Chapter 302 The person I spend my life with, I will cherish like a treasure.

Shen Chu gripped the file tightly, a sharp, throbbing pain shooting through her chest, making her almost unable to stand.

"Minister Shen, I have a question for you."

The Longqing Emperor looked at her with a half-smile.

She trembled, trying her best to suppress the pain in her heart, and managed to utter a complete sentence with all her might.

"Your Majesty is right. Prince Rui and Miss Chen are a perfect match, a match made in heaven."

Pei Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, and his hands, hanging at his sides, clenched tightly.

The Longqing Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

"Sixth Prince, Minister Shen also admires your eye for choosing a wife. I will have the Ministry of Rites pick an auspicious day for you."

"You two should get married as soon as possible and give me a big, fat grandson. What? Are you all so excited about getting married that you've gone mad?"

Pei Yuan lowered his eyes and replied woodenly, "Yes."

Chen Jiaying, looking shy and timid, bowed deeply in a gesture of respect.

"Your Majesty, I thank you. I will take good care of the Prince's daily life from now on and not let Your Majesty worry."

The Longqing Emperor stroked his beard and laughed.

"You are a good child personally taught by the Empress Dowager. I am very relieved to entrust the sixth prince to you."

"Jiaying thanks Your Majesty for the compliment."

Chen Jiaying blushed and looked at Pei Yuan with deep affection.

"Your Highness, you will treat Jiaying well, right?"

Pei Yuan raised his eyes and stared blankly at Shen Chu.

His eyes held anxiety, irritability, and, most of all, suppressed anger.

Shen Chu's eyes flickered slightly as she avoided his gaze.

The warning from the Longqing Emperor was still ringing in her ears; she dared not, and could not, disobey it.

She bowed and lowered her eyes, saying softly, "Your Majesty, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave now."

The Longqing Emperor waved his hand, "You may leave."

Shen Chu hugged the file tightly, turned around and left quickly.

From behind came Chen Jiaying's coquettish voice, "Your Highness, do you even know how to treat Jiaying well?"

The Longqing Emperor's reprimanding voice rang out, "Sixth Prince, Jiaying is asking you a question."

Pei Yuan's voice came from afar, seemingly both distant and close.

"I will naturally cherish the person who will spend their life with me."

Shen Chu stumbled, nearly dropping the dossier in her hand.

She rearranged the files and walked step by step toward the palace gate.

Each step felt like it required all my strength.

She told herself this in her heart.

Shen Chu, you must stay calm.

Don't look back, and don't fall down.

You are Shen Chu, you are Shen Chu who can't be defeated by anything.

"Achu, Achu!"

Suddenly, Han Feng's urgent voice rang in my ears.

Shen Chu looked up blankly and realized that she had walked to her front door in a daze.

"Senior Brother."

Han Feng took the file from her hand and asked with a worried expression, "What happened? Why is your face so pale?"

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, revealing a radiant smile.

"Senior Brother, let's leave the capital."

"Huh?" Han Feng blinked. "Weren't we already leaving?"

"Yes, I was already leaving."

Shen Chu murmured, then everything went black before her eyes, and she collapsed into Han Feng's arms.

Han Feng's expression changed slightly, and he quickly carried Chen Chu into the room.

After carefully examining her pulse, Shen Chu discovered that her fainting was caused by a rush of blood and qi to the head, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief before applying silver needles to her acupoints.

Shen Chu slowly woke up and stared blankly at the curtain above her head.

Han Feng gently brushed the stray hairs from her temples and asked softly, "Can you tell your senior brother what happened?"

Shen Chu's breath hitched, and after a moment of silence, she spoke: "His Majesty has issued an edict to bestow the title of Prince Rui upon the Sixth Prince, and the title of Princess Rui upon the daughter of Vice Minister Chen, and ordered them to choose a date for their marriage."

"What?!" Han Feng's expression changed drastically. "He agreed?"

Shen Chu tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to laugh but finding that she couldn't manage it.

He said he wanted to spend his life with Chen Jiaying and would treat her like a precious treasure.

She raised her hand and gently patted her heavy chest, murmuring:

"Senior Brother, I'm so sad. The thought of being far away from Pei Yuan from now on and never seeing him again feels like my heart is being pierced by many needles."

Han Feng clenched his fists, his face full of anger.

"I'm going to settle the score with him."

Shen Chu grabbed him and gently shook her head.

"Don't go, Senior Brother. The imperial decree has been issued; there's no point in saying anything now."

"How can it be meaningless? If he knew you were a woman, perhaps..."

Tears streamed down Chen Chu's face, falling incessantly like beads from a broken string.

"So what if he knows I'm a woman? Does he expect him to disobey the imperial decree? Disobeying the imperial decree means beheading."

Moreover, His Majesty has already given her a clear ultimatum.

Shen Chu closed her eyes briefly and said softly, "Senior Brother, pack your things. We'll be leaving the capital in two days."

Looking at her pale face and reddened eyes, Han Feng couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

He regretted it; he shouldn't have encouraged his junior sister to probe Pei Yuan's feelings in the first place.

If I had taken my junior sister away earlier, none of this would have happened.

Junior sister won't be sad because of this.

He gritted his teeth, concealing the anger in his eyes, and gently ruffled Chen Chu's hair.

"Then you should rest well, I'll take care of everything."

------

Flying Eagle Guard.

Sun Yan strode into Pei Yuan's main duty room and reported in a low voice.

"Your Highness, Lord Shen has returned home. Imperial Physician Han is at the Shen residence."

Pei Yuan sat quietly in the dark corner, and after a long while, he softly hummed in agreement.

His voice was terribly hoarse.

"he...."

He only uttered one word before pausing and falling silent again.

Jinbao squatted at the door and asked pitifully, "Your Highness, I washed a whole cart of potatoes. How about I go with you to cut potato shreds?"

Pei Yuan's voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the darkness.

"Would slicing potatoes prevent me from marrying Chen Jiaying?"

Jinbao shook his head softly, "No."

"Then I won't cut it."

Jinbao couldn't help but wipe away her tears, muttering indignantly under her breath.

"Your Majesty is being too unfair. What's wrong with liking Lord Shen? Your Highness had such a hard childhood. Why can't you find someone you love and spend your life with them?"

"Give us a prince and you expect our Highness to give up Lord Shen? Fine, we'll just quit being princes, okay?"

Sun Yan covered his mouth and dragged him out.

"Stop talking. Do you want to die quickly, or do you want to die a more gruesome death?"

As soon as the two stepped outside, they nearly bumped into someone.

Sun Yan blinked. "Imperial Physician Han?"

Han Feng rushed into the duty room like a gust of wind and threw a punch at Pei Yuan.

He put all his strength into that punch, and Pei Yuan didn't dodge; he was knocked to the ground by the blow.

Han Feng grabbed his collar, pulled him up, and growled in a low voice, "Why did you agree to marry Miss Chen?"

Pei Yuan raised his hand and gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then sneered.

"By what right do you question me?"

"What do you care about my identity!" Han Feng stabbed several silver needles into Pei Yuan's arm with his other hand.

Pei Yuan froze on the spot.

Han Feng gritted his teeth and stuck a few more needles into his chest, his eyes filled with cold anger as he glared at him.

"Since you can't do it and can't give Achu what she wants, why do you still provoke her and tease her?"

Pei Yuan, what exactly do you take A-Chu for? Do you see him as a pitiful little thing with no one to rely on, someone you can bully at will?