The First Madam walked back with a beaming smile, thinking to herself that she had finally shaken off Jiang Yuejing. Qin Wenyu, you never thought your daughter would come to this day, did you?
Originally, the First Madam and the First Master had wanted to marry Jiang Yuejing off to some random peddler or common laborer. However, they feared the Head of the Qin Family—who was both the First Master's and Qin Wenyu's father—would fly into a rage and blame them if he came out of seclusion and discovered the matter. Thus, they had come up with this scheme instead.
Betrothing her to the Zhao family was a match between families of equal social standing, making it look as though she, as the aunt, and her uncle had done everything in their power to be benevolent and righteous. Yet the Zhao family was also a prominent clan within the city, with rigorous and stern family rules. Once that fool entered their gates, she would undoubtedly suffer endless torment, and the Second Young Master Zhao would never protect her, despising her foolishness as he did.
Qin Wenyu was the youngest daughter of the Qin Family Head. Her Spiritual Root was a dual spiritual root of water and gold—one thick and one thin—which qualified as a pseudo-single spiritual root. Her innate talent was extraordinary, so the Family Head doted on this daughter greatly, and the clan's resources were heavily tilted in Qin Wenyu's favor. Later, at the age of eight, Qin Wenyu reached the Second Layer of Qi Condensation, and at twenty, she achieved Foundation Establishment, entering the Taqing Sect, the number one sect in the Eastern Continent. Still later, she obtained a fortuitous encounter that allowed her to cleanse away that thin gold spiritual root and become a true single spiritual root.
When Qin Wenyu was born, the First Master had already reached adulthood. Watching his younger sister receive better and better resources—far surpassing what he had enjoyed in his youth—the First Master grew increasingly envious. He envied his sister's Spiritual Root, and he envied his sister's resources.When the First Madam had just married the eldest master, she had thought that since he was the only son of the Qin Family head, the entire Qin Family would eventually belong to the eldest branch and herself. Later, however, she discovered that the clan gave better resources to Qin Wenyu than to the eldest branch. The First Madam began to feel resentful—why should a daughter receive better treatment than a son? As Qin Wenyu grew more and more accomplished, the flames of jealousy in the couple burned brighter and brighter.
Later, when Qin Wenyu gave birth to a foolish daughter, the eldest master and the First Madam grinned from ear to ear. This daughter was subsequently kept in the Qin Family and raised by them. After the family head went into seclusion, the eldest master took charge of household affairs, and the two of them bullied Jiang Yuejing on numerous occasions. Watching the fine items in Qin Wenyu's room get moved into her own quarters one by one under the pretext that the First Madam was afraid Jiang Yuejing might break them, the eldest master found it immensely gratifying.
Because the clan was large, the couple did not dare to bully Jiang Yuejing too blatantly, but marrying Jiang Yuejing off to the Zhao family would allow the Zhao family to torment her, giving this Jiang Yuejing a bitter taste of hardship.
Therefore, today the First Madam had arranged for Qin Shi to stir up trouble, so that Jiang Yuejing would lose face in front of everyone and make the Second Young Master Zhao detest Jiang Yuejing even more. Although Qin Shi proved useless, the final result still satisfied the First Madam.
"I do not agree!" Jiang Yuejing's loud voice resounded across the banquet.
The First Madam chided, "What nonsense are you talking about? A marriage is decided by the parents' commands and the matchmaker's words." Then, she smiled and said to the gathering, "Our younger daughter is simply being shy."Jiang Yuejing talked back, "You aren't even my parents. What gives you the right to dictate my marriage?"
The First Madam instantly clutched her chest, looking as though she were on the verge of tears. "Yuejing, your aunt raised you all these years, and yet you say such a thing to me." The more poised and dignified the First Madam acted in that moment, the more ill-mannered and disrespectful Jiang Yuejing appeared.
Jiang Yuejing realized she had unwittingly walked right into another trap. This First Madam was quite the drama queen. But since the woman loved acting, Jiang Yuejing could play along.
