Chapter 20 The Fate of Marrying into the Tie Family Old Master Tie couldn't help but sigh, "Yu..."
Old Tie sighed, "Attendant Yu, what is your status, and what is mine? Even without your father's kindness to me, if you asked me, and I knew the answer, I would certainly tell you the truth and wouldn't dare to lie to you. However, the rumor that the Sword Forging Manor possesses the Spirit Fruit is indeed unverifiable. But as far as I know, the ability to forge weapons with spirits has absolutely nothing to do with the Spirit Fruit. The secret here is truly difficult to speak of. This matter involves far-reaching issues, and if I were to reveal it, the Sword Forging Manor would have no face to stand in this world anymore."
Yu Jitang still didn't believe it, "My father would never make things up without reason."
Old Tie sighed helplessly, “Although I am one of the managers of the Sword Forging Manor, I am still born out of wedlock. What I am supposed to know, the Manor Master will let me know. But if you insist that the Spirit Fruit is in the Sword Forging Manor, then I can only say that it must be a secret I do not know. If I utter a single falsehood, may I suffer endless retribution, die without a burial place, have my soul scattered, and never be reincarnated.”
This oath was made in a rather tragic way.
It would rank among the top of all the various toothache curses that were coined in front of the Crimson Giant Tree back then.
Lu Qing raised an eyebrow and clicked her tongue twice.
Even with such a slight movement, Yu Jitang's eyes flashed like lightning: "Who's there?"
He and Tie Lao quickened their pace, and saw a figure in light red standing with their backs to them. Yu Jitang reached out to grab her, but Tie Lao stopped him. Looking at the vaguely familiar hairstyle and accessories, he coughed slightly awkwardly, "I didn't know it was the young master's wife here."
With her back to them, Lu Qing's eyes darted around. In a moment of quick thinking, she didn't turn around, but instead lowered her head and made a gesture of wiping away tears with her sleeve.
Old Tie stopped pursuing the matter, sighed, and quickly walked away with Yu Jitang.
Yu Jitang frowned and asked, "Who is she?"
Old Tie sighed, "Yu Shenshi, she's a pitiful person too. Please don't make things difficult for her."
Lu Qing hadn't expected to escape without saying a word. She quickly turned her back to the guest courtyard.
Wu Chen had already returned to his room and was lying on the bed resting with his eyes closed.
Lu Qing ran into the room and closed the door, saying, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"What do you mean, 'hurry up'?" Wu Chen opened his eyes to see Lu Qing standing in front of the bed, taking off her clothes. He sat up in surprise, "What are you doing?"
Lu Qing sat down on the edge of the bed, her hands busy, but she tilted her head in front of him. "I just overheard Yu Jitang talking to someone called Old Tie. They mistook me for the young master's wife because I was dressed like this. You need to quickly take all these things off my head, otherwise Yu Jitang will definitely give me away when he comes."
This girl is really... if I don't keep an eye on her for a moment, my heart will jump out of my chest.
Wu Chen had no choice but to help her remove all her hairpins and put them into her spirit pouch.
Lu Qing moved swiftly, taking off her bright red dress and stuffing it into her spirit pouch, then taking out a set of men's clothing from the pouch and changing into it.
At this moment, Yu Jitang pushed open the courtyard gate and entered the courtyard. "Wu Chen, Lu Qing, are you there?"
Lu Qing was about to answer when Wu Chen covered her mouth. He pointed at her head. "Your hair is still in a bun. Since your clothes are new, they must have mistaken you for someone else because of your hairpins. You're about to be exposed and you don't even realize it."
Lu Qing made a face. Having a seasoned accomplice is really great.
Wu Chen undid all of Lu Qing's hair, and with a shake of her head, her long black hair fell down like flowing water. Before Wu Chen could even take a closer look, Yu Jitang had already arrived at the door and knocked, "Hey, open the door quickly."
Wu Chen sighed. He could only stuff all the odds and ends into Lu Qing's spirit pouch. "Put your clothes on."
Lu Qing didn't waste any time and moved very quickly.
Wu Chen then went to open the door.
Yu Jitang stepped in and said, "What are you two doing in the room in broad daylight?"
Before Wu Chen could speak, Yu Jitang craned his neck to find Lu Qing.
Wu Chen had a bit of a headache. "Please sit down first. She was just taking a short rest. I'll go and call her."
Yu Jitang's meaningful gaze swept over him, noticing some wrinkles in Wu Chen's clothes, indicating he had slept fully clothed. He inwardly scoffed.
Lu Qing fiddled around inside for a while, finally managing to create a reasonably neat updo. Upon seeing Yu Jitang, she preemptively asked, "You, have you finished with the important business?"
Yu Jitang said irritably, "Children shouldn't ask so many questions. But you, have you picked out your favorite weapon?"
Lu Qing snorted and pretended to be angry, refusing to answer.
Wu Chen interjected, "We hadn't finished reading when we heard the clapper sound. The boy said something terrible had happened at the manor. We wanted to help, but we were stopped on our way to Wanlian Peak. Do you know what happened?"
Yu Jitang wasn't really sure either. "Although I was at the top of Wanlian Peak at the time, the accident happened in the cave. It seems to be where the Sword Forging Manor forges weapons. It's always burning molten metal. Maybe one of the disciples had an accident."
Lu Qing scoffed, "They think they can fool you like that? That nine-fold cloud board was a notification of a major event, and all the managers in the manor had to rush to the summit immediately. What kind of disciple has such influence?"
