Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

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Of course, more importantly, the title of Marquis of Pingxi was hereditary and unchangeable. Without any surprises, the current Cao Zhen was the next Marquis of Pingxi.

No wonder Zhuo Zhibin and others were so respectful towards him.

What it meant to be a Marquis in charge of military power and stationed at the border went without saying.

At the same time, Cao Zhen was also telling Gu Chen that befriending him would have no downsides.

Gu Chen turned to glance at Gu Qingyan and noticed that she did not even look Cao Zhen in the eye, so he knew she was not interested in this man.

Therefore, he slightly smiled, cupped his hands towards Cao Zhen, and said, "It turns out I am in the presence of the young Lord Marquis. Gu Chen has been rude; my minor reputation is nothing significant. Compared to you, I fall far short. If there's nothing else, I will take my leave with them."

As he said this, he was about to pass by Cao Zhen, but unexpectedly, Cao Zhen stepped forward, blocking Gu Chen's path, and said with a very sincere tone, "Miss Gu, I fell for you at first sight. Could you give me a chance? I want to marry you as my principal wife."

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Zhibin and his companions were shocked, having not expected Cao Zhen to so casually make such a promise.

Generally speaking, a marriage of this caliber required the consent of the parents and at the very least a match in social status—the principal wife was usually selected for alliances.

But Cao Zhen's bold declaration in front of everyone suggested that the Marquis of Pingxi was indeed very indulgent towards him and showed the deep affection the Marquis had for his son.

Gu Qingyan's brows furrowed slightly as she said, "I'm sorry, I don't wish to marry far away to a borderland; I just want to stay in Tiandu, close to my parents." Read exclusive chapters at m_v-l'e|m,p-y r

Her words were a polite refusal, and Cao Zhen's brow immediately furrowed, but he did not want to give up just yet.

However, at that moment, Gu Chen spoke, "Young Lord Marquis, I have just finished meeting with His Highness, King Huai, and now I have some important matters to attend to. May I ask you to step aside?"

At the mention of "King Huai," Cao Zhen's expression changed instantly, and Zhuo Zhibin and his companions were also greatly surprised. His father indeed wielded great military power at the border and was quite famous in Da Xia.

But all of these achievements paled in comparison to those of King Huai, whose name was known throughout the land. Next to King Huai, the Marquis of Pingxi was nothing.

He believed that Gu Chen would never lie about such a matter, so all he could do was frown and watch as Gu Chen walked away with the others.

He hadn't misspoken; Cao Zhen truly was smitten with Gu Qingyan at first sight and had developed serious intentions of taking her as his wife.

He had seen many beautiful women in the lands of the Marquis of Pingxi, but compared to Gu Qingyan, the others were nothing more than mediocre; they didn't even come close.

As for whether Gu Qingyan was willing or not, that was irrelevant—he didn't care about such trivial matters. Women, in his opinion, valued certain things, and as long as he put forth a bit of effort, he was certain of success.

These tactics had always worked for him in the borderlands; they had become second nature.

"Brother Cao, are you just going to let them go?" Zhuo Zhibin and his companions approached and asked.

Cao Zhen smiled faintly and said, "It doesn't matter. Women require a bit of effort, after all."

Though he said this, he was actually thinking about investigating Gu Chen and the others once he returned and then making further considerations.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated," his father had taught him.

This not only applied to military strategy but also to interpersonal interactions.

Elsewhere, Gu Chen, along with his aunt Xu Qinge, his sister Gu Qingyan, and their maid Xiao Yu, were walking down the street. He glanced at the three of them and asked, "How do you feel? Were you scared just now?"

Gu Qingyan was visibly still unsettled, lost in her own thoughts, while the maid Xiao Yu nodded vigorously; she had truly thought they were about to be taken away.

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Xu Qinge sighed, "Eldest son, we truly owe you a great deal today."

If it weren't for Gu Chen, who knows how things might have developed today.

