Leaving Taiqing Temple, the Duke of Yong’en felt as if he were walking on cotton, dazed as he boarded the carriage returning to the city.
In the carriage, he pondered back and forth, thinking it was impossible.
During the Late Emperor’s reign, the reason a woman from the imperial clan was made a princess and sent to marry into the Xi Luo tribe was because the Xi Luo and the Northern Jie were both attacking the Great Yue Dynasty’s northwest. The two tribes frequently raided the Great Yue’s borders, resulting in continuous warfare along the border. Facing this dual military pressure, they could only adopt a policy of appeasement.
But now, Shen Yuan Ce had spent three years leading troops to severely weaken the Northern Jie, even going so far as to burn the ancestral graves of the Northern Jie royal family. The threat from the north no longer existed.
Since there was no longer a crisis of being attacked from both sides, and the marital alliance between the Xi Luo and the Great Yue remained stable, what reason could there be to send another princess to marry into the Xi Luo?
This talk of a political marriage was absurdly far-fetched…
Past lives, present life—wasn’t this just mystical nonsense?
The Duke of Yong’en shook his head in the carriage, still finding it unbelievable. He returned to the city with a furrowed brow in deep thought. Upon reaching the city gate, he suddenly heard a commotion outside, and the carriage abruptly stopped.
“What’s happening?” The Duke of Yong’en moved the window aside to look out and saw a group of Imperial Guards clearing the way at the city gate, ordering all pedestrians and carriages to move aside. It seemed someone important was about to enter or leave the city.
An Imperial Guard spotted the Duke of Yong’en’s carriage from afar and hurriedly approached, giving him a salute: “Your Grace, please wait at the city gate for a moment. The Xi Luo delegation is about to leave the city and return west.”
During the first month of the year, envoys from various friendly states came to the capital to pay tribute, and the Xi Luo people were naturally among them. It was said that on this trip, a son of the Xi Luo king had personally come to Chang’an, saying he wanted to use this opportunity to experience Central Plains culture. Just today, the palace was hosting a banquet for the Xi Luo prince, with many nobles and aristocrats in attendance.
The Duke of Yong’en asked in surprise: “The Xi Luo delegation has only been here for a few days, and today’s palace banquet hasn’t even ended. Why are they leaving so soon?”
“In response to Your Grace, the Xi Luo queen is suddenly critically ill. An urgent report was just delivered to the palace from eight hundred li away, and the Xi Luo prince has no choice but to return west early.”
Like a bolt of lightning striking down, the Duke of Yong’en felt dizzy and grabbed the window frame for support.
The current Xi Luo queen was the princess who had been sent from the Great Yue for a political marriage more than a decade ago.
Indeed, with the stable relationship between the two nations, there was no need to send another princess for a political marriage. But if the previous marriage princess suddenly died…
The divination he had just received was immediately followed by such news—was this truly fate, or was someone deliberately scheming?
Could it be that Shen Yuan Ce, knowing the news of the Xi Luo queen’s critical illness, had bribed the Taoist master at Taiqing Temple to deceive him so that he would agree to the marriage with the Shen family?
After all, if Zhiyi might marry into such a barbaric place as Xi Luo with no return in this lifetime, marrying Shen Yuan Ce would become the superior choice!
“What time was the urgent report delivered to Chang’an?” the Duke of Yong’en asked the Imperial Guard to confirm.
“About three-quarters of an hour ago.”
The Duke of Yong’en’s face immediately turned pale.
Three-quarters of an hour ago, he had already left Taiqing Temple. This meant that when Taoist Master Zhang was divining, the urgent report from eight hundred li away had not yet reached Chang’an. Before that, no one in Chang’an would have known about the Xi Luo queen’s critical condition—not Shen Yuan Ce nor anyone else could have bribed the Taoist master.
Could it be that the Great Yue really would send another princess for a political marriage? Could this unfortunate fate fall upon his Zhiyi…
Without this divination, among so many women from the imperial clan, how could this possibly involve an adopted princess from outside the imperial family?
Yet this divination specifically mentioned his Zhiyi.
The carriage moved aside to make way, and the Duke of Yong’en sat inside with a troubled heart, filled with uncertainty.
Until the thundering sound of hooves shook the ground, and a group of people dressed in Western Regions attire galloped out from the city, rushing westward like a fierce wind.
The Duke of Yong’en leaned out the window against the flying sand and stones, squinting at the Xi Luo prince on horseback—tall and muscular, with a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist, looking as if one of his legs could crush his Zhiyi into meat paste—
“Quickly!” The Duke of Yong’en trembled as he took a deep breath, raising his hand to press against his chest, and called to the coachman outside, “Quickly, to the Shen residence!”
