Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Marriage

As days passed, Xia You temporarily resided in the Marshal's mansion, holing up in his room. Apart from searching the StarNet for information and sifting through a barrage of communications about the Xia family, he spent his time anticipating the black leopard's possible visits.

Regrettably, since that encounter, the leopard never once visited his terrace again.

As the knock on the door sounded, Xia You had just finished drying his hair, contemplating sourcing some energy stones from the black market to rejuvenate his mental strength.

Accessing the dark web from the Marshal's mansion is a risky move, but paradoxically, it's also the safest approach.

The risk lies in the mansion's staff potentially discovering Xia You's foray into the black market, while the safety arises from the improbability of anyone on the black market tracing back to him.

As Xia You opened the door, he was met with two individuals in crisp military uniforms, looking exceptionally formal, which momentarily stunned him.

"Hello, I am His Excellency the Marshal's medical officer, Meng Wenxuan."

Standing beside Wei Cheng, Meng Wenxuan, dressed in a white coat over his military attire, exuded warmth with his gentle smile. His thin-framed metal glasses and demeanor radiated an inexplicable trustworthiness.

However, whether it was Xia You's imagination or not, he felt both men's gazes on him were oddly... intense?

The three settled on the sofa. After exchanging glances, and in line with their previous agreement, Wei Cheng handed Xia You a contract.

Xia You: "?"

Xia You took the document with a puzzled expression, scanning the initial sections intently. He then sharply lifted his gaze to both Wei Cheng and Meng Wenxuan. After a brief pause, he continued reading until he had absorbed every clause in silence.

Although it was labeled a contract, it would be more accurate to call it an invitation.

In this interstellar era, the appointment of a legion healer isn't solely the decision of the Marshal or his deputy. Such life-and-death decisions usually require voting among legion members.

Thus, Wei Cheng's request, on behalf of the Marshal's mansion, was to earnestly invite Xia You to consider becoming Marshal Lu Yinghuai's dedicated healer.

It's widely known that Marshal Lu has been plagued by a disorder of psychic energy for a long time. Classified under congenital genetic diseases, the disorder is rare.

Yet, once diagnosed with this ailment, often deemed incurable, there is no known treatment.

Even high-level healing psychic energy proves powerless against it.

Those afflicted inevitably succumb to a breakdown of their psychic energy. The Imperial Healing Center diagnosed the Marshal nine years ago, frequently issuing critical condition notices. Yet, Marshal Lu, relying on his psychic energy control, has defied the odds, enduring longer than any known patient.

The terms offered by Wei Cheng are quite enticing.

Or rather, they seem tailor-made for Xia You's current situation.

This contract, in the Marshal's name, offers Xia You protection. Once he becomes the Marshal's dedicated healer, even Xia You's father, the Duke of Xia, would think twice before intervening in Xia You's marital affairs, lest he challenges the Marshal.

Furthermore, the contract stipulates that, regardless of any improvement in the Marshal's condition, during Xia You's tenure as his healer, the Marshal's mansion would fulfill any material request Xia You makes.

That's quite a statement.

Undoubtedly, as the heir of the Duke's mansion, material needs would be the easiest for Xia You to fulfill - probably the most significant commitment Deputy Wei Cheng could make.

But only Xia You knew that, despite seeming to have everything, he coveted the energy stones monopolized by the military.

But…

Gently setting the contract on the table, Xia You murmured, "I'm just a Class C healer. I'm afraid I might not be much help to the Marshal."

By the time he advances to Class S, strong enough to treat the Marshal, using the energy stones, the Marshal's memorial might already be observed annually.

Meng Wenxuan gestured for Wei Cheng to pause and asked amicably, as if chatting with a close junior, "Pardon my intrusion, but are you adjusting well to life at the Marshal's mansion?"

"The Marshal's mansion is wonderful; I like it very much." Xia You offered a polite, faint smile, his youthful cheeks hinting at dimples. "However, if I can't contribute to the Marshal's health, I'd feel undeserving of such generous compensation."

