She Came to Heal, Stayed to Conquer

Seeing Zhao Zun’s serious expression, Han Lei quickly sat up straight.

Only then did Zhao Zun seriously ask, ”What did you mean by having me give that bird to the Emperor today?”

”What’s wrong? Did the bird cause trouble?” Han Lei’s eyebrow twitched, feeling a bit uneasy.

”It didn’t cause trouble, but it did amuse the Emperor.” Zhao Zun recalled and found it funny himself. He then recounted the amusing incident with the parrot in the court today.

Upon hearing this, Han Lei exhaled a sigh of relief, covering her mouth with a laugh, ”Haha, it worked out well.”

”What do you mean?” Zhao Zun was puzzled.

Han Lei laughed for a while before leaning toward his ear to explain quietly, ”The Emperor has always suspected you of having too much power and being self-important. I sent this bird to him to show that aside from fighting, you only enjoy playing with dogs and birds—not someone who likes to manipulate power. This way, his suspicion of you might lessen somewhat.”

”Oh, you’re quite clever.” Zhao Zun chuckled, feeling grateful, ”Girl, I didn’t expect you to be so thoughtful for me. Thank you!”

”There’s no need to thank me. I’m doing this for our future, so that things can be a bit easier and calmer, preventing him from constantly giving you a headache.”

Feeling more warmth in his heart, Zhao Zun habitually rubbed Han Lei’s head, exclaiming, ”Meeting you in this life is truly the blessing of my past life!”

”Hmph!” Han Lei gave him a proud glare, ”Now you see how clever I am? I offered to be your Think Tank, but you didn’t think much of it. I’ve always told you I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve.”

Zhao Zun curled his lips, the affection in his eyes growing stronger, ”I also told you, I don’t need a Think Tank, I just want a Princess Consort.”

”Hmph! Annoying!” Han Lei teased, ”You have the thickest skin.”

”Haha, haha, hahaha...” Zhao Zun laughed heartily, the joy bubbling up inside him. Then, as if remembering something, he said, ”Oh, speaking of Princess Consort, you should be mentally prepared.”

”Why?”

”My mother asked the astrologers to choose a date for our marriage, and it’s set for the Dragon Head Raising Day, February 2nd. But... Today in court, I requested the Emperor to bestow the marriage.”

”Bestow marriage? Is that necessary? We were already going to get married.” Han Lei was puzzled.

They were already set to marry, so why ask for a bestowed marriage? Zhao Zun nonetheless explained patiently.

”I remember you said that everyone should be equal and free to love, but it’s different here from Huaxia. Here, royal power is supreme. With the Emperor’s bestowed marriage, you’ll be the Emperor-appointed Princess Consort to Prince Xiaoyao. In the future, even if I’m not around, aside from the royal family, no one in the Da Jing Dynasty would dare to bully you.”

”Why would you not be around?”

Han Lei felt an ominous sensation. Could the Emperor still not tolerate Zhao Zun after taking away his military power? If that were the case, she might have to consider preparing powerful measures.

However, using such measures in the Capital City might harm the innocent. She could escape unscathed, but it could bring unpredictable troubles to Zhao Zun’s family.

Seeing Han Lei’s worried expression, Zhao Zun quickly laughed to comfort her, ”Don’t overthink. I’m just saying it. I want you to understand how prestigious the title of royal Princess Consort is; others can’t even dream of it!”

”Tch! You scared me there.” Han Lei gave him a sideways glance. Why did he have to add that line: even if I’m not around.

Zhao Zun chuckled, his big hand couldn’t resist touching Han Lei’s soft cheeks. He always had no resistance to Han Lei’s cuteness and always wanted to touch her.

”I also told the Emperor that you’re the niece of Luo Hai, the County Magistrate of Qingshui County. Remember, that’s your new identity.” As he said this, Zhao Zun’s expression returned to seriousness.

”Uncle?”

”Yes! Mr. Luo’s brother-in-law has the surname Han. So, while in Qingshui County, I’ve already arranged this with Luo Hai. With this new identity, the Emperor’s bestowed marriage is pretty much a done deal.”

”You mentioned I was considerate for you. It turns out, you’ve arranged everything for me long ago.” Warmth surged in Han Lei’s heart as well.

As a traveler from another world, she needed a legitimate identity to live peacefully in this world, otherwise, it would bring her many inconveniences.

All this time, she never thought about these things, believing that with her skills, she could thrive here effortlessly.

Thinking about it now, she was definitely a bit naive. And quietly, Zhao Zun had already organized everything for her.

Feeling unmoved would be a lie; Zhao Zun’s meticulous heart was always touching.

”It wasn’t intentional really! Luckily, Mr. Luo’s brother-in-law also has the surname Han, that’s why I thought of it.” To prevent Han Lei from feeling burdened, Zhao Zun spoke lightly.

”Thank you, Zhao Zun. Meeting you in this world is truly wonderful!” Han Lei took the initiative to hug Zhao Zun, who held her tightly.

At this moment, Han Lei suddenly thought of the Buddhist words spoken by the system. It’s no wonder it said there was a connection between her and Zhao Zun; everything happens so naturally.

”On New Year’s Eve, there’s a palace banquet, and the Emperor asked me to bring you to the palace banquet as well. Remember to wear that pink outfit you bought at the border and dress as beautifully as possible.”

”Since it’s a palace banquet, shouldn’t I dress more formally? Won’t others mock your Princess Consort for being too plain?”

Han Lei was puzzled as to why Zhao Zun insisted she wear the outfit bought at the border. After all, it was a banquet set by the Emperor! Would it be appropriate? The clothing from the border was of ordinary material, and Ms. Qin had mocked it earlier today.

”No! Just wear that.” Zhao Zun insisted but didn’t elaborate further.

”Oh! Okay.”

...

At night, Han Lei lay in bed, contemplating alone.

Zhao Zun said the Emperor’s bestowed marriage was a done deal, meaning she’d have to live in the Capital City from now on.

The Capital City is a place where power congregates; throw a stone casually, and it’ll hit a dignitary.

The people in the Capital are wealthy, and naturally have strong purchasing power, so she’ll make the Capital her business empire’s base.

In Jingzhou Taoyuan County, he let Tao Qing and Ah Mao build a brewery, arranged their employment, and the system rewarded her with a substantial amount of gold headcount-wise.

Now, she has enough financial resources to do what she wants. Aside from the pig farm, restaurant, and brewery, she has many ideas waiting for her implementation.

Today is the 28th of the 12th lunar month, the palace banquet is the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow she’ll go shopping in town, scout for locations, see what’s suitable for what, and then plan the subsequent stuff.

The problem is, she’s already arranged for all those wounded soldiers. No choice but to go find Zhao Zun tomorrow to borrow some people.

Instead of fighting battles now, Zhao Zun’s trusted aides are seeing idle time. Better to borrow them to manage the situation, and once Zhao Zun calls the manpower agent, she’ll acquire some suitable personnel per plan...

Thinking about these things, Han Lei drifted into dreamland.