ASER - Chapter 138
Chapter 138: Compromise
Song Ling's face was pale; she seemed to have been considerably injured in the battle, and her spirits were somewhat weary. However, because her attention had been captivated by the recent string of events, she now appeared rather dazed.
She looked at Zhao Ritian, unsure whether she was genuinely frightened or pondering the situation.
In any case, Han Zhuo was green with envy.
Sister isn't even looking at me; why does she keep looking at that Zhao person?
And this Zhao person really isn't surnamed Zhao after all?
Among those present, perhaps only Han Zhuo felt a sense of vindication. Honestly, he had almost burst out laughing just now.
Previously, seeing Zhao Ritian in their prime and having indeed been saved by this person, he had accepted it and was even grateful, merely hoping that Zhao Ritian wouldn't mess with him anymore. Even his own elders had told him to let matters rest.
Who would have thought, who would have thought.
This Zhao Ritian actually seemed to be an impostor!
At that moment, amidst the varied reactions of the crowd, A'Diao took a mere three seconds to consider. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, while being targeted by two Star Rank masters.
She suddenly grabbed a wine cup and slammed it to the ground with a crash.
This act seemed to signal the start of some play.
Everyone was stunned.
Her eyes reddened. Pointing at Xie Jingyu, her lips trembled slightly, "Fine! So you truly never cared about me, you even forgot me, you didn't even recognize me just now!!!"
Grief-stricken and despairing, as if lamenting tearfully.
Xie Jingyu: "?"
The Star Rank sword cultivator: "??"
Everyone: "???"
Qu Jiangnan: "..."
It had to be her, definitely. This on-the-spot acting was too strong; she couldn't think of anyone else capable of something similar.
Qu Jiangnan had initially intended to speak up and ease the situation, but now she suddenly fell silent—she wanted to see what kind of drama this troublemaker could conjure.
"Did you think I wanted to pretend like this? That year, I was eight. By Daming Lake, amidst a light rain of apricot blossoms, I saw you smiling among the flowers. I was instantly smitten. You said your name was Xia Yuhe, and I remembered it. From the age of eight to twenty-five, for a full seventeen years, I searched. But the second time I saw you, you had become my sister-in-law..."
"What could I say? I could only call you Sister-in-law. In truth, every time I call you that, my heart bleeds!!"
"What did I do wrong? Why must fate treat me this way?"
"I could only banish myself, becoming a lonely wandering spirit. If Sister Qu hadn't recognized me and risked her life to save me this time, I would have died at the hands of the Snow Demon King. Actually, perhaps it would have been better to die, better than you, Sister-in-law, not even recognizing me."
"But what's the point of surviving? My body survived, but my heart is already dead."
"Sister Qu, what do you think?"
Qu Jiangnan, who had been listening to the drama but was suddenly cued: "???"
What do I think? What is there for me to see!
Qu Jiangnan wanted to speak, but A'Diao waved her hand, interrupting her. "Sister Qu, you don't need to persuade me anymore. I understand everything. Not just you, but also Big Brother Xiao and Sister Xiao, none of you need to persuade me further. I know you all value me, see me as family, and even specially invited Sister-in-law here to console me so I could let go. But my mind is made up. No matter how Sister-in-law treats me, I will willingly accept it, without a second word."
Some people can't describe an incident well even with a 5000-word thesis, while others can fabricate a complete story with just a few sentences.
It sounded incredible, but the logic all lined up, and there was even real-world evidence.
For example, someone had indeed seen Qu Jiangnan hold back the Snow Demon King, allowing Zhao Ritian to escape.
For example, Xiao Mieluo had personally invited Qu Jiangnan and had been protecting her, indicating they knew each other.
For example, although Zhao Ritian's contributions in this battle were immense, arguably the greatest, it was predicated on her having conspired with the Xiao siblings beforehand. If they didn't know each other, why would the Xiao siblings trust her so much?
Another example: Xiao Mieluo clearly knew Xie Jingyu would come.
These small details all corroborated this story. So, after her barrage of words, looking at the hesitant Qu Jiangnan, then at the Xiao siblings who clearly stepped out to smooth things over, and then looking at...
What were they looking at? Their eyes were about to go blind, and their brains were about to overload.
Let me sort this out.
The principals of the five academies also exchanged glances, feigning seriousness while enjoying the drama.
