After a few days of recuperation, Cheng Huaijin and General Shi Mu were able to get out of bed and move around freely, but they could not use force for the time being.
Besides bestowing a marriage upon Lu Ni, the emperor also asked Cheng Huaijin a question after Cheng Huaijin was able to move freely: whether he wanted the reward from the martial arts competition now.
Cheng Huaijin wanted it now, of course; he said he wanted to marry Gu Yingxue.
Just then, Gu Yingxue turned fifteen this year, reaching the age of marriageable age, and the emperor, with a wave of his hand, bestowed a marriage upon the two of them.
At the same time, he also bestowed marriages upon another princess and prince from the west, one to a prince and the other to a princess from the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The combination of several happy events eased the somewhat tense atmosphere in the various countries' post stations.
Shi Mu did not cause a scene when the emperor bestowed the marriage upon him; he simply took the opportunity to meet with Cheng Huaijin.
Cheng Huaijin looked at the man in front of her, wondering what he was going to do.
Shi Mu said earnestly, "I want to see Miss Yingxue."
Cheng Huaijin didn't really want to meet Gu Yingxue. It wasn't that he was afraid she would steal Gu Yingxue away; he was just afraid he would hurt her.
The incident where Gu Yingxue was kidnapped from the Peng family in Kuncheng left a deep shadow on her. Even after she learned of Shi Mu's purpose, she was still very afraid. Whenever she went back to live at home instead of at the Gu family home, Bai Er would stay there to watch over her.
Therefore, Cheng Huaijin did not want Shi Mu to meet Gu Yingxue.
Seeing that Cheng Huaijin was about to refuse, Shi Mu didn't let him say it aloud and said directly, "If Prince Ahai is worried, he can accompany Miss Yingxue the whole time. I... I just have some things I want to say to Miss Yingxue. If I don't say them, I will never have peace of mind for the rest of my life."
Cheng Huaijin thought about it and decided that Shi Mu was a decent person. With him keeping an eye on him, nothing should go wrong.
Moreover, rather than letting someone whose intentions are unknown remain hidden in the shadows, it's better to bring them out into the open and make things clear to everyone.
Therefore, Cheng Huaijin agreed, but he did not agree on behalf of Gu Yingxue. He only said to Shi Mu, "This matter is not something I can decide. General Shi Mu, I still need to ask Xue'er's opinion. If she is willing, I will send someone to inform you. If she is not willing, I will not force her."
Shi Mu nodded without hesitation: "Okay."
That put Shi Mu at ease.
If Cheng Huaijin had said, "Okay, I'll bring her to see you," he might still be uneasy about Gu Yingxue following Cheng Huaijin.
Now that he knew Cheng Huaijin was going to ask Gu Yingxue what she meant, Shi Mu felt relieved.
Back at the Gu family home, Gu Yingxue was there too, chatting with the four Gu sisters. When Cheng Huaijin came over, the sisters teased him.
Gu Yingxue's face turned bright red. She never imagined that the condition her little brother Jin had fought so hard to win was to ask the emperor for a marriage decree. Her mind was still in a daze!
"Eldest sister, second sister, and Xinxin and Sisi, please don't say anything. I'm a man with a thick skin, so it's okay for you to say something, but Xue'er is thin-skinned. How about we wait until Xue'er isn't here, and I'll sit here while you all talk about me?" Cheng Huaijin said to the Gu sisters with a smile, looking at the embarrassed Gu Yingxue.
"Tsk, people who get a marriage arranged by the emperor are really something!"
"They've only just arranged the marriage, and they're already protecting each other!"
"We can't say anything bad about Xue'er anymore. Don't let Xiao Jin's quiet nature fool you; when she gets witty, even Huo Shentong might not be able to out-argue her!"
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