Mountain and River Sacrifice 248. Mao Sui recommends himself, and the man is as loyal as iron
Miss Murong was here, so Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao couldn't stay any longer. But they didn't leave. Mo Xiuyao picked up the tea cups they had drunk and pulled Ye Li in through a secret door. Xu Qingchen had chosen this inn for a reason. It was originally the secret base of Prince Ding's Mansion in Ancheng. As Ancheng is the fourth largest city in Xiling, Prince Ding's Mansion would not ignore it. Behind the secret door was a small secret room. There was no comprehensive furnishings like outside. There was only a table, a few stools and a bamboo couch. As soon as the two sat down, Miss Murong asked for a meeting and Xu Qingchen opened the door.
Xu Qingchen looked down at the gorgeously dressed woman standing in front of him and smiled calmly, "Miss Murong, what advice do you have?" Miss Murong stared at Xu Qingchen with her beautiful eyes exposed outside her veil, but she saw the elegant and refined man standing at the door with no intention of inviting her in. She couldn't help biting her lip and asked, "Master Qingchen, don't you want to invite me in?"
Xu Qingchen smiled faintly and said, "It's getting late. Miss Murong, coming here at this time... I'm afraid it will damage your reputation. Miss, please go back." After saying that, Xu Qingchen took a step back and was obviously planning to close the door again. Miss Murong was anxious and reached out to grab Xu Qingchen's sleeve, "Mr. Qingchen..." Xu Qingchen looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect that Miss Murong was also a martial artist. Although Xu Qingchen himself didn't know martial arts, there were many masters among the people he knew. Therefore, with Xu Qingchen's eyes, he could naturally judge that Miss Murong's strength was about above average, which was considered good among women.
"Miss Murong, why is this happening?" Xu Qingchen pulled back his sleeves, lowered his eyes and asked calmly.
"Master Qingchen... I... Mingyan has something I want to discuss with you in private. I hope you will forgive me." Miss Murong looked up at Xu Qingchen and said earnestly.
Xu Qingchen hesitated for a moment, and finally stepped aside to let her in. Miss Murong was obviously relieved by Xu Qingchen's retreat and stepped into Xu Qingchen's room.
Xu Qingchen's room was decorated very quietly and elegantly, which was very different from the Murong family's elegant and luxurious style. Miss Murong looked back at Xu Qingchen, who was dressed elegantly in white, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
She was very confident in herself. She was the most beautiful girl in Ancheng and the only heir of the Murong family. So she could use the most beautiful jewelry, the most luxurious clothes, and the most exquisite and delicious food. But when she saw the man in front of her, she suddenly felt ashamed of her gorgeous clothes, as if the jewelry, jewellery, and gorgeous clothes that were originally envied by people suddenly became vulgar.
She even began to regret that she had followed the maid's advice and dressed up so solemnly to meet Master Qingchen. Would he dislike her vulgarity? Yes, the Xu family has been a family of scholars for generations, so they naturally like elegant and quiet things. Thinking of this, Miss Murong wanted to go back immediately and give the maid who gave her the advice a good beating.
"Ms. Murong, please take a seat and have some tea." Xu Qingchen sat down and poured a cup of tea and placed it on the seat opposite him.
Miss Murong thanked him, took a sip of the tea, but couldn't help frowning. She had always used the best and most exquisite things since she was a child, and even the princesses of the royal family might not be able to compare with her in terms of material wealth. The tea that Xu Qingchen poured for her was not very good, and it was not even at the temperature of freshly brewed tea. If someone else gave her such tea, she would definitely not drink it. But seeing Xu Qingchen drinking her tea without changing his expression, and obviously not feeling anything wrong, she could only endure it silently.
Looking at the woman opposite him with frowned brows and forbearing, Xu Qingchen's eyes flashed with a cold smile. He certainly knew what she was forbearing and why she had to forbear. Tea tasting is naturally an elegant thing, and the Xu family has always been better at elegant things than anyone else. Xu Qingchen naturally knew that the tea in this inn was not good, but although Xu Qingchen was a romantic and elegant man, he was helpless in the world of mortals. It's good to have a cup of tea when the work is at its peak. Who would care about whether the tea is good, whether the water for making tea is good, and whether the temperature is just right?
