As the grandfather and grandson spoke, they arrived at the northern part of Eternal Sun Prefecture. There lay a mountain range, still lush and green even in this year of heavy snow.
The Yu Family. Consort Shu's surname was Yu.
Back then, Zishu Wandong had settled Consort Shu's clansmen in Eternal Sun Prefecture, adding another subordinate power to the Li family.
Consort Shu was quite grateful to the Li family. Seeing Li Chang'an and Li Xinnian arrive, she brought the old and young of the Yu family to welcome them.
Zishu Wandong was there, attending to Consort Shu.
After some exchange of pleasantries, Li Chang'an said, "Your Ladyship Consort Shu, Chang'an has come this time to propose a marriage for a child of my family."
"Is this true?" Consort Shu and the members of the Yu family were overjoyed.
But Zishu Wandong saw the teasing look Li Chang'an cast at her, then looked at Li Xinnian's beaming face. Her small face instantly turned pale.
"No, it won't do! There is an age gap of several hundred years between Li Xinnian and me. He is too young!"
"..."
Li Xinnian silently lowered his head to drink his tea, his heart as calm as water.
It was fine; after all, she was his future Xinghuo wife. It was perfectly normal for her to look down on him and belittle him.
"Miss Wandong has misunderstood," Li Chang'an said with a smile.
"The child of my family I speak of is the Grand Tutor's godson, the Commander of the Northern Border's Asura Army, Li Xinghuo. He has not yet taken a wife."
"Li Xinghuo?"
Zishu Wandong was stunned. The image of that majestic and imposing figure at the Zhao family banquet became increasingly clear in her mind, and for a moment, she was dazed.
"This..." Consort Shu knitted her dark brows.
She glanced at Zishu Wandong, and after hesitating for a moment, she said, "General Li's great name—who in Eternal Sun Prefecture does not know it?
But I have heard that General Li lives in the Northern Border year-round and already has sixteen concubines, every one of whom comes from a great family. My Wandong..."
Consort Shu gritted her teeth. The Yu family's ability to establish a foothold in Eternal Sun Prefecture depended entirely on Zishu Wandong.
Moreover, Wandong was a filial child, serving as her only solace after the death of Prince Qian. No matter how powerful the Li family was, she was unwilling to let Zishu Wandong go to the Northern Border to suffer.
Having come from the deep palace herself, she understood better than anyone the scheming and infighting that took place between a principal wife and the concubines.
"Your Ladyship Consort Shu, please rest assured."
Li Chang'an actually felt more at ease seeing Consort Shu's hesitation.
"Chang'an is only proposing today because that nephew of mine is a man of few words, yet he seemed to enjoy chatting with Miss Zishu. I merely came to ask. Your Ladyship can discuss it with Miss Wandong; if you are unwilling, simply treat this as a joke."
"Chang'an will return in three days."
With that, Li Chang'an took Li Xinnian and took his leave.
But while Li Chang'an spoke lightly of the matter, the Yu family did not feel the same.
They had struggled to free themselves from Prince Qian, and if they could now become in-laws to the Li family here in Eternal Sun Prefecture, even if the connection was somewhat distant, they would still benefit from it.
In less than a day, Consort Shu had been pestered to no end by her profit-driven clansmen. With a heavy heart, she went to find Zishu Wandong.
She was just intending to ask her great-granddaughter to use the Perennis Immortal Palace's name to pressure the clansmen, forcing them to abandon this idea.
But to her surprise, she found Zishu Wandong sitting in a daze by the tea table. The tea, brewed who knows how long ago, had already gone completely cold.
"Great-Grandmother, tell me, what is the Northern Border like?"
"Wandong." Consort Shu's expression changed.
She saw that Zishu Wandong's gaze was incredibly complex, holding both fear of the unknown and a longing for it.
Her voice was wooden as she said, "I heard Sister Kuanghua tell Li Xinghuo's story. He was alone and helpless at ten years old, just like me. I was sent to the Perennis Immortal Palace when I was young. I knew even then that only by becoming strong could I avenge my father and mother, but I was very cowardly..."
Consort Shu sat before Zishu Wandong, listening as her great-granddaughter recounted the past, until Zishu Wandong said, "This time, I want to be a little bolder, hee hee."
Hearing this, Consort Shu's eyes turned red, and she pulled Zishu Wandong into her embrace.
"Come, Great-Grandmother will tell you some things about the imperial palace. You have cultivated in the Perennis Immortal Palace since childhood and know nothing of the schemes of the inner chambers; it would be hard to avoid being bullied by others."
...
Above Merit City, a spirit ark was draped in festive red.
Li Yunlin and Fairy Hongxiu stood atop the spirit ark, escorting the bride toward the Northern Border, representing the elders of both Li Xinghuo and Zishu Wandong.
In the sky above Merit City, Li Xinnian and Nangong Qingya walked together.
Nangong Qingya looked as enchanting as ever. Seeing Li Xinnian looking uncharacteristically worried, she couldn't help but ask, "Xinnian, what's wrong with you today? If you have something on your mind, tell your Senior Sister."
Li Xinnian took a deep breath. "I am getting married."
Hearing this, Nangong Qingya's face instantly turned pale.
Li Xinnian sighed.
"I understand Xinghuo's intentions all too well.
He doesn't want the powers of the Northern Border to influence our family.
I reached the age to start a family and career long ago, and my cultivation is growing higher and higher. If I truly break through to the Nascent Soul realm, who knows when I might be able to have a child?
By then, those concubines of my Cousin-Uncle Xinghuo will have developed many more ideas."
As he spoke, Li Xinnian looked toward the teary-eyed Consort Shu. "To nip their ambitions in the bud, I must take a wife and have children."
"Consort Shu?"
Nangong Qingya looked as if she had lost her soul. "You are going to marry Consort Shu?"
Li Xinnian's facial muscles twitched slightly. "Senior Sister, what is going on in that head of yours? What I mean is, only by taking a wife and having children can I make the forces behind my Cousin-Uncle Xinghuo's concubines give up the idea of targeting the Yu family to seize the succession."
"Xinghuo wants me to be the Family Head, and my elders share this intention. I do not want to disappoint them."
Listening to Li Xinnian's words, Nangong Qingya remained absent-minded.
Even when Li Xinnian stared straight at her, she didn't snap out of it.
"Senior Sister, marry me."
"If you want to marry, then marry..." Nangong Qingya answered in a fit of pique, but suddenly, her mind went blank.
She had been by Li Xinnian's side for many years, supporting him unconditionally in whatever he did. In fact, the entire Eternal Sun Prefecture knew where her heart lay.
She had waited for decades, yet Li Xinnian hadn't touched her once. When she finally snapped back to reality, she was actually confused. "But our Nangong family..."
"I know."
Li Xinnian smiled faintly. "The Nangong family... most of them are blinded by greed. But you are different from them, Senior Sister. If they want to borrow my influence, I will grant it to them, but they had better be prepared to be obedient and behave themselves."
Saying this, Li Xinnian looked at Nangong Qingya. "Senior Sister, will you marry me?"
At this moment.
The people from the major powers who had been seeing off the spirit arks were making their way back.
Suddenly, everyone turned back in astonishment, hearing a piercing and impatient shout coming from the sky.
"Marry! Marry! Marry!"
The Wine Maniac, who had just returned to Merit City to report on his mission, was passing by. Startled by the voices from the sky, the old man looked up, annoyed.
"Who's screaming like they're trying to startle horses? Can't a man walk in peace?"
---
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