Chapter 79: Transaction with the Great Elder

  "Miss Leng, to be honest with you, our Wind family is currently lacking in reserve power, and the qualifications of many of our younger generation are not very good. Mo Ran is the most outstanding among our Wind family's current generation, so under his leadership, our Wind family will surely become more prosperous." The Great Elder said with a serious tone, his face full of expectation.

  "Elder, if Wind wants to be the young master, I would certainly support him. However, since Wind himself doesn't want to do it, I also don't want anyone to force him." Leng Ruoxue presented her thoughts in front of the Elder, hoping that those under her care could live happily.

  "The Feng family is the second largest household, and becoming the young master of the Feng family is such an honorable thing. How did it become a burden to him?" The Great Elder said with some indignation, puffing out his chest and glaring. If this were to happen to someone else, they would be overjoyed, but instead there's someone who doesn't want it - he truly can't understand.

  "Elder, such a thing might be an honor for others, but for someone who doesn't value fame and fortune, it's nothing." Cold Snow's words implied that Feng Mo Ran was precisely the kind of person who didn't value fame and fortune.

  "He will regret it!" The elder growled, he had finally found a worthy successor in the young family member, wasn't that hard to come by?

  "That's also his own choice." Leng Ruoxue said disapprovingly, since he chose it, don't regret it later. After all, everyone has to be responsible for their own choices, and there's no such thing as a "regret medicine" in this world.

  "You've called him 'big brother', don't you have any plans for his future?" The elder glared, releasing a hint of pressure.

  "I'm just thinking about his future, Feng Ge is a person who yearns for freedom, I couldn't let him be confined in this deep mansion, living a suffocating life, unless it's his own choice." Leng Ruo Xue said calmly, not fearing the pressure from the elder.

  "He doesn't have to be the master either, I still have that condition." The elder said without giving in.

  "Great elder, why must you make things difficult for Feng Da Ge? You just want to find a young master for the Feng family." Lan Ruoxue said calmly.

  "No one in the Wind Family is more suitable than Mo Ran." The Great Elder's mind remained unchanged and stubbornly said.

  "But Brother Wind doesn't want to do it, Great Elder. Your conditions are a bit too harsh for Brother Wind. How about this, let's make a deal?" said Cold Snow, looking at the Great Elder with an air of mystery.

  "What deal? Unless your Wind House can produce a genius young master, don't even mention it." The Great Elder's tone was uncompromising, and this was already his lowest requirement. As for the divine beast, he also knew that was somewhat unrealistic.

  "If I had a way to make the Wind Clan produce a hundred geniuses?" Leng Ruoxue threw out a big temptation, she didn't believe that this cunning old fox wouldn't take the bait.

  "One hundred? Are you kidding me? How is that possible." The elder didn't believe that Leng Ruoxue could do it.

  "I'm not joking, and nothing is impossible in this matter. It's just that I don't know if the Great Elder will agree or not?" Leng Ruoxue waited patiently for the Great Elder's decision.

  "If you can really do it, then I'll agree with you." The elder thought for a long time, steeled himself and said resolutely.

  "The Great Elder is a straightforward person, so I won't waste words." Leng Ruoxue handed over a small jade bottle to the Great Elder.

  "What is this? Dan medicine?" The Great Elder took it over and opened it to take a look, only to see that inside were beads of dan medicine like pearls, roughly over a hundred grains.

  "This is the Washing Marrow Dan," explained Leng Ruoxue.

  "Xǐ máo dān? Lěng xiǎojiě shì dàng wǒ bù lǐ jiě de dān yào ma? Rén rén dōu zhī dào xǐ máo dān shì líng fēng dà lù shàng zuì jī xiāo de dān yào, xiào guǒ bìng bù hǎo." Dà cháng lǎo yǒu diǎn fèn nù de shuō le.

  "How can the great elder be as short-sighted as ordinary people? I said I would give you a hundred geniuses, how could I deceive you?" Leng Ruoxue said with a hint of displeasure, she was very clear that when dealing with someone who had been in a high position for a long time, being too weak was absolutely not allowed.

