Ze Tian Ji

Looking at the youngster’s shadow disappear into the side yard, Madam Xu’s face hardened. She wanted to take a drink of tea to soothe her dry throat but realized that her tea was already cold. She wanted to throw the cup to express her emotions, but she, though not caring about the cost of the porcelain cups, still did not want to let the servants hear any sounds than can be used to figure out her mood.

She was not in a good mood. She could understand the message the youngster was expressing – Sorry, this might make you happy but it makes me unhappy.

In fact, that youngster had acted politely since the very beginning without showing any impolite behaviors. He had simply used two sentences with two completely different meanings and immediately turned to leave. The two sentences were all that were needed to make Madam Xu unhappy, this might also be a talent.

That nanny’s face was also gloomy. She walked over to Madam Xu’s side, lowered her voice, and said, “Should we let him go that easily?”

“I originally thought he was an arrogant youngster. Now I know he is actually a cunning and insidious villain. If he really wanted to create a good relationship with the Divine General’s Estate and remained so cautious that he wouldn’t even take a drink of tea, how would he dare to bring the marriage contract with him and come to the mansion? The most annoying thing is…from the beginning to the end, was there anyone that actually saw the marriage contract?”

Madam Xu understood what the nanny meant and said, with a cloudy face, “However, if he is smart, then he should know that in order to obtain more benefits, one should not do such extreme things from the beginning.”

…….

Chen Chang Sheng didn’t understand the events that occurred today. He arrived at the Divine General’s Estate intending to forfeit the marriage but how did events turn out like this? What confused him the most was that the Divine General’s Estate had many methods to solve the problem, but why did the seemingly smart Madam Xu choose the worst method?

Since he didn’t understand many things, he stopped trying to think about them. After hearing the arrogant words of Madam Xu, Chen Chang Sheng grew curious about the daughter of the Divine General. What did she looked like? Is she beautiful? Of course, if she grew up in a place like this, her personality shouldn’t be too soft or kind.

The Divine General’s Estate was huge. It was even bigger than the entirety of Xi Ning Village. Since there were no servants leading the way, he obviously became lost on the estate. By the time he noticed, he was already located in a wild forest. Thinking back to stories in which some poor son-in-law got murdered by his despicable mother-in-law, he felt a bit uneasy, but he was distracted by his own thoughts.

Suddenly, he felt someone staring at him. He turned his head and looked toward the direction from which he felt the stare originate and saw a girl standing under a stone doorway at the end of the road. Chen Chang Sheng realized that he wasn’t lost, but rather, was led here on purpose.

The girl was around thirteen years old. She was dressed luxuriously. The accessories she wore were worth more than all his belongings put together. She was pretty and if she grew a little older, she would be a fair lady. Her cute dark pupils were focused on him. They were bold and observed him from head to toe.

Chen Chang Shang was surprised, is she the daughter of the Divine General?

Since he read the entire Classical Scripture when he was young, he was very patient. Chen Chang Sheng let the girl observe him closely and didn’t say anything.

Finally, the young girl broke the ice.

“Are Taoists allowed to marry?”

Chen Chang Sheng noticed that her eyes were on his Taoist hair style. He explained, “I’m actually not a Taoist. Although I’m wearing a Taoist robe and have a Taoist hair style, this is just my habit. It doesn’t mean that I’m a Taoist.”

The young girl walked in front of him and looked at him sincerely. “Are you an ordinary person?”

Chen Chang Shang was confused for a moment, then he realized what she meant by “an ordinary person”. He answered, “Yes, I have yet to cultivate.”

The young girl didn’t notice that he said he has yet to cultivate and not that he can’t cultivate. She stared into his eyes and asked, very seriously, “Are you vowed to marry My Lady?”

After hearing this, Chen Chang Sheng knew that the young girl wasn’t the daughter of General Xu. He felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, relieved.

“You are?”

“My name is Shuang Er. I’m the personal maid of My Lady.”

Chen Chang Sheng would have never thought that a maid can wear such a luxurious attire. After seeing that there wasn’t anyone else around, he had a clearer idea of the status of the young Lady and the maid in the Divine General’s Estate.

“I was vowed to marry your Lady.”

The maid named Shuang Er looked at him and said, “Do not speak of this, ever.”

“Why?” Chen Chang Sheng asked.

Still, this one word remained in Chen Chang Sheng’s mind.

Shuang Er looked at the young Taoist’s upright countenance and felt pity for him, “If you want to live, then do not talk about this marriage to anyone else, or no one will be able to save your life.”

She really felt that she was doing him a favor – although her Lady won’t be marrying him, they were vowed to do so. Her Lady had asked her to keep the youngster alive, but what she didn’t realize was that her words sounded like threats to Chen Chang Sheng’s ears.

