Chapter 176 Negotiation on the Ownership of the Four Little Peaks

"Wah—! Ah—!" The mysterious cry was earth-shattering, causing the Yuantun Palace to tremble.

"How come you can't even hold a baby properly?!" Langzhi complained to Xuanfeng, then quickly reached out to snatch Xuanmiao away, "Give it to me!"

Qingyue also came over worriedly, "What's wrong with Miao'er? Why is she crying so hard?"

Qimen finally shook off the rabbits covering him and squeezed into Yuantun Hall, craning his neck to look at the crying Xuanmiao. "My lord! Why is Miao'er crying?"

Xuanfeng held Xuanmiao in his arms, gently patting her bottom to calm her down. But to his surprise, the patting only made Xuanmiao jump up and cry until her lips turned purple!

Xuanfeng quickly stood Xuanmiao up and let her rest on his shoulder, gently stroking her back. Xuanmiao's crying gradually subsided.

Xuanfeng, holding Xuanmiao, was surrounded by the crowd and unable to move.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Xuanfeng shouted anxiously.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that something seemed wrong! The little one was crying so hard, and so many people were worried, but what about her own daughter?

He glanced past the crowd at Su Yuyao, who looked slightly nervous outside, and frowned. That brat! What has she done now?!

Su Yuyao only wanted to calm Xuanmiao down, but who knew that Xuanmiao would use this as an excuse to cry like this!

Xuanfeng thought for a moment, then squeezed through the crowd to the throne, lifted Xuanmiao's little skirt, and saw a clear purplish-red dot on Xuanmiao's fair and tender little bottom, which looked like a steamed bun!

Xuan Feng frowned and looked at Su Yuyao. Su Yuyao quickly and guiltily avoided Xuan Feng's gaze.

Langzhi and Qingyue noticed that Xuanfeng's eyes were not right, so they quickly went forward to check on him.

"Xuanfeng! You brat!" Langzhi yelled, "You really went all out!"

"Langzhi! Shut your mouth!" Qingyue said, glaring at him.

"Even after all this! You still won't let me tell you?!" Langzhi angrily snatched Xuanmiao into her arms and carefully placed her into the net pocket on her chest. "I told you there were internal injuries! But you wouldn't believe me..."

Xuanfeng looked at Su Yuyao with a serious expression, took a deep breath, and said, "Lord Langzhi, please take the child and go out first!"

"Hmph! You don't need to tell me!" Langzhi, holding Xuanmiao who was crying uncontrollably, stormed out of the hall.

The crowd that had been crammed into the main hall to watch the spectacle, along with the spirit summoned to give a lecture, all retreated following the mysterious cries.

A moment later, a mysterious, childlike voice came from outside the Yuantun Palace, "Get out!"

Everyone burst into laughter!

Guan Yue also wanted to see the mystery, but there were too many people and he couldn't squeeze in. He could only look at it from afar.

"Do you want to see the baby?" Meng Yu whispered in Guan Yue's ear, her lips close to his back. "I'll take you to see it."

Guan Yue turned his head and asked, "You're taking me to see? Where are we going to see?"

Meng Yu smiled and pointed to the tree, saying, "From the tree, you can definitely see it from the tree!"

"Trees?" Guan Yue looked at the lush canopy. "Forget it! The canopy is so dense, you can't see anything at all!"

Meng Yu put his arm around Guan Yue's waist, raised the corners of his mouth, and said, "If I say I can see it, then I can see it!"

After saying that, he pulled Guan Yue out of the crowd with a forceful pull.

"Meng Yu, you... um!" Guan Yue didn't have time to resist before Meng Yu covered his mouth and dragged him into the tree canopy.

The two of them, with their bottoms sticking out, perched on the tree branches, peering through the gaps in the leaves at the chubby little girl on Langzhi's chest.

"So fat! Just like Su Yuyao! Although his eyes are the same color as Lord Xuanfeng's, the shape of his eyes is exactly the same as Su Yuyao's!" Guan Yue said softly with a smile on his face.

Meng Yu looked at Guan Yue with a hint of jealousy, "She's not your daughter! What's with that happy smile on your face?!"

"Although she is not my daughter, she is Su Yuyao's daughter!"

"Ahhh! Get lost!" Xuanmiao cursed in a serious tone.

"Did you hear that?! Miao'er told you to get lost!" Meng Yu grabbed Guan Yue by the back of the neck and said in a low voice, "Don't flatter yourself! You have no chance at all!"

