However, Wei Shuwan clearly remembered that when the people of Shengjing saw the princess off for her marriage, Pan Wenjun got off the carriage to thank and say goodbye to everyone. The red jade hair ornaments on her head were a gift from the emperor, and there was no silver hairpin at all.
When a woman from Daye gets married, she wears gold or jade; only when a concubine enters the household does she wear silver.
The fabricated silver hairpin and the fabricated charges were known to everyone in Da Ye as fabrications by the royal family of Zi Yi.
Pan Wei's hair turned white overnight, and he tearfully presented a petition written in blood, requesting permission to fight. However, Emperor Pingjia, Zhu Xian, although he felt that the Ziyi Kingdom was being too arrogant, argued that the other side had only punished a concubine and had not yet invaded the borders of Daye, so fighting for this was truly inappropriate. He even rebuked Pan Wei for acting out of personal grudges and for manipulating the court and the Weirong Army.
Three days later, just as the imperial edict from Shengjing reached Pan Wei, he also received a "gift" from the Ziyi Kingdom. Inside the square wooden box was the head of his daughter, Pan Wenjun.
The princess sent for a political marriage died tragically.
That day, Pan Wei stood on the city wall, holding his beloved daughter's head, gazing towards the direction of the Ziyi Kingdom across the river, before spitting blood and dying.
The father shed his blood for the country, and the daughter sacrificed her life for the country. The people of Daye could not help but sigh at this, and Wei Shuwan was no exception.
She felt that meeting Song Zichen and Su Xueyi in her past life was already a great misfortune, but Pan Wenjun's life was ten times more miserable than hers. If she could, she hoped to lend her a hand in this life.
Pan Wenjun, such a lively and cheerful young woman, genuinely loved her uncle. Why not help her achieve this? Firstly, it would save Pan Wenjun from being forced into another marriage alliance. Secondly, it would also help her uncle.
Uncle, a man of such quiet and reserved nature, needs a passionate and enthusiastic girl like her, lest he be like in his past life, still alone until she is gone. This valiant man fights fiercely against the enemy on the battlefield, but is quite obtuse when it comes to personal matters. He doesn't know how to get along with girls, which has always been a worry for Wei Shuwan and her mother.
Now that things are going well, Wei Shuwan is determined to do everything she can to bring these two people together and make Sister Pan her aunt. That would be perfect.
She stroked the bracelet on her right wrist, her eyes sparkling, looking like she wouldn't give it back no matter who tried to persuade her: "I felt an instant connection with Sister Pan, so I won't be polite about taking this bracelet!"
"That's wonderful! I love girls like you!" Pan Wenjun was also very happy.
Sun Xingjian, who was watching the two hit it off immediately, was not so happy. He nodded with a hint of annoyance: "Fine, you two get along well, I'm leaving."
Having said that, he strode away!
He had assumed that once he left, Pan Wenjun would surely catch up and apologize, and that his usually obedient and sensible niece would admit her mistake and return the bracelet to its rightful owner. However, even after he had walked dozens of steps, there were still no footsteps following him.
Sun Xingjian wanted to turn around and take a look, but he was too embarrassed. Wouldn't that be telling them that he was just pretending and waiting for them to admit their mistake?
Therefore, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and leave.
Wei Shuwan, still standing in front of her house, looked at her uncle who had indeed walked away and sighed softly, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Then she politely said to Madam Pan, "Sister Pan, if you have nothing else to do, why don't you come in and have a couple of cups of tea?"
It's only basic politeness for someone to say that when they're at your doorstep. Wei Shuwan hadn't had high hopes, but Pan Wenjun readily agreed: "Alright! Then I'll respectfully comply."
The two returned to Fuquxuan together. Wei Shuwan asked Ziqiao to prepare a pot of good tea and Miaoxiang to prepare some fruit.
At the tea table, Wei Shuwan and Pan Wenjun sat facing each other, each occupying one side. Wei Shuwan poured tea for her and tentatively probed how much she felt for her uncle:
"Sister Pan, how did you and my uncle become acquainted?"
Pan Wenjun accepted the tea offered by her with both hands, her eyes misty and her lips curved into a sweet smile, as if she were lost in some beautiful memories: "I have lived with my father at the border since I was a child, and your uncle has always been a capable man under my father. Although I knew of him before, I was not familiar with him."
"It wasn't until I turned fifteen and came of age that I was captured by the people of the Ziyi Kingdom and taken to the enemy camp. The next day, your uncle rescued me all by himself on horseback without any other companions. That's when I remembered him."
Wei Shuwan had heard about her uncle's solo rescue mission to the enemy camp, but she didn't know that the person he rescued was Pan Wenjun. She couldn't help but sigh a little, and her gossipy nature stirred: "Could it be that Sister Pan developed feelings for my uncle from that time on?"
Pan Wenjun smiled, a faint blush on her face, but she didn't hide it at all: "Of course I am grateful, but at that time I was already engaged, so I didn't dare to think too much about it."
"So Sister Pan was engaged..."
Wei Shuwan felt a chill in her heart, but she quickly dismissed it. After all, Pan Wenjun was already twenty-five years old. If the engagement still counted after ten years, how could they have been married for so long?
Pan Wenjun's smile gradually faded, replaced by a faint sorrow and resentment: "Although your uncle managed to rescue me, everyone thought that I had spent a night in the enemy camp and must be implicated. However, because of my father's status, no one dared to say these things openly. The family with the engagement naturally thought the same way, but they didn't dare to openly break off the engagement, so they simply had their son pretend to be sick and then come to the door crying and saying that they were afraid of delaying me, and that's how the engagement was broken off."
"How infuriating!" Wei Shuwan was also indignant on her behalf, and asked with concern, "And then what happened?"
"Later, although some people came to propose marriage, most of them came with ulterior motives, and I naturally didn't like them. At that time, I thought that I would never get married in this life, and live a carefree life like Princess Anping of the previous dynasty, raising a few elegant and handsome musicians and courtesans, singing and dancing every day, and enjoying the flowing wine cups on the winding stream. Wouldn't that be happy and carefree?"
Wei Shuwan chuckled. She wasn't surprised that the woman had such aspirations. After all, everyone loves beauty. Why should only men be able to have three wives and four concubines and be surrounded by beautiful women?
What surprised her was that Pan Wenjun dared to say these things so boldly, especially knowing that she was a relative of the man she admired.
Wei Shuwan nodded: "That does sound good~" Then she raised an eyebrow and asked playfully: "So what happened later that made Sister Pan give up those ideas and focus her attention on my uncle?"
Pan Wenjun chuckled, momentarily unsure whether she should tell the young girl the truth. Seeing Wei Shuwan's sincere and expectant gaze, she ultimately decided to tell her:
"Because one night I overheard servants whispering in the corridor that they had discovered spies from the Ziyi Kingdom in the military camp, who had come to assassinate my father! I rushed to the camp to find him, but when I burst into his tent, I unexpectedly bumped into Sun Xingjian, who was taking a bath inside..."
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