After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Chapter 108 Imperial Marriage

The wind was very strong on Jingshan Hill, slapping people's faces painfully.

The Hongzhi Emperor turned around, looked down at the Forbidden City, and remained silent for a long time.

Yang Shen stood aside, not daring to utter a sound, his mind filled with unease.

I've said everything I needed to say, why won't you let me leave?

The Hongzhi Emperor suddenly spoke up: "I had a daughter, but she died young. Otherwise, I would really like to make you my son-in-law."

Yang Shen was taken aback and didn't dare to reply.

The Hongzhi Emperor had two sons and one daughter. Apart from Zhu Houzhao, both the son and the daughter died young.

This is why Zhu Houzhao was able to become the most stable crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as he doesn't rebel—and even if he does, the Hongzhi Emperor won't say anything.

The Hongzhi Emperor turned to look at him: "I will arrange a marriage for you."

Yang Shen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "I am still young—"

The Hongzhi Emperor interrupted him: "I have decreed this marriage; you have no choice but to agree!"

Yang Shen felt helpless, thinking to himself, "That evil old society, arranged marriages are a killer!"

The Hongzhi Emperor slowly said, "I have a niece, the daughter of the Grand Princess Renhe, named Qi Wanning, who is fifteen years old this year. Some time ago, Princess Renhe mentioned that it was time to propose marriage, and I have decided, it's you!"

Yang Shen thought to himself, "Isn't it a loss to marry the emperor's niece?"

According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor's daughters were called princesses, the daughters of princes were called county princesses, and the daughters of dukes were called county princesses.

The horses that correspond to all have official titles, but the emperor's niece has no title at all.

Besides, I'm only fifteen years old!

In modern times, that's still considered a middle school student!

He quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I am still young and do not wish to start a family."

The Hongzhi Emperor stared intently at him and said, "That won't do! You're too clever, kid. I won't feel at ease if someone else benefits from you. I have no daughters, so I'll marry my niece to you. You can then enter the military ranks as a relative of the emperor. If you want to continue your studies, that's fine too. After all, you're not a son-in-law of the emperor, so it won't affect your studies or taking the imperial examinations."

Yang Shen felt uneasy, mainly because he had never met the other party before.

If you marry an ugly woman and can't even break off the engagement, how will you live together in the future?

He steeled himself and gritted his teeth, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me, but I am already engaged."

The Hongzhi Emperor frowned: "When did this happen? Who was the other party?"

Yang Shen said, "Just a few days ago, the other party was a woman from a family of doctors. She was the one who discovered the aconite in the elixir."

Emperor Hongzhi's plans were disrupted. He paused for a moment, then said, "My niece is not a princess after all. You can take a concubine. That female doctor can be a concubine!"

Yang Shen shook his head and said, "Your Majesty's decree is my duty. But things must be done in an orderly fashion, right? Otherwise, everything will be in chaos, and Your Majesty wouldn't want those around you to break the rules, would you?"

The Hongzhi Emperor was immediately speechless.

He thought for a long time, then frowned and said, "We can't let Wan Ning become a concubine, can we? Where would that leave my face?"

Yang Shen readily agreed, saying, "It seems that I and Miss Wanning are not destined to be together."

The Hongzhi Emperor stared at him, his gaze blazing: "You're not lying to me, are you? What is your father's status? How could he agree to you marrying a commoner woman?"

Yang Shen calmly replied, "My father won't interfere in my marriage."

The implication is that even my father doesn't interfere, so why should you?

The Hongzhi Emperor still didn't believe it: "Bring that female doctor to me, I want to see her myself."

Yang Shen hesitated, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate? She doesn't know the rules, and I'm afraid she might offend His Majesty."

"No, I have to see him!"

The Hongzhi Emperor took a very firm stance.

Yang Shen had no choice but to reply, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded in satisfaction: "Bring her to the Qianqing Palace at 9:00 AM tomorrow."

Yang Shen's heart pounded with anxiety, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Your subject takes his leave!"

The Hongzhi Emperor waved his hand: "Go."

Yang Shen bowed and took his leave, then headed down the mountain.

He didn't even have time to go home; he found a horse-drawn carriage at the shop and headed straight for the development zone.

Wang Erche, driving the cart, asked, "Master, why are you in such a hurry to go back?"

