Suiyan is waiting for your return - Chapter 11

“This is not a wedding; it is a secret that everyone knows.”

Though the Emperor and Empress did not come in person, they sent Princess Yunhuang to announce the imperial edict. Yunxi was conferred the title of Country Princess, along with an increase of three thousand in her fief.

In the Great Yin, a princess’s palace can command six hundred and sixty personal guards, while a country princess’s palace can command three hundred and thirty. In other words, the personal guards originally assigned to the Duke of Protecting the Nation could be directly given to Yunxi.

Thus, this was the source of Yunxi’s true confidence, while Cheng Haojin appeared indifferent, his mind already recalibrating his view of her.

On the night she learned of the marriage decree, Yunxi secretly entered the palace to see the Emperror and exchanged a coveted tiger talisman, long desired by the King of Annan and the Duke of Ningdong.

At the moment the Emperor nodded in agreement, Yunxi realized that her father’s death and the sacrifice of her marriage were all part of the Emperor’s careful strategy to stabilize his empire and unify the realm.

Her father’s “willingness” was surely not so different from her own daily “willingness”!

Her father’s personal guard, her mother’s loyal retainers, and the Annan army under Cheng Haojin—she wondered if they would be enough for her to emulate the events of nineteen years prior in Dongchen Hall and support a new emperor.

Indeed, her goals were not just to vindicate Feng Zhi Yu’s name or uncover the truth behind her father’s death; she also wanted to pull those high-ranking figures who viewed her as just a pawn into this grand chess game.

Previously, she thought her mother was ambitious and power-hungry, yet now it became clear that when one lacked any means of defense, there was no morality to speak of.

How many in this world could remain unwaveringly loyal before fame and fortune, like her father?

Yunxi was not such a person, nor was Cheng Haojin. She could see the ambition in his eyes; the most favored general of the Great Yin could not be satisfied by mere accolades.

In this moment of mutual gaze, they understood that they were kindred spirits.

Self-preservation was paramount; mere survival was not enough. To live boldly and vibrantly was essential to attain the greatest freedom—not only to do what one wants but also to avoid being forced into doing what one does not desire.

Yunxi raised her hand to remove the outer robe of her wedding attire, the bright red silk gown sliding gently to the ground. “The wedding has already taken place, and the imperial decree has been received. As the county princess, there is no need for me to wear this wedding dress!”

“You!” Seeing the mourning clothes on Shen Yunxi, Princess Yunhuang’s eyes widened in shock. This was a slap in the face to both her father and Cheng Haojin. “You are being outrageous, arrogant, and disrespectful! Have you lost your mind?”

What Yunxi wanted was to shock everyone, to make them remember this mourning attire and the humiliation she had endured in being forced into marriage! A grieving soldier must win; she intended to clearly present the divide between the wealthy families and the Han clan.

Cheng Haojin did not expect Yunxi to act this way. He followed suit, raising his hand to remove his wedding attire and tossing it at Shen Yunxi’s feet.

“A good husband is also like a son. The country princess is filial, and as a husband, I must also follow the rites.”

He looked at Yunxi and said softly, “Shen Yunxi, remember this: you can only be my wife!”

Yunxi’s heart jolted, unable to discern whether he was sincere or merely pretending.

Though they had just met, his gaze at this moment made Yunxi feel as if she had seen it before.

After Cheng Haojin forcefully delivered this statement, he left, and not a single person dared to stop him.

Watching Cheng Haojin’s tall and sturdy figure fade away, Yunxi thought this scene had come to an end. It should have been a display of Cheng Haojin’s arrogance and humiliation, with words like, “What kind of woman do you think you are to be worthy of me, Cheng Haojin?” or “If you weren’t the legitimate daughter of the Duke of the Protectorate, do you think you could enter my Cheng family?”

Upon reflection, she told herself that a brute is just a brute, incapable of even acting properly. He must have gone to fulfill his predetermined tasks, but she did not know which side he was truly supporting.

After all, the Emperror, her uncle, was weak and sickly, and with no imperial sons, there were countless people eager to make their moves on the throne and the empire.

As the grand structure was about to collapse, chaos was brewing. Who among those present at the wedding banquet did not harbor thoughts of seizing power and replacing the current regime?

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