Chapter 265 They had no choice but to sell Nian Qiuyan
A sudden clash of lightning illuminated the room as bright as day. Zhong Lique calmed down, suppressing the shock of the scene he had just witnessed, and focused on finishing his work.
Fifteen minutes later, Zhongli Que quietly returned the Wind-Listening Ruler, which had been infected by the mountain spirit.
Zhong Liqi was completely unaware of this. He lowered his voice and said that the lady had just caught a cold and should rest more. At the same time, he gestured with his eyes to ask what kind of medicine you were up to.
Zhong Lique said, "Uncle, if others ask us later, we can't say it was just a cold. Once Mother is better, I will definitely come to thank you in person."
Zhong Liqi understood her meaning, nodded, and walked outside with her.
Changsun Zi and the others were outside. When Zhongli Qi came out, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and respectfully said that the lady was fine and that the affairs of the Five Elements Academy were busy, so he needed to go back as soon as possible.
Zhong Lique also bowed his head and apologized, saying that he was frightened by the sudden events that night, which is why he rushed to invite Zhong Liqi back. Now he was afraid that he would delay the important matters of the Five Elements Academy.
Changsun Zi was very tolerant, not pursuing the matter or saying anything more. She simply nodded and took Zhongli Qi back to the Five Elements Academy.
Zhong Lique escorted the two to the gate of the mansion, watching their departing figures, his palms damp with sweat.
Yu Sui, having not heard Zhong Li Que speak for a while, finally asked, "Que Que?"
Zhong Lique and the others returned to the house before asking, "Sui Sui, has Shan Ling recovered from her infection?"
"That's fine," Yu Sui said. "We're just waiting for him to return to the Five Elements Academy. Has anything else happened on your end?"
Zhong Lique said, "Chu Jin came. She heard the news that my mother was critically ill, but I asked her to leave."
Yu Sui listened quietly.
Qingkui was quite proactive in getting close to Madam Sun. She used her "tragic background" to take advantage of Madam Sun's soft-heartedness and kindness. As things stand, this tactic has been quite successful so far.
Yu Sui said, "I'll have someone keep an eye on her. You just need to make sure Madam Sun has as little contact with her as possible."
Zhong Lique added, "The eldest grandson of the Fangji family has also come."
Changsun Zi?
Yu Sui hadn't expected this.
Zhong Lique told Yu Sui about the scene he had just foreseen.
"I've never seen that maid before. My second brother only took me to practice swordsmanship a few times, and all of those times were when no one knew. How could this be..."
Ever since Jinzhi saw her with a sword, Zhongli Que has rarely touched it again. From then on, no matter what Yu Sui and Su Feng said, her fear of the sword outweighed her desire for it.
What good is a military genius if she can't sacrifice the entire Zhongli family just to satisfy her own thirst for swordsmanship?
If the pre-emptive takeover becomes a reality, it will not only harm the Zhongli family, but also implicate Su Feng.
Zhong Lique found it difficult to accept either of these two options.
“Although Changsun Zi is a sage of the Fangji family, she does not belong to one of the six kingdoms,” Yu Sui reassured her. “In Taiyi, this sage has an excellent reputation and cares a lot about the students of the Fangji Academy. However, she doesn’t know much about or care much about outside affairs. Since there was nothing strange about tonight’s contact, then she must have discovered something when she visited tomorrow.”
"Should I avoid meeting him tomorrow?" Zhong Lique raised her hand to her chest, feeling the beating of her chest in her palm. "I... I shouldn't have let my second brother teach me. Now I've implicated him and others."
She was extremely annoyed, and her fingers began to tremble involuntarily.
“It was my second brother who couldn’t resist teaching you; it has nothing to do with you,” Yu Sui said. “Besides, my second brother didn’t teach you much; he just gave you the opportunity to get your hands on weapons like swords.”
Teaching Zhong Lique swordsmanship is too dangerous. With so many people watching both families, even if Su Feng wanted to, he wouldn't be able to. He could only let Zhong Lique feel the weight of those swords and tell her the advantages and disadvantages of various weapons.
Others may not know, but Yu Sui, having been by Zhong Li Que's side for so many years, has seen the longing in her eyes more clearly than anyone else.
