The Recording Crystal that Gu Lingzhi handed over to Gu Rong had only recorded up to the point where Gu Linglong had pushed Gu Lingzhi into the vines. As for what happened later, where Gu Lingzhi triggered Gu Linglong into a murderous rage, it went unrecorded. She knew that even if she had recorded the entire thing, without any proof, Lin Yue-er would be able to wiggle her way out of any blame. Her goal now was to get Gu Rong to slowly get more and more disappointed in Gu Linglong and Lin Yue-er.

Didn’t Gu Linglong take the most pride it being Gu Rong’s favourite? Then she shall make her slowly fall out of favour. Compared to a quick death, a slow one was a better way to torture your enemy. 

As for Gu Rong, he had told Gu Lingzhi that when Gu Linglong successfully enters the Royal School, he would think of a way to let them stay in the same dorm. This would allow them to take better care of each other. He never thought that something like this would happen. Now, no matter how biased Gu Rong was, he could not bring himself to ask Gu Lingzhi to take care of Gu Linglong. Deep down, he actually felt guilty towards Gu Lingzhi and disappointed with Gu Linglong.

He had always believed that although his second daughter, which was also his favourite, was just a little bit spoiled and would mature as she grew older. He never thought that she would do something like this and which was beyond just simply being spoilt but bordering on evil. Remembering the evil gaze Gu Linglong had after she pushed Gu Lingzhi, Gu Rong could not help but shiver. He started to feel irritated with Lin Yue-er who had brought Gu Linglong up. If not for her incompetence, how would Gu Linglong have ended up like that?

Coincidentally, Lin Yue-er returned with Gu Linglong. As his gaze landed on the two of them, Gu Rong could not help but flare up, slamming the table he shouted, “Kneel!”

Gu Linglong immediately fell to her knees. Tears streamed down her face as regret was written all over her face. She immediately started repeating the words her mother had taught her on their way back, “Father please don’t be angry. I know what I’ve done wrong. I was just playing around with Lingzhi and even rescued her after that. It did not injure her in any way.”

“Just a joke?” Gu Rong snorted. If he had not seen the evil glint in Gu Linglong’s eyes, he might actually believe her. However, now, it was almost impossible to convince him that it was a joke.

Mistakenly thinking that she managed to convince Gu Rong, Gu Linglong made use of the fact that Gu Lingzhi was not here to defend herself and continued to argue, “I really meant it as a joke. If it was not a joke, how could older sister have gotten out of the trap so easily?”

“Isn’t it because you knew about the presence of the Recording Crystal and had no choice but to release her?” The Recording Crystal that Gu Lingzhi had, had been recording up until the point where Gu Lingzhi kept it in her Storage Ring. Gu Linglong definitely knew about it and Gu Rong had every right to believe that Gu Linglong had released Gu Lingzhi, fearing Gu Rong’s punishment.

“Father, you don’t believe me?” Gu Linglong bit down on her lip as she looked at her father with a teary gaze.

“Father, although it is true that I dislike Lingzhi, but no matter what, she is still my family. How can I harm her? If she is laughed at by others, as her younger sister, won’t I be implicated? I wouldn’t try to do anything to her during the test!”

Gu Linglong’s teary act along with Gu Rong’s biasness for her caused Gu Rong to hesitate. He still could not fully trust her, “You really rescued your sister after that?”

“Of course it’s true!” Knowing Gu Rong had wavered, Gu Linglong immediately nodded her head, “You know that Lingzhi is only a Level Four Martial Student. If not for my help, how could she have gotten out of that trap?”

At this moment, Lin Yue-er knew that Gu Rong had simmered down after hearing Gu Linglong out and quickly persuaded, “That’s right, dear husband, don’t you know Linglong’s personality? She is just a little spoilt, that’s all. No matter what, they are biological half-sisters, how could they bear to harm each other? You blame Linglong just based off what you saw on the Recording Crystal and scared her. Aren’t you afraid that you will affect her cultivation?”

Lin Yue-er then pretended to wipe her eyes, squeezing out a few drops off tears to make it seem more sincere. She then threw a subtle look at Gu Linglong.

Gu Linglong immediately reacted by leaning over and looking at Gu Rong with tear-filled eyes, “Father, I know that I was wrong, please don’t be angry. What if you fall ill because of this? The three elders back home are still coveting your position in the clan.”

“Linglong is right, my dear husband. My brother has sent someone recently to ask if we needed help with anything. Your health is critical at this juncture.”

Gu Rong could sense a slight threat from Lin Yue-er’s words.

In a big clan, there was bound to be internal struggles and the Gu Clan was no exception. In the past, although the three elders were never satisfied with him, they never acted on it. However, recently, he had noticed their small actions that were putting pressure on him. In just a few days after he reached the capital, he had already received a letter to hurry back and take care of clan matters.

Just thinking about all these that happened after he arrived in the capital, the sympathy he felt towards Gu Linglong reduced. However, just as he wanted to reprimand Gu Linglong, he thought of how he needed his wife’s help in dealing with the three elders and had no choice but to keep his anger in check. Letting out an angry snort, he prepared to return to Tai-an City that night.

On the other hand, Rong Yuan was just hearing about what happened at the Red Leaf Hill today from his subordinates. Pride filled his eyes. It was exactly what he had expected from the woman that he liked, she was certainly different from those brainless and flirtatious sluts!

“Since my future wife is so outstanding, what should I do as her future husband?” Murmuring to himself, Rong Yuan gestured for Yuan Zheng to come forward.

“Go tell that old man in the Gu Clan to make things difficult for Gu Rong. In return, I will satisfy whatever demands he has if I can.”

“Yes, Your Highness” However, as Yuan Zheng accepted the order, he continued to stay rooted to the spot. He looked at Rong Yuan with a perplexed look and looked like he wanted to say something.

“What is it? Say it.” Confused by Yuan Zheng’s expression, Rong Yuan asked.

“Your Highness…” Yuan Zheng struggled. Holding his fist, he lifted his head to look at Rong Yuan and said with an unrivalled seriousness, “It is not good to be fickle-minded. If Consort Rong finds out that you cancelled your engagement with Tianfeng Wei to play around with other girls, she’ll definitely punish you severely.”

...

Rong Yuan had forgotten to tell Yuan Zheng that Gu Lingzhi and the Black Thorn were the same person. 

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