The Fifth Prince was slightly taken aback, then frowned in displeasure. "What do you mean by 'renounced worldly life'? I see you have quite a few wives, concubines, and children."
"I dare not compare myself to Fifth Brother. Xi Yun just fell into the water yesterday, and I was worried about her, so I left first. As for other women, I do not wish for any more new women to enter the household. I hope Father will not bestow any more upon us." Xu Zifan said with a slightly worried expression, then cupped his hands and left.
The Fifth Prince was bewildered by his words. Liu's father was the Minister of Revenue. Did Xu Zifan really not want to marry Liu? If they weren't secretly colluding, why was Liu causing such a scene at home? Could it be that she really had fallen for his Sixth Brother?
The Fifth Prince gave a mocking laugh. Which of the noble families and high-ranking noblewomen in the capital didn't arrange their marriages through family alliances? As long as Xu Zifan had no intention of marrying into the Liu family, he didn't believe the Liu family would allow Liu Shi to marry into their household. As for Xu Zifan, he couldn't even manage his own household; what future could he possibly have? He was not worth worrying about.
Only the Liu family and the Fifth Prince knew about Liu's broken engagement. If this got out, it wouldn't be good for anyone, and Liu wasn't that foolish. However, in her previous life, the Fifth Prince had been imprisoned for life, and she and her family had lived in poverty. How could she possibly marry the Fifth Prince again?
Now that she knew the Sixth Prince was the ultimate victor, she was determined to marry him and bring her family credit for his role in the rise to power. Besides, she wanted to cultivate immortality, and the emperor's dragon aura would be most beneficial to her; marrying the future emperor was the best choice.
Knowing that Xu Zifan was very capable and could accomplish anything he set his mind to, Liu decided to secretly try to win him over. She assured him that if he wanted to marry her, she could perfectly resolve all the troubles and prevent the matter from escalating.
So Xu Zifan was stopped halfway home. "Your Highness, I am from the Liu family. My young lady invites you to a teahouse for a chat."
Since Liu possessed a cultivation system, Xu Zifan was quite interested and went to the teahouse with the maid.
Having already absorbed spiritual energy, Liu's beauty had become even more striking. She dressed meticulously and greeted Xu Zifan with a gentle smile, "This humble woman greets Your Highness."
Xu Zifan walked around her and sat down to the side. "No need for formalities, Fifth Sister-in-law. May I ask what business you have with me?"
Liu's smile froze, and a bitter expression immediately appeared on her face. She hesitated, "Your Highness, I... I wanted to thank Your Highness for saving my life. Five years ago, in the hunting grounds, I was separated from my group and almost lost my life. It was Your Highness who saved me. I have always kept this kindness in my heart, thinking that one day I might be able to repay Your Highness, but who knew..."
Liu gave sufficient reasons for her affection for Xu Zifan. It was true that the original owner of this body had saved her, but the situation wasn't that dire at the time; it wouldn't have been fatal. The original owner had only instructed servants to rescue her, not personally going to the rescue. Xu Zifan waved his hand, "It was nothing, Fifth Sister-in-law, don't mention it. Besides, you'll soon be marrying Fifth Brother as a concubine. Saving you is like saving family; there's no need to be so formal. However, your mention of this reminds me that I should go ask Fifth Brother for something good."
Liu was thoroughly annoyed by his constant use of "Fifth Brother" and "Little Fifth Sister-in-law." She had been hinting so obviously, couldn't he see that she liked him?
She added, "Your Highness is too kind. No wonder my father admires you so much. Only after meeting you today do I realize how kind Your Highness is."
Liu hinted that the Liu family would side with him. If it were an ordinary prince, he would just treat it as idle gossip, but Xu Zifan was vying for the throne. She believed that no one would turn down a force that came knocking on their door, especially since her father was a high-ranking official of the second rank.
Xu Zifan was only slightly surprised. "Minister Liu appreciates me? Then I must thank Minister Liu. Fifth Sister-in-law, it's getting late. If you have nothing else to do, I'll head back to my residence."
"Your Highness, there is still a vacant position for a concubine. Have you considered marrying any young ladies?" After boldly uttering these words, Madam Liu sat opposite Xu Zifan and stared into his eyes.
Xu Zifan sensed a mental fluctuation. This Liu family member had just entered the path of cultivation and was trying to use her divine sense to guide him, which was no different from hypnosis, except that her cultivation level was a bit lacking.
Xu Zifan curled the corners of his lips and said, "Fifth Brother asked me about it today. You two are truly on the same wavelength. Thank you for your concern, Fifth Sister-in-law. I have no intention of taking another concubine."
Seeing that her divine sense was useless, Liu became anxious and revealed her trump card, "Your Highness, the reason I invited you here today is actually because I want to repay your kindness. I accidentally obtained a fragment of a scroll before, and although I have studied it repeatedly, I still cannot understand its meaning. I just feel that it must be a very good thing. Your Highness has everything, so this is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope Your Highness will accept it."
The Liu family naturally possessed cultivation techniques, and she wrote down the beginning, aging it to resemble a tattered scroll, hoping to attract Xu Zifan. No emperor wouldn't desire immortality, and she wasn't afraid Xu Zifan would reveal it to others. Now was the time for the struggle for the throne; how could Xu Zifan possibly let others know about such a valuable resource? He would only want to possess it for himself and bring the Liu family under his control.
An ordinary prince might indeed do this, which is why those with special advantages often succeed. This kind of attraction is irresistible to ordinary people, and those who can bring him benefits are naturally his benefactors, whom he should treat well.
