I am the snake demon!

Chapter 16 The Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion is so unrestrained in its consumption of meat and ve

"How did you figure that out?"

Xu Yuhua took a deep breath and suppressed the turmoil in her heart.

"Isn't it obvious? She's a young lady from a prestigious family. If she wanted to know the answers to these questions, why would she need to ask me? It's obvious. She just wants to get closer to me, to use shared interests to shorten the distance between us, but she's afraid of asking questions I can't answer, so she deliberately asks simple ones. Besides, I've only read some ordinary Taoist books at the Jade True Temple, while you, sister, studied in the capital. Why ask me instead of asking yourself? Isn't that a clear indication that something's wrong?" Bai Xuan said matter-of-factly.

This is like asking a third-rate college student instead of a top-tier one.

Speaking of which, Duan Fuxue is quite professional.

As the eldest daughter of the Duan family, she took the initiative to lower herself and put herself in a vulnerable position in order to get closer to others.

Moreover, the method was appropriate.

A fair-skinned, beautiful, and lively young lady from a prominent family shares your interests, seeks your advice, and then develops a heartfelt admiration for you.

For a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, that was an absolute, unparalleled advantage, like a white moonlight.

No, it's a surefire way to kill almost any man, except for children.

Almost no man can resist the adoration of beautiful women.

Tall plants, for example, were all captured by a book published in the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign (1594).

This was a planned attack, a scam targeting him.

This is Bai Xuan; if it were the real Xu Shi'an, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"It's not that I like you, it's that I like the Prince of Zhenbei."

Seeing Bai Xuan's expression, Xu Yuhua explained, "Mother intends for Zhenlan to marry Fuxue as his concubine. If nothing unexpected happens to Zhenlan, it's almost a done deal."

"But now that my elder brother is in trouble, I have become the future Prince of Zhenbei, and Duan Fuxue, or rather the Duan family, still wants the Prince of Zhenbei's concubine, so she has gone from being my sister-in-law to my wife?" Bai Xuan looked at Xu Yuhua in surprise.

Logically, he understands this.

It doesn't matter who becomes the Prince of Zhenbei, as long as Duan Fuxue becomes his concubine.

This is in the best interests of the Duan family.

But this former sister-in-law suddenly became my wife, isn't that a bit outrageous?

Are you city folks really that good at having fun?

There's also literature about uncles and aunts-in-law?

"That's what they think. Marriage is always the safest way, especially since you have little contact with the Duan family. If you like, it's fine to marry her as a concubine, but only after you marry Liu Ruyi of the Taibai Sword Sect, and your heir must be born to Liu Ruyi," Xu Yuhua said.

The bloodline of the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion must be maintained.

"No, I don't like it, I refuse." Bai Xuan shook his head.

I simply want to repay a debt of gratitude and become an immortal. As for Liu Ruyi, I still need to find a way to delay her, let alone add to my burden.

Xu Yuhua glanced at Bai Xuan with some surprise, quite puzzled by his reaction. Duan Fuxue came from a prestigious family, was poised and elegant, and had a captivating appearance. Although she couldn't be described as a beauty that could topple kingdoms, she was still a beautiful young lady from a respectable family. If it weren't for Xu Shi'an's accident, Bai Xuan and Duan Fuxue would be worlds apart and have no connection whatsoever. Now, Bai Xuan was refusing her. Could it be that Bai Xuan was indifferent to women?

However, Xu Yuhua did not object, saying, "If you don't want to, then you don't have to."

Whether Duan Fuxue marries or not will not have a significant impact.

Bai Xuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; he didn't have to sell himself. However, he quickly thought of another question and asked, "The eldest daughter of the Duan family, the most powerful family in Liangzhou, can only be a concubine. So who is the principal wife? Does it have anything to do with me?"

Actually, the one most qualified to say "It doesn't matter who the Prince of Zhenbei is, as long as she is the Prince of Zhenbei's wife" is not Duan Fuxue, the concubine, but the principal wife.

But who can truly overpower the Duan family?

This person, or rather the person behind her, is someone Bai Xuan probably needs to win over.

Upon hearing Bai Xuan's question, a trace of worry appeared on Xu Yuhua's face, and she said, "Leng Qinghan."

"Leng Qinghan? That name, three characters in total, each one colder than the last, like an iceberg?" Bai Xuan instinctively retorted, but then realized that the surname Leng was indeed quite rare, and said, "Could she be the daughter of Leng Shih-hu, the number one general in the Northern Border?"

Leng Shih-hu, the top general of the Northern Frontier, came from humble origins and was a ruthless killer.

Massacres and killings of surrendered soldiers were commonplace, earning them a notorious reputation and the righteous officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Their viciousness could even stop children in the northern wilderness from crying at night.

But this does not diminish his power in the slightest. He is one of the only three remaining fourth-grade Tongyou realm array masters in the Northern Territory.

The Great Array of the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion, the Heavenly Pivot Demon-Slaying Array, is based on the positions of the three stars of Killing, Breaking, and Wolf. In the past, the Prince of Zhenbei was in charge of the Greedy Wolf position, his nephew Xu Wenzheng was in charge of the Breaking Army position, and the Seven Killings position was presided over by Leng Shih-hu.

