My mortal enemy becomes my brother-in-law
Chapter Twenty-Five
Approaching from afar, Gu Ling saw Xu Zuiyue standing at the door and stepped forward, asking with some confusion, "Why is Fellow Daoist Xu standing outside?"
Xu Zuiyue shrugged and replied, "Because I'm not good at interrogating people."
"You can't leave Zhou Yulin to face Yu Tao'er alone!"
Yu Tao'er is treacherous and cunning, and Zhou Yulin is a weak woman without spiritual power. After thinking about this, Gu Ling didn't say anything more to Xu Zuiyue and pushed open the door.
There was no fighting or killing scene as I had imagined. Inside the room, I saw two women sitting peacefully facing each other... Upon closer inspection, I realized they were reading books.
For a moment, Gu Ling stood at the door, unsure whether to go in or back, so he braced himself and stepped forward, asking with concern, "What are you doing here?"
Yu Tao'er was still writing furiously when Zhou Yulin, who was leaning her head to the side, answered: "She said she wanted to teach me some skills."
"Teach what?" Gu Ling looked at Yu Tao'er. What could this half-baked disciple of the Hehuan Sect possibly teach?
The Joyful Union Sect! This sect must be practicing unorthodox arts! The boy, belatedly realizing what had happened, looked heartbroken. Clinging to his last glimmer of hope, he cautiously asked, "Sister, you didn't agree, did you?"
The silence at that moment was deafening.
"Sister, are you confused!" Zhou Yulin's head was a little sore from Gu Ling's pitiful cries. Xu Zuiyue, who was at the door, glanced at her and then looked away.
"What's wrong with you?" Upon hearing Chen Muyao's voice, Zhou Yulin immediately gave Gu Ling a look that said not to say anything more. Gu Ling turned his head away and said as if in a fit of pique, "Then you'll have to ask Zhou Yulin."
Before Zhou Yulin could speak, a disciple of the Hehuan Sect in the room protested, "Since ancient times, men and women have been in harmony of yin and yang. How come you look down on it so much!"
"I'm not transferring!" Gu Ling retorted, stretching his neck.
"If you don't want to adjust it, plenty of others will!" Yu Tao'er was also furious. "My Hehuan Sect is a great and powerful sect!"
"You clearly said before that you weren't from the Hehuan Sect!"
"That's my tactic! My tactic! Understand, you idiot!"
The two were arguing fiercely.
They didn't even notice that another person had entered the room. The newcomer was gloomy and his gaze fell on Yu Tao'er, who had a very loud voice and could easily take on two people at once.
Zhou Yulin was also puzzled as to why Jiang Zanghua always exuded an aura that seemed unusual whenever he appeared. Just now, Zhou Yulin felt that he possessed a melancholy air about a brother who had been missing for ten years—an air that could only be portrayed by someone who had read twenty years of storybooks. The man spoke half a sentence, his tone sincere and earnest, "Do you... know Xie Wuwang?"
Yu Tao'er was in the middle of arguing and didn't hear what the others were saying until a slightly angry and hoarse rebuke came down, "Stop arguing!"
Yu Tao'er immediately fell silent, secretly rolling her eyes at Gu Ling. Seeing that Gu Ling was about to act impulsively, Jiang Zanghua pulled him behind him and asked again, this time after a long pause, "Xie Wuwang, do you recognize him?"
Upon hearing this name, Yu Tao'er's expression turned somewhat strange. "He's been dead for many years. Why are you asking about this?"
Did he ask you for anything before he died?
Yu Tao'er thought for a while, and just as she was about to answer, she suddenly realized something and looked at everyone with extra wariness, "Why should I tell you?"
Jiang Zanghua took out half of a glass double fish pendant from his sleeve. The fish on the pendant were lifelike. "He... is my half-brother." Perhaps because she had seen Jiang Zanghua act so much, Zhou Yulin thought that this man was putting on an act again.
Yu Tao'er took the Pisces Pendant, examined it for a long time, thought for a while, and then threw it back to Jiang Zanghua along with a package. At this moment, the smoke bomb that fell from her sleeve exploded instantly. Yu Tao'er, who was preparing to take advantage of the chaos to escape, had not yet made a move when a wind talisman blew the smoke away. She looked at the crowd standing there and smiled awkwardly, "An accident, would you believe me if I said it was an accident?"