  "Is there something special about this Brain-Cleansing Pill?" asked the Great Elder with a puzzled expression.

  "This is the real deal, authentic Washing Marrow Dan. Otherwise, why would Feng Da Ge become a genius?" Cold Snow explained indifferently.

  "You're saying..." The old man hastily stopped speaking, his face filled with excitement, tightly grasping the jade bottle in his hand. If this is true, then the Wind Family... he simply didn't dare to imagine how powerful they would become in the future.

  "Elder, there are a hundred grains of Washing Marrow Dan inside. However, I suggest you choose some descendants with good character to give them to, otherwise having too many geniuses would be a trouble." Lan Ruoxue suggested kindly.

  "Thank you, Miss Leng, for reminding me. I will make a good choice." The elder said gratefully. To be honest, he had indeed intended to choose some slightly better qualified people to wash the bones, after all, this was an unwritten rule of every family. However, after hearing Leng Ruoxue's reminder, he couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he really followed his original train of thought and chose someone, it would be a disaster for the Feng family, not a good thing.

  "Older brother Feng..."

  "Miss Leng, rest assured, I won't force him anymore unless he's willing himself." said the Great Elder with a smile.

  "That, I still have a question, is this elixir refined by Miss Leng herself?" The Great Elder asked tentatively.

  "What does the Great Elder think?" asked Leng Ruoxue, her face wearing a sweet smile, not answering but asking instead. She believed that the Great Elder was an intelligent person and would know what to do.

  "The old man knew." The elder said with a knowing tone, what a pervert! Originally, he had decided to befriend her after learning that Leng Ruoxue was an instrument master, now, he even...

  "Leng Miss, our Feng family is willing to form an alliance with you, and from now on we will advance and retreat together." After a pause, the Great Elder continued, "Although I haven't discussed this matter with the master of the house yet, I believe he will definitely agree."

  "Elder, you're overestimating me. I don't have any power or influence." Leng Ruoxue reminded him, not expecting that Dan Shifu's identity would be so useful, even the second most powerful family was willing to form an alliance with them. No wonder those people like Dan Shifu were all so arrogant, their tails were practically touching the sky.

  "Miss Leng is really too modest." The Great Elder had a few drops of cold sweat on his forehead, what other power did she have? As long as she revealed her identity, there would be many strong people coming to her door for her to choose from.

  "Elder, what I said is the truth." Leng Ruoxue didn't think she was being modest at all. After careful consideration, apart from Feng Da and others, she indeed had no power to speak of.

  "Hehe, regardless of whether Miss Leng has any power or not, our Feng family is willing to form an alliance with Miss Leng." The Great Elder said very considerately, young lady, isn't this alright?

  "Since the elder is so enthusiastic, I'd better not refuse. However, the master of the Wind family and the deputy master..." Cold Ruo Xue said with some puzzlement, she really wanted to know how great the elder's power was.

  "Miss Leng, rest assured. The master of the house trusts me very much. As long as it's something I've decided on, he won't oppose it. And as for acting on his behalf? That won't be necessary for much longer." The elder said with full confidence, originally not having a high opinion of Feng Xiao, now even more so.

  "Elder, someone as selfish and venomous as Feng Xiao will eventually be a disaster for the Feng family." Leng Ruoxue saw that the elder was somewhat reasonable, so she spoke directly, but what the elder would do next wasn't something she could control.

  "I know, but he is the eldest son of the master after all, so..." Even if he wants to get rid of Feng Xiao, he needs a good reason. Otherwise, the master may not say anything on the surface, but he will definitely have reservations in his heart, which is not conducive to the development of the Feng family and not what he wants to see.

  "It's a blessing for the Feng family to have such an elder." Leng Ruo Xue praised, this old man was truly devoted to the Feng family, without any personal motives.

  "Miss Leng really looks up to me, haha." The elder smiled humbly and didn't take it seriously.

