Great Immortal Ding's Blunder

"If you want things to get worse, then they will be terrible!"

"If you're thinking positively, then something good must be happening!"

"If you want to be conservative, the conservative outcome will be as expected, and mine will be too!"

Rong Tianding's saying "What you wish for will come true" and Zhang Xuezhou's method of using copper coins to determine gender are similar in principle.

He used the new emperor's gold with complete peace of mind, spending this coveted fortune early on to avoid attracting the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Beautiful girls lined up one after another at Yuexian Silanfang, and Rong Tianding would occasionally observe their faces.

He swept away all the signs of deep-seated hatred, troubled family background, secretive and difficult personality, adaptability after unaware of changes in status and position, and sharp tongue.

He frequently praised numerous women, but the woman he truly loved changed constantly.

For Rong Tianding, what he sought was far more than a woman like A Qiao. He didn't ask for any personal gain; he just wanted a peaceful and harmonious life in his home.

"I'll redeem you from your servitude!"

A group of women slowly passed by, and Rong Tianding finally nodded to a tall, fair-skinned woman.

If one lacks sufficient family connections for marriage, or if one encounters a nun with whom one shares a mutual affection, then the daughters of convicted officials from Silanfang are the best match.

Leaving aside talents such as playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, the mere fact that these women could read was an advantage that ordinary women could not match.

"It's a pity that Yi Shuo has taken a liking to my cousin, but my cousin doesn't like Yi Shuo, and Yi Shuo, in turn, doesn't like me either, only treating me as a buddy. Now she's focused on cultivating herself. This whole mess is really ridiculous!"

Rong Tianding took the hand of the woman named 'Wanqing', indicating that he was willing to pay for her ransom, and handed over the ransom according to the rules.

His behavior was not unusual; people were being redeemed from Yuexian Silanfang every day.

Some people redeemed her to be their principal wife, some redeemed her to be their concubine, and some bought her to give as gifts; all sorts of things happened quite often.

"Master Ding...!"

A woman's voice, tinged with an exotic accent, drifted over, and she spoke with a slight stutter. Rong Tianding couldn't help but inwardly curse himself for misjudging her.

The woman was taller and fairer-skinned, and her appearance was no different from that of a lady from a respectable family, but this woman was bought and sold on the black market.

"Your name is Wanqing!"

Rong Tianding tried his best to maintain his composure, but in his heart he deeply resented the madams of Silanfang who gave such haphazard names.

If the other person's name was something like Gerili or Anya, he wouldn't have fallen into this trap of buying a foreign woman.

The other person really had no connections, but marrying her would be like making him half-mute; he'd have to be taught how to speak again.

"Yes, Master Ding... Immortal!"

The woman gave a stammering response, and Rong Tianding had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept it.

"Very well, being my woman doesn't require much talking. If I talk too much, I'm afraid I'll lose my temper and start telling your fortune, which would be pointless!"

He stubbornly maintained his dignity, saying he had no regrets now that the deal was done. He accepted the sales contract from Si Lanfang, and was just waiting for the contract to be transferred before taking the other party home.

"Okay... Ding..."

"Good!"

Rong Tianding took a deep breath, and with a smile on his face, he returned the greetings from the wealthy merchants and minor officials around him, trying his best not to lose face.

"Women from the Western Regions are rare finds, I didn't expect you, Master Ding, to have such a taste!"

"Hahaha!"

Rong Tianding didn't dare to respond rashly, lest he give himself away.

He smiled and simply laughed at the congratulatory crowd, indicating that he just liked this kind of thing and there was nothing he could do about it.

Having spent nearly a hundred taels of gold entrusted to him by the new emperor, he was no longer afraid of being targeted with the remaining wealth.

It would take some time for Silanfang to process the notarized contract, but Rong Tianding wasn't in a hurry, since it wouldn't be easy for him to leave.

His gaze occasionally swept over the Imperial Guards experts who remained to watch him, and he would sometimes even greet them.

The Imperial Guards, as solid as iron, clearly didn't care about his act and instead sat by the railing waiting.

As dusk approached, Rong Tianding saw the Imperial Guard reach out and brace himself against the edge of the high railing before jumping off the three-meter-high platform.

"Let's go, we're going home!"

After settling the contract with Silanfang, Rong Tianding greeted the woman he was to marry and hailed a carriage that was waiting nearby.

"Man..."

"Let's have sex tomorrow, then have a baby, and you'll be free. My family hasn't slaughtered pigs in years, so you don't have to worry about my mom forcing you to learn how to slaughter pigs!"

Rong Tianding gave Wanqing, who looked very respectful, instructions, implying that becoming his wife or concubine would not be a bad thing.

He rummaged through Wanqing's clothes and saw white marks on some parts of her body, realizing that she had been beaten a lot in the past, which was why she was so docile.

Whenever these women have suffered, they grasp at the only straw that can save them when they are freed from their suffering.

Although he was dissatisfied with the way they communicated and lacked cultural understanding, Rong Tianding realized that he and his partner didn't have much to say to each other. Just like Zhang Xuezhou and A Qiao, couples who met later in life didn't have much in common and their relationship was very weak.

"Looks like I'll have to go find out some information from my cousin!"

Having settled his own marriage, Rong Tianding had resolved a troublesome matter.

The fact that the new emperor would spend hundreds of taels of gold to have his fortune told for peace of mind shows that Rong Tianding knew without a doubt that the new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou were up to something big.

He touched his token that allowed him to pass through Shanglin Garden, feeling that he had to go there to investigate.

"My going to Shanglin Garden means I've figured out His Majesty's true colors. My Yufeng Physiognomy Technique might be exposed. And even with my cloud-riding skills, I can't avoid the patrolling Imperial Guards. I'll have to sound out Li Shaojun Li Shaojun this. Yufeng flying skills are better than mine, so letting him go won't implicate me!"

After thinking it over, Rong Tianding decided that he could fly to Yunyi Daoist Yufeng in the middle of the night to find Li Shaojun.

After figuring out the various connections, he couldn't help but look in the direction of Zhang Xuezhou's residence again.

As Zhang Xuezhou drifted between sleep and wakefulness, A Qiao's belly grew larger and larger.

For Zhang Xuezhou, time flies by so fast that he hardly notices it, but the baby in A Qiao's belly is about to come out and see the world.

If time permits, Rong Tianding thinks it would be better for Zhang Xuezhou to return to Chang'an City, so as to avoid neglecting his family affairs.

"For His Majesty to seek fortune-telling, this place must be quite the scheme. My cousin's involvement is also deepening. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Sitting in the carriage, Rong Tianding's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't help but ponder everything Zhang Xuezhou had done.

Whether one passively accepts the impact and is forced to participate, or whether Zhang Xuezhou takes the initiative to lead, one's attitude towards the matter determines their different fates.

Rong Tianding did not doubt Zhang Xuezhou's talent, but he was also somewhat worried that Zhang Xuezhou was not in control of his own destiny and would need the help of others to get out of trouble, or that he would have to take a gamble to maximize his benefits.

"If my cousin initiated all of this, he should be safe now!"

As long as one doesn't think the worst, Rong Tianding believes that Zhang Xuezhou's current situation is enough to turn his fortunes around.

At least for Zhang Xuezhou at present, everything is likely to be as he desires.