Chapter 82 He finally went to find her.
Shen Panyan stuffed a lot of gold leaves into Eunuch Deyuan's hand, and only then did she learn from him that the marriage was something Gu Jinyan had requested from her father, the Emperor, when she went to the palace herself.
She was stunned for a long time before asking incredulously, "He asked the Emperor for permission and he agreed?"
Eunuch Deyuan smiled and said, "Princess, His Majesty is already satisfied with Gu Jinyan, but you are still hesitant to decide on a consort. Shouldn't His Majesty make a decision for you?"
After saying that, he whispered a reminder, "Princess, the martial world has been in turmoil lately. You are of noble status, so please don't get involved with any martial arts figures. You are the golden branch and jade leaf of Zhaoyan Kingdom, and those low-class people are not worthy of you."
Shen Panyan's heart skipped a beat. "Eunuch Deyuan, what do you mean by that?"
Eunuch Deyuan shook his head and said no more. He cupped his hands in a salute and said, “Princess, His Majesty has ordered the Imperial Household Department to begin making your wedding dress. Embroiderers will be here soon. It’s getting late, and this old servant must return to the palace to serve His Majesty. I won’t keep you any longer. This old servant takes his leave!”
Shen Panyan gripped the imperial edict tightly with her knuckles. "Qingdai, go and see off Eunuch Deyuan."
Qingdai bowed and said, "Yes, Princess."
Only after the two figures disappeared into the courtyard did Shen Panyan turn around, her face grim.
The imperial edict stated that her wedding date was October of this year; she would be married in six months.
"Zhuzhi, what do you think Gu Jinyan means?"
She understood what Eunuch Deyuan had just said. Gu Jinyan had mentioned that she liked Lin Xiao, but he didn't know who Lin Xiao was and thought he was a person from the martial arts world. That's why Eunuch Deyuan had whispered this to her.
Thinking of this, Shen Panyan could no longer hold back, "Zhuzhi, go and invite Gu Jinyan to the Princess's residence."
However, she had barely finished speaking when she hurriedly walked out, "Never mind, I'll go by myself. Zhuzhi, have the servants prepare a carriage; I need to go to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion."
"Yes, Princess."
Unfortunately, when Shen Panyan arrived at the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, Gu Jinyan was not there. She heard from the servants that he had gone to Luoxia Pavilion, so she rushed there. When she arrived, Gu Jinyan was selecting gold and silver jewelry with Gu Tanghua.
"Brother, the princess should like this one, let's choose this one."
"good."
"And this one, it's pretty too."
"Shopkeeper, wrap them all up."
"Yes, yes!" The shopkeeper nodded and bowed, his face beaming with a wide smile.
Just then, a voice, filled with suppressed anger and unusually cold, rang out from outside.
"Gu Jinyan!"
Gu Jinyan turned around and saw that it was Shen Panyan. She immediately smiled and strode over. "Mingyue, what brings you here! Perfect timing. I was just picking out some gold and silver jewelry to send to the princess's residence in a few days. Come and take a look and see if there's anything you like. I'll buy it for you too."
They acted as if the previous conflict had never happened, and Gu Jinyan's attitude towards her remained warm.
Shen Panyan clenched her fists, her voice cold, "Come out first, I have something to say to you."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards the restaurant across the street. Seeing her leave, Gu Jinyan quickly chased after her, not forgetting to turn back and tell Gu Tanghua, "You help me choose first. I will come back after I finish talking to the princess."
"I see."
Gu Tanghua looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression. For some reason, she felt that the princess didn't seem very happy.
Didn't Gu Jinyan say that he had already made arrangements with the princess?
What's going on here?
*
Upon entering the restaurant, Shen Panyan instructed the waiter to lead her to a private room and told Zhuzhi and Qingdai to wait outside, preventing any unauthorized personnel from approaching.
"Yes, Princess."
Seeing her go inside, Gu Jinyan quickly followed her in.
"Bright Moon".
"Don't call me Mingyue!" Shen Panyan turned around, her delicate brows furrowed tightly, her voice as cold as lake water, "Gu Jinyan, didn't I say I don't like you? Why did you ask the Emperor for a marriage decree?"
