Volume 3, Chapter 375 – Thank You for Your Trouble, Yinyin

Cheng Yinyin looked up at her mother, eyes wide and utterly vacant.

Madam Qian pressed on. “Your father has already brought those two girls home, and he has decided to let them participate in the selection. Even if we object, it will not change his mind. It would only invite pointless arguing.”

Cheng Yinyin ground her teeth. “So we just let those two women into this house? And let them compete alongside me in the selection?”

“Mother! I refuse to accept this!”

“What right do they have?!”

“You silly child.” Madam Qian stepped over to her and ruffled her hair. “Mother understands you’re upset. Mother doesn’t like those two girls either.”

Cheng Yinyin pursed her lips. “Then why did you speak up for them today?”

Madam Qian smiled. “Naturally, so we can deal with them more effectively later, and without leaving ourselves open to any criticism.”

Cheng Yinyin looked puzzled.

Madam Qian paused, then continued. “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.”

“Yinyin, set aside those feelings for a moment. What did you make of those two girls today?”

Cheng Yinyin lowered her head and thought it over. “That Cheng Lixia is very beautiful. And dangerous. She is a real rival.”

“And?” Madam Qian prompted.

“As for Cheng Lixue… she is passable, I suppose, but she is thin and small. Nothing to worry about.”

“And?”

Cheng Yinyin looked up at her mother blankly.

“The ward I left on the door was broken with a technique,” Madam Qian said. “To break a seal I placed that easily, her cultivation must be at least Third Realm.”

“Third Realm?!” Cheng Yinyin’s eyes went wide.

“Yes.” Madam Qian laughed despite herself. “I cannot imagine what fortune that girl stumbled into to have reached such a level.”

“With strength like that, ordinary methods will not be enough to deal with her.”

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“Fortunately, she is not without her vulnerabilities.”

Madam Qian’s smile softened. “I watched her carefully and found that her greatest weakness is right beside her.”

“Her relationship with that other girl is not a simple one.”

“She may not even realize it herself, but whenever she is around that younger sister of hers, she is always the one in control.”

“She is domineering, and she has a powerful need to control everything around her, including that girl.”

“And that is precisely the problem.”

“I could see clearly that the little one is no pushover either.”

“Today I did nothing more than a small test, and I nearly had them turning on each other right there in front of us.”

Madam Qian recalled the look on Cheng Lixia’s face earlier, tight and dark as iron, and found it rather amusing.

Understanding broke across Cheng Yinyin’s expression. “So… what is Mother suggesting?”

Madam Qian’s voice was confident. “Once we find the right opening, dealing with those two girls will not be difficult.”

“And Cheng Lixue is our opening.”

“That restless little fox is not the type to be content sitting beneath someone else forever.”

“We use her against Cheng Lixia. Let them fall out completely.”

“That is far easier than going after them ourselves.”

Cheng Yinyin’s eyes went wide. “How did you come up with something so clever? I never could have thought of that!”

“Mother! You really are a born schemer!”

Madam Qian’s expression went a little stiff.

Was her dear daughter complimenting her?

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***

The next morning.

Master Cheng left the house early, taking portraits of both daughters with him.

Today was the final deadline for Huayue Court to record the names of eligible candidates. Cheng Zhuo had to submit the names and portraits of his daughters to the registry officials before the day was out.

Once the registry was submitted, Lu Zhuxin’s participation in the selection would be settled.

Even if Chi Xiyan was unwilling, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Lu Zhuxin rose early as usual to practice her swordwork, but the familiar figure was nowhere to be found.

She knew. That girl was still angry with her.

She had made a decision without consulting her, and it had made that girl angry.

Unfortunately, Lu Zhuxin had not managed to get the answer she wanted from her.

But that, too, had been within her expectations.

The situation in Beihe Commandery had settled down for the time being. The one difference was that the Demon Suppression Bureau was searching for traces of demon clan members as though it had gone mad.

The events of that night had apparently rattled Wei Qingyu somewhat.

None of that concerned Lu Zhuxin anymore, though.

What she needed to think about now was the selection.

Bu Lianshuang was the heaven-mandated female lead. With her looks and bearing, passing the initial name review would pose no difficulty.

“The selection, the selection…”

“What was the Human Empress’s selection like again?”

“And Wei Ziqing…”

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“Right, Bu Lianshuang’s older brother Bu Lan, didn’t he have some connection to him too?”

Lu Zhuxin murmured to herself as she strolled through the Cheng estate’s courtyard.

She furrowed her brow faintly.

She could sense it. A gaze watching her from a distance.

Someone had been quietly trailing her for quite some time.

This person’s ability to conceal her movements was rather lacking. Even without drawing on her cultivation, Lu Zhuxin could detect her presence.

Since the other party would not show herself, Lu Zhuxin had no intention of calling her out.

After all, patience was the one thing she had in ample supply.

So she let the girl trail behind her and walked in leisurely circles around the Cheng estate’s courtyard.

Halfway through the second loop, the girl finally could not hold herself back any longer.

She came trotting out.

“Cheng Lixue… what a coincidence, are you out for some fresh air?”

Lu Zhuxin’s back was to Cheng Yinyin as a quiet smile crossed her face.

This girl had even less patience than she had imagined.

Lu Zhuxin turned around, smile in place. “Oh, it’s Yinyin.”

Yinyin?

Who said you could call me that?!

A wave of goosebumps swept across Cheng Yinyin’s skin.

But she remembered what her mother had said.

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To deal with Cheng Lixia, she had to start with Cheng Lixue.

So she pushed down the revulsion crawling through her and forced a smile at the girl in front of her.

“Lixue,” she said, making her voice as warm as she could manage, “you’ve only just arrived and aren’t familiar with the estate yet. Would you like me to show you around?”

Cheng Yinyin felt vaguely ill.

Even if she was supposed to build a rapport with Cheng Lixue first, the word “sister” was simply not going to come out of her mouth.

Lu Zhuxin blinked. She was finding this very entertaining.

What this girl said and what her face was doing were two entirely different things.

She could guess well enough what Cheng Yinyin was after.

With a temperament like hers, she never could have come up with this approach herself.

So this had to be Madam Qian’s instruction.

With that thought, Lu Zhuxin gave Cheng Yinyin a bright smile.

“Of course. Thank you for your trouble, Yinyin.”

Cheng Yinyin felt the veins in her fist about to snap.

She could tolerate Cheng Lixia calling herself the eldest sister. But where did this scrawny little Cheng Lixue get the nerve to act like her elder?

Could she not take a hint?

Cheng Yinyin clenched her fist, repeating the same words to herself over and over.

Calm down. Calm down.

Do not get angry.

Think of the bigger picture.