Chapter 84: Marriage
After Pei Yan said that, Jiang Shuyi was even more determined to keep the jade pendant!
That was the evidence that Pei Yan had bullied her. At worst, she could just put it away and not let Pei Yan see it casually in the future.
She stood on tiptoe, hugged Pei Yan's neck, bit his lips very lightly, and said coquettishly: "I want to keep it. If it weren't for the jade pendant, I wouldn't be able to accompany Your Majesty day and night during the confinement, and Your Majesty might not love me as much as you do now."
Pei Yan lowered his eyes and looked at her, his expression was obscured by the mist and seemed a little unclear.
The sound of water in the Imperial Pond was roaring, as if someone was wading out.
Jiang Shuyi's back was against the hard white jade floor. Because the hall was full of heat, it wasn't cold, but it was a world of difference from the soft mattress. She couldn't help crying out of grievance, and then she was picked up like a child...
*
The next day, after Pei Yan left the court, he discussed the affairs of Xitian with his ministers for a long time.
Xitian had been in civil strife since the death of the crown prince. Three princes fought for the sacred artifact. Eventually, the youngest sixth prince, Tuoba Han, stood out and killed his two elder brothers. The old monarch died of illness at this time. He took the throne and took the initiative to send a letter to negotiate peace. He said that all the previous wars were instigated by the crown prince, not his intention. Now that he is the monarch, he only wishes peace between the two countries. For the previous war, Xitian can compensate with gold and silver, and pay tribute for fifty years as compensation.
Pei Yan had no reason to disagree. Even if Tuoba Han had ill intentions, the Northwest had just undergone a blood transfusion after Wen Huan's death, and it was not an opportunity for war. Negotiation was the best policy, not to mention that the other party was giving away gold and silver for free.
In addition to this, Xitian also made a request, hoping that the two countries would have a marriage alliance, either marrying Tuoba Han's twin sister Tuoba Yuer to Pei Yan, or letting Pei Yan's biological sister marry Tuoba Han, in order to show the sincerity of both sides in negotiating peace.
The ministers naturally hoped that Pei Yan would marry the Princess of Xitian rather than sending a princess to Xitian for nothing.
However, Pei Yan's intention was to marry Princess Tong'an to Xitian.
Taifu Wei felt that it was not possible, and after the court session, he asked for a meeting in the imperial study and tried to persuade Pei Yan, but was rejected by Pei Yan on the grounds that "the harem is where the emperor lives and works, and I would feel uneasy if I recruit foreign women." After careful consideration, Taifu Wei felt that the suggestion made sense, so he gave up.
When Pei Yan returned to the Qianqing Palace, he saw Jiang Shuyi lying on a soft couch by the window of the inner hall reading a book, and Fang Chu was sitting beside her massaging her waist and legs.
It was already late spring and early summer. She was wearing a thin lilac-colored dress with a slightly sunken waist. Her slender fingertips pinched the pages of the book and rubbed them back and forth. After she let go, the corners of the pages quickly curled up.
As a book lover, Pei Yan's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Jiang Shuyi was killing time reading a boring collection of essays when suddenly a hand took away the book in front of her. She knew it was Pei Yan without thinking. She smiled and turned her head, and he tapped her head lightly with the book.
"If you were a prince or princess, I would definitely beat you right now."
Jiang Shuyi was still confused, and only understood when he put the book with a curled edge in front of her.
She felt guilty for a moment, and then immediately became pitiful: "But I am not a prince or princess. I was so pitiful when I was a child. No one taught me how to read. I only learned a little from following Your Majesty over the years. Your Majesty, can you bear to hit me for such a small thing?"
Even though Pei Yan knew that she was just being nice, he still felt soft-hearted.
It was just a single copy, and he had not kept it properly.
Fang Chu had already retreated wisely. Pei Yan put the book aside, sat down beside the couch, put his palm on Jiang Shuyi's waist, massaged it with moderate force and asked: "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
Jiang Shuyi couldn't bear the tingling and numbness at the same time. Like a carp that had just been caught ashore, she quickly turned over and held Pei Yan's hand.
Meeting Pei Yan's inquiring gaze, she blushed and whispered, "It's itchy!"
Pei Yan paused and glanced at Fang Chu: "Doesn't it itch when she rubs you?"
Fang Chu almost couldn't hold back her laughter, and she tried to lower her head with a serious look.