Gu Chen shook his head and said, "Auntie, we're all family; there's no need for such words. Moreover, I had already promised Uncle before leaving that I would take good care of you all."

At that moment, Xu Qinge looked at Gu Chen with some hesitation and asked, "Eldest son, did you just say you met with Prince Huai?"

Although she was a conventional housewife, she had heard of Prince Huai's reputation and never imagined that her nephew would have such capability to meet with Prince Huai.

Upon hearing this, Gu Chen just smiled and said, "It's nothing much, I just encountered some issues while on assignment and it was merely an order from higher up, I can probably only meet him this once."

Xu Qinge nodded, although it was just a single meeting, she nonetheless felt proud of her nephew. She had also heard from Gu Chengfeng that not just anyone is qualified to have a private audience with Prince Huai.

Gu Chen realized that they weren't in the mood to eat, so he simply bought some groceries, then left the inner city, and returned to Gu Mansion. He delivered them to the kitchen for the servants to prepare.

In the evening, Gu Chengfeng came back and upon hearing about the day's events, his thick eyebrows instantly furrowed.

"Marquis Pingxi is not an easy adversary, and Cao Zhen will certainly conduct behind-the-scenes investigations into our Gu Family background. If he has set his sights on Qinyan, he will surely not let go easily."

Gu Chengfeng's face was full of concern. Unlike other family heads, Gu Chengfeng was rather democratic regarding marriage. He preferred Gu Qingyan to choose someone she loved rather than forming a marital alliance for benefit.

If it were a matter of benefit, Cao Zhen would obviously be a good choice, but since his daughter did not like him, Gu Chengfeng did not want to force her. He was just afraid that Cao Zhen would not easily let go.

At the moment, the two men were discussing the matter privately in Gu Mansion's study to avoid worrying Xu Qinge and her daughter. Upon hearing this, Gu Chen reassured, "Don't worry, Uncle, I am here. If Cao Zhen wants to investigate, he will surely include me as well.

With Chen Yu, the Commander, and Lord Zhou Qing of the Mingjing Department behind me, there's only so much he can do, mostly restricted to overt actions."

Gu Chengfeng's face relaxed somewhat upon hearing this, as long as Cao Zhen didn't engage in any secret plots. His concern was precisely this, as they couldn't keep Gu Qingyan housebound forever.

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Meanwhile, on the other side, Cao Zhen had also received intelligence on Gu Chen and, by extension, the entire Gu Family.

He had read Gu Chengfeng's information, but dismissed it as mere Seventh Rank of the Royal Sword Guard.

What truly posed a challenge for him was Gu Chen's background; an ordinary second-tier Metropolitan Procurator would have been inconsequential - but Gu Chen was under Chen Yu's command, and highly valued by Chen Yu.

Even though he was stationed far at the border and not often in Tiandu, Cao Zhen had heard of Chen Yu's reputation. Few in the Jing Tian Department dared to challenge the Station Commanders.

Moreover, it wasn't just Chen Yu – even Zhou Qing, a grade-one mirror holder from the Mingjing Department, had some connection with Gu Chen, which made him hesitant as well.

After all, the Jing Tian Department oversaw external affairs and naturally could not manage them, so Chen Yu was only somewhat troublesome to him. However, the Mingjing Department was different; even the Marquis of Pingxi would be under their jurisdiction if it came to it.

Supervising government officials was not to be taken lightly; even one of Da Xia's princes perished at the hands of the Mingjing Department, which held considerable prestige among all officials in Da Xia.

And most critically, the information he got from Prince Huai's Mansion was that after meeting Gu Chen that day, Prince Huai seemed to think highly of him, as well.

One must admit that the Marquis of Pingxi's ability to gather intelligence was indeed remarkable. In just one afternoon, they had managed to find out so much.

Cao Zhen knew that underhanded tactics would not work, so if it was to be, he would have to engage in open conflict.

"Good, she's just a sixteen-year-old girl, I refuse to believe that I can't have her," Cao Zhen said with a calm smile, exuding confidence.