MCSCPM -Chapter 345 Prince Yi’s Reputation

Chu Helian’s emotions were extremely complicated. For a long time, he did not say a single word.

Eunuch Sun watched anxiously and asked in a low voice, “Your Majesty, are you alright? Should this servant—”

Chu Helian raised his hand to stop him, took a deep breath, and said coldly to Eunuch Sun, “Eunuch Sun, immediately convey my decree. Order the Ministry of Rites to choose a wedding date at once and have Shangguan Jiaoran married over.”

Eunuch Sun was naturally shocked upon hearing this. Knowing full well that Prince Yi could not make a woman conceive, yet still ordering Shangguan Jiaoran to marry him—this was clearly condemning her to a living widowhood.

“Your Majesty, this matter has already spread far and wide. It must have reached the Shangguan residence as well. If an imperial decree of marriage is issued now, General Shangguan may—”

Who would have thought that Chu Helian would hesitate not at all? He said, “My decree has already been issued, and General Shangguan has already received it. Does he now intend to defy the imperial order?”

“That’s not what this servant meant. But Prince Yi’s current condition—shouldn’t it be better to wait until his health is properly adjusted before—”

“No need. I’ve made my decision. Issue the decree now and have them marry immediately.”

“Yes. This servant will go to the Ministry of Rites at once.” Eunuch Sun dared not say another word, fearing the emperor’s wrath.

Soon, the imperial decree reached the Shangguan residence. The Ministry of Rites had already drafted all the documents—auspicious dates, wedding arrangements, every detail clearly written in the memorial.

Prince Yi’s affair had long been the talk of the entire city. Shangguan Qingyun naturally knew, and so did Shangguan Jiaoran.

Shangguan Jiaoran never imagined that the medicine she herself had administered would actually hasten her own marriage. Prince Yi was clearly ill, yet the emperor still forced her to marry him—wasn’t this an outright humiliation?

“I won’t marry him. No matter what, I will not marry Prince Yi.” The moment Shangguan Jiaoran saw the documents delivered from the palace, she lashed out with her whip, smashing everything in sight.

Shangguan Qingyun stood nearby, watching, his heart burning with anger as well. As a dignified great general, he had already made so many concessions before. And now they were still pressing forward relentlessly, forcing his daughter to marry such a man.

The palace eunuch watched from the side. He knew Shangguan Jiaoran’s temper well and did not dare say much.

He glanced at Shangguan Qingyun, then stepped forward with a flattering smile. “General Shangguan, His Majesty’s decree has already been issued. Please accept it graciously. His Majesty asked this servant to convey his congratulations to you.”

“Congratulations? On what grounds? His Majesty clearly knows Prince Yi is ill, yet still orders my daughter to marry him—what does this mean?” Shangguan Qingyun tried his best to suppress his anger, though his face had already turned livid.

“General Shangguan, you’ve misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood?”

“His Majesty said that those are merely rumors, not true at all. Prince Yi is perfectly fine and has no illness. His Majesty feared that the general might believe the rumors, so he specifically had this servant bring these words, so that you may rest assured and marry your daughter to Prince Yi.” The eunuch spoke with a smile—his tone soothing, yet his words were clearly lies.

General Shangguan looked at the eunuch with suspicion and asked, “But everyone outside is saying this—could it all be false?”

“General, you are overthinking it. How could His Majesty allow the general’s daughter to suffer? Rest assured—Prince Yi will be perfectly fine.”

“Since the eunuch says so, it must be His Majesty’s words. If I don’t believe it, then I would be doubting His Majesty.”

“It’s good that the general understands.”

Though Shangguan Qingyun still harbored doubts, he thought it over—how could Prince Yi suddenly be like this? And the emperor would not lie. In the end, he could only accept it and said to the eunuch, “In that case, please return to the palace and report to His Majesty.”

“Of course, of course.” The eunuch smiled.

With that, he immediately returned to the palace.

However, Shangguan Jiaoran was unwilling to accept it. No matter what, she refused this marriage. She raised her whip again, but Shangguan Qingyun stopped her.

“Ran’er, even if you tear the general’s residence apart, it will be useless. The emperor has already bestowed the marriage.” Shangguan Qingyun could only try his best to persuade his daughter.

But Shangguan Jiaoran was stubborn by nature—this he knew well.

“Father, what exactly did I do wrong? Why does His Majesty insist on marrying me to Prince Yi? And now that Prince Yi is ill, how can I marry him?”

“The palace eunuch just said—it’s all rumors, not trustworthy.”

“How can it be untrustworthy? It’s true. The entire capital knows. His Majesty is just afraid something might change, so he’s rushing to marry me off.”

“Ran’er, whether it’s true or not, once the emperor issues a decree, if we defy it, the entire Shangguan family will suffer,” Shangguan Qingyun said.

Shangguan Jiaoran’s eyes filled with tears, yet she remained stubborn, breathing heavily. “Father, you want me to marry a man like that? I won’t! I absolutely won’t! A man like Prince Yi is despicable and shameless.”

“How can you say that? What if someone hears you?”

