Chapter 68 Where are your husband and daughter?
Su Qinglan blurted out, "Impossible! My Xiaoli is a good person, beautiful, and has a successful career. How could she not find a good man?"
Ning Jinli said, "There are plenty of women in this world who are more outstanding than me, and many of them are still single. You often see this in the news, don't you?"
Su Qinglan was taken aback for a moment, "That's true..."
"So," Ning Jinli asked with a grin, "what if I can't find it?"
Su Qinglan thought about it seriously for a while, and then said solemnly, "If we can't find it, then we won't look for it."
Ning Jinli was shocked to hear these words from Su Qinglan. "Aunt Su, do you mean it's okay if I never get married in my entire life?"
Su Qinglan gently held her hand. "Xiao Li, although... I find it hard to accept that you will never get married, if we consider the 'what if' you mentioned, I think that never getting married is far better than just settling for someone. In short, your happiness is the most important thing."
"Aunt Su... Waaah..." Ning Jinli was moved to tears, "Then I won't get married! I'll stay with you and take care of you for the rest of my life!"
Su Qinglan wiped away her tears, her face showing an angry expression. "Silly child, this won't do! Your life has just begun. If you make this decision now, I'll take back what I just said!"
"I can't take it back, Aunt Su, you already promised me." Ning Jinli pouted, sniffled, and her eyes glistened with tears.
Su Qinglan touched her face tenderly, "You child, you really are... Oh right, what about your current boyfriend? Have you gotten to know him properly? You can't repeat Zhao Bin's mistake."
Ning Jinli hesitated for a few seconds, then, remembering that Aunt Su had stopped pressuring her to get married, she decided to tell the truth, "He and I are just ordinary people, I'm not even sure if we can be considered friends..."
"Huh?" Su Qinglan was dumbfounded. "Then you..."
Ning Jinli said coquettishly, "Aunt Su, my dear Aunt Su, don't be angry. I just didn't want you to worry about me finding a partner and getting married, so..."
Su Qinglan was speechless for a moment.
However, she did not blame Ning Jinli. She only felt that she had been too hasty, which forced the child to drag someone over to pretend to be her boyfriend to coax her.
"Xiao Li, do you like him?" Su Qinglan asked.
Ning Jinli quickly shook her head, "I don't like him at all."
Su Qinglan recalled that day in the car, when she saw Xiao Li and Xiao Xiao whispering intimately together in the rearview mirror. That feeling didn't seem like dislike at all.
"Is it that you don't like it, or are you just unaware of it yourself?" Su Qinglan asked again.
Ning Jinli's ears burned. "Aunt Su! Don't I know who I like?"
Aunt Su's eyes held a hint of suspicion, while a meaningful smile appeared on her face.
Ning Jinli was getting anxious. "That guy is tall and handsome, but his temper is too weird. Who would like him? I don't want to face his ugly face every day, even though it's pleasing to the eye! Humph!"
She had just said those words.
At that moment, Xiao Qidi, who was inspecting Xitun Pass, suddenly sneezed.
Sneezing wasn't strange, but what struck him as odd was the sudden flash of Ning Jinli's image in his mind.
He was somewhat agitated. He wasn't just bored; why did he suddenly think of her? It was utterly inexplicable!
At this moment, Wu Huantian ran over happily, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble general has repaired the latrine!"
Xiao Qidi, however, was lost in thought.
Duan Wu was puzzled and leaned closer, calling out, "Your Majesty? What are you thinking about?"
Xiao Qidi subconsciously said, "I was thinking about Miss Ning."
He only came to his senses after he finished speaking, but it was too late.
Duan Wu's eyes lit up, and he said with a big grin, "So Your Majesty is really fond of Fairy Jinli, hehe, I've always thought Your Majesty and the Fairy are a match made in heaven, why don't you..."
"Deeply in love? A match made in heaven?" Xiao Qidi's eyes suddenly darkened.
Duan Wu inwardly cursed himself for speaking out of turn. He quickly lowered his head and stammered, "This humble general... I spoke carelessly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Xiao Qidi's eyes were dark and calm. "What do you want?"
Duan Wu said, "This humble general has repaired all the outhouses at Xitun Pass in accordance with His Majesty's orders, and has come to report this."
Xiao Qidi hummed in agreement.
Seeing that the emperor's expression was still not good, Duan Wu thought that there must be a big mistake in what he said about the emperor and the fairy.
It seems that the emperor has no romantic feelings for the fairy and dislikes being said to be a perfect match between them.
Since this is wrong, then saying it the other way around will surely make it right.
"Your Majesty," Duan Wu clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said earnestly based on what he considered to be a meticulous analysis, "Your Majesty and Fairy Jinli are not suitable."
Xiao Qidi frowned. "You mean, I'm not good enough for her?"
Duan Wu panicked, "No, no, no, you are absolutely worthy of him!"
"Hmm?" Xiao Qidi's eyes grew even colder.
