Henyee Translations Henyee Translations

Priest Wu found it unbelievable.

That was impossible. This was his first time seeing this Whistling Vase… There was no way that he would have let other people have it if he had seen it first.

Grand Secretary Fang didn’t say anything, but only gave Master Bian a sidelong glance.

Master Bian’s mind went blank —

Priest Wu also shifted his gaze to Master Bian.

“Master —” Master Bian drained of all color. “Actually… actually…”

“Speak!” Priest Wu bellowed, his eyes glinting coldly.

He was short-tempered to begin with, and this only set him off. “What have you been keeping from me? Speak!”

“Well —” said Master Bian. “Actually, it was a young lady who sold off this Whistling Vase.”

“And you were there?” Priest Wu’s face darkened a little.

“Yes —” Master Bian nodded gingerly.

“You idiot!” Priest Wu smacked Master Bian on the back of his head. “Why didn’t you buy the vase yourself? That was it. Grand Secretary Fang bought it before you could, right?!”

More cold sweat trickled down Master Bian’s forehead.

“A- actually…” Master Bian was almost in tears, but he had no choice but to tell the truth, for Grand Secretary Fang was right here.

Word on the street was that Priest Wu had once set up Grand Secretary Fang, and the latter was probably doing this on purpose!

“Master… how about we talk about it after we get back…” Master Bian suggested.

However, Priest Wu smacked him on his head again. “We’re not going anywhere! Tell me what happened, now!”

Priest Wu was known for his short temper.

Master Bian couldn’t stall any longer and said disconsolately, “The young lady… sold that vase to me at first…”

“What?!”

Priest Wu almost jumped to his feet!

He stared at Master Bian. “What happened? Tell me everything! What do you mean she sold it to you at first?”

Despite his reluctance, Master Bian had no choice but to tell Priest Wu everything that had taken place at Elegant Ink Gallery.

Priest Wu said, “So, she was able to recognize a fake piece with one glance and effortlessly set up a formation as advanced as a mind-calming formation… How come I’ve never heard of such a talented person in the imperial capital?”

Seeing that Priest Wu’s attention had shifted to the girl, Master Bian said in a hurry, “That’s right. She was from the imperial capital and she was so young. That was why I didn’t recognize her work.”

Priest Wu glared at Master Bian. “If that girl sold you the vase, why didn’t you bring it back to me?”

“Well…” Master Bian wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. “Because… Grand Secretary Fang bought it from me.”

“Old Fang, you forced him to sell it to you, didn’t you?!” Priest Wu was very upset!

That Whistling Vase should have been his! That girl with the unmatched talent had specifically said that it was for him!

“I forced him? Heh —” Grand Secretary Fang snorted. “There was no need for that. Your pupil here was so ignorant that he willingly sold the vase to me at the original price.”

“You!” Priest Wu was so furious that he wanted to beat Master Bian up!

As a matter of fact, that was exactly what he did.

Grabbing his walking stick, he struck Master Bian with it repeatedly.

“You imbecile! You idiot! One day, you’ll give me a heart attack! This Whistling Vase should have been mine! That girl asked you to bring it to me! How could you be so dumb?!!!”

Priest Wu was so pissed, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Master Bian ran around the room in circles to dodge the walking stick. “Master, Master… I’m so sorry… Please forgive me…”

“You imbecile! I’m gonna kill you —” Priest Wu was relentless with his strikes.

What was worse, Grand Secretary Fang watched everything with a smile on his face. He would rub his chin every now and then — it was clear that he was enjoying this.

The corner of Xuan Yi’s mouth twitched.

His grandfather was so… Wasn’t he supposed to be a valuable asset of the empire? How could he be this… childish?

It was said that as one got older, they became more and more like a child. That was so true. His grandfather still held a grudge over some petty conflict that had happened decades ago.

For his “revenge,” General Secretary Fang had invited Priest Wu here to savor this Whistling Vase today just so that he could watch the latter beat up his pupil in vexation.

It was such a childish thing to do… Xuan Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

On the other side, Priest Wu, who was rather agile for his age, was still running after his pupil with the walking stick. “You idiot! Stop running! Do you have any idea how precious that Whistling Vase is? Do you know how wonderfully designed that formation is? A formation like that is so hard to come by! You idiot! You sold it just like that… She specifically mentioned my name, but you still sold it! Ahhh! I’m so pissed!”

Xuan Yi watched in resignation. He then said to Grand Secretary Fang, “Grandpa, you’re going to get Master Bian killed.”

Grand Secretary Fang said proudly, “He’s a lousy person. He picked on that girl, and I’m only taking revenge for her. What’s wrong with that?”

He could make as many excuses as he wanted, but Xuan Yi knew that the old man was doing it to get back at Priest Wu for that petty incident years and years ago.

Xuan Yi was speechless. He then turned to General Secretary Fang. “Grandpa, this girl you mentioned, is she really that good?”

“Of course! If I hadn’t seen her put the Whistling Vase back together with my own eyes, I would never have believed that a teenage girl could set up such a complicated formation in a split second!”

Seeing how highly Grand Secretary Fang spoke of the girl, Xuan Yi was intrigued. “Who is this girl?”

Grand Secretary Fang threw a dirty look at Xuan Yi. “You can’t call her ‘a girl’ just because I address her that way. You know what? She’s about the same level as me in terms of her formation skills. That makes her equivalent to your grandaunt!”

“Pfft —” Xuan Yi almost choked on his tea.

Him? Call a teenage girl “grandaunt”?

He didn’t know what to say, but that description only made him more curious. “Grandpa, exactly who is she?”

He hadn’t thought much of it, but after everything his grandfather said, he was very curious now.

Grand Secretary Fang was a little vexed at that question. He hadn’t expected to find such a profound formation in the vase, and only thought that it was more advanced than other ordinary ones. Hence, he hadn’t asked his old steward to follow the girl.

“Sigh —” Grand Secretary Fang heaved a sigh. “I wish I knew who she is. But I have some leads; I’m sure I can find her.”

At the same time.

Outside the manor.

Feng Wu didn’t leave after handing in the answer, and the two girls relaxed in the cool shade of a palm tree.

The man in charge of the household affairs of the Fang manor, aka Steward Fang, hadn’t come back out.

Chaoge asked Feng Wu, “Xiao Wu, why hasn’t that steward come out? It’s been fifteen minutes. Grand Secretary Fang should have seen the paper by now.”