Inside the Divine Might Manor Lord’s cave abode, Su Yi was calmly savoring his spiritual tea, the picture of nonchalance.
After all, having publicly announced that he had invited Zhao Qian for tea, he needed to play the part convincingly. Yet, seeing Su Yi’s unbothered demeanor, Gongsun Rou, seated across from him, could sit still no longer.
Smack! She slammed the table, sending tea sloshing over the rims of the cups. Her fine eyes widened in fury as she glared at her son. “Yi’er! Tell your mother honestly, just what do you see in that Zhao Qian girl? Tell me, and I’ll go force her to change it right now!”
She simply could not fathom how her usually shrewd son had suddenly gone completely blind.
First, he had crippled his own cultivation; next, he had fiercely protected Tantai Yunzhi despite her flawed physique; and now he was pulling this stunt. What, did he have to hit a pity pull every few months?
That Zhao Qian was arrogant, domineering, and her character... well, she certainly didn't look like a gentle, kind-hearted sort. How could she possibly be worthy of her Yi’er?
Had the joke she made just to tease Gongsun Lin and Little Yunzhi actually come true?! Not even in her worst nightmares had Gongsun Rou dared to imagine this!
Seeing this, Manor Lord Su Jing hurriedly set down his teacup and gently advised, “Rou’er, calm down. Yi’er... perhaps he has his own plans. Don’t interfere too much.” He tried to defuse the tension and maintain his image as the rational head of the household.
Gongsun Rou was already on the verge of exploding. Hearing this, her willow brows shot up as she instantly redirected her firepower at Su Jing. “Plans? What plans?! Su Jing! Your son is about to go eat shit, and you’re just going to sit by and do nothing?!”
Pbbbt—cough, cough, cough! Su Jing choked on a mouthful of tea, coughing until his face flushed bright red, though he understood her all too well.
For his wife to be driven to such vulgar language showed that she was genuinely furious. Ever since becoming the wife of the Divine Might Manor Lord, it had been a very long time since she had spoken like this.
Amidst his surprise, he even felt a twinge of nostalgia for the days when he and Gongsun Rou had roamed the cultivation world together.
Ignoring Su Jing’s gaze, Gongsun Rou turned back to Su Yi, her tone dripping with exasperation and heartbroken despair. “Yi’er! Listen to your mother’s advice. No matter how hungry you are, you can’t just eat whatever scraps you find! If you’re truly... truly that ‘starved,’ if all else fails, I’ll permit you to head down the mountain to those... well, pleasure boats to unwind!
“Or I can step in personally to scout a few gentle, sweet fairy maidens of clean background for you. I guarantee they’ll be a hundred times better than that Zhao Qian!”
Seeing this, Su Yi put down his teacup and looked at his mother’s reaction with a helpless sigh. He had already explained it multiple times.
“Mother, I truly have no feelings for Zhao Qian.” His expression turned slightly more serious. “I only suspect that the anomaly after her punishment might be related to... demonic creatures. Everything I did was merely to test her.”
“Yi’er! Mind your words!” Su Jing cut him off, his expression turning stern. “I have personally conducted a secret investigation into Zhao Qian and Elder Zhao’s faction recently, and found no trace of demonic aura lingering. Without concrete evidence, mere words carry no weight. Slandering someone’s innocence is not something disciples of our Su clan do!”
Su Yi shrugged and didn’t argue.
He knew full well that while his father’s words were addressed to him on the surface, most of it was meant for his mother, whose rage meter had maxed out right beside them.
After all, Elder Zhao had served Divine Might Manor for many years; even if he lacked grand merits, his hard work was undeniable. If Gongsun Rou were to shout this groundless suspicion aloud and it reached Elder Zhao’s ears, it would inevitably breed resentment.
Elder Zhao was a slick and worldly man, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; at least he handled matters with tact, understanding what to do and what not to do with just a single glance from Su Jing.
Furthermore, he truly was a founding veteran of Divine Might Manor. Accusing someone’s granddaughter of being tainted by demons without evidence was indeed crossing the line.
Still, Su Yi couldn't help grumbling inwardly, Sigh, the old man’s henpecked affliction is truly beyond cure. Even to drop a hint and remind Mother to mind her temper, he has to use me as a shield.
Seeing that Su Yi had caught his drift, Su Jing’s tone softened as he gently said to Gongsun Rou, “Rou’er, you see, Yi’er did say it was a test. Young people have their reasons for how they do things. As their elders, we should just watch and wait. If that Zhao Qian truly has an issue, she will slip up sooner or later.”