Duan Wu panicked even more, and in his panic, he quickly changed his words, "Not good enough?"
"Huh??" Xiao Qidi's entire face seemed to freeze over.
Duan Wu's heart pounded wildly. Oh no, it seemed like the more he said, the more wrong he was getting.
He knelt down with a thud, his head covered in sweat.
"Go fix the outhouse!" Xiao Qidi ordered in a deep voice.
Duan Wu stammered, "The outhouse...the outhouse has been...it's been repaired."
“I’m talking about the outhouses used by ordinary people,” Xiao Qidi said quietly. “You should repair as many as there are, to share some of the burden of rebuilding homes for the people.”
Duan Wu's vision went black for a moment. "Yes... Your Majesty."
After Xiao Qidi turned and walked away, Duan Wu slumped to the ground and slapped himself twice in the face. "You shut-up! You shut-up! If you don't close the door next time, I'll sew it shut!"
...
In Linxian Village, Xitun Pass, soldiers and civilians are working hard to rebuild their homes, creating a lively atmosphere. Meanwhile, in the capital city of Yu Kingdom, everything is deathly still.
The Yu Kingdom sent 200,000 elite troops on a personal expedition with the Crown Prince, but only 20,000 or so remnants escaped.
They also brought back even more serious news.
The king of Yu was so angry that he vomited blood, and his ministers felt as if the sky was about to collapse.
Who could have imagined that mobilizing almost all of Yu Kingdom's elite troops and all of Sha Yue Kingdom's barbarian soldiers would result in this outcome?
The Canglan Jade was not retrieved, the Xitun Pass was not leveled, and the dream of wiping away the humiliation was shattered. But let's leave those aside for now.
The barbarian soldiers of Shayue have actually betrayed us!
The Yu Kingdom's 200,000 elite troops were completely wiped out!
Even the crown prince has disappeared!
Before the King of Yu Kingdom vomited blood and fell into a coma, he mustered his last breath and ordered that this information be kept secret from the court officials and must not be leaked, otherwise the Yu Kingdom would be thrown into chaos!
Only after all the royal physicians in the capital tried their best to save him did the king of Yu Kingdom return from the brink of death.
After he woke up, he asked, "Are there any troops from the Xuan Kingdom chasing into the territory of Dayu from Xitun Pass?"
The minister who was guarding the bedside immediately reported, "Your Majesty, no such situation has been found."
The king of Yu Kingdom was pale, and his eyes were extremely gloomy.
The minister knelt down and earnestly comforted the minister, saying:
"Our Great Yu is located in the western part of the Central Plains. To the north and west, there are natural barriers that block foreign tribes. To the east, it borders only the Xuan Kingdom, and to the south, it borders only one foreign barbarian tribe—the Sha Yue Kingdom. The Sha Yue traitors have no more barbarian soldiers to use and are no longer a threat! We will surely crush them in the future and avenge their betrayal!"
"Your Majesty, our Great Yu has an excellent geographical advantage. No matter how powerful the Xuan Kingdom's troops at Xitun Pass are, they would never dare to pursue us. You need not worry... Please take good care of yourself..."
Hearing these words, the king of Yu Kingdom's expression softened somewhat.
He closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said weakly, "The Crown Prince... must have been captured by Xiao Qidi..."
"Your Majesty, shall we send someone to negotiate with the Xuan Kingdom?" the minister asked.
The King of Yu slowly shook his head. "No, if we go to negotiate, this matter... will surely be known to the other kings. If they all take advantage of the situation, the Great Yu... will be in imminent danger..."
"But... are we just going to abandon the Crown Prince like this?"
"Of course we can't give up! We must save my son!"
"Your Majesty, this..."
The minister kneeling beside the bed looked troubled.
The King of Yu opened his eyes a crack. "The court cannot intervene; you... can only seek out secret forces within the martial arts world. Have you thought of any suitable ones?"
Several ministers began to whisper among themselves and analyze the situation.
To accomplish something like this, one must possess considerable ability.
This excludes the vast majority of martial arts forces from the seven kingdoms of the Central Plains.
None of the remaining Jianghu forces were within the territory of Dayu or had submitted to Dayu.
In the end, there was only one sect to choose from.
That is the Tian Shu Sect, which possesses both strength and does not belong to any country.
The ministers informed the King of Yu of their analysis results.
The King of Yu immediately ordered, "No matter what, we must contact the Tian Shu Sect. If their people can rescue my Crown Prince of Yu, they will be appointed as a third-rank official, granted ten thousand acres of fertile land, and rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold! If they can also capture Xiao Qidi... they will be directly appointed as the Grand Preceptor of Yu!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." The ministers acknowledged the order and withdrew.
——
The next day, in the misty Yuqi Mountain.
The moment the leader of the Tian Shu Sect returned, someone offered a large sum of money to see him.
Sect Leader Ye met with the other party, but upon learning that the other party was acting on a secret mission from the Yu Kingdom's court to ask her for help, promising a generous reward upon success, she didn't even ask for details and directly dismissed the guest.