"There's really no chance. With so many people here, it would be difficult to even give someone a hug!" Guan Yue didn't care at all about Meng Yu's anger.

"What?! You still want to hug her?!" Meng Yu suddenly felt an uncontrollable surge of anger rushing to his eyes. "Guan Yue! Let's put it another way, even if she has nothing to do with Lord Xuanfeng! You, you just want to hug her, don't you need Lang Zhi's permission first?!"

"She's so cute..." Guan Yue completely ignored what Meng Yu was saying, and instead looked at Xuan Miao with a blank smile, saying, "I really want to kiss her!"

"Kiss?! Oh my god... Guan Yue! You really are..." Meng Yu could no longer suppress his impulse. He suddenly reached out and pulled Guan Yue to his waist.

"Meng...uh!uh!" Guan Yue was suddenly pinned down by Meng Yu. Just as he was about to resist, Meng Yu covered his mouth again.

Meng Yu ripped open Guan Yue's belt and reached inside.

"Ugh! Ugh!" Guan Yue grabbed Meng Yu's wrist with one hand and protected himself with the other.

"Guan Yue, I advise you not to make a sound or resist. There are so many people below. If you make a sound, we'll let everyone see! I don't care, it's just a matter of whether you want to leave a good impression on your Su Yuyao!"

Meng Yu gently massaged and probed with one finger, "I like you, but you can't see it at all! Yao'er is Lord Xuanfeng's woman, and you're actually thinking about hugging her?! And kissing her?!"

Guan Yue was puzzled for a moment, then his eyes widened suddenly, and he slowly frowned.

Meng Yu's fingertips gently caressed Guan Yue's body, slowly massaging Guan Yue's tense muscles until Guan Yue completely relaxed...

Guan Yue's eyes gradually reddened, his body gradually went limp, and he leaned over the tree branch, feeling a familiar sense of humiliation...

“Guan Yue…” Meng Yu kissed Guan Yue’s fair neck greedily, his breath coming in short gasps, “I will not allow you to fall in love with anyone else!” With that, he thrust his hips forward.

"Ugh!" Guan Yue bit his lip, forcing himself to hold back and not make a sound. He didn't want anyone to discover his shameful side, especially Su Yuyao...

Yuantun Hall is quiet!

Only Su Yuyao, Qing Yue, Qi Men, Qi Meng, and the not-so-popular Qi Lan remained in the hall.

As Su Yuyao leaned against the doorframe, listening to the childish shouts of "Get out!" coming from the crowd, she finally understood Qingyue's feelings! It was so embarrassing to see her child being so unruly in front of everyone!

She wanted to discipline her, but with so many people around, she didn't dare. She'd only pinched Xuanmiao's bottom a moment ago, and Xuanmiao had seized the opportunity to throw a tantrum! If she openly disciplined her, she'd definitely be scolded before she could even lift a finger—wouldn't that be even more humiliating?!

Xuanfeng didn't notice Su Yuyao's "contradiction," but instead frantically searched for something on the table. "Uncle-Master Qimeng, where's the engagement letter?!"

“Ah… a letter of appointment…” Qi Meng glanced at Qing Yue and said, “I’ll go back and write another one right away!”

Xuanfeng noticed Qi Meng glancing at Qingyue with an expression of unease, and guessed what was going on. "Aunt, have you seen the betrothal letter on this?"

"I saw it!" Qingyue said readily. "I'll turn you to ashes! What right does a mere maidservant have to use a betrothal letter!"

After saying that, he didn't forget to give Qi Lan a disapproving look.

Xuanfeng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He lowered his voice and said, "Oh, it's alright. Then, Uncle Qimeng, could you please write another one? I need to give the girl a formal identity..."

"Yes!" Qi Meng replied, bowing his head.

"What?! You mean... that's a betrothal letter for Yao'er?" Qingyue asked, slightly embarrassed but also pleasantly surprised. "Xuanfeng, did you get Mother Yi's permission?"

"I don't need anyone's permission to marry a fairy wife!" Xuanfeng's voice was soft, but it was filled with undeniable force. "If Mother Yimu objects, I will sever all ties with her..."

"I disagree!" Su Yuyao quickly interjected, sensing something amiss in Xuanfeng's words, "I've made myself perfectly clear! I don't want to marry you!"

"I'll say it one last time!" Xuanfeng raised his eyelids and glanced at Su Yuyao, "I'm going to give you an identity!"

