Chapter 1197: Mockery to the Utmost

Shang Shuqing advanced step by step. "Sister-in-law, an elder brother's wife is like a mother. Qing'er has always respected you. Qing'er does not believe you would deceive me. Today, I want only one truthful answer from you: is Master Dao safe in the Sacred Realm?"

Clang!

The back of Feng Ruonan's legs struck the long banquet table, leaving her nowhere else to retreat. For Shang Shuqing to say such a thing, she had obviously already learned something. And now that she had pushed the question this far, how could Feng Ruonan keep lying?

Yet the truth was something Feng Ruonan simply could not bring herself to say. Her face was full of difficulty.

Seeing her reaction, Shang Shuqing was no fool. Quite the opposite—she was exceedingly intelligent. She understood. Her voice trembled. "So what that Wang Xiao said was true!"

Wang Xiao? Guan Fangyi and Old Six Xu exchanged a look. She understood now. Earlier, when the Commandery Princess had excused herself to attend to a private need, she must have seized the chance to go find that Wang Xiao.

Feng Ruonan did not know how to answer.

Shang Shuqing had not wanted to cry. Nor did she want to cry before so many people. She had been raised with impeccable manners. Yet tears somehow began sliding silently down her face.

In her mind was the figure of that man standing tall at Maolu Villa. She could not believe it. Someone so seemingly omnipotent—how could he simply die like that?

The sight of her silently weeping, her eyes shimmering with tears, made Feng Ruonan's heart twist. She stepped forward to embrace her. "Qing'er!"

Shang Shuqing raised both hands and pushed her arms away, refusing to let her come close. "Sister-in-law, why did you lie to me?"

"Qing'er, this wasn't deceiving you. It was for your own good!" In front of so many people, Feng Ruonan truly did not know how to explain it. Some family matters were not suitable to spread outside, especially with Fu Junlan standing there.

"Why did all of you lie to me?" Shang Shuqing swept her gaze around the room before finally fixing it on Guan Fangyi. Her voice was full of pain. "Hongniang, Qing'er followed Master Dao for more than ten years. Even if I cannot be counted as one of Maolu Villa's people, I was at least half a member of the Villa. Is it because Qing'er is ugly and displeasing to others that I do not even have the right to mourn him?"

Her hands clutched the fabric over her chest and trembled. She was choking so badly she could barely speak, close to breaking down entirely.

Pinned against the wall and hardly daring to move, Guan Fangyi's eyes reddened as well. She shook her head with difficulty. "Commandery Princess, it isn't what you think."

Seeing Guan Fangyi forced into such an awkward state, Old Six Xu hurried forward. "Commandery Princess, this has nothing to do with us..." He looked toward Feng Ruonan, wanting to say that the instruction had come from the Prince's residence, not because they themselves wished to conceal it.

"Old Six, shut your mouth!" Guan Fangyi snapped, waving one hand at him.

Old Six Xu immediately fell silent and slowly backed away.

Feng Ruonan seemed to think of something. She turned and waved at the stunned Fu Junlan. "Young Master Fu, um... take the Commandery Princess back first."

"Hm? Oh. Yes, yes." Coming back to himself, Fu Junlan immediately hurried around the banquet table.

Who could have expected Shang Shuqing to spin around abruptly, stride to the long table behind Feng Ruonan, bend down, seize it with both hands, and heave?

Bowls, plates, and wine cups flew everywhere amid a crashing clatter. She overturned the entire banquet table in one motion.

Fu Junlan was so startled he no longer dared approach. He stared stupidly. This was the first time he had ever seen the usually refined and dignified Commandery Princess behave like this.

"Young Master Fu, this has nothing to do with you!" Shang Shuqing stared at him through blurred, tear-filled eyes, the force of her words ordering him to stop.

Fu Junlan froze where he stood, unable to advance or retreat.

The entire hall fell silent.

Even Feng Ruonan stood motionless, afraid that one wrong sentence would provoke her sister-in-law again.

Clink, crackle.

Shang Shuqing strode across the shattered bowls and plates underfoot and left.

Turning toward the figure disappearing into the night, Feng Ruonan called, "Qing'er! Qing'er, where are you going?"

