Chapter 21: Inexplicably Getting a Daughter-in-Law

The title of Crown Prince carried enough weight to intimidate anyone in all of Lingzhou City.

Even the city's governor wouldn't dare show the slightest neglect when facing the Crown Prince of Prince Jing's Residence. After all... the Lord Governor was essentially just working for Prince Jing's Residence. All of Lingzhou was Prince Jing's fiefdom.

Thus, within the time it took to drink a cup of tea after Su Han's voice echoed over the wall of the Governor's Residence, the Lord Governor came rushing out from his study in a panic. He came in such a hurry that he didn't even have time to change out of his casual clothes.

"Forgive me, Crown Prince! Please forgive me!" Governor Duan pleaded. "I do not know where I have failed to anger you so. Please enlighten me, Crown Prince, and I will definitely correct my mistakes."

Governor Duan kept his posture extremely low, even though, up until now, he remained completely clueless as to why the Crown Prince had come knocking to find fault with him.

But Governor Duan held a core principle in his heart: Prince Jing was always right. And if Prince Jing was wrong, one must reshape their own worldview and maintain the unshakeable belief that Prince Jing was still right. This core principle extended perfectly to Crown Prince Jing as well—it was equally applicable. The Crown Prince had shown up at his door, setting fires and cursing people out. Even if the governor had no idea what he had done wrong, he still had to admit fault first.

"Where have you failed?" Su Han looked at Governor Duan with a cold sneer. "Governor Duan, you sure have a good son."

Governor Duan's heart skipped a beat. When he first heard that the Crown Prince had come to cause trouble, he was full of confusion. He didn't know what he had done to provoke the Crown Prince into making such a huge fuss to demand an explanation. Hearing the Crown Prince's words now, could it be that his rebellious son had caused trouble outside again?

The Lord Governor knew his own son quite well. Aside from being a bit of a philanderer, his son didn't really have any other flaws. His proficiency in both literature and martial arts was outstanding. Furthermore, although his son was a ladies' man who left a trail of romance wherever he went, he had never forced himself on any girl, let alone abused his power to bully others. Therefore, Governor Duan had just let him be, without imposing too many restrictions.

After all... it was just stealing a few hearts. For a scholar, could that really be called stealing? Since ancient times, which young girl hadn't yearned for love, and which talented scholar hadn't been a romantic?

"Has my worthless son done something to displease you, Crown Prince? Please calm your anger. I will teach that unfilial son a lesson right now." With that, Governor Duan turned and instructed the butler to fetch his son, preparing to teach him a lesson right in front of Su Han.

Seeing Governor Duan give him so much face, Su Han actually felt a little embarrassed to bully him. His expression softened slightly as he turned to look at Hua.

"Hua, please help me down."

Miss Hua hugged Su Han from behind and leaped lightly, landing steadily with him on the ground inside the courtyard of the Governor's Residence. Su Xiao'Er followed closely behind, landing beside Su Han.

Seeing that all three of them had gone down, Qin pouted. She subconsciously looked down and immediately saw her own toes.

"HUMPH!" Humming inaudibly, Qin stomped her foot in annoyance and also jumped down into the courtyard.

Once Su Han was down, Governor Duan hurried over to bow. However, he was stopped by Su Han waving his hand before he could even bend halfway.

"Alright, skip the formalities. I didn't come here to watch you bow."

Governor Duan smiled awkwardly and straightened up, keeping his head bowed as he carefully stood by Su Han's side.

Su Han silently stared at the apricot tree that was still burning with flames. This silence made Governor Duan instinctively hold his breath.

"Governor Duan," Su Han finally said. After a few breaths, he withdrew his gaze from the apricot tree. He glanced at his newly acquired skill—Body Technique: Moon Shadow Step—and couldn't help but turn to look at the man.

Hearing the Crown Prince call him, Governor Duan's heart tightened, and he instinctively bowed again. "Your orders, Crown Prince?"

Su Han nodded. "Governor Duan, who... planted this apricot tree?"

Governor Duan was speechless.

He wondered, "Aren't you here to cause trouble? One moment you were talking about how my son upset you, and the next you shift the topic to an irrelevant tree. Isn't this transition a bit too fast? Besides, this tree has absolutely nothing to do with my son, right?"

Little did Governor Duan know that it was precisely this tree that had attracted Su Han, making him set his sights on the Governor's Residence.

"To answer the Crown Prince, I do not know who planted this tree," Governor Duan replied. "It has been here ever since I moved into the Governor's Residence. I assume it was left behind by my predecessor."

"Your predecessor?" Su Han frowned slightly. "Who lives in this courtyard?"

Governor Duan froze for a moment. "It is my daughter. However, my wife went back to her maiden home to visit her family over a month ago, and my daughter accompanied her. She is not in the residence at the moment."

Su Han twitched his mouth. Who cared whether his daughter was in the residence or not? What the Crown Prince wanted to know was the exact principle behind the formation of this Skill Tree.

