"I didn't mean it like that! Xinyue, please don't misunderstand!" Chen Shaoling said anxiously.
"Husband."
Just then, a gentle voice came from the crowd. Li Hongshu walked onto the high platform.
Seeing Li Hongshu, Chen Xinyue's expression was complicated. She wiped her tears and said coldly, "What, you've come to flaunt your affection in front of me to humiliate me?"
Li Hongshu sighed, "Xinyue, please don't misunderstand."
"You have a telepathic connection, even speaking exactly the same. Truly a match made in heaven!" Chen Xinyue's heart was filled with even more bitterness, and her tone turned sour.
"I heard that Great Hero Chen and Heroine Chen had an unfinished fate back then..." someone in the crowd began to gossip.
Chen Xinyue ignored the crowd and ordered someone to take away the nine-linked rings.
The audience below, out of respect for the Chen family's power, dispersed, preferring to avoid trouble.
Chen Xinyue then said to Liang Xiao, "General Lü is exceptionally intelligent. I concede defeat. Tell me, what two things do you want me to do for you!!"
"Are you the eldest daughter of the Chen family?" Liang Xiao asked.
Seeing that Liang Xiao was no longer as arrogant as before, Chen Xinyue breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "I am Chen Xinyue, the only daughter of Magistrate Chen of Chuzhou, genuine and true!"
Liang Xiao nodded slightly and said, "Can we discuss this at your Chen residence?"
Liang Xiao wasn't acting on a whim to help Chen Shaoling; he genuinely needed Chen Xinyue's assistance.
Chuzhou had many martial artists, and information flowed exceptionally quickly here, giving rise to many "information brokers" and "tipsters" who made a living by selling intelligence.
Magistrate Chen of the Chen residence was a figure second only to the Prefect in local power, not an exaggeration to call him the overlord of Chuzhou. He possessed the most intelligence, making the Chen residence a veritable national information hub.
Ordinary people would not deliberately offend the Chen family. Even those from aristocratic clans would not dare to claim they and their kin had no leverage in the hands of the Chen family.
"I will await your visit at the Chen residence!"
Chen Xinyue agreed, then glanced at Chen Shaoling and Li Hongshu, gritting her teeth, "You'd better bring this couple along. I want to settle things with them!"
"Young lady, calm down!" Old San behind Chen Xinyue exclaimed in alarm.
Chen Shaoling and Li Hongshu were famous heroes in the martial world!
Chen Xinyue cast a resentful glance at Chen Shaoling and said irritably, "It's not like I'm going to fight them to the death. I just want to resolve some old matters so I can marry with a clear conscience!"
Liang Xiao immediately agreed.
With a complex mood, Chen Xinyue returned home, followed by Liang Xiao's entourage.
After Li Hongshu inquired about the situation, her expression also turned complicated. She whispered, "What does Marquis Anguo want Xinyue to do for you?"
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "I deliberately earned two favors from her. For the second favor she promised, you two can discuss it amongst yourselves. I only need her to do one thing for me."
The couple was stunned. Li Hongshu cupped her fist and said, "Thank you, Marquis Anguo!"
In the grand courtyard of the Chen residence, Chen Xinyue left only Old San behind. She looked at Liang Xiao and his group and asked, "General Lü, what do you want me to do for you? Please speak frankly!"
Liang Xiao glanced at Old San behind Chen Xinyue.
Chen Xinyue understood and added, "Since you could approach the Chen family, you should understand our rules. Old San is loyal to my father and me and will not betray any guest of the Chen family!"
Liang Xiao then said, "I want you to gather all the intelligence you can find on the Spring Revival Cult, especially monks in the Jiangnan region who believe in it."
"Spring Revival Cult?" Chen Xinyue's heart tensed, and she fell silent.
"Is this beyond your capabilities?" Liang Xiao asked with a smile.
Chen Xinyue replied, "Not at all. Regarding the Spring Revival Cult, the intelligence we have at the Chen residence is all hearsay and may not be reliable. You can verify it yourself. After all, we wouldn't be foolish enough to investigate the Spring Revival Cult. Provoking them is not a wise move."
"Thank you! Just hand it over to me," Liang Xiao nodded.