"What does Miss Murong have to say?" Xu Qingchen asked directly.
Miss Murong had obviously never seen a man so rude to her. It wasn't that Xu Qingchen was rude to her. In fact, Xu Qingchen was more humble and polite than most men she had ever met. But his words and actions could make you clearly feel that he didn't care about you.
Miss Murong bit her lips a little aggrieved, raised her hand and took off the veil that had been covering her face, revealing a beautiful face. However, this time, Miss Murong was still disappointed. Xu Qingchen looked at her without any fluctuations. It seemed that whether the woman in front of him was ugly because of the veil or beautiful and beautiful had nothing to do with him. Miss Murong looked at Xu Qingchen for a long time, and finally made sure that he really didn't care about her appearance, then she lowered her eyes to hide the regret and frustration in her eyes, "My name is Xu Mingyan, and Murong Mingyan has met Master Qingchen."
The room was silent, but Murong Mingyan was secretly depressed. She only saw that Master Qingchen looked gentle and elegant, but she forgot that he dared to slap his uncle and the Murong family in the face as soon as he appeared. How could he be easy to talk to? After waiting for a long time, Xu Qingchen did not speak. Murong Mingyan looked at the cold man in front of her with some grievance, and gritted her teeth and said, "Master Qingchen...are you willing to marry into the Murong family?"
As soon as these words came out, not only did the guards protecting Xu Qingchen in the dark almost drop their jaws, but even Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li in the dark room could not help but change their expressions. Ye Li's pretty face sank, and she said coldly: "This Murong Mingyan is so brave!" Mo Xiuyao nodded in agreement, "She is indeed very brave!" The Murong family dared to dig into his corner, so they didn't want to live anymore, right?
Xu Qingchen outside was calm and said calmly, "What do you mean, Miss Murong?"
A bitter smile appeared on Murong Mingyan's beautiful face. She stared at Xu Qingchen blankly and said, "Master Qingchen has also heard what my grandfather said. They will choose one of the top ten masters for me to be the son-in-law of the Murong family."
Xu Qingchen lowered his eyes and said, "I am not good at martial arts. I cannot beat even the third-rate masters, let alone the top ten masters. Miss Murong may have come to the wrong person." Murong Mingyan shook her head and said, "No, Master Qingchen is different. Master Qingchen is famous all over the world and has extraordinary talents. If Master Qingchen is willing to marry into the Murong family, my grandfather will give up even the world's number one master."
Seeing Xu Qingchen's indifferent expression, Murong Mingyan said hesitantly, "Young Master...are you unwilling?"
"I am not worthy of Miss Murong." Xu Qingchen said self-apologetically, but in fact he rejected Murong Mingyan's proposal.
Murong Mingyan's expression changed slightly, "Why? If you marry me, the entire Murong family will be yours. Isn't it a thousand times better to own the entire Murong family than for Master Qingchen to work hard for Prince Ding in Licheng? Or... or am I not beautiful enough to be worthy of Master Qingchen?"
Xu Qingchen shook his head, smiled at Murong Mingyan and said, "Ms. Murong, marriage is a matter of fate. Miss Murong and I do not have this fate, so please do not force it. With your talent and beauty as well as the wealth of the Murong family, there are many young talents in this world who are willing to marry Miss Murong."
A teenage girl came to a man to ask if he was willing to marry her but got such a result. Murong Mingyan's eyes flashed with tears. She looked at Xu Qingchen unwillingly and said, "Could it be that Master Qingchen already has a lover? No... Mingyan has never heard of Master Qingchen being close to any girl. Even the Princess Anxi of Nanzhao has already married. I don't believe there is any woman in the world who is more worthy of Master Qingchen than Mingyan."
Master Qingchen drank the cool tea leisurely, looking at the tear-stained woman opposite him and said calmly: "Sometimes marriage has nothing to do with compatibility. Maybe one day I will meet the right woman. She may not be extremely talented or beautiful, or she may have an ordinary family background. It is really meaningless to judge Miss Murong by compatibility. I guess Miss Murong has nothing to say, so please go back."
Being rejected mercilessly by Xu Qingchen, Murong Mingyan's bright face was full of embarrassment. Her beautiful eyes staring at Xu Qingchen also had a hint of resentment, and she gritted her teeth and said, "It's not that no one saw me when I came in. If I say there is something going on between us, Master Qingchen, do you think people will believe you more or me more?"
