Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 284 Princess VS Imperial Advisor
Just as they were about to arrive at Danxia Mountain, Ye Tinglan remembered to perform a certain action.

She put away her imperial carriage and replaced it with a small boat.

That was the car he used to blackmail Shen Tang. He only used it once during the blackmail and never used it again afterward because he disliked it.

Now she's returning, bringing her little boat and her little boat with her.

Then, bracing against the protective sword formation, he charged directly into Lingquan Mountain.

With a steamed bun stuffed in her mouth, Ah Nuo watched in horror as the small boat swayed and lurched downstream, nearly choking to death.

"Anuo!" Lu Xingzhou jumped off the boat, picked up Anuo, and kissed her face several times: "Did you miss your master?"

Ah Nuo swallowed the steamed bun with all her might, then reached out to pinch Lu Xingzhou's face: "Let me see if this master is an imposter."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "How is that an act?"

"My master is such a lecher, wouldn't the first thing he do upon returning be to look for his mistress? Why would he even think of me?"

"Hey you little brat, you've lost all your conscience."

"I won't listen, Master is chanting sutras. I don't know who valued lust over their disciple, leaving their disciple to be taken away by Uncle Ji so they could have some fun with the master."

"Uh... well, the place where we escaped was far away, and things were urgent, so it wasn't convenient to go back to find people..." Lu Xingzhou explained, his voice a little weak. Actually, he could have gone back to find Anuo back then, but he mainly trusted Ji Wenchuan. In the past, it was common for Ji Wenchuan to take care of Anuo when he was working.

That wasn't because she wanted to walk away alone with her husband; Ah Nuo was always the best at making friends.

"I don't care." A'nuo stretched out her chubby little hand: "What about compensation?"

Lu Xingzhou immediately took out a bottle of Xuan Snake Blood: "Let's use this to experiment and study your previous experience of getting sick from touching demon blood, and see if we can completely cure this disease."

Ye Tinglan was stunned. When Lu Xingzhou collected the Xuan Snake blood, she thought it was for research on the aphrodisiac, but it turned out it was for Anuo.

She didn't know that Anuo had this disease... So, according to that logic, the blood from that strange beast should also be relevant to Anuo's condition, but that level was too high. It would be a good choice to start by using the Xuan Snake blood to gradually study it.

Ah Nuo carefully put away the bottle, and asked again as if to confirm, "Master, you collected this thing just for me, and not to research aphrodisiacs, right?"

Lu Xingzhou replied with a straight face, "Of course not."

Ah Nuo said, "Then you must only have this one bottle, right?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Ye Tinglan turned her head away.

Of course, there was more than just this one bottle; he kept several others.

Ah Nuo's eyes turned contemptuous and disgusted: "So Master will definitely help me research it personally, right?"

Lu Xingzhou immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Of course."

"So what am I supposed to do with this? Master can use it to help me study it." A'nuo shoved the bottle back at me. "Now where's my gift?"

Lu Xingzhou was dumbfounded.

That's really not the case.

With a thought racing through his mind, he took out another jade talisman and secretly imprinted his divine sense on it as he took it out: "This is a communication jade talisman. Master can call you through this... Hmm, you saw it in the Yama Palace before, it's that kind of thing."

Anuo's tense little face finally broke into a smile: "This is more like it."

Ye Tinglan tilted her head even further to the side. That jade talisman was clearly meant for Lu Xingzhou. This guy knew they would be going to the Tianyao Holy Land to imprint the great array later, so he had a new communication jade talisman... and just threw the original one, which he had borrowed, at his disciple.

Shameless! How could I possibly be interested in this man?

Lu Xingzhou finally managed to coax the little dumpling, and Shen Tang came zipping over in her wheelchair, saying from afar, "I knew it was you coming back."

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "Our flying boat broke through the formation, and the sect didn't even react. Their defenses are inadequate."

“Because everyone recognizes that it’s my flying boat!” Shen Tang glanced at Ye Tinglan as if it were unintentional: “Just like everyone knows that you are my boat.”

Ye Tinglan: "..."

How did it become your boat, and why is your name written on it?

But the mighty Holy Lord didn't have the confidence to directly refute that statement. Just as he was pondering it, Lu Xingzhou stepped forward, bent down, kissed Shen Tang on the forehead, and said softly, "I'm back."

Ye Tinglan felt a surge of energy rush to her head, making her face turn red.

I've never experienced what this feels like before. Even when I saw those two messing around in a house in Danxia Mountain before I set off, I never felt this way about a gentle kiss right in front of me.

It was like swallowing a bomb.

"Lu Xingzhou!" Ye Tinglan gritted her teeth: "You... disciples of the Pill Academy are forbidden from dating! What are you doing!"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Shen Tang almost burst out laughing: "When did the Pill Academy start having such a rule?"

Ye Tinglan forcefully said, "I am the teacher, and you are the teacher. If I say it's true, then it's true! Also, does Sect Leader Shen's family know about his secret rendezvous with another man?"

Shen Tang's smile froze slightly. "You can't be serious, can you? If you really want to compete with me for his affections, then do it your way! You're not going to complain to Father Emperor, are you? That's too much!" Lu Xingzhou knew Ye Tinglan wouldn't do that, so he quickly smoothed things over: "Um, we're just following sect etiquette, formalities. Sir must be tired from his journey back. Tangtang, please arrange a guest room for him..."

Ye Tinglan gave him a resentful look.

And you even said that the change from "Madam" to "Sir" wasn't because you wanted to see Shen Tang? Look how smoothly you're calling him "Sir" now. Could you have called him "Madam" if I asked you to?
What a scumbag.

