Reborn to Become A Queen: The Real Heiress's Comeback

Mu Yan looked coldly at Zhan Xuerou, "Shut up! If you say one more word, I will kill you!"

Zhan Xuerou shrank her neck in fear, and stopped speaking.

Vermilion Bird quietly observed everything happening inside the room from outside the door. He had followed the Master for many years and had never seen him raise a hand against a woman.

There were only two times: once when he hit Madam Li, and once when he hit Zhan Xuerou.

His Master just couldn’t bear it anymore before taking action. Judging from the expression, he truly had the intention to kill.

But since Zhan Xuerou was ultimately the enemy of the Madam, the Master wouldn’t kill her.

Zhan Lan noticed Mu Yan’s hand, veins popping, and gently held it with a smile on her face.

Mu Yan’s eyes softened as he looked at Zhan Lan. The image of her as a child overlapped with her current self, and a pang of helpless sorrow filled his heart.

He was a man, able to endure hardships, and even if life was difficult, it was acceptable. But his Lan’er was just a woman, yet more resilient than any man he had ever known.

Zhan Lan simply looked at him quietly, saying nothing, but Mu Yan’s emotions were calmed by her presence.

Zhan Beicang observed Zhan Xuerou spitting blood. His emotions were complex; he felt he had wronged Xue Wei, having spoiled Zhan Xuerou to become what she was!

Qin Shuang saw her husband’s expression and knew he was blaming himself again. She said sternly, "Earlier, I used to think, like you, that no one is born evil, until I saw with my own eyes the venomous heart of Zhan Xuerou. She wanted to kill Lan’er, her younger brother and sister whom she watched grow, and even her maid Qiuyue who had been with her for over ten years. Husband, will you still be soft-hearted?"

Zhan Beicang closed his eyes and said, "Take her away! Bring her to the Capital Governor!"

Mu Yan said coldly, "Father-in-law, she intended to kill Prince Zhenbei, which is a significant matter. I’m afraid it won’t be so simple, Vermilion Bird, take her to the Ministry of Justice and interrogate her thoroughly!"

"Yes!"

Vermilion Bird led the Hidden Guards to bind her.

Zhan Xuerou saw that Zhan Beicang didn’t even look at her, and she realized things were bad.

If she were taken to the Ministry of Justice, only death or tortures worse than death awaited her.

Tears in her eyes, she looked at Zhan Beicang, "Godfather, if I’m taken to the Ministry of Justice, I’m as good as dead. Rou’er is your good brother Xue Wei’s daughter. He died for you. Can’t one life pay for another, letting Rou’er go, leaving a descendant for your brother?"

Zhan Beicang was stunned. What Zhan Xuerou said was true; he owed Xue Wei a life, and the person in front of him was Xue Wei’s daughter.

Zhan Lan smiled slightly, "Father, what do you think?"

In the abandoned courtyard, suddenly, Mu Yan glimpsed a shadow and looked toward the back of the house, "Who is it!"

Everyone looked in the direction Mu Yan was watching, only to see a figure running away. Zhan Lan turned to Zhan Beicang, "Dad, quickly, chase them!"

Zhan Beicang hesitated for a moment, then subconsciously followed Zhan Lan’s words, pushed open the window, and leaped out.

Mu Yan glanced at Vermilion Bird, who immediately followed Zhan Beicang.

"Lan’er, who could it be?" Qin Shuang asked, puzzled.

Zhan Lan murmured, "It might be an old friend of father."

Qin Shuang frowned, which old friend could that be? She felt today’s Lan’er was exceptionally mysterious.

Zhan Beicang pursued all the way out, with Vermilion Bird flanking from the side.

The two saw that the shadow moved quickly as if trained.

The person vaulted walls and crossed courtyards with agility, carrying a bow and quiver on their back.

Zhan Beicang frowned, feeling a sense of familiarity with the figure, but the person’s hood obscured their appearance. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Until he and Vermilion Bird cornered the person in an alleyway.

"Who are you?" Zhan Beicang asked sharply.

The man looked at Vermilion Bird behind him, then at Zhan Beicang. Realizing escape was impossible against two highly skilled martial artists.

His eyes, hidden underneath the hood, gazed at Zhan Beicang, who he hadn’t seen in years, causing his heart to tremble. His Main General had aged, no longer possessing his youthful vigor.

Zhan Beicang squinted at the man opposite, feeling strong familiarity but unable to recall where they had met.

Until the man spoke slowly, "Amitabha Buddha. General Zhan, it’s been a while."

Zhan Beicang’s heart jumped. The voice sounded familiar, reminiscent of something he heard in his youth, yet seemed strange.

"Eighteen years without seeing each other, you don’t recognize me..." The man slowly removed the hood from his clothing.

What appeared before Zhan Beicang was an aged face; the man was dressed as a monk with a burn scar on the right cheek. The monk’s eyes appeared calm but concealed tumultuous waves.

He mumbled, pressing his lips together, and joined his hands in a Buddhist salute toward Zhan Beicang.

Seeing the man’s face, Zhan Beicang shivered all over; he couldn’t believe it was him!

Why is he still alive!

...

Moments later, Zhan Beicang returned, escorting a man, his expression vacant as if struck by lightning, with the emotionless Vermilion Bird behind him.

The man he brought back was a monk, his head lowered, not daring to look at anyone.

Zhan Beicang, like a man whose soul had been taken, looked at Zhan Lan, "Lan’er, you knew he was still alive all along..."

Zhan Lan did not answer.

"Who? Who’s still alive, and who is this monk?" Qin Shuang was puzzled.

Zhan Beicang had suffered too many shocks today. With a bitter smile, he replied, "Xue Wei!"

Zhan Xuerou shuddered when she heard those words. What? Xue Wei is still alive!

How is that possible!

"No, that’s impossible!" Zhan Xuerou was on the brink of collapse. Xue Wei was already dead; with this debt of gratitude, she might persuade Zhan Beicang and even gain freedom.

But Zhan Beicang said Xue Wei didn’t die!

Then all these years of Zhan Beicang’s guilt toward his brother would vanish like clouds.

"This person must be a fake!" Zhan Xuerou thought this was Zhan Lan’s conspiracy.

Until the man raised his eyes to look at Zhan Xuerou, "Child, it’s your father who has wronged you..."

Zhan Xuerou saw the man’s elderly face, dressed as a monk, with one side scarred from burns, his eyes void and laden with guilt, carrying a bent bow and quiver on his back.

Xue Wei initially intended to intercept Zhan Xuerou mid-way, but was discovered.

Zhan Lan looked at the monk and asked, "The midwife I found that could prove my true origins, did you shoot her with an arrow?"

Xue Wei looked up at Zhan Lan, full of guilt, and nodded, "It was me. I’m the one who wronged Lady Zhan."

He originally wanted to clarify things with Zhan Beicang, but Madam Li wouldn’t allow it. Madam Li even said if the Zhan Family knew the child was switched, their daughter would be finished.

So Xue Wei thought, for his daughter’s happiness, he should go along with the mistake, but he never imagined Madam Li to be so ruthless. His remaining conscience gave him no peace, causing sleepless nights filled with guilt.

Nearly every year, Madam Li would bring Zhan Lan to pay respects, and he secretly watched Zhan Lan from afar a few times, silently praying for her safety and well-being.

Only just now did he learn that Zhan Lan didn’t live well all these years, his daughter treated Zhan Lan in such a way.

It’s likely his wife also mistreated General’s daughter from the Zhan Family.