Chen Chang Sheng fell silent. He thought to himself, ‘Would the Divine General’s Estate actually become an enemy and assassinate him?’ There were similar stories in the books and drama plays he had watched, but under the rule of the Divine Empress, who dared to do such things in the Capital?

He said, “If the Divine General’s Estate wanted me dead, then Madam Xu wouldn’t have let me leave in the first place. If I observed correctly, that old nanny is a strong character. Since there weren’t many servants that saw me, they should’ve killed me outright and buried me in the garden as fertilizer. No one would have noticed, right? Therefore, I shouldn’t be in any danger.”

Shuang Er scoffed coldly, “Countless people are watching the Divine General’s Estate, therefore, you are actually safe within its territory. But when you exit, will you able to live like you said previously?”

Chen Chang Sheng thought about it for a moment, “I don’t understand.”

Shuang Er explained, “If other people knew about your marriage vow with My Lady, what would the Longevity Sect think? What would the clan of Qiu Shan think? Even if you are in the Capital, no one can stop them from killing you.”

Chen Chang Sheng asked, “Longevity Sect and clan of Qiu Shan? What are those places?”

Shuang Er looked at him and thought he was an idiot, “You don’t know anything?”

Chen Chang Sheng was confused, “What should I know?”

————————————-

The young Taoist from Xi Ning Village obviously didn’t know some things, but those things were known to the entire world. For example, the world was under the rule of the Zhou Dynasty； The Divine General of the Eastern Decree, Xu Shi Ji, was deeply trusted by the Divine Empress. Xu Shi Ji’s father was the Prime Minister of the previous dynasty, but Xu Shi Ji’s status came mostly from his daughter.

Xu Shi Ji had only one daughter, her name is Xu You Rong. She is the reincarnation of the Sky Phoenix. Her bloodline and talent was unimaginable. She successfully purified her bones and body at an extremely young age. When she was twelve years old, she traveled to the far south to study the Heavenly Tomes. Rumors said she was already at the upper stage of the Meditation Realm. Her name was renowned across the world. Everyone respected her and thought she was the only possible candidate for the next Holy Maiden of the Radiant Divinity Faith.

That young girl had the perfect background, teaching, and talent. Her admirers were countless. Rumors said that even the blood-thirsty Prince of the demon race was one of them. But every time there was a discussion about who her future husband would be, people would only mention one name and that name was also famous throughout the world.

Qiu Shan Jun.

The clan of Qiu Shan was the most powerful clan in the south. This generation of the Qiu Shan clan had a son of enormous talent and his name was Qiu Shan Jun. He is the reincarnation of the Heavenly Dragon. He is the eldest disciple of the Longevity Sect and the head of the Seven Laws. Qiu Shan Jun followed his teachers to cultivate. Although right now he is eighteen years old, he was already expected by many to be the future candidate to become the strongest person on the continent for the next few hundred years.

Sky Phoenix and Heavenly Dragon, Qiu Shan Jun and Xu You Rong were fellow disciples under the same school. They were also the most famous of this generation. It was impossible to find a third young person that matches their talent.

The entire world knows that Qiu Shan Jun adored Xu You Rong. He waited patiently for her coming of age ceremony. The entire Longevity Sect, Zhou Dynasty, and clan of Qiu Shan thought that this pair of youngsters were destined to be together. Even Lady Mo Yu in the Imperial Palace said that the Divine Empress liked the story between these two.

Except, suddenly a young Taoist held a marriage vow and arrived at the Divine General’s Estate.

He said he is the fiancé of Xu You Rong.

If this word got out to the world……

Perhaps the entire continent would be shocked.

————————————————

The yard was silent. Wind occasionally blew bamboo leaves into the stone arch gate.

“Now you know.” Shuang Er looked at Chen Chang Sheng and said, “You are only an ordinary person, far removed from My Lady’s world. You can never shorten such a distance. For you own sake it would be better that you forget about this marriage vow.”

Indeed, Chen Chang Sheng did not know that the girl who was engaged to him was such a great person. He thought a bit and then asked, “Why didn’t Madam Xu tell me before?”

Shuang Er said, “Because Madam Xu doesn’t want you to make more requests after knowing this fact.”

He looked up at her and asked, “Why did you tell me this?”

Shuang Er said, “Because My Lady mentioned you in the letter. My Lady is a gentle person, even though she won’t marry you, she doesn’t want to watch you die. Moreover…I think you are smart, after knowing all these things, you should have enough self-understanding and make the only possible right decision.”

Chen Chang Sheng said, “I know.”

After saying this, he walked toward the stone arch gate. He stepped on the bamboo leaves, making “sha sha” sounds.

Shuang Er was dumbfounded. She thought, what kind of thing is this?

Chen Chang Sheng suddenly stopped his steps, turned around and looked at her.

Shuang Er let out a sigh of relief and put her hand on her chest, awaiting his decision.

Chen Chang Sheng looked at her asked, “I want to get out, which way is it?”