The Crown Prince Chases His Wife
Chapter 132 Coronation
The Hanxiang Hall at Shanglin Garden.
After the Emperor of Northern Liang took his seat, the second half of the banquet became much calmer than the earlier part.
The guests continued to toast and exchange polite, superficial words, but in reality, everyone’s minds were in turmoil.
Aside from speculating about the imminent changes in the geopolitical landscape, the middle-aged men present couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy as they glanced at their own softening skin and increasingly bulging bellies. In comparison, the Emperor of Northern Liang, who was nearly forty, still looked as youthful and well-maintained as someone in their thirties. Deep down, they all sighed at the passage of time.
At the banquet, the ones whose faces looked the most troubled were not the Turkic Khagan or the Emperor of Western Rong, but Emperor Hui and Qin Wenzheng. Their expressions were as dark as a pot bottom, filled with a heavy, suppressed anger.
Emperor Hui no longer wished to cast even a single glance at the Emperor of Northern Liang. He barely maintained the courtesy and decorum of a host until the banquet concluded.
Afterward, the imperial family returned to the palace, and the foreign envoys returned to their respective guesthouses, where they were again received by officials of the Honglu Temple, who would also begin preparations for the upcoming wedding of the Crown Prince.
———–
In the capital of Great Xia, at the Tongwen Pavilion where the Turkish delegation was staying.
After a private meeting lasting an hour, the Turkic Khagan, Ashina Qigu, stood up and departed. He then made his way to the quarters of Princess Ashina Mingzhu, the Turkic Ninth Princess.
Princess Ashina Mingzhu had recently woken from a coma. The attending physician had already treated her internal and external injuries and had advised her to rest quietly in bed.
The Khagan ordered the princess’s maid to leave and instructed that the door be closed behind her.
Princess Ashina Mingzhu, the Ninth Princess of the Turks, was in excruciating pain. Her eyes were wide open, staring at the top of the tent as tears streamed down the corners of her eyes, her silent sobs echoing in the quiet room.
Ashina Qigu, the Khagan of the Turks, frowned and stood in the room, addressing his sister.
“Mingzhu, your leg will heal with time. After recovery, it will only be a slight limp when you walk…”
“Limp, you mean?” Ashina Mingzhu interrupted him bitterly, her tears still flowing down her face, her tone laced with sarcasm.
Ashina Qigu fell silent for a moment, letting out a soft sigh before continuing.
“Northern Liang may be about to form a marriage alliance with Great Xia. Even if the alliance fails, Northern Liang will still establish formal relations with Great Xia. This is extremely disadvantageous for both the Turks and Western Rong.”
At this point, Ashina Mingzhu wasn’t in the mood to listen to any political matters. What did it matter to her? She had lost her ability to walk properly. She had been maimed.
Ashina Qigu pressed on, “Therefore, the Turks and Western Rong must strengthen their cooperation, and the time for action is now.”
“I’ve already discussed this with Emperor Jiang of Western Rong. The Turks and Western Rong will form a marriage alliance.”
At this, Ashina Mingzhu’s dazed expression finally shifted as she processed his words. A marriage alliance?
She turned her head in disbelief and stared at Ashina Qigu.
“You want me to marry into the alliance?”
Ashina Qigu nodded.
“Jiang Shang is dead, and Emperor Jiang’s youngest son is only ten years old. I…” Ashina Mingzhu suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes widening in shock.
“You want me to marry Emperor Jiang of Western Rong?”
How she hoped to hear her brother deny it, but her hopes were dashed.
Ashina Qigu spoke with resolve, “You are the only unmarried princess of the Turkic people, and you are the most suitable for this alliance.”
“Emperor Jiang still has his empress, but you would become the most honored and beloved concubine of Emperor Jiang.”
Ashina Mingzhu was so shocked by this news that she cried out sharply, “You want me to become a concubine of Emperor Jiang? The concubine of Emperor Jiang of Western Rong?”
“Brother, Khagan, even Qin Yan knows that Great Xia’s princesses are not to be taken as concubines. How can I, a proud princess of the Turks, become a concubine to an old man?”
