happy match
On his birthday, even Emperor Sheng specially sent him a gift.
Shen Yao knew that her performance these days had earned the emperor a lot of goodwill among the people of Xiliang City. When the news reached Shengjing, the emperor was naturally overjoyed, and even her mother was released from the cold palace.
As for her and Lan Yunyi, the entire city of Xiliang knew that the princess was staying at Lingshan Temple every day. The emperor had even written a letter advising her to give the general some respect. Consort Lan in the palace was also very worried about this.
Shen Yao's reply only concerned the emperor's health, and she promised to send him some good medicinal herbs after the autumn harvest.
...
The fact that Xiliang City had become a prosperous trading center was not mentioned at all in the original novel. The impact of this event was entirely unknown, but Shen Yao was not afraid; in fact, she had other speculations.
In the original story, she had to obtain the "snake demon's" opportunity, just in case.
Although she had long forgotten the details of this matter in the original work, she knew that a village near Xiliang City was recently raising snakes on a large scale.
Shen Yao and the others had already informed the government office, urging the people to calm down and stop their frenzy for rare medicinal herbs, but to little avail. Some time ago, Ling Snake Village had shown signs of a snake infestation, and it was only because Lan Yunyi specially led people to Ling Snake Village to deal with the matter that the problem was nipped in the bud.
However, after this period of processing, snake farming in Lingshe Village began to develop on a large scale, and a new form of entertainment—snake hunting—became famous overnight, attracting many tourists from other places.
Shen Yao wasn't particularly interested in this matter, but the timing and location were all so coincidental that she couldn't help but speculate. So, Shen Yao went there several times in the past two days, but all her attempts were fruitless.
Shen Yao couldn't help but suspect that the snake demon only appeared when the male protagonist appeared.
So she decided to organize a large-scale snake-hunting event after Lan Yunyi returned in a while.
That day arrived quickly.
Shen Yao also found a good reason for holding the banquet: to collect top-quality snake gallbladders for Emperor Sheng.
Lan Yunyi knew that Shen Yao wouldn't do these things without a reason. But knowing this, he never asked any questions and obediently put on his autumn hunting clothes.
Shen Yao said, "General, you have been traveling hard in the border region for several days, and you still have to take care of such things after you return. You must be very tired."
Lan Yunyi tilted her head and smiled: "So, if you know it's hard work, does that mean you can skip it?"
Shen Yao couldn't help but laugh and said, "Who else but you?"
Lan Yunyi tilted her head and remained silent, looking at Shen Yao meaningfully: "So, you mean, I'm the only one by your side, sister?"
Shen Yao: "Yes, only you."
Lan Yunyi smiled, pursing his lips. He stared at Shen Yao for a long time, waiting for her to speak first, but Shen Yao seemed to be deep in thought as she adjusted the soft armor on his body.
Finally, Lan Yunyi couldn't help but ask, "Tell me, Princess, your eagerness must be something beyond your power."
Shen Yao said, "The Prince Consort understands me best."
Lan Yunyi smiled and, after saying a bunch of random sweet nothings, Shen Yao covered his mouth and whispered the task in his ear.
She didn't say it was a "snake demon," only that she had dreamt of two snakes, one white and one black, for several days in a row, and they reproduced the scenes from the book exactly. Although Lan Yunyi had doubts, he didn't say anything, only telling Shen Yao to wait for his good news.
The autumn hunt was held in the mountains and forests of Ling Snake Village. The villagers had already cleaned up a certain area of the forest, set up tables, chairs, benches, and fences, and sprayed medicine to prevent snakes, insects, and beasts from getting close. In addition, Shen Yao's guards surrounded the banquet area, so the invited guests had no suspicions and all came to visit.
Once the banquet began, all the guests took their seats. At Shen Yao's command, the guests, along with their participating servants, surged out and fiercely charged into the garden.
Those who loved excitement rode off on horseback to watch, while some, more afraid, remained on the lawn. Prince Jing and his wife were also there, their smugness evident. However, Princess Jing seemed less open than before, appearing much more silent around Shen Yao. After a while, Shen Zan returned from somewhere, followed by a man dressed in simple clothes. It was Pei Heng.
Shen Zan pulled Pei Heng to Shen Yao and said, "Cousin."
Her face had fully regained its former radiance, her eyes were sparkling, and she seemed to talk much more than usual.
Seeing her like this, Shen Yao couldn't help but smile and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Zan pulled Pei Heng forward a little and said, "This person has something to say to you."
Upon hearing Shen Zan's words, everyone couldn't help but show expressions of surprise or panic, as if they felt she was being somewhat rude or offensive. But when they looked at Pei Heng, his face was full of doting affection, showing absolutely no displeasure.
Now everyone understood what had happened, and all eyes turned to Shen Yao.
There were already rumors in Xiliang City that Pei Heng, the young marquis, lived in the princess's mansion even though he had his own residence, because the princess refused to let him leave.
But now, Shen Zan has appeared before Shen Yao with Pei Heng, his attitude ambiguous. This certainly makes one think there's going to be a good show to watch.
Shen Yao stopped smiling and looked at Pei Heng.
Pei Heng paused, straightened his clothes, and then secretly glanced at Shen Yao. Seeing that Shen Yao had no expression, he smiled indifferently, cupped his hands, and said, "Pei Heng, I have a request for the princess."