However... similar to the three-star Alchemy, after acquiring the Body Technique: Moon Shadow Step skill, Su Han was left with a vague inherited memory. Although the memory was blurry, Su Han could tell it was the silhouette of a woman dancing in front of the apricot tree. Even though he couldn't clearly see the woman's true face, the sense of world-weariness radiating from her—as if she had seen through all the affairs of the world—could be distinctly felt.

Governor Duan's daughter was currently only eighteen years old, right in the prime of her youth. How could she possibly possess such world-weary vicissitudes? Therefore... the formation of the Skill Tree shouldn't have a single dime to do with her.

"Before your daughter, who lived in this courtyard?"

An apologetic look appeared on Governor Duan's face. "This... I am not sure. However, there are a few servants in my residence who have been here since the previous governor's tenure. They should know. Do you need me to summon them, Crown Prince?"

Su Han nodded, and Governor Duan instructed a servant to go call for them.

A short while later... the governor's son, Duan Zhengchun, was brought over.

"Father!"

SLAP!

Duan Zhengchun had just arrived and hadn't even figured out what was going on before Governor Duan swung his arm and slapped him squarely across the face.

"You rebellious son, don't call me father! I don't have a father like you... Bah! You don't have a son like me!"

After saying that, he realized it sounded wrong.

Governor Duan stammered, "I..."

"Father, what did I do wrong?" Stunned by his own father's slap and listening to his incoherent rambling, Duan Zhengchun panicked intensely.

He wondered, "What mistake did I make to anger Father like this? Did he find out that I impulsively spent ten thousand taels at Yunshui Pavilion last night? Or was it exposed that I accidentally ruined his treasured landscape painting by Tang Kaizhi and replaced it with a fake I copied myself?"

"Humph! Don't you know exactly what 'good deeds' you've done?" Governor Duan snorted angrily, but his eyes kept darting toward Su Han, frantically signaling his son.

Duan Zhengchun wasn't stupid. On the contrary... to be able to charm so many girls into having no regrets even after realizing he wasn't the right man for them, this guy's emotional intelligence was actually quite high. Seeing Su Han standing there and catching his father's frantic hints, he naturally understood that it was this Crown Prince who had come to cause trouble this time. It was just that, no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember when he had ever offended this Crown Prince.

"Crown Prince..." Duan Zhengchun bowed in greeting. Just as he was about to speak, Su Han impatiently interrupted him.

Dealing with Duan Zhengchun was merely an excuse he used to justify lighting up the Skill Tree by setting fire to someone else's tree. Now that he had obtained the skill, and Governor Duan had even beaten Duan Zhengchun in front of him, he could just use this out to step down gracefully.

"I will only ask you one thing," Su Han said. "Do you still remember Miss Liu Lingxuan?"

Duan Zhengchun's expression shifted slightly. Liu Lingxuan? Naturally, he remembered her. In truth, despite being a fickle and amorous playboy, his feelings for every girl he had ruined were genuine. And among his multitude of confidantes, Liu Lingxuan was the most beautiful, the most talented, and the one he liked the most. If it weren't for the disparity in their statuses, he would have genuinely been willing to marry her.

But why was the Crown Prince bringing up Liu Lingxuan?

Thinking of Liu Lingxuan's talent and beauty, and recalling the memory of falling in love with her at first sight, Duan Zhengchun's face grew even paler.

"Crown Prince, you..."

He guessed that Su Han, just like him, might have fallen in love with Liu Lingxuan at first sight, and had come to cause trouble for him upon finding out that she was deeply in love with Duan Zhengchun. However, before he could figure out how to delicately express this guess, Su Han impatiently spoke again.

"Alright, stop dawdling," Su Han said. "I'll be blunt. Liu Lingxuan once did me a huge favor, and I consider her a friend. As for you, the governor's son, you should know exactly what you've done to her. Do I need to teach you what you need to do next?"

Hearing Su Han's words clearly, Duan Zhengchun's expression shifted first, and he glanced at his father with a guilty conscience. Then, joy bloomed in his heart.

Did the Crown Prince mean... for him to take responsibility?

If the only thing standing between him and Liu Lingxuan before was the gap in their social statuses, then now, with the Crown Prince intervening, this single barrier... seemed to have vanished. With the Crown Prince's prestige here, what reason would his father have to stop him?

At this thought, Duan Zhengchun immediately bowed deeply and earnestly to Su Han. "I understand. Tomorrow, I will ask my father to arrange for a matchmaker to propose marriage."

Governor Duan was dumbfounded.

He thought, "What is going on? What are you all talking about? Who is Liu Lingxuan? How did I inexplicably gain a daughter-in-law? From beginning to end, did you ever ask for my opinion?"

The answer was—no!

Su Han couldn't care less about Governor Duan's opinion. As for Duan Zhengchun...

Heh, the Crown Prince had forcefully intervened, and what was done could not be undone. Father, did your opinion... even matter anymore?