***
"Yue Jiang didn't react when she saw the marriage certificate and the Nine Phoenix Hairpin. She must have lost her memory!"
Anguo.
The envoy from Anguo sent a fast horse back to An Chenghuan with details of Yue Jiang's expression that he had observed after leaving Jinghou. Upon seeing the words written in the letter, An Chenghuan pondered for a long time.
Upon hearing this news, Anguo Prime Minister Jin Xu slowly opened his eyes, pondered silently, and was about to speak.
A servant came in to announce the news.
"Your Highness, Miss Fu has arrived. She said she made some pastries for you."
An Chenghuan frowned slightly. He waved to Jin Xu, who silently stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to An Chenghuan, and walked towards the side hall to take temporary refuge.
After Jin Xu entered the side hall, An Chenghuan calmly instructed, "Please invite Miss Fu in."
Before long, a woman dressed in a light gold swallowtail silk dress walked gracefully from outside the palace. Her dress trailed to the ground, with gold threads fluttering on it, and she wore jade pendants and ornaments. She looked like a beautiful and wealthy lady who had stepped out of a painting of court ladies.
She walked to An Chenghuan's desk, lowered her eyes and bowed slightly, speaking softly.
"Wanying greets Your Highness."
An Chenghuan glanced at Fu Wanying without leaving a trace, noticing her gorgeous and dazzling attire today. He then concealed his observation and spoke gently.
"Wanying, there's no need for such formalities. Didn't you bring me some pastries? Bring them up so I can see them."
“Yes, Your Highness,” Fu Wanying nodded, straightened up and walked slowly to An Chenghuan’s desk. The maid behind her opened the food box she had brought, and Fu Wanying personally tidied up An Chenghuan’s desk.
In the midst of her busyness, Fu Wanying immediately noticed the letter from the Anguo envoy that An Chenghuan had just read. Her outstretched hand touched the letter, but she suddenly withdrew it.
An Chenghuan, who was sitting to the side, was slowly sipping his tea. When he saw Fu Wanying's actions, he put down his teacup, not paying any attention to it.
"There's nothing secret about it. Wanying can look if she wants."
Fu Wanying hesitated for a moment before glancing at An Chenghuan. An Chenghuan then personally picked up the letter beside him and handed it to Fu Wanying, saying naturally.
"You and I are engaged. I will welcome you into the Eastern Palace next spring. There are some things that Wanying does not need to be so careful about."
After An Chenghuan finished speaking, Fu Wanying revealed a gentle smile, much more at ease than when she arrived.
Since An Chenghuan said so, she carefully read the letter in her hand, and repeatedly frowned in confusion during the process.
Fu Wanying was truly puzzled. She looked up and asked, "Your Highness, why is this all about Princess Yuejiang's expression and state?"
“She has amnesia,” An Chenghuan explained the reason above: “On the way to marry into Anguo, Yuejiang was kidnapped by Jingyan and injured her head. She mistook the marriage with me for that of Jingyan. In the meantime, she was deceived by Jingyan and completely believed that she was marrying into Jingguo.”
"Moreover, during that period, the power of the Jing Kingdom was greatly enhanced. Seeing that things had come to this point, the Yue Kingdom decided to make the best of a mistake and allowed Yue Jiang to marry into the Jing Kingdom."
"I wanted to confirm whether Yue Jiang had completely forgotten her engagement with me, so I presented her with the Nine Phoenix Hairpin of Empress Anguo, but she showed no sign of anything amiss."
Fu Wanying listened to these words and immediately fell silent. An Chenghuan noticed her unease and gently comforted her.
“Wanying, since I missed my chance with Yuejiang, this action is not because I care about Yuejiang. Jing and An have a long-standing feud. When Jing attacked Feng, everyone could see that Jing was avenging the past.”
“But Feng is not the country Jing hates the most. Jing hates An. If given the chance, Jing will destroy An at all costs.”
