Just then, an announcement came from the doorway.

It was the same child as before. He stepped forward respectfully and said, "Elder, Miss Shuxin has brought Pavilion Master Qu here. She said that if I come in to inform you, you will know what happened."

The reason everyone knows Shuxin is because Dingyi is Dongfang Tinglan's apprentice. Although Dongfang Tinglan has not been in the pavilion for many years, the Elders' Pavilion still protects the two young ladies to some extent.

The elder nodded. "Let them in."

The child nodded and then went out to announce the news.

Dongfang Tinglan looked at Gong Jianwenhua and said, "Senior Brother."

Gong Jianwen nodded.

He then got up and walked behind the screen that had been prepared in advance.

With everything ready, the child led Shuxin and the others in.

Qu Rui, who was being escorted in by servants, immediately recognized Dongfang Tinglan, a name she would recognize even if he were reduced to ashes.

Even with something stuffed in her mouth, she still made "mmmmm" sounds as she struggled.

Shu Xin stepped forward, greeted the elders one by one, and then looked at Dongfang Tinglan and said, "Master, this is the person Miss Yi Xue asked me to bring here for you to deal with."

Dongfang Tinglan nodded. "Yes, thank you for your hard work. Please remove the food from her mouth."

Shuxin replied, "Yes."

Then he ripped the thing out of Qu Rui's mouth.

Once free, Qu Rui had no time to think and looked at Dongfang Tinglan with such hatred she wanted to devour her.

"Dongfang Tinglan! You're actually still alive!"

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Tinglan smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Not only am I not dead, but I'm also alive and well."

Qu Rui gritted her teeth in hatred, but then, thinking of her own situation, she said, "You're back, so be it. I'm not unwelcoming."

"Isn't it a bit much for my junior sister to treat me like this the moment she returns? I'm the head of the Shennong Pavilion now, after all. Aren't you afraid people will criticize you for being jealous of me?"

Dongfang Tinglan was about to speak when the Grand Elder beside her said with a gloomy face, "Sect Master? You? When has the Elders' Council ever acknowledged your identity? You climbed to this position by deceiving yourself, but has anyone ever believed in you?"

"Elder!" Qu Rui glared at the elder and said, "What do you mean by saying this now? I've been managing the affairs of the pavilion all these years. How am I not considered the head of the Shennong Pavilion?"

Moreover, I've been in power for over twenty years. Go ask anyone outside, and they'll all know who I am!

You can't just watch Dongfang Tinglan come back and treat me like this! I may not have done anything wrong all these years, but I have made contributions; you can't treat me like this!

The First Elder acted as if he hadn't heard, saying, "Really? The Elder Council has never acknowledged your identity? How come I didn't know? Do you know anything about this?"

The other elders immediately shook their heads.

"See, they also say no. So who exactly has acknowledged your identity? Go find him."

Upon hearing this, Qu Rui was furious, but she couldn't find any words to retort.

She was able to become the head of the pavilion because she was the only one left among her master's disciples.

She initially took over the position under the pretext of helping Gong Jianwenhua handle internal affairs. Later, through her scheming, she successfully gained the approval of the people in the cabinet and naturally took the position.

But over the years, just as the Grand Elder said, the Elders' Council has never acknowledged her identity.

This was also a thorn in her side, and the reason why she was so eager to obtain the Shennong Token.

Qu Rui glared resentfully at the Grand Elder, then, as if remembering something, turned her gaze to Dongfang Tinglan.

Qu Rui, "Junior sister, did you come back just to steal the position of sect leader from me?"

Dongfang Tinglan said coldly, "Senior sister, you're wrong. It's not about stealing, it's about taking back what belongs to me."

"I am not only the Pavilion Master appointed by my master, but I also possess the Shennong Token, which you do not have. This position of Pavilion Master originally belonged to me."

Upon hearing this, Qu Rui was so angry she wanted to grind her teeth.

She deeply regretted not paying more attention to this matter back then, otherwise she wouldn't be in such a sorry state now.

She understood that if she couldn't resolve the matter smoothly today, she probably wouldn't have a place to stand in Shennong Pavilion.

She quickly racked her brains for a solution.

Suddenly, she thought of something and looked at Dongfang Tinglan with confidence, saying, "Junior sister, I have something I want to say to you. Could you come over here for a moment? It's not convenient for me to move around like this."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Tinglan immediately knew what she wanted to do.

They exchanged a glance, both knowing the truth but not exposing it.

Dongfang Tinglan looked at Qu Rui and said, "Okay."

He then walked over to Qu Rui's side.

Qu Rui's eyes were filled with hatred. "Junior sister, why can't you die? More than twenty years have passed, and you're still such a haunting ghost!"

Dongfang Tinglan snorted and said, "Thanks to you, I'm doing very well. Also, it's not that I'm haunting you, but that you shouldn't covet what doesn't belong to you."

Even if you obtain it through underhanded means, so what? Let me tell you, what's not yours will be futile no matter what you do for it, just like the position of Pavilion Master that you so desperately desire.

“I also want to tell you that if you had just stayed in this position and not crossed the line that your master had told you, perhaps this would not have happened.”

Upon hearing this, Qu Rui suddenly looked into Dongfang Tinglan's eyes.

She felt a vague unease.

She always felt that Dongfang Tinglan seemed to know something.

She then denied her guess.

She did it very discreetly; no one in the pavilion except her and Jiang Lie knew about it, and those people were even less aware that she was the one behind it all. There was absolutely no third person who would know.

Qu Rui quickly put her thoughts aside and, remembering the purpose of calling Dongfang Tinglan over, suddenly said, "Junior sister, I have a deal I'd like to make with you."

"What transaction?"

Qu Rui, "Come closer."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Tinglan leaned over.

Seeing this, Qu Rui spoke up, "I'll trade you my senior brother's whereabouts for the position of Pavilion Master. I wonder if you're interested in this deal?"

Dongfang Tinglan, "Do you know where my senior brother is?"

"Of course there are."

Where is my senior brother?

"If you agree to my conditions, I'll tell you."

Dongfang Tinglan was silent for a moment before saying, "Has Senior Brother been controlled by you all along?"

Qu Rui squinted and smiled, "So what if it is, and so what if it isn't?"

"I want to hear the truth, otherwise I won't agree to it."

Qu Rui: "Yes, I locked my senior brother up as soon as he came back eleven years ago."

"You finally admit it."

Dongfang Tinglan tore off the recording button that was attached to her collar.

Seeing this, Qu Rui felt uneasy and asked, "Dongfang Tinglan, what are you trying to do?"

Dongfang Tinglan chuckled, "What are we doing? Of course, we're going to make the facts public."