Chapter 260 Struggle
Just as a certain decisive and ruthless Yunmeng Grand Queen was being coaxed by her junior sister into eating a peach with a stern face.
Outside the Sanhui Temple.
Just as he stepped out of the courtyard, Xie Xun suddenly stopped and gestured to his disciples to wait for him at Master Shandao's place.
The disciples accepted the order and departed.
Xie Xun glanced at Xie Lingjiang, who was following at the back, then turned and walked into a rest pavilion by the roadside.
Xie Lingjiang paused for a moment, then silently followed.
The father and daughter entered the pavilion.
The background behind the two was the Sanhui Temple, where a young county magistrate was recuperating in a coma.
They looked at each other in silence.
Xie Xun broke the silence first: "Take off your hat."
Xie Lingjiang shook her head.
Xie Xun watched her with his hands behind his back.
Xie Lingjiang, dressed in a plain dress, removed her white veiled hat, turned her head to look at the architecture and scenery outside the pavilion, avoiding her father's gaze.
However, the pretty face she revealed was somewhat surprising.
She was bare-faced, without any makeup, her hair disheveled, and her once bright and beautiful eyes were now surrounded by deep dark circles, with some bloodshot veins in them.
He looked haggard, as if he had been suffering from insomnia for several days and had to rush to get up early.
However, even when a beauty is haggard, she still possesses a unique charm that transcends physical appearance.
However, this delicate and melancholic style, which evokes pity from men, clearly does not match Xie Lingjiang's proud and strong personality.
Under Xie Xun's interrogating gaze, Xie Lingjiang pursed her lips into a thin line, held her sword at her waist and placed it on her lap, sat upright in the pavilion, and gazed at the scenery.
It's like a winter plum blossom that's about to wither and die, yet still stubbornly clings to the branch.
An elderly father looked at his daughter.
“Tell me about it.”
"say what?"
Why are you looking like this?
"My senior brother was seriously injured because of me, and he has been taking care of me day and night recently. He is just a little tired. Once he wakes up, I will rest for a few more days."
"Is this all?"
"Otherwise what?"
"Oh, so Wanwan cares about Lianghan so much now." This is a declarative sentence.
"Father, what are you saying?" Xie Lingjiang's voice rose, and she glared at him seriously.
“He…he is the eldest brother. He has taught me a lot these days and taken good care of me. Most importantly, he was seriously injured while saving me. How…how can I not care about him?”
The noblewoman from the Xie family sounded somewhat agitated.
Xie Xun remained silent, simply looking at her calmly.
It seemed like he was asking... "I only mentioned it briefly, it's not like I shouldn't care, why are you so agitated?"
For a moment, the contrast between stillness and movement, and the emotions of the father and daughter, created a stark contrast.
Under her father's silent gaze, Xie Lingjiang immediately felt breathless, lowered her eyes, and her tone weakened slightly:
"I'm sorry, I misunderstood Father's meaning just now."
"No." Xie Xun shook his head: "Father misunderstood before."
Xie Lingjiang looked puzzled.
Xie Xun turned to look down the mountain and sighed, "So, during your time in Longcheng, you've changed your mind? Now you want to... marry a good man?"
The atmosphere inside the pavilion suddenly fell silent.
Xie Lingjiang lowered her head, burying her face deep in her chest. Her pale and haggard face was visibly flushed, with a blush spreading all the way to her ears.
There was none of the stubbornness she displayed when she bit her lip and argued with her father earlier.
Seeing this, Xie Xun opened his mouth but hesitated for a moment before speaking.
In fact, he had never seen his strong-willed daughter look so embarrassed before.
For a moment, I didn't know what to say.
You can't just start nagging and scolding.
What did he say? He had introduced you to Liang Han, everything was arranged, and he even gave his father his opinion and recommendation. All you had to do was nod your head, and you immediately won him over. But you shook your head so quickly, swearing you wouldn't regret it, and now you're coming back to your father? As his teacher, where does he put his old face in front of his beloved student?
If her mother were still alive, given her personality, she might have spat and cursed like that, even poking her forehead with her index finger.
Xie Xun shook his head weakly.
The usually serious and reserved middle-aged scholar raised his hand to remove his hat and, unusually, scratched his head.
"well."
He sighed and remained silent.
Xie Lingjiang dared not speak.
The atmosphere between the father and daughter gradually fell into a deathly silence.
An awkward atmosphere spread.
Xie Xun sighed and said, "The most urgent task now is to find a way to wake Liang Han up as soon as possible."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Xie Lingjiang nodded her head as fast as she was pounding garlic, breaking the awkward atmosphere. She breathed a sigh of relief, her pretty face lost in thought.
