178: Talented woman Wei Xiong, a marriage certificate

Inside a secluded courtyard within the Northern Liang Prince's Estate.

There were no lavish decorations, only a courtyard full of books and a luxuriant phoenix tree.

A woman dressed in a green scholar's robe sat by a stone table under the phoenix tree, engrossed in an ancient book she held in her hands.

She lacked the delicate charm of ordinary women and the noble elegance of a young lady from a prominent family.

Her long, dark hair was simply tied up with a wooden hairpin, her eyes were cold and clear, and her expression was focused.

She sat there quietly, yet she exuded a wisdom and sharpness that commanded respect.

She was Xu Weixiong, the Second Princess of Northern Liang.

When Xu Xiao's tall figure appeared at the courtyard gate, Xu Weixiong didn't even lift an eyelid.

It was as if she had known he would come.

“Cough, cough.”

Xu Xiao looked at his somewhat 'excessively' calm daughter and, instead, felt a bit awkward himself.

He cleared his throat twice, attempting to break the silence.

Only then did Xu Weixiong slowly close the book in her hands and place it on the stone table.

She looked up, her clear, ancient-well-like eyes meeting Xu Xiao's.

“Father, you’ve arrived.”

Her voice, like her gaze, was cold and calm.

“Yes, I’m here.”

Xu Xiao walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down, looking at the open chess manual on the stone table, making small talk: “Still studying chess manuals?”

“Uncle Li Yishan’s chess has improved again,” Xu Weixiong said indifferently. “If I don’t work harder, I’ll lose to him next time.”

Hearing this, Xu Xiao felt even more bitter.

He knew that his daughter was good in every way.

It was just that she was too competitive.

And too unlike a young lady.

He remained silent for a long time, unsure how to begin.

It was Xu Weixiong who broke the silence first.

“Father, you’ve come today for matters concerning Chang’an, haven’t you?”

Her opening remark went straight to the heart of the matter.

Xu Xiao’s body stiffened slightly.

He looked at his daughter, who was almost a Prodigy in her intelligence, and sighed.

“You… you know everything?”

“The official gazette made it very clear,” Xu Weixiong’s tone remained as calm as ever.

“The New Emperor of Great Tang, Li Chengqian, ascended the throne after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, establishing the Kaiyuan era. He issued new policies, purged Buddhism, and slaughtered aristocratic families, shaking the entire world.”

She paused, then added, “He is a ruthless man.”

“More than just a ruthless man,” Xu Xiao said with a wry smile. “He is a tyrant.”

He relayed all of Li Yishan’s analyses to Xu Weixiong, exactly as they were.

From ‘forging the nation’ to ‘Heaven-Defying,’ and then to Northern Liang’s current predicament.

He concealed nothing.

Because he knew that in front of this daughter, any concealment or deception would only bring humiliation upon himself.

Xu Weixiong listened quietly, her cold, clear eyes showing no surprise or fear.

Instead, a strange light gradually ignited within them.

“Using the world as a furnace, and all living beings as fuel…” she murmured to herself, “What a grand scheme, what magnificent Qi.”

Xu Xiao’s heart sank as he watched her.

He suddenly had a bad premonition.

“So,” Xu Xiao took a deep breath, speaking with difficulty, “Your Uncle Li and I discussed it, and we decided…”

“To form a marriage alliance with Great Tang.” Xu Weixiong finished his sentence.

Xu Xiao was stunned again.

“You… how did you know?”

“It’s not hard to guess,” Xu Weixiong’s lips curved into an extremely faint, almost imperceptible smile. “Northern Liang is now in a precarious situation. Relying on Liyang is like drinking poison to quench thirst. Sticking to our old ways is waiting for death. The only way out is to offer a pledge of allegiance to The New Emperor.”

“And a marriage alliance is the most significant and sincere form of allegiance.”

She looked at Xu Xiao, her gaze as if she had seen through everything.

“Father, you want me to marry the Kaiyuan Emperor, don’t you?”

When these words were spoken so calmly by his daughter.

Xu Xiao's heart, which had long been hardened like iron by years of war, still couldn't help but ache fiercely.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

He wanted to say, “Father can’t bear to part with you.”

He wanted to say, “If you don’t want to, Father will even sacrifice these three hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry rather than let you suffer this grievance.”

But the words caught in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.

Because he knew that saying those words would only earn him contempt from his daughter.

“Yes,” he finally managed to squeeze out this one word through gritted teeth.

Then, he lowered his head, not daring to look into his daughter's eyes.

He waited for his daughter's questions, her tears, or even her resentment.

However, what he received was an answer he had never expected.

“Good.”

Xu Weixiong’s voice was still so cold and crisp.

Just one word.

“Good.”

Xu Xiao suddenly looked up, staring at her in disbelief.

“You… you agreed?”

“Why wouldn’t I agree?” Xu Weixiong retorted.

In her eyes, there was none of the shyness or resistance typical of women facing marriage; instead, a flame of “excitement” and “challenge” burned.

“Father, don’t you think this is very interesting?”

She stood up, walked to the phoenix tree in the courtyard, and looked up at the sky, fragmented by the branches and leaves.

“Marrying a mediocre Young Master, raising a family, living a mundane life. What’s the difference between that kind of life and death?”

“But Li Chengqian is different.”

Her voice carried a hint of longing that even she hadn't noticed.

“He is a chess player who wants to use this entire world as his chessboard.”

“And I, Xu Weixiong, have dedicated my life to the art of strategy and chess.”

She turned around and looked at Xu Xiao, her cold, clear eyes sparkling with spirit.

“To be able to contend with such an opponent on the same chessboard.”

“Even if I end up utterly crushed.”

“It will still be worth my journey in this world!”

Xu Xiao looked at the brilliant light in his daughter’s eyes, and he was completely stunned.

He suddenly realized that he, perhaps, had never truly understood his daughter.

What was hidden in her heart was not romantic love.

But a vast sea of stars, broader than any man’s ambition.

“Father,” Xu Weixiong looked at him and slowly bowed, “Your daughter accepts the command.”

“Please send the marriage proposal to Chang’an immediately.”

“Your daughter also wishes to meet this Kaiyuan Emperor, whom even Uncle Li calls a ‘tyrant,’ as soon as possible.”

“To see what kind of demeanor he possesses.”

Just as the Northern Liang Prince's Estate was stirred by a marriage proposal.

The Jianghu.

This world, opposite to the imperial court, filled with both swift justice and bloody slaughter, was also circulating legends about Chang’an.

However, what the Jianghu people cared about was not some new emperor or old emperor, nor was it land equalization or military expansion.

They cared about only one thing.

That was power.

How The New Emperor at Xuanwu Gate, with a single thought, made ten thousand soldiers defect and disarm.