Volume 3, Chapter 288 – The Sound of Sobbing

An engagement was not the same as getting married immediately. It only meant that a wedding date would be set.

And even if it truly came down to the day Chi Xiyan walked out the door as a bride, storming in to take her away with an Eighth Realm cultivator’s power wasn’t out of the question either.

Back when she had been pursuing Song Shiyuan, Lu Zhuxin had noticed something.

Pursuing a Heaven-Mandated Female Lead had never been about forming some kind of physical connection with her. For these female leads, even marriage and consummation didn’t count as a successful pursuit.

What Lu Zhuxin needed was their hearts.

Take Song Shiyuan. Before Lu Zhuxin had successfully won her over, nothing had happened between them physically either.

Even the intimacy that came later had been entirely Song Shiyuan forcing the matter on her own.

After all, Lu Zhuxin had read plenty of those torment-filled romance novels before, the kind where the female lead ends up having to give herself to the villainous male lead for one reason or another, only to be subjected to all manner of suffering.

She had even read one novel where the female lead loved the first male lead, died in the arms of the second for the sake of the third, and was finally buried alongside the fourth.

Those authors of tragedy, just to wring out that wretched, doomed sense of fate, could dream up the most outrageous plots imaginable.

So what did any of that matter here?

Even if Chi Xiyan truly did marry Song Shixuan and consummate the union, for Lu Zhuxin, it really wouldn’t…

Oh, who was she kidding, it absolutely would matter!

This was a huge problem!

This was a harem power fantasy novel, not some masochistic torment romance.

One of the defining traits of a harem power fantasy was that the female leads came willingly, and every last one of them was pure, devoted, and faithful in love!

Real life was already hard enough. Nobody read a feel-good novel to encounter the same things that tormented them in reality.

An engagement banquet couldn’t represent the final outcome. That was true.

But it did represent Chi Xiyan’s stance.

If she had made a genuine, heartfelt decision to marry Song Shixuan, then given a Heaven-Mandated Female Lead’s unwavering loyalty in matters of the heart, pursuing her after that point would be hell-difficulty.

How infuriating. What a headache.

Lu Zhuxin watched Chi Xiyan’s retreating figure, a shadow settling over her expression.

Bu Lianshuang followed behind Lu Zhuxin, and watching her young lady’s back, her own expression was no brighter.

Three people walked the same path back, and not one of them said a word.

In the wordless silence, the atmosphere felt as though it had dropped to freezing.

Bu Lianshuang felt deeply uncomfortable.

She had noticed that since they left the study hall, the little fox lady’s gaze had never once left Chi Xiyan.

For as long as Bu Lianshuang had been watching the little fox lady, the little fox lady had been watching Chi Xiyan for just as long.

Bu Lianshuang didn’t understand how things had come to be this way.

Was the little fox lady sulking? Just because of Chi Xiyan’s engagement?

Did the little fox lady not want Chi Xiyan to get married?

But why?

The little fox lady had gotten close to Chi Xiyan to use her to get into the Chi residence, hadn’t she?

Could it be that what the little fox lady had said before wasn’t a joke? That she truly intended to take Chi Xiyan as a concubine?

But why?!

Bu Lianshuang clenched her fists tightly.

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She felt a faint, pressing heaviness in her chest.

She didn’t know why things had turned out this way. She didn’t know what frame of mind she was supposed to carry when it came to the little fox lady. She only knew that she felt miserable.

In this oppressive silence, some unknown amount of time passed.

Chi Xiyan stopped walking.

She turned around and looked at the two people behind her, her expression unreadable.

Lu Zhuxin had her head slightly lowered and said nothing.

Chi Xiyan looked at Bu Lianshuang. “Lan Shuang’er, you may return first.”

Bu Lianshuang froze where she stood.

Chi Xiyan wanted to send her away? She wanted to keep the little fox lady behind alone?

What was she planning to do?!

“Eldest Miss…” Bu Lianshuang worked her dry throat and forced the words out. “As Second Miss’s personal maid, I should be attending to her at all times.”

The coldness in Chi Xiyan’s gaze deepened by a few degrees. “I haven’t left this household yet. In this home, it would seem that it’s not yet Second Miss’s place to call the shots, is it?”

Bu Lianshuang heard the chill in Chi Xiyan’s words. “Eldest Miss, but I am Second Miss’s personal maid…”

At that moment, Lu Zhuxin spoke up and cut Bu Lianshuang off. “Shuang’er, go back first. Sister likely has something she wants to say to me privately.”

Bu Lianshuang grew urgent. “But, my lady…”

“Do as I say.” Lu Zhuxin’s voice was firm. “Are you going to stop listening to me now too?”

Bu Lianshuang’s expression stilled. She bit down hard on her lip, her eyes full of reluctance.

“I understand, my lady. Then I’ll go on ahead.”

Bu Lianshuang left. Only Lu Zhuxin and Chi Xiyan remained.

