Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 124 - 121: Madam Xue’s Way of Life (Asking for Subscription and Recommendation)_1

Chapter 124: Chapter 121: Madam Xue’s Way of Life (Asking for Subscription and Recommendation)_1

"Just let go! Don’t you know men and women shouldn’t be too familiar with each other? In front of everyone, it just doesn’t look good."

While speaking, Li Xuan continued trying to pull his sleeve away, unfortunately without success. He dared not actually tear his sleeve.

Li Xuan felt helplessly frustrated. Was this meant to bully him? Was it so great to be strong?

In his world, gentlemen were also strong, yet they held the utmost respect for ladies.

"Men and women shouldn’t be too familiar with each other?"

Xue Yunrou felt a surge of anger in her heart. The main thing was that this guy, obviously out of consideration for Jiang Hanyun beside him, would speak and act accordingly.

"Then let me ask you, did you or did you not hold my hand in the Nether Realm? You always see yourself as a gentleman, don’t you? Dare you answer my question?"

Li Xuan was taken aback, "Miss Xue, as you said, that was in the Nether Realm."

He had never praised himself as a gentleman, occasional verbal claims were only made in jest.

He had a clear understanding of his own character.

"So in the Nether Realm, you can hold a girl’s hand, is that right?"

Xue Yunrou didn’t wait for him to finish speaking, she interrogated him again, "I’ll ask you again, didn’t you keep hugging me then? If that’s the case, what right does Xuan have to say that men and women shouldn’t be too familiar with each other?"

"Cough, cough...." Li Xuan immediately turned red. He felt an even colder gaze coming from Jiang Hanyun.

Not only was her face becoming slightly green, her gaze felt like a mix of swords and spears, as if she wanted to hack him to pieces.

Yue Qianqian, who was standing to the side and listening to their conversation, turned her head and looked at Li Xuan with a gaze reserved for scumbags. She thought that by not denying it, he was tacitly admitting it was so.

Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue, who were eavesdropping from a distance, both wore expressions of admiration and awe.

Li Xuan realised that he must clarify this matter and prove his innocence.

"Miss Xue, as you said, that was in the Nether Realm. At the time, we were disguising ourselves as a pair of Virgin Spirits. Any improprieties at that time were only out of necessity. Even under those circumstances, I acted within the bounds of propriety and I am confident that I did not overstep any boundaries."

Xue Yunrou let out a cold scoff, "But at that time, you weren’t behaving so formally."

So there it was, Li Xuan was completely stunned to feel Jiang Hanyun’s gaze, which had softened slightly earlier, now return to its previous frosty stare.

In his heart, he felt like he was dealt a huge injustice. Was it even possible not to have the slightest ill intention while holding Xue Yunrou?

——If someone really managed to do that, they would be less than an animal, not a human being.

Yue Qianqian nodded her head in agreement, her boss was indeed responsible and compassionate, but undeniably a not-so-nice guy.

Seeing that Li Xuan was tamed and no longer struggling, Xue Yunrou retracted her small hand and said, "By the way, you haven’t answered me yet, what were you discussing just now?"

"We were discussing official business, everything is unrelated to you." Jiang Hanyun’s expression was cold and harsh. She felt that her cousin was becoming less and less likeable, even though she used to be very obedient.

"It’s an official matter? Then forget it." Xue Yunrou smiled at Jiang Hanyun, "Cousin, shall we go see Aunt together? She’s waiting for us."

Anyway, she didn’t want to see the two of them being together.

※※※※

At the same time, in a small pavilion in the Marquis of Zhendong’s residence, Lady Jiang, Madam Xue and Mrs. Liu were sitting together.

"Lady Jiang."

Mrs. Liu swept her doubtful gaze over the faces of the two women before her. "May I ask why you invited Madam Xue and me here? What’s the matter at hand?"

One of these two families was a demon-slaying clan, the other was a prestigious household from Jiangnan. Even though they were among the powerhouses of Nanjing City, the former rarely attended social functions with the nobles, while the latter had settled in Capital City for almost twenty years.

Therefore, although Mrs. Liu was acquainted with these two, they weren’t very familiar with each other.

"What else could it be other than our children’s matter?"

Madam Xue, filled with a smile, poured tea for the three of them. At the same time, she found it quite strange. Her daughter Xue Yunrou hadn’t arrived yet. Was she held up by something in the front yard?

Moving past the intrusive thought, she shook her head and set down the tea cup filled to the brim in front of Mrs. Liu, "Lady Li, may I ask if your son Li Xuan has been promised to anyone?"

Mrs. Liu was taken aback, followed by a flutter of joy.

"Does Madam Xue perhaps take a liking to my no-good son?"

This was indeed great news, Xuan could laze around for the rest of his life.

Madam Xue couldn’t help but roll her eyes mentally. Even if she took a liking towards Li Xuan, would she come straight to their door and inquire? What about the reputation of her daughter?

Besides, the second son of Earl Chengyi bears a bad reputation, indulging in food, drinking, womanizing, and gambling. She would rather take an ordinary son from a worldly family as her son-in-law, rather than this typical good-for-nothing.

"Lady Li jokes. It’s just that some of my relatives asked me to inquire about it. If your son is not yet engaged, your families could consider discussing the matter."

No matter how naive Mrs. Liu is, she also noticed that Madam Xue’s face was very calm, while Lady Jiang on the side looked very expectant.

Thinking of her daughter, who is known as the ’Iron-blooded Shura’ and the ’Blood Hand Butcher’, who once humiliated her in public, Mrs. Liu felt a slight tension.

"He isn’t engaged yet, but there have been many people coming lately to propose marriage for my son. There are two families that seem very sincere. We are currently talking to them."

This was the truth, as there had been many matchmakers coming recently, and she forced Li Xuan to the Duke of Zhendong Manor this time on purpose to show him off.