  "Elder, this is for you." Leng Ruoxue thought for a moment, took out two green pills and handed them to the elder. This old man was quite to her liking, and since the two families were going to form an alliance, he could be considered one of their own people now.

  "What is this?" The elder took over the two crystal clear green pills, and a strong spiritual energy!

  "Bixian Dan!" Leng Ruoxue explained.

  "Bì Líng Dān! Is it for the Spiritual Beast to eat?" The Great Elder's eyes widened, staring coldly like snow, and asked disbelievingly.

  Although humans can also take the Biling Dan, its effect is not as good as that of the spiritual beasts. Moreover, although the Biling Dan is not difficult to refine, the Biling fruit used to refine it is extremely hard to find. Alas! Now he knows why there are divine beasts. The surprise given by Leng Ruo Xue is too great. It seems that his decision was indeed correct.

  "Hmm, I heard that the Great Elder has a 9th-grade Sacred Beast." Cold Snow nodded and said.

  "Hehe, I, Lao Fu Dai Que Yu, thank Cold Miss for her great kindness." The Great Elder said gratefully, and was even happier than when he himself had advanced to the Spirit Venerable realm. This Cold Ruo Xue was truly his benefactor, the Great Elder couldn't help but think to himself.

  "Great elder, remember to find a secluded place when you're promoted." Cold Snow teased.

  "Hehe, I know." He didn't want to be like General Leng and make it known to everyone.

  "Right, Great Elder, it's best if no one else finds out about our alliance." said Leng Ruoxue after some thought.

  "Hmm, I see." The elder said with a knowing tone. It seems that Cold-as-Snow wants to keep a low profile, but some things and some people are destined not to be low-key.

  Actually, he was wrong, Leng Ruo Xue didn't want to keep a low profile, she wanted to pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger.

  "Elder, I've completed my task, so I'll take my leave first." Leng Ruoxue glanced at the time and said, it's almost noon, she was getting hungry.

  "Miss Leng, it's almost noon, you should at least stay for a meal!" the elder said with a smile.

  "Elder, no need to be so polite. Now all the big families are eyeing me covetously, if I really stay, I'm afraid it will bring trouble to the Feng family." Leng Ruoxue said with a playful tone.

  "Uh, since that's the case, I won't force Miss Leng anymore. I'll send..." The elder's words were cut off by Leng Ruo Xue.

  "Elder, I'm here looking for Big Brother Feng."

  "Hmm, okay then!" The elder knew he was being rejected and felt extremely depressed. To think that someone could make him send them off at the door, what a huge loss of face! But...

  Leng Ruo Xue walked out of the grand elder's room and glanced at the demon guarding the door, saying to Feng Mo Ran: "Feng big brother, it's all settled."

  "Let's go back, you monster!"

  "Okay."

  "Xue Er, did you agree to the elder's condition?" Feng Mo Ran couldn't help but ask, sighing! He really didn't want Xue Er to do it for him...

  "No, I just made a deal with him." Lan Ruoxue explained simply.

  "What deal." Feng Yan hastily asked, he knew it would be like this, otherwise, the Great Elder wouldn't have loosened his mouth.

  "It's a very simple transaction, Wind Brother, it's not what you think, don't worry!" Leng Ruoxue comforted him, for her, this transaction was indeed easy.

  "Xue Er, don't deceive me." Feng Mo Ran said somewhat distrustfully.

  "I'm not deceiving you, it's inconvenient to talk here, wait until the day you go to General's Mansion, I'll tell you in detail." Leng Ruoxue said somewhat helplessly, Feng Da Ge actually didn't believe her, wu...it really broke her heart.

  "Alright, I'll send you off." He had originally planned to return today, but there were still some things he needed to take care of. Once he settled things here, he would immediately head to the General's Manor.

  Feng Yanran saw him off for a long time, and finally, Leng Ruo Xue had to chase him back.

  "Xue Er, what deal did you discuss with Feng Jia's eldest?" The demon asked curiously after returning to the General's mansion.

  One hundred grains of hair washing beads.

