Lu Miaoyun!

"Uncle Lu, I was naturally overwhelmed by the honor and delighted that the lineage head was willing to marry the Second Miss to me."

"I like the Second Miss very much as well, but we aren't suited to each other."

Lu Changsheng gave Uncle Lu, who had come to "call him to account," a wry smile as he spoke.

"Not only do I already have so many wives, concubines, and children, but when I first sought immortality, I also swore to myself that I would marry a hundred wives and have several hundred children in this lifetime."

"What the Second Miss wants is someone who will devote himself wholeheartedly to her. But that's something I would struggle to do-something I simply cannot do..."

"So the Second Miss and I were fated to meet, but not to be together. Even if we did marry, these things could become seeds of discord."

"If conflict arose, I would have failed to live up to the lineage head's recognition and nurturing of me. I would be too ashamed to face him."

Lu Changsheng spoke with an earnest, sincere expression.

At his words, Uncle Lu's deeply wrinkled face twitched slightly.

Marrying a hundred wives and having several hundred children-he really struggled to keep his composure at that.

He badly wanted to ask, Are you a breeding boar?

But then he remembered that in just over four years, Lu Changsheng already had twelve women and had never stopped having children.

He really did seem to be working toward that goal.

"Ah!"

Uncle Lu let out a deep sigh.

He had never imagined that Lu Miaohuan would agree to this marriage match, only for Lu Changsheng to refuse because he felt they were unsuited.

Still, poor as Lu Changsheng's reason might be, it held water and was understandable.

Although Lu Changsheng possessed extraordinary talent in talisman making, that was only potential. He had yet to turn all of it into actual ability.

If the two truly married, Lu Miaohuan would hold the upper hand. Given her temperament, Lu Changsheng would undoubtedly be the one making more concessions.

That would be fine if Lu Changsheng was willing to accommodate her.

But if things really went as Lu Changsheng said and the two eventually developed marital conflicts, how would the Lu Lineage handle it?

Favor Lu Miaohuan?

That was naturally out of the question.

Lu Changsheng possessed extraordinary talent in talisman making. If he advanced further in that craft and turned his potential into actual ability, his standing in the Lu Lineage would rival that of a guest elder.

Doing so would clearly breed resentment in Lu Changsheng's heart and amount to driving him away.

The Lu Lineage wanted to marry a woman from its direct line to Lu Changsheng precisely to bind him firmly to them.

If that happened, their clever scheme would backfire and produce the opposite result.

But favoring Lu Changsheng would put Lu Yuanding, the lineage head, in a difficult position.

Thus, if Lu Changsheng and Lu Miaohuan married and began having conflicts, the Lu Lineage would indeed find itself caught between the two.

"All right, I understand what you mean. I'll convey your words faithfully to the lineage head."

Uncle Lu patted Lu Changsheng's shoulder without saying much more.

After all, something like this required both parties to be willing. They could not force Lu Changsheng into it.

If anything, the Lu Lineage would even lean more toward Lu Changsheng's side.

"Thank you, Uncle Lu."

Lu Changsheng put on a guilty, apologetic expression as he spoke.

He had originally intended to take this opportunity to bring up Li Feiyu's obligation to have children with Lu Yuanding.

He wanted to see whether he could ask Lu Yuanding to waive Li Feiyu's quota of fifty children, or at least reduce it.

But after things had turned out this way, he felt too embarrassed to raise it. He decided to set it aside for now and find another opportunity later.

"He said he wants to marry a hundred wives? And have several hundred children?"

After hearing Uncle Lu's account, Lu Yuanding was utterly speechless, at a loss for what to say.

Was he planning to accomplish alone, in a few decades, what other lineages took a century to achieve?

It seemed Lu Changsheng had truly abandoned cultivation altogether and only wanted to have children.

Still, remembering Lu Changsheng's ninth-grade spiritual root, he could understand it somewhat.

"Yes, lineage head."

"Although it sounds like a joke, I feel Lu Changsheng really does mean it to some extent. It didn't seem like an excuse to avoid marrying the Second Miss."

Uncle Lu spoke with a wry smile.

Lu Yuanding nodded at his words.