Qu Jiangnan and the two Xiao siblings at that moment: "..."
Very good. Whether they wanted to save her or not, this damned Zhao Ritian had dragged them all into it.
Deny it?
They couldn't deny it. She was a meritorious contributor; the Xiao siblings had to protect her. Otherwise, it would be hard to convince these cultivators, and it would also be detrimental to overall morale.
Could Qu Jiangnan deny it?
She couldn't either, because she knew Chen A'Diao definitely already knew that she had seen through her identity. She had to protect her, whether she wanted to or not.
But was Xie Jingyu so easy to offend, so easy to fool?
Could she swallow this silent suffering?
At that moment, in that second.
Qu Jiangnan: "Ahem, Jingyu, actually, I saved him out of consideration for you and your husband. He was young and ignorant back then."
Xiao Jin: "Classmate Xie, why bother? Who doesn't have a few admirers when they're young? As for him spouting nonsense, this alcohol is truly a menace. Once drunk, one can do anything."
Xiao Mieluo: "The food is getting cold. Let's eat first."
He couldn't let the entire army of the Five Prefectures get drawn into Zhao Ritian's spectacle.
So Xiao Jin was actually Xie Jingyu's classmate?
True, these top nobles all moved in the same circles. But Xie Jingyu had clearly been "sold out" by her best friend and classmate. So, she laughed in exasperation and raised her hand towards A'Diao.
"No second word, is it? Then you just..."
A'Diao's knees buckled, and she knelt with a thud.
"Sister-in-law, I was wrong! I'll never dare to do it again!"
Xie Jingyu's hand was raised, but she found it difficult to bring it down.
Because the other party had knelt too quickly, too perfectly.
She instinctively tried to dodge but failed.
Originally, she couldn't have killed this person on the spot anyway, because the other party hadn't substantially harmed the Zhao Clan's interests, and all the nonsense spoken about herself hadn't named names. She was just furious that this person had dragged her into this mess with a mix of truths and falsehoods, and she was determined to force out their true identity no matter what.
Who would have thought!
This person acted so convincingly, and Qu Jiangnan and the others actually played along.
And A'Diao, kneeling perfectly, continued, "Actually, I'd already come to terms with it over these years. Childhood matters can't be taken seriously. A while ago, I was even able to let go of you, Sister-in-law, because I fell in love with someone else. He was a woman disguised as a man, devastatingly beautiful. The first time I saw him, I thought: how can there be such an extraordinarily stunning woman in this world."
"Sister-in-law, you won't blame me, will you?"
She blushed, looking shy, and secretly glanced at a certain spot before continuing to kneel with her head down.
The person she glanced at felt their hair stand on end.
After all, everyone present was a cultivator, incredibly perceptive; swish, they all looked over.
Han Zhuo: "!!!"
Damn you, Zhao Ritian! I'll fight you to the death!
Elder Han desperately held down his hand, while inwardly collapsing: "Big Brother Zhao, Young Master Zhao, I beg you, please spare our Young Marquis! He's not even married yet!!!"
Later, everyone continued with the banquet as before, but the key individuals involved went into an inner room. No one knew what they discussed.
In any case, Eldest Young Master Zhao was left alone in one room, while the others were in the next room, and it was unknown what they said.
Being alone was good; being alone helped her wipe her sweat.
Toilet: "You crashed and burned, didn't you? Happy? Exciting?"
A'Diao retorted stubbornly, "Did I? Believe it or not, I did a drift and straightened things out again."
Toilet: "Pah!"
Look at you, scared out of your wits. It originally wanted to say that Xiao Mieluo had seen her true form, but seeing A'Diao in this wretched state, it decided against it.
"Hey, do you think this Xie Jingyu will let you off?"
A'Diao: "Huh? She wasn't going to do anything to me in the first place. Did you really think she would kill me?"
Toilet: "?"
Originally, A'Diao could have directly said it was a misunderstanding and shed the "Zhao Ritian" persona. After all, no matter how wildly she had bluffed in the past, she had only vaguely hinted at her background and never openly specified the Zhao Clan of Taihang Mountain. The only one who knew was Han Zhuo, but would he dare to speak up? No, it wouldn't benefit him, and crucially, he had no proof—A'Diao had stripped him of all his equipment at the time, so it was impossible for him to have any video recordings. Plus, A'Diao had saved him. Han Zhuo's morals were decent, at least higher than A'Diao's, so he wouldn't say anything, just feel aggrieved internally.
