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Hearing this Gao Zhen frowned, very unpleased he said, “Lord

Su, I respect that you are an imperial official, but you also cannot go over

the top, this is a private matter of our sect. What’s more this woman has

written her will, even under our Hanzhen’s laws, outsiders cannot interfere.”

Su Qing Chen haughtily laughed once, saying, “I an

Embroidered Uniform Guard is strongly favoured by the emperor, control and lead

the guards, investigate and apprehend, and can act first, report later, do you

think I can do it?”

Gao Zhen’s complexion paled, very unsightly, currently those

nearby were believers of Tiangui, a hundred answers could reply to his single

call, allowing Su Qing Chen to get here but unable to leave, however it would

only be a temporary win, later when the Embroidered Uniform Guards came to

settle the score at an opportune moment, it wouldn’t be enough for him to die a

hundred times.

It was at this precise moment, the Xianjun suddenly opened

his mouth to say, “Gao Zhen, I can see it will be quite difficult to carry out

this ceremony today, since Lord Su is adamant on sticking up for this young

lady, we will release the people.”

With an sickly face Gao Zhen looked at the Xianjun, the Xianjun

however smiled, very magnanimously, he said, “You still don’t believe in my

loyalty and dependability to the leader of the sect? I even offered up my own

mother, what else can I not do?” Speaking up to here his tone changed,

containing some concern, “However going against the Embroidered Uniform Guards

right 

now, it truly isn’t sensible, let us first take a step back, before reorganising.”

“Humph, I hope what you’re saying is true, otherwise the

sect leader will make you die without an intact corpse!” Gao Zhen said

clenching his teeth.

Zhao Jin Yu was slightly sceptical, with just a few words of

Su Qing Chen, these followers of a basically evil sect would release adoptive

mother, when they boarded the small boat, Zhao Jin Yu turned her head to look

at the lotus flower vessel, Gao Zhen looked gloomy, it was clear he was very

discontent but again had no choice but bear it, and the Xianjun was still as

expressionless as before, making Zhao Jin Yu unable to grasp clearly his

thoughts, the two people have been together for nearly ten years, she thought

she knew him very well, but in reality did she really understand him?

Chen Rong saw Zhao Jin Yu supporting a middle aged woman,

her brows lightly wrinkled, saying, “This is…”

“This is my adoptive mother.” Zhao Jin Yu opened her mouth

to say, “Auntie Chen, the situation is a bit complicated…” Ever since she had

been rescued by Zhao Jin Yu, Lady Zhuang was like a puppet, make her walk

she’ll walk, make her eat she’ll eat, now as Zhao Jin Yu introduced her she was

like a block of wood emotionlessly standing there.

After Chen Rong listened to the story, she was very

helpless, pointing at Su Qing Chen she said, “Jin girl, you really can stir up

trouble, if it wasn’t for Lord Su extending his help, there would be one more

amongst those sacred women being presented for veneration, you.” Having spoken

she appeared to have a lingering fear, “Why aren’t you thanking Lord Su.”

Zhao Jin Yu was very smart, she bowed at Su Qing Chen,

saying, “Many thanks Lord Su. Today us mother and daughter can only be reunited

because of your Lord’s contribution, I will never forget your kindness.”

Su Qing Chen was not at all a good person with pure

intentions, but it did not stop him from accepting other people’s genuine

grat.i.tude, who doesn’t like being truly liked and thanked by others? 

Besides he

could sense the original invisible divide between them had disappeared. Zhao

Jin Yu had also removed her mask in front of him, increasingly truthful and

pure, unexpectedly making him feel 

a happiness he had not felt in a long time.

“It was no more than very slight effort, Lady Zhao don’t be

polite.” Su Qing Chen’s voice was gentle, with a tender gaze.

Auntie Chen saw there was an indescribable surge of

sentiment moving between the two people, she secretly cried out what bad luck,

first Su Qing Chen rescued Zhao Jin Yu’s mother, now once more he had a gentle

and forgiving manner, adoration of appreciation as well as a gentle low coaxing

voice, when she was younger she might have been able to resist, let alone the

Zhao Jin Yu who has been raised at home? She hurriedly said, “Lady Zhao, it’s

already late, let us hurry on our way, if we don’t hurry we won’t find a tavern

and it would be terrible to sleep outside in the countryside.”

