The procession of Princess Yonghe traveled swiftly along the official road and arrived in Lingnan after just a few days.
Shen Qingyao had never expected to meet Princess Yonghe under these circumstances and in this place. She felt somewhat pitiful. Therefore, on the day Princess Yonghe entered the city, following Lu Zhao’s advice, she rose early and went to the city gate to welcome Princess Yonghe.
However, what surprised her beyond Princess Yonghe’s arrival was another unexpected person.
From afar, Shen Yushu saw several figures standing at the city gate. Unable to contain himself, he hurriedly swung his riding crop and rushed forward. After days of relentless travel, he appeared dusty and tired, yet his eyes were gentle and determined. Upon turning around, he opened his arms towards Shen Qingyao with a gentle smile on his face.
“Eldest Brother!” Shen Qingyao had never imagined that her own Eldest Brother would be the one escorting Princess Yonghe’s southward journey. Caught off guard, tears welled up in her eyes. Disregarding everything else, she ran towards Shen Yushu, lifting her skirts, and gave him a big hug.
Shen Yushu embraced her gently, patting her on the back teasingly. “Yaoyao, you’ve gained weight. It seems Lu Zhao has been taking good care of you.”
“Eldest Brother, why do you have to tease me as soon as you arrive!” Shen Qingyao playfully hit Shen Yushu on the shoulder. “And why didn’t you send a message in advance? I had no idea you were coming! Luckily, I woke up early today, otherwise I would have missed welcoming you into the city!”
Shen Yushu was puzzled. “But I did send a message!”
He even received a reply from Lu Zhao!
“What?” Shen Qingyao furrowed her brows in confusion, suddenly realizing something. She turned her head to glare at Lu Zhao disapprovingly. So that was why he unexpectedly suggested they come together last night!
Both brother and sister took turns glaring at Lu Zhao, who cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed his nose. “Well, I thought… I wanted to surprise Yaoyao!”
“Hmph! You were just afraid that Yaoyao would pay more attention to me once I arrived, weren’t you?” Shen Yushu scoffed, not mentioning Lu Zhao’s petty jealousy. “If we’re talking about surprises, I was the one who gave her a surprise. What does it have to do with you?”
Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow, glancing at Shen Qingyao’s hand resting on Shen Yushu’s shoulder, finding it rather annoying. He reached out, took her hand, and pulled her back a few steps, saying earnestly, “You’ve been rushing all the way here and haven’t had time to freshen up. Yaoyao just recovered from illness; be careful not to make her relapse.”
…Am I some kind of virus? Shen Yushu rolled his eyes, but he understood that his dusty appearance was not suitable for his sister. He reluctantly withdrew his hand and stood aside.
At that moment, the procession escorting Princess Yonghe finally arrived.
The carriages stopped, and a guard ran up to the most splendid carriage, saying something. It seemed that the princess could not enter the city with her entourage, so they were requesting her to disembark. Seeing this, Shen Qingyao released Lu Zhao’s hand and stood obediently to the side.
For a while, there was no movement from the carriage. Everyone waited patiently until finally, the pearl curtains inside were drawn back. Princess Yonghe, now veiled and dressed in a dark red palace dress embroidered with golden threads, slowly emerged from within. She kept her eyes lowered, carefully stepping down from the carriage. Her usually sharp and proud gaze in the capital now appeared somewhat cold.
The current Princess Yonghe seemed like an empty shell to Shen Qingyao, as if her spirit had departed. To put it in Shen QIngyao’s own words, her eyes were lifeless, her heart dead.
But one could understand—Princess Yonghe had loved Xiao Jing, but he had sent her away, far from her homeland and family, to marry someone she had never met before, facing an entirely unknown future.
Shen Qingyao sighed silently.
As the princess for marriage, she represented Great Liang. As soon as she appeared, whether it was the entourage escorting her or the officials receiving her on this side, all knelt down and praised, “Long live the Princess!”
Only Shen Qingyao, her brother Shen Yushu, and Lu Zhao remained standing.
