Chapter 3

Xu Madame's face turned cold as she watched the young man's figure disappear into the side hall. She wanted to lift her teacup to drink some tea to soothe her dry throat, but found that the tea in her cup had already cooled. She wanted to throw the teacup to the ground to vent her emotions, not caring about the value of the Ru kiln porcelain, but she did not want the servants to hear and know about her current mood.

She was in a very bad mood. She could sense the message the young man wanted to convey to her—apologies, this might make you unhappy, but it will at least make me happy. Perhaps it was because she had said something similar to him before: want to change your life by relying on my divine general's mansion? Apologies, this might make you happy, but it makes me very unhappy.

In fact, the young man had always been very polite, with no signs of rudeness. He had successfully conveyed his message with two sentences of completely different meanings and the final act of turning and leaving. This might be a kind of talent.

The old nanny's face was also extremely gloomy. She walked to Madame's side and whispered, "Just let him go like that?"

"I originally thought he was just a proud young man, but now I realize he is truly a cunning and treacherous little person. If he really wanted to seek benefits by relying on my divine general's mansion, he would be cautious enough not to even drink a sip of tea, let alone bring a marriage contract into the mansion. In fact, from the beginning to now, who has seen that marriage contract?"

Madame Xu understood the nanny's meaning and said with a slightly stern face, "But if he is a smart person, he should know that to get more benefits, he would not have revealed everything from the start."

...

...

Chen Changsheng did not understand what had happened today. He had come to break off the engagement, but how did it end up like this? He was even more puzzled as to why the shrewd Madame Xu chose the most foolish method when the divine general's mansion had many ways to resolve the engagement.

There were many things he could not understand, so he stopped thinking about them. He just thought about the domineering words of Madame Xu in the side hall, which made him very curious about the young lady of the Xu family. What did she look like? Was she beautiful? Of course, growing up in such a mansion, her temperament could not be too gentle and kind...

The divine general's mansion was enormous, even larger than the entire Xining Town. Without a servant to guide him, he naturally got lost. When he realized this, he was standing outside a quiet grove, thinking about the stories in the books he had read about impoverished sons-in-law being secretly harmed by unscrupulous fathers-in-law, feeling uneasy and finding his own thoughts rather boring.

Just then, he felt a gaze on him. Turning his head, he saw a girl standing at the end of a stone path by a stone archway, realizing that he had not gotten lost but had been deliberately led here.

The girl was about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in luxurious clothing, with even a casual accessory worth more than all his possessions. She had a beautiful face, and when she grew up, she would definitely be a stunning beauty. Her black eyes sparkled, very cute, but her gaze was unusually bold, sizing him up from head to toe, intensely.

Chen Changsheng was slightly startled, wondering if this was the young lady of the Xu family.

He had read scriptures since childhood and had great patience, allowing her to look him over without asking any questions.

Finally, the little girl spoke first.

"Can a Taoist also get married?"

Chen Changsheng noticed her gaze on his Taoist bun and explained, "I am not a Taoist. Although I wear a Taoist robe and have a Taoist bun, it is just a habit and does not mean I am a Taoist."

The little girl walked up to him and asked seriously, "Are you an ordinary person?"

Chen Changsheng was taken aback for a moment, then understood what she meant by "ordinary person" and replied, "Yes, I have not practiced cultivation."

The little girl did not notice that he said "have not practiced" rather than "cannot practice." She stared into his eyes and asked very seriously, "Do you really have a marriage contract with the young lady?"

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng realized that this little girl was not the young lady of the Xu family he had imagined. Feeling slightly relieved, he also felt a bit disappointed for some reason.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Shuang'er, and I am the young lady's personal maid."

Chen Changsheng had never imagined that a maid could wear such luxurious clothing. Considering the silence around them, he gained a clearer understanding of the maid's and the young lady's status in the divine general's mansion.

"I do have a marriage contract with your young lady."

The maid named Shuang'er looked at him seriously and said, "Never say that again."

"Why?" Chen Changsheng asked seriously.

Still the same three words.

Shuang'er looked at the young Taoist's earnest face and suddenly felt some sympathy for him. She said, "If you want to live, don't mention this marriage contract to anyone. Otherwise, no one can protect your life."

She thought she was genuinely concerned for this poor young man from the countryside—although the young lady could not marry him, given the past marriage contract and the young lady's knowledge of him, it was only right to let him live. However, she did not realize that her words sounded more like a despicable threat to him.