Ashina Qigu was displeased with his sister’s reaction and spoke in a cold tone, “Mingzhu, you must understand that the Turks have no choice now, and neither do you.”
After saying these words, Ashina Qigu stepped out of the room.
“Ah!”
A sharp scream echoed, followed by Ashina Mingzhu, her face contorted in rage, sweeping the tray beside the bed to the floor. The medicine bowl shattered on impact, spilling thick, black medicinal broth across the floor, filling the room with a bitter scent.
“Why! Why!”
————-
At the Emperor’s study in the Imperial City.
“Feng Zhan, did you already know that Xiao Qian from Northern Liang was coming to Great Xia to propose marriage?”
Emperor Hui shouted angrily at his son, Taizi Feng Zhan.
Seeing Feng Zhan still leisurely sipping his tea, Emperor Hui’s temper flared even more. He slammed his palm heavily on the imperial desk.
“Marriage alliance? Absolutely impossible!”
Feng Zhan slowly put down his white jade teacup, which was carved with a dragon design. He glanced at the Emperor, whose face was flushed red with anger from the fit.
“Imperial Father, do you not want Great Xia to ally with Northern Liang, or is it that you don’t want someone from the Shen family to be married off?”
Emperor Hui, whose secret thoughts had been exposed by his own son, became furious and shouted at Feng Zhan, “Feng Zhan, is this how you speak to your father?”
Feng Zhan signaled the chief eunuch, Li Fuquan, to bring Emperor Hui a fresh cup of tea. The imperial study fell into a brief silence.
———-
Emperor Hui picked up the teacup and drank it in one go.
The clear, refreshing tea slid down his throat, soothing the shock and anger he had felt when he first heard about Northern Liang Emperor Xiao Qian’s proposal to marry Shen Shiying.
As the tea began to calm him, Emperor Hui’s mind gradually cleared. He quickly started sorting through his thoughts.
The Northern Liang Emperor had proposed a marriage alliance with Great Xia, but the one he sought to marry was not a Great Xia princess, but rather a woman who had been previously married and already borne a child, a daughter from the noble Shen family.
Emperor Hui did not doubt that, during the years when Shen Shiying had been absent from the capital, she must have had a deep connection with the Northern Liang Emperor, Xiao Qian.
And yet, Emperor Hui had missed out on more than a decade of Shen Shiying’s life. Now, the only thing he could do was vent his frustration on his son, who had been privy to the information ahead of time.
Feng Zhan saw that his imperial father, who was nearly blinded by rage, seemed to have calmed down a little and spoke in a deep voice, “Though the Northern Liang Emperor proposed a marriage alliance with Great Xia, in fact, he specifically wants to marry the daughter of the Shen family, not a princess from the imperial family.”
“Given the Northern Liang Emperor’s way of doing things, whether the Great Xia imperial family cooperates or not doesn’t matter much.”
“Moreover, Miss Shen has already agreed to the proposal.”
———-
Emperor Hui, who had been about to erupt in anger again, was interrupted by Feng Zhan, “Miss Shen is currently in Shou’an Palace.”
“And the reason she went there, it is said, is because the incident of Miss Shen’s fall and disappearance years ago was actually orchestrated by someone from Shou’an Palace.”
Emperor Hui’s eyes widened in shock. He had no idea this was the case.
Feng Zhan continued, “That explains why Miss Shen spent the next ten years living away from home in exile, while the Duke of Zhenguo endured the humiliation and continued to serve the Great Xia.”
“If you, Imperial Father, have other intentions toward Miss Shen, you should consider this: would Miss Shen agree? And would the Duke of Zhenguo agree?”
Emperor Hui was both angry and embarrassed, caught in his son’s pointed words.
But Feng Zhan’s reasoning left him with no way to refute it.
Emperor Hui was still struggling to recover from the shock of what he had just learned.
The Empress Dowager had once ordered the assassination of Shen Shiying?
————–
Feng Zhan took a small sip of tea and continued, “At present, Great Xia’s borders are unstable. Over the years, the Turks and Western Rong have repeatedly tested Great Xia’s defenses, and not long ago, the Turks even massacred a border town on the northern border.”
