By the end of the Chen hour (around 9 a.m.), the main hall of the Shen Mansion still reeked of the acrid smell of burnt candle stubs.The humiliation of Xiao Jingyuan being dragged away by the Imperial Guards still lingered in the air. The broken jade shards on the gold brick floor had been swept into a pile, yet they still glinted with a cold light.
Shen Xiuqi and Madam Luo sat side by side on the main seats, their faces as pale as paper; the clan elders huddled around them, too afraid to breathe loudly.
Shen Weiwan stood in the center of the hall, dressed in plain white with dark hair loose. A circle of white gauze still wrapped around her fingertips—it was a cut she'd gotten from the edge of the imperial desk the night before, when she'd entered the palace to see the Emperor.
Xiao Jue stood with his hands behind his back at the top of the steps. The hidden black patterns on his python-patterned robe shimmered like a dormant dragon.
His gaze swept over everyone in the hall, finally settling on Master Shen's face. His voice was deep and steady:
"Master Shen, I've met Weiwan before. She's a fine young woman. Since Jingyuan is unworthy of her, I've come personally to ask for her hand in marriage."
This single sentence hit the room like a ten-thousand-jin boulder dropped into a deep lake, sending up a towering wave of shock.
The hall fell completely silent in an instant.
The teacup in Shen Xiuqi's hand crashed to the ground with a "clang," shattering into pieces.
Madam Luo grabbed the back of her chair so tightly that her knuckles turned blue.
Several clan elders gaped, their beards trembling wildly, like fish out of water.
Outside the door, Old Zhao the steward dropped his broom onto the green bricks with a "slap."
Shen Weiwan was also stunned.
She had thought Xiao Jue might stand up for her, but never once had she imagined he would use the words "ask for her hand in marriage."
This was the Emperor's own brother, the Regent—he commanded the Northern Inspection Department, and his word could decide life or death.
And she was an "unlucky woman" whose engagement had been broken off.
The first to recover was the wife of the second branch (Shen Weiwan's second aunt).
She dropped to her knees with a thud, her voice trembling: "Your Highness speaks with the weight of gold! The Shen family… the Shen family is overwhelmed with awe!"
The third-branch granduncle, however, quietly pinched his own thigh. The sharp pain made him gasp, confirming this was not a dream.
Shen Xiuqi took a deep breath and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness's kindness is profound. This subject… this subject is deeply flattered. But my daughter…"
"Master Shen," Xiao Jue raised his hand, cutting him off. "This is not a spur-of-the-moment decision."
His gaze turned to Shen Weiwan, his tone softening slightly: "Three years ago, on a snowy night in the northern border, I once took shelter at the Shen family's villa. In the Shen family's library, someone annotated The Six Secret Teachings (a classic of military strategy) and drew maps of eighteen hidden forts along the border. That person—was it you?"
Shen Weiwan's fingertips tightened slightly, but she met his gaze calmly: "It was just some random scribbles by this subject's daughter, not worth mentioning."
The corner of Xiao Jue's lips lifted faintly: "Random scribbles that helped me defeat the Xiongnu? You call that 'not worth mentioning'?"
An uproar broke out in the hall.
Shen Xiuqi stared at his daughter in astonishment, as if seeing her for the first time.
Xiao Jue took one step closer, his voice lowered—yet loud enough for everyone to hear:
"I've investigated the old case of the Shen family. The so-called 'colluding with enemies' is full of loopholes. The person behind it, taking advantage of Jingyuan's broken engagement, intends to wipe out the Shen family root and branch. By marrying Weiwan, I am both repaying a favor, protecting the Shen family, and blocking the Empress Dowager's attempts to plant her own people (in my household)."
For that last sentence, his gaze flickered toward the outside of the hall—where the spy sent by the Empress Dowager stood, his face now turning pale and green.
Shen Weiwan's heart jolted.
She understood: this was a deal, but also a lifeline.
She lifted her eyes and looked at her parents.
Shen Xiuqi's eyes were bloodshot, but he slowly nodded.
Madam Luo covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face—but this time, they were tears of joyful relief.
Xiao Jue turned around, facing the outside of the hall.
"I, Xiao Jue, Prince of Jing'an, hereby request to marry Weiwan, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, as my principal wife. The three betrothal letters and six wedding rituals shall be carried out, and a date for the wedding shall be chosen. Heaven and earth shall be witnesses; sun and moon shall testify."
As his words fell, he unfastened a black jade pendant carved with dragon patterns from his waist and held it out with both hands.
This was a gift bestowed by the late Emperor, a token symbolizing the principal wife of the Prince of Jing'an.
Shen Weiwan took a deep breath, knelt slightly, and accepted it with both hands.
The jade pendant was cold, yet it burned so hot that her fingertips trembled.
Outside the hall, the crowd of onlookers erupted into a commotion.
"Heavens! Prince Jing'an is asking for the Shen girl's hand? Has the Shen family's ancestral grave sprouted green smoke (a sign of great fortune)?"
"The Third Prince just broke off the engagement, and now his royal uncle is taking over—this drama is more exciting than a storybook!"
Someone even quietly set up a bet: "Bet on whether the Shen girl dares to marry him! Odds of ten to one!"
The Liu family's carriage stopped at the alley entrance. Liu Qingyao lifted the curtain, her face as pale as paper.
She gripped the curtain so tightly that her nails broke, yet she didn't notice.
"Why… why does she get to have this!"
Xiao Jingyuan, confined to his Prince's Mansion, heard the news and immediately overturned his desk.
"Has my royal uncle gone mad? That was my fiancée!"
But he could only watch helplessly, powerless to do anything.
Late at night, the lights in Shen Weiwan's embroidery chamber remained bright.
Atan helped Shen Weiwan remove her hairpins, muttering softly: "Miss, are you really going to marry him? That's the Emperor's brother—his seniority is terrifyingly high."
Shen Weiwan looked at her reflection in the mirror, her voice calm: "High seniority is exactly what will keep Xiao Jingyuan in line.
His overwhelming power is what will protect the Shen family.
Besides—"
Her fingertips brushed the black jade dragon pendant, her eyes growing deep and dark, "Prince Jing'an is no ordinary man (lit. 'not a creature confined to a pond'—meaning he has great ambition and potential)."
The next morning, in the Cining Palace (Empress Dowager's residence).
The Empress Dowager smashed her favorite lotus-patterned teacup: "How dare Prince Jing'an publicly ask for her hand in marriage? Does he have no respect for this Dowager at all!"
The palace maids and eunuchs knelt on the ground, filling the room.
After a long silence, the Empress Dowager sneered: "He wants to marry her? Fine. This Dowager will see if that girl has the life to enter the Prince of Jing'an's mansion!"
Beside her phoenix couch, a bowl of ginseng soup spilled quietly. Hidden in the fragrance of the medicinal herbs was a faint, imperceptible fishy sweetness (hinting at poison).
In the Shen family's ancestral hall.
Shen Weiwan had knelt all night; when she stood up, her knees were black and blue.
Her grandmother leaned on her dragon-headed cane, her voice hoarse: "Wan'er, Prince Jing'an is a man with unfathomable depths. Have you really thought this through?"
Shen Weiwan raised her eyes, her gaze clear and resolute: "Grandmother, only in deep waters can you catch big fish.
The Shen family has no way left to retreat—we might as well take this gamble."
Outside the window, dark clouds pressed down on the city, and thunder rumbled.
She clenched the jade pendant tightly, her knuckles turning white.
A storm was coming, and she already stood at its center.