After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

As the carriage drove out of the side gate, Shen Jingque was squatting in the cracks of the artificial rock behind the moon gate, munching on osmanthus cake, watching the carriage disappear into the morning light.

She swallowed the last bite and patted the crumbs off her hands.

"Second brother, who are those people?"

Xiao Changqi stood behind her, closed his golden fan, and his expression was unusually cold.

"The people in the palace are likely to face great danger on this trip."

Shen Jingque rolled her eyes, but her expression wasn't particularly serious.

According to the original timeline, Xiao Mingyue is far from the point where something bad will happen. This trip to the palace is at most a game of witty banter, and she will be fine.

But her father was different.

In the original book, Shen Yan was just a plot device; the author never wrote any storyline about him entering the palace. Now, he's essentially deviated from the original script.

A character without the protection of the plot who enters a dangerous situation is like a fish on a chopping board, in a precarious predicament.

Shen Jingque tilted her head back.

"Second brother, I'm worried about my father. Let's go ask the eldest young master if he has any way to find out anything."

Xiao Changqi nodded, scooped her up from behind the artificial rockery and tucked her under his arm, then strode towards Yingzhu Garden.

It's all Daddy's fault!

Ever since he brought her back to Xiling Residence like that last time, Xiao Changqi has been following suit, practically using her as a punching bag!

"Put me down! I have legs!"

"By the time you get to Yingzhu Garden with your short legs, it will be dark. Stop talking nonsense."

In Yingzhu Garden, Xiao Changgeng's wheelchair was parked in front of his desk, and he was flipping through a secret report on silk.

After listening to Xiao Changqi's brief account of what had happened, he put down the secret report and called out towards the door.

"Xuan Qi".

The black-clad guards emerged from behind the pillars and knelt on one knee.

"Order the people in the palace to keep a close eye on the movements in Yanhe Hall, and report any unusual activity immediately."

Xuan Qi accepted the order and disappeared into the bamboo shadows in a flash.

Shen Jingque squatted beside the desk, holding onto the chair legs with both hands, and looked up at Xiao Changgeng.

"Young Master, they won't do anything to my father, will they?"

Xiao Changgeng glanced at her.

"His adoptive mother took him there. Do you think she would have someone harm him?"

Shen Jingque thought for a moment, then shrank her neck.

Indeed, Xiao Mingyue dares to trample on even the emperor's dignity. Anyone who tries to harm her people is asking for trouble.

"But what if the emperor turns against us? He was just rebuked by his adoptive mother in court, and today he was refused an imperial edict. He's lost all face and dignity. Can he tolerate that?"

Xiao Changqi clicked his tongue beside him.

"Que'er is right. The emperor is as petty as a pinhole and holds grudges."

Xiao Changgeng did not answer their questions. Instead, he pulled out another secret report from the hidden compartment, glanced at it, and pursed his thin lips.

"If the emperor wants to verify the authenticity of the marriage certificate, he will summon Scholar Zhou from the Hanlin Academy."

Shen Jingque pricked up her ears.

Who is Scholar Zhou?

"Zhou Chongwen, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, was a veteran official of the previous emperor's reign and had been in charge of palace documents and archives for more than 30 years."

Xiao Changgeng closed the secret report.

"Every imperial edict and every handwritten decree of the late emperor was reviewed and filed by him. When it comes to identifying the late emperor's handwriting and seal, no one in the entire court can surpass him."

Shen Jingque's eyes darted around twice.

"Then who does he work for?"

Xiao Changgeng glanced at her, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.

"I am no one's man. However, I once uncovered a wrongful case in which the victim was his son."

He paused, then added a sentence.

"However, the imperial decree from the godmother was genuine, so there's no need to worry too much about that."

Shen Jingque felt half relieved.

Xiao Changqi was shaking his leg beside him, and the golden fan was banging loudly on his knee.

"So we're just going to wait and do nothing?"

"wait."

Xiao Changgeng picked up his vermilion pen and continued reviewing official documents. "The news from the palace will arrive no later than noon."

……

Inside the Yanhe Hall, the emperor of the Dayong Dynasty sat on the dragon throne behind the imperial desk.

Xiao Chengyu held the vermilion brush in mid-air, with a half-finished folding paper spread out in front of him, the ink not yet dry.

He was in a good mood.

Last night, he had already imagined Xiao Mingyue's expression when she received the imperial decree to marry him.

Is it restraint? Or is it fury?

Regardless of the reason, it means that she finally bowed her head before imperial power.

Hurried footsteps could be heard outside the palace gate.

Zhou Lianhai strode in, his back bent, and knelt down on the gold-brick floor with his forehead touching the ground.

"Well, has the Imperial Sister received the decree?"

Zhou Lianhai reported everything that happened at the Princess's residence, from refusing the imperial decree to showing the marriage certificate bestowed by the late emperor, and to the fact that Shen Yan's name had already been written on the marriage certificate.

"What?"

