"The Shen family must no longer be tolerated." The Youning Emperor rubbed his throbbing temples, his palm slamming heavily onto the table.
"Your Majesty, shall I summon the imperial physician..." Liu Sanzhi supported the Emperor's arm, whispering his inquiry.
Just as the Emperor was about to wave him away, another surge of blood rushed to his head, causing his vision to darken momentarily. Terrified, Liu Sanzhi cast aside all decorum and shouted for the imperial physician.
When the Hall of Bright Governance summoned physicians, the Imperial Hospital wished they could grow wings to fly over immediately, not daring to delay even for a moment. By the time the Emperor had drunk a cup of water to catch his breath, the Chief Imperial Physician and two deputy physicians had rushed to the scene.
The Emperor simply had them take his pulse. All three looked grave, and finally the Chief Imperial Physician carefully worded his diagnosis: "Your Majesty works diligently, yet must treasure your health. Having endured harsh lands in childhood, Your Majesty's foundation was damaged more than ordinary people's. The campaigns of youth left many hidden injuries - more rest would be advisable."
In truth, the Emperor had lacked proper nourishment as a child and accumulated stubborn ailments from his northern and southern campaigns in adolescence. Now with advancing age, these early deficiencies were naturally becoming harder to suppress. But how could imperial physicians dare say outright that the Emperor was growing old and needed to conserve his energy?
The Youning Emperor was no escapist. Though the Chief Physician spoke indirectly, he understood the underlying meaning. Indeed, even without the physicians' words, he had felt his energy waning over the past two years compared to before. "Prepare some restorative tonics for me," he ordered.
The three physicians sighed with relief and quickly withdrew.
The Emperor wearily lowered his gaze. "Speaking of hidden injuries, how could I compare to Shen Yueshan, veteran of countless battles? Yet Shen Yueshan appears vigorous and healthy, while I fear I may not outlast him..."
With only Liu Sanzhi remaining in the room, the attendant hurriedly said, "Your Majesty bears the weight of the entire realm. How could the Northwest King compare to Your Majesty's exhaustive efforts for the empire? The Northwest King may appear energetic, but who can say for certain what happens behind the scenes?"
Knowing his trusted aide was comforting him, the Emperor's mood improved slightly. He leaned back against the Dragon Throne, gazing at the golden, magnificent ceiling. The great hall was filled with the haze of sandalwood incense, utterly silent. After an unknown length of time, the Emperor said, "What would you think if I betrothed Huaiyang to Changfeng?"
This idea had actually occurred to the Emperor long ago, back when it was merely a pure, protective impulse from an uncle. As for now...
Liu Sanzhi silently mulled over this for a while before bowing. "Your Majesty's sincere care for the County Lord will surely be met with her gratitude."
Xiao Changfeng was the Emperor's man. Shen Yingluo was the Shen family's daughter.
Previously, both sides had maintained a surface non-interference, but after Shen Xihe and his two sons had forcefully uprooted the Emperor's cultivated influence in the northwest, the two parties were practically openly hostile, their underlying relationship already like fire and water.
The Youning Emperor glanced at Liu Sanzhi's impeccably careful response and didn't pursue the topic further.
Nevertheless, he still conveyed this intention. Soon enough, Shen Yingluo received the news, just as she had just finished preparing wedding gifts for her elder brother and handed them to servants for delivery to the escort agency, to be escorted by the escort agency.
When she came of age, Shen Yungan had sent her gifts too. Though more extravagant than heartfelt, Shen Yingluo had been quite satisfied. For Shen Yungan's wedding this time, she had prepared gifts with great care - not to curry favor, but for peace of conscience, unconcerned whether Shen Yungan would appreciate them or not."County Lord, news from the palace indicates His Majesty intends to arrange a marriage between you and Xun Wang," Tan Shi whispered to Shen Yingluo.
"For what reason this time?" Shen Yingluo frowned.
She had no informants within the palace. If the news had reached her ears, it meant His Majesty deliberately wanted her to know - giving her psychological preparation, which essentially equated to being determined to issue the decree.
Previously, His Majesty had intended to betroth her to Xiao Changfeng, but both parties had declined, leading His Majesty to abandon the idea. This sudden revival of interest must have been driven by some reason that made His Majesty more assertive.
"This servant doesn't know either. Should we send word to Shu Fei in the palace?" Tan Shi suggested.
Before Shen Xihe departed, she had instructed Shen Yingluo that if any changes occurred, she could seek help from Shu Fei. Shu Fei had originally been intended to marry the Crown Prince, but was thoroughly tormented by the Crown Princess without leaving any evidence. After Shu Fei married His Majesty, she frequently caused trouble for the Crown Princess in the palace. Everyone assumed they would fight to the death, never imagining that Shu Fei was actually the Crown Princess's person!
When she heard this news, Tan Shi was terrified pale, and even Shen Yingluo felt increased awe toward Shen Xihe.
Shen Yingluo had long recognized the reality that there was a world of difference between her and Shen Xihe in terms of strategy and methods.
But before Shen Xihe left, revealing such a significant secret to her made Shen Yingluo secretly rejoice for a long time, though she knew Shen Xihe wasn't afraid of her exposing this matter.
"Have the people Elder Sister left behind inquire about it," Shen Yingluo said. She also wanted to know why Youning Emperor had suddenly changed his attitude and become so insistent on her marrying Xiao Changfeng.
After Shen Xihe married into the Eastern Palace, she had unconsciously expanded her connections. With Xiao Huayong's support, Jiuzhang was the first to know what Shen Yingluo wanted to investigate and had already transmitted the news to the northwest.
Jiuzhang took the initiative to selectively share what could be disclosed about the northwest situation - roughly that the northwest had gained significant advantages this time, while His Majesty suffered military losses and could do nothing about the northwest.
After reading it, Shen Yingluo held the letter with both hands, remaining silent for a long time.
Tan Shi couldn't resist glancing at it. After quickly reading through, she couldn't help feeling heartache, placing both hands on Shen Yingluo's shoulders: "County Lord, that is the Emperor.".."
The Emperor would always be sovereign first. Even imperial princes could only address him as 'sovereign father' - sovereign before father.Moreover, Shen Yingluo was merely His Majesty's niece, and not even a direct one.
Over the years, His Majesty had indeed shown great affection toward Shen Yingluo. Being clever-minded, though Jiuzhang hadn't explicitly stated the reason, Shen Yingluo could understand: His Majesty could no longer deal with Shen Shi and had recognized Elder Sister's strength and meticulousness. Instead of seeking a breakthrough through Elder Sister, he was turning his attention to her.
Suddenly understanding His Majesty's intention, Shen Yingluo felt heavy-hearted and somewhat uncomfortable, her eyes involuntarily stinging. But she soon became resigned: "I was being greedy."
How could she expect an emperor to genuinely care for her as a junior? In previous years, she simply hadn't been useful enough - now her usefulness had arrived, hadn't it?
"County Lord, your marriage isn't something His Majesty can control," Tan Shi said. "The Prince is still here. His Majesty has no authority to arbitrarily arrange your marriage.""Do you know why His Majesty allowed me to learn of this news?" Shen Yingluo curled her lips. "His Majesty intends for me to recognize the circumstances and willingly accept this marriage. Now that my elder sister is not in the palace, and Father is far in the northwest—where messages take days to travel back and forth—if I consent of my own volition, Father and the others will not oppose it."
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