A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night-Chapter 189 - 159
Vanessa blinked, mildly surprised by the request. She hesitated for a moment, then replied carefully, "I can pass your request to the Lord. But whether it remains a secret or not… that's for him to decide."
Qin Wei nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."
With a short bow, Vanessa turned and left the room in swift strides, urgency marking her every step. The door clicked softly behind her.
As her presence faded, Qin Wei's expression darkened
His fingers clenched into a fist. "It looks like I'm not destined to hold Qi, after all," he muttered to himself.
But at the very least, he could use this excuse for his ocular powers and the skills he acquired from the library.
And if he frames it this way, like he was using their Qi, mimicking techniques through 'mysterious means', then he also has an excuse when he copies their techniques with his Heaven's Eye.
Seeing this in a positive way, he chuckled under his breath, "If I could replicate the Emperor's Celestial Sword of Destiny from memory… then what's to stop me from copying every high-tier martial art in this land? Haha…"
His gaze shifted toward the window, where the sun dipped low beyond the tiled rooftops of the House Griffin estate.
As dusk settled over the estate, the lanterns in the corridors were lit one by one, casting warm amber hues across the walls.
That evening, dinner had passed smoothly for Qin Wei, an unexpected change after the tension-filled events of the day.
His father-in-law didn't bring up his Qi mimicking technique or the fight with the brother-in-law at all. So, that means the matter is resolved. Or so Qin Wei thought.
Now, with the evening deepening into night, he sat alone in the House Griffin's study room, surrounded by shelves of neatly arranged scrolls and tomes. He wasn't bothered that he hadn't seen his wife all day.
Even during dinner while he was having dinner with the rest of the family, she was absent, and Vanessa told him that the tradition of the House Griffin doesn't allow husband and wife to see each other for three days after their wedding night. He had questions to ask her, especially about the second personality. But he could only accept the clan traditions and bear it for now.
A single candle flickered beside him, casting a wavering light on the open book in his lap.
The cover bore the name Cang Wuxian, a famous historian or philosopher, perhaps; he wasn't sure.
The original Qin Wei, the body's former owner, had shown little interest in scholarly pursuits.
Court etiquette, dynastic politics, military formations, the noble class structure, all of it had been meaningless to him.
But, as a transmigrator, Qin Wei would definitely want to know all the details in order to understand the world. More so, if he wanted to travel around.
He flipped another page, brows furrowing slightly as the dense script began detailing the origins of the empire.
Ch: The Weeping Guanyin Tears; A wife's letter
The Great Liang Empire was founded in the Year 167 by the Wen Dynasty, emerging from the ashes of the Great War that had destroyed tens of small independent kingdoms and hundreds of tribes all over the continent.
Apart from the Great Liang, three other major empires emerged, namely, the Great Tang, the Great Ming, and the Great Qing.
Qin Wei muttered the words under his breath as he read, trying to commit them to memory.
The Great Liang empire was the second biggest of those four, its domain was vast, divided into the Imperial City at its heart and nine major states that formed the empire's political backbone: Western Chu, Northern Yan, Southern Luo, Eastern Beique, Jing Kingdom, Lingnan State, Yao State, Song Kingdom, and Fang Domain.
Each region was governed by local lords or noble clans under the watchful eye of the emperor.
Beyond the structure of states, there existed five independent free cities, Ashenford, Ximu, Danxu, Cangye, and Wuyi, each ruled by powerful clans with near-autonomous authority.
The great clans could pass the laws as they fit, but every year, the clans had to pay 30% of the tax they collected to the imperial palace.
As for the House Phoenix, to which Qin Wei himself belonged, they refused a city offered by the founder, as well as a duchy or even a title. Instead, they made their home in Yongzhou, a remote outer province of the imperial domain, close to the capital.
Of course, over the years, their influence has only grown by bounds, not just through political circles but even in the military as well. And at the moment, they are the strongest supporters of the Imperial family.
Qin Wei flipped another page of the hefty tome in his lap, the old parchment releasing a faint, dusty scent.
His gaze lingered at the top of the page where the heading read: "The Power Structure of Great Liang", a breakdown of nobles, military authorities, and governing sects.
He had just begun to skim the opening lines when the soft creak of the door interrupted him.
Vanessa stepped into the study with the same composed grace she always did.
"Master Icarus," she greeted him with a bow.
Qin Wei gave a casual nod, not bothering to rise. His eyes were still scanning the page. "Yes?"
Vanessa stood near the desk, taking out a letter from her sleeves. She handed it to him. "It's from Lady Thea."
Qin Wei blinked. "My wife?"
He curiously took the letter and opened it. "Dear Husband, I apologize for not being able to be there by the time you woke up earlier today. I have no memories of what happened, but based on Zhinu's personality, I could guess that she tried to kill you. I thank the gods that nothing has happened to you. I'm also extremely guilty about not telling the truth to you. I know that you have questions in your mind about Zhinu, and I will answer you, but at a later date, in person. Until then, please act as if nothing has happened. Zhinu is a secret that only a few elders of the clan were aware of.
And that wedding night... it is quite embarrassing to me as well, behaving shamelessly like that in a drunken state, but I hope you don't take me as such a person. And I request you not to speak of it to anyone else."
Qin Wei turned the page.
"Regarding the divorce agreement that the Husband requested prior to marriage, I can no longer be able to do that as I lost the right to sign any divorce as we consummated our marriage. And because the husband is a matrilocal, the husband also doesn't hold the rights to initiate either. Only the Lord, my father, has the right to dismiss our marriage with both of our consents. I apologize once again for taking away that choice from you, but I hope we won't come to that situation.
I also wanted to talk about my cousin. I wish to tell Husband that you did the right thing. And you won't have to worry about him. Once we shift to our new home, everything will be alright. You will have battle maids to protect you every day and night, even in my absence.
The battle maids reminded me of something that my father said. I'm not sure whether the news reached you or not, but back at your Qin Estate, it seems your maids have been dismissed. Every one of them. From what my father told me, the moment you left the Qin estate for the wedding, your maids were actually given severance pay and sent away. Now, I feel guilty about the promise I made to you that you could have your tongfang maids. Never to fret, I'm aware that a man has his needs, and I also won't be around you all the time, as I need to return to the sect very soon. So, you can take new tongfang maids as you wish, once we shift to the new residence. Just don't give your heart. That's all I ask.
There are so many things I wish to write and talk to you in person, but I have to stay away for the next two days, and I don't think I will be able to speak to you about so many things in person. Can't believe I miss you already. Anyways, I will stop here.
Regards, Your wife, Thea."
Qin Wei stared at her, stunned for a moment. There's just so much information on the letter that it was too much for him to wrap his head around. "So, last night wasn't just a drunken act. And how much does she love this fool that she doesn't even mind allowing tongfang maids even after the marriage? But she was aware of what Zhinu could do. She didn't tell me about it. Last night, I could have died. What if I don't have a system? Then, I would have been dead again, this time on the night I had sex. However, this girl..."
