Chapter Twelve: Imperial Father, I Want to Marry Gu Yan

The morning sun spilled into the room, and the air was filled with the scent of damp earth. Pushing open the window, one could see the flowering trees swaying in the breeze. Shen Qiuning took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling a sense of ease wash over her.

"Ning'er, let's go. If we set off early, we can still make it back in time for your mother's birthday," Shen Munian urged from outside the door.

Shen Qiuning felt inexplicably cheerful today, perhaps because a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart. With the Zhao estate sealed off and no one permitted to step foot outside, and Zhao Wan'er currently confined, the woman would certainly be unable to stir up any more trouble.

Gu Yan watched Shen Qiuning as she skipped along, a soft, faint smile tugging at his lips, his expression filled with tenderness.

There had indeed been an ambush on the road back to the capital. The day before, Gu Yan had deliberately leaked news that they would not be taking the main imperial road, all to lure the enemy into a trap and wipe them out in one fell swoop. They had coordinated with Deputy General Yang, but they had not anticipated that the trap had been set specifically for them.

Shen Munian pressed his blade against the deputy general’s chest. "Yang Yu, do you have some hidden grievance?"

"I am responsible for my own actions; do with me as you wish." Shen Munian felt utterly disillusioned. He closed his eyes; if there had been a reason, he would have been willing to listen, but hearing this answer, he opened his eyes again, his gaze filled with lethal intent as he drove his blade into Yang Yu.

This was the price of betrayal, and a warning to the other soldiers.

After settling everything, the group set off again. Shen Munian remained somber throughout the journey. Others might not have noticed, but Shen Qiuning could certainly feel it. Yang Yu had risen step by step from a common soldier to a deputy general; this was a path he should never have strayed from. The army could not tolerate betrayal. They had once sworn to protect their country together, drank wine by the river, and fought side by side on the battlefield, yet he chose to claim he had no grievance.

The news of the victory achieved by Gu Yan’s party and Gu Wenting reached the capital simultaneously. The Emperor was ecstatic. "They truly have not disappointed me!"

As Shen Munian and Gu Yan headed to the palace to report their success, Shen Qiuning returned home first. Cui Wanyun was already waiting at the door. Shen Qiuning stepped out of the carriage and threw herself into her mother’s arms. "Mother! Did you miss me?"

"I did, I did. You little imp, you only ever give your mother cause to worry." Though Cui Wanyun complained, she was overjoyed.

"Mother, come inside quickly. I brought you a birthday gift." Shen Qiuning pulled Cui Wanyun to sit down. She handed her the box Gu Yan had given her, then pulled out another small box to give to her as well.

"Why did you buy so much for me?" Cui Wanyun opened the two boxes; one contained a jade bracelet, and the other, gold-inlaid white jade earrings.

Shen Qiuning picked up the earrings and put them on her mother. "These were carved by a master jade artisan in Yizhou. They are the finest quality jade."

Cui Wanyun couldn't put them down, feeling that her Ning'er had truly grown up.

At that moment in the palace, the Emperor ordered rewards to be brought out. "You have suffered on this trip; these are your rewards."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the two men said in unison.

"Your Majesty, Zhao Xingzhou has been thrown into prison, but he insists on seeing the Empress. Should we report this to Her Majesty?" Gu Yan asked, recounting the events that had transpired in Yizhou.

Emperor Yongqing let out a cold laugh. "Wait and see. Let us see if the Empress reaches out to him on her own."

Gu Yan and Shen Munian understood immediately. It was now a question of whether the Empress could keep her composure.

After the two men left the Imperial Study, Shen Munian appeared anxious. "Zirui, today is my wife’s birthday, so I must take my leave."

Gu Yan bowed. "General Shen, travel safely."

After Shen Munian left, Gu Yan did not linger and headed toward the palace exit. Passing by the lotus pond, he saw the Fifth Princess using a branch to reach for something. She was just about to grasp it, and thinking she could reach a little further, she moved forward. The stones by the pond were slippery, and inevitably, she lost her balance. Just as she was about to tumble into the water, Gu Yan lunged forward, flying through the air to catch her and pull her safely back to solid ground.

The Fifth Princess hadn't even had time to scream before Gu Yan caught her. She stared at him; she had only ever seen such tales of a hero saving a beauty in storybooks. Why hadn't she noticed before how handsome General Gu was? She was momentarily mesmerized, until Gu Yan spoke.

"Your Highness, the pond is dangerous. It would be best not to play here."

"Oh, right!" The Fifth Princess wanted to say more, but all she could see was Gu Yan’s departing back.

The Fifth Princess thought of Gu Yan the entire way back and decided to go straight to her father. She burst into the Imperial Study. "Father! Father!"

"How reckless, running about like that. What is it now?" Emperor Yongqing did not mind that she hadn't announced herself. The Fifth Princess had been born to Consort Lan, who passed away shortly after her birth, so the Emperor had raised her by his side. As she grew older, the Empress had taken over her upbringing, though the child was distant with the Empress and closer to Consort Xuan, mainly because Consort Xuan had a kind nature that everyone loved.

"Father, I want to marry Gu Yan!" the Fifth Princess declared, standing before the Emperor's desk.

"Pfft!" The Emperor sprayed out the tea he had just sipped.

"Haha, well, Yu'er, you aren't joking, are you? You don't even know Zirui; how can you speak of marriage?" Emperor Yongqing wiped his mouth to hide his embarrassment.

"I like him, and I want to marry him!" The Fifth Princess’s temperament truly left one both laughing and crying.

"Zirui already has a woman in his heart. How about Father finds you someone else another day?" The Emperor had to try to calm her down first.

"Who is the woman in Brother Gu's heart? Is it that lady named Shen Qiuning?" the Fifth Princess asked.

The Emperor remained silent, and the Fifth Princess’s voice took on a tearful tone. "I knew it! I don't care! I will make Brother Gu like me."

She ran out, and the Emperor shook his head helplessly, deciding to treat the girl's outburst as a temporary heat of the moment.

Back in her own palace, the Fifth Princess sat on the steps, crying until her face was a mess. Nanny Li came over to ask what was wrong.

"Nanny Li, why does Brother Gu like Sister Shen and not me!" the Fifth Princess wailed.

Hearing this, Nanny Li’s temple twitched. What kind of trouble was this little princess going to cause now? She held the princess, coaxing her until she finally calmed down.

Gu Yan, of course, had no idea that his act of saving someone had nearly sparked a marriage proposal.

At the General's manor, Shen San delivered a reply. Shen Qiuning held it over a flame, and the handwriting appeared: "If the Empress acts, Zhao Xingzhou is in danger. If the Empress does not act, then the Empress is in danger."

After reading the letter, she burned it. Shen Qiuning understood now—regardless of whether the Empress took action or not, this move was aimed at her. The Empress had long been claiming illness, refusing to see anyone, even using sickness as an excuse to decline the Emperor's summons. It seemed this time, they were forcing the Empress’s hand.

Gu Yan, dressed in black, kept watch near the prison. It was past midnight, and no one had appeared at the prison gate. Gu Yan wondered if the Empress had guessed something.

Just as he began to contemplate, he saw someone dressed as a maid, draped in a black cloak that covered her completely. She carried a food box in her hand. She slipped a tael of gold to the guard at the entrance and walked inside. She had no time to wonder why the entry was so smooth; she only wanted to see Zhao Xingzhou and eliminate him.

Knowing she would come, and that the process would be this smooth—this was, of course, the Emperor’s doing.

At this moment, the pawn had been surrounded on all sides, with only one path remaining—the one that had been arranged for her long ago.