In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"You secretly ran away from Lantian County to get here?" Li Yuanchang's voice rose, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Wu Lan felt even more guilty and embarrassed, so she lowered her head and dared not speak.

Li Yuanchang was speechless for a moment: "I knew it, why did you come here all of a sudden?"

"You, you're driving your two older sisters and mother crazy with worry!"

As he spoke, he was about to send someone back to report the news.

"Hey, brother-in-law, it's alright. I left a letter for my mother and sister before I left, saying that I was coming to find you. They also know that I came with the caravan of the Northern Song Dynasty merchants," Wu Lan explained.

Li Yuanchang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"But you can't just leave a letter and come all this way. Madam Wu would be so worried."

Wu Lan lowered her head, staring at her toes, like a child who had done something wrong. For some reason, tears suddenly fell down her cheeks.

"Hey, why are you crying?"

"Don't cry, don't cry."

Li Yuanchang was both amused and exasperated. The little girl was so easily frightened. He took out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears.

The next second, Wu Lan threw herself into his arms and sobbed softly.

Li Yuanchang was stunned on the spot.

Guo Chao and the others widened their eyes and quickly looked away.

Li Yuanchang was also a little embarrassed. He had always had a good relationship with the three Wu sisters. He had practically watched Wu Lan grow up. She was only a few years old when he first met her.

During the time he served as Minister of War in Chang'an, Wu Lan would often come to the Prince of Han's residence to play. She was familiar with everyone there and they were practically family.

But familiarity is familiarity, and family is family, but a daughter should avoid her father when she grows up.

My sister-in-law is no longer a child; she's a sixteen or seventeen-year-old adult girl.

"Ahem, what's wrong?" Li Yuanchang lowered his head, trying to remain calm, unsure of what to do with his hands.

Wu Lan remained silent, only weeping incessantly.

She was a bright and intelligent young woman, very cheerful, and rarely cried. Li Yuanchang felt that something must have happened.

"Come on, let's go inside and talk. It's cold standing outside."

"Yes, thank you, brother-in-law." Wu Lan sobbed, wiped away her tears, and obediently followed after letting go of his hand.

Li Yuanchang secretly exhaled a breath and silently recited Amitabha Buddha ten times to remind himself that this was his sister-in-law.

The two entered the hall one after the other.

A maid brought over some warm ginger soup.

"Drink this first to ward off the cold," Li Yuanchang said.

Wu Lan immediately made a bitter face.

Li Yuanchang feigned displeasure.

Wu Lan had no choice but to frown and reluctantly swallow it.

"Tell me, why are you crying? Is it related to your trip to the Far East?"

Wu Lan pursed her red lips, nodded, and then lowered her head, as if she had some girlish thoughts on her mind.

"If you don't talk, I can send someone to send you back," Li Yuanchang threatened deliberately.

"Brother-in-law!"

Wu Lan raised her voice.

"Hahaha, then hurry up and tell me." Li Yuanchang laughed.

Wu Lan said aggrievedly, "My mother wants me to get married."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face again.

Li Yuanchang frowned. Marry someone?

"My mother found me a marriage partner in Lantian County. She said he came from a scholarly family and would be my principal wife. But I didn't want to marry a man I had never met, and I didn't like him either."

"I disagreed, and my mother said I didn't understand filial piety and that I was willful, sob sob..." She sobbed loudly, feeling wronged.

Li Yuanchang was helpless. So this was what caused all this trouble. No wonder they came to seek refuge with him.

However, Wu Lan was indeed of marriageable age, probably around seventeen, which was considered a young woman in the Tang Dynasty.

She and her elder sister Wu Shun were actually influenced by him and Wu Meiniang, and they wandered from place to place, never having the opportunity to be betrothed.

Wu Shun did get married a few years ago, but her husband died not long after.

When Li Yuanchang found out about this, he was annoyed for a long time. His sister-in-law was also a beauty, but her fate was full of misfortune.

"Brother-in-law, could you please take me in?"

"I don't want to go back. If I go back, my mother will force me to get married." Wu Lan raised her head, her face pleading.

Li Yuanchang took a deep breath: "If you don't like that person, then don't get married."

"I will take charge of this matter for you. I will write a letter to Lady Wu to explain in a moment."

Upon hearing this, Wu Lan beamed with joy and rushed to Li Yuanchang, hugging him tightly: "Thank you so much, brother-in-law! I knew I'd come to you; you'd definitely help me!"

Li Yuanchang was startled and extremely embarrassed.

This girl thinks she's still a few years old, hugging people whenever she wants.

He could even feel the softness of Wu Lan's chest. Even though she was a young girl, it wasn't an exaggeration, but he could still feel it clearly while holding her like this.

"Cough cough."

He covered his embarrassment with a cough and pulled the person away.

"But you certainly can't live in the Far East forever."

"Why?" Wu Lan's fair and delicate face turned bitter.

"Madam Wu is getting old, won't you stay by her side?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Lan was stunned for a moment, and then a look of guilt appeared on her face.

"Can I stay at my brother-in-law's for a while before going back?"

"Lantian County is so boring. My mother made me learn embroidery and read scriptures every day. She wouldn't let me go out or be like my second sister."

When the matter was brought up, Li Yuanchang also felt guilty.

Madam Wu was actually heartbroken and disappointed in Wu Mei, believing that she, a woman, lived like a man, and they reportedly had several big arguments.

Therefore, a large part of the reason why Madam Wu controlled Wu Lan was that she took the bullet for Wu Mei.

"Can."

Feeling indebted to the Wu family, Li Yuanchang readily agreed.

"I will have someone prepare the guest rooms in a moment."

Wu Lan immediately beamed with joy and rushed over to hug Li Yuanchang, just like when they were children. She truly didn't treat him as an outsider, but as the person she trusted most.

The fragrant breeze wafted into his nose, and his sister-in-law's enthusiasm was almost overwhelming.

A few years ago she was still young, so it didn't matter, but now...

Just then, Situ Lan arrived after hearing the news and bumped into the two embracing, and was instantly petrified!

Li Yuanchang quickly pushed the person away, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Madam has arrived, this..."

"Princess Consort!" Wu Lan exclaimed in surprise, not feeling anything amiss at all. She immediately rushed up and grabbed Situ Lan's hand, showing no signs of the restraint that had been present since they last met two or three years ago.

The two also have a very good relationship.

"Sister Lan." Situ Lan smiled gently, but when she saw the tear stains on her face, she felt even more puzzled.

Could it be that His Highness and Wu Lan...?

Li Yuanchang, standing to the side, shrugged with a wry smile, indicating his innocence.

But Situ Lan still felt something was off. It wasn't that she didn't trust Li Yuanchang, but rather that his record was too dazzling. Li Su, Su Qing, and Yin Yao were all from more prestigious backgrounds than the others.

Sometimes she wanted to say something, but she was afraid of upsetting Li Yuanchang.

If she didn't say anything, she was afraid that Li Yuanchang would keep trying to get her to meet with sensitive people.

"Sister Lan, was your journey safe?"

"Your Highness, it's very safe. The Far East is nothing like the barbarian lands that people in Chang'an say it is. It's such a wonderful place, with almost no drawbacks except for the cold."

"It's those people in Chang'an who are so narrow-minded!" Wu Lan said earnestly, extending her affection to everything related to the person she was referring to.

"Haha, well said, well said!" Li Yuanchang was instantly moved by her sincerity.