Chapter 53

Zhong Wen returned to the courtyard of the Fragrant Flower Palace, carrying a basket of vegetables, and saw a festive atmosphere of reunion.

Nangong Ling was surrounded by the people of the Fragrant Flower Palace, who were warmly greeting her. She held the hand of a little girl and was talking with Lin Zhiyun, Liu Qiqi, Yin Ning'er, and Qiao Erniang, her face showing a warm smile, which was quite different from her demeanor when she faced Zhong Wen at the foot of the mountain.

The green-robed woman who accompanied Nangong Ling up the mountain stood far away, watching coldly without a word.

On the other side of the courtyard, Old Master Ning and his granddaughter Ning Jie were whispering, the old man's dark face showing deep concern.

Zhong Wen, not wanting to disturb Lin Zhiyun and the others' reunion, came to Old Master Ning's side and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Old Master Ning and Sister Ning, on your reunion."

"Thank you, young man." Old Master Ning still had a good impression of Zhong Wen.

"Brother Zhong." Ning Jie was initially delighted to see Zhong Wen, but her eyes soon dimmed.

"Is there something troubling you, Sister Ning?" Zhong Wen couldn't help but ask.

"Brother Zhong, my grandfather and I originally planned to attend a gathering of divine literature, but we took a wrong turn and now can't make it to the port within two days," Ning Jie said with a hint of regret. "From here to Qinghai Province, we need to take a large detour, and it would take at least eight or nine days to travel at a normal pace."

"Can't you just go over the back of Qingfeng Mountain?" Zhong Wen asked. "I remember the Palace Master mentioned that if you follow the back of Qingfeng Mountain, you'll head in the direction of Qinghai Province."

"I've observed the terrain of Qingfeng Mountain over the past two days. It would take at least two days to cross the back of the mountain, and even if my grandfather could walk on air, he couldn't sustain it for that long," Ning Jie shook her head.

The words "walk on air" made Zhong Wen tremble with surprise.

This was a skill possessed only by Spirit Venerable experts.

Looking at the unremarkable, dark-skinned old man before him, Zhong Wen was secretly glad he hadn't acted rudely at the foot of the mountain.

"At this point, unless a Sage personally intervenes or we borrow the Spirit Eagle from the Illusion Beast Sect, we won't be able to attend the discussion," Old Master Ning sighed. "Don't blame yourself too much, girl. Your grandfather was also at fault, getting too engrossed in reading and not noticing you had wandered off."

The old and young both wore bitter expressions, which made Zhong Wen feel uncomfortable.

Hearing the words "Spirit Eagle," Zhong Wen suddenly had an idea and thought of the giant eagle on the back of the mountain.

"Old Master Ning, Sister Ning, there might still be a chance. I have an idea we can try," he said softly. "After lunch, I'll take you to a place. If that person agrees to help, you might still make it."

"Really? Thank you, Brother Zhong." Ning Jie's eyes lit up with hope, and she grabbed Zhong Wen's arm, her voice filled with excitement.

"Thank you for your efforts, young man." Old Master Ning didn't have much hope but was surprised to see his precious granddaughter being so close to Zhong Wen.

In his memory, his beautiful granddaughter was devoted to divine literature and had developed a slight aversion to young men after several failed arranged meetings.

Could it be... my granddaughter can finally get married?

He looked at Zhong Wen again, finding the young man quite handsome and well-tempered, though young, he was very capable. The old man's heart was filled with hope.

In recent years, his requirements for a son-in-law had been lowered from a top-notch, all-around talent to anyone who could catch Ning Jie's eye and had the means to reproduce, but he had never found a suitable match. Zhong Wen's performance far exceeded his expectations.

Zhong Wen, unaware of Old Master Ning's thoughts, had been delayed at the foot of the mountain and hurried to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Fortunately, Leng Wushuang came to help, and the two worked in perfect harmony, managing to serve all the dishes on time.

At lunch, Nangong Ling finally saw how lively the Fragrant Flower Palace had become. Besides the Shangguan aunt and niece and Leng Wushuang, there were Qiao Erniang and four little maids, as well as the two pairs of guests, the Shen family and the Ning family, filling the entire hall, almost to the point of being unable to sit down.

After a few bites, Nangong Ling couldn't help but sigh, her clear, watery eyes looking at Zhong Wen: "I finally understand why Master kept you on the mountain. To be able to cook such delicious food, I wouldn't let you go even if you were a criminal."

She had already confirmed Zhong Wen's identity with Lin Zhiyun.

"Sister Nangong, you flatter me," Zhong Wen said with a smile.

"Nangong?" Shangguan Junyi, meeting Nangong Ling for the first time, asked, "Could you be from the Nangong family?"

Lin Zhiyun quickly introduced the two, but Shangguan Junyi's face turned pale, and Shangguan Mingyue looked furious.