“And the arrogant attitude displayed by the Turks and Western Rong at the recent banquet is a clear sign of their intentions.”
“A war between Great Xia, the Turks, and Western Rong is only a matter of time.”
“If Great Xia were to form a marriage alliance with Northern Liang, it would bring nothing but benefits, without any downsides.”
“Should this marriage be finalized, it is better to act sooner rather than later.”
“This point, Imperial Father, you should understand.”
———-
In the imperial city, within the Forbidden Palace, at Shou’an Palace.
Empress Dowager Xiao reclined on a soft couch, her hands, covered in armor and worn with age, gently caressing the white cat curled up in her lap.
Her narrowed eyes turned toward the woman sitting in a large chair in the warm pavilion, and for a moment, her mind seemed to wander, as though she had traveled back in time to more than a decade ago.
Despite the many years that had passed, Shen Shiying’s beauty remained unchanged, as if time had not touched her, while the Empress Dowager herself had aged and grown frail.
After Shen Shiying took her seat, she did not engage in any pleasantries. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the Empress Dowager and went straight to the point, “Why did you want me dead all those years ago, Empress Dowager?”
After learning that Shen Shiying had wiped out the Huayue Tower, Empress Dowager Xiao had anticipated that this day would come. She was not surprised that Shen Shiying had figured out that the incident had something to do with her.
For an entire tea session, Empress Dowager Xiao remained silent. Her gaze was unfocused as if she had fallen into some distant memory.
Shen Shiying did not speak again. She stood up and walked out with firm steps.
Once outside the warm pavilion, Shen Shiying let out a long, deep breath. She could feel the strong scent of decay emanating from Empress Dowager Xiao.
The Empress Dowager was truly getting old.
Years ago, Shen Shiying and Empress Dowager Xiao had shared a bond that could even be described as a friendship across generations.
But Empress Dowager Xiao was first and foremost a politician, a true product of the imperial court.
Though the Empress Dowager had said nothing, Shen Shiying could still sense the unspoken truths.
They were all karmic debts.
——
After Shen Shiying left, Empress Dowager Xiao remained in the same position for a long while, motionless.
Why had she insisted on Shen Shiying’s death back then?
If she could do it all over again, Empress Dowager Xiao would make the same choice she had made all those years ago.
The current Emperor was the son personally raised by Empress Dowager Xiao, and she, being adept at reading people’s hearts, knew full well her son’s secret inclinations.
From the time he was still a prince, the Emperor had always been infatuated with Shen Shiying.
Even after the rumors of Shen Shiying’s discord with her husband, Prime Minister Qin Wenzheng, had spread, the Emperor had once considered bringing Shen Shiying into the palace.
But Empress Dowager Xiao could not allow such a scandal to taint the imperial family.
Taking a minister’s wife would have been a stain that the Emperor could never wash away.
At that time, Empress Dowager Xiao had indeed considered Shen Shiying as a possible candidate for the Emperor’s Empress, but Shen Shiying’s background was a problem. Backed by the powerful and influential Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, she could never bear the heir to the throne.
Once Shen Shiying had married, she could no longer be connected to the imperial family. There could be no scandal within the imperial court, and this was the Empress Dowager’s bottom line.
Shen Shiying had to die, to remove any future threats.
Now that Shen Shiying had returned to the capital and had even divorced Prime Minister Qin, Empress Dowager Xiao suspected that the Emperor was once again planning to pursue her.
Empress Dowager Xiao closed her eyes as if finally feeling some weariness.
She had grown old, and no longer had the strength or will to control everything. The younger generation could do as they pleased.
———-
As Shen Shiying exited from Shou’an Palace, she ran into Qin Yan, who had been waiting for her.
“Oh, were you afraid I wouldn’t come out?” Shen Shiying smiled at Qin Yan.
Qin Yan didn’t respond but simply gestured for Shen Shiying to take another sedan chair. The mother and daughter left the palace in the same carriage.