But A'Diao chose to tough it out and preserve this persona. Why?
First, she hadn't yet secured the benefits from the Xiao siblings' side, nor had she obtained the power she coveted. This persona couldn't collapse.
Second, she realized that the Xiao siblings had long since found out through Qu Jiangnan that Xie Jingyu was coming. Xiao Jin's confidence in dealing with this invasion incident stemmed from this—even if the Cult Leader and the Snow Demon King successfully advanced, Xie Jingyu was on her way. Two Star Rank cultivators could easily annihilate them, resolving the crisis. However, this also brought a hidden danger: Xie Jingyu had the Zhao Clan and her own family backing her. Such a super-powerful force based in Kyoto should best not openly and rashly form clear alliances with regional warlords and military powers. Originally, Xie Jingyu came via Qu Jiangnan, partly to help Qu Jiangnan conclude matters, and partly to form a secret alliance with the Xiao siblings. But this would easily push Qu Jiangnan into the spotlight in Kyoto, which was disadvantageous for her. Therefore, upon discovering the "bug" that was Zhao Ritian, Xie Jingyu immediately seized the opportunity.
True chess players value tacit understanding, so they actually needed her, this fake Zhao Ritian.
"Kill me? Didn't you notice that Xie Jingyu hasn't contributed a single bit of Mental Power to me from beginning to end? This person's mental state barely fluctuated, indicating she didn't take this seriously. Perhaps she had already weighed the pros and cons before choosing to act out, and Qu Jiangnan and the Xiao siblings all tacitly cooperated."
"They might have already settled this matter next door."
A'Diao wiped off her cold sweat, let out a breath, and thought to herself that these top-tier super-geniuses were indeed no pushovers.
Luckily, she reacted quickly.
As for next door, there was indeed no argument now. Xie Jingyu was also drinking tea, looking at the Xiao siblings and said lightly, "Can I suspect that this Zhao Ritian is a hidden piece arranged by you? Although it's quite ingenious, it's rather despicable. Xiao Jin, you're the best at wordplay; I fear you deliberately damaged my reputation."
This was pinning the blame on me.
Xiao Jin had schemed many people to their deaths, but today she was truly wronged. "This really isn't it. You can't wrong an old, seriously ill classmate like this, can you?"
Xie Jingyu ignored her and turned to Qu Jiangnan, saying, "It would be good if you were half as black-hearted as her."
Qu Jiangnan: "That's a bit too difficult."
Xiao Jin: "..."
So the blame really was pinned on me. This Qu Jiangnan is also quite interesting, acting as if she's deliberately covering for that Zhao Ritian. Do they know each other?
Xiao Jin's mind worked quickly. She didn't reveal her probing, just smiled and drank her tea. Xiao Mieluo didn't rashly interject into the three women's conversation, nor did he mention that he had seen A'Diao's true appearance.
He only spoke at the end: "Let's decide how to handle this now."
Xie Jingyu chuckled lightly. "How to handle it? Didn't you already find out that my husband's younger brother went missing long ago? He's most likely dead. As long as my husband's family doesn't object, I have no opinion on this matter."
After a pause, she looked at Xiao Mieluo. "You know Zhao Yi. Just discuss it with him. Besides, you all know that my marriage into the Zhao Clan was merely a matter of expediency."
The secrets involved in this so-called "matter of expediency" made even the Xiao siblings quite wary, and they didn't bring it up again.
That was a top-level political maneuver from before the resurgence of spiritual energy, naturally intended to deal with various situations anticipated with said resurgence. Looking at it now... it was fortunate that the Xie Clan took this step early.
At least, far luckier than the Qu sisters.
The Xie Clan of Chen Commandery, one of the three most powerful non-imperial ruling families of Tang Song, plus the Daoist Zhao Clan of Taihang Mountain—this was a preemptive move that many had not anticipated.
"The situation is getting worse and worse. Everyone, take care of yourselves."
Xiao Mieluo had no intention of spending too much time with these women. Now that a tacit understanding had been reached today, there was no need to discuss things too deeply.