Yang Shen casually replied, "To get a wife."

"what?"

"What do you mean 'huh'?! You're in trouble!"

"Yes, yes—Giddy up!"

The carriage entered the trading company and stopped in front of the clinic.

Yang Shen jumped out of the car, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to go inside.

Liu Qing was taking the pulse of an old woman. When he came in, she only glanced up at him before continuing to examine her.

Yang Shen wasn't in a hurry and sat down on a bench nearby to wait.

Out of boredom, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

I hadn't paid much attention before, but looking at her today, Miss Liu Qing is quite pretty with delicate features.

It's just that he has a really difficult temper, and he's capable of poisoning people and throwing darts.

If I actually married her, what if we had a little argument someday?

Thinking of this, Yang Shen shuddered.

But then I thought, no, no, I'm just asking her to cover for me, it's not like we're really getting married!

Liu Qing had already seen the old woman off. He got up, washed his hands, and asked without looking up, "What do you need?"

After hesitating for a long time, Yang Shen finally managed to ask, "How old are you?"

Liu Qing paused, looked up at him, her eyes full of surprise: "Why are you asking this?"

Yang Shen scratched his head: "It's nothing. I was just asking."

Liu Qing stared at him for a moment, then slowly said, "Sixteen."

Yang Shen nodded, muttering to himself, "One year older than me, not bad."

Liu Qing's eyebrows shot up: "What do you mean, 'okay'? What do you mean?"

Yang Shen quickly waved his hand, "It's nothing, it's nothing!"

"that----"

He paused, then mustered his courage and asked, "You're not married, are you?"

Liu Qing's face flushed red instantly, both embarrassed and annoyed: "Why are you asking this?"

Left with no other option, Yang Shen reluctantly asked, "How about we get engaged?"

Liu Qing was stunned.

A moment later, she asked angrily, "What exactly do you want to do?!"

Yang Shen hurriedly said, "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand! I just ran into a little trouble. Someone arranged a marriage for me, and I don't want to agree, but I can't refuse, so I can only ask you for help. Just tell everyone that we're engaged. Once this storm has passed, just find some excuse to call off the engagement, and you can go back to what you were doing, as if this never happened!"

Liu Qing's face darkened: "Are you crazy?!"

After saying that, he turned around, picked up the pestle, and pounded the mortar hard, making a thumping sound.

Yang Shen said with a forced smile, "We're all brothers, please help me out!"

Liu Qing raised the pestle in his hand and angrily said, "Who's your buddy?"

Yang Shen shrank back in fright and said with a forced smile, "Okay, okay, not buddy, just friend, is that alright?"

Liu Qing ignored him and continued pounding the medicine, the pounding sound growing louder.

Yang Shen inwardly groaned. The Hongzhi Emperor had already made a boast that he would meet with the person tomorrow.

If Liu Qing does not cooperate, he will be guilty of deceiving the emperor.

He forced himself to lean closer and said, "Just pretend to get engaged, put on a show. Once this storm passes, we can just find some excuse to call it off. It's not a real wedding, so you won't lose out, right?"

Liu Qing paused in her movements, turned her head and stared at him with eyes that could kill.

"What do you take me for? You think you can just get engaged whenever you want and call it off whenever you want? Let me tell you, I'm not that kind of person!"

Yang Shen quickly waved his hand: "I know, I know, there's no other way—"

Liu Qing sneered and shoved the pestle into the mortar: "You want to get engaged to me, is that it? It's simple. I swore an oath at my master's grave: whoever avenges my master for me in this lifetime, I will marry. Otherwise, I will never marry!"

Yang Shen was taken aback: "How did your master die?"

Liu Qing turned her face away: "None of your business!"

Yang Shen said, "Didn't you want revenge? You have to tell me, who are you going to take revenge on?"

Liu Qing turned her head, smiling faintly, and said, "Forget about it. That person is a master of poisons, and he has someone backing him up. As for you—you should just give up!"

Yang Shen retorted, "You want to compare backing, huh? I'm the Crown Prince's study companion. Who do you think has a stronger backing than me?"

Liu Qing paused for a moment, her eyes filled with complex emotions, as if she had forgotten the man's identity.

She remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Fine, what harm is there in telling you!"

"Listen carefully, my enemy's surname is Qian, and his given name is Qian Xuzi!"