Introducing a Marriage Proposal

Let's wait until Sophie's face is all healed... Cutting ties after getting what you want, huh? Classic move.

Good thing she's resourceful! She told Cecilia Chen to keep taking medicine just to be sure—otherwise, she'd probably be out on the street by now...

Since Evan Xiao wouldn't give her time off, she plotted a secret escape instead.

The General's Manor is a breeze compared to the strict Prime Minister's residence.

Before the nightly curfew, servants from Frostmoon Quarters and Moonview Pavilion can come and go as they please.

She had Tenner prepare a fast horse—when the time was right, she'd sneak out, dash to Moonwater Abbey, and be back in just over an hour.

......

Grace figured the whole Cecilia Chen drama was finally wrapped up.

Turns out, it was just the opening act.

Next morning, she popped up again.

She came straight to find Grace.

At that moment, Grace was in Evan Xiao's chambers, organizing his wardrobe.

Cecilia Chen kept following her around, chattering nonstop.

This time, instead of wanting to become sworn sisters, she... wanted to introduce her to a potential husband.

...Little Fish, how old are you this year?

"I'm fifteen, ma'am," Grace replied.

"Fifteen, so you've come of age!" said Cecilia Chen. "Do you have a suitor yet?"

"Not yet!" Grace replied with a smile.

"Hey, if you don't have one, how about I introduce you to someone?"

"Huh? No, that's really not necessary."

"Do you already have someone you like?" Cecilia Chen stared at Grace, half-smiling, but scrutinizing.

"No! No, I don't!" Grace replied quickly.

Hehe, since you're not engaged and don't have a crush, I've got just the person for you," Cecilia Chen said. "I have a distant cousin, he's a Third-rank Spirit Practitioner, really handsome. You could marry him as a concubine. If you have a kid with a Spirit Root, you'd hit the jackpot!

"I'm just a nobody, how could I ever reach that high?" Grace waved her hands frantically.

Is it that you don't want to be a concubine? If you don't... Well, without a Spirit Root, you can only marry an ordinary person. Honestly, that's worse! If you marry a Spirit Practitioner, there's hope your child will have a Spirit Root. If you marry a regular guy, there's no chance at all! Do you want you and your kids to be commoners forever?

Spirit Roots are hereditary.

If both parents have Spirit Roots, their child will usually have one too.

If neither parent has a Spirit Root, then the child definitely won't have one.

If only one parent has a Spirit Root, then the child has about a fifty percent chance of inheriting one.

So, on this continent, social classes are pretty much set in stone.

The powerful families just keep getting stronger.

Meanwhile, more than eighty percent of the population are ordinary people, stuck as commoners for generations.

For commoners, the only way to move up in life is to marry their daughters off to Spirit Practitioners as concubines.

That way, there's a chance the child will have a Spirit Root, and the concubine and her family can climb the social ladder a bit.

Honestly, my family's got a sick mother and two younger sisters to support. Marriage is the last thing on my mind," Grace said. "I'll think about it after my sisters are settled.

Why make things so hard for yourself?" Cecilia Chen said. "You don't want to be my sister, you don't want the great match I found you—what are you even thinking?

Her gaze grew even sharper than before.