Zhong Li Que is more delicate and gentle than Yu Sui, but she can occasionally do extreme and crazy things. For example, unable to suppress her desire for the Nine Schools of Arts, she climbs over the wall to peep at her father practicing swordsmanship, and risks having her pre-arranged plan exposed to sneak out and save Nangong Sui.
Fortunately, she won that gamble.
"The Zhongli family's predicament wasn't your fault. His Majesty's suspicion of the Zhongli family runs deep. Even if it weren't for the oath, he would find fault elsewhere. If..."
Yu Sui paused here.
If Zhongli Ci truly harbors rebellious intentions, regardless of victory or defeat, the Zhongli clan will inevitably suffer this calamity.
Zhongli Ci's prestige has increased after quelling the rebellion in Canhai Prefecture. Other prefectures and states in Qingyang are more afraid and wary of him and dare not cause trouble again. However, the Emperor of Qingyang both fears and needs Zhongli Ci.
Over the years, the Nangong family has gradually shared the military's power with other families. Nangong Ming did not prevent Su Feng from moving into the Military Academy's headquarters because Su Feng's development within the Military Academy was indeed quite good.
No matter how prestigious Zhongli Ci is, the people of Qingyang are now loyal to the Qingyang Emperor.
Once the military forces have been dispersed and Zhongli Ci is no longer a threat, Emperor Qingyang should take action to kill the Zhongli family.
In Yu Sui's view, the Zhongli clan's fate was death either way; it was just a matter of time.
Rather than waiting until then and still knowing nothing, it's better to prepare earlier.
“You should leave the General’s Mansion tomorrow and avoid contact with Changsun Zi,” Yu Sui said. “I will also try to divert Changsun Zi’s attention. No matter what she discovers tonight that causes her to come to the General’s Mansion again tomorrow, as long as you avoid meeting her, we can postpone it for a while longer.”
"Let all the maids in the mansion come out and show themselves, so we can see whether they are maids from the General's Mansion or from other families."
"If you haven't found it in the last two days, it might be someone who came later. Have someone keep an eye on the people who come in and out of the General's Mansion every day. Someone who can hide a sword in your courtyard is probably not an ordinary maid."
Yu Sui had someone she suspected, but she didn't say it aloud. She only said, "The maid and the sword can both be said to be false evidence of being framed. What really works is what Changsun Zi said. Perhaps she didn't mean it, but someone with ulterior motives heard it and deliberately said it to His Majesty."
If others were to praise Zhongli Que as a military genius, no one would listen. But since it was said by a master of divination and skill, it becomes intriguing and allows for the gleaning of many meanings.
Yu Sui believed that the events involving the maid and the sword were all actions that would only take place after Changsun Zi's words.
Life is unpredictable; sometimes it is precisely those unintentional actions that lead to unpredictable consequences.
After listening to Yu Sui's words, Zhong Lique gradually calmed down and went back to take care of Madam Sun and give her medicine. Madam Sun had only caught a cold; it was an old ailment where she would feel unwell every time it rained.
Madam Sun asked her what she had been up to all night, but Zhong Lique coaxed her way out of it. Madam Sun looked at her and sighed softly, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze gentle: "Sometimes I wonder if I'm a burden to you, that's why you're so unhappy."
Zhong Lique was stunned, and shook her head, saying, "Why are you suddenly saying this? I've never been unhappy, and you've never been a burden to me, Mother."
Madam Sun looked at her daughter with tenderness and affection: "If I hadn't married your father, there wouldn't be those suffocating rules, and you could be like your brother."
“If you hadn’t married Father, there would be no me and my brother!” Zhongli Que laughed. “Mother, I’m not unhappy. If my brother and I had both gone to Taiyi, and Father was always away fighting, I would have been worried about leaving you alone at home.”
Even if someone skilled in martial arts can go to Taiyi, who can guarantee what they will learn there?
Taiyi is too far away; Emperor Qingyang will not allow it.
After comforting Madam Sun and watching her fall asleep, Zhong Lique left with a cold expression, displaying the haughty demeanor of the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion in front of the servants.
Soon, all the servants in the general's mansion knew that the young lady was furious because the lady had fallen into the water. Whether it was the servants who were responsible for taking care of the lady or the servants who were responsible for cleaning the general's mansion, they were all angered. All the maids in the mansion were summoned and told that they would reselect maids to take care of the lady.
Zhong Lique was unable to find the maidservant he had reserved in the general's mansion.