In other words, after the death of the Prince of Zhenbei, he controlled nearly one-third of the Zhenbei Army.

He was one of the four people Li Daoyan and Xu Yuhua considered essential to help him in his future plans, and he was ranked first among the four.

"Hmm." Xu Yuhua nodded, a hint of worry in her voice. "She is Uncle Leng's eldest daughter. She was almost betrothed to my second sister since birth. Later, Zhenlan was born, and she became engaged to him. She was the future crown prince's wife, known to everyone in the Northern Territory. If this hadn't happened, they would have gotten married next year after Zhenlan returned from his campaign."

"Wait a minute, if you put it that way, she's already considered a daughter-in-law of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, which is equivalent to my sister-in-law. I can't marry her, right? That wouldn't be right," Bai Xuan said.

In ancient times, marriage was a complicated affair, requiring three letters and six rites.

Betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting gifts, setting the wedding date, and welcoming the bride.

Once the wedding date is set, that's the fifth step: setting the date.

This is Xu Zhenlan's wife, or rather, his sister-in-law.

Marriages between uncles and aunts are common in common society and are even repeatedly prohibited, but they are greatly despised by powerful and wealthy families, who consider them to violate etiquette and law.

Then there's no need to worry about that.

"If it were an ordinary person, it would be the same, but Uncle Leng is not an ordinary person. He comes from a bandit background and disregards etiquette. A marriage between an uncle and his sister-in-law is not unacceptable to him, but if the marriage is completely canceled, then my elder brother will not be married at all," Xu Yuhua said with worry.

The border region of Liang and Bing provinces was already looked down upon by the powerful families of the Central Plains.

Even the Duan family of Wuwei, the most prominent family in Liangzhou, couldn't catch the eye of the major families in the Central Plains.

Border warriors are considered low-class and inferior by those powerful families.

Thirty years ago, the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and the Leng family weren't even considered powerful families. The Xu family could barely be considered a poor family, but Leng Shih-hu had gone up the mountain to become a bandit.

For Leng Shih-hu, the tiger of the northern border, the concept of etiquette and law was practically non-existent.

To make matters worse, there was also Xu Wenzheng, who commanded nearly a third of the northern border's military forces.

He was the Prince of Zhenbei's nephew, whom he raised personally and who taught him the true skills.

If these two were to marry, Bai Xuan's position as the Prince of Zhenbei would be extremely precarious.

This is also someone Bai Xuan must face. Although Xu Wenzheng is unlikely to inherit the position of Prince of Zhenbei, he can still hold military power and pose an even greater threat than Xu Yanheng.

"So I can't let her marry Xu Wenzheng. I have to try my best to act like I want to marry her, but I can't actually make her like me and marry her, right?" Bai Xuan said, looking at Xu Yuhua.

I have to pretend that I really like her.

"Yes, that's roughly the idea."

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Xu Yuhua's fair face. Come to think of it, she also felt that she had put Bai Xuan in a difficult position.

I can neither accept it nor refuse it.

Looking back now, I realize that the decision I made at Yuzhen Temple was a bit hasty.

However, now that we've come this far, there's no turning back. We have to grit our teeth and keep going.

Seeing the embarrassment on Xu Yuhua's face, Bai Xuan almost rolled his eyes.

I knew you city folks knew how to have fun, but I didn't expect you to be this good at it.

Thinking that the person in front of him was his benefactor, Bai Xuan still smiled and said, "It's alright, things will work themselves out. I'll take care of it."

It's a good thing. Xu Yuhua is in trouble, and helping him out of his predicament is repaying a debt of gratitude, isn't it?

"What are you planning to do?" Xu Yuhua asked curiously.

"The strategy of delaying is different from my brother's. My brother knows Miss Leng, but I don't. It would be inappropriate to suddenly talk about marriage, and Miss Leng probably wouldn't be happy about it either. So I'll tell Uncle Leng to deepen our relationship and take the initiative to pursue her. Then, while pursuing her, I'll make her dislike me. With this back and forth, delaying for two or three years shouldn't be a problem," Bai Xuan said.

If we delay for another two or three years, that cold girl will grow into a young woman, which would be a bit unfair to her.

However, there's nothing we can do about it.

It's better to delay someone's life for two or three years than to marry them, then leave them to live a life of widowhood, then dump them, and ruin their entire life.

This also served as practice, and I did the same thing when facing that Liu Ruyi later.

"This is the only way; let's delay it for a few years," Xu Yuhua said.

As for what will happen in two or three years, we'll figure that out then.

"That's right, maybe in two or three years, everything will be resolved," Bai Xuan said with a smile.

If Bai Suzhen hadn't been reluctant to leave, she could have given birth and left without having to go through the Leifeng Pagoda tribulation, and directly become an immortal, which would have only taken two or three years.

Who knows, maybe in two or three years I'll become an immortal?

Then, wouldn't everything be solved?