Dai Huabin

In her eyes, Xia Linyuan's words, "If it's beneficial, why not?" showed an appalling lack of responsibility. He was so young, yet already treating himself as a bargaining chip. What would he be like when he grew up?

And that wasn't all. Marriage was a major life decision. Even if she would only be a concubine, ruining his own future—and that of a girl—over some paltry gain was sheer foolishness.

Looking at Xia Linyuan, Xia Yanqing couldn't help sighing inwardly. For someone so young to be so peculiarly focused on profit... If he entered politics, he would surely achieve great things. But that same mercenary nature that could help him climb high could also make him fall hard.

Over the past hundred years, the Xia Family had maintained its title, but its influence among the many families and sects of the Star Luo Empire had gradually diminished. On top of that, she and Yi Han had been unable to have a child of their own all these years, and he had named Linyuan the Xia Family's heir. The clan elders already had plenty of objections. If they could use this marriage alliance with the Dai Family to shore up their position, perhaps there would be fewer dissenting voices in the clan...

As for Dai Hao's daughter...

Zhu Yu had an extreme temperament and an excessive hunger for power. For her to insist on using a concubine-born daughter to forge an alliance with the Xia Family at any cost, the girl must have incurred her jealousy.

In that case, marrying Linyuan—even as a concubine—would be better than staying in the White Tiger Duke Mansion and becoming a target for Zhu Yu, that jealous woman.

As she considered this, Xia Yanqing came to a decision.

"How about this?" Xia Yanqing said calmly. "In three days, I'll take Linyuan to the Duke's Mansion and discuss the marriage alliance with your wife."

The man was overjoyed.

After the man had left, Zou Yihan couldn't hold back any longer. She snapped, "Qing! It's bad enough that Linyuan is acting foolishly, but how can you go along with it?"

Xia Yanqing smiled wryly. "My wife, will you let me explain? That's not what I meant."

Zou Yihan was so angry that she could hardly think straight. "If that's not what you meant, then what did you mean? Do you know how much this could affect Linyuan's future? You're indulging him! You're indulging his twisted nature!"

Xia Yanqing was at a loss. He quickly signaled for the servants to take Xia Linyuan away, then tried to calm Zou Yihan, who was fuming. "My wife, I really didn't mean it that way!"

"Then tell me what you did mean!"

As the servants led him away from the reception hall, Xia Linyuan glanced back at it, a strange smile suddenly appearing on his face.

Although he had just said, "If it's beneficial, why not?", the final decision still rested with Xia Yanqing and his wife.

He would certainly have the right to decide whether the political marriage went ahead, but in Xia Yanqing and his wife's eyes, he was still just a six-year-old child. His word carried less weight than theirs, so it would still come down to their decision.

And if they really did decide to go ahead with the marriage alliance, he could always alter the relevant people's memories. Or, once everything on the Douluo Continent had settled, he could simply reclaim all the power of his existence there. With his abilities, altering memories and reclaiming that power would be no trouble.

As for visiting the White Tiger Duke Mansion in three days, he could just treat it as a fun outing. If he happened to run into Huo Yuhao, he wouldn't mind planting a seed called "hatred" in the boy's heart.

The three days passed in a flash, as if he'd only closed and opened his eyes.

The Molong Duke Mansion stood a hundred kilometers southeast of Xingluo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire, while the White Tiger Duke Mansion lay twenty-five kilometers northwest of the city. The two mansions were about a hundred and twenty-five kilometers apart in a straight line.

Early that morning, Zou Yihan personally woke Xia Linyuan and made sure he was dressed and groomed to perfection.

If it weren't for the benefits involved, Xia Linyuan wouldn't have been interested in eavesdropping on other people's private conversations. He had no idea what Xia Yanqing and his wife had discussed, but Zou Yihan, who had been strongly opposed to the marriage alliance, was now personally taking care of his appearance.

Xia Linyuan felt like a puppet. Aside from brushing his teeth and washing his face, Zou Yihan handled everything, from his hairstyle to his clothes. All he had to do was follow her instructions.

Once everything was done, Xia Linyuan climbed into the carriage bound for the White Tiger Duke Mansion.

Although the Peerless Tang Sect era had Flying Soul Tools, only a small fraction of Spirit Masters could afford them. Ordinary people still relied on old-fashioned forms of transport, such as horse-drawn carriages.

A marriage alliance between two ducal houses was a major affair. They didn't know whether it would go through, and the girl would be entering the Molong Duke Mansion only as a concubine, but they still had to put on a good show.

It was hard to imagine that, despite the ten thousand years between Tang San's era and the current Peerless Tang Sect era, people on the Douluo Continent still traveled by horse-drawn carriage. Technological progress had been far too slow.

With Xia Yanqing's abilities, a journey of over a hundred kilometers would take only a few minutes. But to show respect, he chose to ride the Tianlin Horse that had faced life and death alongside him several times.

The party consisted of a dozen or so people. Xia Linyuan rode in the carriage while everyone else traveled on horseback.

As they reached Xingluo Imperial City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire, someone claiming to be a messenger for the Xingluo Emperor suddenly came to summon Xia Yanqing to the palace for an audience.

Xia Yanqing took two trusted aides with him. The rest continued escorting Xia Linyuan to the White Tiger Duke Mansion.

An hour or two later, the carriage suddenly came to a stop.

"What's going on?" Xia Linyuan asked.

Someone immediately replied, "Reporting to the young master: the White Tiger Duke's second son, Dai Huabin, is disciplining a servant."

"Oh?" Xia Linyuan raised an eyebrow, a strange smile suddenly appearing on his face.

He lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage. The first thing he saw was Dai Huabin, dressed in fine clothes, standing imposingly with several attendants before a girl slumped on the ground. A pile of clothes lay scattered nearby.

"Dai Huabin, it's been a year, and you still enjoy throwing your weight around," Xia Linyuan said with a smile.

A year ago, the Xingluo Emperor had hosted a banquet for the empire's officials and their families.

At the banquet, a maid had accidentally bumped into Dai Huabin. He'd made life difficult for her in every way, and Xia Linyuan had teased the petty, vengeful little darling. Dai Huabin had been utterly humiliated, and that was when the two of them had fallen out—or, more accurately, when Dai Huabin had taken against him. Every now and then, when Xia Linyuan was in the mood, he would "respond" to one of Dai Huabin's little tricks.

Dai Huabin had naturally noticed Xia Linyuan too, and his expression darkened.