Chapter 2999 — After the Heaven Rank
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
He was seething. If Kang Jingming had delivered the cultivation vessel straight to him, he could have used it just the same to bolster the strength of Zhao Guangyin and Mian Huatang of the Hidden Zhao family—exactly as things stood now. But once it had passed through the Xuandan Sect, how could he ever take it back?
"Uncle Xuanchen, is there anything else?" Tianchan had seen the look on Old Ancestor Xuanchen's face and naturally guessed what he was thinking, but she had no intention of letting him have his way. Feigning ignorance, she asked.
"Nothing. You may go back. That Kang Jingming, honestly—doing such a thing! Just wait till I give him a piece of my mind!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen cursed the mulberry while pointing at the locust, his words aimed elsewhere.
"That works out well, actually. I was just thinking I needed to find a maidservant. Xiaotaohong and Kang Jingming are sweet on each other, so I plan to betroth Xiaotaohong to Kang Jingming and make a happy match of it. That means I'll have to find myself another maidservant. I suspect Kang Jingming sent this cultivation vessel over to me with exactly that in mind." Tianchan deliberately twisted Kang Jingming's meaning as she spoke to Old Ancestor Xuanchen.
Why Kang Jingming had drawn close to Xiaotaohong, Tianchan knew perfectly well: he simply wanted to use Xiaotaohong to get close to her. Xiaotaohong was no great beauty, yet Kang Jingming pursued her with all his might—the implication was plain enough.
"Oh? So that's how it is!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen's face lit with sudden understanding, and he gave a cold snort. "No wonder the brat didn't give me a heads-up beforehand. He wanted to swap Xiaotaohong out. I knew it!"
Old Ancestor Xuanchen had no particular fondness for feminine charms, so when he looked at Xiaotaohong he saw neither beauty nor ugliness. He believed Tianchan's words readily enough—after all, he had seen with his own eyes how close Kang Jingming and Xiaotaohong had grown of late.
"So I thought I might as well do them a kindness and let Kang Jingming and Xiaotaohong have each other," Tianchan said.
"Fine. But you must warn Xiaotaohong to keep her mouth shut tight. If she lets slip that you're a woman, don't blame me for being unkind to her—her family will die with her!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen said.
"Understood. I'll pass your meaning on to her, Uncle Xuanchen." Tianchan nodded.
"Go on, then." Old Ancestor Xuanchen waved a hand, indicating that Tianchan could take her leave.
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When Wei Zhao returned to the villa, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu saw at once that his expression was grim. The young miss asked, puzzled, "Wei Zhao, what's wrong? Did things with the Hidden Zhao family not go smoothly?"
"Zhao Guangyin got away, and he took Chen Xi with him. I can't reach Chief Zhu or Zhu the Second right now—no idea how they're doing." Wei Zhao frowned.
"Got away?" Gu Mengyao was slightly taken aback.
"Yes. But he only took Chen Xi and left Ying Ziyu behind—that's what confuses me. If Zhao Guangyin meant to threaten me, he would have made his demands by now, but there's been no word at all." Wei Zhao sounded worried.
"That is strange." The young miss was startled as well. By rights, abducting someone always had a reason—either for wealth, or for lust, or else to use as leverage.
Chen Xi was Zhao Guangyin's own flesh and blood. However wretched a man Zhao Guangyin might be, he surely would not do anything lustful with her. As for wealth, Chen Xi's family was utterly destitute; even with the bit of money she had come into lately, it would never catch the eye of the Hidden Zhao family.
That left only leverage—yet he had made no threat against Wei Zhao.
"Arrow-Brand Bro, Xiaoshu can think of one possibility!" Shen Yushu pondered and found a thread to follow. "Could it be that Zhao Guangyin took Chen Xi away to give her as a gift?"
"A gift?" Wei Zhao did not quite follow.