Before long, a handsome middle-aged man dressed in white arrived in front of Master Ye's house.
"Sect Leader Sister, your senior brother would like to have a talk with you."
creak—
The wooden door opened.
"Please come in, Senior Brother." A gentle voice rang out in the room.
Lu Xingfeng strode into the room. "Junior sister, you've been gone for more than half a month. You must be tired. I missed you very much."
He tried to give Sect Leader Ye a hug, but Sect Leader Ye subtly avoided it.
"I also miss everyone in the sect very much," Sect Leader Ye said with a smile. "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Senior Brother, in managing the Tian Shu Sect for me these past few days. I was just about to change my clothes before I went to see you, but you came here first. Please have a seat, Senior Brother."
Lu Xingfeng's gaze lingered on Sect Leader Ye's face for a moment before he sat down in a chair with a complex expression.
Sect Leader Ye poured him a cup of tea, sat down on the other side, and asked, "What would you like to talk about, Senior Brother?"
Lu Xingfeng pondered for a moment, "I'll get straight to the point. Now that a national court has come to us for help, this is a great opportunity for the Tian Shu Sect to rise to a higher level. Wouldn't it be a pity to refuse?"
Sect Leader Ye frowned. "Senior Brother, have you forgotten that the Tian Shu Sect has never interfered in the affairs of any country's court?"
Lu Xingfeng said earnestly, "We didn't get involved before because the Tian Shu Sect wasn't strong enough, but in the last ten years, the Tian Shu Sect has risen to the status of a first-class sect in the martial arts world. It's time—"
"Senior brother, if you only want to persuade me about this matter, then please leave." Sect Leader Ye's tone was calm, but his attitude was firm.
Lu Xingfeng's cheeks twitched slightly, and he forced a smile. "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about something else... Junior sister, you... really don't plan to be with me?"
"I've told you clearly before that there's absolutely no possibility between us," Sect Leader Ye's expression turned slightly cold. "Why are you bringing it up again?"
Lu Xingfeng gritted his teeth and said, "While you were away on business, I couldn't stop thinking about you day and night! Junior sister... I've been pursuing you for so many years, aren't you even a little bit moved? You won't even give me a chance?"
Sect Leader Ye gently placed her hand on her collar, touching the necklace pendant through her clothes, and said softly, "Senior Brother, I have already told you that I will always regard you as my respected senior brother, but my love will only ever belong to my husband."
Lu Xingfeng clenched his fists. "You keep talking about your husband, your husband, but it's been ten years! He hasn't shown up once! I even suspect you're lying to me!"
Sect Leader Ye said, "I've already told you that I had a daughter with him, so why would I need to lie to you?"
“But…” Lu Xingfeng was still unwilling to give up, “Then where are your husband and your daughter? Why have we never seen them appear?”
"This is a long story." Sect Leader Ye had lost his patience. "Senior Brother, I'm tired and want to rest. Take care, and don't see me out."
Lu Xingfeng could only get up and say, "Junior sister, please rest well. I'll be going now."
He left the sect leader's residence seemingly calmly, but after walking a distance, resentment gradually surfaced in his eyes. He then returned to his own residence and drank a whole jar of strong liquor.
The alcohol took effect quickly.
He smashed the empty jar to pieces, his eyes red as he muttered to himself, "Ye Lan... Ye Lan!"
"Before you came to the Tian Shu Sect, I was the chosen one here, the future sect leader recognized by everyone..."
"As a result, the old sect leader passed the position to you!"
"I hate it! I hate it!"
"Hehe...hahaha!" Lu Xingfeng, disheveled and staggering, said, "I hate you for taking away my position as sect leader, but...but I just happen to like you so much."
"I joined the Tian Shu Sect when I was young, and before you came along, I had never been attracted to any woman in the past thirty years!"
"But you, no matter how much I pursue you, how much I admire you... you never give me the slightest chance!"
Lu Xingfeng's eyes grew increasingly bloodshot, and his gaze became increasingly crazed.
He suddenly slapped his hand out the window.
boom!
In the yard, a tree as thick as an arm was snapped in half!
After venting his anger, Lu Xingfeng gradually calmed down.
But his calm gaze was even more chilling than before.
"I gave you the position of sect leader, but you refused to give me your love. I've endured so many years of torment and pain; I've had enough. I want everything that is rightfully mine, and I'll make you pay the price!"
He tied his hair up neatly, straightened his clothes, and strode out the door.
Yuqi Mountain, halfway up the mountain.
Several people secretly sent by the Yu Kingdom's court rode on horseback, all looking dejected.
"Sigh..." the leader sighed, "We never expected the Tian Shu Sect Leader to be so disrespectful. How are we going to explain this to the imperial court?"
"She won't give me face, but I will!" As the voice rang out, a figure in white flashed by, and in the blink of an eye, Lu Xingfeng appeared before them. "Leave the matter you want to handle to me!"
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