  "Is that all?" Hmm, for Xue Er, it wasn't a difficult task at all, and he didn't find it strange that the Great Elder of the Feng Clan would agree. After all, one hundred grains of Washing Marrow Dan could absolutely make the young generation of the Feng Clan undergo a transformation.

  "Monster, the Wind Clan still wants to form an alliance with me." Leng Ruo Xue continued, and also told the monster about her conversation with the Great Elder in the house.

  "This is a big profit for Lao Da." The demon said with some anger.

  "You're a monster, he's already an old man." Leng Ruoxue said somewhat speechlessly, do you want to eat even an old man's vinegar?

  "Xue Er, the Seventh Prince is still in the dungeon! Hurry up and deal with him, or we'll have to keep supporting him, wasting our General's Manor money." The demon changed the subject, reminding her that compared to a useless old man, the Seventh Prince was even more annoying.

  "En, after finishing dinner, let's go to the dungeon and take a look." The Seventh Prince has also been locked up for several days, I wonder what he's like now. Cold Snow thought of this and couldn't help but feel a little excited.

  After dinner, Leng Ruo Xue and Yao Jiao arrived at the dungeon where Qi Huang Zi was being held.

  Leng Ruo Xue looked at the Seventh Prince in the prison cell and almost thought she had entered the wrong place. Was this really that noble Seventh Prince?

  Only the seventh prince was seen in the prison cell, his clothes were tattered and worn out, his hair was messy like straw, his face was covered with dust, with bruises all over...

  This is how it happened, she remembered very clearly, and didn't let the seventh prince be tortured! Could it be that someone sneaked into the prison cell and switched the seventh prince? Thinking of this...

  "Li Yu!" Leng Ruoxue suddenly shouted loudly.

  "Cold as snow! Let me out, let me out quickly!" Li Yu, who was sitting on the ground, suddenly lifted his head and shouted at Cold Snow. He didn't want to stay here, he was the noble Seventh Prince, how could he be locked in a prison cell?!

  It seems to be the same person, but the gaze of the Seventh Prince is somewhat scattered. I suppose his mental endurance has reached its limit. Humph! He's indeed a pampered prince, and in just a few days, he's managed to reduce himself to this state. How utterly useless! Cold Snow thought disdainfully to herself.

  "Do you really want to go out?" asked Leng Ruoxue coldly.

  "Yes, I'm going out, I'm going out." Li Yu shouted like a madman.

  "You can still have a life in here, but going out? Do you think you'll still be alive?" Ling Ruo Xue reminded him, she thought to herself that she was really too kind, actually considering the well-being of her enemy.

  "It won't happen, I won't die, Father Emperor will protect me, and also Nai'er, she's the most pampered eldest miss of the Xu family, she won't let anyone kill me." The Seventh Prince seemed to be muttering to himself.

  "Your father can't even protect himself, how can he protect you? As for Xu Na, it's even more impossible for her to care about your life and death, because the Xu Na you've been thinking of is already dead." Leng Ruo Xue really didn't want to shatter his beautiful dream, but dreams are just dreams, people will always have to face reality.

  "No, you're deceiving me, you're deceiving me. My father the Emperor will protect me, Na'er won't die, how could she possibly die?" Li Yu didn't believe Cold Snow's words at all.

  Suddenly, his eyes turned fierce and he glared at Leng Ruoxue with a menacing gaze: "It's you, it must be you. What did you do to Na'er? You must have been the one who killed Na'er, you heartless and venomous woman. I won't let you off."

  Li Yu was crazily yelling, his eyes were filled with red bloodshot, his face was bulging with blue veins, and he had already entered a frenzied state.

  "Do you really think your Nai'er is a good thing? Honestly, she died on Feng Qingran's bed, and the cause of death was... excessive lust." Leng Ruo Xue despised men like Li Yu who escaped reality and refused to face it, so she had no choice but to wake him up kindly.

  "Is the wind clear? No, you're deceiving me, you told me you were deceiving me, Nai'er isn't that kind of woman who can be had by anyone, she isn't!" Li Yu was stunned, this blow to him was really too great, he really couldn't accept that the woman he liked died in another man's bed.

