"Back to Your Majesty, on the day of Your Majesty's banquet of the generals of the Western Army of Zhenzhen, Weichen met Princess Yuyao who was chasing the snow rabbit in the West Garden of Jiying Palace......" Shen maintained a bowing posture and told the truth about the situation of meeting Princess Yuyao.

Before this, Emperor Chengde had summoned the palace maids, guards, and chamberlains who had witnessed the meeting of the two that day, and asked them one by one, but there was no discrepancy in what Shen Zhu said.

It has been confirmed before and after that the encounter between Shen Zhu and Yu Yao was indeed accidental, and Shen Zhu did not have anything abrupt and unruly. Emperor Chengde felt even more uncomfortable in his heart. If Shen entered the palace nervously and fearfully, he would have shrunk to the point where he looked like he had a clear conscience and could help me, which was really hateful.

"Yu Yao asked me to marry you, are you willing?" Emperor Chengde asked helplessly.

"Back to Your Majesty, Weichen is unwilling."

Shen Zhu's answer was unexpected, making Emperor Chengde suspect that he had heard it wrong, and he couldn't help but lean over and ask, "What did you say?" ”

"Weichen is unwilling to marry the princess." Shen replied calmly.

"Don't want to?!" Emperor Chengde frowned.

"Your Majesty just asked for the opinion of Weichen, and Weichen can only answer truthfully, otherwise it will be a crime of deception."

Although Emperor Chengde was extremely reluctant to marry Yu Yao to the Shen family, he was still a little angry when he heard Shen Zhu's refusal: "My daughter has a respectable status, beauty and intelligence, and countless admirers. ”

"There was a rule during the Taizu period of my dynasty: those who are still princesses cannot enter the court as officials. Weichen has been studying hard for more than ten years, in order to serve the court with a glorious lintel, if he begs for vanity and gives up his ambition because he is favored by the princess, what is the difference between him and the disciples in the market? ”

"Isn't marrying a princess a glorious lintel? Isn't it to serve the imperial court for my Nanyue royal family?! ”

Shen Zhu still replied calmly: "Weichen is only willing to make meritorious contributions with what he has learned in his life, and live up to my Shen family's family motto of serving the country and keeping the will of Yongkang Zhaomin." ”

Emperor Chengde weighed it in his heart, and finally said: "What a 'serve the country and keep the will, Yongkang Zhaomin', I hope you will always remember what you said today!" ”

The king of a country, he is helpless to take such a downright and progressive composure. No matter how good Shen is, if he doesn't love the princess, he is not the best candidate for the emperor's son-in-law. The daughter he raised in the palm of his hand since he was a child must marry a husband who is willing to dedicate her to his heart.

In desperation, Emperor Chengde gave Shen an ancient inkstone and sent him out of the palace.

"Yu Yao, did you hear what you said clearly? It's not that my father doesn't agree this time. ”

After Shen left, Emperor Chengde got up and came behind the screen, but saw that Yu Yao, who was hiding behind the screen, had already cried silently.

"There are many good sons and men in South Vietnam, but is he the only one? Father will choose a wishful gentleman for you who is a thousand times better than him......"

Yu Yao was heartbroken, but just shook her head and said nothing.

"Yu Yao, you and him are just a one-sided relationship, not a mutual relationship. Even if your father forced him to marry you, he will only resent you in the future for hindering his good future, and there will be no happiness between you. In this world, there are always things that cannot be desired, even the father, and it is impossible for everything to be successful......"

Emperor Chengde patiently appeased her for a while, and when he saw that she was just crying, he ordered Xu Guifei to take her back to Yanqing Palace to rest first.

During this period, there were also officials urging the marriage of the two countries, and Emperor Chengde was annoyed, but he was helpless.

Xu Guifei did not want Yu Yao to marry far away, so Emperor Chengde ordered someone to sort out the unmarried sons of the family, the new imperial court, and the new nobles in the court, and selected more than a dozen of them with the best conditions, and sent them to Xu Guifei for selection, and Xu Guifei finally selected Chen Ping, the newly sealed chariot general of the Zhenxi Army.

Emperor Chengde went to inspect and determined that this person's family background was innocent, the important thing is that he saw the princess in Jiying Hall that day, fell in love with the princess at first sight, and was willing to give up his military position for the princess.

Princess Yuyao gave a decree on marriage, and the marriage between Nanyue and Beilin attracted criticism from all the ministers.