Then he sighed deeply. "I failed to think this matter through."

Whether Lu Changsheng had offered an excuse or spoken the truth, he had no intention of blaming him.

As the head of a lineage, he still possessed that much tolerance.

For the sake of the lineage's interests, he could not blame Lu Changsheng either.

Besides, throughout this marriage arrangement, he had only been thinking of his own daughter, Lu Miaohuan.

He had felt that Lu Changsheng was an excellent match for her.

He had never considered Lu Changsheng's wishes or thoughts.

Deep down, he had also harbored an unconscious arrogance.

He had assumed that if he married his daughter to Lu Changsheng, the young man would be too grateful to even consider refusing.

But thinking about it now, Lu Changsheng's words made sense.

Even setting aside his wish to have several hundred children, their temperaments truly were not very compatible. What would happen if conflicts arose later?

He was confident he could keep Lu Changsheng in check now, but what about in the future?

Even as the Lu Lineage's head, he could not use his authority to browbeat others. The other lineage elders would not agree to it either.

Moreover, Lu Changsheng's words had also taken the Lu Lineage's position into consideration.

That showed he felt some sense of belonging to the Lu Lineage and meant well.

"Ah."

Lu Yuanding sighed again.

Right now, he was simply an old father worrying himself sick over his daughter.

Earlier, her anger had subsided considerably, and she had been willing to wait for Lu Changsheng's answer. That showed his daughter really did have some affection for him.

But now that Lu Changsheng had refused, he was at a loss as to how to face his daughter or tell her about it.

What a headache.

Two days later, Lu Changsheng received another invitation to a marriage meeting.

By now, he understood that the Lu Lineage's higher-ups were determined to marry a woman of some standing within the lineage to him.

Only then would he truly count as one of their own, a son-in-law of the Lu Lineage.

Although he had already taken nine mortal women from the Lu Lineage as wives and concubines, the higher-ups did not consider that enough to make him a true son-in-law.

The young woman this time was called Lu Miaoyun, the granddaughter of the Lu Lineage Fourth Elder.

She was eighteen this year, with a seventh-grade spiritual root, a pretty, delicate appearance, and an obedient, sensible temperament.

It was probably also because of the matter with Lu Miaohuan

that the Lu Lineage had deliberately chosen an obedient, sensible young woman.

This marriage meeting went very smoothly.

After the two met, both agreed, and the Lu Lineage settled their marriage the next day.

The wedding was set for eighteen days later, which happened to be an auspicious date.

Meanwhile.

Inside a quaint little building, elegant and exquisitely appointed.

Crash!

A beautifully patterned vase was smashed onto the floor, shattering into countless pieces.

The shards on the floor reflected a stunning face filled with icy anger.

Inside the room, smashing one vase had not been enough to vent Lu Miaohuan's anger. Only after breaking several more vases and ornaments did she calm down.

"Tell me, is Lu Changsheng deliberately humiliating me because of what happened back then?!"

Lu Miaohuan abruptly raised her head and looked at her personal maid, Kuis, her eyes slightly red.

After leaving the Bamboo Heart Lodge and letting some of her anger subside, she had still been thinking of giving Lu Changsheng another chance.

As long as Lu Changsheng was willing to come and apologize, she would still be willing to marry him.

But she had never expected Lu Changsheng to reject her outright.

And two days later, he had settled a marriage with the Fourth Elder's granddaughter, her younger cousin from the lineage.

To someone as proud as her, this felt like humiliation.

"Miss, how could that be?"

Kuis spoke cautiously. "Lu Changsheng could hardly adore you more, miss."

"I heard that the reason Lu Changsheng didn't agree was because he felt he wasn't worthy of you. He also wants to take wives and concubines and have a whole brood of children, which is why he chose Miss Miaoyun."

Of course, Lu Miaohuan knew Lu Changsheng had not deliberately humiliated her.

Her father, Lu Yuanding, had already come to soothe and console her.

But she simply could not swallow this indignity.

Lu Miaohuan squeezed her beautiful eyes shut, her ample chest rising and falling. Then she gritted her teeth. "Lu Changsheng, I will find a man ten times, a hundred times better than you, and make you regret this!"