Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she asked:
"Whatever difficulties City Lord Lin may have, please speak freely."
Hearing this, Lin Zhengquan seemed to make some kind of decision and slowly began to speak.
"A few days ago, my daughter was trapped by evil cultivators while searching for spiritual medicine. Had Ninth Highness not saved her, she would likely have already met with harm."
"As her father, how could I not understand my daughter's feelings? So I wished to take this opportunity to ask Ninth Highness a question."
Lin Zhengquan steadied himself. With an incomparably solemn expression, he asked:
"May I ask whether Ninth Highness finds my daughter pleasing?"
Xiao Minghuang had long intended to contract Lin Wanqiu, and she did not plan to let her leave her side in the future. Thus, she nodded and said:
"Wanqiu is wonderful. I like her very much."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhengquan was immediately overjoyed.
"Many thanks, Ninth Highness!"
But before he could react, Xiao Minghuang added:
"The marriage agreement between Wanqiu and me was originally arranged by our elders, not by Wanqiu's or my own wishes. Since City Lord Lin has brought this up, I shall make it clear."
Lin Zhengquan did not understand. From the sound of it, she seemed to have objections to the marriage agreement?
But wasn't the Ninth Princess very satisfied with Lin Wanqiu?
Xiao Minghuang slowly said:
"The matter of the marriage agreement has endured for many years, and few people know of it. Neither Wanqiu nor I place much value on it, so let it drift away with the wind. Do not mention it again in the future."
Hearing this, the joy on Lin Zhengquan's face suddenly froze. After a moment, he came to his senses and asked in shock:
"Ninth Highness means to annul the marriage agreement!?"
Xiao Minghuang's expression remained unchanged. She nodded and calmly said:
"That is precisely the case."
In an instant, Lin Zhengquan's face darkened. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and his eyes were filled with disbelief. Only after a long while did he let out a deep breath, force himself to calm down, and slowly ask:
"Could it be that my Lin family has committed some grave offense, angering Ninth Highness to such an extent?"
Hearing this, Xiao Minghuang's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and a strange look appeared on her face. "Why does City Lord Lin say that?"
Lin Zhengquan took a deep breath, trying to speak calmly.
"If my Lin family had not offended Ninth Highness in some way, why would Ninth Highness wish to cancel the marriage agreement?"
Yet Xiao Minghuang raised her brows in confusion.
"I thought that the feelings between Wanqiu and me could not possibly be measured by a mere sheet of paper."
"Ah!"
Lin Zhengquan was greatly startled by these words. After a moment, he laughed awkwardly.
"Ninth Highness truly knows how to joke. You gave this subject quite a scare."
But Xiao Minghuang did not think she was joking. She said solemnly:
"Every word I just said was true. The feelings between Wanqiu and me truly cannot be measured by a sheet of paper. I was not joking."
"Yes, yes, this subject understands."
Though Lin Zhengquan had weathered the storms of the world and was deeply shrewd, hearing such profound words of affection still made his old face redden. Not to mention that these words were all spoken for his daughter to hear.
Now he understood why his daughter had become so utterly obsessed with this Ninth Princess not long after their first meeting.
After thanking Xiao Minghuang once more, Lin Zhengquan hurriedly left the courtyard.
After walking out of the courtyard gate and turning a corner, Lin Zhengquan smiled and softly said:
"Wanqiu, did you hear everything Ninth Highness said just now?"
As his words fell,
Lin Wanqiu stepped out from the corner of the wall. The pendant in her arms was a Low-grade Yellow Tier Magic Treasure bestowed by Emperor Xia. It could conceal one's aura, and even those whose cultivation far surpassed hers would find it difficult to detect her.
Therefore, Xiao Minghuang's earlier words had not been influenced by her presence. They had all come from the bottom of her heart, with not the slightest hint of putting on a performance.
Lin Wanqiu's cheeks flushed slightly. Lowering her head a little, she softly said:
"Your daughter heard it all clearly."
After Lin Zhengquan left, the courtyard returned to peace.
The reason Xiao Minghuang had said such things earlier was because she had already made up her mind to contract Lin Wanqiu.
Once Lin Wanqiu became her contractor, she would be unable to leave her side from then on. That was why she had said that the relationship between them was far beyond what a mere marriage agreement could measure.
The reason she had agreed to the martial contest was not because she coveted Spirit Stones. Rather, as her cultivation steadily increased, the Spirit Stones required for cultivation had greatly increased as well.
The Spirit Stones and pills Emperor Xia had previously bestowed upon her had long been used up. Even with the more than eight thousand she had just obtained, added to the previous two thousand five hundred, there were only a little over ten thousand in total.
As for Chen Family Head's storage pouch, it was completely empty. Perhaps everything inside had been exhausted in the final battle.
Giving away such a quantity of Spirit Stones at once would certainly not yield a high compensation multiplier. It would be good enough if it increased tenfold.
A mere hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones would at most allow her to break through one minor realm.
Moreover, Low-grade Spirit Stones contained more impurities and took more time to absorb.
If she could not obtain a place that produced Spirit Stones over the long term, her cultivation progress would inevitably slow.
What was more, it was not only her own cultivation progress that required attention. She also had Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu, the two girls for whom she needed to take responsibility.
Therefore, she needed a great quantity of Spirit Stones and pills. The more, the better.
As her thoughts turned, Xiao Minghuang murmured:
"It seems I need to focus on cultivating Ruoshui's talent for pill refinement."