Chen Changsheng was silent, wondering if the divine general's mansion would really take action against him. In the books and plays he had read, there were similar stories, but now that the Empress was in power, who would dare to do such a thing in the capital?

He said, "If the divine general's mansion wanted me dead, they wouldn't have let me leave. If I'm not mistaken, that old nanny should be a formidable person. Since few servants have seen me, they could have killed me and buried me under the flowers as fertilizer, and no one would know, right? Since I'm still alive, I should be fine."

Shuang'er sneered, "Countless eyes are watching the divine general's mansion, so you are actually safe inside. But if you go outside and keep talking nonsense, how long do you think you will live?"

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't understand."

Shuang'er said, "If people find out you have a marriage contract with the young lady, what will the Changsheng Sect think? What will the Qiu Shan family think? Even in the capital, if those people want to kill you, no one can stop them."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Changsheng Sect and Qiu Shan family? What are those places?"

Shuang'er looked at him as if he were an idiot and asked, "You don't know anything?"

Chen Changsheng was puzzled and asked, "What should I know?"

...

...

There were some things the young Taoist from Xining Town did not know, but the whole world knew them, such as the current era of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the fact that the Eastern Divine General Xu Shiji was deeply trusted by the Empress, and that his father was the Chancellor of the previous dynasty. However, his current status was mainly due to his daughter.

Xu Shiji had only one daughter, Xu Yourong, who was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Phoenix, possessing unimaginable bloodline talents. She successfully cleansed her marrow at a very young age and went to the Southern Holy Maiden Peak at twelve to study the Heavenly Book. It was rumored that she had already broken through to the Upper Realm of Enlightenment, her reputation spreading far and wide, and she was revered by the people and considered the only candidate for the next Holy Maiden of the Light God Religion.

With her impeccable lineage, bloodline, and background, she naturally had many admirers. It was said that even the legendary bloodthirsty young master of the demon race was a fervent admirer of hers. However, whenever people talked about where Xu Yourong might end up, they often mentioned only one name, a name that was equally brilliant.

Qiu Shan Jun.

The Qiu Shan family was the largest clan in the south. In this generation, the Qiu Shan family produced a young prodigy named Qiu Shan Jun, rumored to be the reincarnation of a divine dragon. He was the current eldest disciple of the Changsheng Sect, the first of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, and was being trained by the elders of the Southern Sect. At eighteen, he was widely recognized as the most likely candidate to become the strongest person in the Eastern Continent in the next few hundred years.

The Heavenly Phoenix and the Divine Dragon, Qiu Shan Xue and Xu Yourong, this pair of fellow disciples, were the most brilliant figures of the younger generation, with no one else of the same caliber.

The whole world knew that Qiu Shan Xue had always been in love with Xu Yourong and had been waiting for her to grow up. The senior disciples of the Changsheng Sect, the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Qiu Shan family all believed they were a perfect match. Even the young lady Mo Yan in the Great Zhou Palace and the Empress herself approved of this beautiful story.

However, suddenly, a young Taoist came to the general's mansion with a marriage contract.

He said he was Xu Yourong's fiancé.

If this news spread...

Perhaps the entire continent would be stunned.

...

...

The garden was quiet, with bamboo leaves rustling through the stone archway.

"Now you know," Shuang'er said, looking at Chen Changsheng. "You are just an ordinary person, and the young lady's world is separated from yours by a vast starry river. You can never cross it. For your own sake, it's best to forget about this."

Chen Changsheng indeed did not expect that the girl he was engaged to was such an extraordinary person. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Why didn't Madame tell me earlier?"

Shuang'er said, "Because Madame did not want you to know these things and make more demands."

He looked up at her and asked, "Why are you telling me?"

Shuang'er said, "Because the young lady mentioned you in her letter. She is a kind person. Although she will not marry you, she does not want to see you die for no reason. And... I think you are a smart person. Knowing these things, you should have enough self-awareness to make the only correct decision."

Chen Changsheng said, "I understand."

After saying this, he walked towards the archway, the soles of his shoes rustling on the bamboo leaves.

Shuang'er was stunned, wondering what this meant.

Chen Changsheng suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.

Shuang'er sighed in relief, lightly patting her chest, waiting for his decision.

Chen Changsheng looked at her and asked, "I want to leave. Which way should I go?"