bestowed marriage
The emperor belatedly realized what was happening and suddenly understood, his face turning deathly pale.
"My soldiers only obey orders, not personal relationships!! Your Majesty, esteemed ministers, please refrain from moving around unnecessarily!!!" Prince Su looked at the greatly devastated Emperor with a mocking gaze, then turned and left without looking back.
It took the Emperor a very long time to fully understand, then he slammed his fist on the table, stood up abruptly, and roared, "Guards! Guards!! Where are all these people?!"
He glared angrily at the soldiers who surrounded them, clad in black armor, wielding spears and longswords, and roared, "You traitors! How dare you disobey me! Guards! What are you all doing sitting there like idiots? Attack! Attack them!! I refuse to believe that with so many ministers, I can't deal with a few traitors!!!"
However, the ministers present were all terrified and none of them reacted to his ferocious roar. Instead, they shrank back and buried their heads even lower.
"Are you all dead? Are you all dead? Why didn't you listen to me? I am the supreme ruler! I am the Son of Heaven of the Great Zhou!! I am your emperor!!! I command you, rise up!! Fight for me!!!"
However, the scene remained completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.
The emperor laughed in fury, and with no other choice, he drew his own sword and walked toward the soldiers who were watching him coldly.
As he walked, he suddenly grinned menacingly, roared, and charged toward them. But the outcome was predictable: how could someone who had never killed an enemy, or even fought a duel, possibly be a match for soldiers who had gone to battle?
The emperor was easily grabbed by the soldier closest to him with his right hand.
The emperor was both anxious and angry, shouting and yelling, but no one at the scene spoke up for him. He was like a grasshopper tied up, struggling in his death throes, a laughingstock.
The emperor finally roared and jumped until he had no strength left, and then he had to admit his current situation. But he was not discouraged. He thought of his mother, the Empress Dowager.
His mother will definitely save him!
If he just lets his mother know about his predicament, she will definitely find a way to save him!
The Emperor then thought of Chen Run. He thought that with Chen Run's intelligence and wisdom, he would surely convey his difficult situation to his mother. However, when he excitedly struggled to look in Chen Run's direction, he found that Chen Run, who had just been kneeling on the ground, had disappeared without him noticing!
"Chen Run? Chen Run, where are you? Chen Run, come out!! Come out!!!"
The news of the Emperor's house arrest spread like wildfire and quickly reached the entire palace. When Empress Dowager Lezheng heard about it, she immediately became anxious to save him. However, the problem was that she was just a woman with no military power or influence. How could she possibly save him?
At this moment, Lady Le Zheng thought of Shangguan Zeyu, but the problem was that Shangguan Zeyu was no longer in the capital and no one knew where he was. How could she contact him?
Prince Su did not make things difficult for Lady Le, and allowed her to be respected and admired as before.
But the emperor suffered.
Although he was under house arrest, his food, drink, and other necessities were far less than before, and he was only left with one eunuch to serve him.
The young eunuch had never served him before, and he was dissatisfied with many things about him, which made him increasingly irritable and prone to outbursts of rage.
The young eunuch was terrified and secretly slipped away, leaving him without anyone to serve him.
He had no choice but to take care of himself. Things he had never thought of before, such as dressing and undressing himself, making tea for himself, feeding himself, putting on his shoes, and combing his hair, were now commonplace for him.
But this is not the most painful thing for the emperor. The most painful thing for the emperor is that he can no longer control his own destiny and he may die at any time!
The constant fear of death beckoning him tormented him, making him delirious and incoherent, turning him into a madman.
Chen Run returned home and, as if nothing had happened, recounted the extravagance and liveliness of the palace banquet to Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan did not suspect him. In fact, Jiang Yan had no reason to suspect him. After all, his every word and action told Jiang Yan that he was telling the truth and was not lying. It was not until the Prince of Su bestowed the marriage that Jiang Yan vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
"Did I hear that right? You said 'arranged marriage'?"
"Yes, Master. I heard it from a maid in the Chen household, so it shouldn't be false."
Jiang Yan was bewildered and panicked, rubbing her hands together frantically as she spun around in circles: "How is this possible? Who granted this marriage?"
"They say it's Prince Su."
“Prince Su?” Jiang Yan was extremely puzzled. “What marriage would he bestow? Aren’t bestowed marriages usually done by the Emperor? Besides, doesn’t he know I’m Shangguan Zeyu’s concubine?”
"My lord, I don't know. I'll go and inquire again right away."
"No need!" Jiang Yan stopped Huang Ying in time, then thought for a while and said firmly, "I'll go ask Chen Run!"
When Jiang Yan ran to Chen Run's study, Chen Run happened to come out. He was surprised and happy to see her: "Ruyi, what brings you here?"
