Chapter 402 – Forget the Bridal Chamber, Temper the Soul, Greet a New Dawn - Part 2

Inside the pavilion, a white‑haired elder watched the retreating figure through a slit in the curtain. His brows knotted, smoothed, and knotted again, thoughts unreadable. Then his awareness drifted toward the inner courtyard.

Moonlight gleamed on a young man’s flawless, muscular frame, each line seemingly carved by divine hands. To a woman, such a youth was what a nation‑toppling enchantress was to a man.

Li Yuan eyed the lotus petals bobbing on the water. They were absurdly dainty in his view, but he mostly found them amusing.

He lifted the warm water laced with a drop of fourth rank blood and washed with care, scrubbing away every speck of dust. At last he dried off and slipped into the clean night‑robe a maid delivered.

The maid had been instructed to bring the robe as soon as he finished bathing. If Li Yuan had failed the test, the Patriarch would have intervened, and a robe would have been unnecessary.

Snow‑white cloth now wrapped a perfect, powerful body still carrying a trace of lotus scent. The young man’s eyes blazed like twin suns.

The maid swallowed hard, fighting the urge to admire that face, to touch that iron flesh. She bowed her head and hurried off, cheeks burning.

Not far off, the look on Xie Yu’s face shifted from guarded to openly delighted.

“He’s done bathing,” she whispered to Fang Tong.

“He really is,” Fang Tong replied, just as pleased.

A blush burst across her cheeks. However rebellious she liked to act, the thought of becoming a married woman still made her turn red.

The instant Li Yuan cleared the test, she’d already begun picturing the two of them side by side, soaring through life together.

“I’m going to talk to Father.” She sprang up. No more picking among those stinking men in the tournament. She wanted this one. But she hadn’t gone far before Xie Jian'an and the Fourth Madam appeared.

“Yu’er, off to bed,” her father said, pointing at her. “Your step‑mother and I will have a chat with Young Lord Ximen.”

“I—” Xie Yu fidgeted.

“What’s wrong?” the governor teased. “Afraid your step‑mom will gobble up that handsome lad?”

Both daughter and the Fourth Madam turned to stare at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“I just want another look,” he explained. “If he passes, we can cancel the tournament. Old Fang talked him up so much I have to see for myself.”

“Really?” Xie Yu’s heart raced; hope sparkled in her eyes.

He strode off, then waved a hand. “On second thought, you stay here.”

“Lord, do you truly fear I’ll fall for our future son‑in‑law?” The Fourth Madam rolled her eyes. She then chuckled. “It wasn’t settled before, so I had opinions. If you and the Patriarch approve, I’ll treat him as family.”

“Two men talking, no women,” Xie Jian’an said. “And this is my first son‑in‑law, after all!”

Xie Yu’s cheeks burned hotter.

Reeling slightly, the governor entered the courtyard and looked up at the youth sitting in the moonlight. One glance and he breathed, “A man from the heavens.”

Li Yuan turned. A 1,405~15,256 floated beside the drunken man. Odd. Even the 500 lifespan weapon he’d forged might not reach numbers like that. Pushing the thought aside, he asked coolly, “And you are?”

“Xie Jian'an, Military Governor of Hanzhou.”

Li Yuan rose and bowed. “Ximen Gucheng greets the Governor.”

“Old Fang says your mastery of the blade is divine, but I haven’t seen it. One stroke each. We slash at one another. If you pass, the tournament is off. Your sect sent you here to test yourself in the world; pass this test and you’ll be my son‑in‑law.”

Xie Jian’an clapped; servants brought two fine sixth rank blades. He kept one himself and handed the other to the white‑robed youth.

Li Yuan carefully wiped the hilt before gripping it. He glanced at the blade in Xie Jian’an’s hand and sighed softly.

“Why the sigh?” the governor asked.

Li Yuan didn’t answer. He simply raised his blade and struck.

Xie Jian’an moved at once, wide and forceful. As the cold blade arced out, his source blood surged; muscles swelled crimson, a haze of white vapor shrouded him. A small whirlwind whirled through the courtyard, riding the brutal slash.

Li Yuan’s reply was a casual, breeze‑light cut.

Clang! Snap! Hiss!

When the ringing died, Xie Jian’an stared. His blade had disintegrated into a mist of metal dust, a few stray motes glittering like the starry night. He jerked his head up; Li Yuan’s blade was untouched.

“Steel has a spirit. Before it finds its master, dying like this is a pity,” Li Yuan murmured at last, answering the earlier question. Sheathing the blade, he handed it back. “Find this blade a worthy owner.”

Xie Jian’an accepted it. “Three days from now is an auspicious day. Shall we wed then?”

“Very well,” Li Yuan said evenly.

“Will any elder from your sect be attending?”

Li Yuan shook his head.