"I have identities! I am the last disciple of Immortal Master Qi Meng! I am the leader of the Wolf Clan! I am Xuanmiao's mother! These are my identities!"

"Don't you want to appear as my fairy wife?" Xuanfeng asked, puzzled.

"Is it necessary?" Su Yuyao said disdainfully, "What good is it for me to be your fairy wife?! It's just to enhance your image! Let everyone know that you have a legal wife. From now on, any other concubines will only be concubines, or even maids! And what about me? As your legal fairy wife, I have to pretend to be magnanimous! Humph! I don't care..."

"You! You... How could I possibly..." Xuan Feng was so angry at Su Yuyao that he couldn't speak.

"Why not?! There's one right here!" Su Yuyao glanced at Qi Lan beside her and muttered, "I even put it in your bed..."

"Girl!" Xuanfeng shouted, his temper flaring up in his anxiety.

"Xuanfeng! What are you shouting for?!" Qingyue also became agitated. "Did Yao'er say something wrong?"

“Aunt! Outsiders may not know what my feelings are for that girl, but don’t you know?” Xuanfeng said, his face full of anger. “I want to marry her right now! But she…”

"Xuanfeng, have you considered the consequences of marrying Yao'er without the permission of Empress Yimu?!" Qingyue said sternly. "I heard that Empress Yimu took a great liking to Miao'er when she first saw her in Xunyin Valley, but she never agreed to let you marry Yao'er! Have you ever thought about why?!"

Qingyue took another step forward, glaring at Xuanfeng as she asked, word by word, "Why did you travel through the night on your last night in Xunyin Valley?!"

Xuanfeng was startled. According to the girl's speculation, Yi's mother wanted to leave the mother and keep the child, which was why she had no choice but to escape from Xunyin Valley overnight!

Su Yuyao didn't want to escalate the situation, nor did she want Xuanfeng to harbor any further suspicion towards Yi's mother. After all, her thoughts were merely speculation! Moreover, based on her own feelings towards Yi's mother, she didn't believe that Yi's mother would be so ruthless as to kill Xuanfeng. However, she couldn't be so sure about Yi's mother towards her!

"Xuanfeng! We can talk about marrying me later! There's something more important we need to discuss right now!" Su Yuyao adjusted her hair ornaments and clothes, glanced at Qilan, and said, "As the leader of the Snow Mountain Wolf Clan, I have important matters to discuss with Lord Xuanfeng. Please ask all bystanders to leave!"

Qi Lan understood that Su Yuyao wanted to send her away, so she smiled and curtsied, saying, "My lord! Miss Yao'er! Since you have important matters to discuss, this servant will take her leave now!"

Xuanfeng frowned and stared at Su Yuyao, but did not respond.

Qi Lan glanced at Xuan Feng, and seeing that he didn't care about her coming or going at all, she silently withdrew.

The strong fragrance faded, and the Yuantun Hall finally became much quieter.

"Alright, go ahead and tell me what it is?" Xuanfeng calmed his anger and asked.

Su Yuyao thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's nothing major, just... the Four Little Peaks!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanfeng frowned, suppressing a laugh as he asked, "The Four Little Peaks? What is it?"

“Oh, for some reason, the Four Little Peaks became the Three Little Peaks. The original leader of the Four Little Peaks also passed away! I was thinking of letting Zheng Qing, the King of Steles of the Undying Peak Hall, take over for a while. I didn’t expect him to manage it so well! Hehe!” Su Yuyao paused for a while, but Xuan Feng did not respond.

Su Yuyao cleared her throat awkwardly and continued, "So, I was thinking, since those four small peaks are also branches of our Snow Mountain, why not open a gate from those four small peaks as a way to enter our Snow Mountain! Firstly, it would strengthen the communication between Snow Mountain and other mountain ranges, and secondly, our Snow Mountain would have its own branch, so we could have some income from offerings and be self-reliant..."

Su Yuyao paused, glanced at Xuan Feng's expression, and tentatively said, "Anyway... since we didn't give you the incense money from these branches before, it didn't mean you were shortchanged..."

"Then..." Xuanfeng finally spoke, "what benefits would it bring me?"

Su Yuyao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Of course there are benefits! It will be more convenient for you to go to the snow mountain!"

"If these branches were under my control...wouldn't that be more convenient?" Xuan Feng was very curious about what method Su Yuyao would use to forcibly take the Four Little Peaks from his hands.

