Chapter Eighty-Nine: Stepmother

Lu Yamei’s expression turned ugly. She had married young and had not spent much time with the Second Madame. That woman had always been renowned for her kindness and enjoyed a good reputation among servants and the wives of other households. Even though Yalan had not been close to her, Lu Yamei had always assumed that the two were naturally at odds because of their status.

Only today did she discover that this Second Madame’s private methods were so vile.

“When your second uncle went to Shanghai to take up his post, and decided to leave you alone in Yancheng, the Jian woman was still standing there advising him. I had thought it was because of your second uncle that she could not be too close to you.”

Lu Yamei’s face hardened. She gave a cold laugh. “I manage the family business outside, and inside I spar with a whole nest of little vixens. I thought myself a heroine among women, and in the end I couldn’t even see through something this simple. That woman has really hidden herself well.”

Did he get angry? Ningxia looked at Nie Chen in surprise. This was the first time she had heard him speak with anything like a rebuking tone. But his anger seemed strange. She had done a good deed: the gift he had always wanted to give to the woman he loved, but never managed to hand over, she had delivered for him. Shouldn’t he have been laughing himself to death?

Zhang Yu’s family was doing all right, but the lives of the other people, the other families in the village, were gradually starting to get worse.

Hearing Zhang Yu’s words, the whole family fell silent. Even Zhang Jian, who had originally been quite pleased with his own inner cultivation, lost that earlier swagger and satisfaction.

Those who had received Princess Lishan’s kindness, or had dealings with her, or were simply there for the excitement, all hurried to the residence where Hai Li was staying, to offer congratulations to Gu Jiaqi.

“Of course Chun’er knows. Just now, when Jing Dan dropped her bead bracelet in the temple courtyard, Chun’er was the one who picked it up and returned it to her. It’s only that Jing Dan is so strange—why would she refuse to wear such a nice bracelet, and instead keep it tucked in her bosom?” Chun Jing replied with innocent simplicity.

“After you go, try not to cause any unnecessary trouble. There are powerful people from every sect guarding that place, and the Jiang family will certainly send someone too,” Xia Xinyao said.

After putting the cover back on the rear of the car, He Yu patted the vehicle and could not help but inspect his newly acquired ride in careful detail.

Luo Ya did not know by what means she had preserved that special magic crystal. Before she took it out, no one had sensed its presence at all, but once it appeared, no one could ignore it.

Two personal guards carried in a long, double-layered glass fish tank. The blue seawater rippled faintly; the bottom was covered with fine sand, coral, and reef stones. Pearl clams were scattered here and there, while conchs and scallops appeared in shadowy glimpses. Dark green seaweed swayed and drifted. Bright tropical fish threaded through it all, swimming freely back and forth.

“This humble servant thanks Your Ladyship for your great kindness. This humble servant takes his leave.” Huang Jing hurriedly kowtowed, then retreated several steps and turned away.

“All right. Wu Fan probably doesn’t have time to go buy gasoline for now, so we’ll have to run to Immortal Lake,” Hua Jitian said.

Rong Nancheng knew nothing at all about cats. He could not tell the breed, the sex, or even the color of its fur. In the end, he still had to rely on Gu Jin for help.

Hearing that name, Mo Sinan seemed to find it somewhat familiar, but for a moment could not remember where she had heard it before.

Mu Bai understood all too well the power of Buddhism. Once that force rose, even an ordinary imperial court might not be able to contend with it.

Seeing that Mo Sinan insisted on meeting Gu Yanzhi, Gu Changsheng did not understand why she felt such deep attachment to his son, who was in a vegetative state, or whether she had some other purpose. But since she firmly demanded to see Gu Yanzhi, he would use that to force Mo Sinan to agree to their demands.

A beast was nothing remarkable. These magical beasts were all land beasts—tigers, leopards, and the like—and could not escape from Heartflower Island.

And yet He Yunlong merely smiled with confidence, evading the attacks of the two carnivorous lizards. Then, with a swift flip, he leaped straight from the sixth-floor ledge down to the stairwell landing on the fifth floor.

Xiao Mei’s face grew extremely ugly. Although she considered herself beautiful, compared with Liu Qianqian she was still far, far inferior.

As long as one grasps this vital force, one can seize hold of this transformation, and thus see all things in the world.

Fu Jingsi had seen far too much flattery and obsequiousness; someone of Bai Yanzhi’s caliber was simply not worth a second glance to him.