"So that's why the princess is angry." Gu Jinyan's smile faded. "Princess, it's alright if you don't like Jinyan. Jinyan has enough patience to wait until you like Jinyan."
"You...you're absolutely unreasonable!!" Shen Panyan pointed a finger at him, utterly enraged.
Gu Jinyan said indifferently, "Now that the imperial decree has been issued, Princess, you have no room for regret. Jinyan will be a good consort and a good husband, and will treat you well for the rest of his life."
"I don't need any of that." Shen Panyan sneered. "You think this will make me fall in love with you, Gu Jinyan? Let me tell you, you're dreaming!"
Even if we get married, I will never let you set foot in the princess's residence!
Hearing this, Gu Jinyan's brow twitched, and he finally couldn't help but step forward and question, "What is it about him that makes you so obsessed with him?"
"Princess, you know perfectly well that there's no future for him, so why can't you accept me? He doesn't even have a respectable background; he's simply not good enough for me..."
Shen Panyan impatiently interrupted him, "He's willing to die for me, can you?"
"If you jump out of here right now, I'll accept you."
Shen Panyan pointed to the window beside her, her eyes fixed on him.
They jumped from the third floor of the restaurant. Without good skills, they would be crippled even if they didn't die.
Gu Jinyan took a deep breath and her voice calmed down, "Princess, you don't need to provoke me. Jinyan knows that you just can't accept it yet. It's okay, Jinyan will wait for you to figure it out."
"You must believe that Jin Yan likes you."
"I did all this just to be with you."
Shen Panyan laughed in anger, then turned and left, saying, "Do you think I'll be grateful and accept all this?"
"Gu Jinyan, one-sided feelings can't last."
"I don't want to be a heartless person, which is why I've repeatedly distanced myself from you. Since you insist on being so persistent, then don't blame me for being ruthless."
As the door slammed shut, Chen Panyan suppressed her anger and said, "Zhuzhi, Qingdai, let's go!"
Gu Jinyan watched her leave without a second thought, his expression growing increasingly grim.
Why is it that she just won't look at him even once?
What exactly is it about him that he doesn't compare to that person?
On the way back to the manor, Zhuzhi looked at Shen Panyan with concern, hesitant to speak.
She vaguely heard the two arguing in the side room just now.
The princess and her husband have already had such a falling out before they're even married. What will happen after they get married?
Shen Panyan lowered her eyelashes and remained silent.
A few days later, the betrothal gifts from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion flowed into the Princess's Mansion like water. Shen Panyan didn't even look at them, and simply told Zhuzhi to put them away casually. Gu Jinyan came to visit several times, but she refused to let him in.
As the relationship between the two grew increasingly strained, Zhuzhi and Qingdai felt worried but dared not say anything.
Shen Panyan was extremely impatient with anyone bringing up this matter, so they had no choice but to swallow their words and remain worried.
Hopefully, the princess will figure it out herself.
Three days later, Gu Jinyan arrived at the princess's residence with a pure white fox.
He had promised to give her a fox, hoping to use it to ease tensions with Shen Panyan. However, Shen Panyan didn't even glance at it before having it released.
After being repeatedly rejected despite his attempts to please her, Gu Jinyan grew cold and stopped seeking her out.
I heard that he has recently returned to his old ways, riding through the streets with his cronies. While riding in the suburbs of the capital, he happened to encounter a pitiful woman who was selling herself to bury her father. Feeling pity for her, he not only gave her the money to pay for her father's funeral, but also took her back to the Rongguo Duke's mansion, where she is now serving him.
When Zhuzhi learned of this, she was furious. "Princess, I thought Gu Jinyan was a good person, but he turned out to be just like those other spoiled brats in the capital. A spoiled brat is a spoiled brat after all. If I had known, I wouldn't have spoken up for him when he came a few days ago!"
Shen Panyan remained calm. She picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and said in a low voice, "What's there to be angry about? That poor woman has a place to belong with him, so she won't end up wandering the streets with no one to rely on. I think it's quite good."