  "She isn't? If she isn't, then no one is." Ye Chen said coldly. This Li Yu was truly a useless man, actually being played around by a woman and even taking a slutty woman as a sacred goddess. Hmph! He really deserved to be deceived.

  "She isn't, she isn't..." Li Yu heard Ye Chen's words and involuntarily lowered his head, not reacting for a long time, his mouth only repeatedly repeating that one sentence.

  "Let's go, you demon!" Cold Snow turned to the demon and said. Looking at Li Yu's dead appearance, she really didn't have any intention of tormenting him anymore. Clearly, she hadn't done anything yet, but Li Yu's heart couldn't take it. Such a person is truly a waste.

  "Okay."

  "Don't go, don't go!" Li Yu cried out in a desperate plea after coming to his senses, but no one paid any attention to him...

  "Xue Er, what about this Li Yu?" The demon asked with a headache after leaving the dungeon.

  "Give him back to Li Yuan!"

  "Isn't that letting him off easy?" The demon said with some discontent.

  "How could he be cheaper than him? Do you think Li Yuan will let him off? He fell into Li Yuan's hands, but the outcome is much more miserable than falling into our hands." Leng Ruo Xue didn't think that Li Yuan would treat him as his own brother, who knows how he would torture him!

  "That's true, but Xue'er, you haven't even avenged yourself yet, and now you're just going to let him go back like this? I really can't bear it!" the demon complained.

  "He's now in this state of death, there's no fun in avenging him at all." Leng Ruoxue said somewhat speechlessly.

  "But what if he's pretending?" The demon was really unable to believe that the prince, a member of the royal family, could have such a fragile heart. After all, weren't people from the imperial and aristocratic families all cunning? Someone like Li Yu, unless they were especially favored or had someone protecting them, would be completely unable to survive.

  "I've lost interest, let Li Yuan try instead!" Leng Ruo Xue said gloomily.

  "That's okay." The demon agreed, but for safety's sake, he thought it would be better to give Li Yu some medicine.

  Action speaks louder than words, after finishing dinner, Leng Ruo Xue and Yao Jiao hurriedly dragged Li Yu to the imperial palace.

  In the study.

  "What does this mean?" Li Yuan, sitting on the dragon chair, looked at Leng Ruo Xue with a puzzled expression.

  "We're here to return people." Lan Ruoxue explained calmly.

  "It's not necessary to return it." Li Yuan said generously, he didn't want this person.

  "There's borrowing and there's returning. It won't be hard to borrow again, so I'll return it to you first!" Leng Ruoxue said with a sense of propriety. This good-for-nothing was actually asking her for money, but she didn't want it anyway.

  Li Yuan listened to Leng Ruo Xue's words and had a few black lines on his forehead. From what she said, was she planning to borrow again in the future?

  "This person I'll give to you, no need to be so troublesome, coming and going all the time." Li Yuan really didn't want to take over!

  "No way, I don't have space for him and it would be a waste of my money to raise him." Leng Ruoxue had an unyielding expression, she was resolute!

  "We give..."

  "I won't even take money if it's handed to me on a silver platter." Leng Ruo Xue added, interrupting Li Yuan.

  Li Yuan was helpless, really very helpless...

  "Right, how did he end up like this?" Li Yuan looked at Li Yu who was lying on the ground, unconscious and looking like a dead dog, and asked curiously. It didn't seem like they had used torture on him!

  "He's a bit weak in the heart, I just told him about what happened recently and he ended up like this." Lan Ruoxue said innocently, as if it really had nothing to do with her.

  "Oh, bring him in and lock him up in the heavenly prison." Li Yuan nodded understandingly, then ordered the eunuch beside him.

  "Yes." The eunuch took his leave and left the imperial study.

  "It's all settled, let's take our leave." said Leng Ruoxue with a smile.

  "Hmm, that Yu Xue, your sister has been mentioning you lately. Since you're here, go take a look at her!" Li Yuan said thoughtfully.

