When the crowd left, peace and quiet reigned in the Yun matriarch’s quarters once more. All the bustle and excitement had moved to the main gates. All sorts of carriages had filled up the rather wide street in front of the manor, leaving only a small trail in the middle for walking civilians.

Yun Lan himself was standing by the front door welcoming guests. Suddenly, a male servant responsible for handling the carriages lowered his head and scampered through a side door. There, Housekeeper Wu was currently assigning servants to sort out the birthday gifts that the nobility had brought over. When he saw the servant passed by, he thundered, “Stop right there! What if you knock over a guest in your rush?!”

Only then did the servant raise his head, aggrieved. When he saw Housekeeper Wu walking over, he immediately began, “Housekeeper Wu, quick, report to the master that Elder Rong’s carriage is here. He’s unwilling to stop by the roadside and insists on having it driven all the way to our front door. When I said that that wasn’t possible, he slapped me!” The servant turned his head to let Housekeeper Wu see the swollen flesh in the shape of a palm imprinted on his face.

Luckily, Elder Rong hadn’t used any of his spiritual energy, or the servant would have died on the spot. Even stripped of his status and position, Elder Rong would still be fearful simply because of his bossy and domineering personality. Knowing how serious the matter was, Housekeeper Wu immediately sought out Yun Lan.

The smile that Yun Lan had plastered on his face for half the day finally vanished. He’d long since heard about what had happened at the flower-viewing party from Yun Ruoyao and the others, and had specially reached out to Yun Ruoyan as a result.

Yun Lan knew that Yun Ruoyan’s temper was getting fiercer and fiercer, and he wanted to take the opportunity to punish her and force her to curb herself, lest she stir up even more trouble for the family.

But what Yun Lan hadn’t anticipated was that Yun Ruoyan would be able to refute his accusations so cleanly that he was at a loss for words. It was something he could clearly remember even now. He’d told Yun Ruoyan to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment, but she had asked what she had done that was worth punishing.

Yun Lan criticized her actions as arrogant, extreme, and liable to cause enmity.

“In that case, Father, as a wife-born daughter of the Yun family, was I simply supposed to refuse Miss Rong’s challenge in front of the entire Li nobility?” Yun Ruoyan looked straight into her father’s eyes with no intention of backing down. “Rong Yuehong was trying to maim or kill me. When she attempted to overwhelm me with spiritual energy, I could only resist. In the end, not only was she unwilling to relent, she even tried to assassinate me with a high-grade concealed weapon after the fight! If not for the Slaughtering King’s assistance, I wouldn’t be here speaking to you today, Father.”

Yun Ruoyan’s head was erect, her slender body straight. Her hands were clenched into fists, her large, expressive eyes glistening with tears. She stared directly into Yun Lan’s eyes, refusing to cry. “Father, are you going to discard me the same way you did three years ago?”

When she said this, Yun Ruoyan’s lips curled up a little in a mocking smile. By the time Yun Lan noticed it and tried to scrutinize her expression carefully, it had vanished. What was left on Yun Ruoyan’s face was only regret and misery.

In the end, she had still found out about it. Probably from the Rong girl herself, Yun Lan thought.

Three years ago, Yun Lan was on the cusp of a promotion for which Rong Tianling was a deciding factor. If he were to offend Rong Tianling, his promotion would undoubtedly be barred.

At the time, Yun Ruoyan’s cultivation had been dropping sharply, and the birthmark on her face also seemed to be worsening. After discussing the matter with the Yun matriarch, Yun Lan decided to temporarily abandon Yun Ruoyan to suppress Rong Tianling’s anger.

After his promotion, depending on Yun Ruoyan’s situation, he would decide whether or not to bring her back to the academy. In the subsequent three years, however, Yun Ruoyan had only disappointed Yun Lan more and more. He was even considering whether to have one of his other daughters take her place in the family instead.

But, just recently, this second daughter that Yun Lan had almost forgotten about seemed to have morphed into a different person entirely. In terms of cultivation, appearance, and aura, she was incomparable to her past self.

Despite his excitement, Yun Lan had been suspicious of such radical changes, and had even had his own daughter investigated. Except for the fact that Yun Ruoyan headed to the Lin family quite often, she seemed no different from before.

From this, Yun Lan concluded that Lin Zainan must have given Yun Ruoyan a high-grade pill that had fundamentally changed her for the better. This certainly wasn’t anything bad for the Yun family, so he’d allowed Yun Ruoyan’s constant visits to the Lin family to continue.

“Master, what should we do?” The Rong family’s carriage is blocking the east entrance, so no one there can enter.” Old Wu drooped his head, waiting for his master to think of a solution.

Although Yun Lan had since received his promotion, the Rong family was still a force to be reckoned with in the Li kingdom, and he didn’t yet have the resources he needed to have a falling out with them without repercussions.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to Yun Feng, who was by his side. “Fourth brother, I’m going to head over to have a look, so please greet the guests in my place.”

The servant who had been slapped guided Yun Lan to the east entrance, where a large carriage drawn by five horses was firmly blocking the road. Quite a few carriages were lined up behind the larger one, but no one dared to complain.