Xiao Chengyu stood up, slamming his vermilion brush onto the imperial desk, splattering half of the memorial with vermilion ink.

"When did Father Emperor leave her an imperial edict bestowing marriage upon her? I have never heard of such a thing!"

Zhou Lianhai's forehead was pressed against the floor tiles, and he dared not breathe too loudly.

He paced back and forth in the hall a few times, then suddenly stopped.

The late emperor did not mention this matter before his death, and none of the officials knew about it.

If this marriage certificate truly exists, why was it hidden until today before being revealed?

If it's true, then Xiao Mingyue has been holding back for many years, saving it for today as a trump card.

Either it's a forgery, or she has the audacity to use the late emperor's name to her advantage.

Regardless of which one, he must publicly verify the truth.

Xiao Chengyu clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"Go, invite the Empress Dowager to move to Yanhe Hall, and then summon Scholar Zhou from the Hanlin Academy. He served the Emperor for forty years during the late Emperor's reign, and he can tell at a glance whether the late Emperor's jade seal is real or fake."

"I want to see what this so-called imperial edict from the late emperor is all about!"

When the Empress Dowager received the news, she was worshipping Buddha in the Buddhist hall.

After hearing the eunuch's report, her fingers, which were moving the prayer beads, paused slightly, and a glint of light flashed in her cloudy old eyes.

"Understood, I'll be right there."

She stood up and, supported by her nanny, walked outside. As she passed under the corridor, she paused for a moment in the sunlight and glanced back at the wisps of sandalwood smoke rising from the Buddhist hall.

"Xiao Mingyue, you've kept it all hidden for so long."

Inside the Yanhe Hall, the scent of ambergris was so strong it seemed to hang heavy over everyone's heads.

Emperor Xiao Chengyu sat upright behind his desk, his face so somber it seemed to drip water, his fingers tapping the desk surface with a dull, resonant sound.

Supported by her nanny, the Empress Dowager slowly sat down on the phoenix throne on the left, fiddling with her prayer beads, her eyes downcast and her mind at peace, appearing completely calm and composed.

There was a person standing in the hall.

Zhou Chongwen, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, had gray hair but a straight back. His forehead was pressed against the cool gold bricks, and his voice was steady.

"Your subject Zhou Chongwen pays his respects to Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

Xiao Chengyu looked at him intently, his gaze burning.

"Minister Zhou, you served the late emperor for forty years. Do you still recognize his handwriting and seal?"

Zhou Chongwen kowtowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, I know the late Emperor's calligraphy by heart and dare not forget it."

"it is good."

Xiao Chengyu picked up a bright yellow scroll from the imperial desk. It was the marriage certificate of the late emperor that Xiao Mingyue had just sent. It was held by a eunuch and presented to Zhou Chongwen.

"Examine it carefully for me, make sure it's real or fake, and see every word clearly."

Zhou Chongwen raised his head and took the scroll of marriage certificate with both hands.

His fingers trembled slightly, not from fear, but because when his fingertips touched the familiar bright yellow silk, a long-forgotten memory suddenly crashed into his mind.

Forty years ago, he was a young Hanlin compiler. He was summoned by the late emperor for the first time and ordered to copy an imperial edict conferring titles upon the eldest daughter of the emperor.

The late emperor sat opposite him, reviewing memorials and casually testing his knowledge. Finally, as he affixed his personal seal to the edict, he smiled and said, "Minister Zhou, how is my handwriting?"

Zhou Chongwen closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing his surging thoughts.

He slowly unrolled the marriage certificate, examining it inch by inch in the light streaming in from outside the hall.

The texture of the silk, the color of the ink, the woven pattern of the silk thread, and next to the flamboyant calligraphy, a private seal with a gold dragon pattern, and below it, a vermilion joint seal for the Phoenix Pavilion and Luan Terrace.

His gaze lingered on the seal the longest, his fingertips gently tracing the raised lines, as if touching a bygone era.

The hall was eerily quiet.

Only the sound of dripping water, each drop striking a chord in people's hearts.

Xiao Chengyu stared at Zhou Chongwen's face, not missing a single subtle expression.

The Empress Dowager kept her eyes lowered, but slowed down the speed at which she twirled her prayer beads.

After a long while, Zhou Chongwen carefully rolled up the marriage certificate, held it above his head with both hands, and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, this marriage certificate... is indeed written by the late Emperor himself, and the seal is also genuine."

Xiao Chengyu's fingers gripped the edge of the imperial desk tightly, his knuckles turning bluish-white.

The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly froze.

Zhou Chongwen's voice remained steady, yet every word carried immense weight.

"The late emperor's unique brushstrokes with their concealed strokes and turning wrists, the special luster of the ink mixed with pearl powder from the South China Sea, and the cinnabar ratio of the seal of the Phoenix Pavilion... all perfectly match the late emperor's handwriting archives sealed in the Hanlin Academy."

He paused, his voice lowered, but it still reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Based on my forty years of experience serving the late Emperor, I guarantee that this marriage certificate... is absolutely genuine."