The man, dressed in simple yet splendid green and white robes, nodded his head. "I'm well aware, Young Master," he paused, giving Li Xinyuan an urging look. "And I do apologise for it, but please get up, Divine Phoenix Lǐ is near."
Li Xinyuan let out a hum, his half-lidded eyes swept over the man from head-to-toe taking in how he was dressed. "Alright, I'll listen to you." Slowly, he stood up, idly stretching his waist as he groaned. "I've been training since the morning, what does Aunt want to say now?"
Hú Lijīng bent down to dust off the dirt from his robes as he replied, fiery amber hair curtaining forward. "I'm unsure, Young Master."
Li Xinyuan let out a snort, shaking his head as he walked out from under the tree. "What do you know then?"
Hú Lijīng simply rolled his eyes, letting out a huff as he answered. "I don't know anything, only Young Master knows everything. Especially with his routine of walking up, cultivating, going to hospital, going to library."
Pausing in his steps, Li Xinyuan raised an eyebrow, turning his head to look at the distant figure of his aunt walking towards them before bowing his head to give the man a look.
"Are you for real?"
Hú Lijīng shrugged, standing straight. "Am I?"
Li Xinyuan didn't bother replying as he let out a snort and strode away from the amber-haired man, walking fast to meet his aunt halfway.
"Aunt," he called out, greeting respectfully as he clasped his hands in front of him and bowed. "Shizun."
His aunt, the Divine Phoenix, gave him a scrutinizing look, saying nothing as he continued to bow. Her glimmering green eyes inspected him as she looked at him.
"Finished training?" She asked, eventually. With a sigh of relief, Li Xinyuan straightened up and looked at her, smiling.
"Yes."
This aunt of his, the country's Divine doctor Li Jinhua, was a formidable woman who inherited all of the clans martial arts after his parents' passing and shouldered the heavy responsibility of the clan in his stead.
Indeed, she was far from a delicate woman Li Xinyuan had expected her to be when he had first read of her in the main novel.
Her beautiful raven hair were tied in a bun secured by a rather elaborate headdress as her green eyes peered at him silently. Her medical knowledge and skills aside, Lǐ Jinhuā was — in his humble opinion — a terrifying martial artist who didn't bother showing it.
Subconsciously, Li Xinyuan gulped, straightening his spine as he looked down at her and wondered what was going on her mind.
Li Jinhua — the sister of his father, the General of freezing Northwest frontiers — was skilled enough to give most of the imperial council's people a run for their money.
Slowly, his aunt spoke up, glancing behind him as she frowned. "Let us go, I've received an imperial order."
Hearing that, Li Xinyuan froze, suddenly remembering that the character he had transmigrated into was in fact the future consort of the crown prince.
But… He hadn't done anything to warrant the Emperor's attention yet?
"What?" He asked, blankly, feet rooted to the ground. "Imperial order for what?"
His aunt looked at him over the shoulder, frowning as she regarded him with a blank look. Damn. He could practically hear her asking if he was retarded.
"I'll tell you after we get back." She answered, swishing her sleeves as she strode away.
From behind him, Hú Lijīng spoke up, as if it remind him. "Young Master, let us go."
Yeah, yeah, he wasn't deaf, he was going. Even if he wasn't really following this entire chain of events as much as he had thought he was. With a subtle nod, he chased after his aunt, splendid robes billowing after him.
The country where this story took place was called DaHuǒ, meaning great fire. Really, what a splendid naming sense. It was a mix of lower xianxia with wuxia where martial artists and cultivators were a norm. They were as common as green leaves in spring.
The country itself was ruled by the royal family who were believed to be descendents of the demigod son of Jade Emperor who pioneered cultivation and martial arts.
From each generation, the most excellent royal children were picked out and they fought for the right to succeed the throne, in this generation — before the generation of the protagonist — the Emperor was called the Heavenly Dragon.
He was also the father of the main novel's protagonist and this novel's — the spin-off — protagonist, Liu Mingyun.
The thought alone of the man sent shivers down his spine.
It couldn't be that the imperial order was an edict for his marriage, right? He was much too young for it! Just fifteen. (Though mentally, he was older but technicalities)
It would be an exaggeration to say that Li Xinyuan was afraid of the man—no, not really. He didn't even mind getting married to him, because it was a necessity to follow the original plot. He was more afraid of the things that took place in the harem, both the Emperor's and the crown prince's.
Truth be told, if not for the harem — which was mostly secondary to both the plot and the romance between the male and the female lead — Li Xinyuan would have actually liked the thought of being married to the crown prince.
Why?
Because he was very gay. A very repressed one, mostly due to his lifestyle and his job. He liked his job as a surgeon, he still did, even now as the apprentice of the Divine Phoenix.
But it made him unable to have much time to fully invest himself in a relationship apart from a few night-stands here and there. He never had the opportunity to.
Yeah, he died single, but at least not a virgin ( ˵ ° ~ ° ˵ ).
So as much as getting married sounded appealing, it was still dangerous.
Shaking off the redundant thoughts, Li Xinyuan hurried after his aunt, striding through the busy hallways of the hospital as he did so. Greeting back the people he stumbled upon.
Why did his aunt have to be a cultivator? And why so much higher at that?
Even though he had undergone a body reformation, he still fell short by a mile against her.
Was this the difference between a minorest of the minor characters and a side character?
He was unreconciled!
After what felt like hours, they finally reached the entourage from the Forbidden City. At the front stood a eunuch, tall and poised as he awaited their arrival.
A few feet away from him, Li Xinyuan and Li Jinhua dropped to their knees, ready to receive the order.
Slightly, the surgeon gulped, pressing his forehead on the floor. Please, not his marriage, not yet.
"The Emperor has graciously…" The Eunuch spoke. "… For the Divine Phoenix, Li Jinhua, to serve her duty as a doctor in the Southern frontier."
What? Li Xinyuan blinked. He wasn't getting married yet?