Guan Fangyi said urgently, "Princess Consort, hurry and follow her. Don't let anything happen to the Commandery Princess."

"All right. Excuse me." Feng Ruonan apologized and immediately hurried after her.

As she passed Fu Junlan, she grabbed him in passing. "Why are you still standing here? Go after her!"

"Oh, oh, oh..." Fu Junlan finally woke from his stupor and ran after them.

Then he discovered he could not even catch up to Feng Ruonan, a woman. In his panic, his foot caught on the threshold and he pitched forward flat on his face. He scrambled up and ran again, looking thoroughly disheveled.

Guan Fangyi paced amid the remains scattered across the floor and sighed. She waved a hand, dismissing everyone.

When she reached the doorway beneath the eaves, Old Six Xu came over again. "Big Sister, are you all right?"

Guan Fangyi looked up at the starry sky. "What could happen to me from being scolded a couple of times? Ah. Back in the day, this old lady was known as the number-one beauty beneath Heaven. I even have a body of cultivation. Yet today an ugly little mortal girl frightened me so badly I could barely speak straight. Who did I offend to deserve this?"

Old Six Xu chuckled. "Aren't you just taking the blade for the Prince's residence?"

Guan Fangyi glared at him. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? Taking pleasure in my misfortune, are you? Laugh again and I'll knock your teeth out!"

Old Six Xu's face turned bitter. "Who did I offend?"

Guan Fangyi gave him a disdainful look, then sighed again. "People say beauties are fated to suffer. I used to think it was only pretty women who failed to understand their own limits and therefore rarely came to a good end. But that girl... she was born looking like that, and born into royal blood, yet she has never been able to enjoy the blessings of it. She's spent her whole life ashamed of her own appearance. Her fate truly has been bitter enough."

As she said this, her eyes suddenly flashed. She turned toward the rear courtyard. "It's all that bastard's doing. I'm going to settle accounts with him!"

The "bastard" she meant was Niu Youdao. Who else had told Shang Shuqing that Niu Youdao was dead except the man pretending to be Wang Xiao?

Old Six Xu did not know that, however. He followed her. "Which bastard?"

Guan Fangyi realized she might have let something slip and quickly changed course. "Who else but Yun Ji? She can't even keep her own subordinate under control. If she isn't a bastard, who is? And why are you following me? You like watching women quarrel? Get lost!"

"..."

Old Six Xu stopped, speechless.

At an upstairs window, Yun Ji turned her head and reminded Niu Youdao, "Hongniang is coming over in a fury."

Before long, footsteps approached. Then the door crashed open.

Guan Fangyi strode inside. She flung both hands backward and used magical power to slam the door shut behind her. Marching straight up to Niu Youdao, she demanded, "Wang, what exactly do you mean by this?"

"What do I mean by what?" Niu Youdao was already angry himself. He pointed at her. "Do you not understand the situation we're in right now? Don't you know we should avoid meeting directly whenever possible? You came barging over here without the slightest restraint. What are you trying to do? Are none of you afraid of making this into an even bigger mess?"

Guan Fangyi said, "Oh? I'm not angry yet, and you've already gotten angry first?"

"You. And you!" Niu Youdao pointed first at Guan Fangyi, then at Yun Ji, and finally jabbed a finger toward the outside. "And that Monkey too! I truly don't understand it. How did I end up surrounded by freaks like all of you? Has every last one of you gotten tired of living? Are none of you afraid to die?"

Yun Ji stared at him coldly. "Don't point at me for no reason. I haven't provoked you. Hongniang, ignore him. This fellow took the wrong medicine today."

Niu Youdao pointed at her. "Women and petty men are the hardest to deal with!"

Yun Ji's eyes widened. "Who are you insulting?"

"Stop changing the subject!" Guan Fangyi slapped his pointing hand down, planted both hands on her hips, and sneered again and again. "What, did you suddenly discover the girl is wonderful after all? Now that she's about to marry, are you jealous? Are you deliberately trying to ruin her marriage? If so, just say it."

"It's fine. This old lady has seen more men than you've crossed bridges. I understand those little thoughts men hide in their hearts. Go on. Say it. Once you admit it, maybe I can even help you, can't I?"

