Volume 1: The Initial Appearance of Beauty Chapter 4: Northern Jin's Chosen Son

  In the evening, the old aunt of Fengyu Palace sent over a few sets of clothes. Ruochuan casually picked up an outfit that wasn't too dazzling and changed into it. Then she brought Qin Shuyan and Lin Shen, as well as Qinghong, along with her.

  The banquet tonight was to celebrate the victory of General Shen Yu, who had just returned from battle. In addition, there were also welcoming ceremonies for the envoys and hostages from the Northern Jin State. From afar, Ruo Chen finally saw her father, the Emperor, whom she had never seen before. He was around 40 years old, slightly plump, but with a sharp glint in his eyes. Wearing a yellow robe, he looked quite majestic, no wonder Empress Qing had been so devoted to him back then.

  To the right of Long Teng Emperor sat a woman in a phoenix robe, an extraordinary queen with an air of nobility. To his left was a stunning beauty who looked to be in her early twenties, radiant and dazzling. It's said that in recent years, Long Teng Emperor has been favoring a Northern Jin beauty, elevating her to the position of Xian Fei - it must be this woman. Further down sat Lan Guifei, also beautiful and captivating, but ultimately the mother of two teenage children, unable to compete with the younger consorts.

  "General Shen has achieved a great victory over the Northern Jin this time, and has elevated the prestige of our Dragon Ascending Empire. I offer General Shen a toast." The Emperor of Dragon Ascension stood up and raised his wine cup.

  His Highness and the others naturally stood up together, and the young man sitting in the second seat on the left side of the great hall had a handsome appearance and an impressive bearing. Wearing a green military uniform, he raised his cup and said: "I thank Your Majesty for your kindness." Everyone took a sip from their cups before taking their seats again. Yifeng's position was relatively far back, not easily noticeable by others. Yifeng happened to be openly observing the people in the hall.

  "Your Majesty, I also want to toast General Shen with a cup." A clear voice came from several positions to the left of Ruoxuan. Longteng Emperor frowned, "Ruolan, General Shen is a pillar of the country, it's fine if you want to toast him with a cup. You princes and princesses should also toast General Shen with a cup to thank him for his hard work in guarding the border."

  "Your sons etc. have received your orders."

  The Princess Long Ruo Lan stood up with a smile, holding her wine cup to General Shen Yu's table, "General Shen, I toast you." Shen Yu slightly furrowed his brow and raised his cup for a sip, "Thank you, Princess." Seeing him so cold, Long Ruo Lan felt embarrassed and bit her lip as she returned to her seat. Long Ruo Lan inherited her mother's beauty, Empress Lan Gui Fei, and was known as the most beautiful woman in the imperial family. Emperor Long Teng had always doted on her, so even when she lost her manners in front of all the officials in the grand hall, he didn't say anything, just let it pass with a faint remark. The other princes and princesses also collectively offered Shen Yu another cup of wine.

  Before he could even put down his wine, a shrill voice echoed from outside the palace, announcing an imperial edict.

  "The sixth imperial son of Northern Jin, Xuan Yuan Ling Qiu, requests an audience with Your Majesty."

  Long Teng Emperor put down the wine cup in his hand, "Xuan."

  "Announce the arrival of the Sixth Prince of Northern Jin!" Yu Fen frowned, the eunuch's voice was really unpleasant to hear.

  "Princess?" Qin Shuyan whispered from behind her left side. Ruocheng shook his head and didn't speak.

  Before long, several people came in from outside the hall. The one at the front was a young man in white clothes. His sword-like eyebrows and raven-black hair were like clouds. Although he was still young, he had more ruggedness and less elegance than the young men of Longteng Country. The few people following behind him were old and young, with one or two having robust physiques, but they couldn't hide the young man's exceptional temperament at all.

  Bei Jin's hostage Xuan Yuan Ling had met Long Teng Emperor before.

  The young man bowed with neither arrogance nor humility, but did not kneel. Long Teng Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, "Northern Jin's Sixth Prince has just arrived in our country, is it still getting used to?"

  "Everything is fine, thank you for your concern."

  Long Teng nodded and said: "Yes, please sit down. Your Highness can be at ease. Do as you like."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  The seat assigned to the sixth prince of Northern Jin was after all the other princesses, with only one of the eight princesses between him and Ru Chen. The ninth princess was only two years old this year, so she didn't need to attend such a gathering. Such an arrangement would be considered humiliating for a crown prince of a country. The Northern Jin envoys who came with him all had disgruntled expressions on their faces, but the Northern Jin prince sat calmly and quietly drinking wine, which in the eyes of the people of Longteng Country was cowardice, and everyone looked at him with some disdain.

  It won't be long before no one pays attention to the Northern Jin State. It's as if the Northern Jin prince is not a big deal at all. On the contrary, General Shen is still the focus of everyone's attention. As soon as Yu Chen came back to her senses, she saw that everyone had already led the topic to General Shen's marriage. Qing Hong pinched her lightly from behind, and Yu Chen turned around to see Shen Yu bowing down to the ground, saying loudly: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Shen Yu is still young and has no merit in the Dragon State. I don't dare to marry a princess."

  "You're too modest, my dear. Don't tell me that none of my princesses are worthy of your love?" Emperor Longteng chuckled and said. Those who heard him couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

  Shen Yu was taken aback for a moment, then said: "Your Highness is as precious as gold and jade, I am just a humble minister who has been stationed at the border for many years, I dare not be presumptuous."

  "Ah, my dear subject, you worry too much," Long Teng said with a loud laugh. "You are both civil and martial, the pillar of our country. My princess is still young, which one do you think is suitable? I'll arrange the marriage for you first, and it won't be late to get married in a few years." The words had already been spoken to this extent, and refusing again would not be polite. Shen Yu lowered his eyes, lost in thought, unsure of what he was thinking.