“Let them hear! I want Prince Yi to know that a sick man like him—even if he were the only man left in the world, no woman would marry him!” Shangguan Jiaoran was so angry that her face twisted with rage. She stormed back to her courtyard.

Once there, she didn’t hold back at all. Her whip lashed viciously at the flowers and plants around her. The once-beautiful garden was soon littered with torn petals everywhere.

“Prince Yi, I curse you to die quickly! What terrible luck must I, Shangguan Jiaoran, have to run into you and suffer this kind of humiliation?”

“You want this young lady to marry you? You must be dreaming! Even with an imperial decree, so what? I won’t marry you—never! I’d rather die!”

…

She cursed as she whipped furiously, seething with anger.

Yun’er watched her vent her rage. She more or less knew what it was about, but she didn’t dare step forward to console her, fearing the whip might land on her instead—it would hurt terribly.

---

Meanwhile, the emperor’s decree had also arrived at Prince Yi’s residence.

Prince Yi, too, was unwilling to marry Shangguan Jiaoran. Such a shrew—bringing her home would only mean his own suffering.

Thanks to the medicine Yin Qingyue had prescribed, the itching on his body had eased considerably, though it was not completely gone.

His mood could only be described as a mix of bitterness and confusion. He didn’t like Shangguan Jiaoran, yet the emperor was forcing him to marry her—clearly making things difficult for him.

Now, he missed Hai Qingshuang even more. He thought that he couldn’t just sit and wait, doing nothing.

Suddenly, a bold idea sprouted in his mind.

Why not break into the Grand Tutor’s residence and force himself on Hai Qingshuang? If she became pregnant, his illness would be disproved. And he would get Hai Qingshuang as well—killing two birds with one stone.

“Hai Qingshuang, don’t blame me. I truly want you. If I can have you, I’m willing to do anything,” Chu Yifeng said.

He had already made up his mind to go find Hai Qingshuang.

But what Chu Yifeng didn’t know was that every move he made was already within Yin Qingyue’s calculations. She had long foreseen that he would go to Hai Qingshuang. Naturally, she would never let him succeed.

Before Chu Yifeng even went to the Hai residence, Yin Qingyue had already added another medicine to the drugs she gave him—one that would make him see Shangguan Jiaoran as Hai Qingshuang. This, too, was to make the next steps easier.

Yin Qingyue said to Chu Jingcheng, “I need you to send someone to the Shangguan residence right now and secretly deliver this note to Shangguan Jiaoran. No matter what, you must make sure she comes out.” With that, Yin Qingyue handed the note to Chu Jingcheng.

Chu Jingcheng opened it. It imitated Prince Yi’s handwriting, inviting Shangguan Jiaoran to meet in the Heavenly Suite of the inn to discuss matters, promising that he would definitely not marry her.

“If Shangguan Jiaoran sees that Prince Yi says he won’t marry her, she’ll definitely go,” Chu Jingcheng said.

“That’s exactly what I want. Otherwise, how could I bring this marriage between her and Prince Yi together?” Yin Qingyue smiled.

“It seems you’ve already prepared everything. Next, are you going to the Hai residence? Or will you bring Hai Qingshuang out? We don’t know whether Prince Yi might secretly go there first—if that happens, it’ll be troublesome.”

“You’re right. I’ll go there now.” Yin Qingyue was indeed worried—if Prince Yi arrived before her, Hai Qingshuang would likely fall into Chu Yifeng’s hands again.

Reminded by Chu Jingcheng, Yin Qingyue went straight to the Hai residence.

Upon arrival, a servant led her to Hai Qingshuang’s courtyard.

“Miss Yin? Why are you here?” Hai Qingshuang asked in surprise.

“I’ve come because something urgent has happened,” Yin Qingyue said solemnly.

Hai Qingshuang pulled her inside the room, dismissed the maids in the courtyard, and then asked, “What exactly happened? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“You must leave the Hai residence with me immediately.”

“Leave? What for?”

“Prince Yi may come looking for you tonight. There’s no guarantee something like that day won’t happen again. So you have to leave with me—you can’t stay here.”

Hai Qingshuang still didn’t quite understand. In her own home, would Prince Yi really dare break in? She asked doubtfully, “Miss Yin, please explain clearly. Why would Prince Yi come to my residence?”

Yin Qingyue didn’t have time for a detailed explanation and could only summarize quickly. “Listen carefully. Prince Yi doesn’t want to marry Shangguan Jiaoran, so he plans to force you to submit to him. He may come tonight, so I need to take you away.”

“How could it be like this? Chu Yifeng—you could really be so shameless?” Hai Qingshuang said angrily.

“There’s no time. Get ready—we’re leaving.” Yin Qingyue pulled her to go, then instructed her, “Also, tell your maid to stay in the room. If Prince Yi really comes, have her go find you at the Heavenly Suite of the Water Sky Inn.”

“Go to the inn? Are we going there now?”

“Of course not. The one going there… is Shangguan Jiaoran.”

With that explanation, Hai Qingshuang finally understood—this was all to “matchmake” Shangguan Jiaoran and Prince Yi.

Soon, Hai Qingshuang called her maid over and explained everything to her.

Cui’er looked at her mistress with fear and trembling and asked, “Miss, are you really going out? What if it’s like last time…”