Su Qing Chen actually very much wanted to go with them, his

original a.s.signment after all was to protect Zhao Jin Yu! However Chen Rong’s

gaze was on alert, a guarding glance, allowing him to know right now was not a

good opportunity, he could only forcefully say, “Be careful on the road.”

Initially it was merely a very simple urging, but at this moment it revealed a

some tenderness he had not felt.

After they said a few things Zhao Jin Yu then went on her

way.

Chen Rong sat at the front driving the carriage, Zhao Jin Yu

and Lady Zhuang sat inside the carriage, jolting along the road, cold but not

saying it, the cold wind blew through the carriage window, the front entrance,

rus.h.i.+ng through all kinds of small cracks, Zhao Jin Yu was tightly wrapped in

the rabbit fur cloak, seeing Lady Zhuang’s complexion paling from the cold, she

pa.s.sed the heater in

her hand to her, saying, “Mother, your body is weak, use this.” Chen Rong had

only thought it was 

Zhao Jin Yu alone, that’s why she had only prepared one

hand heater.

Lady Zhuang glanced at Zhao Jin Yu, that gaze was cold, she

said, “I don’t need it.”

Lady Zhuang had an unyielding character, always keeping to

her word, Zhao Jin Yu knew her temper, that’s why she didn’t dare to push it, she

only moved to sit in front of the breezy places, thinking of blocking the wind

for Lady Zhuang.

“That Lord Su has bad intentions, in the future have less

involvement with him.” Lady Zhuang suddenly said.

“Mother…”

Lady Zhuang looked at Zhao Jin Yu’s confused eyes, all of a

sudden she felt a little soft-hearted, saying, “When we reach the next tavern,

we will part ways, from now on you are no longer a part of our Zhao family,

each live our own lives.”

The rim of Zhao Jin Yu’s eyes suddenly reddened, saying,

“Mother, I really don’t understand, how did things become like this, older

brother why…, everything was fine before.” Zhao Jin Yu still remembers the day

the incident happened, adoptive father Zhao Chang Chun asked her jesting

slightly, whether or not she wanted to always live at home…, she knew that was

asking her whether she was willing to marry her older brother.

She was naturally willing, almost ten years, to be precise

nine years had pa.s.sed, Zhao Jin Yu and adoptive father, adoptive mother, as

well as brother have been together, the days pa.s.sed smoothly and plentifully,

even though she wasn’t certain whether her dependence on her older brother was

romantic or not, but if she could pa.s.s these days like this, why would she

refuse?

However who could have imagined the next day everything

changed, the Zhao family’s sky collapsed.

Lady Zhuang closed her eyes, expression indifferent, a good

while later Zhao Jin Yu then controlled her frame of mind, bowing her head not

speaking, she had a lot of questions in her mind, why older brother and

adoptive mother abandoned her, why did they say they were going to her native

home of Jinling to think of ways, but end up in the Tiangui sect, why…,

adoptive mother had a manner of helping older brother to succeed even if she is

burnt to death? Why right now she is not Lady Zhao but Lady Zhuang?

But she knew, Lady Zhuang would not tell her, if she kept

her silence she also could only endure it.

From childhood the person she was scared of the most was not

adoptive father Zhao Chang Chun but adoptive mother, her gentleness seemed to

only extend to adoptive father, towards older brother she was extremely strict,

let alone her.

Seeing Zhao Jin Yu tuck her head in, dazed like an abandoned

cub, a hesitant trace of tender-heartedness flashed through Lady Zhuang’s eyes,

in the end it still became solid ice in the ice-cold winter.

Chen Rong spurred the horse to full speed, finally before

the bottom of the mountain she saw a small town, after Zhao Jin Yu ate a yuxue pill her const.i.tution had improved

twice over, resistant to falls and dizziness, she did not feel unwell at all sitting

in a carriage even more jolty than a s.h.i.+p…, besides feeling a little cold.

Now she could feel a slight movement from the stone around

her neck, she knew the stone was waking up, the things that had happened today

was truly too hair-raising, she had stifled it all along, now she could finally

speak thoroughly with the stone, even if the stone’s words were sometimes too

harsh and cruel, but it could not be denied that they were the truth, moreover

it was this cruel tongue…, because the truth made her feel a kind of

indescribable relieve.

However adoptive mother and Chen Rong were here, this was

not the time to speak, she could only hold it in.