Gu Ling crossed his arms and sneered, "I don't believe it."
Jiang Zanghua carefully opened the package, inside which lay only a single volume.
The contents were unknown, but Zhou Yulin noticed that Jiang Zanghua's expression was a bit off. Just as she was about to slip out the door, a powerful suction force pulled her into the file.
"Sister Yulin!" Jiang Zanghua picked up the paintbrush from the dossier, and with a few quick strokes, the other three people outside also entered the room.
Seeing that she was the only one left, Yu Tao'er gave a few dry laughs at the man opposite her, whose expression was hard to read, and said ingratiatingly, "Handsome, I guess I don't need to?"
The other person merely gave her a cold look and said, "What do you think?"
"No way, I'm just a random passerby!"
Yu Tao'er screamed and was eventually dragged into the case file.
—
Amidst the shimmering lights and dreamlike atmosphere, the woman lying on the desk suddenly opened her eyes. Zhou Yulin looked puzzled, wondering where Jiang Zanghua had brought her this time.
Thinking of this person's ever-changing face, Zhou Yulin felt a chill run down her spine and a wave of fear washed over her. No wonder he was Elder Yun's disciple; this person could be so ruthless that he would even harm himself!
There was a calligraphy and painting on the table. The calligraphy was so bad that it was almost unbearable to look at. Zhou Yulin's lips twitched. She looked up and observed her surroundings. It looked like a woman's boudoir.
Since it was Jiang Zanghua's doing, there should be a script, or at the very least, someone should have told her what to do.
However, Zhou Yulin only saw a maid who looked very much like Jiang Zanghua carrying a plate in, saying, "Miss, it's time to eat."
Seeing the second young lady staring at her as if she were a ghost, the maid didn't say a word and immediately knelt down with a thud, holding up the plate and trembling, saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, young lady! I was wrong!"
Zhou Yulin, who hadn't done anything, was startled by the other person. She was about to help the other person up when a sharp pain in her head stopped her. Rubbing her temples, she shouted angrily, "Put the plate down and get out!"
"Okay, okay, I'll get out of here right now! I'll get out of here right now!" Only when she closed the door did Zhou Yulin finally breathe a sigh of relief, leaning on the table. It seems that, just like the last script, the characters in the script cannot be out of character.
When Zhou Yulin glanced down and saw the old and new scars on the maid's hand, she knew that the young lady she had become was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
Zhou Yulin sat on the stool, propping her head up with her hand. Suddenly, she realized that the script might be hidden in some nook or cranny, so she started rummaging through drawers and cabinets. As she bent over and pulled back the quilt, the sound of a door opening rang out. "Ningning! Mother has come to see you."
Looking at the dilapidated room, which resembled a thief's lair, the smile on the visitor's face instantly froze. "..."
Zhou Yulin awkwardly threw the quilt back onto the bed, "Mother."
"Ouch! Ouch!" The next second, Zhou Yulin was grabbed by the ear and taken straight to the door. "I was wrong. I swear I will never do it again."
Hearing her daughter admit her mistake, Madam Liu finally stopped, and snorted coldly, "You too, and your sister too, neither of them can give me any peace of mind."
Zhou Yulin lowered her head and obediently listened to the other person's scolding.
For a moment she was in a daze. In her previous life, she had never seen her mother since birth. The fairy You Ning that everyone talked about was a genius in the eyes of the world. Her master once told her that her mother's talent was the highest in the sect. She was a fierce beauty with one hand controlling spirits and the other wielding a sword. She was a famous iron-blooded beauty on the beauty list.
But none of that matters. In Zhou Yulin's heart, Fairy Youning was an incompetent mother. She had never taught Zhou Yulin anything, never cooked a meal for her, and never styled her hair. From the time she could remember, it was her eldest brother who styled her hair.
"Your sister has been bewitched by a man! Of all the men she could marry, she had to marry a poor scholar." Madam Liu was clearly furious as she said this, and Zhou Yulin, who loved gossip, quietly perked up her ears upon hearing this.