Then came the question: who would go talk to this super persona king, Zhao Ritian?
Xie Jingyu: "My self-restraint isn't good enough. If no one else is around, I might just beat her to death. You guys do it."
She got angry just thinking about all the nonsense this rascal had spouted when she wasn't in the Southern Sea Region.
As the pearl among the son and daughter of the King of Chen Commandery, bestowed the title Princess Yongjia at birth, her status was more esteemed than that of ordinary princesses. Even imperial princes had to be polite to her. When had she ever suffered such a huge loss?
After speaking, she glanced sideways at Qu Jiangnan. She hadn't overlooked how this seemingly detached best friend of hers was protective of this person.
Qu Jiangnan, however, showed no weakness. "Thank you all for your help today. I'll have to trouble you with the wrap-up as well. An ordinary teacher like me can't handle such a situation."
Heh!
Xiao Jin: "Let me do it. Actually, I have a brilliant idea. Anyway, I'm of age, and those people in Kyoto might try to instigate an arranged marriage for me to drive a wedge between me and my brother. Although my legs are crippled, I still look decent, which isn't very safe. I can't possibly disfigure myself, right? So, I need a husband."
"How about..."
Xiao Mieluo: "No."
He didn't say it, and even Xiao Jin didn't say it. They held to the principle that regardless of this Zhao Ritian's true identity, she had rendered great service to his Xiao Clan. Xiao Mieluo could play power games, but he felt it was unseemly to try and uncover a young girl's identity behind her back; it was not honorable.
Qu Jiangnan: "Absolutely not!"
She didn't say it because she truly couldn't!
Both spoke out at the same time. Xiao Jin and Xie Jingyu stared at them, chuckling coldly, but didn't expose anything.
Hiding it, are you? So only the two of you are clever? You think we won't be able to find out in the future?
Even if this Zhao Ritian wore 999 personas, they would have to strip them all off eventually to see what kind of person she really was.
A'Diao next door was already munching on a cucumber, complaining as she ate: "Has this darn place cooled down? Why is it a bit cold? Haven't they finished discussing next door yet? Damn it, they're not playing mahjong behind my back, are they?"
Half an hour later, Xie Jingyu received Zhao Yi's response.
She looked at his simple yet profound reply, lost in thought. Regarding the matter of the Zhao family's younger brother, she only knew that he had gone missing at a young age; she hadn't asked much else.
It was a marriage of expediency from the start; neither she nor Zhao Yi had any intention of delving deep into each other's family secrets.
Now it seemed there truly were secrets.
Zhao Yi had said this: "Little brother went out and has been missing for many years. Although the family hasn't mentioned it for years, we actually miss him greatly. Now that he has been found, it is naturally a joyous occasion of immense proportions. We should welcome him."
Xie Jingyu relayed this news to the others. Xiao Jin lowered her eyes, thinking: The real Zhao Ritian is probably already dead, and news of his death cannot be mentioned. The Zhao Clan needs a new Zhao Ritian to take his place, but the maneuverability is very subtle—using emotions like "missing him greatly" as a roundabout way. If something happens to this fake Zhao Ritian, they can use his impersonation to control the situation, or they can distance themselves by claiming they were too overcome with longing and misjudged. But at least, the Zhao Clan should have now investigated all of this Zhao Ritian's actions in the Southern Sea Region, assessed this person's abilities, character, and even strength, and approved of him. So, they have temporarily acknowledged him.
After a while, Xiao Mieluo opened the door. The three women and one man all saw Zhao Ritian, who had eaten a pile of snacks and was still using an optical computer to binge-watch a trashy drama.
In the drama, a man was hugging a mistress in sexy lace pajamas from behind, saying to her, "Compared to that hag at home, I just love how proper, steady, and understanding you are."
Then he took off her underwear.
The four, including Xiao Mieluo: "..."
From Xiao Mieluo +1333333!
From Qu Jiangnan +888888!
From Xiao Jin +777777!
From Xie Jingyu +1314748!
A'Diao: "?"
What's up? The uncle-sister-in-law literature didn't generate any Mental Power, but watching a trashy drama made Her Highness the Princess lose her composure?
Qu Jiangnan lowered her eyes, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
She had seen this style of underwear before. Xie Jingyu owned a set; it was a limited edition.
But she probably wouldn't wear it again in the future.
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