Before the matter was submitted to the court, Zongzheng Temple had already prepared a roster of marriageable women in the royal family according to the instructions of Emperor Chengde, and the first place in the recommended list was Yingluo, the daughter of the old ninth prince, Yingluo was two years older than Yuyao, which was the age of marriage. The old ninth prince is the ninth son of Emperor Yonghe, the ninth emperor uncle of Emperor Chengde, and his daughter is the most noble clan daughter in the current royal family except for Yu Yao.

As soon as Gu Weifu, the secretary of Zongzheng Temple, proposed Yingluo, Zheng Rong, the secretary of Guanglu Temple, reported: "It's not proper, the county lord of Yingluo has already promised to be married to the new champion." ”

"The county lord of Yingluo promised to marry the new champion of the new department, why didn't Zongzheng Temple receive the report jade?" Gu Wei looked surprised.

Zheng Rong turned sideways and said: "The preparation of the jade should be in preparation, the day before yesterday, the Nine Princes came to Guanglu Temple to invite the imperial chef to host the wedding banquet, and the ministers also received an invitation. ”

Gu Wei reluctantly brought up the daughter of Emperor Chengde's sister Princess Baoshou County Lord Yizhu, and another informed minister came out to report that Yizhu had been engaged to the young son of the general of the auxiliary state, and the two families had just exchanged betrothed gifts, and they had not had time to report the jade.

Needless to say, Emperor Chengde understood what was going on. With the experience of Jin Yao and Qin Xili, these marriageable clan girls were in a hurry to get engaged, for fear of being selected to make peace. Emperor Chengde didn't want Yu Yao to marry in a hurry and gave the marriage in a hurry, these clan relatives were just going up and down, and he couldn't open his mouth to blame.

The ministers also knew that on the one hand, they despised the selfishness of these royal clans, and on the other hand, they were obsessed with the benefits that peace could bring to South Vietnam. At the time of the court discussion, the official Li Qingning came out and said: "Since there is no suitable candidate among the royal family, the minister suggests that the marriageable noblewoman should be selected among the members of the third rank or above, and the status of the daughter of the clan should be given to marry on her behalf." ”

As soon as Li Qingning spoke, all the ministers nodded frequently. Eating the king's fortune and being loyal to the king, now there is no suitable candidate for the royal family, and it is natural for the courtiers to share the worries of the king. In the vertical arch hall, after the ministers whispered for a while, Zhou Qingyun, the secretary of Honglu Temple, stepped forward and said: "The minister has a suitable candidate to recommend." ”

"Let's see." Emperor Chengde nodded.

"The county lord of Hejing in Shu Xiang's mansion is the same age as the county lord of Yingluo, has not yet been married, and is favored by the emperor, and has long been a clan daughter......"

Shu Shi'an, who was at the head of the hundred officials, was stunned when he heard this. He looked at Emperor Chengde with an anxious face, and Emperor Chengde happened to turn his gaze as well, and when the two met their eyes, Shu Shi'an hurriedly lowered his head.

Zhou Qingyun's proposal was unanimously approved by the ministers, who believed that the county lord of Hejing was the best candidate in terms of family background, appearance, and character, and Shu Shi'an was the head of the hundred officials.

"Shu Qing, what do you think?" Emperor Chengde asked.

Last time, Emperor Chengde gave Shu Mei a marriage with Shu Wang Ling Zhao as a concubine, he originally agreed, but later took the initiative to regret the marriage. This time, at the moment of national interests, how can he open his mouth to refuse? Shu Shi'an twisted his eyebrows and bit his lip for a long time, but finally had to bow his head and answer: "The minister obeys the order." ”

As a result, Emperor Chengde was relieved, and announced in court that Shu Mei, the county lord of Hejing, would be the lord of Jiamu County, and he would be a daughter of the clan and pro-Bei.

After going down to the court, Shu Shi'an struggled all the way, repeatedly composing words in his mind about the righteousness of the family and the country, and the emperor's grace, before lifting the curtain and entering his wife Liang's bedroom, and informing her about the relationship.

Liang was silent when he heard this. With Shu Shi'an's righteousness of the family and country, how can she, as the first-class wife of the imperial court, mention the private affairs of her family again.

The couple looked at each other for a long time, and Liang had to nod and say, "Okay, Ah Mei, I'll persuade you." ”