Shen Yao: "Speak."
Pei Heng fell in love with Shen Zan, the daughter of Prince Jing, at first sight and wished to marry her, requesting the princess to witness the marriage.
These words drew gasps of astonishment from all around.
With so many people present, if Shen Yao refuses, who knows what other unpleasant things she might say in the future.
She couldn't refuse.
Shen Yao smiled, took a sip of tea, and looked at Shen Zan calmly: "Have you figured it out?"
Shen Zan blushed and said, "Cousin, I've thought it through."
Shen Yao smiled and then looked at Pei Heng: "How can you prove that you will truly love and care for my cousin?"
Pei Heng cupped his hands and said loudly, "Pei Heng is willing to treat Zan'er well for the rest of his life, to regard Zan'er as the apple of his eye, and to cherish her for a lifetime."
Shen Yao asked, "Are you willing to leave the position of principal wife to Zan'er?"
Pei Heng paused for a moment, then said, "I'm willing."
"Would you be willing to let your eldest son be born to Zan'er? A son born to Zan'er would be your legitimate eldest son?"
Pei Heng paused again.
There are many noble ladies in the capital, any one of whom is of higher status than Shen Zan. In fact, giving the position of principal wife to Shen Yao would already show great sincerity, but as for the eldest son... it would be more appropriate to leave it to another woman of even greater honor.
But in front of so many people, he had to grit his teeth and say yes.
More importantly, he hoped to marry Shen Zan.
So he said, "I do."
But his hesitation made Shen Zan a little anxious, and he said impatiently, "Is that alright...?"
Shen Yao lowered her eyes and slowly scraped the edge of the teacup with the lid.
There was a creaking sound inside the tent, making it seem as if Shen Yao was reluctant to part with Pei Heng and was hesitant to utter the words of marriage vows.
Shen Yao hesitated, wondering whether she should challenge the established traditions of the Sheng Dynasty.
However, she quickly came to terms with it. She wasn't an emperor, and her words weren't imperial edicts. Even if they disobeyed, they wouldn't lose their heads; at most, it would just be considered disrespectful to her as a princess.
So Shen Yao put down her teacup, stood up, and said coldly, "Pei Heng."
Pei Heng noticed Shen Yao's hesitation and reluctance, raised his eyelids and smiled meaningfully, then suddenly knelt down and said, "Princess, Pei Heng and Zan'er are truly in love, please grant our request!"
Shen Yao immediately followed up: "In that case, would you be willing to agree to be with Zan'er for life, one love and one partner?"
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.
Prince Jing suddenly laughed and said, "Princess, Zan'er has finally found a good match, why are you stopping her at every turn?"
Princess Jing remained silent, coldly staring at Shen Yao with eyes full of disgust and suspicion.
Shen Yao turned her head to look at Prince Jing and his wife, and asked in return, "Where am I stopping you?"
She looked up at the other guests; all of these men had concubines at home, some more, some less. According to the rules of the Sheng Dynasty, taking a concubine required discussion with the principal wife. As a woman herself, Shen Yao felt a deep sense of grief and indignation at the thought of these men sitting at home, discussing such matters with another woman.
Shen Yao's words were tantamount to slapping them in the face, but none of them dared to act recklessly in front of Shen Yao.
At this moment, Shen Yao held an even more prestigious position than when she first arrived in Xiliang. No one could be sure whether the emperor would one day find an excuse to send the princess back to the capital. So they all remained silent. When Shen Yao asked her question, someone immediately followed her lead.
"Yes, after all, she is the daughter of Prince Jing. As a member of the imperial family, it is not unreasonable for Zan'er to make such a request of the young marquis."
"The young marquis and Zan'er are a couple who will be together for life, and their story may become a legend in the future."
Shen Yao looked at Pei Heng, the heir of the Marquis of Zhennan, who was kneeling below, and said, "I have only one request: do not let your karma harm your wife. Is that too much to ask?"
Pei Heng lowered his head and chuckled a few times, saying, "What the princess says is true. Pei Heng was just thinking that sometimes, being a lifelong partner is nothing more than a formality."
After saying that, he raised his head, his eyes dark, and said, "I also sincerely wish that the princess and her husband can be together for life."
After he finished speaking, Shen Zan couldn't help but sneer, and the guests also showed expressions of disdain or schadenfreude. After all, Princess Yao was renowned, and at this moment, everyone was probably thinking the same thing.
Shen Yao pretended not to hear the sarcasm in his words and smiled, "Thank you, young marquis."
After saying that, Pei Heng stood up and took Shen Zan's hand.
Shen Yao sat back down and watched the two of them bow to heaven and earth, to their parents, and then to each other. She felt inexplicably melancholy.
The guests below were not really interested in the game; they were all thinking about who would hunt how many snakes later. After all, the snake gallbladders of Ling Snake Village were known throughout the country, and Shen Yao had said that whoever caught one could keep it, and she wouldn't have to pay for it.
So now everyone below is making a lot of noise. The joke has come to an end, and everyone's attention has wandered. They've all started showing off the strength of their own servants, and no one is paying attention to Shen Zan and Prince Jing and his wife, who are immersed in joy.
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