CHAPTER 205 – THE SUDDEN MARRIAGE (PART ONE)
A peerless beauty would inevitably attract people’s fancy from afar. It must be mentioned that, chasing after beautiful things was in human’s nature. Being beautiful was indeed one kind of capital. Fairsnow had a matchless appearance, which added to her value among the young ladies of her age. She would inevitably attract attention everywhere she go. She was, without a doubt, an influential person among the circle of aristocratic girls. As a result, she was always the center of attention among her peers.
Fairsnow has a graceful figure and walked over elegantly. As she revealed a slight smile, her pearly white teeth were exposed. Her voice was very pleasant to listen to as she said, “Brother Zhuge, make sure to come to my house later, don’t be late.” Following that, she turned around with a faint smile as she looked at Xiao Chen, and said, “I never have the chance to have a proper talk with brother Xiao, I wonder if you are free to come to Fair house today?”
Other than the close contact at the Paradise Spa last time, the two had never been in touch. At this moment, it seemed as if Fairsnow had already forgotten about the event from that time. She didn’t feel awkward at all. On the contrary, she seemed calm and indifferent.
Xiao Chen originally wanted to refuse, but when he thought about it, other clans will come to invite him even if he refused the Fair family. Moreover, the Fair family and Zhuge family had sent people to invite him several times, if he refuse again, it would be rude to their families.
“Alright, I originally wanted to pay a visit anyway. Just that I felt it would be too presumptuous of me to visit without any invitation.”
“Many thanks to brother Xiao.” Seeing that Xiao Chen had agreed so easily, Fairsnow revealed a smile. She said very sincerely, “I know that you must be feeling a little unhappy. You must be aware of why the major clans came to invite you today. But just let me say this; such is the way of life. This world is truly very realistic, there is no hate or love without good cause, no friendship or sweet-talk with no reason. Once the bright-colored skin has been peeled off, everything would be pale and colorless. You have very eye-catching strength, so you will naturally receive the major clan’s pa.s.sionate invitation.”
Speaking until here, the beautiful Fairsnow mocked herself and said, “Do you despise me? You don’t need to answer, because you will definitely make up a flowery lie. In any case, I also don’t have much of a choice, I’m just following my family’s order. However, such is reality. Hehe… to be honest, when my family decided to send me here, I was not really that against it, because I feel that, between you and I, there isn’t the slightest bit of non-acceptance. This is the truth.”
Fairsnow’s beautiful eyes looked exceptional. To be known as one of the pearls of the South, she was indeed devastatingly beautiful. Her beauty made people unable to free themselves from the state of drunkenness the moment they laid eyes on her. She declared her purpose in coming so frankly and directly lifted the veil that the other major clans were unwilling to open. Xiao Chen had a whole new level of respect for her. When some matters were revealed, people would feel more comfortable in contrast.
As for Fairsky, he just stood at the side for a while before he excused himself. This time, he didn’t try to prevent Xiao Chen and Fairsnow from being in contact.
“Well, let’s stop with the idle chatter, it dampens the mood. Brother Xiao, will you come take a walk with me at Moon Gazing Hill?” Fairsnow smiled, seemingly a little embarra.s.sed. That was not an act, it seemed very realistic.
Moon Gazing Hill was a short hill in the Celestial City. Legends had it that after Celestial City appeared in the South, only then did this mountain fall from beyond the heavens into the city walls. There were many versions of this legend, but the one that had been spread the widest was that; a girl who yearned for the Celestial emperor transformed into a sacred mountain and now rests within the city walls for all eternity.
The hill was no more than three hundred meters tall. It also didn’t occupy that much s.p.a.ce. Various kinds of rare trees were growing on the hill, even the flowers and plants were of extremely rare varieties. The path towards the top of Moon Gazing Hill was paved with cobblestones. It was possible to see the Celestial City in its entirety on top of the hill.
This was the most famous spot in Celestial City.
The night had fallen, Fairsnow and Xiao Chen stood at the summit looking down at the brightly lit city. The two of them had stood there from the afternoon till now, and haven’t spoken a single word since then.
After letting out a helpless sigh, Fairsnow said with pained voice, “No matter who it is, everyone has secret trouble. As the daughter of the Antarctic Warbeast Castle’s master, I look to be well-off, but only I myself know how it feels to be in this position. I don’t even have the right to choose my own marriage partner. Everything needs to be arranged by the family.”
Speaking until here, Fairsnow smiled bitterly and said, “Isn’t it pitiful? This is my fate.”
Xiao Chen looked at the boundless world outside of the city, he nodded first before he shook his head and said, “That depends on how you look at it. Those at the lowest rung of society don’t even have enough food or warm clothes, the distress of an aristocratic lady is happiness they could only thirst for.”
“Hehe…” Fairsnow giggled and said, “That’s right, I am greedy aren’t I? But this is not what I want, riches and honor does not matter, all I want is the freedom to decide my own life. I don’t want others to decide for me.”
“Did my appearance increase the pressure on you?” Xiao Chen smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter, how about I help you out instead? It is unnecessary for them to do this kind of thing.”
