Chapter 7

Soon, the family of four sat at the large dining table. A pile of delicacies was placed on it, and the few of them ate happily.

When they were almost done eating, Fang Tianhuai suddenly said to Fang Chen, “Chen’er, can I discuss something with you?”

“Tell me about it first,” Fang Chen said casually.

“Um… someone in the imperial court brought a message to Father. Some people in the capital of the Great Yan said that you’re already an adult and have reached the age of marriage. Princess Xiangling of the dynasty is the same age as you. You’ve seen her when you were young, so they want you to marry Princess Xiangling…”

As Fang Tianhuai spoke, he noticed Fang Chen’s expression and casually explained, “Well… It’s not for you to be a consort. We’re going to let Princess Xiangling marry you and be your consort.

This news is most likely true. The Imperial Court might send someone to propose marriage soon, so Father wants to ask your opinion in advance?”

As Fang Chen ate, he glanced at the careful Fang Tianhuai.

He knew that in the capital of Great Yan, be it the royal family or some courtiers, they were all extremely wary of the Zhenbei Mansion.

There must be some special purpose for marriage at such a time.

Especially since letting Princess Xiangling marry was completely against the rule of law.

After all, there was only one possibility for a princess to marry out. That was that her country’s power had been damaged and the family had no choice but to marry the princess as a gift.

This was something that would damage a country’s reputation.

The Emperor of the Great Yan Kingdom would never allow such a thing to happen. Therefore, someone might be trying to test the reaction of the Zhenbei Mansion.

This was equivalent to the Great Yan’s royal family testing the waters and seeing if King of Zhenbei dared to hit them.

If the King of Zhenbei agreed, it would be a slap in the face to the Great Yan Imperial Family.

However, if they did not agree, the Great Yan Imperial Family could still say that the King of Zhenbei was shameless and did not take them seriously.

Anyway, if this really happened, the intention would be intriguing.

Of course, the King of Zhenbei, Fang Tianhuai, knew that.

However, because Fang Chen had seen Princess Xiangling before, and this was more or less Fang Chen’s important life event, once this news really became a reality, he had to deal with it as soon as possible. At that time, it would probably be too late to discuss it with Fang Chen.

That was why he chose to say it now and listen to Fang Chen’s opinion.

Fang Chen did not understand the details, but he knew that with his identity, the marriage was not his private matter, but a major matter that concerned the future of the Zhenbei Mansion.

As for Princess Xiangling, to be honest, he had met her when he was young. He had no impression of her now, so he was not interested at all.

Therefore, he casually said, “Old man, I’m not experienced in such matters either.”

He vaguely remembered that Princess Xiangling was alright when she was young, but he had no impression of her now. He did not know what her personality was like.

“Why don’t you make up your mind? If you think I can marry her, then I’ll marry her. If not, then turn her down. It doesn’t matter to me.” After saying that, Fang Chen continued eating without looking at Fang Tianhuai’s attitude.

Fang Tianhuai’s eyes flickered. For a moment, he did not know how to deal with it.

Not only did he not want to play tricks with the royal family, but he also did not like to let an outsider come to the Zhenbei Mansion.

After all, if Princess Xiangling really entered the Zhenbei Mansion, he would have to guard against her. After all, she was his daughter-in-law. If he did not guard against her, some secrets in the Zhenbei Mansion would be exposed.

He looked at Fang Chen seriously. Fang Chen was just eating there. He did not know what Fang Chen was planning.

Helpless, he retracted his gaze and saw Fang Ping and Fang Yinyin secretly glancing at him and Fang Chen. After glaring at the two of them, Fang Tianhuai thought for a moment and probed Fang Chen, “Chen’er, let’s not talk about Princess Xiangling first. Do you have any girls you like in our country? If you do, tell me. I’ll go propose marriage for you now and arrange a wedding for you tomorrow. How about that?”

“Pfff…”

Fang Chen had just eaten it when he spat it all out. Fortunately, he reacted quickly. Otherwise, he would have spat it all out on Fang Tianhuai’s face.

“Old man, I’ve just become an adult. This matter shouldn’t be so urgent, right?

Besides, I was about to go out and learn martial arts. Women would only affect my sword drawing speed.

So if you really have nothing to do, why don’t you give us a stepmother? Maybe you can even give us a few more younger siblings.”

Fang Chen frowned, looking unhappy.

Fang Tianhuai was instantly rendered speechless by Fang Chen.

“No, no. If we add more younger siblings, our family won’t be able to afford it. What if they snatch Yinyin’s delicious food?”

At this moment, Fang Yinyin suddenly pulled a long face and glared fiercely at Fang Chen. It was obvious that she was very against his last suggestion.

Fang Chen did not know whether to laugh or cry as he glanced at the black-faced Fang Tianhuai. He hurriedly picked up a big drumstick for Fang Yinyin and said, “Alright, alright, alright. The delicious food is all Yinyin’s. Even if Dad really gives birth to a few more younger brothers and sisters, Big Brother will chase them out of the Imperial Palace. I definitely won’t let them snatch it from Yinyin, okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine. As long as we don’t steal my delicious food.” Nodding, Fang Yinyin grabbed the drumstick and dug in.

With Fang Yinyin’s interruption, the topic of marriage and finding a girl was left unsettled. Fang Tianhuai had no choice but to find another opportunity in the future.

…

Another day, a golden stream of light flashed from the sky and entered the King of Zhenbei’s Mansion.

Fang Tianhuai had long heard the golden eagle’s cry. He walked out of the house and raised his hand. The golden eagle landed on his arm.

Fang Tianhuai took off the leather cover tied to the golden eagle’s leg and took out a creed. He took a look and said, “This Old Qing Yu is really good. He said that he had already sent someone to pick Chen’er up. I should help Chen’er prepare.”

Fang Tianhuai put the golden eagle back in the air and then headed towards the courtyard where Fang Chen was.

Fang Chen was reading in the study. Moreover, they were all miscellaneous and even forbidden books.

Yesterday, Fang Tianhuai asked him about the marriage. Although he did not express his stance, it could be vaguely seen that now that he was an adult, the attitude of the Great Yan’s capital towards the Prince Zhenbei’s residence had also become subtle.

There were also some vague motives to truly understand the relationship between the Great Yan Capital and the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion. They could not be seen in normal books, but they were vaguely mentioned in some miscellaneous forbidden books. Therefore, Fang Chen got Fang Dapan to secretly collect some for him.

“Your Highness!”

As he watched, Fang Dapan spoke from outside the door. Fang Chen knew that Fang Tianhuai had arrived.

She quickly put away the books on the table and walked out of the door.

Before Fang Tianhuai could reach the door, Fang Chen had already opened the door and left.

“Old man, why are you here again today? Are you going to tell me about the marriage again?”

Fang Chen also knew that he had to pretend to be a good-for-nothing. Otherwise, he would be afraid if Fang Dapan kept asking for divine doctors.

Fang Tianhuai shook his head and said, “The matter of marriage is up to you. Father will do anything to let you marry the wife you want.”