Jiang Yan's expression darkened, and she asked directly, "What does it mean by the Prince of Su bestowing this marriage upon me?"
Qingfeng was still standing behind Chen Run, his face so heavy it looked like the sky was about to collapse. His eyes gleamed coldly as he stared intently at Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan didn't even glance at him, so she didn't notice his hostility towards her.
Chen Run turned his head slightly and whispered to Qingfeng, "You go first."
Qingfeng accepted the order and slowly walked out from behind Chen Run, staring intently at Jiang Yan with his sharp eyes.
Chen Run waited until Qingfeng was far away before asking, "Is Ruyi unhappy?"
Jiang Yan rolled her eyes at him without hesitation: "Chen Run! We agreed before that we would only be friends, how did things turn out like this?"
Chen Run didn't show much emotional fluctuation, as if he had already anticipated Jiang Yan's reaction.
"Ruyi, this is Prince Su's order."
“What’s wrong with Prince Su? Isn’t there the Emperor? Doesn’t the Emperor know that I am Shangguan Zeyu’s concubine? Is this appropriate?” Jiang Yan was both anxious and angry.
Chen Run looked at him, his expression blank, but his eyes were filled with resentment: "Ruyi still can't forget Shangguan Zeyu?"
Jiang Yan suddenly felt that talking to him was very tiring. She clearly wanted to say that she couldn't marry him, so why did he bring this up again?
"Chen Run, I'm definitely not going to marry you!"
"Why?" A bitter smile slowly appeared on Chen Run's lips, and Jiang Yan felt a pang of unease. She looked Chen Run up and down, gritted her teeth, and said, "Chen Run! Listen to me, I'm not from your time! I can't marry you!"
Chen Run was stunned into place, just as Jiang Yan had expected, but he did not panic as Jiang Yan had anticipated. Instead, he quickly regained his composure and said, "Ruyi, I said before that no matter who you are or what you are like, I will never give up on you. Whether you are from this dynasty or not, my feelings for you have never been fake."
Jiang Yan felt increasingly powerless.
She couldn't help but retort angrily, "Why can't you understand what I'm saying? I don't love you! What's the point of me marrying you and you marrying me?"
But Chen Run seemed not to hear her words or see that she was angry, and insisted, "Ruyi, we knew and loved each other before, and we can still do so in the future. I am confident that we will fall in love again. We will live the life we want."
Jiang Yan was completely at a loss.
She sighed deeply, said nothing, and ran away as fast as she could.
Chen Run maintained the forced smile he had just managed to put on until Jiang Yan completely disappeared from his sight, at which point he abruptly dropped his pretense, revealing pain and sorrow.
He stood there silently for a very long time before slowly leaving.
Jiang Yan was furious this time. She was angry that she shouldn't have trusted Chen Run so easily, shouldn't have underestimated Chen Run's feelings for Liu Ruyi, and shouldn't have placed all her hopes on Chen Run. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in such a passive position now.
Jiang Yan, furious, ran back to her residence and packed her bags to leave without saying a word.
Huang Ying stood to the side, at a loss, and asked anxiously, "Master, what are you trying to do?"
"Of course we should leave as soon as possible! Do you really want to wait for the ceremony to start?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Ying quickly responded with an "Oh!" to help her: "Master, when do we leave?"
"Right now!"
Jiang Yan didn't have much luggage, except for the gold and silver she brought from the Duan Prince's mansion. However, she had already exchanged them all for silver notes, so her bundle was very light. She quickly packed it up, carried it on her back, and ran towards the main gate with Huang Ying.
But to her surprise, Chen Run was waiting for her there.
"What do you mean? Let me go!" Jiang Yan shouted as soon as she saw his tall, slender back turned to her.
Chen Run slowly turned around, looked at her, a faint smile on his face, and said, "Ruyi, are you in such a hurry?" But the sadness and grief in his eyes were unmistakable.
Jiang Yan couldn't bear to see him like this, because whenever she saw his pained and sorrowful appearance, she would feel that it was her fault, because she had taken over the body of his beloved Liu Ruyi, which was why he had lost his love and was so sad and in pain.
Jiang Yan shifted her gaze, and her voice, no longer as sharp as before, said, "Let me go!"
"Ruyi, come and see." Chen Run's voice was still so gentle and mild.
Jiang Yan didn't understand what he meant and looked at him in confusion. He turned slightly to the side and slowly pointed his right hand towards the door.
Jiang Yan looked out the door following his slender, well-defined hand, and her heart skipped a beat, her head buzzing.
Why are there so many soldiers?
What do they do?
Are they here to arrest her?
Or perhaps...
Jiang Yan was lost in thought when she looked at Chen Run again.
Chen Run had turned his back to her again and was looking towards the gate.
His voice was deep and powerful as he said, "We cannot disobey the Prince Su's orders."
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