Fairsnow smiled lightly and said, “Ah… I have shown you a sorry sight. Just now I was really only letting it out. Without any outsiders around, I just wanted to let it go and say something brazen. You don’t need to concern yourself with it.”
Xiao Chen leaned against a silver-colored apricot tree and said while biting a gra.s.s stalk in his mouth, “Just let it all out.”
“I know why my family sent me to invite you, they want me to cast off the Fair family. It is about time for a ‘cherished’ pearl like me to be sold off. They wanted to coax you by means of marriage. Every young lady has a dream of meeting a prince-charming that they could entrust their entire life to. After knowing their intentions, I felt very disgusted and resentful. I even thought about running away from home. However, after thinking things through, I felt relieved. Since every major family is like this. Moreover, your appearance did not only make me feel pressured, it also made me feel a little thankful and relieved.”
“You feel thankful and relieved?”
“That’s right. At the very least, you are not a scoundrel like Hofmann. Or as vulgar as the younger generation of the Zhuge family.”
Xiao Chen was speechless, then he smiled and said, “I see, so this is where I hold the advantage. It seems like I am only a little better than Hofmann and Zhuge Kun.”
Fairsnow smiled gently and said, “That is only as a comparison, I am not saying you are the same as them. In my opinion, you have great potential and you future prospects seem very bright. How can I be discontent when my family is giving me away to someone who might become well known in the future? Perhaps, we might not have any romantic feelings at first due to this kind of marriage, but I know you are not a heartless guy. From the way you are treating the snow-white little critter and Tenax, I could tell. I am not worried that you will give me the cold-shoulder in the future. I am only disgusted with my family’s forceful arrangements, but so long as I can get this out of my system, then there’s no reason for me to reject it. Otherwise, my ending… might become to same as my paternal aunt; to get married off to a rich and powerful hedonistic son and end up miserable.”
Xiao Chen could feel Fairsnow’s worries about personal gains and losses. The reason why she invited him here, maybe it was to talk about this and to let go of that burden in her heart, while also alleviating the unhappiness in Xiao Chen’s heart.
Fairsnow’s expression was indeed very sincere. Xiao Chen could feel that these feelings were emerging from the bottom of her heart. If not, then Fairsnow was truly very scary to be able to put on such a realistic act.
As for the marriage, Xiao Chen did not declare where he stood. He only smiled and said he would help Fairsnow. As a matter of fact, this was how it is. Although everyone was crazy over him now, everyone’s delusion will naturally be broken three days later.
However… how could everything go within his expectations? There’s a lot of unexpected things in this world.
Night time, Xiao Chen went to the Fair family’s mansion. This made a few major powers feel very resentful of the Fair family, but there was nothing they could do. Who asked them not to build a friendly relation with Xiao Chen first like Fairsky did? Moreover, who in the South could be compared to the beautiful Fairsnow?
The Zhuge family was naturally very discontent. Their Zhuge Liang was also on friendly terms with Xiao Chen. In their opinion, the reason the Fair family held the advantage this time was because they were short of a devastatingly beautiful girl like the Fair family.
The Undying Sect also felt a sense of crisis. Although Xiao Chen was close to their Undying Sect, and had some friendship with the Undying Patriarch, they still felt a little uneasy with the Fair family’s bold move. Fairsnow, she was one of the most beautiful girls, and as a young man, it was very easy for Xiao Chen to be enticed. However, their Undying Sect also has Yan Qingcheng, whose beauty was comparable to Fairsnow, but since too much had happened between the two of them, it was not easy for Yan Qingcheng to let it go.
In the following three days, Draco did not disappear. On the contrary, he could be seen in the Celestial City everyday. From time to time, he would visit Xiao Chen’s house repeatedly. There were even a few times when he was seen pulling Xiao Chen to drink, as if he was treating him as a nephew.
This was a very strong signal, it strengthened the major clan’s conviction; that Xiao Chen had a very deep relationship with the depths of the South!
These three days, the sill of Xiao Chen’s house was already worn out due to the mult.i.tudes of people coming and going. This made Xiao Chen feel rather rueful.
To leave the Celestial City was definitely out of the question. Draco had already told him very clearly, he will definitely die the moment he took a single step out. If not because he was keeping watch here, that person out there would have already enter the city.
The undercurrent was flowing non-stop during these past three days. Liu Qingfeng of the Undying Sect invited Xiao Chen over and told him that the proposal from last time was accepted. He is to wed to Yan Qingcheng one month from now.
Xiao Chen was caught unprepared. He wanted to explain it earnestly, but it only end up making Liu Qingfeng very unhappy as he turned and left abruptly. The news regarding his marriage to Yan Qingcheng one month from now was spread all over the Celestial City at high speed.
The Fair family’s reaction was very quick. They quickly mobilized their family’s influence to make people believe that Xiao Chen already had a prior engagement with the Fair family; that he is to wed Fairsnow half a month from now.
In regards to this, Xiao Chen wanted to laugh, but he was unable to since he felt a slight chill in his heart.