"Yet, rest assured, Doctor Meng and Deputy Wei, should Marshal Lu need my assistance, just say the word, and I'll be there."

He yearned for a leisurely life, but the Marshal's position was too demanding and weighty to put down.

Others might not know, but Xia You clearly remembered that Marshal Lu's mental disorder had worsened considerably, surmising it might be critical within a year or two.

If the Marshal were to pass away due to his illness, and he, as the Marshal's exclusive healer...

Xia You lowered his gaze.

The Marshal had shown him kindness, and he was willing to reciprocate under any circumstances that didn't jeopardize himself. But to be embroiled in murky situations akin to a swamp was simply not worth the trouble.

Given the conversation's direction, Meng Wenxuan could tell that despite the young man's seemingly naive demeanor, he had made up his mind. With a smile, he got straight to the point, "We wish to request a mental energy match between you and Marshal Lu."

"What?" Xia You was taken aback.

In his younger days, Xia You was already engaged to the Fan family, hence, even after reaching adulthood, he hadn't participated in a public mental energy matching.

"The Xia and Fan families have submitted a request to the Imperial Mainframe two days ago to modify their engagement. Soon, the betrothal between Xia Qing and Fan Yuqiao will be publicly announced by the Mainframe."

Meng Wenxuan spoke candidly.

Xia You possesses a C-grade healing mental power, which isn't sufficient to work at the Healing Center. After the dissolution of the engagement, the Mainframe will promptly arrange a mental energy matching date for him.

The Empire's law and the Mainframe favor healers. If Xia You opts for a match before the set date and achieves a compatibility rate above 70%, he can bypass the dating phase and directly proceed to the interaction stage with the potential partner.

"Doctor Meng's implication is..." Xia You gradually grasped the idea.

"If you become the Marshal's exclusive healer as a candidate partner, I believe all problems will be resolved seamlessly."

Meng Wenxuan was right.

In fact, the recent enthusiasm of the Senate's nobility in hosting a matchmaking banquet for Lu Yinghuai wasn't genuinely out of hope to cure him. Their ulterior motive was to gain influence over the Marshal's mansion or, more precisely, covet the Lu family's accumulated wealth over generations, given their sparse lineage.

However, for the Empire's citizens, the goal was sincerely hoping that this arrangement could provide the utmost solace to Marshal Lu's mind and body.

After all, it's a well-known fact that the higher the compatibility rate, the more effective the healer's abilities.

Given the Marshal's dire health situation, nobody would resent his match. Instead, they would appreciate the individual's sacrifice even more.

Thus, the Empire's citizens were genuinely enthusiastic about the Marshal's matchmaking banquet, while the Senate's nobles had invited numerous journalists for live coverage.

"In truth, the Marshal agreed to the matchmaking banquet out of respect for the royal family. The incident involving you during the banquet," Wei Cheng cleared his throat sheepishly, "also spared His Excellency the Marshal some trouble."

The scandal involving Xia Qing and Fan Yuqiao disrupted the matchmaking banquet, laden with hidden agendas. One could say that on that day, except for the military and Xia You, no faction was in good spirits.

However, given the Senate's intent, if there's been one matchmaking banquet, there would undoubtedly be a second, and then a third.

By then, there won't be so many unexpected disruptions. Having a noble-born suitor with unclear intentions, whom one cannot touch or confront, in the Marshal's Mansion is rather tricky.

Xia You understood.

He said, "The Marshal's Mansion couldn't possibly know about the uniqueness of his psychic abilities. Why would they randomly ask someone with a C-level psychic strength like him to be the Marshal's healer?"

So they were shielding each other.

In that case...

Xia You pondered.

If that's the case, Marshal Lu's match is indeed the best choice for Xia You.

With powerful influence and immense wealth, the two being each other's shields in tacit understanding, he could repay the Marshal's kindness without taking the risk of executing other plans.

— They wouldn't even need to enter into matrimony.

System.

The two simply need to maintain the facade of being matched.