Lu Zhuxin lifted her head and looked at Chi Xiyan’s face, which held no expression at all. “What is it… Sister,” she said, unease creeping into her voice.

Chi Xiyan’s gaze grew slightly heavy. “I think that question should be coming from me.”

“I came to the courtyard to find you and discovered you were gone. I asked the guards and learned you had left with Lan Shuang’er.”

Lu Zhuxin glanced to the side. “Sister, I wanted to find someone at the study hall to teach me swordsmanship. I happened to run into Young Master Song…”

“If you wanted to find someone to teach you swordsmanship, then why did you go and pick a fight with Song…” Chi Xiyan paused, and then corrected herself, the word coming out stiff. “Why did you go and pick a fight with Song-lang?”

Song-lang.

So affectionate.

So warm.

Lu Zhuxin felt something sour stir in her chest.

‘So that’s what she came to say. It was for Song Shixuan’s sake all along.’

‘Her future husband got a little roughed up and now she’s upset?’

With those thoughts running through her mind, Lu Zhuxin put on the most aggrieved expression she could manage. “Sister, he is the Young Sect Master of Lingxiao Sword Sect. How would I dare go picking a fight with him…”

“Is that so?” Chi Xiyan said. “I think you dared just fine.”

“A martial artist’s advantage lies in physical strength. After suppressing cultivation to the Third Realm, it becomes very difficult to beat a sword cultivator with nimble footwork and refined technique.”

“Song-lang suddenly losing to Lan Shuang’er so completely, it’s obvious that Lan Shuang’er secretly drew on power beyond the Third Realm. Otherwise, even if he couldn’t win, there’s no way he would have lost that quickly.”

Tsk, tsk. Little Xiyan, you really are sharp.

What a shame. The conclusion is right, but every single step of the reasoning is wrong.

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Lu Zhuxin muttered silently to herself, then said aloud, “Sister, did you actually see the moment he lost?”

Chi Xiyan was quiet for a beat. She genuinely had not. The account of Song Shixuan losing to Lan Shuang’er had come to her secondhand.

“Shuang’er is a Fifth Realm martial artist. Only you and I know that.”

“If you hadn’t deliberately instructed her to, I can’t think of any reason Shuang’er would have done this on her own.”

Lu Zhuxin pressed her lips together. “Sister doesn’t trust me?”

“I very much want to trust you,” Chi Xiyan said.

A trace of wounded feeling crossed Lu Zhuxin’s expression. “Shuang’er had no reason to do this on her own. So why does Sister think I had a reason?”

“Sister, tell me. What reason could I possibly have for doing something like that?”

Chi Xiyan’s words faltered.

She drew her brows together.

A reason? What reason would Chi Muxue have for doing this?

Why would she go picking a fight with Song Shixuan?

Did that reason even need to be said out loud?

Because Song Shixuan is my fiance.

Chi Muxue, do you really think I’m a fool…

Chi Xiyan drew a slow, deep breath.

Even with a hundred tangled feelings swirling inside her, she knew a reason like that could never be spoken aloud.

No matter what, Chi Muxue was the Chi family’s Second Miss. Chi Xiyan had to consider the Chi family’s reputation.

That was as much for Chi Muxue’s sake as it was for her own.

“Stop making a scene.” Chi Xiyan said. “And stop playing dumb with me. You know better than anyone what I’m talking about.”

Lu Zhuxin’s eyes went wide. Her lips trembled faintly.

“Sister, I don’t understand…”

“In your heart, what kind of person do you think I am…”

Chi Xiyan cut her off. “That’s the line I should be saying!”

“It’s not about what I think of you! It’s about how you want me to treat you!”

“Muxue, from the day you came to this family, I have never done anything to wrong you. I have never once had a thought against you…”

“The only thing I have failed you in is that I couldn’t save your mother. But that was beyond anyone’s power…”

“Sister.” Lu Zhuxin shook her head. “Don’t say it like that… I have never blamed you for that…”

“Ha. Yes, you’ve never blamed me.” Chi Xiyan said. “And yet, if you’ve never blamed me, why do you treat me the way you do?”

“Chi Muxue, a person needs to have a bottom line!”

“Do you have any idea why I was so eager to announce the engagement?!”

Lu Zhuxin’s expression went blank. She stared at Chi Xiyan, momentarily at a loss.

Chi Xiyan’s brows were knitted. She breathed lightly, steadying her own emotions.

Perhaps what she had just said had come out a little too harsh.

But the words had already left her mouth. There was no taking them back.

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“Chi Muxue, I have no interest in knowing what you’re actually plotting in that head of yours.”

“I want you to remember that right now, you are only the Second Miss of this Chi family. The matters of this household are not yet yours to decide.”

“As your sister, whatever you want, I can find a way to get it for you. But I am begging you: stop meddling in my affairs.”

“Who I, Chi Xiyan, marry and who I spend my life with has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

On those words, Chi Xiyan turned away with finality.

She gave her sleeve a light brush and let out a quiet sigh.