Those who were in a hurry had already taken a detour to the other side of the road, but it was only noon. There were a considerable number of visitors still yet to come, and if everyone were to use the western entrance, then it would become blocked up as well.

“Elder Rong, my apologies for being unable to accommodate you,” Yun Lan shouted toward the carriage from afar. He’d infused spiritual energy into his voice, and his words were transmitted as clear as day.

The curtains to the carriage were lifted up, and Rong Tianling poked his head out. His brows were thick, his eyes like a tiger’s, his nose like an ox’s. He had a full beard that was perfectly trimmed, and he was dressed in royal purple with gold and blue highlights.

“Official Yun, isn’t this road a little too narrow?” Rong Tianling raised his eyebrows and mocked.

“My apologies, Elder Rong.” Yun Lan ignored Rong Tianling’s tone and walked up to his carriage, smiling gently. “Please leave the carriage and proceed on foot. I’ll pay a house visit to you soon and formally apologize then.”

Yun Lan was a stern man, but he would always have a disarming smile plastered on his face in court. That was the smile he now used: a seemingly gentle, welcoming smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Not long ago, Rong Tianling had sent some men to the Yun manor to condemn Yun Ruoyan’s involvement in the ruination of his daughter, but Yun Lan had refused to see them on account of work.

When Rong Tianling then went to the palace to complain, his sister, the empress, lashed out at him about failing to properly discipline his daughter. Even the emperor, who had always been respectful to him, had seemed lackadaisical and unenthused during his visit.

Unable to take out his anger on either of them, he had planned to make a big fuss about the matter today at the Yun manor.

Rong Tianling snorted. “I don’t mind getting off the carriage, but there’s someone else in here who can’t. What will you do about it?”

Rong Tianling drew the curtains fully and revealed an almost-skeletal girl sitting deep in the recesses of the carriage. As soon as Yun Lan saw her, he began to frown.

Her eyes were sunken, her skin yellow and waxy. She was thin and emaciated but draped in a lavish, ornate dress. Jewelry and ornaments were forcefully affixed to her patchy, clumped hair. She was a skeleton decked out in luxury, making a mockery of herself.

“Elder Rong, what’s the meaning of this?” Yun Lan finally stopped smiling. Today was the Yun matriarch’s eightieth birthday, a festive and momentous occasion—but Rong Tianling had brought this sickly, wretched girl with him and blocked the entrance to the Yun manor. No matter how skilled he was at hiding his emotions, this was a gesture of gross disrespect and ill fortune that couldn’t go unanswered.

Rong Tianling raised his voice and pointed at the sickly girl. “Don’t you recognize her, Official Yun? She’s my daughter, my obedient Yuehong!”

Yun Lan’s frown deepened. When he looked carefully at the husk of a girl, he finally saw a few traces of the Rong family’s eldest daughter, who had been as bossy and domineering as her father.

But how had her appearance deteriorated so?!

Rong Tianling laughed hatefully. “You see? The reason my daughter’s the way she is now is all because of your daughter, Yun Ruoyan! How could I have missed this opportunity to thank you and your daughter?”

After Rong Yuehong had been crippled by Li Mo, she had remained as bossy as ever. However, now that she had become powerless, the other scions of the Rong family began to stand up against her. One day, when Rong Yuehong slapped one of her obedient followers in anger, that girl who had never fought back actually slapped Rong Yuehong back.

How could Rong Yuehong take such humiliation? She rushed up intending to punish the offending party. In her anger, she had already forgotten that she was now crippled, whereas the other girl was still a fourth-rank blademaster.

Naturally, she was soundly defeated.

What made Rong Yuehong even more frustrated was that all her past followers and admirers were crowding around the battle, taunting and mocking the once-illustrious girl.

Like a poisoned needle, the laughter embedded itself in her brain, making her wish for death.

In the end, Rong Yuehong was dragged back home by her servants. She instructed them to find Rong Tianling: surely her father, who had always treated him like the jewel of his eye, would help her get revenge on them! But all she got was a scathing, icy-cold rebuke.

That day, Rong Tianling had been snubbed at the palace. When he returned home to see Rong Yuehong beaten to within an inch of her life, crying to him for help, he lost his temper. After giving his daughter a vicious scolding, he expelled her from the family academy.

Rong Yuehong sat dazed where her father had left her for half the day. When she finally came to her senses and realized that she had been expelled from the family academy, that she would soon become nothing more than a minor concubine, that all that awaited her was a life of taunting, mocking, and ridicule, her mind went blank.

That night, the eldest daughter of the Rongs committed suicide by poison. Fortunately or otherwise, however, one of her servants found her in time. Rong Yuehong’s life was saved, but her body had been ruined by the poison coursing through her body.

Suddenly, Rong Yuehong opened her tightly shut eyes. Her mouth was wide open as she made a few strange, gurgling sounds in her throat.

“Daughter, what do you want?” Rong Tianling immediately put his ear against her mouth, trying to understand her more clearly. Soon afterward, he raised his head again and looked toward Yun Lan. “I don’t mind getting off my carriage, but my daughter wants Yun Ruoyan to carry her to the manor!”