"At that time, as the Marshal's chosen partner and exclusive healer, it's only natural for the Marshal's Mansion to manage external matters for you while covering all your expenses," said the voice.

Meng Wenxuan said with a smile.

"Of course, we'd also need you to regularly soothe the Marshal's psychic turmoil, aiming to alleviate the distress caused by his psychic disorder."

In short, this arrangement is a win-win situation for both parties.

The more Xia You thought about it, the more appealing it seemed. A sudden thought sparked in his mind, and he blurted out, "Does this mean I'll be eligible to interact with the Marshal's panther in the future?"

Wei Cheng never expected this young master to still be fixated on the Marshal's spirit beast. He nearly choked on his saliva and quickly turned his head, coughing to mask the surprise on his face.

It was Meng Wenxuan's first time witnessing Xia You's fondness for the black panther. He was momentarily taken aback but quickly responded with a smile, "Apart from the Marshal, the panther isn't very close to us. If you're willing to help take care of it, that would be most welcome."

During this period, regardless of how Meng Wenxuan provoked the Marshal's psychic entity or even dared to offend Marshal His Excellency in full armor, apart from nearly losing an eye, Meng Wenxuan found no points of vulnerability.

Consequently, Meng Wenxuan became even more convinced that the Marshal's recent momentary clarity within his psychic form might be related to the unique variable standing before him.

Xia You's sapphire-like eyes instantly brightened, "Of course, I'm willing!"

With the collaboration confirmed and in anticipation of acquiring the panther and his laid-back lifestyle, Xia You promptly activated his light-computer, pulled up the matching interface, paused momentarily over the search box, and asked, "May I know Marshal His Excellency's citizen code?"

Wei Cheng hesitated for a moment, tapped a few times on his light-computer, and then presented it to Xia You, "You can scan and recognize it."

The Marshal's identity code and biometric data are classified documents, absent from any online database, and naturally wouldn't be casually shared with Xia You.

"Oh, okay." Xia You directly scanned the encrypted code handed over by Wei Cheng. While waiting for the light-computer to calculate the psychic compatibility, he casually asked, "By the way, does the Marshal's mansion feed the panther raw meat or energy supplements?"

"Actually, to ensure the panther maintains its wild nature and hunting instincts, letting it hunt on its own would be more..."

"Matching complete, uploading data to the mainframe—"

The melodious and human-like female voice of the light-computer sounded.

Xia You, Wei Cheng, and Meng Wenxuan were simultaneously taken aback.

Why does the matching data need to be uploaded to the mainframe?

On the light screen in front of Xia You, the matching details gradually became clear.

[Test Subjects: Lu Yinghui, Xia You]

[Photo]

[Psychic Power Levels: SS, C (Healing Type)]

[Psychic Compatibility: 100%]

[Citizen Information Encryption Level: Top Secret]

[Marital Status: Married (Top Priority)]

[Matching Parameters as follows—]

……

Wei Cheng abruptly stood up from the sofa, "How is this possible?!"

According to the first rule of the Empire's Psychic Power Matching, if the mainframe detects a 100% compatibility in psychic power, it will automatically upload the data and directly enter the marriage system, registering the couple with the highest priority.

A perfect alignment of psychic power often results in a partnership where the sum is greater than its parts, hence they invariably become deeply bonded couples, making history as soulmates.

However, since the establishment of the Empire, there have only been three pairs with a 100% match.

Meng Wenxuan's fingers, resting on his knee, suddenly clenched.

He had previously tested the blood samples of the Marshal and Xia You. Although he had anticipated that their psychic compatibility would be significant, he never expected a figure of 100%...

Their expressions shifted from shock to seriousness in just a matter of seconds, after which they both started working on their light-computers.

The Marshal's consciousness was still dormant. Bypassing the Marshal's personal consent, the Lu family suddenly acquired a new matriarch – the implications of this were vast.

They must immediately report to the Emperor.

On the other side of the sofa, it took Xia You a moment to come to his senses.

In an instant, his matched partner had become his marriage partner, transitioning from singlehood to married life in a heartbeat.

Xia You: "…?"