Chapter 47: Fate?

“Li Xian, do you believe in fate? The so-called fate means that some people are destined to be wealthy and powerful, while others are meant to live in poverty.

Among all living things, the lowest fate belongs to grass and trees, while the highest fate belongs to celestial beings and deities.”

“This…” Li Xian hesitated for a moment before answering seriously, “Your Majesty, I don’t fully believe it, but I don’t completely deny it either.”

“I believe what you say.” The Empress suddenly appeared a bit wistful. “I have three children now; you should have seen the eldest prince. There are also two daughters, one named Xia Yuhua and the other, Xia Qingqing.

When the eldest prince was born, a diviner said that his fate was unstable; he had the destiny of a crown prince but not enough to be the ruler of a nation.

At that time, no one believed it.

Three years later, Xia Yuhua was born. The diviner said her fate was troubled, with signs of causing harm to her husband and an early demise.

Naturally, we still didn’t believe it.

Eight years later, Xia Qingqing was born. The diviner said her fate was greedy, with signs of harming her husband and financial ruin.

We still didn’t believe it, because among diviners, there are both good and bad, and their thoughts are often chaotic and confusing; we simply dismissed that diviner.

But… sigh…”

The Empress suddenly turned to look at Xia Qingqing, gently stroking her head, filled with tenderness, love, as well as a sense of helplessness and despair. “But nine years ago, the eldest princess Xia Yuhua married General Zhao Zhang of the Northwest. Just a year later, the victorious General Zhao Zhang mysteriously died from an arrow during a battle with the Chen Kingdom, leaving behind a pregnant Xia Yuhua.

Xia Yuhua died three months after giving birth to Zhao Fei, having severed her own life’s path.”

At this point, the Empress was in tears.

Li Xian remained silent. The Empress’s words were simple, but he could see the countless sorrows and struggles behind them. The death of the Grand General would inevitably bring a huge impact to the Great Xia Kingdom; unfortunately, in the past, Li Xian had learned nothing and only vaguely remembered a crisis the Great Xia Kingdom faced during his childhood.

At this moment, he felt it was inappropriate to speak and could only wait quietly. After a while, the Empress wiped her tears and continued, “After this incident, we had to respectfully invite that diviner back. He provided a way to break the curse.

As long as the crown prince remains a crown prince, or does not become a crown prince, there will be no threat to his life. And Qingqing… it’s best for her to live simply, wearing plain clothes, and to avoid any luxurious things.”

Li Xian looked at Xia Qingqing, who wore simple clothes and a wooden hairpin, and felt a sudden pang in his heart; a royal princess, yet she could only wear plain clothes, eat vegetarian meals, and live frugally. It seemed she couldn’t have much contact with outsiders.

However, despite knowing this, Li Xian still had no intention of giving up. "Is there really no way to solve this completely?"

"There is, and there are two methods!"

"Two methods? How do they work?" Li Xian was already filled with excitement.

The empress forced a smile. "One is to cultivate to the realm of a land immortal, which is the transformation stage."

Li Xian was momentarily stunned; even the Golden Core stage was for experts, and the Nascent Soul stage was considered an ancestor. The transformation stage was almost legendary.

True, there were many immortal techniques available, but without treasures to assist, the achievements possible with human energy and talent were quite limited. Why have systems of cultivation like scholars, strategists, warriors, and alchemists emerged now? To put it plainly, there was no other choice!

Using traditional cultivation methods might be good, but many of them required treasures like Foundation Establishment Pills, Nascent Soul Pills, or Divine Soul Pills as aids. Yet now, with so many cultivators, where were those treasures?

Without treasures, traditional cultivation methods had to be discounted; the Nascent Soul stage was basically the peak. This is why the idea of "worldly methods" was born.

So, wanting Xia Qingqing to cultivate to the realm of a land immortal was simply a fantasy!

Li Xian was dazed for a while before cautiously asking, "What about the second method?"

"The second method is..." The empress glanced at Li Xian, "to find a husband with a stronger fate. This way, not only can it dissolve the misfortunes attached to Qingqing, but it can also reverse the situation, turning her 'Greedy Wolf' fate into a 'Lü Cun' fate, leading to great wealth and fortune." 

"However..."

At this point, the empress's expression turned bitter. "But fate is not as simple as a stone; it’s obvious which are strong and which are weak. The only way to verify the strength of a fate is through marriage.

But, after all, a princess is a princess. She can’t just marry over and over again; that would be a loss of royal dignity."

Li Xian instantly felt conflicted.

"To love a beauty but not the kingdom is called sentiment; to love a beauty but not value life is called a loss. If you stake your life, the beauty is naturally no longer yours.”

Seeing Li Xian hesitating, the empress sighed, “Li Xian, I’ll give you three days to think it over.”

Li Xian looked at Xia Qingqing, who was still playing with the night lantern, gritted his teeth, and suddenly strode up to her. In the astonished and incredulous eyes of everyone, he took Xia Qingqing's hand and said clearly, “Marry me.”

This sudden move shocked everyone; even Xia Qingqing lifted her beautiful, unadorned face, astonished at Li Xian, unsure how to respond for a moment.

The empress was surprised for quite a while before finally smiling. '”Qingqing, you escort Li Xian out. I’ll find a sorcerer to test his fate first.

“Okay.” Xia Qingqing felt a mix of anticipation and anxiety as she led Li Xian out. Just before they left, Xia Qingqing suddenly whispered, "Thank you.”

“Thank you needs to be backed up with action”, Li Xian said, leaning his face closer to hers…

“Ah… take it easy!” Xia Qingqing's response was a 'Nine Yin White Bone Claw.'

“Pfft… you really are a rogue.” Xia Qingqing laughed, and Li Xian immediately leaned in to bite her.

“Hmph, I haven't agreed to you yet.” Xia Qingqing pushed Li Xian away and turned back inside, but it was clear that her mood was bright, at least for now.

Li Xian rubbed his slightly sore jaw, feeling pleased as he turned to leave.

However, it should be noted that Li Xian didn’t truly love beauty over life; he considered himself a person who feared death. The reason he dared to accept Xia Qingqing, aside from truly falling for her at first sight, was that—Li Xian believed his fate was certainly strong! After all, how could one traverse to another world without a strong fate?

With this in mind, Li Xian ultimately decided to take a gamble! As for losing wealth, well, he thought he would be losing others' wealth. From the looks of it, making him suffer a financial loss wouldn’t be easy!

Li Xian hummed a disjointed pop song, stepping joyfully back into the grand hall. At this moment, the hall was bustling; whether they were treacherous ministers or capable officials, whether allies or enemies, everyone was exchanging pleasantries, sharing a few drinks, and putting on a show of 'forgiving past grievances.'

Li Xian looked around and noticed that the chancellor, Ouyang Wubing, had the least company—only Ouyang Wubing, Ouyang Qing, and a few aides from the chancellor’s office were present; no other officials were around.

After considering, Li Xian walked over to the chancellor. Feeling quite proud, he swaggered a bit. “Greetings, Prime Minister. You mentioned before that you’d like me to visit your residence.”

“However, I’ve calculated that I’ll be very busy after the new year, so I’m here to toast you today.”

Upon hearing Li Xian's words, Ouyang Wubing became furious, pointing at Li Xian's nose and shouting, “You… you… you little rascal, is this how you do things?”

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