Jiang Shuyi nodded quickly, and seeing Pei Yan's expression faded a little, she quickly said, "This is not what I want to do. It's probably because Your Majesty is always not serious when touching me, so I can't stand it. If Your Majesty is not happy, just force me to try again like you did tonight, maybe I will get used to it and it will be fine."
Pei Yan fell into silence for a rare moment.
After a moment, seeing Jiang Shuyi was about to open her mouth again, he raised his hand and covered her mouth.
"you......"
I didn't know how to teach him a lesson.
Pei Yan looked at Fang Chu and ordered, "Put my book back."
Fang Chu wanted to watch the show, but she knew that as a qualified palace maid, she should slip away immediately.
In the end, of course, salary triumphed over everything. She picked up the book and walked out with a righteous look on her face, closing the door for her masters.
Seeing Pei Yan had sent Fang Chu away, Jiang Shuyi suddenly became nervous and tugged at his sleeve to remind him, "You can touch me, but Your Majesty, please don't do anything else. I haven't recovered yet!"
Pei Yan just let go of his hand and pressed it back again.
He looked down at Jiang Shuyi, who looked confused, and said earnestly, "If you still want to slow down, don't say such things again."
After a pause, Pei Yan immediately added: "You have a high status in the palace. If others hear about it, will you still be able to maintain your dignity?"
Jiang Shuyi is not stupid, so she will not speak without restraint in public.
As for Fang Chu and Cheng Shouzhong and his son, and several other palace maids in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, it was common for them to hug and kiss each other in front of them. Who would dare to talk about her?
Jiang Shuyi believed Pei Yan’s previous words even more. If she continued, he would not be able to restrain his urge to bully her!
She weighed the pros and cons, coughed lightly, took Pei Yan's hand and placed it on her cheek, rubbed it and said: "I was wrong, Your Majesty, please touch my face."
Pei Yan pinched her lightly.
Jiang Shuyi smiled and hugged him.
Pei Yan's eyebrows curved, and he rubbed the back of her head, saying in a gentle voice: "Xitian wants to form an alliance with Dayuan. I have drafted a marriage plan with Tong'an in the court today."
Marriages for foreign countries were not uncommon in this dynasty. The previous emperor had appointed five or six princesses to marry in foreign countries, but they were all princesses of the royal family or palace maids, and there had never been a real marriage for a princess.
Pei Yan saw her confusion and told her about what happened in Xitian.
"I will only favor you from now on. If the Princess of Xitian comes, she will stay alone in an empty room every day. If she quarrels with you again, I will punish her. However, that would be tantamount to slapping Xitian in the face and giving them an excuse to tear up the treaty. So I can't have their princess. I don't have to agree to the marriage. Tuoba Han has just ascended the throne and is in a state of confusion. If I don't agree, he will surrender temporarily. It's just that Tong'an bullied you, and I still feel uncomfortable, so I simply send her to Xitian."
Jiang Shuyi didn't expect it was because of her. She paused, looked up at Pei Yan and pleaded softly, "If you can avoid sending the princess to marry, then don't do it. Your Majesty taught me to read a few volumes of history books. I have read about two countries turning against each other and beheading the princess for marriage. I was really scared. Tong'an just had a fight with me. She has been punished and admitted her fault. At most, I will bully her a few more times in the future. It's really not a crime worthy of marriage."
Since she was a child, whenever Jiang Shuyi suffered injustice, her aunt would fail to get justice for her, so she would touch her face with pity and say that she must marry a good family in the future. A woman lives under her parents for the first ten years or so, but after marriage she depends entirely on her husband. If she marries well, she can escape from the sea of suffering, but if she marries badly, she will enter hell and all the wealth of a rich man will be in vain.
Jiang Shuyi was indeed completely freed from the sea of suffering after marrying into the Eastern Palace. As for her eldest sister, she was married to a scholar with a "promising future" because of her father's noble character. She went from being a rich girl who bullied her younger sister at will to a common woman who came to her parents' home with her child to beg for help. The year before last, the poor scholar decided to return to his hometown in the countryside to open a private school because he failed in the imperial examinations many times. The eldest sister was desperate and jumped into a well and committed suicide.
Therefore, for Jiang Shuyi, the most vicious curse for a woman is to marry the wrong person. Unless there is a deep hatred, it would not go to this extent, not to mention a marriage of peace, which is not enough to describe as marrying the wrong person.
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