Gongsun Rou gave a huff. Although her anger hadn’t completely dissipated, she managed to suppress the urge to storm off and “have a talk about life” with Zhao Qian for now. She sat back down, lifted her teacup, yet her gaze continued to circle Su Yi.
“Then what about Little Lin’er and Little Yunzhi? How are you going to explain yourself to them?!”
Hearing this, Su Yi’s hand paused. At first he was puzzled—he had no need to explain anything to Junior Sister Tantai—but Junior Sister Gongsun wouldn’t be so easy to deal with.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Su Yi said, inching a bit closer to Su Jing.
Even with a thousand times her usual courage, Gongsun Lin wouldn’t dare throw a tantrum in front of her master!
Yeah, I’ll just stay here for a while and avoid going back to my courtyard.
The Young Manor Lord’s detached courtyard—
By all rights, the Young Manor Lord’s courtyard should have been warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but right now, an eerie chill hung in the air.
Gongsun Lin sat on a stone stool, wiping down a gleaming, chilly longsword with an expressionless face.
Tantai Yunzhi stood to the side, looking at her somewhat helplessly. After hesitating for a long moment, she softly spoke up, “Senior Sister Gongsun, is it... really all right for us to just barge into Senior Brother Su’s courtyard like this?”
She had originally come to ask Gongsun Lin for guidance on cultivation, only to be led here all the way.
What surprised her even more was that, judging by the arrangement of the items in the courtyard and how thoroughly familiar Gongsun Lin seemed with the place, Senior Sister appeared to have stayed here for quite some time.
Gongsun Lin didn’t even look up, merely letting out a cold snort from her nose. “What’s wrong with it? It’s not like it’s my first time in here.”
With a flick of her wrist, she lowered her gaze. “Besides, he never consults me when he does anything.”
Thinking of the wild rumors flying around lately about Su Yi and Zhao Qian, her grip on the sword tightened involuntarily, her knuckles turning slightly pale.
Yet Tantai Yunzhi’s attention was completely captured by the words “not like it’s my first time in here.”
Blinking her clear blue eyes, she asked softly with a hint of curiosity and an imperceptible touch of inquiry, “Senior Sister Gongsun... do you often come visit Senior Brother Su?”
Hearing this, Gongsun Lin’s wiping paused. She instinctively wanted to turn her head away and reply with her usual disdainful tone, “Who cares to visit him?” But just as the words reached her lips, the corner of her eye caught the eager look in Tantai Yunzhi’s eyes, and she suddenly remembered how unusually concerned the girl had been about Su Yi’s affairs lately.
In a flash, she forced herself to swallow the denial.
She raised her head, purposefully tilting her chin up to assume a matter-of-fact posture, tinged with a slight edge of provocation. “That’s right, so what? I come whenever I feel like it, and he’s never turned me away!
“Su Yi and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts! Naturally, his business is my business.
“I treat him as my own elder brother, a good brother. If any frivolous woman dares to harbor improper designs on him in the future, I’ll certainly vet her thoroughly on his behalf to see if she’s worthy!”
As she spoke, she gave the frosty sword in her hand a demonstrative flourish, her eyes covertly darting toward Tantai Yunzhi to scrutinize her reaction.
These words were not entirely made up.
Growing up, she had indeed fended off countless wild bees and butterflies on his behalf, both openly and in secret.
Otherwise, with Su Yi’s status as the Young Manor Lord and his handsome looks, the romantic prospects he attracted every time he went down the mountain would have allowed him to date a different girl every single day before his next trip down!
Hearing these words, Tantai Yunzhi lowered her head slightly, her delicate pink lips moving faintly as she whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum, barely audible even to herself, logically analyzing: “Childhood companions... childhood sweethearts... Then logically speaking, even if something were going on, it shouldn't be Senior Sister Zhao Qian's turn... it doesn't make any sense at all...”
Though her careless murmur was faint, to someone listening intently, it was crystal clear.
Schwing—!
In an instant, an even harsher screech of metal scraping rang out sharply, giving Tantai Yunzhi another fright!
Startled, she looked up, only to find that the longsword in Gongsun Lin’s hand had vanished at some point, replaced by an antique precious saber whose blade gleamed with a dim, eerie light!
And Gongsun Lin’s movements had shifted from a leisurely wipe to... an even more forceful, murderous honing of the blade!
Rate on N.U.