—Even though the daughters of those families couldn’t fully satisfy her, it’s better than marrying that ’Blood Hand Butcher’.

Madam Xue glanced at Lady Jiang, and they both are astute characters and sensed the rejection in Mrs. Liu’s words.

Lady Jiang looked helpless as she clutched her handkerchief. She used to get angry when she encountered such situations, as everyone dismissed her beloved daughter like an unwanted matter.

But now, she just couldn’t bring herself to feel angry.

She was aware too that the value of Li Xuan had begun to rise. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so anxious this time.

Lady Jiang really didn’t want to miss this son-in-law, who was perfect in all respects, except for his previous reputation.

Now, she simply had to rely on her younger sister’s persuasiveness.

"I have heard that your son is a capable young man from a distinguished family, excelling in martial arts. It’s said that in Liudao Division he has already emerged and has a promising future. Naturally, he’s favored by many families. After a while, I estimate the matchmakers visiting your home could cause your doorstep to wear out."

Madam Xue nodded slightly and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, when your son got promoted to Fumo Youjiao, he can almost earn six hundred patterned silver every month, right?"

The sentence confused not only Mrs. Liu but also Lady Jiang. They all wondered why Madam Xue was asking about Li Xuan’s salary when she was supposed to make a marriage proposal.

"I’m not too clear about that, I’ve never asked him," Mrs. Liu said uncertainly. Her interest in the conversation was fading.

If it weren’t for the status of these two women, which she didn’t dare to offend or disrespect, she would want to leave right now.

"That should be the amount," Madam Xue said casually, continuing on a topic that seemed utterly unrelated to the matter of marriage: "I remember that Hanyun’s monthly salary is thirteen thousand silver. Ten thousand is her allowance and the remaining three thousand is her salary, which is five times that of the Fumo Youjiao."

"Is that so much?" Mrs. Liu was taken aback. She treated the conversation a little bit more seriously: "That means she earns over a hundred thousand silver a year, doesn’t it?"

"You don’t know how rare a Wu cultivator of the Third Door as talented as Hanyun is, especially at her age of only seventeen. Without enough benefits, how can Liudao Division retain people? Therefore, in addition to this silver, there are various types of benefits and rewards. The actual amount far exceeds that hundred thousand. For example, this year, the elixirs and magical instruments provided for Hanyun alone by the Liudao Division were worth several tens of thousands. Many of these she didn’t use and sold them off."

Then Madam Xue asked Lady Jiang, "I wonder why you haven’t arranged a marriage for Hanyun yet? With Hanyun’s condition and your family’s wealth, shouldn’t there be a lot of people fighting for her? I heard you prepared a lot of dowry for her."

Lady Jiang blinked her eyes, a little understanding her younger sister’s intention: "Isn’t it? You said something about a dowry? Our family has only this one daughter, and her father’s family property is left for her. But due to some damn rumors from certain unwanted people, Hanyun was given nicknames like ’Iron-blooded Shura’, and ’Blood Hand Butcher’, which caused me to not find a suitable family for her."

Mrs. Liu couldn’t help but roll her eyes, thinking these words were a bit shameless. Jiang Hanyun’s ruthless reputation was not based on rumors. In just two years, she had caused dozens of casualties!

"In my opinion, there’s no need to rush this. I heard from Yunrou’s uncle that my brother-in-law should be able to reach the Heavenly official’s seat within two years at most. The royal family even tried to recruit him recently, offering him the high position of ’Vice-Guoshi’, but he didn’t even bother to look."

Madam Xue, blowing the tea leaves off her tea in a leisurely manner: "When my brother-in-law reaches the Heavenly official’s seat, won’t there be plenty of men wanting to be your son-in-law? But in my view, it’s best to find someone she likes, someone she can connect with emotionally. I heard that Hanyun has been getting along well recently with a certain young and handsome man under her command?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Liu couldn’t help but startle. Could this ’young and handsome man’ Madam Xue was referring to be Xuan?

Also, this Jiang Hanyun, who is rich, powerful, beautiful and skilled in martial arts, isn’t this exactly what she had been hoping for?

Upon thinking this, Mrs. Liu felt that Jiang Hanyun’s pretty face seemed not so hateful anymore.

Being a bit strong-willed seems not to be a bad thing either, as she would be able to protect Xuan.

Mrs. Liu thought she could still make this sacrifice for her child. At most, she would retreat to the Buddha hall in the future and avoid her two very strong-willed daughters-in-law.

She began to carefully consider the possibility of this marriage, paying close attention to every word muttered by Madam Xue, and secretly mulling over it in her heart.

Only when Madam Xue and Lady Jiang changed the topic and began talking about frivolous matters, Mrs. Liu felt that she couldn’t sit still anymore. She found an excuse to bid them goodbye and left.

She planned to find someone else to inquire about it in detail afterwards. She couldn’t just take these two women’s words for granted. However, if what Madam Xue said turned out to be true, she might consider it.

When Mrs. Liu left, Lady Jiang gave Madam Xue an admiring thumbs-up. The latter chuckled and carelessly sprinkled the tea in her cup into the garden outside.

With her level of understanding, how could she not see through Mrs. Liu’s shallow thoughts?

"Actually, those words are what I wanted to say to you, sister," Madam Xue looked at Lady Jiang with an incomprehensible expression. "With the conditions of your family and Hanyun’s talents and countenance, why do you need to rush to marry her off? Wouldn’t that make others look down on her?"

Like her daughter Yunrou, it’s okay whether she gets married or not. Does she have to rely on a man?

But Lady Jiang let out a soft sigh and shook her head with a bitter smile.

The reason they were in a hurry to find a husband for Jiang Hanyun was because they had a reason to do so.