In the east courtyard of the Shen residence, after Mu Xinhong reported the urgent news from Xi Luo to Yuan Ce, he frowned deeply and said: “With the Xi Luo queen critically ill, although this marriage alliance won’t immediately break down, to prevent unrest in the west, you will certainly have to leave Chang’an earlier than planned.”
“Right now, the verdict on the Zhong family’s corruption case is still being debated. It seems someone wants to protect the Zhong family and is stirring things up in court. As you suspected, His Majesty will likely not sentence Duke Kangle to death. If we want to avenge the Elder Young Master, we’ll have to find another way…”
“The threat from the Princess could take the lives of everyone in the Shen household and the many brothers of the Xuance Army at any moment. Now the Duke of Yong’en refuses to agree to your marriage with the Princess, and your eight characters don’t match well either…”
Due to the sudden changes with Xi Luo, all these matters became increasingly urgent. Mu Xinhong was at his wits’ end, almost wanting to ask if marrying the Princess was truly the only option. They couldn’t kill her… if all else failed, could the two of them elope?
Yuan Ce clasped his hands together and placed them on his desk, rubbing his fingertips as he sat quietly for a while: “Rewrite the matched eight characters to show a favorable marriage and bring them to me.”
Although the Young General didn’t believe in such things, the Princess now treasured the Young General like a precious jewel. If she knew this marriage would harm him, she might refuse to marry him herself. Naturally, the result of the eight characters matching needed to reassure her.
Mu Xinhong immediately went to take care of it, and a moment later, returned with a new divination letter.
Yuan Ce took it and tucked it into his robe, then rose, walked out of the residence, lifted his robe to mount his horse, and rode toward the Duke of Yong’en’s residence with a flick of his whip.
Halfway there, he encountered the Duke’s carriage hurrying toward him.
Meeting on the narrow road, Yuan Ce pulled his reins, and the carriage opposite also came to a halt with a “whoa.”
The coachman turned back and said something inside, and the Duke of Yong’en moved the door and leaned out.
Yuan Ce dismounted and stepped forward, getting straight to the point: “Your Grace, I would like to speak with you—”
The Duke of Yong’en raised his palm: “No need to talk. This marriage, I agree to it!”
Two quarters of an hour later, at Yaoguang Pavilion, the Duke of Yong’en led Yuan Ce to the door of Jiang Zhiyi’s bedchamber. Seeing the door closed, he raised his hand and knocked gently.
Soon, someone carefully opened the door. Gu Yu, inside, was surprised to see the two of them: “Your Grace, Young General Shen.”
The Duke of Yong’en: “Where is Zhiyi? Still lying in bed pretending to be ill?”
“She’s no longer pretending…” Gu Yu paused, “Actually, she wasn’t pretending at all. Your Grace, the Princess was tossing and turning last night over the marriage, unable to sleep all night. She truly hasn’t rested well and is taking a nap now.”
Gu Yu immediately stepped aside to let them in.
Both men crossed the threshold, simultaneously lightening their steps. The Duke of Yong’en pressed his toes, glanced at Yuan Ce, and gave him a somewhat satisfied look.
Walking to the bedside, they found that Jiang Zhiyi was indeed sound asleep, though her brows were furrowed. It seemed that even in her dreams, she was still worried about the marriage. Perhaps it would be better to wake her and let her sleep again after hearing the good news.
The Duke of Yong’en bent down and gently patted her shoulder: “Zhiyi?”
Jiang Zhiyi seemed startled, her body trembling slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. Her first glance fell on her uncle nearby, and her second on Yuan Ce who was a bit further away. Her gaze shifted, and she seemed frightened, immediately sitting up in bed and shrinking back, pulling the quilt higher.
Yuan Ce paused in his step forward.
The Duke of Yong’en also froze, turning back to look at Yuan Ce in bewilderment, then back at Jiang Zhiyi: “What’s wrong, Zhiyi?”
Jiang Zhiyi stared at Yuan Ce, tilting her head as if trying to recognize something, her gaze gradually becoming more shocked. Suddenly, she pointed at him: “…Uncle, why is he in my bedchamber!”
Yuan Ce narrowed his eyes, fixating on her surprised and cautious gaze.
The Duke of Yong’en: “Your uncle brought him here. Your uncle has agreed to your marriage, and he’s come to share the good news with you.”
“Marriage?” Jiang Zhiyi’s mouth was half-open as she stared at the Duke of Yong’en for a good while, then looked at Yuan Ce, murmuring, “Marriage…”
Yuan Ce’s hand at his side slowly clenched into a fist. After a moment of stalemate, he tentatively raised his toes and slowly walked forward.
Approaching the bed, he bent down to look at her more closely: “Still confused from sleep?”
