Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 450 The matter of finding a solution will be left to the older sister.
Yuan Muyu was unconscious for only a short time, and woke up only half an hour later.

When she opened her eyes, Long Qinghuang was no longer there. She had long since happily returned to the palace to rest and prepare for childbirth. She was too lazy to even pay attention to Shen Tang, let alone a dead fish.

I had wanted to meet this person whom Lu Xingzhou mentioned in his letter as "the first time I stood up was because of Shen Tang." Such an important figure, I couldn't wait to travel a thousand miles to welcome him. After meeting him, my impression was indeed very good. I felt that he was worthy of Xingzhou's respect and affection, and was a formidable enemy.

But nothing matters now. She's just a mere human princess. Who cares about this or that? Do you even have a little dragon?
She's still a newbie, that's hilarious, why bother with her?

As for that King Yama… Long Qinghuang felt that the attack had been carried out sufficiently, and there was no need to pursue it relentlessly. Ultimately, it was Xingzhou's own entanglement; there was a debt of gratitude for saving his life, the kindness of raising him, and the virtue of teaching him skills—this was no joke. Whether the debts had been repaid or not, and who owed whom, was difficult for outsiders to say; it depended on what the parties involved thought.

If we rashly overstep our bounds and launch a campaign that goes too far, it might not be a good thing if it leads to serious consequences. We should stop here once we've had enough.

Shen Tang thought so too.

When Yuan Muyu woke up, Shen Tang was sitting beside her reading. As soon as she opened her eyes, Shen Tang noticed and asked without looking up, "Awake?"

Yuan Muyu silently examined her internal organs and found that her internal injuries had stabilized considerably. It was likely that the witch doctors had treated her, drawing out her blood clots and administering medicine.

She asked in a low voice, "How long was I unconscious?"

"Less than half an hour." Shen Tang said coldly.

Where is Long Qinghuang?

"gone back."

Yuan Muyu sensed something was off about her attitude… Shen Tang’s attitude towards her hadn’t been particularly good before; it was just normal politeness and an attempt to get along, but at least she had shown the care and protection that should be shown between “sisters,” which was impeccable. But now, even though she had just woken up from her coma, she was being indifferent and her tone was very perfunctory.

She thought Shen Tang was in a bad mood because of Long Qinghuang's pregnancy, so she said, "You... don't need to worry too much. Dragons take a long time to give birth. Maybe you can even give birth before her?"

"I have to say it... Although I'm very annoyed, it would be very low to deliberately try to be first in this kind of thing." Shen Tang said calmly, "Xingzhou wouldn't want his wife to be a vulgar woman who only knows how to fight over such things."

Yuan Muyu pursed her lips and said nothing.

Shen Tang asked, "Then what about you? Long Qinghuang is pregnant, so why did you vomit blood and faint from the shock?"

Yuan Muyu was stunned for a moment: "I...of course I also..."

"Are you just as annoyed and jealous as I am?"

"Um……"

"Is it so infuriating and jealous that it's so hard to talk about? She's vomiting blood and unconscious; everyone knows the reason. Why is she still hesitant and unable to say it?"

Yuan Muyu was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Perhaps it's because I'm not as willing as you to admit the negative aspects of my heart."

Shen Tang finally put down his book, turned to look at her, and said, "I don't think this is a negative thing... It's normal to feel jealous and resentful about such things because you love him. As long as you don't let jealousy cloud your judgment, it's fine. If you don't even have this much jealousy, then you're either not normal or you don't love him."

Yuan Muyu nodded and said, "You're right."

"So you can't say it not because you're afraid to admit your jealousy, but because you don't want to admit that you love him. Is that right, Lord Yama?"

Yuan Muyu, who had been leaning against the headboard, suddenly sat up straight.

Shen Tang's gaze returned to the book, and she casually turned a page: "Love leads to expulsion, jealousy leads to self-harm. Without even the courage to face one's own love and hate, it is truly surprising that my sister-in-law was able to break through Huiyang."