"What?" Yu Jitang was very surprised. "How did you know?"
Wu Chen sighed, "It was a child from Qiuqiang Pavilion who let it slip. Just pretend you don't know. This is originally a matter of the Sword Forging Manor. It would be impolite for us outsiders to pry into it."
The more he said that, the more Yu Jitang felt he couldn't swallow his anger. He even wondered if Old Tie was also lying to him about the Spirit Fruit. "I'll ask him in person later."
Lu Qing's eyes darted around. "Why are you so stubborn? They've already lied to you once. You have no proof, so how can they easily change their story? Wouldn't that be a slap in their own face? Since something happened in the cave, let's find an opportunity to go in and take a look. Maybe we'll know without them even having to tell us. Then, when you make a scene, let's see if they dare to hide it from us."
Yu Jitang nodded thoughtfully.
Wu Chen glanced at Yu Jitang, his eyes filled with pity and sigh. Indeed, heaven favors the simple-minded. It's truly fate that Yu Jitang has grown up so safely.
Wu Chen said, "There's still some time before dinner. Would you like to rest on the couch over there for a while? I'll call you again later."
Yu Jitang was indeed a little tired, so he nodded and went to rest.
Wu Chen pulled Lu Qing to sit down in front of the dressing table and loosened her hair. "What kind of hairstyle is this? It looks like a cat with its fur standing on end."
Lu Qing covered her mouth and laughed, not daring to retort, afraid of accidentally letting something slip.
Wu Chen took her long hair in his hands and carefully combed it up. "You should still wear men's clothes for now. It will avoid a lot of trouble."
Lu Qing didn't think much of it and nodded slightly, "I think Yu Jitang is asleep. Why don't we go outside to talk?"
Wu Chen spoke casually, but pinched a handful of her long hair in his hand, "You certainly know how to be considerate."
Lu Qing was completely unaware. She looked at her hair in the mirror, jumped up with satisfaction, and went out with the tea and snack box on the table.
Wu Chen had no choice but to follow her out. The two sat on the artificial hill outside the courtyard. The hill offered a commanding view and was a good place to talk.
Wu Chen still had the boy serve tea, then dismissed him, leaving only the two of them to talk.
Lu Qing gathered her thoughts. "I went to see the young master's wife. There were guards outside the courtyard, but they didn't seem to restrict anyone from contacting her. It didn't feel like pure protection; it seemed more like they were keeping an eye on her. Also, she mentioned a year, hoping we would come back to collect the weapons in a year. What exactly does this year mean?"
Wu Chen asked again, "What else did she say?"
Lu Qing counted on her fingers, "There are many. She said she wouldn't need those new clothes anymore, and she didn't want the gifts I gave her; she said that if I were to make weapons, she wouldn't be able to give birth to the child in her womb; she also mentioned the fate of women who marry into the Tie family; and, by the way, she also hoped that the child in her womb would be a daughter, so that she could marry out of the family instead of staying in the Tie family. These things give me a very bad feeling."
Wu Chen hadn't expected that this clever little devil could extract so much information just by going out to borrow some clothes. In comparison, the one lying in the room resting right now could be thrown away completely.
"The fate of women who marry into the Tie family?" Wu Chen asked, somewhat puzzled. "They are the Sword Forging Manor. These women can't do firework or forge iron. What could possibly happen to them? By the way, where are the other mistresses of the Sword Forging Manor?"
“The young master’s wife said her mother-in-law passed away a long time ago. Oh, right, I just overheard that…” Lu Qing pointed into the room, “talking to someone called Old Tie. Old Tie said he didn’t know anything about the Spirit Fruit, but he couldn’t reveal the secret of the Sword Forging Manor, otherwise the manor would have no face to stand in the world. And when he saw my back, he didn’t even bother to look at my face, he just hurriedly turned away, and said I was a pitiful person. What should we do? Maybe we should grab him and beat him up? Maybe then he’ll tell us.”
Wu Chen shook his head. "He is also from the Sword Forging Manor, and an important one at that. For him to speak to Ji Tang to this extent shows that he is truly open with Ji Tang. If we really had to use force, it would concern the entire Sword Forging Manor, and I'm afraid he would rather die."
Lu Qing munched on her tea and snacks, "I originally thought we were just coming up here for a visit, but now it seems there are so many problems with the Sword Forging Manor. Also, the valley where we encountered danger that day is right below Wanlian Peak. Could there be a connection between the two? Oh, Yu Jitang said his father told him that the Sword Forging Manor has a spiritual fruit. But Elder Tie said he was born out of wedlock and didn't know such a secret."
Wu Chen thought for a moment, "Call that maid over, and then you ask her this..."
Lu Qing nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. Then he called the maid over.
The maidservant arrived shortly afterward. "Young master, young lady, what are your orders?"
Lu Qing smiled and said, "The banquet will be starting soon. I wonder which other ladies or young ladies will be there so I can prepare gifts for them."
The maid replied, "Miss, the only proper mistress of the manor is the young mistress. The master of the manor does have several concubines, but they never attend any events."
"Oh, where is the mistress of the manor?"
"It's been about twenty years since the master's wife passed away."
"And what about the old lady?" Lu Qing asked again.
“The old lady has been gone for many years,” the maid replied. “When she passed away, I was just a toddler. Now that you mention it, it seems like it’s been forty years.”
What does that mean? One dies every twenty years? Lu Qing looked at Wu Chen in astonishment.
A note from the author:
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