  "Alright, I'll go take a look at Sister Mo." Leng Ruo Xue said with a hint of curiosity, wondering why Li Yuan was being so deliberate in telling her this, was there something going on?

  "Xue Er, are we going to see Mo Ying Yue?" As they left the imperial study, the two walked in the imperial garden, the demon asked softly.

  "Go take a look!" Leng Ruoxue knew that since Li Yuan ascended to the throne, everything had been going smoothly. After all, with the recognition of their ancestors, no one dared to oppose him.

  After Mo Yingyue became the empress, she moved to Fengcui Palace to live. Leng Ruxue and Yao Nie found their way to Fengcui Palace with ease.

  "Eldest Sister Mo." After entering the Fengjiu Palace, Leng Ruoxue saw that no one was blocking her way, so she walked directly into the inner hall with Yougui.

  "Yue Xue, how do you have time to come see your sister?" Mo Yingyue, who was having a meal, said happily when she saw Leng Ruo Xue, quickly putting down her chopsticks and standing up, walking to Leng Ruo Xue's side and pulling her to sit down together.

  "Yè Chén, you're so carefree!" Mò Yìng Yuè said passionately to Yè Chén.

  "Good." Ye Chen casually found a chair and sat down.

  "Eldest sister Mo, we've come to return Li Yu's things." Leng Ruoxue said straightforwardly, she wouldn't hypocritically say that she had come specifically to see Mo Yingyue.

  "I knew you were just here to see your sister." Mo Yingyue sighed and said with a knowing tone, if there was nothing going on, this girl wouldn't have come to the palace. However, she really did like Cold Ruo Xue's straightforward and clear-cut personality.

  "Has Sister Mo been unhappy about something recently?" asked Leng Ruo Xue directly, getting straight to the point, presumably this was also one of Li Yuan's purposes for having her come.

  "It's somewhat, I suppose!" Mo Yingyue said with a troubled expression.

  "Sister Mo, come and listen."

  "Lately, there have been some ministers who have been constantly going against Your Majesty's wishes." Mo Yingyue said with great reserve, finding it somewhat difficult to broach the subject.

  "Is that all?" Cold-as-snow was quite unimpressed, she had thought it was some earth-shattering matter. In fact, this kind of thing can be said to be the easiest to resolve.

  "This is no trivial matter, it's related to national stability." Mo Yingyue was in a difficult position.

  "Eldest sister Mo, is this world where the strong are revered?" asked Leng Ruo Xue suddenly.

  "Of course." Mo Yingyue was somewhat perplexed, what did Yu Xue mean by this?

  "In that case, why bother too much about what those ministers say? As long as the imperial ancestors support you, I don't believe anyone would dare have other ideas." Lan Ruoxue said with great certainty.

  "But..."

  "Sister Mo, no one wants to share their husband with another woman. If it comes down to it, whoever gets eliminated will be the one who loses. If you can't do it openly, then do it secretly. You're the first lady of the country, the legitimate wife, can't you even handle a few mistresses?!" Cold Snow encouraged, she couldn't stand women being too self-deprecating, losing their own dignity for a worthless man. Humph! She hoped Li Yuan wasn't a man who liked new things and got rid of old ones, otherwise, she would make him regret it.

  "Ruo Xue, you don't understand, in my family, there are also people who have such thoughts, so..." Mo Yingyue really didn't know what to do anymore. If because of this matter, she lost the support of her family, then she would definitely be forced to give up the position of Empress. She didn't care about the position of Empress, but she couldn't let go of her husband.

  "Who?" asked Leng Ruoxue coldly.

  "She is my cousin." Mo Yingyue replied honestly, Xuer's expression was really scary!

  "Hmph! Not even sparing her own brother-in-law, this woman is really detestable! Leng Ruoxue seethed in her heart, but after all, this was Mo sister's family matter, and as an outsider, she couldn't say anything."

  Digression

  Thank you Flying Sky Blood Fox and jenhui for the flowers.

  Thank you eternalxue for the diamond.