"Master!"
Ye Fan could only plead with Xiang Gui first, "Xiu'er is the one I love, and she is the number one beauty in the Northern Frontier. What does it matter if I sacrifice a little for her?"
"Please don't blame her, alright?"
"I will go to your room tonight and give your back a good massage."
"Hmph!" Xiang Gui snorted coldly, looking unappreciative, but his words had softened a bit. "You, you never give your master a moment's peace."
"To put yourself in danger for a woman!"
"Don't you know how precious you are?"
"Don't you know that your master cannot live without you?"
Ye Fan continued to smile apologetically, "Master, isn't this for Xiu'er? What's a little risk for Xiu'er?"
"Besides, don't worry."
"Just this once. There won't be a next time."
"Hmph!" At the mention of Su Xiu, the slight emotion that had just been suppressed burst forth again. Xiang Gui said angrily, "Is this woman worthy?"
"Your master has long prepared everything for you."
"With your celestial appearance, you are a rare and extraordinary man in this world, and you deserve the best bride."
"If there was a chance, you should have become the man of Her Majesty the Emperor."
"Even though Her Majesty has now married the Third Prince of the barbarian tribe and you have lost that chance, the next best thing should be the daughter of a nobleman to be worthy of you."
"At the very worst, it must be someone from a scholarly family with a clean and honorable background."
"What is this woman?"
Xiang Gui pointed sharply at Su Xiu. "She is nothing but the lowly daughter of a merchant. She only has a bit of beauty and the title of the number one beauty in the Northern Frontier."
"On what grounds is she worthy of you?"
"Today, I will lay it on the line."
"I do not agree to you marrying her."
"If you insist on marrying her, the most you can give her is the status of a concubine. As for making her your wife, don't even think about it."
Su Xiu's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
Ye Fan hurriedly said, "Master, aren't you making things difficult for your disciple?"
"Moreover, your disciple is currently being hunted down. At a time like this, can we not talk about my marriage?"
"Someone is hunting you?" Xiang Gui frowned. "Who ate the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard to dare harbor malicious intentions against you?"
"Tell him to roll out here."
"Let him try my pair of Drum-Beating Golden Hammers!"
Seeing that he had successfully diverted Xiang Gui's attention, Ye Fan quickly pushed forward, saying, "Master, the person hunting me is none other than the current defending general of Yunji City, Ren Tianye."
"He covets Xiu'er's beauty. Knowing that I took Xiu'er away, he will definitely not let it go. He will surely pursue us personally to snatch Xiu'er from me."
"Right now, I'm afraid he is already on the way."
Xiang Gui did not doubt Ye Fan's words in the slightest.
After all, this disciple of his had always been infallible in his calculations. Although he didn't know exactly how his disciple figured things out, the results were never wrong.
The information about Ren Tianye immediately surfaced in his mind.
He said, "I heard from some soldiers in the Northern Frontier that this Ren Tianye has some skills. He has boundless strength, and his martial arts are passable."
"He has quite the demeanor of my younger self."
"However..."
Xiang Gui remained dismissive, saying, "Although I am old, I can still lift my Drum-Beating Golden Hammers."
"I am only inferior to my younger self, not inferior to others."
"If that Ren Tianye dares to come, I will let him taste my power."
"I'll twist his head off and give it to you as a chamber pot!"
Ye Fan smiled faintly, instantly taking on the appearance of a peerless strategist holding a feather fan, and said, "Twisting his head off would be a waste."
"I observe that this Ren Tianye indeed has some abilities."
"If we can subdue him, he will definitely be able to lend me a helping hand in the future."
"That's simple!" Xiang Gui immediately said. "I will wait for him right here. If he comes, I will beat him into submission and make him serve you as a slave and pledge his loyalty to you."
"If he doesn't come, I will personally go to Yunji City, beat him into submission, and make him kneel and kowtow to you, obeying your commands!"
Ye Fan was overjoyed and said, "Then thank you very much, Master."
"It is still Master who knows how to care for his disciple."
Xiang Gui shot him a sideways glance. "It's good that you know."
"Then your disciple will go back to the room to rest first. Traveling all this way has been very tiring."
Xiang Gui became anxious. "Yes, yes, yes, it was my carelessness. I should have let you rest earlier."
"It's all this woman's fault for making you suffer so much. She really is a disaster and not a good match. My words stand: if you insist on marrying this woman, you can only take her as a concubine."
"Don't even think about marrying her as your legal wife!"
After saying that, Xiang Gui led his people into Riding Bull Town.
This small town had always been barren and sparsely populated. Even small bands of invading barbarian soldiers were too lazy to invade it. It was the same now; walking on the dirt street, both sides were full of desolation and ruin.
However, after a few turns, the view opened up, and a rather exquisitely built manor appeared. Inside, there were carved beams and painted pillars, as well as artificial mountains and waters, giving it quite a bit of charm.
After Xiang Gui left on his own, Ye Fan immediately settled Su Xiu in a fine guest room and softly comforted her, "Xiu'er, Master doesn't understand my feelings for you, which is why he acted like that."
"In the future, it won't be like this."
"Just rest with peace of mind."
"We'll talk about other things later."
But how could Su Xiu be at ease?
Earlier, her cheeks had been entirely flushed, and after this journey, her eyes were also completely red.
Seeing that Ye Fan was about to leave after giving his instructions, she hurriedly called out, "Brother Ye Fan, wait a moment."
"What's wrong?"
"Brother Ye Fan, I... I don't agree to only being your concubine."
"That's natural!" Ye Fan immediately promised.
"But, but your master..."
"Don't worry about this matter. I will definitely not let you be a concubine!" Ye Fan pledged solemnly again, a confident and proud expression appearing on his face. "No one can stop me from doing what I, Ye Fan, want to do."
"Not even Master."
"If I say I will marry you as my legal wife, I will definitely marry you as my legal wife."
"There are many ways to go about this."
"Any random one will succeed."
"Just put your heart at ease."
But how could Su Xiu put her heart at ease? She, the dignified legitimate daughter of the Su family, was actually pointed at and scolded as a lowly person one day, and was even asked to be a concubine. How could she agree?
"Brother Ye Fan, what exactly is your plan?"
"Tell Xiu'er so I can hear it."
"Alright." Ye Fan had no choice but to say, "I originally wanted to let you rest well before telling you, but since you are anxious, I naturally won't let you down."
"I have many plans."
"Every single one is enough to make you my legal wife."
"I will definitely not be as short-sighted and lacking in foresight as your second uncle."
Pausing for a moment, he said, "Plan one is the simplest."
"That is to first marry you into the family with the status of a concubine..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Su Xiu screamed, "What?"
"You still want me to be a concubine?"
"Of course not!" Ye Fan said. "It's just marrying you first with the status of a concubine. In the future, I will naturally elevate you to the position of legal wife. You are the wife of Ye Fan, and no one can stop this!"
"But..." Su Xiu's face was filled with agony. "That still means marrying into the household as a mere concubine! I would be carried in a small sedan chair and brought in through a side door, not welcomed by tall steeds and a grand procession of ten miles of red dowry!"
...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