Xu Zifan glanced at it; the cultivation technique was decent, but it was still far inferior to the insights he had gained from a thousand years of cultivation in the immortal realm. His self-created Chaos Technique was several levels higher than this technique.
He realized that Liu was just testing her limits, and now that he knew, he lost interest in playing along. He picked up the tattered scroll, stood up, and said, "Then I will accept it. Sister-in-law, you are too kind. When you marry my brother, I will definitely give you a generous gift. Farewell."
Liu wanted to stop him again, but she had no reason left. She watched Xu Zifan leave without looking back, her brows furrowing slightly. What was wrong? Why did Xu Zifan still insist on her marrying the Fifth Prince before leaving, seemingly unmoved? Weren't all the temptations enough? Or had her rash actions aroused his suspicion?
Liu's vision was limited to the inner quarters; she didn't yet wield power. Xu Zifan didn't think her invitation to meet was particularly secretive. He certainly had ways to keep it a secret, but why should he keep it a secret for her? So he left the teahouse and went directly to the palace, handing the tattered scroll to the emperor.
"Father, just now, Minister Liu's second daughter gave me this fragment of the scroll, saying she wanted to repay the life-saving grace she received five years ago at the hunting grounds. I find the meaning of the words in this fragment to be very profound, so I have come to present it to you, Father."
The Emperor has recently been troubled by the infighting among his sons. When Xu Zifan requested an audience, he assumed this usually low-key son was about to get involved, but instead, he brought only this incomplete document. Is the Minister of Revenue trying to curry favor with his sixth son? Then why send his daughter?
The emperor disliked having things he didn't understand. After dismissing Xu Zifan, he immediately ordered an investigation into the Minister of Revenue's movements. The emperor's power was immense; within half an hour, the matter of Liu's desire to annul her engagement with Xu Zifan was thoroughly investigated, including the Fifth Prince's provocation of Xu Zifan and Xu Zifan's statement about wanting to become a monk.
The emperor then ordered an investigation into Xi Yun's drowning at Xu Zifan's residence. After learning the whole story, he rubbed his temples and muttered, "None of them are easy to deal with!"
The woman in his son's backyard was wicked, and his first thought was to give his son two more good ones. However, remembering Xu Zifan's words that he didn't want him to give any more women, he abandoned the idea. He had too many worries right now to concern himself with his son's backyard. At such a sensitive time, doing anything like that could easily be interpreted in other ways, so he simply gave up.
After leaving the Liu family's affairs to the emperor, Xu Zifan returned home feeling relieved. The Liu family had caused quite a bit of trouble for the original owner of this body. At first, the Liu family disagreed with Liu's actions, but later, as Liu made progress in her cultivation and received system rewards, she chose the dream-visiting function. She used a dream from her ancestor to deceive Minister Liu, causing him to switch his support and hope for her to achieve merit in supporting the emperor.
The original owner needed to keep a low profile, but the families of the princess, concubines, and maids all wanted to curry favor with the emperor and couldn't stand each other. How could they not always cause trouble? I wonder what will happen to them now that the Liu family has caught the emperor's eye.
Xu Zifan returned to the manor and went to Qixia Courtyard to see Xiyun. The little girl had already woken up, but the shock she had suffered had not yet subsided. Waking up to face an unfamiliar courtyard and unfamiliar servants made the little girl very timid.
Xu Zifan squatted down in front of her and smiled, "Xiyun, are you feeling better?"
Xi Yun felt more at ease with his smile and said softly, "Father, Yunyun is much better."
Xu Zifan picked Xiyun up in his arms. "Come on, Father will take you to play in the garden. How about we call your brother?"
Xi Yun nodded obediently, "Okay."
Xu Zifan had Hu Feng fetch Cheng'er, and carrying Xiyun in one arm and leading Cheng'er by the other, he went to the pavilion in the garden. The pavilion was right by the pond, and Xiyun was a little scared when she saw it, so she hugged Xu Zifan's neck tightly.
Cheng'er looked up and asked with concern, "Father, I heard that my sister accidentally fell into the pond yesterday. Is that true?"
"Yes, you're the older brother, so you have to protect your younger sister from now on, understand?"
"Know!"
Xu Zifan had the two children sit by the pavilion, asked someone to bring fish food, and sat down next to the children to feed the fish.
The fish in the pond swarmed in, a beautiful sight. Cheng'er exclaimed excitedly, "Father, can I feed them? I want to feed them!"
"Okay." Xu Zifan smiled and placed the fish food in Cheng'er's hand, then looked at Xiyun, "Xiyun, do you want to feed it?"
Xi Yun hesitated, glancing at the pond and then at the beautiful fish, feeling both scared and eager to play. Cheng'er encouraged her, "Sister, let's feed them together! Look how much fun it is!"
Xi Yun hesitated for a moment before reaching out her little hand, "Father, Yunyun wants to be fed."
Xu Zifan gave her fish food. Seeing the two children having fun, he summoned Hu Feng and gave him some instructions. Hu Feng then went to find a few servants who were good swimmers to swim in the pond in various ways, which immediately attracted the attention of the two children.
Xu Zifan asked with a smile, "Is it fun? Swimming in the water can be quite interesting, especially when the weather is hot. It's really fun to play in the water. When you're a little older, your father will ask a teacher to teach you, and then take you to the manor to play in the water, okay?"
The two children's eyes lit up immediately. "Great! Thank you, Father!"
Falling into the water is scary, but children don't understand that much. Now that Xiyun sees the beautiful fish swimming around in the water and the servants performing in the water, her fear gradually fades. She watches happily with her brother, her little face flushed with laughter.
Xu Zifan stood by with a smile. These children are so young; as long as they are protected, they can stay away from evil ways.