“Although what you said is true, you need to think long-term! The north side of our snow mountain is home to those cities of Ruixin! In the future, if you want to connect with those cities, it will be more convenient to travel through our snow mountain! If the four small peaks belong to us, we will be responsible for developing the road to the north! How about it?!” Su Yuyao said confidently.

Xuanfeng smiled, stretched his body, and leaned back on the throne. "According to you, if the Four Lesser Peaks belong to me, then you won't go and expand the road to the north, is that right?"

"That... is our own business!"

"Whether the Four Little Peaks are in your hands or not, it won't hinder your expansion of the northern route. Why should I waste the Four Little Peaks?" Xuanfeng asked with a smile.

Su Yuyao said nonchalantly, "If you want the Four Small Peaks, that's fine too. We'll just seal off the border from the canyon! We won't interfere with each other!"

Xuanfeng frowned and looked at Qimen.

Qi Men stroked his beard and laughed heartily, saying, "Yao'er, why insist on sealing off the border? It's such a waste to close off the path you finally managed to find! Besides, it can help us strengthen our ties!"

“Uncle, you are all shrewd people. The Four Little Peaks are neither too big nor too small. They can hold quite a few people if we set up camp there! Although our wolf clan has a verbal agreement with you, it's not written down. What if you go back on your word and kick us out? Wouldn't we be wronged?!” Su Yuyao said seriously, pacing back and forth with her hands behind her back. “Therefore, we need to be on guard!”

Seeing Su Yuyao's serious expression, Xuanfeng covered his face with his hands, rubbed it vigorously, and suppressed the upward curve of his lips. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "Ah, that... you've thought of everything quite thoroughly... and you're even taking precautions? You brat! You think you can take precautions against me?! Do you think you can?!"

"Whether we can prevent it or not, we must maintain our stance! Xuanmiao is your daughter, so her appearance will become a thorn in the side of others and a weakness for you! Therefore, we have no choice but to take precautions!"

Su Yuyao spoke with conviction and reason, which made Xuanfeng somewhat worried.

“Girl, since that’s the case, we can’t entrust the management of the Four Little Peaks to you! First, you have no experience in managing a branch, and second, just like you said…”

“Oh, that’s alright! In any case, the Four Little Peaks are considered the heartland, and outsiders can’t get in!” Su Yuyao interjected. “Besides, Lord Zheng Qing manages the Four Little Peaks very well! If you’re still worried, you can send someone to check on them regularly! As for the incense money, your family is so wealthy and powerful, you don’t need these few branches. Or, we can collect the incense money and give you a share proportionally!”

Xuanfeng frowned again. "You brat! So this is your bottom line!"

He shook his head, tapping the table, and said, "The branch office can't be given to you. We have to be responsible for the people of Shiyuan. You have no experience; what if..."

“Isn’t experience all accumulated?” Su Yuyao interjected, “If you don’t let us manage it, we’ll never gain any experience! Besides, our wolf clan needs this kind of opportunity to hone our skills…”

Xuanfeng patiently said, "Su Yuyao! You brought the wolf clan members..."

"Alright! I won't argue with you anymore!" Su Yuyao quickly stopped him when she heard Xuanfeng was about to bring up the brothers he had planted at Buqiong Peak.

“Xuanfeng, you have your reasons for saying that the branch belongs to you and you don’t trust me with it! But while absolute fairness is impossible, relative fairness is still possible!”

“Relatively fair?” Xuanfeng felt as if he was walking into a trap.

“Yes! Relatively fair!” Su Yuyao stepped onto the steps, walked up to Xuanfeng, and pointed at the table, saying, “Don’t forget, I took over these four small peaks! So the hall and the mountain are yours, but that grassland is mine! Is that fair?”

Xuanfeng took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes and looked at Su Yuyao. Could it be... that this is your purpose?

“Impossible,” Xuanfeng said softly.

"Why is it impossible?" Su Yuyao deliberately raised her voice. "I've given you the mountain and the headquarters! I can't even have a patch of grass? Don't forget, I'm negotiating with you now. If we can't reach an agreement, I'll go back and block up the entrance to the Four Small Peaks..."

"Girl, can you please stop being unreasonable?"

"I'm being unreasonable?! I'm fighting for a patch of grassland for all the brothers of the wolf clan!" Su Yuyao slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "We risked our lives to take down the Four Little Peaks! And now you're just kicking us out like this?!"

"What are you shouting?" Xuan Feng was startled by Su Yuyao's somewhat agitated state.