Ye Ruoshui possessed extremely high talent in pill refinement. On her first attempt, she had already managed to refine pills with eighty-percent quality. Given time, she would surely become a great pill-refining master of her generation.
If Ye Ruoshui could steadily produce pills over the long term, then the resources they needed for cultivation would naturally cease to be a problem.
The Spirit Stones earned from selling pills alone would be an enormously large figure, not to mention that she had the system and could receive multiplied compensation.
Simply multiplying the refined pills tenfold would bring an exceptionally considerable profit.
Next, Xiao Minghuang took stock of all the resources on her person.
"Over ten thousand Spirit Stones, more than three hundred Yellow Tier pills of high, mid, and low grades, fifteen spiritual herbs, one Spirit Infusion Pill, one Essence Replenishing Pill, one Mid-grade Yellow Tier Long Saber, and several Low-grade Yellow Tier Martial Arts manuals."
Of these, apart from the fifteen spiritual herbs that were system compensation, everything else could be gifted to Ye Ruoshui in exchange for compensation.
But now, besides Ye Ruoshui, she could also contract a second girl.
"It is time to contract Lin Wanqiu."
Xiao Minghuang murmured to herself, then walked out of the courtyard and headed straight for Lin Wanqiu's residence.
Knock, knock, knock!
Lin Wanqiu sat beneath the corridor, resting her cheek in her hand as she gazed at the flowers and grass in the distance. Thinking of Xiao Minghuang's words earlier, she occasionally let out a few silly giggles.
Suddenly hearing a knock at the door, she rose and went to open it.
When she saw the girl before her, dressed in a bright yellow gown, fair-skinned, beautiful, elegant, and noble, Lin Wanqiu recalled the words she had just overheard and could not help blushing.
Seeing Lin Wanqiu's flushed face, Xiao Minghuang asked with concern:
"Why is your face red? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"N-No, it is nothing. This humble girl greets Ninth Highness!"
Lin Wanqiu let out a soft breath, gathered her thoughts, slightly bent her knees, and respectfully performed a salute.
Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She felt displeased. She still preferred the Lin Wanqiu from that day in the cave, intimate and without barriers between them.
Or the one brimming with confidence, refusing to yield even an inch in words.
Or the one at last night's banquet, dressed in splendid attire and stunning the entire gathering.
Confident girls looked three parts more beautiful.
"Why must there be so much ceremony between us? Just be natural."
If they could become closer, Lin Wanqiu naturally wished for nothing more. Her smile blossomed like a flower trembling on its branch as she sweetly said:
"Then Ninth Highness must not say that I am being disrespectful."
Seeing Lin Wanqiu's smile, Xiao Minghuang smiled as well. She pinched the other girl's soft little hand and gently said:
"The greatest respect you can show me is not being so restrained. We will be together for a long time in the future, so why bother with such formalities?"
Hearing the words "together for a long time" so suddenly, Lin Wanqiu's heart stirred, and rosy clouds flew across her cheeks.
Ninth Highness was far too straightforward. She kept saying such embarrassing things without end—how was she supposed to face that?
A moment later, Lin Wanqiu thought of Ye Ruoshui, that little maid who looked rather difficult to deal with, and carefully asked:
"Ninth Highness, if you say such things to me, will Miss Ye not be angry if she finds out?"
Hearing this, three parts of strangeness and seven parts of astonishment appeared in Xiao Minghuang's eyes as she asked:
"Why would she be angry?"
Note: This is a male protagonist novel! This is a male protagonist novel! This is a male protagonist novel! Important things must be said three times!
Charge! Into the Multiverse Main God Space
"Awake? You are the one with the worst qualities among this batch!"
Opening his eyes, Bai Mingshi stared ahead in bewilderment. He saw four strangely dressed people standing nearby, pointing and gesturing at him without pause.
At that moment, the ignorant Bai Mingshi had yet to realize that his suffering was about to begin.
Evangelion, No Game No Life Zero, Attack on Titan!
Shin Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Puella Magi Madoka Magica!
As he traveled through one dangerous world after another, Bai Mingshi's companions grew increasingly numerous.
Homura Akemi, Madoka, Nero, Yu Ji, C.C., Shinobu Oshino, 02, Kiana Kaslana, Bronya, Rei Ayanami, Rem, Emilia, Ryuko Matoi, Satsuki Kiryuin, Tatsumaki!
This was the two-dimensional Main God Space.
A cruel world where life and death intertwined.
"Your Highness, let me help you take off your clothes."
"Uh... Ninth Highness is right..."
A trace of helplessness flashed through Lin Wanqiu's eyes. She completely could not understand what Xiao Minghuang was thinking.
If she cared about that little maid, then why would she say such things to her? But if she did not care, then what she had said to Ye Ruoshui that night had been sincere and heartfelt, every word like a string of pearls, with no sign of falsehood.
As she pondered this, she saw something being held out before her and instinctively accepted it.
It was a Brocade Box, its four corners inlaid with golden edges and a piece of jade set in the center, making it appear exceptionally extraordinary.
Lin Wanqiu raised her head to look at Xiao Minghuang, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
"Ninth Highness?"
The corners of Xiao Minghuang's lips curved upward slightly, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of her eyes.
"Open it and take a look."
Hearing this, Lin Wanqiu's heartbeat quickened and her cheeks reddened. Was Ninth Highness giving her a gift?
Could this be a token of love?
She opened the Brocade Box, and a rich medicinal fragrance burst forth, instantly filling the entire courtyard.
Before you continue