The 16th day of the 10th month of the first year of the Lingwu era of the Daxin dynasty.
The Huihe Khan of the Western Regions, Huai Ren, issued a proclamation to send troops to suppress the rebels in Longcheng, citing the pretext that "Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin has raised an army in rebellion, murdered the emperor and seized his wife, and is disloyal and unjust."
Then, they united with thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions and assembled a coalition of 300,000 troops to fight the rebels. Their forces were aimed directly at the Western Frontier Army of Daxin'an, which had led its troops to defect to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, and the four towns of Kucha, Yanqi, Khotan, and Shule located on the Silk Road in the Western Regions.
News of the uprising by the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions was only transmitted to the Prince of Jin's residence in Longcheng in early November, after several twists and turns.
At this moment, Chen Huai'an's head was also twice as big.
It wasn't because of the Tibetan invasion or the two kings' ascension to the throne, nor was it because of the imperial edict sent by Empress Dowager Su Wan'er from the capital, or his reply, delivered in the tone of Cao Cao, that mocked Empress Dowager Su.
Instead, Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, has already put his marriage to Princess Liu Shujun on the agenda.
According to Liu Xinwu, the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month is an auspicious day for marriage, so they decided to finalize the marriage between Chen Huai'an and Liu Shujun before the new year.
As part of his dowry, Liu Xinwu presented Chen Huai'an with a letter of introduction (a pledge of allegiance) from the six prefectures of Youyun: Wuzhou, Xinzhou, Ruzhou, Shunzhou, Tanzhou, and Guizhou, all guarded by the imperial Tiger Army.
This dowry is undeniably generous!
However, for Chen Huai'an, who has yet to meet Liu Shujun, this arranged marriage makes him somewhat guilty.
They feared that on their wedding night, when the bride's red veil was lifted, she would see a face that could scare away a million soldiers.
That day, Chen Huai'an was in the council hall of the Prince's mansion, staring blankly at the letter sent by Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, pondering how to handle his engagement with Princess Liu Shujun.
Just as he was pondering this, the black-robed old monk Dongfang Xiao, the instigator of the proposal to enter into a marriage agreement with the Prince of Wuning's mansion, leisurely walked into the council hall.
As soon as he entered, he stroked his gray beard and said with a smile, "Your Highness, this humble monk was surprised to hear magpies chirping outside early this morning."
"If I do the math, I'm sure something good will happen at the Prince's residence."
As he spoke, Dongfang Xiao came to Chen Huai'an's side and congratulated him: "This humble monk is here to offer my congratulations to Your Highness Prince Jin!"
hehe!
Faced with Dongfang Xiao's congratulations, Chen Huai'an put on a smile that was more like a grimace and handed the letter from Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, to Dongfang Xiao.
With a resentful smirk, he teased, "Master, you truly are a prophet!"
Seeing this, Dongfang Xiao ignored Chen Huai'an's sarcastic remarks and directly picked up the letter from Prince Wu Ning, quickly flipping through it.
Hahaha!
The next moment, Dongfang Xiao suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Your Highness, this is a joyous occasion!"
"With six of the sixteen prefectures of Youyun as dowry, perhaps only King Wu Ning in the whole world could offer such sincerity in marrying off his daughter?"
Why does Your Highness look so gloomy?
After a pause, Dongfang Xiao continued, "In my humble opinion, once Your Highness marries Princess Shujun, within three months, all sixteen prefectures of Youyun will be brought under the control of Prince Jin."
"At that time, whether Your Highness ascends the throne or becomes a regional lord with a million soldiers, it will be up to Your Highness to decide."
"Could it be that Your Highness, after the tyrant's death and at the beginning of the young emperor's ascension to the throne, actually felt compassion and no longer wanted to wear the white hat that this humble monk promised to give Your Highness on Phoenix Cry Mountain?"
"Eh—"
Chen Huai'an let out a long sigh, and for a moment he didn't know how to start the conversation.
However, the old monk Dongfang Xiao quickly guessed Chen Huai'an's little scheme and continued with a smile, "Your Highness need not worry. This humble monk had a brief encounter with Princess Shujun three years ago."
"The young Princess Shujun, at the tender age of sixteen, has a face as smooth as jade and eyes as clear as water. Her beauty is beyond compare, and she is absolutely worthy of the title of princess."
"Now, Princess Shujun, in the prime of her life, is even more beautiful than she was three years ago. Your Highness can rest assured and welcome Princess Shujun back to your residence, haha!"
Cough cough!
Chen Huai'an blushed when his little scheme was exposed, but he still shamelessly asked, "Master, is this really true?"