“I’ve said all I have to say. I hope you’ll take care of yourself.”

Lu Zhuxin stood where she was. No movement. No sound.

She watched Chi Xiyan’s figure slowly recede into the distance.

Chi Xiyan’s words still played through her mind.

What had that girl actually meant?

Lu Zhuxin lowered her head and turned it over for a moment, her eyes flickering.

Then, all at once, she snapped her head back up and looked in the direction Chi Xiyan had gone.

Oh. So that was what she meant.

She had been remembering everything Lu Zhuxin had said to her before.

Some time ago, Lu Zhuxin had roundaboutly probed at Chi Xiyan’s feelings toward this marriage.

She had also hinted to Chi Xiyan that a woman ought to pursue her own happiness rather than tying herself to a man she had never even met.

Back then, Chi Xiyan had consistently appeared indifferent, and Lu Zhuxin had assumed every one of those hints had gone to waste. She hadn’t expected Chi Xiyan to have taken them all to heart.

That girl thought Lu Zhuxin had gone after Song Shixuan because she didn’t want Chi Xiyan to get married?

Ha. She read people pretty well.

Though little Xiyan had gotten one thing wrong. Lu Zhuxin didn’t want her to get married, but it wasn’t out of any concern that she was marrying someone she didn’t love.

Little Xiyan, oh little Xiyan. Lu Zhuxin could care less who you marry.

But if your heart isn’t left here with me, that would make things very difficult.

Lu Zhuxin let out a quiet laugh.

So, your marriage. I’m going to interfere with it whether you like it or not.

However, to break off this engagement, Song Shixuan and Chi Xiyan were only half the problem. The other half lay with the Chi family and Lingxiao Sword Sect.

Lingxiao Sword Sect was the one who had brokered this union. They were the true root of the trouble.

So Lu Zhuxin’s ultimate target still had to be Lingxiao Sword Sect.

As for how to deal with Lingxiao Sword Sect, that was something she still needed to think through carefully.

“Things being what they are, let’s just go to sleep.”

Lu Zhuxin gave a casual little laugh.

She took two steps back toward her room, then suddenly remembered something and stopped.

“Just now, little Xiyan said: ‘Do you have any idea why I was so eager to get married to Song Shixuan?'”

“What did she mean by that?”

…

Bu Lianshuang paced anxiously around the courtyard.

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She had noticed early on that Chi Xiyan’s demeanor wasn’t right, and she was deeply worried that the human girl might do something harmful to the little fox lady.

But without the little fox lady’s permission, she didn’t dare run back out on her own either.

In the end, after going back and forth in her head, all she could do was stand planted in the courtyard and wait.

After some unknown stretch of time, Bu Lianshuang caught the familiar, beautiful scent.

“My lady!” She hurried to the courtyard gate.

Lu Zhuxin was still turning over Chi Xiyan’s earlier words. At the sound of Bu Lianshuang’s voice, she turned and gave her a small nod.

After that brief acknowledgment, Lu Zhuxin stepped past her and walked toward her own room.

Bu Lianshuang saw that Lu Zhuxin looked as though she had absolutely no interest in talking to her. The sourness in her heart deepened.

She quickly moved in front of Lu Zhuxin and blocked her way.

“My lady! I want to talk to you!”

Lu Zhuxin’s brows drew together slightly.

She had never liked being interrupted when she was thinking.

“Whatever it is, tell me later. I need to rest.”

Bu Lianshuang’s body trembled faintly. Her hands gripped her own sleeves.

She lowered her head a little, her voice hoarse and rough.

“Chi Xiyan wanted to speak with you, and you sent me away without a second thought…”

“I want to speak with you, and you tell me you need to rest…”

“My lady, in your eyes, am I completely beneath Chi Xiyan?”

Lu Zhuxin pressed her fingers to her throbbing temples.

She had wondered what this little she-wolf could possibly have to say. So it came down to this.

The little she-wolf was jealous of Chi Xiyan again.

“Is this all you had to say?” Lu Zhuxin’s tone was flat. “If it is, then there’s nothing to discuss.”

“What needed to be said, I said the last time.”

“If you can accept it, then stay. If you can’t accept it…”

“I’d suggest you leave sooner rather than later.”

With that, Lu Zhuxin tilted her head and let out a dry, humorless laugh.

“Fox clan people are by nature fickle and flirtatious, and physically frail to boot. That’s the type wolf clan people dislike the most. So the relationship between our two clans has always been distant.”

“I don’t understand what you could have possibly seen in me, a wolf clan princess like yourself.”

“But if you truly insist on clinging to a faithless, fickle little fox, then all I can tell you is…”

“There will be many, many more situations like this one.”

“The girls who catch my eye will not be limited to just one Chi Xiyan.”

Bu Lianshuang went rigid. She bit down hard on her lip until the corner of her mouth bled.

Lu Zhuxin saw it. She said nothing. She simply stepped past her.

She walked into her room and closed the door.

From outside the door, faintly, came the sound of sobbing.