  If Dust Heart secretly laughed, the emperor put his own daughter out and let you choose, then it means that even if the princess is a pig head, you have to marry her back home.

  Shen Yu looked towards the direction of the eldest princess with a hint of helplessness. The eldest princess was naturally the most suitable in terms of age, but her temperament made people dare not to take liberties, let alone...the Emperor might not necessarily be pleased if he were to marry the eldest princess. In the end, Shen Yu absent-mindedly pointed towards a small princess who looked very unfamiliar.

  The whole scene was silent.

  The emperor looked at the person Shen Yu was pointing at for half a day before coughing and saying: "Which princess is that?"

  The Empress smiled with satisfaction: "Reply to His Majesty that it is Seventh Princess, Yu Rufeng. She resides in Qingning Palace."

  His face stiffened as he glared at the person in the middle of the hall, he must kill him!

  Long Teng Emperor seemed to have remembered and nodded: "Is it Qing Gui's daughter? Xiao Qi. How old is she this year?"

  "Your Majesty, Little Seventh is six years old now."

  "Hmm... then let's arrange for the Seventh Princess to marry General Shen. Hmm... they'll get married in seven years. The general should be satisfied." Shen Yu looked at the little girl sitting on the throne with no expression, and sighed helplessly in his heart, responding: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

  A dinner party, Yu Xuan finally made it to the end amidst many jealous, resentful and thoughtful gazes. Returning to Qingning Palace, she immediately locked herself in her room, "The princess is unhappy?"

  "Should I be happy?" Yu Fen asked back with a bad tone. She was only six years old and her lifelong marriage had already been decided, wasn't that too excessive?

  "What does the princess want?"

  "Kill Shen Yu!"

  Qing Hong sighed, "Princess, General Shen is known as the number one general of the Dragon Army. Do you think we can kill him without leaving any evidence?" Wu Chen curled his lips, knowing that was a foolish dream. After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand impatiently, "Forget it, there are still seven years to go, let's take our time." Qing Hong shook her head, the princess was indeed young and naive, with General Shen's status and appearance, many princesses and noble ladies would have jumped at the chance to marry him, but she didn't even give him a glance.

  Ru Xuan said: "Don't mention him anymore, let's talk about that Northern Jin prince. Is he the sixth prince of Northern Jin?"

  Light red nodded and said: "Yes, the sixth prince of Beijin Kingdom, Xuan Yuan Ling."

  "How could the Emperor of Northern Jin bear to send such an exceptional prince as a hostage?" Light Red smiled and said, "That Sixth Prince doesn't seem too bad, but his temperament is not great. He's not even comparable to our Southern men who are bold and fierce. It's likely that he has disgraced his ancestors." The royal family of Northern Jin was surnamed Xuan Yuan, and the men in the Xuan Yuan family were mostly strong and overbearing. Someone like Xuan Ling who had been humiliated yet remained silent was truly rare, no wonder people looked down on him. Wu Chen pulled on the small braid by her ear and said lightly, "Is that so?" In her opinion, Xuan Ling wasn't some timid and weak person. Just his calm and composed demeanor in the palace was something that many people couldn't match. Presumably, Long Teng Emperor had also noticed this.

  "Yes. But the Sixth Prince isn't having an easy time either. His birth mother was of humble origin, I heard she was a palace maid by the side of the Northern Jin Emperor, and even after giving birth to the sixth prince, she wasn't favored. This year, the Northern Jin suffered a severe drought and was defeated several times by General Shen, so they had no choice but to send him here as a hostage. Poor eleven-year-old child..."

  "He's only eleven years old?" Yu Chen turned around in surprise. The sixth prince of the Northern Jin looked mature for his age, and his physique was only slightly smaller than that of the eldest prince, so she had thought he was fourteen or fifteen years old. Only eleven years old... it seemed that this sixth prince's abilities needed to be reassessed.

  "Yes," said Qing Hong, "people from the Northern Jin State have always been a bit taller than those from our Longteng State. That Sixth Prince is only eleven years old, but he looks almost as big as the Crown Prince. I heard that the Emperor has decreed that the Sixth Prince of Northern Jin and the princes here will study together." Ruo Chen just smiled and didn't speak. After all, she was a princess of a country, and on the surface, she couldn't be too humiliated. Her father, the emperor, was still very astute, but... how could he have promised her to Shen Yu? Thinking about this, Ruo Chen furrowed her brow again in displeasure.

  Qing Hong served as a gentle attendant, and after Yu Chen finished washing up, she changed into casual clothes and smiled: "The princess is still young, no need to rush to think about these things." Yu Chen nodded and said: "I know, it's just that I don't like the feeling of being labeled by others."

  "What label?" Light Red didn't understand.

  "It's nothing. Just saying. Go find Ruo Cui. Have those people been settled?"

  "Don't worry, Princess. Qin Shuyan and Lin Shan are settled in the outer palace, and several palace maids are on your side." Qing Hong said. Ru Chen walked out while saying, "Check the backgrounds of both Lin Shan and Qin Shuyan."

  Qing Hong smiled and said: "I've already gone to investigate. However, our power is limited inside and outside the palace, I'm afraid we can't find out too much."

  Ru Chen looked up at her, "No need to worry. The Queen Mother is in such a situation in the palace, and you still have a way to lay down so many powerful informants, it's really surprising." Qing Hong was taken aback for a moment, smiled and said: "Your Highness surprises us even more. Please rest assured, I will never do anything that would harm Your Highness or Her Majesty."

  "I believe in you." After these years of observation, Ruo Chen knew that she could trust them. They might be hiding something from her, but for now, they wouldn't harm her.