Jiang Zhiyi was slow to respond. She lowered her head and shook her foggy mind, as if extracting herself from some distant, fragmented memory. She raised her eyes again, staring at the face so close to her, the unfamiliarity in her eyes gradually receding like the tide: “…Brother Yuan Ce?”
Yuan Ce’s clenched fist slowly relaxed, and he straightened up, raising his hand to tug at his collar: “Mm.”
“What’s going on here? Did you sleep so deeply that you don’t even recognize the husband you’ve been insisting you must marry?” the Duke of Yong’en laughed.
Jiang Zhiyi blinked at Yuan Ce, remembering that she had just had a dream. In the dream, she and Brother Yuan Ce had become enemies over a cricket, despising each other completely, without any trace of affection. The feeling of disliking him and being disliked by him in the dream had been so real that she had almost been unable to distinguish between dream and reality…
In the next moment, Jiang Zhiyi’s eyes reddened, and she threw herself forward with a tearful voice: “…You scared me to death!”
Her arms tightened around his waist. Yuan Ce looked down at Jiang Zhiyi, who was holding him tightly, then at the Duke of Yong’en, who had been bumped aside and was standing there dumbfounded.
“What’s wrong?” Yuan Ce coughed lightly, looking at the Duke, slowly raising his hand to stroke the top of the head of the person in his arms.
Jiang Zhiyi was in tears, crying as if her uncle weren’t there: “I had a nightmare where you didn’t like me at all and hated me… You were so fierce to me, never having a kind word when you saw me. You said my temper was so bad that I would never be able to marry!”
“…”
That’s too much, brother. Playing the role of a playboy is one thing, but you didn’t need to be so convincing, saying such unpleasant things to a young lady.
Yuan Ce was about to speak when he caught the Duke of Yong’en’s resentful gaze and paused.
The Duke of Yong’en had a face that said “daughters do grow up and leave” as he sighed, angrily shaking his sleeves as he left.
With only the two of them left in the bedchamber, Yuan Ce put his arm around Jiang Zhiyi’s back and patted it gently: “Aren’t you about to be married now?”
Jiang Zhiyi raised her tear-filled eyes: “But that dream was so real, I almost thought the dream was reality…”
…It seems her memory was truly gradually straightening out, at this dangerous juncture, straightening out.
Yuan Ce lowered his eyelids, looking at those pure eyes, and suddenly, Mu Xinhong’s warning voice sounded in his ears again.
After looking at her for a good while, Yuan Ce sat on the edge of the bed, using his fingertips to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. After a moment of silence, he said, “Dreams are always the opposite. The more I disliked you in your dream, the more I cherish you when you wake up.”
Jiang Zhiyi was stunned, as this was the first time she had heard him say such pleasant words. Her eyes brightened: “Really?”
“Really.”
Jiang Zhiyi broke into a smile through her tears: “Then since you were so fierce to me in the dream, you must really, really like me!”
“Alright, it was just a dream, don’t think about it anymore. Your uncle has already left.”
Only then did Jiang Zhiyi seem to come to her senses, noticing that her uncle was no longer present. She asked in surprise, “Why did Uncle suddenly agree to us?”
Yuan Ce shook his head. He only knew that the Duke had visited Taiqing Temple before this, and it seemed that the female fate in this marriage was favorable.
These Taoist priests weren’t completely useless after all, saving him a lot of explanation.
Yuan Ce lifted his eyelids: “Perhaps after matching our eight characters, I truly am the lucky star in your fate, the noble person ordained by heaven.”
“I knew we were a match made in heaven!” Jiang Zhiyi smiled, putting her arms around his neck. “It’s good that Uncle relented quickly without delaying too long. Now you should quickly invite the matchmaker and the marriage officiant to propose and present betrothal gifts. Let’s start making the wedding dress, too. Can we still get married before you go to the Western Regions?”
“It’s too late. I have to return to the Western Regions.”
“…What?” Jiang Zhiyi’s smile froze. “When do you have to return? Why so sudden?”
“The Xi Luo queen is critically ill. His Majesty will probably summon me to the palace soon.”
Jiang Zhiyi’s face changed: “We’re not going to war again, are we…”
“I go to the Western Regions precisely to prevent war.”
Jiang Zhiyi understood. He needed to take command in the Western Regions to intimidate the western front. This way, even if the marriage alliance broke down, Xi Luo wouldn’t dare to act rashly.
Yuan Ce: “With me there, Jinchang City will be as solid as gold and iron. No one will dare to invade.”
“I know you’ll be safe, but I…” Jiang Zhiyi sighed with drooping eyebrows, “I can’t bear to part with you…”
“I’m not saying this so you’ll know I’ll be safe.”
Jiang Zhiyi looked up: “?”
“It’s so you’ll come with me to the Western Regions,” Yuan Ce curved his lips into a smile, “my fiancée.”