Assuming a troubled expression, Jiang Yuejing said, "My mother left a letter stating that she had arranged an engagement for me before I was born. She wrote that if she had a daughter, I would be betrothed to Yun Shuo, the direct disciple of Sword Peak in the Taqing Sect. Mother also mentioned that she had prepared a generous dowry for me. I heard that auntie later took charge of keeping it safe, so auntie must know about this."
Upon hearing this, the First Madam was instantly dumbfounded. She knew nothing of the sort, and so she retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting, Yuejing? Auntie knows nothing about this, and how could a disciple of the Taqing Sect..." Before she could finish her sentence, the First Madam suddenly remembered that Jiang Yuejing's mother, Qin Wenyu, had come from the Taqing Sect, so such a thing wasn't entirely impossible. But how could an idiot like her know about this?
forcing a smile, the First Madam said, "Didn't you used to have a terrible memory? You would turn around and forget whatever auntie told you right after hearing it. How could you possibly remember the contents of a letter?" With these words, the First Madam subtly hinted to everyone that an idiot's words were unworthy of belief.
Feigning pure innocence, Jiang Yuejing replied, "Mother mentioned it several times in the letters she left behind, and naturally, I remember everything Mother ever said." Hearing this, the First Madam was so infuriated her chest ached, and she turned to look at the two young masters of the Zhao family.
The eldest young master of the Zhao family asked, "Is it true what you said about being betrothed to this Yun Shuo from the Taqing Sect?"
Jiang Yuejing answered, "If you don't believe me, you can go to the Taqing Sect and inquire about it." The Taqing Sect was, after all, the number one sect in the Eastern Continent, whereas the Zhao family was merely an insignificant, nameless minor family in the Eastern Continent. Naturally, they would never dare to casually go inquire at the Taqing Sect, much less risk offending them. Jiang Yuejing was exploiting precisely this point, which gave her the audacity to speak so brazenly.
The eldest Young Master Zhao said, "Fine, we understand. In that case, First Madam, let us consider the marriage alliance between our two families cancelled." With that, he turned and left, taking the second young master with him. Was this sharp-tongued Jiang Yuejing really still an idiot?
Jiang Yuejing smiled with satisfaction and turned back to return to her quarters. Her claim of an arranged betrothal to Yun Shuo was entirely fabricated; she had simply seen an annotation her mother left in a book, which read: "Yun Shuo, disciple of Elder Xie of Sword Peak, cultivates the ruthless path and progresses with extreme speed."Further down a few pages, another marginal note mentioned that this Yun Shuo always kept a straight face even as a little kid, looking like he wanted the candied hawthorn in his hand while pretending not to care, only to give himself away by stealing a few sideways glances. Qin Wenyu even complained that the Ruthless Path had made the little fellow much less cute.
After returning to her room, Jiang Yuejing continued her cultivation. For days now, she had been channeling all the spiritual energy she absorbed directly into breaking through her acupoints, leaving none of it stored in her body. Thus, she had merely guided the spiritual energy into her body without actually reaching the First Layer of Qi Condensation.
Having shaken off the marriage arrangement, Jiang Yuejing knew the First Mistress must be furious and would likely have other traps waiting for her down the road. The years she spent reading books in her past life were not meant to be wasted on petty courtyard fights with people here. There was a vast world outside, and she needed to grow stronger so she could roam freely out there.
As she directed the spiritual power to break through her acupoints, Jiang Yuejing thought about how her mother had once belonged to the Taqing Sect. She wanted to go there too; perhaps she could find more information about her mother there. This particular acupoint still refused to yield; the absorbed spiritual energy felt utterly soft and feeble when trying to force open this meridian, likely because her cultivation level was still too low to break through it.
Jiang Yuejing took a deep breath. *Never mind, I'll go out and do some Body Tempering first, and absorb spiritual energy to cultivate tonight when it's quiet.*
Upon hearing what the First Mistress had reported, the head of the Qin Family paced back and forth in his room. The Taqing Sect was not someone they could afford to offend, and he still had to appease the Zhao Family. The First Mistress let out a long sigh; the husband and wife both felt they had been played by that fool.