Bamboo Branch: "......"
She stamped her foot. "But Princess, that's your husband! You're going to marry him and spend your whole life with him. Don't you really care?"
Shen Panyan lowered her eyelashes, her gaze falling on the jade bracelet on her wrist. "I don't care."
"If he's willing to be my son-in-law, then so be it. Anyway, he can live his life, and I'll live mine. We won't bother each other, and that's fine."
Without the princess's decree, the prince consort is not allowed to live in the princess's residence. From the beginning, Shen Panyan had no intention of letting him live there. In other words, no matter who her prince consort was, she would not allow anyone to live in the princess's residence.
She already has the love she once longed for most, and even if they can't be together, she can't bring herself to be attracted to someone else's sincere feelings that are tinged with calculation.
Gu Jinyan said he liked her, and she believed him.
But she could also see that Gu Jinyan's sincerity was only partly genuine, with three parts being calculated.
He once said that he pursued her because she was a princess and that he had many advantages in marrying her, and she believed him.
She and he had only met twice, yet he clung to her every day as if he had lost his mind, all he wanted was her status as a princess.
If she weren't a princess, would he still be so attracted to her?
not necessarily.
In the past, her reputation in the capital was not good, so much so that after she came of age, the disciples of various noble families avoided her, among them Gu Jinyan.
When she visited the Royal Villa, she passed through the outskirts of Beijing and saw Gu Jinyan. That day, he rode his horse through the streets, smiling and talking to others about his marriage.
He said he disliked timid people like her the most, and if he were to marry, he would marry someone bold and compatible with him.
He is the most beloved young master of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. The idea that he will be kicked out of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion in the future is just a lie.
Great families place the greatest importance on lineage. Although the Rongguo Duke's Mansion has declined considerably, the rules still apply. Even if the Rongguo Duke's Mansion were to split up, it would only happen after the patriarch died and a major incident occurred. As the eldest son, how could he be easily separated from his family?
No matter what the reason is for Gu Jinyan marrying her, he will not lose out.
She detested sincerity mixed with scheming more than anything else in her life; she had had enough of it.
Shen Panyan put down her teacup and instructed, "Zhuzhi, don't tell me about Gu Jinyan anymore. I don't want to hear it."
Zhu Zhi paused slightly, then sighed, "Yes, Princess."
*
In late April, as spring was drawing to a close and the capital was about to enter early summer, a secret guard reported that the deposed crown prince, who had been on the run, had fallen off a cliff and died. An Jiu, who was chasing him, was also dragged off the cliff by the deposed crown prince's dying counterattack and had also died. When they found him, all that remained was his mangled body, which had been gnawed by wild beasts.
After hearing this, Emperor Gan Ning paused for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "I understand."
"Since Dark Nine is dead, let the people below choose a new Dark Nine."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The shadow vanished.
Emperor Gan Ning couldn't help but feel regret and sorrow over An Jiu's death.
An Jiu can be said to be the most outstanding and the most useful secret guard since he inherited the secret guard camp. Unlike other secret guards, he is not rigid in his work and knows how to be flexible. He is extremely efficient in all the tasks he does. If it weren't for his rebellious nature, he wouldn't have stayed in An Jiu's position for so long.
After thinking it over, Emperor Gan Ning felt it was a pity, so he summoned Shadow and ordered him to give An Jiu's body a proper burial.
After all, they were his close associates; even if it was a posthumous honor, he was still willing to bestow it upon them.
Shadow paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Just as Shadow was giving orders to his men to carefully select an auspicious burial site for An Jiu, a young man dressed in gray cloth was discreetly riding a horse, speeding towards the capital.
The sound of hooves echoed, raising a cloud of dust. The boy on horseback was pale and swayed precariously. Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining the ground red. Blood dripped slowly from the corner of his lips as he continued to cough.
However, as if he didn't feel it, he still gripped the reins tightly and urged the horse to head quickly towards the capital.
He had finally escaped the Dark Guard camp, and he wanted to see His Highness as soon as possible.
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