Chapter 265: Engagement (1)

This was Xu Yuan’s first time meeting the sharp-eyed woman before him… in either of his lives.

Judging by the Emperor’s strange attitude, Xu Yuan had already guessed that he probably knew the other party in this marriage alliance. Most likely, she was a commandery princess or an imperial princess.

As it turned out, he did know her, but the acquaintance was entirely one-sided. He knew her only from the official bulletins and confidential reports concerning the northern frontier.

Wuyuan, the First Martial Princess, Li Qingyan. Well, now Xu Yuan understood why that old man, the Emperor, had been wearing such a peculiar expression earlier.

The Mu Zhiyun he remembered had been the very picture of a sweet, obedient girl. The sort who would jump out of her skin if you poked her from behind.

But Li Qingyan? Even that deranged lunatic Yuan Hao had probably killed only a fraction as many people as she had. Who the hell would dare marry a woman like this?

Xu Yuan drew a deep breath and asked, “I thought you were fighting a war on the northern frontier?”

Li Qingyan narrowed her phoenix eyes. Her voice carried a faint, husky rasp that was surprisingly pleasant to the ear. “The war in the north has not been going well. Because of the weather, both sides have temporarily fallen into a stalemate.”

“The weather?” Xu Yuan asked deliberately.

Suspecting nothing, Li Qingyan explained in detail, “A blizzard struck. The worst in a century. Thousands of miles have been buried beneath ice and snow. Even our flying scout beasts cannot see through it, and the soldiers cannot leave their camps. For now, we can only pull back and hold our positions.”

Xu Yuan had already learned some of this beforehand, but he still nodded as though hearing it for the first time. Then he asked, “In that case, the situation in the north is still critical. Why return to the capital at a time like this?”

“Naturally, I returned to the Imperial Capital because I have important business to attend to.”

“Important business? What business? This engagement?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Tsk.” Xu Yuan clicked his tongue. Gazing at her strikingly beautiful face, he smiled. “We may not know each other very well yet, but there’s almost no chance this marriage will be called off. In other words, this young master is going to be your husband. You still can’t tell me?”

Li Qingyan turned to face him. Her red lips were full and lustrous as she smiled, enunciating each word clearly. “Very well. Once we are officially engaged, I will immediately tell you why I returned to the capital.”

Xu Yuan fell silent. Then he suddenly asked, “You don’t have any objections to this marriage?”

“Why would I?” Li Qingyan gave him a peculiar look. “I will have to take a prince consort sooner or later. You are handsome, and I do not find you unpleasant. That is enough.”

Another woman who only covets my body... Xu Yuan shook his head with a smile. Only then did he notice how tall the beautiful, heroic-looking woman was.

She had to be around five-foot-nine. With those long, slender legs and a pair of high heels, she could probably look him straight in the eye.

Their gazes met. Xu Yuan did not look away. Instead, he asked with interest, “What I mean is, don’t you care about my reputation? Or my personality?”

Li Qingyan stared at him for two seconds. “Why should I care about something as worthless and insubstantial as reputation? As for your personality, I do not particularly care.”

Xu Yuan had no response.

Li Qingyan gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Enough. There’s no need for all that nonsense. Xu Changtian, tell me what you think of me. This marriage is unlikely to be called off.”

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered. “What exactly does Your Highness mean by what I think of you?”

Li Qingyan pointed toward the path along the lakeshore, indicating that they should walk as they spoke. “Anything. My temperament, appearance, figure… whatever you are dissatisfied with, say it plainly. I will consider whether I can change it.”

Once again, Xu Yuan found himself at a loss for words. In his previous life, the old man had arranged a few perfunctory blind dates for him. Marriage was business. It was better for both parties to lay everything out clearly from the start.

Still, he had not expected Li Qingyan to possess such remarkable self-awareness.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan slowly began, “First of all, I believe a marriage requires a certain amount of personal space.”

“Be specific,” Li Qingyan said.

Xu Yuan’s expression turned solemn. “I have many friends. Sometimes I may have social obligations in the evening and won’t return to the residence.”

Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes narrowed little by little, though her voice remained perfectly even. “Mhm. What else?”

Xu Yuan carefully considered his wording. “I am rather free-spirited by nature. From time to time, I may leave the capital to clear my head.”

Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes curved into a smiling crescent. “Go on.”

“Secondly, I think—”

??

“Yinhe, do you think that girl of mine and that boy of yours can make this work?”

Standing beside the window, the elderly man in imperial robes stared impassively at the distant lake.

A cool breeze drifted through the pavilion. The dishes on the table had already been cleared away by Eunuch Nie and replaced with a tea tray.

Xu Yinhe sat comfortably on a cushion, leisurely pouring himself tea. “Changtian should be willing. As for Qingyan, I do not know her very well.”

Li Yaoxuan glanced back at Xu Yinhe and said unhurriedly, “Not very well? True enough… Even I do not understand that girl’s temperament particularly well.”

“You don’t understand her?” Xu Yinhe responded noncommittally.

“She followed Mu Zhenbei around from the time she was a child. Naturally, I had little chance to know her.” An inscrutable trace of amusement entered Li Yaoxuan’s voice. “But when I brought up this marriage with her, she agreed without the slightest hesitation.”

Xu Yinhe set down his teacup. “In that case, this marriage is as good as settled?”

Li Yaoxuan gave him a strange look, then turned around and leaned against the window frame. “Stop pretending you don’t understand. I am talking about their temperaments. I may not know my ninth daughter particularly well, but she grew up in the army from childhood. A woman raised in such an environment is unlikely to have a gentle disposition. And you should know perfectly well what your son has been getting up to in the Imperial Capital all these years.”

Plainly speaking, put two people with explosive tempers together, and Chancellor Xu had better find a way to keep them from killing each other.

Xu Yinhe pondered for a moment before replying leisurely, “Ever since Changtian became capable of cultivation, his temperament has changed somewhat. He probably wouldn’t hit—”

Before he could finish, the room abruptly fell silent.

Li Yaoxuan jerked his chin toward the scene outside the window.

Xu Yinhe sighed.

BANG!

“Li Qingyan, are you insane?! Do you think this is your damned military camp?”

BOOM!