When they reached Shenwu Gate, Qin Yan and Shen Shiying got out of their sedan chair and prepared to board the carriage. Just ahead, they happened to encounter the matriarch of the Qin family, the Old Madam of the Prime Minister Qin Mansion, who had just been sent out of the palace by the palace maid of the Imperial Concubine Shu’s Chengqian Palace.
The attendants from Chengqian Palace greeted Qin Yan, saying, “Greetings, Your Highness Taizifei.”
At the sound, the Qin matriarch, who was just turning to leave, looked over and upon seeing Shen Shiying and Qin Yan, her expression immediately soured, her face long and severe.
Qin Yan raised her hand and gestured for the attendants to rise, then prepared to leave with Shen Shiying.
The moment Old Madam Qin saw the usual haughty, condescending demeanor of this mother-daughter pair, her anger immediately flared, and she shot up with a scornful retort, “Shen Shiying, you’re a woman who has divorced! How dare you continue to show yourself publicly? Do you not know that any decent family’s daughter would stay in the house and never show herself to the world? Haven’t the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion taught you any manners?”
“You’ve come out to embarrass yourself, like a woman no one wants, only hoping some widower might take pity and marry you…”
Before she could finish, a shadow swiftly passed by, and with a loud slap, a resounding slap sent Old Madam Qin crashing to the ground.
Old Madam Qin instinctively covered half of her face with one hand as she collapsed to the floor, dazed and stunned. Her mouth hung open as she stared blankly ahead.
The attendants from Chengqian Palace quickly rushed over to help her sit up. When they saw the damage, they gasped in shock. Half of her face was swollen to an unnatural size, blood dripped from the corner of her lips, and a few of her teeth had fallen out when she tried to speak.
The palace servants cried out in alarm, “Someone, quickly! There’s an assassin!”
The Imperial Guard stationed at Shenwu Gate rushed over in response to the commotion. However, seeing that Taizifei was present, they didn’t move hastily, unsure of what had just happened, and refrained from taking any action.
The man in black who had struck Old Madam Qin earlier approached Shen Shiying with a respectful bow.
“Lady Shen,” he greeted.
Shen Shiying immediately recognized him as one of the secret guards.
“Oh? He’s here?” she thought, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
———-
At this moment, a luxurious yet understated carriage pulled up not far away. The curtains were lifted by a large, well-defined hand, and a man dressed in a dark robe with intricate golden dragon embroidery stepped out. His mature, handsome features exuded a commanding presence as he strode toward them.
Shen Shiying smiled, standing still with a composed demeanor.
Qin Yan’s brows twitched, it was really him.
The Emperor of Northern Liang, with his imposing air, approached Shen Shiying, lightly pinched her cheek, and then turned his gaze coldly toward Old Madam Qin, who had just been knocked to the ground by the secret guard. His eyes were icy as he spoke, “The Empress of Northern Liang will not tolerate such disrespect from you.”
Old Madam Qin and the palace servants from Chengqian Palace were stunned.
“What Northern Liang? What Empress?”
At that moment, a group of palace servants, led by Li Fuquan, the Chief Eunuch who served directly beside the Emperor, quickly walked out from Shenwu Gate.
Li Fuquan raised a scroll of imperial edicts and first bowed toward the Taizifei, “Taizifei.”
He then turned to the Emperor of Northern Liang and also bowed, “Your Majesty, Emperor of Northern Liang.”
With the edict held in both hands, he read aloud in a clear voice, “By the order of His Majesty, the Emperor of Great Xia, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, Shen Shiying, is hereby conferred the title of Princess Huayang. Tomorrow, at the Fengtian Hall, she shall receive the golden seal and undergo the official ceremony of her coronation.”
“Furthermore, the Empire of Great Xia and the Empire of Northern Liang have agreed to a marriage alliance. The Emperor of Northern Liang is granted permission to marry Princess Huayang, Shen Shiying, as his Empress.”
The crowd!
This announcement, delivered from Shenwu Gate, rapidly spread throughout the capital city.
Shen Shiying of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion was now Princess Huayang?
Princess Huayang would become the Empress of Northern Liang?
Shen Shiying had become the Empress of Northern Liang!