"As for other matters... I'll stay a little longer after Lianghan recovers from his injuries..."
“Father…” Xie Lingjiang sniffed, her voice slightly choked with sobs.
Xie Xun shook his head, then, as if remembering something, suddenly asked, "You still haven't told me, who is that girl to Liang Han?"
Xie Lingjiang whispered, "A child bride, a former child bride."
Xie Xun frowned.
Xie Lingjiang frowned and pondered, "Actually, it seems that Senior Brother doesn't know about her existence. Many years ago, some changes occurred, and Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhen sold her off, but she still remembers their kindness..."
"is that so."
Xie Xun stroked his beard and asked calmly, "Was that cold-faced woman with sword aura inside the room just now the Yue maiden from the Yunmeng Sword Marsh next door? Was she a female ruler?"
Xie Lingjiang nodded and said truthfully, "It is indeed the First Lady of the Palace, Xue Zhongzhu."
Xie Xun paused, stroking his beard, and said in a daze, "She's Xue Zhong Zhu? Then what's this mute child bride's name, Qingxiu? She is..."
"That's right, she is Zhao Qingxiu, the Yue maiden of the current generation of the Queen's Palace."
Xie Xun nearly tore off his beard as he stared wide-eyed at the distant Sanhui Courtyard.
Xie Lingjiang lowered her head and whispered as if she had made a mistake. Then, she slightly raised her head, glanced at her father's expressive face, and muttered:
“When my daughter was learning Qi cultivation at the academy, didn’t you often mention her, saying she was someone else’s child? Now look, we’ve met the real deal.”
"It's true that she's mentioned, but how come she's a mute, and also..." Xie Xun hesitated, his voice trailing off, "and has this kind of relationship with Liang Han..."
Xie Lingjiang smiled wryly: "I couldn't believe it when I first heard about it."
Xie Xun remained silent for a while before he could process the news.
He turned his head and looked at his haggard daughter with dark circles under her eyes and the white veiled hat in her hand with a complicated expression.
I can understand Xie Lingjiang's state of mind these days a little better.
Xie Xun began to regret that he shouldn't have used "other people's children" to suppress his daughter's pride. Now, it's really going to become a psychological trauma.
Lost in thought, he recalled the unassuming yet virtuous and capable Yue Chuzi from the Sanhui Courtyard.
Xie Xun couldn't help but ask, "You said she was Liang Han's childhood sweetheart. Now that she's back, is it just to treat Liang Han, or is there something else going on...?"
Xie Lingjiang shook her head: "I don't know."
Xie Xun had a terrible headache when he suddenly heard his daughter speak:
"Actually, she's a really nice person."
Xie Lingjiang murmured absentmindedly, "Her personality is really good. I've discovered that these days. I need to learn from her. Father, what you said before wasn't wrong after all. This pretty girl is very outstanding..."
Xie Xun glanced at her and nodded: "So you think Liang Han will also like this girl?"
"Who said that!"
Xie Lingjiang suddenly looked up, her aura completely different. She bit her lip and raised her head, saying, "What she can do for Senior Brother, I can do for Senior Brother too. I will give him everything I have. And what I can't do, I... I can learn..."
Xie Xun leaned back slightly and looked Xie Lingjiang up and down, feeling as if his spirited daughter had returned.
He hesitated and said, "It's good that Wanwan has this competitive spirit, but she needs to be more calm when doing things..."
"I know, my senior brother taught me not to act impulsively, and I am very calm now."
Xie Lingjiang stood ramrod straight, her eyes slightly red. With a "smack," her white veiled hat was slapped onto the wooden stool by her slender hand. She sniffed and said earnestly:
“Father, I’m not as stupid as you think. You don’t know, my relationship with my eldest brother is actually very good! I gave him the personal skirt knife, and he accepted it for self-defense. As soon as he touched the hilt, I knew he was thinking of me.”
"My senior brother knew I liked grapes, so he picked all the grapevines in the yard and gave them to me. He also accompanied me to draw a marriage fortune stick, and... he even made me a swing. I really liked that swing. He also promised me that he wouldn't leave without my knowledge and that we would work together to do something that would benefit the country and its people!"
The stunning woman, who wasn't wearing red today, had red-rimmed eyes with a glistening tear in them, and said firmly:
"Father, let me tell you, I'm not afraid of what happens between the pretty girl and my senior brother. No matter who comes first, the one who's suitable is the best!"
Xie Xun opened his mouth but remained silent, looking at the stubbornness and radiance on his daughter's profile in the sunlight.