Xu Qingchen looked at Murong Mingyan helplessly, shook his head and said, "Miss Murong, if you were looking for the girl from the Chang family, people would naturally trust you more. But... now I'm afraid that the people in Ancheng trust me more."
In the eyes of the world, Murong Mingyan is a man of many words. Who would believe that someone would push away a mountain of gold? Moreover, now let alone saying that he and Murong Mingyan have nothing to do with each other, even if there is something going on, there are many people willing to believe that they are innocent. A woman is too insignificant compared to the entire Murong family. Murong Mingyan was stunned, and soon figured out what Xu Qingchen meant.
The threat failed, Murong Mingyan blushed, bit her lip and said resentfully: "I must make you marry me!" Xu Qingchen smiled and said nothing, but his calm eyes made it very clear: I will never marry you.
Finally, Murong Mingyan left with tears in her eyes. Xu Qingchen smiled faintly, closed the door, sat down again and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Brother, what does Murong Mingyan mean?" Ye Li pushed the door open, walked to Xu Qingchen and sat down and asked softly.
Mo Xiuyao followed her out and said with a teasing smile: "Do you even need to ask? Of course, it is because of the handsomeness of Young Master Qingchen that Miss Murong fell in love with him. Among the top ten masters, apart from King Zhennan and Ling Tiehan... there is no one else who can be shown off. King Zhennan is quite old and has lost a fortune, Ling Tiehan is the leader of the assassins in the martial arts world, and Ren Qining is not well-known. When Miss Murong was really young, she naturally wanted to choose a husband she liked."
Ye Li frowned and snorted, "She wants big brother to marry her because she likes her? Who does she think she is?" If big brother really couldn't think straight and agreed, wouldn't his grandfather and uncle break his legs when he returned? It would be fine if the eldest son of the Xu family married into a merchant, but he chose such a self-righteous woman.
Xu Qingchen took a teacup from the side and poured her a cup of cool tea, smiling, "Li'er, Big Brother has no plans to marry now. Besides, this is just Murong Mingyan's own fantasy. How could Murong Xiong and the head of the Murong family agree? Between us... the head of Ling Pavilion is more likely."
The Murong family would definitely not marry their daughter to the Xiling royal family, so the choices would be extremely limited. If she wanted to fight against King Zhennan, the only people that Miss Murong could marry were Mo Jingqi, Ling Tiehan, and Mo Xiuyao. Unfortunately, Mo Xiuyao did not show up at all, so the final candidate would only be between Mo Jingqi and Ling Tiehan. And Xu Qingchen thought that Ling Tiehan was more likely. After all, the Yanwang Pavilion itself was also in the territory of Xiling, and the marriage with the Murong family could be said to be a strong cooperation. Moreover, Ling Tiehan and King Zhennan had a grudge, but the Yanwang Pavilion and Ling Tiehan had existed safely for so many years, which also showed that King Zhennan was jealous of Ling Tiehan.
Mo Xiuyao frowned and thought for a while, then said: "That's not necessarily the case. If Mr. Qingchen is really willing to marry into the Murong family, Murong Xiong may not give up on Ling Tiehan." The marriage between the Murong family and the King of Hell Pavilion is certainly good, but after all, the future The head of the family will no longer be from the Murong family. But it would be completely different if Mr. Qingchen, who was the most intelligent in the world, got married. Not only can they rely on the relationship between the Xu family and Prince Ding's Mansion to contain the Xiling royal family, but they also have Master Qingchen's unparalleled strategy and Murong Xiong's peerless martial arts. The King of Zhennan had to think carefully if he wanted to move the Murong family.
"So... Brother Qingchen, you really have to be careful this time." Mo Xiuyao warned him earnestly. If he accidentally lost a smart person to share government affairs, it would really cause him a lot of trouble.
Xu Qingchen thought about the possibility of what Mo Xiuyao said, and after a moment nodded and smiled, "Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness." He said this because he had a plan to deal with it. Mo Xiuyao didn't say anything more, and stood up with Ye Li and said, "Brother, just find someone you need yourself. A'li and I will stay in Ancheng, so be careful." Xu Qingchen nodded calmly and watched them leave.
