Marrying Wife and Concubine Together: After Rebirth, I Remarried the Scumbag's Father on the Sp

She held the jade pendant high and said loudly, "This is General Lu's personal tiger tally pendant. He said that seeing the pendant is like seeing the man himself. Once he has pacified the border, he will send someone to bring me to the capital and marry me properly, so that I can become his rightful Mrs. Lu!"

"I have waited for three years, hoping for news from the border every day. Now that I hear that General Lu is going to arrange a marriage in the capital, I have traveled day and night from Dingxiang back to the capital. I only ask that General Lu accept me and that the Grand Princess will not let Miss Zhan give her life to the wrong person!"

The Grand Princess recognized the tiger tally pendant at a glance; it was Lu Jingheng's personal item. He had worn it three years ago when he went to the border. How could she not recognize it?

For a moment, the Grand Princess was speechless, her face turning pale and then red. She was both shocked and angry. She was shocked that Jing Heng had secretly pledged his life to her husband at the border, and angry that this woman had to appear today, when she was preparing Zhan Miao's dowry, causing the royal family and the Zhan family to lose face.

Zhan Miao, inside the carriage, felt a chill run through his body as he looked at the familiar tiger tally pendant, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

She remembered that Lu Jingheng had once told her that his personal jade pendant had accompanied him on his campaigns at the border and was his most important possession. He said that after their engagement, he would take it and give it to her as a token of their love.

But now, this jade pendant has appeared in the hands of a strange woman who claims to be his wife, leaving her no choice but to believe her.

She gripped the carriage armrest, wanting to get off and find out what was going on, but her legs were too weak to stand. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she couldn't help but let them fall.

The maidservant quickly helped her up and whispered comfortingly, "Miss, don't worry. Perhaps this woman has made a mistake. How could General Lu have a wife?"

But the tiger tally couldn't be faked; Su Ningshuang's words were irrefutable, and there were several border soldiers as witnesses, leaving no room for doubt. The surrounding discussions grew louder and louder. Some said General Lu was heartless, some said Miss Zhan was pitiful, and others said the royal family had acted carelessly, failing to investigate the general's marriage before rashly arranging the engagement.

The Grand Princess took a deep breath, suppressing her anger and panic. She knew that if today's matter was not handled properly, not only would the royal family lose face, but the relationship between the Marquis of Zhanyi's mansion and the General's mansion would also be completely broken, and it would ruin Zhan Miao's life.

She looked at Su Ningshuang and said coldly, "Even if you have the Tiger Tally, you cannot be deemed Jingheng's wife based solely on your word. I will take today's matter back to the General's Mansion and have Jingheng confront you personally. If what you say is true, I will give you an explanation; if you deliberately spread rumors and disrupt the royal marriage, you will be dealt with according to the law and will not be let off lightly!"

After saying this, the Grand Princess gestured to the guards to take Su Ningshuang away, and then said to the nanny beside her, "Let's leave today's matter aside for now and go back to the manor."

The maids quickly packed their belongings, the guards dispersed the crowd, and the carriage turned around and headed towards the General's Mansion.

Inside the carriage, all was deathly silent. Zhan Miao leaned against the carriage wall, tears silently streaming down her face, soaking her moon-white dress. The exquisitely embroidered magnolia flowers on it now seemed particularly glaring.

The Grand Princess looked at her pale face, feeling guilty. She reached out to pat her shoulder, but didn't know how to comfort her.

She never imagined that the usually composed Lu Jingheng would cause such a mess. By secretly pledging their lives to each other at the border, he had caused a huge uproar in the city, ruining not only his marriage to Zhan Miao but also putting the General's Mansion and the royal family in an embarrassing situation.

Zhan Miao didn't speak, but bit her lip tightly until she tasted a faint metallic taste of blood, then she let go. She remembered Lu Jingheng's gentle demeanor in the peony garden.

Thinking of the smiles Lin Yiwan and Madam Lu exchanged, and of my own hopes for the future these past few days, I felt it was all a joke.

The carriage rolled over the cobblestone road with a dull thud, just like the mood of everyone present.

The General's Mansion was just ahead. Behind that vermilion gate, Lu Jingheng was waiting for news of his engagement, unaware that a tremendous change was about to occur.

The carriage slowly entered the general's mansion. Su Ningshuang was escorted behind by guards. The tiger tally pendant in her hand gleamed coldly in the sunlight, as if silently telling the story of the border romance three years ago, and also as if foreshadowing that this unfinished entanglement had only just begun.

Zhan Miao stepped off the carriage, his steps unsteady. Looking at the vermilion gate of the General's Mansion, he felt that everything in front of him had become unfamiliar and cold.

She knew that today's dowry preparations would ultimately come to nothing, and that there was probably an insurmountable chasm between her and Lu Jingheng.

The eldest princess doted on her the most, and seeing her so forlorn, she felt uneasy.

She instinctively grasped her hand: "Meow, listen to your aunt, ask him for an explanation? Maybe things aren't as Su Ningshuang says, and it's just wishful thinking on her part?"

Having weathered countless storms, as the eldest princess of the dynasty, she had witnessed far too many such things.

She didn't want Zhan Miao to regret it!

At this moment, Zhan Miao looked at Su Ning Shuang and saw her being escorted by guards behind him. The tiger tally dangled on her wrist, and the cold light reflected the faint smile on her lips. That smile was like a fine needle, pricking Zhan Miao's eyes painfully.

The air in the main hall of the General's Mansion was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. Lu Jingheng, dressed in a dark brocade robe, stood before the desk, his fists clenched silently.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. When his gaze fell on Zhan Miao, his usual gentleness softened slightly, but it still carried a hint of tenderness that was hard to detect.

But to Zhan Miao, this gentleness was nothing short of blinding.

The eldest princess followed beside him, wanting to persuade him but stopping herself. She watched as Zhan Miao walked step by step to Lu Jingheng and stopped.

The hall was so quiet that the faint sound of sandalwood incense burning out could be heard. Zhan Miao looked up and met his deep eyes, which once held all the joy she had felt when they first met, but now only a blurry image remained.

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, trembling with suppressed emotion: "Lu Jingheng, I'm asking you, what was your relationship with Su Ningshuang three years ago at the border?"

Lu Jingheng frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over Su Ningshuang beside him before returning to Zhan Miao. He parted his thin lips slightly and said, "Miao'er, this matter is not as you think. Let me explain first."

Zhan Miao laughed, a bitter laugh tinged with her voice. She pointed to the tiger tally on Su Ning Shuang's wrist: "This tiger tally is your personal possession. If you weren't deeply in love, why would you give it to someone else? Today, I went to prepare my dowry, full of joy and anticipation for our marriage, but she stopped me halfway, holding your tiger tally, saying that you and she had already secretly pledged your lives to each other, and that I, Zhan Miao, am nothing but an outsider who has usurped someone else's place!"

She spoke more and more urgently, her eyes gradually reddening, but she stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

She was a girl from the Zhan family, a beloved child of the eldest princess. She had never been so disheveled, never so open and honest, yet she was met with a cold shower.

Zhan Miao took a step forward, staring intently at him. "Lu Jingheng, tell me, is what she said true? Have you already secretly pledged your lives to her? Was our matchmaking just a joke of my wishful thinking?"