The Dull-Witted Youngest Child

"Money is a small matter!"

Li Lingsu tapped her fingers on the table and chuckled, "Xu Ningyan's wedding is the real highlight. Think about it, who will be his dao companion?"

"The Imperial Advisor," Yang Qian replied without hesitation.

The fact that Xu Ningyan and Luo Yuheng became dao companion was no secret among the higher-ups of the Great Feng. If they weren't dao companion, the Grand Preceptor would have already led the disciples of the Human Sect away from the capital during the Yunzhou rebellion.

After all, the Imperial Academy and the Bureau of Astronomy are different. The Bureau of Astronomy is part of the imperial court, while the Imperial Academy and the imperial court have a cooperative relationship.

Who would risk their life for their partner?

The Imperial Advisor was naturally unwilling; she wasn't doing it for the sake of the Great Feng, but for the sake of someone surnamed Xu.

Yang Qianhuan was unaware of the rumors circulating outside, but he knew that the Warlock at the Bureau of Astronomy often lamented Xu's good fortune with women. His sworn brother, too, was heartbroken whenever the matter was mentioned.

Yang Qianhuan didn't quite understand. No matter how beautiful a woman was, she was still just a pretty skeleton. What was there to admire or envy?

In this regard, Song Qing and Yang Qianhuan, who were obsessed with the Alchemy of life, shared the same view.

"Luo Yuheng is the head of the Human Sect, a first-rank terrestrial immortal. Can she tolerate sharing a husband with other women?" Li Lingsu laughed.

"In addition, besides Luo Yuheng, the former Princess of Zhenbei and the most beautiful woman in Great Feng, Mu Nanzhi, also had an affair with someone surnamed Xu. Also, although I, as her senior brother, am unwilling to admit it, Miaozhen and Xu Ningyan probably have mutual feelings for each other."

"Brother Yang, what do you think will be like on Xu Ningyan's wedding day?"

Yang Qianhuan was initially excited upon hearing this, but then immediately shook her head:

"Xu Ningyan is not what he used to be. What does it matter if he marries Lin'an? Even if he has three wives and four concubines, the Imperial Advisor will probably turn a blind eye."

Li Lingsu shook her head:

"No, no, no, you don't understand Luo Yuheng. Based on my experience of having seen countless women, both the Imperial Advisor and the Princess are proud and arrogant people who would never compromise. Besides, even in the homes of ordinary wealthy families, there are still fierce battles and intrigues, let alone among them."

He slurped his teacup down with a "slurp," and winked, saying:

"We're here for you, aren't we? I'm an expert at stirring things up. I'll make sure Xu Ningyan is on pins and needles and makes a complete fool of himself on his wedding day."

The wedding is unlikely to be disrupted. Given Xu Qi'an's current status and position, if he's determined to marry Lin'an, even the Imperial Advisor can't stop him. The Holy Son doesn't intend to ruin the wedding either; what he wants is for Xu Ningyan to be embarrassed.

Yang Qianhuan was overjoyed and clapped her hands vigorously:

"Great idea!"

Hmph, all you ever do is show off, now you're getting your comeuppance! Yang Qianhuan suddenly began to look forward to their wedding day.

Southern Frontier.

In the Palace of the Demon Queen, Ye Ji, dressed in an elaborate black gauze dress, stepped over the high threshold and entered the luxurious palace where blue smoke floated and red candles burned brightly.

On the soft, reclining throne, the peerless beauty lay on her side with her legs crossed, her tall, voluptuous body exuding allure. Her snow-white wrists supported her head as she admired the fox spirits' dance.

Eight fox-women draped in light veils swayed their hips and danced a passionate and daring dance typical of the Demon Race race.

Several fox spirits were also playing waist drums and pipa (a type of Chinese lute) and other musical instruments nearby.

"Your Majesty."

Night Princess bowed.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox waved her hand and said calmly:

"Step back!"

The fox-woman inside the hall bowed and left the hall.

The nine-tailed celestial fox gazed at Ye Ji, toying with its fox tail in its hand, its voice soft and low, unhurried:

"Is there any progress on the matter I asked you to investigate?"

Yoruhime replied:

"I have already met the descendants of the Scorpion King. I learned from them that during the war between Buddha and demon, the 'Great Sun Tathagata Dharma Image' emerged from Master Shenshu's body."

According to the Scorpion King's later recollections, the then-ruler and all the demon kings were caught off guard and suffered countless deaths and injuries. Although Shen Shu fought valiantly against the Buddhist School experts and killed countless enemies, he could no longer reverse the decline.