"That man has a womanizing look on his face; he's obviously a restless person! Who knows when he'll cheat on you with someone else."
After being scolded for half a day, Zhou Yulin kindly reminded her, "Mother, grass can't grow that tall, it can't get over the wall."
"Anyway, your mother doesn't like him. Listen to me carefully: when you look for a husband in the future, you must not choose someone like that. Someone who is honest, loyal, and willing to treat you well is better than anything else."
Zhou Yulin listened attentively and nodded firmly, "Yes, Mother."
He is honest and kind, and the eldest brother is the moral exemplar of the Xuanling Sect for ten consecutive terms.
He is not fickle; the eldest brother doesn't even get close to women, which perfectly meets this standard.
Among the disciples of the sect, the eldest brother is the one who is most fond of him, which fits the description.
Thinking about it this way, Zhou Yulin still couldn't forget Xuan Qingxian even after two lifetimes.
My senior brother is such a good person, he deserves to be liked.
Zhou Yulin thought that if she had the chance in this lifetime, she would like to save her senior brother.
Although he killed himself, it was not his intention.
In her past life, as a junior sister, she couldn't even say "I like you." In this life, Zhou Yulin wants to at least let the other person know about her feelings.
Did you hear that?
Zhou Yulin then realized that she had been daydreaming for a while. "Don't plead for your brother-in-law anymore, and don't secretly look at him. You're also not allowed to bring him charcoal."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yulin was stunned.
No, her identity doesn't sound quite right to her!
"Mother, does my sister know about this?"
Madam Liu rolled her eyes at Zhou Yulin, "That's why I told you not to do such stupid things in the future. Your sister is going back to Jinling soon. The letter was delivered today and she will arrive at the manor in five days."
As Zhou Yulin saw Madam Liu off and stood at the door, her maid hesitated before speaking, "Then, Miss, what should we do today..."
"Of course I'll go." Seeing the light in her mistress's eyes, the maid felt like crying.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the hall; the winter in Jinling was cold. Zhou Yulin put on the emerald green cloak from the wardrobe. The Liu mansion was built in a rather luxurious manner. Along the way, Zhou Yulin saw quite a few precious treasures. Before she knew it, it started to snow heavily, and a maidservant beside her opened an umbrella that had been prepared long ago.
Seeing a person kneeling in the snow, Zhou Yulin became somewhat excited. Seeing that the maid did not stop her, she found a vantage point and, unexpectedly, she recognized the person in the snow. "Chen Muyao?"
"Is Miss looking at Young Master Xie?"
Mr. Xie? Could he be my eldest sister's husband? Interesting.
"Is he the eldest son-in-law?"
"Miss said... she doesn't like this title."
Zhou Yulin: Things are getting more and more interesting.
Although Zhou Yulin really wanted to ask who she was, she held back.
"If he's the son-in-law, why is he kneeling outside the door?"
"Because the son-in-law married into the family, the master forbade him to participate in the imperial examinations."
Zhou Yulin tried hard to hide her extremely bright smile, but the maid still saw through it, saying, "It's been a long time since I've seen Miss smile so happily."
"Does he kneel here every day?"
"Yes."
"Don't worry, your second young lady will be able to smile so happily every day from now on."
Hahahaha, Chen Muyao, you've finally met your match! The two words that have nothing to do with Chen Muyao, "marrying into another family" and "sickly," can only be realized in the script at this moment.
The maid didn't understand what the second young lady was thinking; she was just happy to see her mistress happy.
"Alright, let's go." In the snowy season, the person kneeling in the snow, shivering from the cold, did not utter a single word.
"By the way, what is Mr. Xie's full name?"
"Miss, the young master's name is Xie Wuwang."
"knew."
Seeing that her mistress hadn't shown any concern for Master Xie today, the maid wanted to offer some advice, but wisely kept quiet. Why should she interfere in her mistress's affairs?
Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, Zhou Yulin realized from the stinging pain that she couldn't be a bystander watching her mortal enemy make a fool of himself. If she were to act according to the script...
"Brother-in-law! Ningning's here~"
The figure kneeling in the snow finally fainted due to exhaustion.
Zhou Yulin, who hadn't had a chance to fully express herself, thought: "Tsk, they really don't give me any face."
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