"When did you know that?"

"just."

"Long Qinghuang did recognize me after all... She said those things on purpose."

"Does it matter whether it was intentional or not?" Shen Tang said calmly. "Wasn't what you said wrong?"

Yuan Muyu remained silent for a moment.

“Perhaps my sister felt something was wrong, and she subconsciously argued ‘no’ just now. But why did she change her mind and admit it?” Shen Tang smiled and said, “Is it because my sister realized that when she only considers things from her own perspective, things don’t seem to be the same, but once she puts herself in the shoes of an outsider like us, then it is.”

Yuan Muyu finally stood up for once: "Yes."

"So, in the end, my sister also thought we should demand an explanation from King Yama?"

Yuan Muyu did not answer; how could he possibly reply to that?

Not answering is tantamount to answering, Shen Tang said calmly, "Since that's the case... then we'll leave this matter to my sister to seek."

After saying that, she stood up and left the room: "It is my duty as a sister-in-law to help my sister recover. Now that my sister has woken up, there is nothing more to say between us. Farewell."

Yuan Muyu subconsciously asked, "Where are you going?"

Shen Tang kept walking: "Back to Beijing."

"Don't be impulsive," Yuan Muyu said. "There's something turbulent going on in the capital. Your appearance could cause unforeseen changes. You're not strong enough right now, and it wouldn't be a good thing to attract Gu Zhanting's attention rashly."

Shen Tang finally stopped and turned around, her expression serious: "Will sailing be dangerous?"

“He’s the one plotting against others; the danger is unpredictable.” Yuan Muyu slowly got off the ground: “Don’t waste the foundation he laid for you. Reach the first rank as soon as possible; that will be better than anything else… I’m going to the capital.”

Shen Tang looked at Yuan Muyu with some curiosity, but ultimately said nothing.

…………

When the Demon King met the King, it was in the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty. Huo Heng, the third son of the Huo family, hired someone to assassinate Huo Jin, the fifth son, who was in prison. He was punished by family law afterward, but he couldn't withstand the punishment and was beaten to death. This dramatic news spread throughout the city, and the gentlemen of the capital were stunned by this.

When I went to investigate what was happening in the prison, I found out that one of the inmates and his entire family had fled overnight and no one knew where they went.

The rumors that the others in the prison heard were indeed that "Third Master Huo does not want Fifth Master to come out."

If you don't investigate further, that's really how it seems on the surface.

Those who suspected Lu Xingzhou investigated and found that at the time of the incident, Lu Xingzhou was beating Huo Qi in the Demon Suppression Division prison, and the two prisons were quite far apart. At least his alibi was sufficient.

Most importantly, neither Grand Tutor Huo nor Marquis Huo commented on the rumor. The entire Huo family remained silent, focusing solely on preparing for the funeral, seemingly acknowledging the rumors.

This is getting interesting... Even if you accidentally killed your son while disciplining him, it's still a crime. Huo Heng is an official, and we don't know how this will be handled. Gu Zhanting must be having a major headache in the palace. It's surprising that Huo's political enemies, like Pei Qingyan, didn't take advantage of the situation; they seem to be watching with amusement.

The whole city is watching with amusement.

Of all the men in the Huo family, only Huo Qi, who was stripped of his skills and exiled, is still alive.

Oh, and there's also a land-based boat...

In the past two days, he has repeatedly referred to himself as "also a member of the Huo family" on various occasions. Although he refused to call his grandfather and father "grandfather" and still referred to them as "Grand Tutor" and "Lord Marquis", his willingness to inherit the family business is already obvious.

Amidst this turmoil, Gu Zhanting summoned Lu Xingzhou.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." Lu Xingzhou bowed in greeting.

This was the first time he had been summoned to the Imperial Study, and also the first time he had met privately with the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, who was about to become his father-in-law.