Because the scorpion king was a little further away, he was only seriously injured. Later, he led some of his people to escape into the Central Plains and lived in seclusion thereafter.

However, the injuries inflicted by the Great Sun Tathagata's Dharma form gradually eroded his life force, and after sixty years, the demon king of the transcendent realm perished.

The nine-tailed celestial fox muttered to itself:

"The Dharma form of Vairocana Buddha originates from Shenshu's body, originates from Shenshu's body."

After a long while, she took a deep breath and said:

"In a few days, it will be Xu Qi'an's wedding day with the Princess of Great Feng. Take a gift and go to congratulate him on behalf of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons. After that, stay by his side."

After saying that, the silver-haired enchantress smiled and said:

"He is now a first-grade martial artist, with vigorous Qi and Blood. He is a unique and top-grade cultivation vessel in the world. You should cultivate with him diligently and advance to the extraordinary realm as soon as possible. I will also be able to merge with the Nine-Tailed Fox and advance to the first grade."

"I'm only giving you three months. After three months, I want to see your cultivation improve. Otherwise, I'll send Kiyohime, Yukihime, and the other tails over. At least one of them will be able to advance to the transcendent realm."

Night Princess smiled wryly, "Yes!"

She didn't really want to join in the fun; the more intense the power struggles within the man's household, the more he liked to keep mistresses outside.

Therefore, trying so hard to get into the Xu Residence might not be a good thing.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox sighed and said:

"It's a pity we didn't find any of our kind on the last voyage, otherwise we could have extracted its spiritual essence and advanced to the first rank. Mother said there should still be nine-tailed celestial foxes overseas, so why can't we find them?"

The spiritual essence of the nine-tailed celestial fox can be "inherited," which means that it can be seized by members of the same clan.

She told Xu Qi'an that she was looking for her own kind to reproduce, but that was just a casual lie to fool him.

We weren't familiar with each other back then, so there was no need to tell him the secret of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan.

The Xu Residence.

In a secluded courtyard far from the main hospital, Xu Yuanhuai stood shirtless, holding a large gun horizontally in his right hand. He maintained this posture for half an hour, sweat streaming down his strong and well-proportioned muscles.

On the other side of the courtyard, Ji Baiqing leisurely planted flowers in the flowerbed.

Spring is here. If you plant flowers now, in a few months, your yard will be full of colorful blooms.

Xu Yuanshuang brought over a bowl of ginseng soup, placed it on the stone table, and said:

"Don't push yourself. The fourth rank is a hurdle for martial artists, and countless geniuses have been stuck at this level."

Xu Yuanhuai ignored him.

Xu Yuanshuang shook her head:

"Don't always compare yourself to him. He didn't get to where he is today entirely because of half of the country's fortune. What he's experienced in the last two years is something you can't compare to in your entire life."

"They fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; isn't it only natural that they're better than you, someone who hasn't suffered much?"

Xu Yuanhuai lowered his gun, his face cold and stern, and said calmly:

"I stopped arguing with him a long time ago. I have that much self-awareness. I just don't want to look bad."

Xu Yuanshuang frowned and said:

"What kind of talk is that!"

Xu Yuanhuai has exceptional talent, something even his father praised back then.

Xu Yuanhuai shook his head slightly:

"I saw Xu Lingyue using magical artifacts a few days ago, and I asked her about her cultivation. Guess how she answered?"

Xu Yuanshuang then asked:

"How?"

Xu Yuanhuai said in a muffled voice:

"After half a year of cultivation, she went from an ordinary person with no foundation to a seventh-grade Qi-absorbing cultivator."

Xu Yuanshuang's mouth gaped slightly, her face full of surprise.

Xu Yuanhuai continued:

"I have carefully investigated the talents of the second branch of the family. Xu Xinnian is a sixth-rank Confucian scholar. However, the Confucian School system emphasizes the importance of accumulating knowledge and skills before making a breakthrough. If you want to cultivate yourself, you must first study and reach a certain level of proficiency before you can make great progress in the Confucian School system."

"Xu Xinnian was already at the ninth-grade Aperture Opening Realm early on, but he didn't make any progress for many years. However, after passing the provincial examination, he was promoted from the Subordinate Ninth Rank to the fifth grade in just two years, which shows that he has extremely strong talent."

"I may not be as good as Xu Qi'an, but I can't fall behind these two. I want to advance to the fourth rank before them."

This is competition and comparison among peers.

Xu Yuanshuang sighed:

"The brother and sister from the second branch of the family are truly astonishingly talented. Second Uncle Xu, is clearly only of average talent."