Perhaps, as Yu Sui guessed, the maid was a later arrival.
After Yu Sui ended his telepathic communication with Zhong Lique, he sat on the edge of the bed and thought about it carefully for a while.
Why Su Feng of all people?
Who is so bold as to not only make the young lady of the General's Mansion suffer, but also make the second young master of the Prince of Nangong's Mansion suffer as well?
Su Feng didn't get too close to Zhong Li Que in public. Everyone knew that he had a good relationship with Zhong Li Shan when they were young, so it was normal for him to take care of Zhong Li Que as well.
Only Nangong Ming and she knew Su Feng's thoughts.
Nangong Ming's attitude towards Su Feng's admiration for Zhong Li Que was like watching a joke. There was absolutely no possibility between the two of them, and neither he nor Zhong Li Ci would agree to it.
Young love, once it's experienced, will teach you a lesson; you'll understand when you suffer a little.
Yu Sui lightly tapped the Listening Wind Ruler with her fingers, her eyes slightly narrowed. Could it really be her?
Zhong Lique and Su Feng had visited the clinic together, and Su Feng had indeed been investigating Chu Jin in private, so she couldn't possibly be unaware of it.
Yu Sui didn't know how Nangong Ming taught Qing Kui, nor did she know how many things Qing Kui had done with Nangong Ming. But if it really was Qing Kui who did it, Yu Sui would only think that she was too hasty.
Yu Sui recalled the message she received from Elder Yan during the day.
Wenren Xu was a man from the State of Yan. He killed Qin Chongxue in Taiyi and betrayed Qingkui.
Xuan Kui's complete annihilation in Taiyi must have been a significant blow to Qing Kui. Adding to this, her capable assistant was a spy from the Yan Kingdom, which may have made her anxious.
Yu Sui sent a voice message to Nian Qiuyan, who answered immediately.
It was already late at night, and Nian Qiuyan couldn't sleep at all lying on her bed in the dormitory. When she saw the sound transmission display of the Wind Listening Ruler, her eyes twitched, and she immediately answered the call.
Yu Sui said directly, "Tell me as much as you know about Changsun Zi."
Nian Qiuyan sat up in bed, his brows furrowing slowly. The question he was about to ask trembled, but he swallowed it back. As Yu Sui had requested, he told her everything he knew about his master's identity, background, personality, and abilities.
"What happened to my master?" Nian Qiuyan asked after answering.
Changsun Zi spent her childhood in the Kingdom of Nan Jing. Her father is unknown, and she was raised by her mother alone. Her mother was a wandering singer on the border of Nan Jing, making a living by singing on the streets. She traveled from Nan Jing to Taiyuan, and then from Taiyuan to the Kingdom of Zhou. She moved between six kingdoms and did not have a good childhood.
Perhaps it was because Zhongli Que had relied on her mother since childhood that her concern for her mother moved Changsun Zi, who then decided to go back and check on her the next day.
Judging from Changsun Zi's behavior, the divination was probably unintentional.
Yu Sui glanced at the Listening Wind Ruler. Since she couldn't do anything to Changsun Zi, she had no choice but to sell Nian Qiuyan.
"Prepare yourself with a counter-divination technique, so your master doesn't find out." Yu Sui hung up the telepathic message after saying that.
Nian Qiuyan couldn't sleep at all now.
Yu Sui sent someone to inform Changsun Zi that Nian Qiuyan had been to the mirage, had contact with Ou Rushuang, and was now under surveillance.
Finding out the true nature of one's own apprentice is probably more important than investigating someone else's daughter.
Using the influence that Yu Sui had accumulated in Qingyang over the years through the Listening Wind Ruler, he sent different messages to the other two people.
The first one is Grandmother Nangong.
The second is Prince Qingyang, the Sixth Prince.
Yu Sui still remembers the first time she met Grandmother Nangong. It was the day Nangong Ming brought her back to Qingyang. Everyone in the royal palace and all the prominent members of the Nangong family came to greet her.
The three young concubines held round fans and swayed gently, seemingly unhurried, but their eyes were looking outside. Only the woman in brocade robes, sitting in a high position, rested with her eyes closed, her expression calm.
Even after hearing that Nangong Ming had bestowed upon her the surname Nangong, the old woman only glanced at the father and daughter calmly before getting up and leaving.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com