Tuoba Yan'er waited for Jiang Wan Ning to speak with an expression that said, "I knew it."
"I hope the Lingxiao Sect and that person from Dongling will not cooperate."
"That's it?" Tuoba Yan'er asked in shock.
“That’s it,” Jiang Wan Ning replied calmly.
"Don't you want to take this opportunity to get your aunt or Xixia to help you with something? My aunt is very powerful," Tuoba Yan'er couldn't help but remind her.
"Then tell me who she is working with."
“That won’t do,” Tuoba Yan’er replied without hesitation.
"You insist on making us make demands even if we don't ask, and then we can't accept them once we do. Are you doing this on purpose?" Shen Ruzhi clenched her fists.
Tuoba Yan'er retorted, "What do you know?"
"The rules of the martial arts world are paramount. You can choose not to cooperate, but you cannot betray others. This is the most basic principle. Otherwise, what do you think the Lingxiao Sect, and my aunt, relied on to become the leader of the number one sect in the martial arts world?"
Shen Ruzhi wanted to say more, but Jiang Wanning stopped her, saying, "I understand."
"That's settled then. Once you find the person, take them back. Any accidents that happen on the way are none of our business, but you can no longer cooperate with the person behind this."
As long as the other party doesn't rely on forces from the martial arts world, even if the enemy is in the shadows while you are in the open, it's still a significant blow to their strength.
"Father, what kind of princess is this? Throw her into jail!" Shen Ruzhi said angrily, pointing at Tuoba Yan'er.
"You dare! Unless you want to start a war between the two countries, I am a princess." Tuoba Yan'er clasped her hands in a fist and leaned back, crossing her legs as she did so.
“Father, look at her arrogant attitude…Father…” Shen Ruzhi called out again, “What are you daydreaming about, Father?”
Shen Zhao then came to his senses. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things."
As Shen Zhao spoke, his eyes kept darting between Shen Ruzhi and Tuoba Yan'er's faces.
"Father, why are you looking like this?" Shen Ruzhi touched her face. "Is something on your mind?"
"I just feel like you two look a bit alike."
"And so!" they both said in unison.
“She’s so ugly, how could she possibly look like me?” Shen Ruzhi glared at Tuoba Yan’er.
Tuoba Yan'er retorted defiantly, "I am the most beautiful girl in Xixia. Do you think I want to look like you? Like a firecracker."
"Aren't you like a firecracker? If you weren't a firecracker, you'd either be getting beaten up or being chased around and beaten up every day?"
"They've chased Prince Jin all the way to Dongling."
"I already said that was..."
"Alright, Zhizhi, stop making a fuss," Shen Zhao said softly. "She is a princess, after all."
"Father, you weren't like this before. What's wrong with you today?"
Wang quickly explained, "That's not what your father meant."
"But now that you mention it, I do think you two are somewhat similar."
Shen Ruzhi and Tuoba Yan'er exchanged a glance and then turned their heads away.
Jiang Wan Ning seemed to understand Shen Zhao's meaning, "Uncle, you mean?"
Shen Zhao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then nodded emphatically. "Not bad."
"But Zhizhi, she..."
"What's wrong with me?" Shen Ruzhi said. "Dad, Ningning, what kind of riddle are you two playing?"
Shen Zhao said in a deep voice, "Actually, I didn't pick up Zhizhi back then. I rescued her from human slave traders. I felt sorry for the child."
"When I was transferred to a post outside the capital, I originally took the official road, but I had to detour to Youzhou because of some business. The journey took a few days, and I was afraid that the emperor would blame me when I returned to the capital, so I could only say that I found it myself."
Wang looked up at Shen Zhao, "You said you went to Youzhou back then?"
Shen Zhao nodded.
Wang's eyes instantly reddened. "Is it because I said the chestnut pastries from Youzhou were delicious?"
Shen Zhao tacitly agreed.
Wang suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh. It seemed that all of this was fate. If she hadn't casually mentioned it back then, Shen Zhao wouldn't have gone to Youzhou. If he hadn't gone to Youzhou, they might have been together long ago.
But if she hadn't gone to Youzhou, there wouldn't be Zhizhi. In recent days, she had been treating Zhizhi as her own daughter.
“It’s all in the past,” Shen Zhao comforted Wang.
Back then, fearing that his trip to Youzhou would be exposed, he didn't mention Zhizhi's identity, only letting people misunderstand that Zhizhi was his biological daughter.
That's why he hurt Wang's feelings. If he had been more honest with Wang back then, things might not have turned out this way. But fortunately, their destiny in this life has just begun.
"Father, stop playing games! What is it?" Shen Ruzhi knew her father best.
The way he looks like he's hiding something again.
Shen Zhao let out a long breath and said in a deep voice, "Zhizhi, you are the person they are looking for."
Shen Ruzhi jumped up from her chair in surprise. "Not Dad? What are you talking about?"
"Isn't the person they're looking for someone with a birthmark? I don't have a birthmark, only scars..." Shen Ruzhi belatedly realized something.
“You guessed right,” Shen Zhao said. “The scar on your lower back was originally a plum blossom birthmark.”
"So you deliberately got this scar because you were afraid her identity would be discovered?" Tuoba Yan'er had already imagined a series of conspiracies and schemes behind this matter.
Shen Zhao clenched his fist to his lips and coughed twice, "Um..."
"Actually, I accidentally burned you with a fire poker when I was holding you and cooking over a fire."
Sinking like a branch...
"Old Deng, do you think you're trying to find an excuse to send my child away since it's about to be born?"
The Lingxiao Sect is located in the Western Xia Kingdom, which is as far away as it can get.
Shen Zhao slowly stood up, holding onto the armrest of the chair. He turned and walked towards the table by the window, hunching over, and took a red rope from one of the table legs.
"This is the red string you wore back then."
Shen Zhao handed the red rope to Shen Ruzhi, saying, "When you were little, you were short and chubby. I was afraid of breaking it, so I just took it off and tied it to the table leg."
"Fortunately, Dad is rather stingy, and this table hasn't been replaced all these years."
Shen Ruzhi took the red string. "You're not lying to me?"
"How could your father lie to you about such an important matter?"
Shen Ruzhi thought about it and agreed. Shen Zhao's back was bent much more than usual just now, which must have been a long struggle in his heart. If she really was Tuoba Ling'er, and she left like this, Old Deng would definitely cry his heart out.
"Father, your daughter is Shen Ruzhi. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay here with you." Shen Ruzhi rarely expressed her feelings to Shen Zhao.
Shen Zhao took Shen Ruzhi's hand and gently patted the back of it, "Good child."
"For the sake of your father raising you for so many years, you should hurry up and go back to your ancestral home."
"Given your high status, do you think it's possible to have your own parents pay for all the money your father has spent on you over the years?"
Sinking like a branch...
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