The difficult path of cultivation for a grassroots female practitioner

Chapter 1104: Testing and Negotiation

The scout returned quickly and reported on Pei Xueyan's fiancée.

It is said that Pei Xueyan's fiancée is his aunt's daughter, that is, his cousin.

When this cousin was just a five or six-year-old girl, she lived in the Pei family for two years, and she and Pei Xueyan could be considered childhood sweethearts.

After the girl returned home, she went to another city with her parents, and the two never saw each other again.

After Pei Xueyan passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, his aunt went back to celebrate and arranged a marriage between the two of them.

However, for the sake of Pei Xueyan's studies, the two families agreed to wait until after he passed the imperial examination before arranging their marriage.

Unfortunately, just as Pei Xueyan was on his way to the capital for the imperial examination, his fiancée fell ill.

Before the news of his academic success could reach home, his fiancée passed away.

After that, Pei Xueyan went overseas and then trained the navy on the southern coast, so he never had time to think about marriage.

Xiao Han pondered for a moment and felt that this devoted character was a bit fake.

If he had met his cousin when she was a teenager, there might have been a chance for a pure and beautiful love to blossom between the two young people.

When his cousin lived in his house, she was just a little girl of five or six years old, and Pei Xueyan was seven or eight years old. They lived in a private school in the county town for a long time. How could two little kids develop a deep and unforgettable love?

Therefore, it can be inferred that Pei Xueyan was merely using his cousin as a shield to create a persona of deep affection, and that he did not actually want to get married.

Emperor Zhengde then asked the scout, "Does Pei Xueyan's family simply abandon him and let him die without an heir?"

Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring. Emperor Zhengde did not believe that the Pei family would allow Pei Xueyan to remain chaste for life for a fiancée he had not yet married.

The scout replied, "The Pei family will naturally not agree. After Lord Pei returned from his overseas trip, the Pei family urged him to get married, claiming that they had already chosen a girl and were just waiting for him to take a look before the marriage would take place immediately."

However, Lord Pei prioritizes the imperial decree. Whether it's going on a long voyage or training the navy to suppress bandits, his life would be in danger. He doesn't want to burden someone else's good daughter, so he'd rather wait until things settle down.

He paused, then continued, "Later, Lord Pei went south to train the navy. Communication between the two places was difficult, so even if the Pei family wanted to urge the marriage, they were powerless to do so."

Xiao Han thought to herself that she was right after all; Pei Xueyan clearly didn't want to get married.

Wait, she seems to have discovered a secret.

Pei Xueyan doesn't really retain her memories, which is why she doesn't want to marry a mortal woman and doesn't want to have offspring.

If that's the case, what terrible things would a powerful evil cultivator with preserved memories do?

Xiao Han felt she could find an opportunity to test the waters.

So when Emperor Zhengde summoned Pei Xueyan again to discuss matters related to the establishment of the Maritime Trade Office, she took control of the emperor and suddenly said, "Does Minister Pei know that there is a magical lotus-shaped flame in this world called the Karmic Fire Red Lotus?"

As she said this, her eyes were fixed on Pei Xueyan's face, not missing any subtle expression on his face.

Sure enough, Pei Xueyan, whose eyelids had been drooping, glanced quickly at Emperor Zhengde after hearing this, and then said with a blank expression, "Which book recorded this? Your humble servant is not learned enough to notice it."

If Xiao Han hadn't carefully observed his every move, she would have been fooled by him.

Xiao Han continued, "It is said that the Karmic Fire Red Lotus has a purifying effect. It once suppressed and purified a great evil cultivator for a million years. Alas! I wonder if it ever made this evil cultivator reform."

If Pei Xueyan still didn't realize that the Zhengde Emperor in front of him was problematic by this point, he would be a fool.

He looked directly at Emperor Zhengde, and their gazes met in mid-air.

With just a glance, they both knew each other's identities.

"Are you the reincarnation of that female cultivator, retaining her memories?"

Pei Xueyan thought that the other person had been reincarnated with memories, but had become a man. She wondered how the other person had overcome her psychological barriers and had the pleasures of the entire harem.

For a moment, he felt a pang of sympathy for her. After all, he didn't even want to find a mortal woman, let alone change his gender to reproduce.

Xiao Han was completely unaware of the evil thoughts in his heart; she simply felt that she could make the best of a bad situation.

She immediately said, "It's because I was forced to give half of my merits to you, and then failed a merit assessment task, so I was forced to descend to the mortal world to live as a mortal for a lifetime, and to accumulate merits along the way."

Then she glared at him fiercely, "I am now a mortal, all thanks to you."

Pei Xueyan shifted her gaze somewhat uncomfortably, then said, "I never intended to overthrow your empire; this is just a way of repaying you."

Xiao Han was speechless.

So, you're doing a good deed by not rebelling?

Thinking about what kind of person the other person used to be, she realized that what he said made a lot of sense.

Even if such a powerful evil cultivator who has lived for over a million years were to become a mortal, if he were to deliberately cause chaos, he would surely wreak havoc.

She immediately said, "Swear a solemn oath that you will never do anything to harm the Great Qian Dynasty."

Pei Xueyan was about to say that the oaths here were not very binding and that making an oath was useless, when she suddenly realized the flaw in it.

No, the person in front of me, both in tone of voice and in demeanor, is completely different from the Zhengde Emperor of the past.

If she was reincarnated with her memories intact, her usual words and actions should be the same as they are now.

Having been a great cultivator in his previous life, he quickly understood the reasoning behind it.

"Are you possessing the body of Emperor Zhengde?"

Xiao Han was secretly shocked. As expected of an ancient powerhouse, he guessed her true state in just a few moments.

She snorted, still dissatisfied, and said, "I gave you half of my merits for nothing, so you owe me. If you don't pay it back, you'll owe me for all eternity."

Seeing the deep resentment in the other party's eyes, Pei Xueyan suddenly smiled, her tone even carrying a hint of schadenfreude, "So, you failed to subdue the Karmic Fire Red Lotus?"

Xiao Han thought that although she had temporarily fooled the Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the other party had not yet recognized her as its master and could run away at any time, which made her angrier and angrier.

“Pei Xueyan, you were once a cultivator. You should understand that if some karma is not resolved, you will carry it for lifetimes, especially someone like you who is reincarnated with memories.”

Pei Xueyan looked at her, "How do you want to end this?"

Xiao Han immediately said, "In this life, you will wholeheartedly assist me, use all your wisdom to cleanse the court, and restore a prosperous and peaceful dynasty to this world."

By achieving lasting fame, you not only repay part of my kindness but also accumulate merit for yourself—isn't that killing two birds with one stone?

Pei Xueyan, considering her plan, replied without hesitation, "Okay, I agree!"

His original plan was to accumulate merit for the country and its people, and to be reborn into a world where cultivation was possible.

Therefore, Xiao Han's request is not contradictory.