Chapter 7: Huai City
The Emperor rubbed his temples. Tonight's palace banquet was, without question, the most excruciating affair since he had taken the throne.
He looked at Shen Heng, his tone softening into something genuinely pleading.
"Heng'er, this isn't something you should trouble yourself over. If your brother gets wind of it, I won't have the face to answer to him. We'll discuss this another time—"
"Father."
Shen Heng rose and walked to the center of the hall. She bowed to the throne with impeccable form.
"There is something I wish to say. I do not know if it is my place to speak."
The Emperor studied her, silent for a beat, then nodded.
Shen Heng straightened, turned to face the assembled ministers and the Northern Frontier delegation. Her gaze was clear and unflinching.
"When I was five, civil war broke out in Da Zhao. My parents died on the battlefield resisting the northern rebels."
A sudden hush fell over the hall.
Her voice was not loud, yet it carried through the vast chamber, reaching every ear.
"The words 'the Shen family is loyal unto death'—I did not coin them. The world gave them to us. But my parents did not die for those four characters. They died so the people of Da Zhao would not be slaughtered. So Da Zhao would not be ravaged by war."
She turned toward the two princesses.
The First Princess and the Second Princess had already lifted their heads, staring at her, dazed.
She drew a soft breath, then raised her eyes to the Emperor on his throne.
"Father, I am not only Princess Anyang. I am a daughter of the Shen family. The blood of the Shens runs in my veins, and I must bear the responsibilities that come with it."
"Da Zhao and the Northern Frontier need not be enemies. A marriage alliance between our nations is a strategy for peace. If one marriage can spare the people of both nations a single drop of blood, can save a single soldier at the border—then it is worth it."
"Shen Heng is willing to give everything for Da Zhao, unto death."
"I beg Father to grant this."
Silence filled the hall.
The civil officials who usually could not stop talking had nothing to say.
Even the fierce warriors of the Northern Frontier delegation, who had been glaring moments before, let the anger drain from their faces. They watched the frail girl quietly.
Xiao Zhengting's gaze rested on Shen Heng's back. His brows drew together slightly. Whatever he felt, it did not show.
She stood there like a lit candle.
A small flame—but bright enough that no one could look away.
The Emperor watched her, his throat working. He opened his mouth, and for a long moment nothing came out.
"Heng'er... have you thought this through?"
Shen Heng smiled.
"I have."
The Emperor closed his eyes.
The silence stretched. When he opened them again, his voice was hoarse.
"Very well. I... grant it."
He drew a deep breath.
"Since you are willing to go—have you decided which of the Northern Frontier princes you wish to marry? The Great Khan's sons are all brave and capable men—"
"I want to marry the Imperial Preceptor."
Shen Heng's tone was light, almost airy. She even had the leisure to turn her head and flash Xun Zhuo a dazzling smile.
It was bright as March sunlight—nothing like the impassioned speech of a moment ago, yet just as impossible to look away from.
"Pfft—"
The guard beside Xun Zhuo spat out the mouthful of wine he had just swallowed.
The Emperor's ears rang. He could not believe what he had heard. His voice cracked as he asked again.
"What did you say? You want to marry who?"
Shen Heng repeated it, beaming.
"I want to marry the Northern Frontier's Imperial Preceptor, Xun Zhuo."
The Emperor felt dizzy, his qi surging the wrong way. He did not dare look at Xun Zhuo's face.
Dead silence fell once more.
Every expression in the hall froze.
The ministers gaped. The two princesses stared wide-eyed. Xiao Zhengting nearly dropped his wine cup.
Even the musicians in the corner forgot to play. The Taiji Hall was so quiet you could hear the night wind brushing past the eaves outside.
Xun Zhuo's hand paused around his cup. For a rare instant, surprise flickered in his eyes.
He lifted his lashes slightly, looking at her there in the center of the hall. There was a trace of scrutiny in his gaze—as though he were reassessing something he had thought he already understood.
His guards behind him had no such composure.
Especially the burly, bearded man on the left. His tiger eyes went wide, his glare cutting toward Shen Heng like a blade. He looked ready to charge across the hall and cut her down where she stood.
Xun Zhuo raised a hand.
It was the slightest motion—long fingers lifting, his sleeve tracing half an arc through the air.
The bearded man stopped dead. The killing intent did not leave him, but he advanced no further.
Xun Zhuo raised his eyes to Shen Heng. They were calm as deep water, betraying nothing.
Candlelight caught in their depths, faint flecks of gold flickering in and out like stars over a winter snowfield.
He looked at her a moment, then spoke.
His voice was as flat and cool as ever—neither angry nor moved.
"Princess Anyang understands the greater good. The Northern Frontier is grateful beyond words."
A slight pause.
"But the Princess need not decide on a husband so hastily today. The princes of the Northern Frontier are all brave and honorable men. Once the Princess arrives in the North, she may spend time with them and choose then. The Northern Frontier does not break its promises."
"The Princess will find a worthy husband in the North."
His tone was light, his bearing distant—like a god reaching a hand down from the clouds to set her gently, aloofly, in the place where she belonged.
He deflected her proposal without effort, leaving no opening, giving her room to retreat and Da Zhao its dignity.
From beginning to end, his expression did not shift in the slightest.
Shen Heng smiled. She did not argue—only bowed her head in a graceful, composed salute.
"The Imperial Preceptor is right. I spoke out of turn."
Then she lifted her head and looked at him again, her smile open and unbothered, as if to say—
—We have time. Let's see how this plays out.
Xun Zhuo withdrew his gaze.
He picked up his cup again. As he lowered his head to drink, his brow moved, almost imperceptibly.
Noise surged back into the hall.
The Emperor hurried to smooth things over. Music and dance resumed. Amid the clinking of cups, the earlier awkwardness seemed buried.
Shen Heng smiled faintly, did not press further, and turned back to her seat.
A ding sounded in her mind.
[System: Host, please note. Current favorability of target Xun Zhuo: 0.]
Shen Heng lifted her cup and took a sip. In her mind, she replied,
"Noted. One step at a time."