Gu Zhanting stared at him for a long time, his eyes filled with admiration and complex emotions. He sighed softly, "Has your revenge been enough?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "The revenge for Huo Shang's death is complete."

The unspoken message was that the hatred for the massacre of his family was not yet over, but unfortunately, no one would understand. Gu Zhanting sighed, "I had a good impression of you before, thinking you knew your limits and didn't try to mediate earlier. Now that things have come to this, it's gone too far, but it's too late."

Lu Xingzhou said, "It's not too late."

At least with your mediation, it will be even more of a headache for Old Man Huo to deal with me.

Gu Zhanting didn't understand the implication: "At least you're the only one left, right?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "Yes."

Gu Zhanting leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest: "The final exam of the Dan Academy is coming up soon. I heard that you and Lu Nuonuo both want to skip the annual assessment and go straight to the final exam?"

"Yes."

"confident?"

"It should be fine."

"Okay, if you pass the assessment and graduate successfully, you should go back to Xiazhou and get married to Yitang."

Lu Xingzhou was stunned. He hadn't expected that Lao Deng would actually reveal Shen Tang's original name so bluntly in front of him, completely exposing the conversation.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou in a daze, Gu Zhanting smiled and said, "I've always known that you and Yitang are in love. You went to the Dan Academy to gain this prestige, making it easier to marry her, didn't you?"

Lu Xingzhou nodded: "Yes. Although part of it was for my own alchemy studies, the main purpose was indeed to be worthy of Tangtang. The original plan was to successfully enter the Emperor's Hall and then find an opportunity to ask His Majesty for her hand in marriage. Now that the time has been brought forward, the initial goal has been achieved overall... I also want to thank His Majesty for granting my request."

"I am willing to grant your request, but I never imagined you would dare to use this opportunity to arrange a marriage between the Pei and Sheng families." Gu Zhanting's expression darkened: "Lu Xingzhou, do you know what you are doing?"

Lu Xingzhou was silent.

He didn't quite see the emperor's complex and contradictory psychology at first, but now he can see it to some extent.

I feel a little love and guilt towards my daughter, but not much.

His willingness to marry Shen Tang to Lu Xingzhou was indeed partly to fulfill his daughter's wishes, and also because he recognized that Lu Xingzhou's abilities were excellent enough to match hers. In this respect alone, it was for his daughter's good.

However, the court did not recognize Shen Tang's identity, leading to a series of changes.

Of course, the blame lies half with Gu Zhanting and half with Lu Xingzhou's womanizing and greed; neither of them can really accuse the other. In short, what could have been a harmonious relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law has now begun to crumble.

The Pei and Sheng families are actually quite alright. Marriage doesn't necessarily mean a complete merging of their power. Otherwise, the Pei family would have had countless in-laws throughout history. At most, Lu Xingzhou didn't give the royal family any face by marrying a princess and openly establishing a harem... But that's alright. As long as you're outstanding enough, you can still make the emperor hold his nose.

The one who truly collapsed was Ye Tinglan, as this was an irreconcilable conflict between the father-in-law and son-in-law.

So, is there some other ulterior motive behind Gu Zhanting asking him to go back and get married as soon as possible?

As expected, seeing Lu Xingzhou remain silent, Gu Zhanting still added, "Ye Zhuoyu is not found, so it could be anyone?"

Lu Xingzhou instantly understood his meaning, inwardly sneering, but outwardly respectfully replying, "Your subject understands."

You want me to give up on Mr. Ye... Since you can marry anyone, you can naturally marry anyone else, as long as it's not Ye Tinglan.

But since it can be anyone, it can also be Ye Tinglan.

Gu Zhanting stared at Lu Xingzhou for a long time before slowly saying, "Huo Qi has been exiled, and the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is temporarily vacant. If you make achievements in the Ministry of Revenue, you may be able to become the youngest Vice Minister in the Great Qian Dynasty. As for the Huo family, let's leave it at that."

(End of this chapter)