Of course, Second Uncle Xu's lack of talent does not mean that the Xu Household lacks talent. Their father, Xu Pingfeng, was a genius rarely seen in the world.

Ji Baiqing stood up, patted the mud off her palms, and said softly:

"The second wife also has a youngest son. I heard from the servants that he's a simple-minded child, far less intelligent than his older brothers and sisters."

Xu Yuanshuang seemed to remember something and echoed:

"I've heard that too. He's seven years old and hasn't even started his formal education. He can only recite two lines of the Three Character Classic. It's said that even the teachers at the Cloud Deer Academy and the current Grand Tutor are at a loss. He has no talent for martial arts either; he just plays around all day."

Such dullness is truly rare.

"Later I heard that because of his strong physique, he followed a girl from the Southern Frontier to practice Gu magic," Xu Yuanshuang said.

Ji Baiqing washed her hands and said:

"It would be strange if they were all exceptionally gifted. Dragons have nine sons, each different. Some are intelligent, while others are dull. This child is lucky; even if he is a bit dull, with his older brothers and sisters to take care of him, he is destined for great wealth and honor in the future."

"I heard from your aunt that Ningyan is going to bring her back before her wedding. You should put more effort into that, teaching her to read and write. Yuanhuai can also teach her martial arts."

The brother and sister understood what their mother meant: she wanted them to seize this opportunity and quickly integrate into the Xu Residence.

Given the current status of the Xu Residence, the brother and sister have no "usefulness" at all. The only opportunity lies with the second wife's dull-witted youngest son, who is neither good at literature nor martial arts. Whether it is teaching her to read and write or learning martial arts, she can win the favor of the second wife.

If it achieves something, the effect will be even better.

Xu Yuanshuang smiled. "Teaching a child their early education isn't difficult. If I have the chance, I'd like to meet this young lady."

It's astonishing that even the teachers of the Cloud Deer Academy and the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty were helpless against it.

She really didn't believe it.

Xu Yuanhuai shook his head:

"Learning martial arts requires perseverance and talent. If you don't have talent, there's no need to teach you. When I was seven, I started to strengthen my muscles and bones and temper my Qi and Blood. The hardships involved were beyond what a child who only knew how to play could endure."

Xu Yuanshuang took the towel her mother was using to wipe her hands and whispered:

"Mother, my elder brother's wedding is imminent, but my aunt won't let you get involved in the preparations. Is she telling you that she's the true matriarch of the Xu Household?"

Ji Baiqing smiled and said:

"She doesn't have that kind of clever mind; you're overcomplicating things."

"Either they don't want me to work hard, or they haven't realized it yet, or maybe Lingyue doesn't want me to get involved."

This girl has been managing things exceptionally diligently lately, guarding the household's power for her mother, and she's a formidable opponent.

As they were talking, a maid came from outside the courtyard and stood not far away, saying softly:

"Madam, Miss Lingyin has returned. She sent me to invite you over for tea."

The mother and her two children exchanged glances; they had only just begun talking about their youngest son.

What a coincidence!

The spacious hall was filled with people, including the second uncle and Erlang who were on duty at the yamen, and the whole family.

Xu Qi'an sat at the table, fiddling with the thick stack of invitations.

Mu Nanzhi held a cup of tea and drank it angrily.

The Flower Goddess has beautiful handwriting, but she doesn't like writing invitations for Xu Qi'an.

Lingyue also has beautiful handwriting, but she said with shame that she accidentally burned her hand while drinking tea yesterday and can't pick up a pen.

They just weren't willing to help write it.

Xu Lingyin sat on a large chair with her feet dangling in the air, eating pastries without a care in the world. Next to her sat Lina, who was neither fair nor dark-skinned, also eating pastries, but she was also paying attention to the mother and her two children who had entered the inner hall.

"Yuan Shuang is here!"

Xu Dalang's eyes lit up, and he waved to his beautiful and charming younger sister:

"Come here, help your older brother write the invitations."

Just as Xu Yuanshuang was about to agree, she suddenly felt two murderous gazes fall upon her.

Xu Yuanshuang remained calm and smiled sweetly.

"Okay, big brother."

She glanced at Xu Lingyue and Mu Nanzhi, feigning surprise, and said:

"Can't Lingyue and Aunt Mu write?"

Although there were some doubts, it was clear that these two didn't seem to like writing invitations for their older brother.

P. S.: I took a nap and thankfully finished my work. Because I had dozed off, my mental state is pretty good, so don't worry about me.