Chen Xinyue immediately asked Old San to sort through all the intelligence concerning the Spring Revival Cult and then asked, "What about the second thing..."
Liang Xiao looked at Chen Shaoling and his wife.
Li Li Hongshu restrained the excited Chen Shaoling and said solemnly, "For the second matter, after we have come to terms with your father, I ask that you marry the Tianshan swordsman Chen Shaoling, bear children with him, and be his wife alongside me, with no distinction in status."
This unexpected request surprised everyone.
Chen Xinyue's face flushed red with shame and anger, and she rebuked, "You, what do you mean by that! Do you want to debase me?"
Li Hongshu sighed, "I was seriously ill years ago. My life was saved, but I lost the ability to have children. You and I were like sisters back then, and my husband has always been kind and righteous towards you. You know this..."
Chen Xinyue was taken aback, her voice choked with tears, "If he was truly kind and righteous, why did he abandon me then!"
Li Hongshu looked helpless, "As the chief disciple of the Sword Saint, the senior disciple respected by three thousand Tianshan swordsmen, he carries the honor of Tianshan and the Sword Saint. How could he possibly become a live-in son-in-law to your Chen family? Your father was simply being unreasonable. If you could have children, you could even leave one child with the Chen family. The current situation is something neither of us wanted."
Seeing that Chen Xinyue was speechless, Li Hongshu lowered her head and said, "If you are still not satisfied, I can also divorce him, and you can be his only wife."
"No!" Chen Shaoling quickly embraced Li Hongshu, his face full of shame.
Liang Xiao and the girls watched silently, feeling a sense of melancholy.
Another tangled fate.
On their journey, they had quietly listened to Li Hongshu recount the entire story.
Chen Shaoling, in his youth, had been chivalrous and had rescued Chen Xinyue, who was on business in Yanzhou. The two had taken refuge in a cave. Chen Shaoling was injured and unconscious, and the mountain pass was blocked by heavy snow. Chen Xinyue had even taken off her clothes to keep him warm, effectively entrusting her chastity to him.
At Li Hongshu's request, Chen Shaoling was willing to take responsibility for Chen Xinyue and proposed to the Chen family.
This Magistrate Chen was a former Prefect of Chuzhou who had retired and returned home, and his real name was also Chen Yuanwai (Magistrate Chen).
Magistrate Chen had many wives and concubines but only one daughter, Chen Xinyue, born late in his life. Furthermore, he was an immensely powerful figure in Chuzhou. He adamantly insisted that Chen Shaoling become a live-in son-in-law and that Li Hongshu become a concubine, with Chen Xinyue as the legal wife.
Chen Shaoling, of course, could not agree. He reasoned with Magistrate Chen, but the latter remained unyielding.
In the end, both parties parted on bad terms. Chen Xinyue wanted to elope with Chen Shaoling.
Chen Shaoling, however, could not bear for Chen Xinyue to be branded as unfilial, so he refused. Chen Xinyue even pursued him to Tianshan, only to be captured by men sent by her father.
From then on, Chen Shaoling rarely visited Chuzhou, but he learned of Chen Xinyue's situation through martial artists.
Magistrate Chen forced his daughter to find an excellent live-in son-in-law. Chen Xinyue, helpless, could only publicly pose difficult and bizarre challenges each month, requiring people to solve them within a time limit, thus fending off her father.
Today, however, she had been bested by Liang Xiao!
"I also disdain marrying a coward!" Chen Xinyue looked at Chen Shaoling, tears streaming down her face.
Liang Xiao couldn't bear to watch any longer and said, "Is your father at home? I'd like to discuss some business with him. Perhaps I can also help facilitate your marriage."
Just as Chen Xinyue was about to answer, an angry roar came from outside: "Xiao Yue! How could you let Old San provide such dangerous intelligence!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a stout, white-haired elder with a receding hairline waddling over, his fleshy face jiggling.
It was Magistrate Chen!
Seeing Chen Shaoling, Magistrate Chen was both surprised and furious: "Who let you into my Chen residence? Did you ask me first!"
Liang Xiao said unhurriedly, "I brought him here."
"You brash youngster, who are you!"
"Liang Xiao."