They entered the tavern, Chen Rong booked three rooms, she

stayed in the middle room, to her left and right were Zhao Jin Yu and Lady

Zhuang, after everything had been appropriately arranged, the three people ate

together downstairs, Lady Zhuang conveyed her wishes to stay, she was

expressionless, an extremely calm manner, “Lady Zhao and I are total strangers,

even though I am grateful for Lady Zhao’s pity unable to see me die in the

fire, that was however my wish, there’s nothing more to say.” Her tone on the

contrary held a kind of criticism that Zhao Jin Yu had meddled in other

people’s business.

Chen Rong glanced at Zhao Jin Yu with a desolate expression,

her thoughts were also hard to calm, she said, “That’s right, I’ve already

previously told Lady Zhao a person cannot be too kind, she however never

listened to me, who would have imagined she would surprisingly ruin Lady

Zhuang’s plans, otherwise Lady Zhuang would now be in heaven, as a sacred woman

of the G.o.d, living freely and at leisure.” Speaking up to here her tone changed,

it was very mocking, “If something is to be blamed then it could only be that

Lady Zhuang looks too much like Lady Zhao’s adoptive mother, who could remain

calm seeing their adoptive mother about to be burned to death? Since Lady 

Zhuang’s mind has been made up, we won’t force you to stay.”

Each word of Chen Rong’s stabbed, if it was a normal person

they would have long ago been unable to stand against the insults, but Lady

Zhuang appeared to not care, serenely she said, “Thank you two.” Afterwards she

did not want to speak.

Zhao Jin Yu only felt her eyes quiver but there wasn’t a

drop of tear, it was like there was a hole in her heart…, she knew the years of

mother and daughter feelings had already at last come to an end here.

At first Chen Rong was not so angry that it was unbearable,

but in the end seeing such an unmoved Lady Zhuang, and a dispirited Zhao Jin

Yu, she sighed, not speaking again.

After entering the room, Zhao Jin Yu took the stone out.

The emperor ate the old duck vermicelli soup that Zhao Jin

Yu had deliberately taken upstairs, however his eyes revolved around Zhao Jin

Yu’s face, he said, “What happened when we were not here?”

Zhao Jin Yu was stifling a bellyful of worries, hearing the

stone’s sweet and familiar voice, she unconsciously told him everything,

“Thanks to Lord Su…, actually he’s a really good person, I was prejudice

against him before.” Immediately her manner of speaking changed, she

disappointedly said, “Tell me if there’s anything trustworthy in the world? Is

nine years of relations.h.i.+p merely a play in their minds?” Zhao Jin Yu was

talking about Lady Zhuang’s and her older brother’s heartlessness.

The emperor heard Zhao Jin Yu praise Su Qing Chen, his mind

was very upset, he only wished he could tell Zhao Jin Yu he had ordered Su Qing

Chen…, if not on the basis of Su Qing Chen’s character of not doing anything

unless profitable, how would he have treated her a young lonely woman so well

with no cause or reason? However these words could not be spoken, restraining

his temper, he said, “Even your adoptive mother turned hostile and heartless,

let alone a total stranger Su Qing Chen? Is your brain packed with gra.s.s? Why

don’t you use your brain, he must certainly have some scheme!”

Zhao Jin Yu, QAQ

Seeing Zhao Jin Yu’s tearful eyes, once again the emperor’s

heart softened, he didn’t know what was going on with this girl recently…, not

retorting when angry, just looking like this wanting to cry but not cry, he

felt unquestionably distressed, forgetting everything.

“That Tiangui sect is an evil cult, since your older brother

has already entered it, then he is no longer who he was before…, rescuing your

adoptive mother today can be considered as having helped him, their kindness to

you has also been written off with one stroke.” The emperor spoke taking his

time.

Zhao Jin Yu felt the stone’s voice contained some sense of

soothing, she couldn’t help say, “En, at that time…, when I saw the person

beside the Xianjun my face turned green, those believers blocked the way, like

a demon, do you think they will retaliate?”

“You can at last be considered to have matured a little, the

way you slapped their faces today, how could they resign themselves? They

certainly will retaliate, but today you can sleep at ease, nothing will

happen.”

Zhao Jin Yu increasingly felt the stone was extremely tender

and domineering today, in spite of him still being soaked in the vermicelli

soup, lowering her head she kissed it, rubbing her lips full of grease, but

because under the illumination of the lantern it looked even s.h.i.+nier and transparent.

The emperor had to use all abilities to regain his mind from

Zhao Jin Yu’s lips, he only felt a ripple of unknown undulate in his chest, making

him feel a trace of sweet feeling.