After seeing off Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li, Xu Qingchen frowned and thought about what might happen tomorrow. Under the candlelight, a faint smile appeared on his handsome lips. He didn't want to be too extreme in many things that he could compromise on, but... he hoped that the people of the Murong family would also understand tomorrow.
"Master Qingchen." A secret guard standing at the door reported. Xu Qingchen sat up straight, tilted his head and asked, "What's the matter?"
The secret guard came in and presented a letter with both hands, saying: "The news just sent by White Tiger." Xu Qingchen took the letter, and the secret guard retreated respectfully. Opening the wax-sealed seal, there was a letter with the White Tiger logo. Xu Qingchen picked it up. This Ren Qining... seems to be inconspicuous, but it turns out that he is quite interesting. It's his fault that he was so smart as to test Mo Xiuyao and Li'er. He sealed the letter again and called a secret guard to deliver the letter to Prince Ding and the Princess. Xu Qingchen shook his head and turned back to the inner room to rest.
Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao returned to the inn, still smiling angrily. Mo Xiu Yao looked at her pretty face with a gloomy look and couldn't help but smile: "Ah Li, how could your elder brother like a woman like that? I'm jealous of you being so angry." Ye Li rolled her eyes at him unhappily. Mo Xiu Yao smiled and held her in his arms and said: "Isn't it? After all, it's Brother Xu's own marriage. Ah Li, you're so worried about it, isn't it because I'm jealous?"
Ye Li leaned in Mo Xiuyao's arms, and asked with some worry and hesitation: "Am I really meddling too much?" In fact, Miss Murong was not as bad as she thought, but when it came to her eldest brother, she always hoped to have a more perfect woman. But as her eldest brother said, whether a couple is a good match or not is not just based on external conditions.
Seeing Ye Li's worried and indecisive look, Mo Xiuyao couldn't help but put a few smiles on her face before he laughed softly, "Ali, you are so worried because you are too concerned. What kind of person is Brother Xu? If he really likes you, how can you stop him even if you don't like him? Since he said so, he naturally looks down on Murong Mingyan. Ali's vision is not wrong. This Murong Mingyan is not worthy of Brother Xu." At this time, Mo Xiuyao didn't care how many good words Xu Qingchen said.
Ye Li felt relieved at this, and secretly reminded herself not to express her opinions on her eldest brother's marriage partner in the future. People are always self-centered, thinking that this is good and that is bad. After all, as long as the eldest brother thinks the marriage is good, then others don't need to say much.
"Hello, Prince and Princess." A dark figure appeared silently outside and stood respectfully with his hands clasped. Mo Xiuyao frowned in displeasure, "What's the matter?"
"Master Qingchen ordered his subordinates to deliver a letter."
"Bring it in." Mo Xiuyao leaned on the bamboo couch and said lazily.
The person outside hesitated for a moment, but still walked in. The window in the inner room was half open, and the prince was lazily leaning on the princess on the bamboo couch next to the window, refusing to get up. Just as he was thinking, a cold light shone on him, and he shivered and quickly handed over the letter, saying neatly, "I'll take my leave."
Seeing that he recognized him, Mo Xiuyao snorted without commenting. The people who saw him off immediately rushed out like a gust of wind as if they had been pardoned.
Mo Xiuyao half-lying on the bamboo couch, resting his head on Ye Li's legs, slowly opening the letter, and soon he laughed softly. Ye Li was puzzled, "What's wrong?" Mo Xiuyao handed the letter to her and said with a smile: "I said that the Murong family put on such a big show, but it is important to recruit some powerful people. This year's martial arts conference is too dull. It looks like there will be something interesting to watch tomorrow."
Ye Li looked at the letter in confusion, her eyebrows gradually wrinkled, "Even our people can't find out the identity of Ren Qining, such a person..." Mo Xiuyao made an excuse: "Such a person has either never appeared in the world, or is a mysterious force that has been hidden for a long time. Hehe... a bit interesting. Ren Qining's sudden appearance this time, it can't be for the title of a mere top ten masters, right? It seems that your eldest brother's plan to unite others to deal with Murong Xiong is probably going to fail."
"What do you think?"
"Thoughts? Isn't this matter your eldest brother's? Madam, we are just two insignificant passers-by. Don't worry."