The governor nodded, then broke into a grin. “Son‑in‑law, care for a drink?” Then, he snickered. “Or how about a trip to the brothel before you get bitched?”

“...” Li Yuan stared at him, speechless.

“Ah, I know you’ve never tried, fresh from overseas, haven’t seen real Central Plains splendor. Come, your father‑in‑law will show you!” He clapped the youth on the shoulder and half dragged him along.

Li Yuan frowned, displaying just the right hint of distaste, but out of respect for an elder and a military governor, he held his tongue.

That night proved more surreal than anything Li Yuan had ever imagined.

He’d rehearsed countless scenarios, yet not this one. Scarcely hours after meeting, the Governor of Ocean Province dragged him off to a night of drinking with courtesans.

Publicly, Xie Jian'an said he and his future son‑in‑law had hit it off, and he wanted to show the youth Bright Moon Prefecture’s splendor.

In truth, it was just his usual excuse for a romp.

The two men left the residence with dignified aplomb; two streets later, the governor turned sly, ducked into the Golden Lotus, hurled silver like snowfall, rented the whole place, and urged his son‑in‑law to let loose.

Li Yuan answered by drawing his blade. Any girl who ventured near found cold steel at her throat.

Near midnight Xie Yu, the Fourth Madam, Fang Tong, and half the residence’s experts stormed into theGolden Lotus. There they beheld their lord half‑dressed and stupefied amid rouge and perfume, while the prospective son‑in‑law sat immaculate, blade in hand, guarding an invisible perimeter.

Words failed them all.

Xie Yu drove off the courtesans with a flourish, seized Li Yuan’s wrist, glared daggers at the painted faces, and snapped, “We’re leaving.”

Li Yuan rose without a word.

Once outside she bundled him into a carriage. Only then did she notice their fingers intertwined. Her heart skittered. She felt the warmth of his grip and pictured those hands exploring untouched skin; a shiver of current ran across her body, breath quickening in the darkness.

Dry‑mouthed, she managed, “Home.”

As the wheels creaked away, Xie Jian'an’s drunken bellow echoed down the street,“Son‑in‑law, don’t run! Come play. Hahaha!”

The Fourth Madam and the rest stared, aghast.

Fang Tong muttered, “No one breathes a word of tonight.”

He had barely finished when the governor burst out from the Golden Lotus, shirt flapping, hair loose, and bare footed. He tore down the avenue after the carriage, shouting, “Son‑in‑law, wait! Play with me!”

The Fourth Madam shrieked and covered her face.

“Catch the lord!” Fang Tong barked, and the household guards dashed off, but Xie Jian'an sprinted like a madman through lantern‑lit streets, bare chested and laughing wildly.

Li Yuan lifted the curtain and watched, eyes narrowing.

Others saw a clown; the 1,405~15,263 hovering beside that half‑naked figure told a different story. For a man who’d only recently broken into fifth rank, such a high combat power was monstrous.

A fool’s mask could hide many designs.

Li Yuan came here for one purpose. That was to kill the Son of Heaven and take whatever profit fate threw his way. This farce was irrelevant.

“Should we stop?” he asked.

“Keep going,” Xie Yu hissed, face ablaze.

Behind them, the barefoot governor continued running after the carriage.

Meanwhile, Fang Tong and company were in hot, embarrassed pursuit.

Along the street, window shutters inched open as sleepy residents peeked out.

By dawn two rumors gripped the city.

First, the governor’s daughter was betrothed; the tournament was canceled.

Second, the governor had spent the night carousing with his brand new son‑in‑law, renting out the entire Golden Lotus for sheer debauchery.

Tales of the governor’s escapades soon became the latest whisper over tea and rice.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The wedding day came quickly.

The feast was modest, a simple family banquet. In a war‑torn age, true power mattered more than grand receptions. Bright Moon Prefecture was a kingdom unto itself, with no dealings beyond its borders, so no outsiders were invited.

One table sufficed, sitting the head of house, his three madams, siblings, and assorted aunts, uncles, cousins, and their brood. One absence stood out, the elder brother Xie Feng, who’d promised to come yet never arrived. The front lines were quiet; Xie Yu muttered that he’d probably just forgotten.

Bride and groom bowed to heaven and earth, then offered toasts all around. Li Yuan drank politely with each relative, sensing a faint, peculiar tension. It was not aimed at him but at that incorrigible governor who sat grinning at the head of the table.

As for Xie Wei, the future empress, Li Yuan let his gaze linger a moment longer, then, following his bride’s lead, called out pleasantly, “Sister-in-law.”

With looks like his, it was hard for any woman to take offense, and he was, after all, marrying her younger sister; their bond would naturally be closer than most.

Xie Wei rose with quiet grace and returned the toast, though the cup she lifted held only tea.