She forgot that Lu Xingzhou usually addressed her as "Mr." and "Madam" interchangeably, and she actually called him "Mr." far more often than "Madam." But normally, hearing her called him "Mr." never made her feel this annoyed; in fact, she was more used to hearing "Mr."

Shen Tang glanced at Ye Tinglan with a half-smile, then turned her wheelchair and walked towards the guest room next door: "This guest room has been kept since it was cleaned last time, just to wait for you, sir. Please come with me."

The old guest room was right next door, so there was no need for "follow me." Ye Tinglan tacitly knew that Shen Tang wanted to say a few words in private, so she followed him with a stern face.

Ah Nuo glanced at her master, while Lu Xingzhou pretended not to know and continued to play with Ah Nuo: "Come on, Master will tell you a different story."

Ah Nuo leaned on his shoulder, watching the two women walk into the house behind them, and sighed softly, "Master, you're really something."

Shen Tang led Ye Tinglan into the house, her shoulders slumped slightly: "Grand Preceptor, you can't do this..."

"What about me?" Ye Tinglan said coldly, "Did I complain to your father, or did I support the other princes in killing you?"

Shen Tang: "...If the Imperial Advisor would choose sides in the succession struggle because of something like this, that would be too..."

"What's wrong with you? If you look throughout history, have you ever seen anyone who actually supported their rival in love?"

"Does the Imperial Advisor really admit to liking boating?"

Ye Tinglan pursed her lips: "So what?"

Shen Tang was so frustrated... She originally felt that having a player of this caliber participate was bullying, but she also thought that it was unlikely that anything would develop between the two of them in a short time, so she was somewhat relieved. Unexpectedly, just two months later, this person was already openly trying to steal her man, and doing it so loudly.

You, the Holy Lord of Tianyao, a monk, have no shame?

She remained silent for a long time before saying in a low voice, "If the Imperial Advisor really wants to take it, I will not let him, even if it means losing his support or being targeted."

Ye Tinglan was stunned. There was no intention to snatch it in her words. Instead, it was the reaction of being caught red-handed by the person in charge.

But she hadn't expected Shen Tang to be so audacious. Throughout history, countless men had sacrificed their entire families for personal gain, yet Shen Tang openly refused even the support of the Imperial Advisor, just to maintain her status as a man. It was as if she was willing to give up the throne for the man.

Ye Tinglan couldn't help but feel a little emotional. No wonder Lu Xingzhou didn't even bother to pretend in front of her when he returned, and went straight to kiss Shen Tang. It was a genuine case of uncontrollable passion.

But since things had come to this point, she couldn't very well back down and say, "I didn't mean to compete with you," thus placing herself in the position of a mistress. So she coldly replied, "I would never resort to underhanded tactics. Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Shen Tang smiled with relief: "The Imperial Advisor is naturally very impartial. Hmm... Did the Imperial Advisor reveal his identity in front of him? How should I address him?"

It was revealed, yet not revealed.

After a long pause, Ye Tinglan could only say, "I haven't revealed my identity. You should still treat me as someone who doesn't know my background. I'm just a teacher at the Dan Academy."

Shen Tang smiled politely and said, "I understand."

He thought to himself, "They really know how to play the game." He thought, "If only I'd had another identity too. Is this what men like...?" Oh, right, back then, when he claimed to be the young master of the Shen Family Business, he was actually playing the dual role.

That being said, if you don't reveal your identity, it means you don't have a firm idea about your future with him. So why are you competing with me? Do you think you can steal a man with your superior strength?
Your threats might not even be as strong as Pei Chuyun's... Hmph.

The two women left the guest room with polite, but forced, smiles.

Lu Xingzhou was still holding A'nuo, standing there cautiously waiting, clearly worried that the two would quarrel. Seeing that they came out so quickly and he didn't hear any arguing, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Tangtang, is everything alright at your sect today? Hmm, how is the Dongjiang Gang's matter going?"

Shen Tang wheeled herself to the stone table, remained silent for a moment, and began to brew tea with her delicate hands.

The fragrant tea and the babbling brook calmed everyone's chaotic minds.

Shen Tang politely took a cup and presented it to Ye Tinglan with both hands, bowing her head and saying, "The gentleman who is traveling is my gentleman, Shen Tang's gentleman... Please have some tea, sir."

Ye Tinglan looked at the tea that was respectfully offered to her, unsure whether she should accept it.

This is not a concubine serving tea to the first wife.

Instead, she acted as the wife, offering tea to her husband's elders.

Once the tea was accepted, Shen Tang's identity was confirmed, and I was out of the game.

This kind of subtle and cunning palace intrigue is not taught in the Tianyao Holy Land. In this respect alone, top-tier skills can only be produced in the Imperial Palace and the Joyful Union Sect.

But Ye Tinglan's mind raced, and she finally accepted the cup. She gently brushed away the tea foam with the lid, blew on the tea with her red lips, and said leisurely, "Sect Leader Shen, you are too kind. My disciple is usually disrespectful to elders and teachers. He is disrespectful to the sect leader and teachers, and he especially likes to reverse the Heavenly Gang... Please forgive him, Sect Leader."

Ah Nu blinked, utterly astonished.

Mr. has evolved too...

This statement not only emphasized the hierarchical relationship between Shen Tang and him, but also stressed that his status as a "gentleman" was not an obstacle but rather an attraction for him. The final phrase, "please bear with me," was an expression of apology to his superior from a family-like perspective. This gesture, delivered with the air of a domineering wife, also signaled the start of an offensive.

As expected of the Heavenly Yao Holy Lord, who leads all others, palace intrigue is child's play compared to political maneuvering. She learns it incredibly quickly.

Even Shen Tang was stunned by these words, and after a long while, he sighed: "Since I have to take responsibility, where is the tea?"

(End of this chapter)