Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions.

The smile on Helan's face vanished instantly.

Emperor Zhaowu was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, shouting, "Insolence!"

His furious attitude terrified everyone inside the tent.

They all stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger and take care of your health."

Xiao Huaijin looked directly at Emperor Zhaowu, his eyes showing no fear.

He repeated, "Father, I will not marry Helan."

"Father, do you still remember when Mother was pregnant with me, she asked you for a promise?"

Emperor Zhaowu's eyes narrowed.

He knew what Xiao Huaijin was referring to.

That was a promise he made to the empress he had once deeply loved.

When the late empress gave birth after ten months of pregnancy, she prayed to Emperor Zhaowu that their sons, regardless of whether they were crown princes or not, could arrange their own marriages.

When Emperor Zhaowu heard Xiao Huaijin mention his deceased wife, he could no longer contain his anger. "You dare mention your mother?! If it weren't for you, how could she have left this world so soon?"

A hint of hurt flashed in Xiao Huaijin's eyes, and his fist clenched tightly at his side.

When Consort Shu, who was kneeling, saw that Emperor Zhaowu was so angry that he was about to faint, she quickly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Jin'er is just unwilling to get married right now."

"Ha! As the Crown Prince of Dayong, how can I let you have your way in everything?" Emperor Zhaowu laughed angrily. He ordered the guards beside him, "Send the Crown Prince back to the Eastern Palace. Release him when he has thought things through."

As if everything was expected, Xiao Huaijin did not resist at all. He bowed his head in farewell, his expression as calm as ever.

But when the people around heard the news, they gasped in shock.

This is clearly an attempt to confine the crown prince to his quarters.

At the tent on the right side of the imperial tent, Shen Yunjiao was still completely unaware of the situation.

Xiao Huaijin was injured again; his left shoulder was bleeding and looked very painful.

I wonder if anyone at Emperor Zhaowu's place applied the medicine for him.

Will Emperor Zhaowu blame him for losing the martial arts contest?

Shen Yunjiao's mind was in complete chaos. She was anxious but could only suppress her feelings, afraid that Jiang Rong would notice something was amiss.

Just then, the Jiang family sent someone to Shen Yunjiao's tent, saying that the competition was over and they wanted to invite Jiang Rong back.

Shen Yunjiao quickly said to Jiang Rong, "You go first, I'll wait here for my father to come back together."

Jiang Rong nodded and didn't linger.

A short while later, Shen Zhizhang's attendant came over to inform Shen Yunjiao that she should return to the Shen family first.

"I don't have anything urgent to do, so let's wait here for Father to return together," Shen Yun replied calmly.

She also had her own selfish motives; if she stayed here, she might be able to sneak a peek at Xiao Huaijin later.

Unexpectedly, the attendant quickly replied, "Miss, it's hot, so please don't wait here. I heard that the Crown Prince has angered the Emperor and has been taken back to the Eastern Palace for confinement. Master is currently by the Emperor's side trying to persuade him, and he probably won't be back for a while."

What?

Shen Yunjiao never expected that Xiao Huaijin would be punished by the emperor after being injured.

Her lips trembled slightly, and her almond-shaped eyes were full of worry.

She asked anxiously, "What happened? Why was the Crown Prince suddenly punished?"

Seeing Shen Yunjiao so excited, the servant paused for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I don't know the specifics."

"I heard from the servants that it seems that His Highness the Crown Prince was punished because he refused to accept the Emperor's bestowed marriage."

Shen Yunjiao frowned almost imperceptibly. "I understand. You may go now."

"Then I'll go prepare your carriage." After the servant quickly took his leave, Shen Yunjiao waited alone in the shed.

Emperor Zhaowu disliked the crown prince to begin with, and it's unknown whether he harbored resentment because of Xiao Huaijin's open disobedience.

If Emperor Zhaowu really intends to take action against Xiao Huaijin, then his situation will become extremely dangerous.

Shen Yunjiao knew that she had become an uncertain factor in this novel.

In the original text, when the Northern Hu delegation visited, Shen Yunjiao had no way of knowing whether Xiao Huaijin accepted the emperor's bestowed marriage under duress.

She knew she held an important place in Xiao Huaijin's heart, but now she could only silently pray that her appearance would not disrupt Xiao Huaijin's original plans.

According to the original text, Xiao Huaijin should ascend the throne soon.

He is currently confined to the Eastern Palace; it remains to be seen whether this will affect his future ascension to the throne.

Just as Shen Yunjiao was lost in worry and distraction, Chu Xiyue stormed in angrily.

"Shen Yunjiao, you wicked vixen!"

Shen Yunjiao glanced at her coldly, stood up, and walked up to Chu Xiyue. "Who are you calling a vixen?"

"It's you! I'm talking about you!" Chu Xiyue was so angry that her teeth itched. Just as she was about to continue cursing, Shen Yunjiao quickly reached out and pressed her acupoint to silence her, then grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the grove behind the tent.

Chu Xiyue's voice is as loud as a megaphone; if she says a few more words, everyone else might hear her.

Shen Yunjiao could only take her to a secluded place first.

When they arrived at the grove, Shen Yunjiao reached out and released her pressure points.

"Cough cough cough cough, you, you actually know martial arts." Chu Xiyue coughed a few times and asked with a surprised look.

Shen Yunjiao certainly doesn't know martial arts.

Anyone who has studied Traditional Chinese Medicine knows that there is an acupoint on the neck. If you press hard on that point, the vocal cords will automatically close, and you will not be able to make a sound.

Shen Yunjiao thought to herself, even if I don't know martial arts, I should still intimidate this annoying woman.

So she replied with a cold expression, "I do know martial arts, and I especially like to hit people."

Chu Xiyue was clearly a little scared, but then she remembered that this place was so close to the training ground, and if she just shouted at the top of her lungs, guards would come to her rescue.

Thinking of this, Chu Xiyue became a little bolder. She looked at Shen Yunjiao with a deep gaze and cursed loudly, "You bitch, you jinx."

"You are clearly a married woman, yet you dare to seduce my cousin. You are truly promiscuous and disgusting."

Shen Yunjiao was quite surprised. Chu Xiyue looked like a well-bred young lady, but her mouth was dirtier than a latrine.

Seeing that she remained silent, Chu Xiyue scolded her even more fiercely.

"You know perfectly well that your cousin is not favored by His Majesty, yet you still dare to bewitch him completely. It's because of you that your cousin dared to disobey His Majesty, and now he's imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, not knowing when he'll be released. It's all your fault, you vile woman! I—ah!"

Chu Xiyue let out a shrill scream.

To her surprise, Shen Yunjiao suddenly stretched out her foot and kicked her hard in the knee.

"Shen Yunjiao, you bitch! How dare you kick me? Don't you have a death wish? I am the Empress Dowager's most beloved granddaughter!"

Shen Yunjiao looked coldly at Chu Xiyue and slowly opened her lips to say, "Who gave you permission to insult me ​​like that?"