Shen Qingyao had no such awareness, while Lu Zhao and Shen Yushu had different status and their own special reasons, so they do not have to kneel before a so-called princess. Fortunately, Princess Yonghe herself did not mind. As she calmly acknowledging everyone’s respect, she walked towards the three of them.
She nodded lightly to Lu Zhao. “Young Master Lu, long time no see.” Then she turned to Shen Qingyao and gave Shen Qingyao a gentle smile. “Miss Shen, long time no see.”
Shen Qingyao mechanically returned the greeting, feeling both shocked and a bit scared. To think that Princess Yonghe could smile and greet her like this—it was truly unprecedented. In shock, she even felt a bit apprehensive. She remembered all too well how difficult Princess Yonghe had made things for her in the capital, although Princess Yonghe had never actually harmed her. Back then, Princess Yonghe’s hostility towards her had practically been written on the face.
And now…
Either she has truly changed her stance, no longer making things difficult for Xiao Jing’s sake, or she has learned well how to conceal her thoughts. She might still be helping Xiao Jing, or perhaps she has other motives for greeting Shen Qingyao with such a smiling face…
If it’s the latter possibility… Shen Qingyao shivered, feeling somewhat scared.
“Feeling cold?” Lu Zhao noticed as soon as she moved, tilting his head slightly to look at her.
Shen Qingyao quickly shook her head. It was already July, and they were in the south; how could she feel cold?
Lu Zhao nodded, not saying much, but quietly moved closer to her, under the cover of his sleeves. Once again, he gently took her slightly cool hand and rubbed it in his palm.
The princess has arrived, and everything else has been arranged for the officials below to receive her. Since everyone knows each other well in the capital, there’s no need for further formalities. Princess Yonghe politely declined Shen Qingyao’s invitation to visit Lu’s mansion, instead following the guards into the inn.
“She has changed so much,” Shen Qingyao couldn’t help but sigh with a hint of regret.
Shen Yushu turned around and rubbed her hair, speaking gently, “The King of Nanzhao just happened to choose her. There’s nothing we can do about it, Yaoyao, don’t think too much.”
Shen Qingyao nodded reluctantly, but still couldn’t understand, and couldn’t help asking, “Why does the King of Nanzhao know Princess Yonghe? Why does he insist on her?”
Shen Yushu exchanged a glance with Lu Zhao, who nodded slightly. It wasn’t really a secret, so there was no harm in telling her. Shen Yushu lowered his voice and said, “Actually, Nanzhao has been thinking about marrying into Great Liang for quite some time now. Instead of marrying a princess over, he specified that he must marry a woman from Great Liang.”
“Why?”
“Because the Queen of Nanzhao passed away two years ago,” Shen Yushu said softly.
“Hmm?” Shen Qingyao frowned. What kind of reasoning was this?
Lu Zhao chuckled lightly, patted her, and continued to explain on behalf of Shen Yushu, “The Queen of Nanzhao was married to the King of Nanzhao when he was still a crown prince. They had a very good relationship. After the Queen passed away, the King of Nanzhao married several Great Liang women who resembled the late Queen in appearance, but he was not satisfied. So he thought of the late Queen’s origin as a noblewoman of Great Liang’s royal family, and decided to seek another marriage from the imperial family…”
…Shen Qingyao was speechless for a while. Wasn’t this like a historical drama? She really wanted to ask if the King of Nanzhao was the fourth son named Silang1?
“So… what does this have to do with Princess Yonghe?”
“Because Princess Yonghe resembles the late Queen of Nanzhao the most among all the selected noblewomen.”
In the explanations of these two people, Shen Qingyao gradually understood the complete sequence of events. It turned out that there was indeed some sort of distant sisterly relationship between the late Queen of Nanzhao and Princess Yonghe, and their resemblance was understandable. Before formally submitting the marriage proposal, the King of Nanzhao secretly sent someone to the capital to copy portraits of noblewomen from Great Liang and sent them back for his selection. This way, the unfortunate Princess Yonghe was chosen.
Of course, whether it was unfortunate or deliberately done by Xiao Jing was something worth pondering.
