Chapter 279: A New Kind of Weapon (1)

Li Qingyan stared at the young man, her phoenix eyes turned fiery red by her cultivation art filled with a peculiar look.

The wind stilled. The clouds froze. Sunlight poured down like a waterfall.

Xu Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile, his handsome face bathed in the golden light. “I only told you that as a warning. She probably has quite the temper.”

“Quite the temper?” Li Qingyan glanced at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, then turned back to the koi swimming in the pond. Her red lips curled upward. “Very well. When the time comes, I shall personally invite this Saintess to attend the ceremony.”

A trace of genuine interest appeared in her phoenix eyes. “As the representative of the Heavenwatch Pavilion, this Saintess should naturally be seated in the front row alongside the Imperial Preceptor’s disciple.”

The corner of Xu Yuan’s eye twitched. “That would be rather inappropriate.”

Li Qingyan pursed her lips in amusement. “I wasn’t asking for your opinion.

“The Celeste Sword Sect’s chief disciple, the Heavenwatch Pavilion’s Saintess… Third Young Master Xu, every one of your beauties seems to possess a grander background than the last.” After a brief pause, she asked with a beaming smile, “You must be rather proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then burst out laughing. He raised his hand and held his thumb and forefinger a tiny distance apart. “Though I’m reluctant to admit it, you aren’t exactly wrong. I suppose I am just a tiny bit proud.”

Li Qingyan’s crimson eyes narrowed. “Hah. I have met plenty of wastrel young masters in my life. Many behaved far worse than you, yet they still put on a respectable face and pretended to be courteous gentlemen. You, Third Young Master Xu, do not bother hiding it in the slightest.”

Xu Yuan merely smiled and stared at her in silence for two seconds before replying, “Because I have no reason to hide it.”

“No reason?”

Xu Yuan did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised a hand and slowly reached toward Li Qingyan’s smooth, delicate chin.

Li Qingyan saw him coming, but she did not move away.

A long, slender finger gently lifted her chin.

Xu Yuan smiled. “Take this, for example. If some other wastrel dared flirt with a princess, he would probably lose his finger before he even managed to touch her, wouldn’t he. Those wastrels have to keep up appearances. The moment they offend someone beyond their means, their lives are finished. I don’t have that problem.”

Li Qingyan remained silent.

Their eyes met from inches away.

The crimson pupils within the woman’s phoenix eyes gleamed like polished amber. Then, without warning, she let out a soft laugh.

Her fiery sleeve swept upward as she caught Xu Yuan’s hand in her own. Her palm was warm and soft. She looked directly at him. “I do not dislike this part of your character. I only hope you can maintain it after our wedding.”

With that, Li Qingyan dismissed her cultivation art, turned around without looking back, and walked out of the inner court.

Xu Yuan remained where he stood, staring strangely at the hand she had just held. This was bad. Why did it feel as though he had been the one getting flirted with?

He smacked his lips, hurried after her, and asked with a grin, “Princess, does that mean you agree?”

“Agree to what?” Li Qingyan glanced at him as she walked. “After the wedding, you will return to the army camp with me.”

“What?” Xu Yuan stopped dead, his mouth falling open.

Seeing his expression, Li Qingyan halted as well. Her eyes curved into crescents. “As my Prince Consort, you will naturally go wherever I go. Of course, Third Young Master Xu, you could always ask that Saintess of yours, the one capable of defeating me, to storm the camp and steal you away.”

Her smile deepened. “Should she choose not to come, then you and I will have a most pleasant time together, my dear Prince Consort.”

Xu Yuan’s jaw dropped, speechless.

The two left the inner residence one after the other, neither speaking along the way. Whenever the dignitaries lining the path recognized Li Qingyan, they hurriedly bowed and offered their respects.

Xu Yuan, despite being the young master of the household, had somehow been reduced to her escort.

After accompanying the Princess of Taiping for nearly fifteen minutes, Xu Yuan was finally the first to break the silence. “Hey, what exactly did you come to see me for?”

Without looking back, Li Qingyan replied, “I missed you, so I came to see you.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said I came to the Chancellor's Manor because I wanted to see you.”

Xu Yuan’s eyelid twitched. He stared at the First Martial Princess’s breathtaking profile, visibly amused. “Well, I’m flattered. Truly. But haven’t we only met once?”

Li Qingyan’s voice was slightly husky. “I have lived in the northern frontier since I was old enough to remember. Naturally, we have only met once.”

Xu Yuan stroked his chin. “Now, I know I’m devastatingly handsome, but Princess, this is a little…”

“Sudden?”

“Of course it’s sudden. Love given without reason always comes at the highest price.”

Walking beside the lake, Li Qingyan gazed at the blue sky reflected in the wetland waters. “You need not be so wary. I am not some delicate, sentimental woman. Our marriage has already been settled, which makes you mine. Of course, you may also interpret that as me being yours. Either way, I do not require a reason to care about you.”

Xu Yuan did not respond immediately. He did not know Li Qingyan well enough to tell whether she was speaking sincerely or feeding him a line. After a moment of silence, his lips curled into a smile. “I don’t know whether that was true, but for now, I’ll choose to believe—”

“Your Highness, Dean Jiang has arrived. He is already waiting for you in Sky’s Fortune Garden.”

“...” Xu Yuan’s expression froze. He glanced sideways at Li Qingyan, helplessness written all over his face. Sure enough. The prettier the woman, the better she was at lying. She had come to the Chancellor's Manor on official business. Seeing him had merely been incidental.

Still, this Dean Jiang was probably that old man Jiang He. Why would the princess seek that old man out at a time like this?

Li Qingyan offered no explanation. She merely asked, “Would you like to come with me?”

Xu Yuan considered it for a moment, then smiled and nodded. “How could I refuse an invitation from the princess?”

The Chancellor's Manor contained numerous courtyards for receiving outside guests, each differing in size and status. Sky’s Fortune Garden was among the quieter and more elegant of these guest residences.

As they approached its entrance, Xu Yuan immediately noticed four carriages parked alongside the courtyard wall.

Delivering something? The thought flashed through his mind.

Curious, Xu Yuan extended his spiritual sense to inspect what was inside the four carriages. Unfortunately, each carriage had been engraved with formation patterns that prevented his spiritual sense from penetrating.

He frowned and asked quietly, “What’s inside them?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Li Qingyan did not answer him directly. Instead, she raised a hand and motioned for the guards at the entrance to open the gate.

The guards pushed open the courtyard doors. The moment the two stepped inside, they saw an elderly man with snow-white hair and the youthful complexion of a child sitting in an elegant pavilion, his eyes closed as he rested.

Hearing the courtyard gate open, Jiang He opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and smiled. “Your High—”

Before he could finish, he spotted Xu Yuan following beside Li Qingyan. His brows immediately knitted together. “Tch. Why did you follow her here, brat?”

Xu Yuan pointed straight at the ground beneath them and fired back without hesitation, “Hey, this is my house. Why wouldn’t I be allowed here?”

“You little…” Jiang He looked ready to explode, but after glancing at Li Qingyan beside him, he reined in his temper. “Hmph. Since the princess is present, this old man will not lower himself to argue with you.”

Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan entered the pavilion.

Xu Yuan promptly dropped himself into a seat, while Li Qingyan inclined her head in greeting.

“Greetings, Elder Jiang.”

“There is no need for such courtesy, Your Highness.” Jiang He ignored the shamelessly casual Xu Yuan and spoke to Li Qingyan in an exceedingly gentle tone. “I have already delivered what you requested. Two in each carriage, for a total of eight.”

Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes sharpened. “You have my thanks, Elder Jiang.”