Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ning Ning-her name was Liu Ningshen.

When Shen Zhao was ten years old, his father’s obsession with a concubine led to his mother’s tragic death. Shen Zhao attended the funeral alone, and on his way back, he became trapped in a snowstorm. Cold, hungry, and on the brink of death, he was saved.

A young girl took him into her carriage, fed him hot soup, and pressed her hand warmer into his arms.

She told him, “You must believe that there will always be someone in this world who loves you.”

That girl was Liu Ningshen.

She had no status, no parents, and no background; it was as if she had appeared in our world out of thin air.

But Shen Zhao didn’t care about any of that.

He loved her. Even though there were many other men around her, he continued to wait, convinced that he was the most devoted of them all and that she would eventually return to his side.

However, things did not go as he hoped. Liu Ningshen ultimately rejected him.

She even said something strange to him:

“Brother Ah Zhao, you are a good man, but a man like you can only ever be the second male lead.”

Liu Ningshen chose someone else, entering a marriage filled with boundless affection.

Heartbroken, Shen Zhao wandered far from home and let himself spiral into self-abandonment-until he met me.

He never expected that Liu Ningshen would return.

There she was, standing at the door of our mountain cottage, looking at Shen Zhao with a beaming smile.

“Brother Ah Zhao, have you really been living here in exile for the past eight years?

“I knew it. You are the most devoted one; you would always remain chaste for me-”

Liu Ningshen’s smile suddenly froze on her lips as she saw a little girl walk out of the cottage.

“Daddy.” It was Ningning, rubbing her eyes with her tiny hands. “I’m hungry.”

She then noticed Liu Ningshen. “Daddy, who is she?”

Shen Zhao patted Ningning’s head and said, “Be good, go back inside first.”

Once only Shen Zhao and Liu Ningshen remained at the door, Shen Zhao took a deep breath.

“Ningshen, there is indeed much history between us, but as you can see, so many years have passed. I have already married and had a child…

“From now on, let us each live our own lives.”

Shen Zhao lowered his gaze and turned to go back inside.

“Brother Ah Zhao…”

Liu Ningshen called out to him.

“Do the vows you once made to me no longer count?”

Shen Zhao didn’t stop.

“Shen Zhao!” Her cry finally became heart-wrenching.

“What if I told you-

“That I am Princess Xunyang?”

Shen Zhao’s footsteps came to a sudden halt.