"A war requires a lot of manpower and financial resources. Gu Pin married Yue Jiang in the first place in order to get support from the Yue Kingdom. Unfortunately, now everything has become a wedding dress made for Jing Yan."
"Right now, I care more about you, Wanying, than Yuejiang. Our Anguo cannot continue to fight among ourselves. Wanying, will you help me?"
Fu Wanying lowered her head, hesitant, and did not give An Chenghuan an answer immediately, but instead probed.
"Your Highness, could you please not oppose my father and treat the old nobles of Anguo kindly? They are the descendants of the most important ministers of Anguo, some of whom even helped the late emperor ascend the throne."
An Chenghuan's gentle eyes held a hint of coldness, but it vanished in the blink of an eye, replaced by a faint, bitter smile.
"I have already abolished most of the reform policies. The remaining ones will not harm your father and his family in the slightest. I have even personally come to apologize and welcome you as the Crown Princess. Having retreated to this extent, how can I still oppose your father and his family?"
"Does Your Highness intend to marry me merely to bow down to my father and make peace with him, without having any feelings for me whatsoever?" Fu Wanying remained unmoved, not only directly questioning him but also staring at the letter in her hand with a lingering resentment.
"She even went so far as to give the gold hairpin symbolizing Empress Anguo to the Crown Princess of Jingguo. In Your Highness's heart, I am not even a fraction as good as the Crown Princess of Jingguo."
The reason why Yue Jiang was still referred to as princess before was because of the fact that An Chenghuan had once been engaged to Yue Jiang.
But now Fu Wanying is addressing the Crown Princess of Jing Kingdom with repeated emphasis, which is actually a deliberate attempt to provoke An Chenghuan.
She wasn't afraid of An Chenghuan getting angry with her. As he said, he couldn't stand up to his father, and in the end, he still had to bow down and ask to marry her.
Although Fu Wanying was not a princess, she was born pampered and spoiled. The Nine Phoenix Hairpin represented the dignity of the Empress of Anguo, even though she was still far from the position of Empress.
But to let her fiancé give her away to his ex-fiancée like this is tantamount to slapping her in the face, and she certainly won't be able to swallow this insult.
"Didn't I say that this was to test Yue Jiang? Yue Jiang and I were betrothed. As long as she is the Crown Princess of Jing Kingdom, I will suffer the humiliation of taking her away," An Chenghuan said, rubbing his temples and letting out a soft sigh. He patiently tried to comfort him.
"When I presented the Nine Phoenix Hairpin to Yue Jiang in front of the envoys of various countries, wasn't it to let them know that I still harbor resentment towards Yue Jiang?"
“In the future, if Anguo can seize the opportunity to start a war with Jingguo, Anguo will always have a legitimate reason to fight.”
Fu Wanying suddenly realized and found the explanation somewhat acceptable: "So it was Your Highness's foresight."
“Since she’s married to Jingyan, she won’t be able to get in your way,” An Chenghuan said, taking a folded piece of paper from the table and handing it to Fu Wanying. Upon opening it, she found it was a design sketch for a nine-phoenix hairpin.
"Your Highness, this is...?" Fu Wanying asked An Chenghuan, her eyes sparkling.
An Chenghuan: "The Nine Phoenix Hairpin is, after all, a symbol of the Empress of Anguo. I can't let you be without it. I will have someone make you a new one based on this design."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Fu Wanying smiled gently, looking down at Yue Jiang's name in the secret letter in her hand, she sighed with a mixture of magnanimity and pity.
“Your Highness, Princess Yuejiang has lost her memory and was deceived by Jingyan. It is truly pitiful that Yue Kingdom cannot seek justice for her. If Your Highness were to destroy Jing Kingdom one day, I would not hold Princess Yuejiang against you.”
“In the future, Princess Yuejiang may be taken as a concubine. I am willing to address her as a sister and serve Your Highness together.”
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