Hearing Luo Sheng’s answer, Wei Han wasn’t surprised.

He had sensed it long ago; this was just the first time he asked outright.

His lips curved slightly: “Miss Luo.”

Luo Sheng gazed at him quietly.

“Don’t feel conflicted.” He looked at the young lady who held his heart, his smile gentle. “I am not a member of the Wei family.”

The teacup Luo Sheng held in her hand fell onto the table with a crisp sound.

The cold tea splashed out, spattering onto her fair hand.

“Your Highness, please don’t joke about such things.” She gripped the teacup tightly again. Beneath the shock was a joy she couldn’t deny herself.

After the joy passed, reason returned. She furrowed her brow as she looked at him.

Wei Han chuckled: “Miss Luo, rest assured, I wouldn’t make such a joke just to get you to agree.”

“Could Your Highness explain in detail?” Luo Sheng couldn’t smile, using an expressionless face to hide the tension in her heart.

She suddenly understood what it meant to be torn between hope and fear.

“That day was the Lantern Festival. My parents took me to the lantern market and we returned home to sleep… In the night, I woke in a daze to see my parents with pillows pressed over their faces, the bedding aflame. That person discovered I had awakened and covered my head and face with black cloth. When I woke again, everything had changed…”

He calmly recounted the cruel past buried deep in his memory: “I don’t remember what that woman looked like anymore. I only remember she cried often. Others called her Dowager Consort Shu, and I was supposed to call her Mother Consort… Later, she died too…”

Luo Sheng’s heart shook violently. She asked in a hoarse voice: “Does that mean Your Highness is not Dowager Consort Shu’s actual son?”

Wei Han nodded.

“Weren’t they afraid you’d reveal flaws in this substitution scheme?”

“Dowager Consort Shu’s son was born simple-minded and had almost never seen outsiders. By the time he could see outsiders, many people including Dowager Consort Shu herself were already gone.”

Luo Sheng still didn’t understand: “Weren’t they worried you would talk carelessly?”

Wei Han smiled: “They probably thought I didn’t remember. I was only four years old then. Because I witnessed my parents’ murder with my own eyes, I didn’t communicate with anyone for a very long time…”

Luo Sheng looked at the man who spoke so casually of this secret history, her heart heavy.

The Great Zhou counted age by lunar years—one was born at age one. Most people had no recollection of events from when they were four years old, so naturally those who plotted this wouldn’t worry about that point.

But he happened to remember, and grew up carrying such memories.

Wei Han reached out his hand, tentatively grasping that slender, delicate hand. Seeing the hand’s owner didn’t pull away, he held it tighter.

“I have a blood feud with Emperor Yong’an for the murder of my father and mother. But the Wei clan is the imperial family—recklessly seeking revenge would bring calamity upon innocent common people. I could only wait for an opportunity.”

Now the princes had rebelled and the realm was in chaos. The time had come for him to seek justice for his parents.

He gazed intently at the young woman across from him, gripping her hand even tighter, and said softly: “Miss Luo, my surname is not Wei.”

In that moment, Luo Sheng couldn’t control the moisture in her eyes.

“My surname is not Wei”—for her, these were undoubtedly the most beautiful words.

So she too had times when fortune favored her.

The person who stirred her heart did not bear the surname Wei.

“Miss Luo—” Wei Han called out again.

“What?” Luo Sheng responded absently, letting him hold her hand.

“Then can I become Luo Chen’s brother-in-law?”

Luo Sheng’s heart pounded like a drum. She struggled to maintain composure: “Right now everywhere is in chaos. Let’s think about such things after peace is restored.”

“When the war subsides, I will formally request your hand from your honored father.” Wei Han said earnestly.

His earnestness made her nod involuntarily: “Mm.”

The tea room fell quiet for a time. They could hear each other’s heartbeats.

The two sat properly and correctly, yet their intertwined fingers reminded them that something had changed.

And this change brought joy to both their hearts, making their eyes shine.

After a long while, Luo Sheng spoke: “Your Highness, please accompany me to the prefectural office. What arrangements to make after must be discussed with my father.”

Governor-General Luo had been waiting anxiously. What he received was news that his daughter had gone to a teahouse with Prince Kaiyang.

This infuriated the old father terribly.

What exactly did Prince Kaiyang mean? If he had feelings for Sheng’er, would it kill him to formally request her hand in marriage?

Did he have to deny him the experience of “having a daughter sought by a hundred families”?

“General, Prince Kaiyang and the young miss have arrived at the prefectural office.”

Governor-General Luo stood up abruptly, then quickly sat back down, arranging his expression into one of severity as he waited.

Luo Sheng and Wei Han walked in side by side.

Governor-General Luo wavered between reserve and initiative, but still spoke first with neither warmth nor coldness: “Your Highness, it truly has been a long time.”

Wei Han thought for a moment, then spoke: “Uncle Luo, it’s been a long time.”

Miss Luo had already agreed to marry him once the realm was at peace, so his form of address for Governor-General Luo needed to change.

Calling him Governor-General Luo was inappropriate, calling him General Luo too distant. Calling him Uncle Luo should be most suitable.

The tea Governor-General Luo had lifted to appear composed spilled directly. He coughed repeatedly in shock: “Cough, cough, cough, what did Your Highness call me?”

“Uncle Luo.”

“This form of address—” Governor-General Luo had a thousand things to say, but looking at the two standing together, perfectly matched, he forcibly swallowed his words. “Can Your Highness explain the purpose of your visit?”

If this boy dared say he came to request her hand, he would dare agree!

Did they think he was someone timid?

“I’ve come to invite Uncle Luo and Miss Luo to return to the capital.” Wei Han glanced at Luo Sheng. “I happened to hear from Miss Luo about Luo Chen’s matter. I’m willing to assist Uncle Luo.”

Governor-General Luo was greatly shocked: “Sheng’er, you told him even about that?”

He had only recently learned that Chen’er possessed the late emperor’s secret edict, and was planning how to return to the capital with legitimate cause.

Luo Sheng nodded: “Your Highness knows everything and is willing to help us.”

“But… why?” Governor-General Luo was thoroughly confused.

Luo Sheng smiled at the person beside her, the curve of her lips carrying a lightness she herself hadn’t noticed: “Because Your Highness’s surname is not Wei.”

After Luo Sheng explained the reason, Governor-General Luo finally set aside his doubts and laughed heartily: “Good! Then we’ll lead troops back to the capital and remove this stain of being called rebels and traitors.”

With the late emperor’s secret edict, plus Prince Kaiyang’s army to assist them, many problems would no longer be problems.

After laughing, he felt a bit disappointed: he’d thought Prince Kaiyang came for his daughter, but it turned out to be because they had a common enemy.

“Your Highness, regarding Lei Ming—”

Seeing that Governor-General Luo and Wei Han seemed inclined toward a lengthy discussion, Luo Sheng spoke up: “Father, you and Your Highness chat first. I’ll go make minced meat noodles.”

Governor-General Luo was stunned.

What minced meat noodles?

He looked at Wei Han in bewilderment, only to see that boy doing nothing but gazing at his daughter with a smile.

Belatedly, Governor-General Luo understood: So that’s it—Prince Kaiyang ran to Heyang not just because they had a common enemy, but to mooch a meal!

Having gotten his wish to eat minced meat noodles made by Luo Sheng’s own hands, Wei Han left the city in a cheerful mood.

The hundred or so personal guards waiting outside the city nearly cried.

So their master hadn’t deceived them—he really had gone into the city to eat before returning…

“Let’s go.” Wei Han mounted his horse, riding the equally well-fed white steed toward the encampment.