Chapter 50: Return to An Yang

Out of money? No problem, Xu Ren has thought of this for the officials. Xu Ren proposed a solution—this year, no gifts for the festival, just a piece of calligraphy or painting.

Li Xian sighed for a long time; indeed, he was a strategist, handling this matter lightly.

To be honest, many people here have valuable calligraphy and paintings. Normally, asking for a piece would not guarantee success, yet now they are piled up in Li Xian's study, looking as worthless as a primary school student's doodles.

The next morning, the entire Wuyang City was decorated with lights and festoons, and the emperor, in a good mood, was very generous; the empress was also very warm. So the wedding quickly became grand—most importantly, it was "quick."

Everything was expedited; the decorations and announcement of good news in the morning, and by afternoon, all the processes were completed, as if afraid Li Xian would have second thoughts. By evening, the princess was sent to the Li residence to marry.

Then Li Xian offered a cup of tea to his father-in-law, the emperor, and his mother-in-law, the empress, and exchanged it for their daughter.

Meanwhile, the princess was ushered into the bridal chamber by her maids.

The speed of this wedding was too fast, so fast that Li Xian was caught off guard—he thought, was it really necessary to be this urgent?

That night, Li Xian was forced to drink ten jins of liquor in turn by a bunch of "good buddies" before being "thrown" into the bridal chamber by the maids. Poor Li Xian, after ten jins of liquor, had no capacity for consummation; that night he just lay on the bed, vomiting for half the night, making the bridal chamber reek.

But Xia Qingqing patiently took care of Li Xian the entire night. This deeply moved Li Xian; it was truly precious for a princess to care for others so meticulously.

Thinking back to the past on Earth, many princesses would have their husbands stand guard at the door while they entertained lovers in the bridal chamber; the Tang Dynasty was the most typical example.

It wasn't until dawn that Li Xian finally sobered up; by then, it was already bright, and the east was turning red. Looking at his new wife, who had been busy all night and was still neatly dressed, he felt a sense of helplessness. He was about to go out to pay respects to the emperor.

With no time for farewells, Li Xian could only hurriedly freshen up, wash away the smell of liquor, and then took the shy Xia Qingqing out to meet people.

Needless to say, Li Xian's "obedience" that night was mocked by a group of friends. Shangguan Yong laughed the loudest.

After paying respects to the emperor, Xu Ren suddenly spoke up, "Young master, hurry and leave Wuyang City, don’t hesitate! Quickly, the faster the better.

Let’s simply leave the city; we’ll meet up with the team and return to Anyang directly."

"But I haven't even gone back to see Father and Second Brother yet?" Li Xian hesitated a bit.

To his surprise, Xia Qingqing also spoke up, "Husband, we must leave Wuyang now."

Seeing Xia Qingqing’s serious expression, Li Xian had to admit—she was indeed a princess; her insight and decisiveness were not something a pampered girl could compare to.

Li Xian immediately ordered that they wouldn't return to the Li residence, and they rushed out of Wuyang City directly to the Li family workshop outside the city, gathering the relevant personnel to set off back to Anyang.

At this point, Li Xian finally had the chance to ask, "Qingqing, why do you say that?"

Sitting in the carriage, he firmly held Xia Qingqing in his arms. She had no choice but to gently lean against his shoulder, still dressed in their wedding attire.

Hearing Li Xian's question, Xia Qingqing began softly, "I estimate my older brother has already visited the Li residence. If you return now, you'll inevitably meet him; and if he tries to win you over, can you refuse?

For you now, staying detached from the three princes is the best option. You were too close to my brother before, and seizing this opportunity to leave is the perfect way to ‘cut ties.’

That’s all I can think of; Mr. Xu probably has even more considerations."

Li Xian turned to ask Xu Ren, who was sitting outside the carriage.

Xu Ren unexpectedly began with a compliment: "What Princess said is almost everything. In fact, there’s another reason for leaving now, which also shows the young master’s determination not to participate in the power struggle.

Do you still remember Ge Zhengfeng’s evaluation of your destiny?"

"To assist the nation," Li Xian answered succinctly.

Xu Ren smiled and said, "Do you know what this evaluation means for you, for the emperor, and for the princes?"

"Please explain, sir." Li Xian was honest; after a series of events, he understood that replicating things from Earth was certainly fine. However, when it came to scheming and navigating political intricacies, he realized he wasn't quite up to it.

Xu Ren didn’t keep them in suspense and said directly, "First of all, for the emperor and the various princes, since you are destined to be a supporting figure, it means you have capability and won’t rebel.

Right now, in this world—not just in the Great Xia Kingdom, not just in Yingzhou, and not just in the Immortal Domain—there’s a common issue: those who are capable aren’t necessarily loyal, and those who are loyal aren’t necessarily capable. So, even though there are countless talented individuals in the world, for rulers, finding someone who is both loyal and capable, and who can be trusted, is always scarce.

Your demonstrated abilities need not be mentioned; your theories on industry and commerce, along with the fire of technology and industry, already have the potential to ignite a prairie fire.

Therefore, whether it’s the emperor, the crown prince, or even the second prince and the Wang family, they will all strive to win you over.

Whomever you lean toward will have a significant impact on future developments. The best approach is—remain neutral! Remaining neutral and being loyal only to the emperor is the correct course of action.

Moreover, Wuyang City is currently a major whirlpool; it’s best to leave early.

Secondly, Ge Zhengfeng’s evaluation of you will greatly benefit your development. After you return to An Yang, you can fully unleash your potential, and the emperor, as well as the princes, will certainly open doors for you.

As long as you don’t publicly raise the banner of rebellion, there shouldn’t be any problems. Hahaha..."

It was rare for Xu Ren to crack a cold joke.

Li Xian felt a bit gloomy, "Could it be that Ge Zhengfeng is that accurate?"

Xu Ren laughed heartily, "Indeed, Ge Zhengfeng is quite famous; not to mention, if it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have encountered the princess at all."

Oh? That was indeed a valid point!

Li Xian turned to look at Xia Qingqing, whose face was a mix of shyness and happiness, and suddenly hugged her tightly, leaning in to kiss her; today, he was going to nibble on his little cabbage.

"No!" Xia Qingqing dodged, finally pressing down on Li Xian's head, "Tonight... it’s up to you, but not during the day. Mr. Xu is still outside."

Feeling Xia Qingqing starting to channel her foundational energy, Li Xian could only grimace and give up; alas, his wife was in the foundational stage, while he was still at the ninth level of the Qi refining stage—too much pressure! His strong sense of masculinity was severely undermined.

"Alright, alright, you're acting like a child." Xia Qingqing gently stroked Li Xian's head, comforting him like a little Zhao Fei. It seemed true, as Li Xian had just turned 17 this year, while Xia Qingqing was already 19.

Li Xian had a cheeky grin, "I want to drink milk."

Xia Qingqing's face flushed red, her delicate hand moved to Li Xian’s waist, circling left and right, then changing places to do it again.

"Hiss..." Li Xian trembled in pain.

The convoy swayed as it left the territory of Wuyang, heading toward An Yang.

During this time, Li Xian found the wedding attire cumbersome and wanted to change, but both Xia Qingqing and Xu Ren disapproved—returning in wedding clothes was a good excuse. Given that Li Xian had hastily fled the capital, he needed a plausible reason, and clearly, wearing wedding clothes to meet his elder brother and sister-in-law was a great excuse.

However, just as the convoy left the borders of Wuyang, they saw three simple horse-drawn carts lined up ahead, blocking the road.

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