Chapter 3

I can't believe someone actually kept it...

Chen Xi looked at Chen Lan, who was surprised, and shrugged. He didn't have any prejudice, and teaching Chen Lan the method of mental energy extraction was nothing to him. As he put it, he had nothing better to do, so it was just a way to pass the time. He had already learned what he needed to learn, and teaching someone else would help him review and gain new insights.

"Thank you, young master." A look of eagerness appeared on Chen Lan's face.

In the following months, Chen Lan followed Chen Xi to learn. Besides mental energy extraction, they mostly read books and recognized characters. With one willing to teach and the other willing to learn, and the content being simple and straightforward, Chen Lan quickly got the hang of it. At least now, he could roughly read books on his own.

Looking at the wanted poster on the wall, Chen Xi sighed. The time had come.

*From a certain perspective, this is not impossible. But no matter which perspective, I now have my own capital.* Chen Xi glanced at Cao Mengde on the wanted poster and thought to himself.

"Let's go, Uncle Chen, to the Fan family." Chen Xi said to the butler behind him.

Upon hearing this, Chen Butler's face darkened, but he nodded. Chen Xi's body had recovered, and the once-fallen Chen family had a glimmer of hope again. Therefore, it was time to discuss the marriage with the Fan family.

Chen Xi knew about the marriage. It was arranged when he was very young. When Chen Xi's father passed away, the Fan family sent someone to arrange for their second daughter to marry Chen Xi to continue the Chen family line. However, Chen Xi declined, citing mourning.

Later, when Chen Xi fell ill, the Fan family came less frequently and hadn't visited for a long time. Chen Xi was well aware that the Fan family was willing to keep their promise when he was healthy, but if his condition worsened, they wouldn't want to push their daughter into a difficult situation.

From the Fan family's perspective, they had been quite considerate. They didn't break the engagement when the Chen family fell, and they even tried to fulfill their promise when the Chen family first encountered trouble. When Chen Xi fell ill, they stopped coming, fearing they would push their daughter into a difficult situation.

But for Chen Butler, this was unforgivable. Since the engagement was already set, even without the formalities, the two families' elders had agreed that Chen Xi would marry the Fan family's second daughter, Fan Jian, who was two years younger, when he turned sixteen. Now, with the elders gone and Chen Xi seventeen, the Fan family was changing their stance, which was unacceptable.

"Master Chen!" The servant of the Fan family was taken aback when he saw Chen Xi, then quickly bowed and reported.

"I'm here to see Uncle Fan." Chen Xi said calmly. According to his estimation, the Fan family was unlikely to break the engagement. Not mentioning the engagement when he was ill didn't mean much. The fact that they mentioned it after his father's death showed their sincerity.

"Master Chen, please come in. The master is waiting for you in the main hall." The Fan family's butler soon ran over.

"Alright." Chen Xi nodded. He was now worried about how to approach the topic. If they refused, it would be easier, but the current situation clearly showed that the Fan family had no intention of breaking the engagement.

"Xiaoye, come, come, sit here. Uncle has been concerned about your health. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to face the Chen family." Fan Jian's father, sitting in the main seat, had a smile on his face.

When Chen Xi was in mourning, Fan Liang had planned to send his daughter to take care of him. As for the mourning, it would be meaningless if the Chen family's lineage was cut off.

However, Chen Xi refused Fan Liang's plan and later fell into a deep depression, becoming bedridden. Fan Liang was stunned. Was his daughter's happiness more important or his brother's promise? Stuck in the middle, Fan Liang was in a dilemma. In the end, he could only silently watch and postpone the marriage for three years, as Chen Xi had requested.

If Chen Xi was still ill after three years, Fan Liang would have no choice but to marry his daughter, despite the heartache.

Fortunately, half a year ago, Fan Liang received news that Chen Xi had recovered. This was like a shot in the arm for him, finally freeing him from the dilemma. However, he felt embarrassed to bring up the marriage again after all the delays, so he decided to wait for Chen Xi to come and discuss it. He planned to double the dowry to make up for his lack of consideration.

"Go, call that girl Fan Jian over." Fan Liang instructed the butler.

"Uncle, there's no need to call Sister Jian. I'm here to bid farewell. I plan to travel the world. My recent illness has made me realize many things. It's tragic for someone to never leave the place they've lived in. I hope to go out and see the world." Chen Xi said respectfully.

Fan Liang was taken aback, hesitated, and then said, "Xiaoye, Uncle did act improperly before, but please think carefully. The world is not peaceful. Your father entrusted you to me. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to face your father."

"Uncle, please rest assured. Though I am not very capable, I have some means to protect myself." Chen Xi's spirit seemed to lift slightly.

"Alas, it seems I can't stop you." Fan Liang looked at Chen Xi with a mix of relief and satisfaction. "However, if you want to leave, you must settle the marriage first. Fan Jian is not young anymore."

"..." Chen Xi slightly pursed his lips, thinking, *If you give her to me, I wouldn't dare to, you know. She's two years younger than me. Asking me to do something with a fifteen-year-old girl...*

Of course, Chen Xi knew that in the Han Dynasty, a fifteen-year-old girl was considered an old maid, and her taxes would be doubled. However, once married, the tax would be normal...

"Uncle, can I write the marriage contract now and complete the marriage when I return from my travels?" Chen Xi said helplessly. He knew he couldn't avoid the little girl who had always followed him, calling him "big brother." If he dared to break the engagement, the Fan family would be his enemy. Besides, marriage didn't seem to have much impact on him.

Well, at this time, a marriage contract was just a simple record of birth dates. Once this was done, it was considered complete. The two were already compatible, and now Chen Xi was just writing it down himself, which gave it legal binding.

After everything was settled, Chen Xi got into a carriage and headed west. The righteous hero Cao Cao was currently recruiting soldiers, and Chen Xi clearly wanted to hitch a ride. After all, the army was safer in this era. As for whether he would meet Liu Bei in this history, he couldn't guarantee it.

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