"Nangong?" Nangong Ling's heart stirred, recalling some rumors from the past.

"Who is Nangong Lin to you?" Shangguan Junyi asked, trying to calm down.

"Nangong Tianxing is my father, and Nangong Lin is my second uncle," Nangong Ling said frankly. "Elder Shangguan, could you be the young lady from the Shangguan family who was once engaged to my second uncle?"

"How could our family dare to aspire to your Nangong family?" Shangguan Mingyue couldn't help but retort, seeing her aunt's face turn even paler.

The atmosphere in the hall became tense, and the uninformed onlookers held their breath.

"I'm sorry." To everyone's surprise, Nangong Ling didn't argue but stood up, bowed deeply, and said sincerely, "What happened in the past was the Nangong family's fault."

"Is an apology enough?" Shangguan Mingyue wasn't convinced. "You can break the engagement, but why spread rumors and defame my aunt? Do you know what she has been through all these years?"

"In Nangong Lin's eyes, whether it's Elder Shangguan or I, we are just tools. To protect his reputation, sacrificing a few tools is nothing," Nangong Ling said with a bitter smile. "Not just Elder Shangguan, even I, Nangong Ling, will soon be sent to Xiao Wuqing's bed to form an alliance between the two families."

"What! Ling'er, you're going to marry Xiao Wuqing?" Lin Zhiyun was shocked.

"Master, when Nangong Tianxing wrote to me, claiming to be seriously ill, he was trying to trick me into marrying someone," Nangong Ling said with a hint of bitterness. "I managed to avoid it a few times, but I can't avoid it forever. I think Nangong Tianxing is determined to form an alliance with the Xiao family this time."

"Truly, what goes around comes around..." Shangguan Mingyue was about to mock.

"Enough, Yue'er." Shangguan Junyi interrupted her niece, her face slightly recovering. "Nangong Ling is right. Women from noble families have no control over their lives. What happened in the past was Nangong Lin's doing, not hers."

Shangguan Mingyue pouted but didn't say anything more, though she wasn't convinced.

"Sister Shangguan, do you like Xiao Wuqing?" Zhong Wen suddenly asked.

"He keeps a whole mountain villa full of women, and at least a third of the noble ladies in the capital have some ambiguous relationship with him," Nangong Ling said with disdain. "Do you think I would like him?"

"If you don't like him, don't marry him," Zhong Wen said casually. "Why be so troubled?"

"It's hard to disobey my father. If Nangong Tianxing really wants me to marry Xiao Wuqing, refusing would be filial impiety," Nangong Ling bit her lip. "In noble families, children's marriages are not their own choice."

"Truly absurd. Matters of love should be based on mutual affection," Zhong Wen, coming from the internet age, firmly believed in free love. "If you want to be filial, take good care of your parents, but marriage is your own business and should be decided by you."

His words stunned everyone, and they looked at Zhong Wen with shock, as if he had said something heretical.

Only Liu Qiqi looked at him with approval, while Leng Wushuang, Yin Ning'er, and the little girl, who had no concept of noble families, didn't find his words particularly shocking.

"Zhong Wen, you're young and not from a noble family," Lin Zhiyun, worried about exposing his identity, tried to cover for him. "You don't understand many things in this world."

"Palace Master, it's you who don't understand," Zhong Wen pretended not to see her hints. "Parents raise their children with great effort, and when they grow old, the children should take care of them. This is filial piety, but it shouldn't come at the cost of the children's lifelong happiness."

"Just one person thinking this way won't change the world," Nangong Ling, well-versed in the ways of the nobility, thought Zhong Wen's words were a beautiful but unrealistic dream.

"There are millions of people in the world, and it's impossible for everyone to think the same way," Zhong Wen's voice grew firmer. "The reason you think others' thoughts can't be changed is that you're not strong enough. If you were a Sage, would the Nangong family dare to force you to marry?"

"Of course not," Nangong Ling admitted. "But how many Sages are there in the world?"

"We are all cultivators here," Zhong Wen continued. "May I ask, why do you all cultivate so hard?"

This soul-searching question made everyone in the hall fall into deep thought.

"Isn't it to gain great power? And the reason we need power is to control our own lives, right?" Zhong Wen's voice grew louder. "If it's not for freedom and autonomy, I suggest you all stop this meaningless cultivation!"

At that moment, whether it was Lin Zhiyun, Nangong Ling, Shangguan Junyi, or Shangguan Mingyue, they all felt a sudden enlightenment, as if Zhong Wen had answered a long-standing question.

Ning Jie looked at Zhong Wen, her eyes shining with an indescribable brilliance.

What a perceptive young man!

Old Master Ning silently cheered.

This boy is a threat.

The green-robed woman sat quietly on the side, her eyes cold and piercing.