Dongfang Xiao laughed heartily: "Your Highness, monks do not lie!"
Chen Huai'an immediately became serious and said, "Master, you have misunderstood me. I am a person who is born face-blind and cannot distinguish between beauty and ugliness."
"This marriage is no trivial matter, and I must give it serious consideration!"
After speaking, the two exchanged a glance.
Then, they exchanged knowing smiles without prior arrangement.
Hahaha!
Hearty laughter echoed from the council hall of the Prince's Mansion.
The problem that had troubled Chen Huai'an for many days was also resolved.
......
Changshan Prefecture, Prince Wuning's Mansion.
Princess Liu Shujun tightly closed the door to her boudoir, buried her head in the silk quilt, and muttered, "I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it!"
"Anyway, I'm not getting married. I'm going to stay in the Prince's mansion and stay with my father for the rest of my life."
It turned out that when Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, tentatively brought up his daughter Liu Shujun's engagement to Chen Huai'an, he was met with strong opposition from Liu Shujun.
Her impression of Chen Huai'an was entirely based on the description given by the storyteller in the oral retelling of "The Story of Chen Huai'an, the Prince of Jin," which described Chen Huai'an as a roc with a blue face, fangs, and protruding ears descended to earth.
He was strong and powerful, and commanded respect without anger.
It was also said that Chen Huai'an was full of evil spirits, disloyal and unjust, and was destined to be a cursed lone star. He had raised an army to rebel, murder the emperor and usurp the throne, which meant he had already seized the secrets of heaven and was destined to bring misfortune to his wife and children.
Therefore, when her father, Prince Wu Ning Liu Xinwu, proposed a marriage alliance between the Prince Wu Ning's residence and the Prince Jin's residence.
Having already formed a negative preconceived notion about Chen Huai'an, Liu Shujun immediately rejected her father, Liu Xinwu, and locked herself in her room to defy her parents' wishes and the matchmaker's words.
Outside, Liu Xinwu looked helpless and earnestly advised, "Shujun, listen to your father. This Prince Jin, Chen Huai'an, is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than that old Uyghur man that the dog emperor Zhao Gan wants you to marry!"
"Chen Huai'an, just to prevent you from marrying that old hag Huihe, directly raised an army and wiped out the dog emperor Zhao Gan!"
"Chen Huai'an has done you and the Prince of Wuning's Mansion a great favor!"
Liu Xinwu smiled and continued, "Shujun, your father has taught you since you were a child that you should repay even the smallest kindness with the greatest gratitude. Our Wu Ning Prince's Mansion owes Chen Huai'an such a great debt of gratitude."
"Your father is old now and has nothing of value. The only thing I can do is let you repay Chen Huai'an by marrying him!"
"Listen to your father..."
Liu Xinwu rambled on outside, praising Chen Huai'an to the skies.
However, Princess Liu Shujun inside the house remained unmoved.
Left with no other option, Liu Xinwu resorted to playing the emotional card, saying, "Shujun, listen to your father. I'm practically halfway to the grave now, and who knows when I might run out of breath."
"After Father is gone, you'll be all alone in this world, Ningding. What will you do?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Liu Shujun's voice suddenly came from inside the room: "Then you can't marry me off to that ugly monster with a blue face, fangs, and protruding ears, Chen Huai'an!"
"ah?"
Liu Xinwu was completely bewildered.
Pfft!
The next moment, after realizing what had happened, he burst into carefree laughter.
Then, he asked gently, "Shujun, who told you that Chen Huai'an is an ugly monster with a blue face, fangs, and protruding ears?"
Liu Shujun pouted and replied, "That's what all the storytellers in the city say. They even say that Chen Huai'an is destined to be a cursed loner, and will bring misfortune to his wife and children his whole life!"
Hahaha!
Outside, having finally figured out the crux of his daughter's opposition to the marriage, Liu Xinwu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Creak!
At this moment, the two wooden doors of the princess's boudoir were pushed open from the inside, revealing a delicate face that could topple kingdoms.
With her big, watery eyes glaring at Prince Wu Ning, she said angrily, "Father, what are you laughing at? Stop laughing!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xinwu indeed stopped laughing.
Then, he said in a serious tone, "Shujun, how about this? I'll personally take you to Longcheng. You can hide in the shadows and observe Chen Huai'an for a while."
"If you're not satisfied, I'll risk all my pride and cancel this marriage with the Prince of Jin's family. How about that?"
Liu Shujun asked incredulously, "Father, is this really true?"
Liu Xinwu nodded: "Absolutely no joke!"
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