After a short while, the middle-aged scholar lowered his head and rubbed his face: "She looks exactly like your mother when she was young..."
Xie Lingjiang shook her head: "I am me, not anyone else, not even my feelings."
Xie Xun chuckled.
Just then, the father and daughter seemed to catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of their eyes, and they both stopped talking and turned to look.
Not far away, Zhao Qingxiu and Xue Zhongzhu walked out of Sanhui Courtyard together.
Seemingly noticing Xie Xun and Xie Lingjiang in the pavilion, Zhao Qingxiu gave them a slight smile as a greeting.
Xie Lingjiang nodded as well.
Xue Zhongzhu's expression softened a little, though he wondered what the two Yue women had been discussing in the room.
After she walked out of the courtyard gate, she glanced sideways at Xie Lingjiang and Xie Xun, who had stood up in the pavilion. Then, with a cold face, she turned her head, pointed her index finger at Ouyang Rong's ward, and whispered a few words to Zhao Qingxiu, who nodded silently.
The candle in the snow rose without wind, its large sleeves fluttering as it soared into the air and disappeared.
"Qiu—!" Above the mountaintop, in the sea of clouds, a large, snow-white bird cuts through the blue sky, chirping softly.
Zhao Qingxiu placed both hands in front of her, tightly clutching a towel she had just removed from someone's forehead. She looked up and silently watched her senior sister leave.
Xie Lingjiang approached, her brows slightly furrowed: "Pretty young lady, has your senior sister returned to the sect? Has your senior brother's injury completely stabilized?"
"Mmm!" Zhao Qingxiu nodded.
Xie Lingjiang breathed a sigh of relief. Now that her injuries had stabilized, she could focus on finding a healing elixir based on her symptoms, instead of constantly standing anxiously by her bedside.
Xie Lingjiang suddenly felt her sleeve being tugged. She looked up and saw Zhao Qingxiu pulling her with a happy expression, leading her into the house.
Zhao Qingxiu came to a wooden table, took out paper, ink, brush and inkstone, her little face serious, and picked up the brush to write beautiful regular script.
Xie Lingjiang lowered her eyes in tacit agreement; this was how the two women communicated daily these days.
Outside, Xie Xun followed him in and glanced at what the young woman had written:
She said that her senior sister had promised her that she would go to the water dungeon of Yunmeng Sword Marsh to capture a divine doctor and bring him here to completely cure Ouyang Lianghan.
Xie Xun couldn't help but glance sideways; that water dungeon was no ordinary place, existing only in martial arts legends.
At the table, Xie Lingjiang received some good news, but she didn't smile much. She nodded slightly and thanked her senior brother on his behalf.
Suddenly turning around, Xie Lingjiang tugged at Xie Xun beside her, and the two, in tacit agreement, walked out of the house again.
"Father."
In the courtyard, Xie Lingjiang said without turning his head, "I'm going to Gezao Mountain now. You stay here and keep Senior Brother company with Qingxiu."
"What are you going to Gezao Mountain for? Isn't there a divine doctor there..." Xie Xun's words gradually stopped.
Ahead of him, Xie Lingjiang turned around, her eyes calm as a still pool, as deep as a still pool.
Xie Xun turned his head and glanced at the room, then nodded helplessly.
"Go ahead, and remember to give my regards to Daoist Chongxuzi."
"No need, the senior might come too, you can catch up then..."
Xie Lingjiang lowered his head, fastened his sword, turned and went into the room. He knelt down in front of the bed, held the unconscious young man's hand, remained silent for a while, then took out a white sandalwood jade target knife and placed it beside his pillow.
She lowered her eyes and went out alone.
Simply sending a pretty young woman to find a miracle doctor to save someone is such a huge favor. How will the senior brother repay it when he wakes up? How will she repay it?
Moreover, who knew what kind of conditions the Yunmeng Grand Queen, who disliked her senior brother, would offer to the pretty girl before she would agree to help save her, even though the Grand Queen's conditions were indirectly beneficial to her as well.
Xie Lingjiang also refused.
Watching his daughter's lonely figure disappear into the distance, Xie Xun sighed.
"You've really grown up."
The next few chapters will feature romance or fill in plot holes at the end. Please note that this is a light novel with multiple female leads, set in both the imperial court and martial arts worlds, and featuring slice-of-life elements. The synopsis clearly states that it's a plot-driven story, not a power-up story. The romance is at least 30/70 split between the main plot and the main storyline, and the romance is even interwoven with the main plot. The main female leads are crucial to the main plot and even central to the story's development. If you're looking for a fast-paced, action-packed story with plenty of room for development, it's best to read it a bit longer before reading.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