Seeing her thrust her chest forward and crowd him directly, Niu Youdao raised one hand and pushed her back by the forehead. "Have you gone mad?"

Staggering back two steps, Guan Fangyi immediately turned fierce. "Who's gone mad? Tell me yourself—were you the one who told her Niu Youdao was already dead?"

Niu Youdao found that baffling. "So what if I told her?"

Guan Fangyi chuckled. "Master Wang, are you truly confused, or are you pretending? That girl is about to marry. The man she's marrying was brought here today for you to look at—good-looking, refined, quite decent."

"Master Wang, do not tell me you have no idea what that girl feels toward you. With all the schemes that churn inside your head, I'd be shocked if you didn't know. But of course, you're so capable. With a flip of your hand you summon clouds, with another you bring rain. Who beneath Heaven is better at pretending not to understand?"

"Fine. Keep pretending. None of us minds the nausea. We're used to it."

"But she served you for more than ten years. Even if she were a dog, you'd owe her some affection after all that time, wouldn't you? No matter how heartless you are, you can't hurt her like this!"

"Do you have any idea how long the Prince's residence spent persuading her, how much effort they put into getting her finally to agree to marry? The people there were frightened—frightened that if she learned of Niu Youdao's death, some new complication would arise..."

Like a string of firecrackers, Guan Fangyi poured everything out. She gave a detailed account of Shang Chaozong's private instructions and even told him how Shang Shuqing had just overturned the banquet.

Yun Ji stared in surprise. She genuinely had not known they were concealing the news of Niu Youdao's death from Shang Shuqing. No one had told her.

Niu Youdao froze as well.

Only after Guan Fangyi finished scolding him did he slowly ask, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Oh, what was I supposed to tell you?" Guan Fangyi pushed her sarcasm to the utmost. "How was I supposed to discuss this with the chief culprit himself?"

"With that lofty way you think of yourself, with every ugly little thought spinning silently in your stomach, why would I go out of my way to give you something else to brood over?"

Niu Youdao fell silent.

After venting everything, Guan Fangyi also quieted for a while. Then she added, "You were obviously going to hide from her. How was I supposed to know she'd lock onto you the instant she arrived?"

"By rights, the two of you should never have had any reason to meet or speak directly. But somehow the damnedest thing happened. Who could have predicted it?"

"Neither side gave the other any warning, yet somehow trouble happened precisely between the two of you. Ah. What kind of fate does that girl have, for even this kind of coincidence to happen to her?"

Niu Youdao now roughly understood what Yun Ji had meant earlier.

Why had learning that Maolu Annex had come out in full force aroused Shang Shuqing's suspicions? If Niu Youdao were dead, was it not perfectly normal for the people of Maolu Annex to leave Zijin Cave?

He had thought something felt wrong.

Only now did he realize the problem lay in the fact that everyone had concealed his death from Shang Shuqing.

"Hey." Guan Fangyi suddenly nudged him with her elbow. "Feeling guilty?"

Niu Youdao said coldly, "What do I have to feel guilty about?"

Guan Fangyi said, "Once that girl gets home tonight, she's going to be heartbroken. Don't you want to make amends somehow? I have a way to fix this. Want to hear it?"

Niu Youdao immediately guessed what she intended to say and refused without hesitation. "No."

He turned to leave.

Guan Fangyi grabbed him and insisted on saying it anyway. "Things are already like this. Whether you wanted to interfere or not, you've interfered now."

"Think about it. She would never betray you. So what if you tell her the truth? The moment she knows the truth, she won't be sad anymore. Then the whole matter is over. It's that simple."

Niu Youdao answered decisively. "No!"

Guan Fangyi grew angry. "You don't even trust her?"

Niu Youdao said, "She called out to me in front of everyone. That may already arouse suspicion. Her making a scene now is actually perfect cover."

"If she learns the truth and her emotions suddenly change in an abnormal way, that could make people suspicious instead."

"Since we're putting on an act, let her reaction be real."

Guan Fangyi seized him and shoved him. "Do you have to be this cold-blooded and heartless? She's already like this, and you can still bear to use her?"

Niu Youdao caught her wrist and issued a severe warning.

"That is still better than every last one of you dying miserably!"

[End of Chapter 1197]