The cruel little princess

Although the Emperor was reluctant to let his son marry Shen Youyou as his principal wife, he had previously promised his son that he could choose whoever he liked. So, despite his reluctance, the Emperor urged the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department to complete all the procedures as soon as possible, as the betrothal gift was to be issued on June 12th.

At the same time, the Fifth Prince, Prince Rui, received a marriage decree personally written by the Emperor. When the decree was delivered to the Left Prime Minister's residence, Zhang Yuyan had already received news from her aunt that a marriage decree would be issued soon, and she was told to prepare in advance.

Therefore, when the eunuch Wang who delivered the imperial edict arrived at the Left Prime Minister's residence, Prime Minister Zhang led Zhang Yuyan and the entire family to kneel in front of the table prepared in advance, waiting to receive the imperial edict.

The eunuch Wang, who was announcing the decree, opened it and read aloud in a shrill voice: "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees: We have heard that Zhang Yuyan, the daughter of Left Prime Minister Zhang Qixian, is skilled and generous, gentle and kind, and of outstanding character and appearance. The Empress and I are very pleased to hear this. The Fifth Prince is now twenty-one years old and is of marriageable age. It is time to choose a virtuous woman to be his match. Zhang Yuyan is still unmarried, and she is a perfect match for the Fifth Prince. To complete this beautiful marriage, you are betrothed to the Fifth Prince as his princess. All ceremonies will be handled jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Director of the Imperial Observatory, and an auspicious date will be chosen for the wedding. This is announced to the public, both at home and abroad! This is decreed!"

"Your humble servant (your humble servant) receives the imperial decree! Thank you for your grace! Long live the emperor!" Prime Minister Zhang and Zhang Yuyan both received the decree with great joy.

Prime Minister Zhang gave the butler a look, and the butler understood, stepped forward, and quietly slipped a purse into Eunuch Wang's hand. "Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch. This is my gift, consider it a treat for tea!"

Eunuch Wang casually pinched the purse. It didn't have any hard objects, but rather something thin. It must be a silver note! Surely a wealthy family like the Left Prime Minister wouldn't give too little in the way of reward money. Eunuch Wang was so happy that auspicious words flowed out of his mouth like they were free!

Based on the birth dates of Prince Rui and Zhang Yuyan, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated three auspicious dates for the wedding: August 28th, October 27th, and the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month. However, Concubine Shu, in an effort to highlight her son's preeminence, deliberately chose August 28th, the closest to Prince Jin's wedding date.

Humph! So what if the Ninth Prince has decided to get married on September 18th? My son's wedding will be earlier! What's more, that Rui'an County Lady is infertile! After my son gets married, he will definitely have two children within three years, and three within five years! When that bitch Defei was alive, she always competed with me for favor and suppressed me in every way! Now that she is dead, there is no need to mention it anymore! This time, I finally vented my anger on my son's marriage! My son is simply better than you, the Ninth Prince!

At this moment, Concubine Shu was in an exceptionally good mood, as if her entire body was enveloped by a sense of joy. She was filled with anticipation and excitement, for with only two months remaining until August 28th, time was running out! Therefore, Concubine Shu would inquire with the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory daily about the progress of the matter.

Soon, the day arrived, June 12th. This was the day when His Royal Highness Prince Jin and Prince Heng went to the Shen Mansion to propose marriage! Accompanied by the deafening sound of gongs and drums outside, Prince Heng led a group of attendants, carrying boxes of betrothal gifts, and slowly walked into the gates of the Shen Mansion. It was said that the betrothal gifts had just entered the Shen Mansion gate, and the other side had not yet been completely moved out of Prince Jin's Mansion! This shows that His Royal Highness Prince Jin attached great importance to this marriage, and almost half of the property of Prince Jin's Mansion was used for the betrothal.

People gathered on the street to watch the excitement, all the while chanting auspicious words like "a talented man and a beautiful woman," "a match made in heaven," "a long-lasting marriage," and "a son soon!" As His Royal Highness Prince Jin listened to these blessings, the corners of his mouth curved ever higher, unable to contain his inner joy! He even directly ordered An Yi, "Well said! Reward!"

So An Yi led many guards to carry out baskets of copper coins and scattered them directly from Prince Jin's Mansion all the way to the Shen Mansion!

Such extravagance attracted the attention of passersby, who stopped to watch, their eyes filled with surprise and envy. The copper coins fell on the street like raindrops, making a crisp sound, as if it were a magnificent performance.

Such an arrogant behavior shocked the people who had been squatting on the ground picking up copper coins! Compliments came out in strings like a string of coins in their hands.

"Whose young master is this?" someone exclaimed, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart as he watched the endless stream of copper coins being thrown out.

"Isn't this His Royal Highness Prince Jin? What a generous gesture!" Another person also followed suit in admiration.

"I heard that His Royal Highness Prince Jin is going to the Shen Mansion to propose marriage today!" someone said excitedly.

Upon hearing this news, passersby were filled with excitement and began to discuss the matter. His Royal Highness Prince Jin was handsome and elegant, becoming the focus of everyone's attention. His appearance set the entire capital city ablaze, and countless young girls were captivated by him.

Meanwhile, His Royal Highness Prince Jin was riding on his mount, Treading Snow, full of vigor and elegance! He had charmed countless young ladies in the capital!

He was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with an elegant demeanor, riding a snow-white horse, like an immortal descending from the earth. His face was filled with confidence and joy, which made people fall in love with him.

Because the time between the betrothal and the marriage proposal was too long, General Shen set off for the border after the first month of the lunar year and the wedding date was selected. He would return as soon as possible in early September when the wedding was about to take place.

In a hurry, they had to make the necessary arrangements. After all, the border couldn't be left unguarded for long, so General Shen and his son had to remain at the border while the betrothal gifts were being presented. Shen Youyou was the only mistress left in the mansion, but as a young woman, it was impossible for her to just come forward and accept her betrothal gifts! Therefore, the officials from the Ministry of Rites brought by His Royal Highness Prince Jin worked with Zeng Bo to sort out and accept the gifts and compile a list.

They were busy counting the betrothal gifts all day, the hectic scene like keeping a running account. Finally, after nightfall and complete darkness, they finished counting all the betrothal gifts sent by His Royal Highness Prince Jin, registered them one by one, and put them into the warehouse.

This betrothal offer also left people with some hot topics to talk about, such as the fact that a prince like His Royal Highness Prince Jin was so generous and open to the people, and it was the first time a young lady got married in a sedan chair! You know, other princes would close the door when betrothing, so how could they let everyone in to watch like His Royal Highness Prince Jin did?

For example, the betrothal gifts from His Royal Highness Prince Jin are truly exceptional! Take, for example, that one-meter-tall coral, a vibrant red and translucent! It gleams brilliantly in the sunlight, dazzling! And then there are those oriental pearls the size of a baby's fist! Each one is plump and round, shimmering and translucent! These are treasures the average person would never see in their lifetime! This truly is an eye-opener!

Everyone watched and exclaimed in admiration, "His Royal Highness Prince Jin is truly wealthy!" "These things must be worth quite a bit of money!" Some even began to fantasize about how wonderful it would be if they could possess these treasures. However, they also knew that this was just a daydream; after all, these treasures belonged to Shen Youyou and His Royal Highness Prince Jin.