Marriage Proposal

"Let's hope so. I made you a reading list. Look it over when you have time." Zhou Chunfeng pinched up a sheet of paper and gave it a light toss. As though it had grown eyes, the paper drifted slowly over to Li Qingxian.

Li Qingxian took it in his hand.

Book of StratagemsLuo Zhi ClassicBook of ConcealmentLittle Man ClassicClassic of Officialdom...

"Rest assured, I'll read them slowly. I definitely won't let Uncle Zhou's painstaking efforts go to waste."

"I'm only afraid you'll say you're reading them while spending all day poring over those Books of Fate. Fate Arts aren't useless, but they're far too mystical. Among ten thousand people, not one is suited to cultivate them. You... should stop wasting your time." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Uncle Zhou, your mouth is sweet as if it's been smeared with honey." Li Qingxian said helplessly.

"Tell me. What other conditions do you have?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.

Li Qingxian said, "Tomorrow, I plan to pay respects to my father. But I'm afraid someone might stir up trouble, like Ye Han. So, I hope Uncle Zhou and Sister You Fei can join forces and make Ye Han stay obediently in this study for the entire day."

"What ghostly scheme are you plotting?" Suspicion filled Zhou Chunfeng's eyes.

"Alas, I can only admit it. This is to repay Ye Han for his Flood Dragon Transformation Pill." Li Qingxian said.

"How so?"

"My Fate Arts have greatly improved lately. I discovered that several of Ye Han's brothers will harm him tomorrow while he pays respects to his mother. I had no desire to meddle, but after thinking it over and over, I, Li Qingxian, bear the elegant title Sunshine Boy. I should see a good deed through to the end, so I'll keep him in the Night Guard and spare him the tragedy of blood relatives slaughtering one another."

"Really?"

"True beyond all doubt." Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Chunfeng looked out the window, pondering the mysterious marvels of Fate Arts. "I can't hold him back by myself?"

"You just said it yourself: his Fortune is flourishing, and he carries the momentum of a dragon's transformation. I even suspect that even with Sister You Fei added in, we still might not be able to hold him back." Li Qingxian said.

Li Qingxian had calculated it clearly. He had yet to reach Entry Rank and had no way to use Fate Arts to suppress Ye Han. Even if he went to the purple crystal's landing spot in advance, Ye Han's Fate Mold would inevitably affect him, and misfortune would befall him. But Zhou Chunfeng and Jiang Youfei were different. One was the Night Guard's renowned Director with real authority, and the other was the saintess of a great Dao Sect. Joining forces to suppress the current Ye Han would be no problem for them.

"Is this matter very important to you?"

"Very important. Important enough to affect my entire life." Li Qingxian stared seriously at Zhou Chunfeng.

Zhou Chunfeng pondered for a long while before saying, "For you, and for You Fei, then let's add more stakes. The talk of Fate Arts may be vague and elusive, but heroes throughout the ages have all said that though man may not necessarily triumph over Heaven, if a person's fate is strong enough, it can influence Heaven's Mandate. Since Ye Han's Fortune is flourishing, I'll add one more person. I'll ask the Chief Guard Envoy to issue an order!"

"The Coward King?" Li Qingxian looked skeptical.

"Don't be ridiculous. His Highness the Pine King is merely tolerant and unwilling to contend. Rumors cannot be taken as proof."

"Yes, after all, he's an Upper Three Ranks master. He should still be useful." Li Qingxian said.

"Zhou Hen," Zhou Chunfeng called.

"This subordinate is here."

"Take my token and request a prohibition order from the Chief Guard Envoy. Have everyone in the Night Guard remain on guard and standby today. Without my written order, no one may leave, Ye Han included. Also, send someone to investigate those sons of the Marquis of Dingbei." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Understood!"

Watching Zhou Hen leave, Li Qingxian said, "Uncle Zhou, you trust me that much?"

"I'll only ask you this: once tomorrow's matter is settled, can you impersonate Lü Ren?"

"As long as Ye Han is held back tomorrow, I dare face a Third Rank member of the Devil Sect head-on!" Li Qingxian declared loudly.

"What other conditions do you have? State them all." Zhou Chunfeng said.

"Today, I need to go out and buy offerings, so I'll need one of your written orders. Someone may scheme against me in secret tomorrow. Could you have Uncle Zhou Hen follow me secretly and deal with them?"

