Whether it’s a good story or not, who knows.
But Huo Xiang was about to ascend to heaven, and the others were nearly shocked out of their wits by Su Ning’s sudden move—only Concubine Zhuo’s eyes blazed with unprecedented light.
Seeing him hesitate to answer,
Su Ning’s smile slowly faded, and she urged him with clear displeasure:
“What, are you too happy to speak? Why haven’t you agreed? If it weren’t for Old Master Huo’s sake, do you think just anyone could get me to be a wedding witness?”
Who asked you to be one!
Huo Xiang ground his teeth, then forced a stiff smile as he reminded her, “Miss Su, as I just said, I have no feelings for her, let alone any plans to marry.”
Did you hear that? No feelings. None. Not a shred.
“I know that,”
Su Ning frowned, a trace of impatience creeping in. “Don’t be so cold-hearted. Look at how much Miss Zhuo likes and loves you. Aren’t you even a little moved? Feelings can develop. Get married, spend time together, have a couple of kids—slowly, feelings will grow. I’m your elder, I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”
“I’d advise you to take it as it comes. You’re twenty-five in actual age, twenty-seven by Chinese reckoning, which basically makes you thirty. Some people your age are already grandfathers. Aren’t you anxious?”
With this long string of words thrown at him,
it was quite exhausting.
Su Ning felt she was being sincere, having considered every angle.
But—
“Ding! Detected the host is rich but unkind…”
Ungrateful dog!
If he could, Huo Xiang would have slapped Su Ning right then and there.
What was Concubine Zhuo? She wasn’t fit to be his main wife—even Su Ning herself didn’t deserve that position. There was only one woman he wanted to marry. Thinking of the stubborn, beautiful girl in his memories, Huo Xiang’s gaze softened for a moment.
This time, they would make up for all regrets and live happily together.
Of course, she was special.
Even if he drained her luck points, she would still receive his love and care.
His mood lifted a little.
The next second—
“Are you just going to stand there grinning? Say something! Do you have a screw loose or something?” Su Ning, sharp-tongued as ever, looked at him suspiciously and muttered in a very audible whisper:
“What bad luck, running into people like this wherever I go.”
Huo Xiang’s smile vanished.
…
Too bad.
Su Ning’s first attempt at matchmaking ended in failure. Displeased, she grumbled to the system:
“Tell me, how could the Zhuo family be so useless? We were so close to success, and then they got caught secretly planting opium in my plantation. Now the perfect son-in-law is gone, and the whole family’s going to prison.”
Up north in Nanyang, different countries had different laws.
Opinions on growing opium varied too. Some places not only tolerated it but even encouraged it.
But Su Ning couldn’t care less.
She simply exercised her rights as the plantation owner and had them sent in, greasing the wheels skillfully so that the Zhuo family might never have to worry about food again—for life.
The system was speechless for a moment.
Then it couldn’t help but say,
“Even if the Zhuo family hadn’t gotten into trouble, Huo Xiang wasn’t about to agree anyway.” His face had turned green; the system was afraid he might go scorched earth.
So it asked, puzzled, “Didn’t you say we’d probe and feel things out first? I feel like what you did just now was too aggressive. Yes, the gains were decent, but it was kind of unnecessary.”
“Wrong. It was very necessary.”
In the early summer of Nanyang, the sky was blue, the breeze light, and sunlight poured down generously.
Su Ning propped her chin on her hand,
lazily letting out a yawn:
“With someone like Huo Xiang—rotten at the core but gutless—under that kind of pressure, the most likely move was to agree first and then stall. Since I won’t be staying in Nanyang forever, he’d find an excuse to kill Concubine Zhuo later, call it illness, and claim it’s an accident. That would have been the safest way to handle things without offending me. But he didn’t do that.”
“Why do you think?”
Upon hearing this, the system’s first thought was: how did Su Ning know Huo Xiang would act that way?
Then it pouted. She always called herself a good person, yet she used Concubine Zhuo’s life like a piece of bait.
Having spent this much time with Su Ning, the system knew exactly what it was thinking just from her silence. She chuckled lightly, unbothered. She hadn’t forced anything.
Concubine Zhuo, after all, was more than willing.
She answered her own question:
“Because he’s waiting for his true love, Ye Tang—the female lead—and he’s out here thinking he’s being all deep and devoted.”
Never mind that he wouldn’t hesitate to drain her luck points all the same.
“So, that roughly confirms things.”
Su Ning stretched, bonelessly flopping onto the table:
“The information he got from outside sources probably only covers himself. Other characters he hasn’t crossed paths with, he doesn’t know. What a pity.”
Otherwise,
he wouldn’t just hate and resent me—he’d be suspicious and probing too.
The system was stunned for a moment.
This information really was important. There had been vague guesses before, but guesses were still just guesses—acting on them carelessly could cause trouble.
The host was pretty sharp.
It thought grumpily, reluctant to admit it. So it changed the subject casually: “What’s a pity?”
“Nothing much.” Just that if Huo Xiang didn’t know that much about the future, she could have set him up with a more suitable heroine—like Mu Wan… or even Guan Jixing, come to think of it.
These days, two men teaming up together could be quite popular, you know.
Besides, they were both protagonist-tier characters.
Good enough.
Mainly, she was too kind at heart and didn’t want to see Ye Tang haunted by this leech—definitely not because she was sick of that pair of “true love”!
As she thought this, her awareness slowly faded. Maybe because the breeze was too gentle, the system’s chattering voice, happily reporting the harvest results, sounded like white noise. Su Ning fell asleep on the table.
“Host… host? Already asleep?”
The system’s voice softened.
After some unknown amount of time,
Lin Sen, carrying a large stack of documents, pushed open the door and looked up to see this sight. He stood there for a while, adjusted the wooden window so that only a small sliver of sunlight came through—not too hot, not too cold—
then stepped out quietly—
and docked the guards’ pay.
…
While Su Ning was sleeping soundly, others weren’t so lucky—like Huo Xiang.
Back home, he kicked everyone out, dark-faced, wanting to smash things but fearing the old man would find out. He sat down, slowly growing suspicious. He had tested the power of the favor halo himself… just now, something was clearly off.
At least during its effect,
Old Master Huo would see him as that short-lived dead man. But earlier, it hadn’t worked nearly as well.
And Su Ning!
The memory of her name alone made Huo Xiang’s chest heave with rage. Bitch! A bitch like no other—he had never seen anyone so disgusting.
It didn’t affect her at all.
Checking, he was cautious at first.
He didn’t sense a single point of luck coming from her, and Huo Xiang didn’t want to admit how relieved he felt. But then, with a smirk, he shook his head. If there was no luck on her, she was just ordinary.
Then another thought struck him, and his face darkened again.
Since there was no anomaly, this meant that even under the influence of the halo of favorability, this woman could still be this repulsive!
He said in disbelief:
“How can there be such a shameless, arrogant, and despicable creature in this world?”
Of course, no one answered him.
Huo Xiang sat for a long time, trying to calm down, but still felt a lump stuck in his chest that wouldn’t rise or fall. No one, except for Old Master Huo, had ever humiliated him like Su Ning did!
If it weren’t for his scarce luck points...
He narrowed his eyes dangerously.
He let out a cold snort.
Just then, someone announced—Madam Huo had arrived.
