Keep your voice down. Are you trying to look glamorous dressed as a forced lover?

Lan Jin was a little nervous, but not coy. He had actually been quite curious after reading the booklet.

The consummation of the marriage was also an opportunity to verify his guess. He could feel Li Qingyan's pain, and it seemed that the constant itching also came from her. Perhaps there would be even more reactions.

He was curious; he wanted to know.

Anyway, he's going to be her concubine, so whether they consummate their marriage sooner or later, they'll consummate it eventually. If they do it sooner, he'll be hers from now on. Even if she finds out he's just a substitute, she won't do anything to him, right?

Of course, most importantly, he didn't mind her staying at all, even though she was sometimes strange and unpredictable, and even though they had only known each other for a short time. Apart from feeling nervous and having wild thoughts, he didn't reject her.

This is important, and it's also rare.

You should know that he had seen many women in the village before, and quite a few of them were interested in him, and even liked him.

Some even went directly to his father and mother, wanting to marry him.

His mother also said that if he finds someone he likes, he can get married.

Among these women were future clan leaders from three different families; they were all outstanding and beautiful, and many people were vying for their attention.

But Lan Jin was strange; he had no interest in them whatsoever.

They held no appeal for him; while his peers were excitedly cheering, he remained unmoved.

He once thought he was abnormal.

But everything changed after she met Li Qingyan. She treated him differently, as evidenced by her unconscious closeness to him before.

Even though we had just met, I had a strange sense of destiny about us.

In particular, many random images flashed through my mind.

If that's the case, then let's consummate the marriage.

The two washed up in tacit agreement. Lan Jinna washed herself very clean and even wanted to flip through the booklet.

But when he came out, Li Qingyan was already sitting on the bed.

Huai Xu was drying her hair, while Jing He was reporting to Li Qingyan:

"Your Highness, the owner of the courtyard where the strange phenomenon occurred has been confirmed as Xian Shuren. He was holding a swaddled baby and said it was his daughter."

Li Qingyan: "...Li Qingxian."

Li Qingyan had a feeling that she had known this all along.

He actually secretly returned to the Kingdom of Li, and even went to the capital.

Finally, he made a high-profile announcement of his return in the capital, accompanied by the strange phenomenon that had occurred twenty years ago.

Where is the child's mother?

"They didn't find her; she evaded everyone's search." Jinghe said in a low voice, "The virtuous commoner has been taken away by His Majesty, along with her daughter. This news has spread, but it's mostly being discussed in secret."

Li Qingyan nodded. She had searched for so long without finding him, but now she had finally found the virtuous commoner.

Unfortunately, because of the emperor, she still couldn't kill him.

Not to mention that he caused such a big commotion and even had a daughter.

This daughter was undoubtedly born to Qiu Nanxing, because the premise is that anyone who has been with Qiu Nanxing can never fall in love with another woman.

So the only option is to have a child with her.

Perhaps Qiu Nanxing knew that he had no one to rely on, unlike the common people whose fates were tied to the emperor's, so he went into hiding.

Li Qingyan nodded: "Go down and continue looking for Qiu Nanxing."

Undeterred, the male and female protagonists made a comeback. Li Qingyan was not surprised, but the way they returned was somewhat unexpected—they came back with a child born from a celestial anomaly.

In ancient times, this would indeed have been considered a decisive blow.

However, Li Qingyan remained calm, because the previous virtuous commoner who was born with a celestial phenomenon had even colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country.

This is why, even though the news spread, everyone only discussed it in secret.

Those who supported him because of the extraordinary signs that appeared in the heavens when he was born, such as the former Left Chancellor Zhao Gou, are now buried with their graves overgrown with weeds.

With such a precedent, anyone with a modicum of sense wouldn't switch their support for the virtuous commoner's daughter just because of a celestial anomaly.

Three years have passed, and it seems the story is about to start all over again.

This time, however, she has the advantage because she is the protagonist, while the commoners and others are trying to steal the spotlight.

Perhaps knowing they were finished, they wanted to turn the page on their generation's story and prepare to start the struggle for the second generation.

Just like the former emperor, she was originally the protagonist, but after being born into a commoner family, her halo was slowly taken away.

But she doesn't want to start a new generation.

She is now the Crown Princess, the one in power, and doesn't need to have children to fight for power.

She might as well continue down the path of writing short, unpopular stories; after all, she has seen hope now.

As Li Qingyan thought about it, she saw Lan Jin standing in the distance, watching her without coming over.

"Why aren't you coming over?"

She spoke up.

Next, the sage or the hand that controls this world will likely make another move.

But no matter what moves the other party makes, her most important task now is to confirm what she thinks.

Lan Jin walked over, but before she could speak, Li Qingyan went straight to the bed.

"Let's rest."

Li Qingyan patted the spot next to him: "The light doesn't need to be turned off."

Lan Jinna sensed something was wrong and walked over in a daze. By the time she realized what was happening, she had already been pinned down.

His heart belatedly began to pound wildly.

"So nervous? You don't even dare to look at me."

Li Qingyan gently touched Lan Jinna's face, tracing her features from her forehead to her cheeks and then to her nose.

Lan Jin was initially just nervous, but he quickly sensed something was wrong. His face paled for a moment. Did Li Qingyan notice his disguise and check him?

Fortunately, Li Qingyan quickly released him, chuckling as she looked at him: "You've stopped breathing, don't hold your breath."

Lan Jin breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed she hadn't noticed anything unusual or suspected anything.

He was somewhat smug; this was his unique disguise technique, and most people wouldn't notice any flaws.

Because of what his mother and the others said, he dared not show his true face. In addition, since he was entering the palace in place of his cousin, he disguised himself to look eight-tenths like his cousin. If anything happened in the future, he would have room to make excuses and salvage the situation.

Little did they know that Li Qingyan had already seen through it all.

A complex look, unreadable in Lan Jin's eyes, appeared in Li Qingyan's eyes. He gently kissed Lan Jin's eyes, then leaned into Lan Jin's arms and hugged him tightly.

Lan Jin didn't understand what she meant, but such a close embrace was enough for him to process.

With a soft, warm body in his arms, he couldn't help but feel a little distracted, yet he also really enjoyed this kind of embrace.

He also liked that kiss, even though it was on the eyes, but the tenderness it conveyed made him feel important.

He was a little confused. Li Qingyan had been giving him the cold shoulder before, but now they were so close again.

But he really liked it.

For some reason, the emptiness I felt in my heart before seemed to have been filled with many things in this embrace.

He reached out and slowly embraced Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan rubbed against him, wiping away the tears that had accidentally spilled out.

Then she took his hand, looked at it carefully, and slowly intertwined her fingers with his.

Even the most ingenious disguise techniques will have flaws. You can forge a face, but you can't forge a skeleton or a set of habits.

Li Qingyan was very familiar with Sannoye; she recognized his hands, not just the bones and knuckles.

Sannoye's ears, Sannoye's teeth, the outline of Sannoye's skull... remained unchanged.