"Yes." After Zhou Chunfeng spoke, he lowered his head and gave a light cough.

Li Qingxian was overjoyed. "Thank you, Uncle Zhou! Once this matter is over, I'll ask my childhood friend for the best loquat syrup."

"You're quite thoughtful." As Zhou Chunfeng spoke, he wrote out a personal order, stamped it with his great seal, and handed it to Li Qingxian.

Li Qingxian accepted it and said, "Oh, right, Uncle Zhou. I have a personal matter I'd like to ask you about."

"Hm?" Zhou Chunfeng's expression darkened.

Li Qingxian said with a grin, "You misunderstand. It's my personal matter, not your personal matter."

"Let's hear it."

Li Qingxian let out a long sigh. "Speaking of which, my background has been plagued by disaster after disaster. When I was little, my mother said Father was going to arrange a marriage for me, but somehow, there was never any further news. Half a year ago, my concubine mother said that since Father saw I was nearly sixteen, he was arranging a marriage for me. In the end, there was no follow-up again. So, I was thinking, Uncle Zhou, could you stop letting my life keep suffering setback after setback? Uncle Zhou?"

For some reason, Zhou Chunfeng had fallen into a daze. Only when Li Qingxian shouted did he come back to himself. "You want me to propose marriage for you?"

"It doesn't really count as proposing marriage. Just help me keep an eye out for which household has a good daughter. We can't let outsiders beat us to it, right?" Li Qingxian said.

Zhou Chunfeng nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for you."

Li Qingxian gave a light cough. "Uncle Zhou, what I mean is, don't misunderstand. I'm not saying she has to be someone like Jiang Youfei, but if you insist on finding someone according to Jiang Youfei's standards, I wouldn't object..."

"Get out!"

"Uncle Zhou..."

"Get out!"

"Fine, let the Li Family line end, then!" Shaking his head, Li Qingxian carried off another plate of pastries.

Zhou Chunfeng looked utterly helpless.

"That little rascal, just like his father..." With that, he rose to his feet, stood by the window, and looked outside.

Vaguely, he saw a middle-aged man crouching before a little girl with a runny nose, waving a candied hawthorn skewer in his hand as he smiled. "Ying'er, I'll give you a candied hawthorn skewer. Will you marry our little Qingxian?"

The little girl gazed eagerly at the candied hawthorn skewer.

"Then it's settled!" The man stuffed the gleaming candied hawthorn skewer into the girl's hand, and she skipped away.

That night had also been in early summer. Zhou Chunfeng, who had resigned from office and lived in Jiangnan, had drunk himself into a stupor with the visiting Li Gangfeng.

When the drinking was at its height, Li Gangfeng slapped the table and cursed Zhou Chunfeng for being scared out of his wits by the Demon Race, for possessing a body full of talent yet idling away in Jiangnan, and for disregarding the great righteousness of the Human Race for his own selfish interests.

After that, the two never again drank at the same table.

"Ying'er wants candied hawthorn..."

Zhou Chunfeng changed into casual clothes with a green background and scattered branch patterns, left the Night Guard Yamen, bought two candied hawthorn skewers, then returned to the rear hall of the Divine Capital Office. Sitting beneath a maple tree, he slowly dug a shallow pit in the earth and buried the two skewers.

Holding Zhou Chunfeng's written order, Li Qingxian left the Night Guard Yamen and bought some offerings. He also casually purchased some yellow paper, chicken blood, coin swords, peachwood talismans, and other items commonly used by False Fate Art practitioners.

Afterward, he returned to the Jia-Nine Office to collect pastries and several books, then headed to the infirmary.

After setting down the plate, Li Qingxian swept a glance over the two people lying on the sickbeds.

Li Qingxian said, "Lord Zhou said Team Jia-Nine will rest and recuperate first. I'll keep watch during the day, but I need to go back to sleep at night. Tomorrow and the day after, Lord Zhou and I have important matters to handle, so sorry for the trouble."

Han Anbo nodded and said in a low voice, "You're still young. People climb upward. But no matter what you do, be extra careful. In this world, it's hard to be a good person. Look at Captain Zheng..."

"I understand." Li Qingxian looked at the unconscious Zheng Hui.

"It's not that one can't be a good person. It's just that being a good person is ten times harder than being an evil one..." Han Anbo sighed.