Shen Du slowly raised his hand above his head. "Your subject receives the decree."
The voice was very slow, and Shen Jing's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Eunuch Yuan placed the imperial edict in Shen Du's hand and said, "Congratulations, Heir Apparent of the Marquis of Pingyang."
After Shen Jing stood up, the others followed suit.
Xie Jingyan did not kneel. He could also see that Shen Du's expression was a little off. Shen Wan knelt behind Shen Jing and could not see the expression on her elder brother's face. She was happy for her elder brother. The emperor had bestowed a marriage upon her elder brother and Princess Huai'an, so the marriage was a done deal and there would be no changes. But how would the emperor know that her elder brother was in love with Princess Huai'an?
Few people knew about this. The father wouldn't directly ask the emperor to grant a marriage, so it could only be Xie Jingyan.
Shen Wan cast a grateful glance at Xie Jingyan, a look that gave Xie Jingyan a headache, and he raised his hand to rub his forehead.
Shen Wan walked to his side and asked, "What's wrong? Headache?"
Xie Jingyan said, "Perhaps we meant well but did something wrong..."
Shen Wan was bewildered. "What do you mean by 'good intentions gone wrong'?"
Xie Jingyan didn't say much. He glanced at Chen Du and said, "Your older brother and I have something to talk about."
Seeing Xie Jingyan and Shen Du walk towards the study, Shen Wan frowned deeply.
Is there anything I can't tell her?
With no one around, Xie Jingyan looked at Chen Du and said, "You are resisting marrying Princess Huai'an."
Shen Du remained silent.
Xie Jingyan said, "You have someone you like, but it's not Princess Huai'an."
The Emperor bestowed a marriage upon Shen Du and Princess Huai'an, but Shen Du showed no joy whatsoever. When he went to Huaizhou, he did not resist, but it is possible that he fell in love with someone else instead of Princess Huai'an during this trip away from the capital.
Once the imperial decree was issued, it effectively eliminated any possibility of him marrying the woman he loved.
Shen Du remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescing.
Xie Jingyan said with a headache, "I will find a way to get the Emperor to rescind the imperial decree of marriage."
Upon hearing this, Shen Du said, "No."
He knew that Shen Wan was doing it for his own good, and Xie Jingyan couldn't bear to see Shen Wan worry about him, so he asked the emperor to grant him a marriage.
Shen Du knew better than anyone how much Xie Jingyan hated the Emperor, and he felt indescribably grateful that Xie Jingyan could plead with the Emperor on his behalf.
This imperial edict was obtained for him by Xie Jingyan. Asking the emperor to take it back would surely enrage the emperor.
Since the Emperor has issued the imperial decree to grant the marriage, it is impossible for him to take it back.
He couldn't let Xie Jingyan anger the Emperor and offend the Prince An's mansion for his sake.
Shen Du pretended to be relaxed and said, "In my sister's dream, I will marry no one but Princess Huai'an. I will fall in love with her."
Xie Jingyan looked at Shen Du, about to speak, but Shen Du didn't give him a chance to speak, patting Xie Jingyan's shoulder and saying, "Don't tell my sister about this."
Shen Du didn't give any instructions, and Xie Jingyan didn't intend to tell Shen Wan either, lest Shen Wan blame herself.
He will persuade the emperor to rescind the imperial decree granting the marriage.
The two walked over there. Shen Wan looked at Xie Jingyan, then at her older brother, and said, "Are you two hiding something from me?"
Shen Du immediately changed the subject, asking, "Where is Father?"
Shen Wan said, "Just now someone from the palace came to tell you that the Emperor has summoned Father to the palace for a meeting."
Xie Jingyan said to Shen Du, "Since my father-in-law is not here, Wan'er and I will go back first."
With that, he grabbed Shen Wan's hand and led her away.
Shen Wan said, "I want to stay a little longer."
"Next time I come back, I'll stay a little longer with you," Xie Jingyan said.
Shen Wan couldn't break free from his hand and could only let him take her away.
After waiting for a while at the gate, the carriage finally arrived. Xie Jingyan helped Shen Wan into the carriage, and then got in himself.
Shen Wan puffed out her cheeks in anger, "I've been looking forward to my brother's return to the capital for so long, and he's leaving after only a couple of words. I didn't even get to say 'congratulations' to him..."
They meant well but messed things up, and you're still congratulating them?
Xie Jingyan said, "Your eldest brother has been traveling at breakneck speed back to the capital and needs to rest. You and your siblings will have plenty of time to catch up later."
Shen Wan said nothing more. She looked at Xie Jingyan and said, "That day when you went to the palace to see the Emperor and had a meal with him, was it to ask for a marriage decree for my elder brother?"
...This was absolutely the stupidest thing he ever did.
Xie Jingyan didn't want to bring this up, especially since Shen Wan was looking at him with gratitude. "What about my older cousin? Will the Emperor also bestow a marriage upon him?"
Xie Jingyan said, "Your eldest cousin contributed the most and made the greatest contribution during the earthquake in Meizhou. However, the Yun family and the Yanping Prince's Mansion are of vastly different statuses. Based on this contribution alone, the Emperor will not grant them a marriage. Therefore, I asked for something else for your cousin."
Shen Du and Princess Huai'an are a perfect match, one being the heir of a marquis's family and the other a princess of a prince's family. Even if Shen Du hadn't gone to Meizhou and hadn't made any contributions, Xie Jingyan could have pleaded with the emperor, and the emperor would have asked Prince An to grant them a marriage.
However, Yun Qi and Princess Qinghe are not a good match. Yun Qi has made great contributions to the court, and the emperor can reward him, but there is no reason to give Princess Qinghe as a reward.
Shen Wan knew that it wouldn't be easy for her cousin to marry Princess Qinghe. But she had saved tens of thousands of people in Meizhou from disaster. Such a great achievement was not enough to get the emperor to grant her a marriage. So how could her cousin marry Princess Qinghe?
If this merit is not enough, then keep accumulating merit until the Emperor bestows a marriage upon your cousin. Why did Xie Jingyan ask for things for your cousin?
Shen Wan asked curiously, "What did you ask for my cousin?"
Xie Jingyan slowly opened his mouth and uttered four words—
"A get-out-of-jail-free card."
A get-out-of-jail-free card?!
Shen Wan's eyes snapped open. "This... can the Emperor agree to this?"
In Shen Wan's view, obtaining a pardon from death was far more difficult than asking the emperor to grant her a marriage.
As far as she knew, only the Empress Dowager possessed a pardon from death; no one else in the Great Chu Dynasty had one.
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