Xia Qingyue refrained from further questioning. Since her master, a figure of such stature and insight, had confidently asserted "impossible," then indeed, there was likely not the slightest chance.
“Qingyue, I understand your deep sense of gratitude, your wish to repay the debt of life saved at your birth before returning to Frozen Cloud Asgard. But marrying him alone is repayment enough. When you return to Asgard, your status will be revealed. He may suffer further ridicule, but as the husband of an Asgard disciple, even in this small Floating Cloud City, no one will dare to truly harm him.” The woman in white offered her reassurance.
Xia Qingyue inclined her head slightly, “Let’s hope so.”
“His profound veins are crippled, he possesses no other skills, and there will be nothing significant he can accomplish in life. You, on the other hand, possess not only unmatched beauty and intelligence but also a talent rare even by Asgard’s standards. Were it not for that, the palace master would never have granted your marriage request. To marry you is the greatest fortune and grace of his life. You have fulfilled your duty; even if his father, Xiao Ying, were still alive, if he were wise, he would have severed the engagement of his own accord... I must leave now. In a month, I shall return for you. During this time, I will remain nearby; should anything arise that you cannot handle, inform me at once with a sound-transmitting talisman.”
“Thank you, Master.”
The woman in white gave a nod and turned, her face of exquisite beauty emanating an icy aloofness. Without any adornment, her skin was like pure snow jade, evoking images of "icy muscles and jade bones, snowy countenance and vermilion lips." Her features were flawless, bearing an ethereal grace that made her seem almost untouchable, like a celestial maiden untouched by mortal dust.
She opened the rear window, her figure slightly swaying, and with a shimmering wave of ice spirits, her form dissolved into mist and vanished.
The Xiao family hall was brimming with guests.
"Uncle Liu Qi, please, have a drink," Xiao Che respectfully offered a cup to a scholarly-looking middle-aged man.
Liu Qi smiled, accepting the cup and downing it in one gulp. “Nephew, your father and I were dear friends, and seeing you wed such an extraordinary wife brings me great joy.”
“Thank you, Uncle Liu.”
"Elder, please have a drink," Xiao Che said, bowing before the grand elder of the Xiao clan, Xiao Li.
Xiao Li took the cup and downed it in a single gulp, then set it heavily on the table with barely a grunt, not even a glance in Xiao Che’s direction, as if accepting the toast was a grand favor. Without a word, Xiao Che moved to the next table, but as he stepped away, Xiao Li spat on the ground with a sneer just loud enough for Xiao Che to hear, “What a flower, planted in a pile of dung. Hmph!”
Xiao Che’s expression remained unchanged, his stride unbroken, though his eyes held a deep and hidden chill.