Soon, the news of Jiang Yuejing's betrothal to Yun Shuo, a disciple of the Taqing Sect, spread everywhere. Many young women envied Jiang Yuejing, that fool, and even Qingyue looked at Fang Jing with a gossipy expression while bringing her meals: "My lady, my lady! Are the rumors true that you're engaged to a direct disciple of the Taqing Sect?!"
Seeing Qingyue's excited look, Jiang Yuejing didn't want to deceive her, yet she feared the truth would leak out and her aunt would arrange someone like Young Master Zhang or Young Master Wang for her again. With a mysterious expression, she said, "Some things cannot be spoken of."
Qingyue said happily, "Now everyone knows about this. I'd like to see who dares to bully you in the future, My lady! But tell me, when is Young Master Yun Shuo coming to marry you? What if he doesn't even know you're here?" As she spoke, Qingyue began to look worried.
Just as Jiang Yuejing was about to comfort her, Qingyue suddenly stamped her foot. "That's right! Young Master Yun Shuo doesn't know you're here. You can go find him, My lady! Two months from now, the major sects will be recruiting disciples, and the Taqing Sect will be among them this year. You can go to the square opposite the City Lord's Mansion and find the Taqing Sect then, and just tell them you're Young Master Yun Shuo's fiancée. That way, he'll know you're here!"
Jiang Yuejing caught the key point. "The Taqing Sect is coming here to recruit disciples in two months?"
Qingyue looked at Jiang Yuejing with sparkling eyes and nodded vigorously. Jiang Yuejing was very happy upon hearing this, and seeing Jiang Yuejing happy made Qingyue happy as well.
That night, Jiang Yuejing absorbed spiritual energy and circulated it through her complete cycle, quickly reaching the First Layer of Qi Condensation. She thought to herself silently: *It doesn't seem that difficult after all.*
Over a month later, Qin Ling returned to the Qin Family. The First Mistress wanted Qin Ling to help her younger son get into the Biyun Sect, but Qin Ling replied, "His aptitude is too poor, it will be very difficult for him to enter the Biyun Sect. Not only does he have Three Spiritual Roots, but his spiritual roots are quite narrow. I'm afraid it will be hard for him even to become an outer disciple."
Hearing this, the First Mistress's face instantly fell. "What? You've made something of yourself now, and we can't even bask in a shred of your glory? Are you still my daughter? Are you still A-Yu's sister?! How many resources did we spend raising you?!"
Qin Ling said, "When I entered the Biyun Sect, I was merely an outer disciple, and it took a tremendous amount of effort just to enter the inner sect. You probably never intended to cultivate me from the very beginning; all the good resources were given to my brother. Even when various sects came to recruit newcomers, you spent spirit stones and energy only to send my brother to the Liuxi Sect, never once considering me."
After that, the First Mistress and Qin Ling had a huge argument. Qin Ling turned and left, and as she passed Jiang Yuejing's room, she knocked on the door and went in to find Jiang Yuejing meditating. Upon closer inspection, she saw that Jiang Yuejing had already reached the Second Layer of Qi Condensation.
Qin Ling pulled Jiang Yuejing aside to chat for a while. Before leaving, she said earnestly to Fang Jing, "In a few days, many sects will be coming to recruit disciples. You can go and try your luck. If you manage to get in, you must leave this place. If you want to advance further in your cultivation, staying in the Qin Family will provide you with almost no resources. Do you understand?"
Jiang Yuejing nodded in acknowledgment.
A few days later, the various sects arrived to recruit disciples. Early in the morning, Qingyue excitedly came to wake Jiang Yuejing up, picking out various outfits and styling her hair in several ways, until Jiang Yuejing finally stopped her from trying yet another hairstyle. "If we keep changing, it'll be too late."
Qingyue had no choice but to abandon the idea of changing her hairstyle again. She selected a few pieces of jewelry from the box that matched best and helped Jiang Yuejing put them on. "My lady must be dressed up looking absolutely stunning when she goes to the Taqing Sect."
As they were finally heading out, Jiang Yuejing looked at Qingyue's eager gaze and asked, "Would you like to come with me?"
Qingyue's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Yes, yes! I'm so glad I carefully put on my makeup this morning!" She then followed Jiang Yuejing toward the direction of the City Lord's Mansion.