“He even knew to screen in advance; he’s quite rigorous…” Shen Qingyao sneered.
In her heart, the image of the King of Nanzhao was already quite despicable. He claimed to be deep in love, yet engaged in such self-serving behavior of collecting superficial things that moved his heart. It was truly disgusting.
The two men beside her chuckled lightly, understanding this kind of behavior as men, but they were also very disdainful of it.
While they were talking, another group of people came out from the city gate, everyone dressed in blue and white sturdy attire. The one at the front, however, wore a white embroidered python robe over a white background, smiling ostentatiously. Shen Qingyao saw Shen Qinglin who had disguised herself among them, blinked, and understood that this was the delegation from Nanzhao.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” Lu Zhao had seen this person before, while Shen Yushu guessed from his ostentatious python robe that he was the prince of the Nanzhao delegation this time. So both of them bowed at the same time.
Baili Yi, the Prince of Nanzhao, dismounted with a smile and returned the gesture. “Master Lu, who is this…” he said, looking towards Shen Yushu.
Lu Zhao smiled faintly and introduced, “This is Lord Shen Yushu, who is the envoy for this marriage.”
When Baili Yi heard Shen Yushu’s name, he suddenly realized, showing an enlightened expression, and raised his voice, “Shen Yushu! The top scholar in the previous Great Liang’s Imperial Examination! A young talent indeed, a young talent!” He laughed heartily, looking at Shen Yushu’s eyes with a few more appreciative glances. “I didn’t expect that my visit to Great Liang would allow me to meet both champions of the imperial examinations! This trip is not in vain, not in vain at all!”
The two top scholars didn’t react much; they were not people who pursued such empty titles. They remained calm, waiting for Prince Baili Yi to finish his praise. Only then did Lu Zhao look at the people behind him, puzzled, and asked, “Your Highness, who are these…?”
“Oh, about that!” Baili Yi glanced back casually and said, “We heard that the princess arrived today, so we came to pay our respects and see if there’s anything the princess needs assistance with! After all, she will be our future queen!”
As he spoke, Baili Yi unconsciously glanced back again. Shen Qingyao inadvertently followed his gaze toward the group of people. However, in that direction, apart from two maids holding trays, there was only a tall but ordinary-looking guard with a sword.
Was it just her imagination?
Shen Qingyao looked again but didn’t see any issue with the guard, so she stopped paying attention.
Meanwhile, Prince Baili Yi had exchanged pleasantries with the two men several times over. Finally, Shen Yushu said, “The princess has already retired at the inn. If you wish to visit, perhaps another day would be more convenient. It’s not quite appropriate now, especially before the marriage is finalized.”
However, Baili Yi seemed oblivious to Shen Yushu’s hint to leave. He waved his hand and said, “No problem at all! We won’t disturb her! If the princess has retired, I’ll have them go in, leave the items, and then leave! These are gifts specially instructed by the King to be given to the princess!”
Lu Zhao glanced at the items in the attendants’ hands. They were mostly jewelry, but none of them looked new; they seemed to have been used before. Shen Qingyao frowned inwardly. It was obvious whose belongings these were. She hadn’t expected that on their very first day in Lingnan, the King of Nanzhao would use the late Queen’s possessions to humiliate Princess Yonghe.
With the King of Nanzhao mentioned, although Lu Zhao and Shen Yushu were displeased, they had no further reason to obstruct them. They could only grimace and let the people enter the inn.
Shen Qingyao keenly noticed that the guard who should have been outside with his sword intercepted the attendants as they entered, taking the items himself and going in…
She couldn’t help but grab Lu Zhao’s sleeve nervously. That guard didn’t seem so simple after all.
- I’m not sure if this is correct, but this is the only reference I found : The Generals of the Yang Family. It’s a collection of Chinese folklores, the stories recounting the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable bravery of the Yangs as they sacrificed themselves to defend their country from foreign military powers during Chinese Song Dynasty. In this story, the fourth son Yang Yanhui, known as Yang Silang (四郎(Sìláng) literally means fourth son), was forced to marry the princess of the enemy kingdom. ↩︎