"I will be your guide." First High Elder Qisi said coolly. "However, the process to access the Main Treasury requires time for validation. So tomorrow at six in the morning, I shall guide you there."
Luo Ming arched an eyebrow. "Why six?"
"Because I decided so." High Elder Qisi said sharply, leaving no room for argument.
She shifted her attention back to Meng Lin, who stood there with her arms crossed in open defiance.
The young woman was so insufferable that High Elder Qisi simply wanted to be done with this meeting, so that Meng Lin could disappear from her sight.
Not only because her two senior brothers were growing more restless by the minute, but because she herself was losing patience.
So quickly, while concealing any trace of dissatisfaction, she spoke again.
"What about you, Meng Lin? Your compensation?"
"I don’t need it." She said straight away. "Give it to my son."
High Elder Qisi’s lips twitched behind her veil. "As you wish." She said. "Then, if every matter has been correctly handled..."
Meng Lin scoffed at the word ’correctly’.
"...then you are all dismissed." She finished, then with a glance at Wei Ting, "Now, young fairy Wei Ting, I hope your doubts have been cleared. Luo Ming is innocent."
"...yes." Wei Ting said, her lips twitching heavily, beginning to regret her decision. "Heavens’ grace upon us. I am deeply relieved to hear this news."
"Wait! What is this non—!"
"Then you may all leave now." High Elder Qisi cut short Luo Ming’s complaint, shooing them away with a wave of her hand.
Yet that simple gesture sent a burst of Qi erupting from her hand, slamming into all of them and sending them outside the Hall of Elders instantly.
As they vanished, the High Elders could hear the angry, irritated shouting of Meng Lin.
That, at least, brought a cold smile of satisfaction to all of them.
However, that moment of pleasure didn’t last long.
High Elder Qisi turned her attention toward the Second and Third High Elders, her voice a touch colder.
"May I ask, dear senior brothers, how did all of this come to be?" She said, authority clothed in respect. "I only emerged from seclusion this morning, and all of this had already happened?"
"That is not something you should ask us, junior sister Qisi." Third High Elder replied. "We were kept in the dark on this matter too. Otherwise, do you truly believe we would have deliberately allowed Meng Lin’s son to go through it?"
"Aye." Second High Elder nodded, his bony head looking as though it might snap and fall off at any sudden movement. "Meng Lin has been a matter of caution since she came to this house. We cannot afford to provoke the Silver Throne. The tension between us and the Chu Clan is already worsening. We do not need the Silver as an enemy too. Having Meng Lin in our family is an advantage we must keep at all costs. Not to mention it is only because of her status that the Wei Clan agreed to marry their daughter to us at all."
"If you are aware of all this," Qisi said, "then who dared to cause such a problem at a time like this?"
She asked the question, but already knew the answer. And it was plainly obvious when one looked at the fourth empty throne beside them.
The Second and Third High Elders said nothing, knowing nothing needed to be said.
Qisi exhaled slowly. Every single day she regretted having accepted the position of High Elder. She should have known better than to take on this burden.
Now, she felt compelled to put a stop to any problem that might arise from this situation.
And for that...
’I need to know who is behind this incident.’ She thought, her eyes narrowing. ’If not for punishment, then at least to know who is willing to create problems for us when we can least afford them.’
As those thoughts solidified in her mind, High Elder Qisi, without a word of farewell, vanished from the Hall of Elders in a streak of purple light.
The Second and Third High Elders were left behind, slowly shaking their heads, realising once again that their junior sister was angry.
It was never good news.
...
Outside the Hall of Elders, a few metres from Elder Luo Han, Luo Ming stood face to face with the Wei sisters once more.
Meng Lin had hurried off to retrieve something from her quarters, telling her son it was something she had prepared for him long ago.
Taking that window of time, Luo Ming glared at Wei Ting. "What was that for?"
"What? Don’t look at me so arrogantly thinking I want to marry you, Luo Ming!" She said forcefully. "Do you think you can break the engagement without my consent?"
"Why can’t I? Who are you?" Luo Ming rolled his eyes. "I have tolerated your spoiled-brat attitude for a long time, Wei Ting. It was obvious you never wanted to marry me and only forced yourself through it because of your family. It was no surprise you seized this opportunity to free yourself. So what was the meaning of what you just did?"
"I do whatever I want." Wei Ting grated, stepping closer and arrogantly poking his chest with her index finger. "I will be the one to end this engagement. And I will do it whenever I want."
He knitted his brows, looking deeply into her blue eyes, then sighed and ignored her.
Instead, he pushed her aside and walked straight to Wei Bing, who was watching them with no expression on her face.
However, strangely, Luo Ming could feel a hint of dissatisfaction at the edges of it.
Seeing him suddenly approach, Wei Bing was momentarily surprised. And that surprise grew when Luo Ming stood before her and bowed his head — just slightly enough to convey respect and gratitude.
"Fairy Wei Bing," he said, offering his most charming smile, "I must thank you for speaking up for me earlier. When your sister doubted my innocence, you alone gave me the benefit of the doubt. How can I repay your kindness?"
"Huh?" Wei Ting, standing behind, blurted out, watching the scene with a dazed, confused expression.
"You don’t have to." Wei Bing replied. "My words were enough."
"But I insist!" Luo Ming said. "I must thank you properly, or I will not feel at ease."
"It is truly fine, young master Luo Ming—!"
"Just call me Luo Ming. We are no longer strangers, are we?"
Wei Bing’s heart skipped an involuntary beat at Luo Ming’s sweet smile. The way he smiled was captivating, for his eyes seemed to smile along with his lips.
Wei Bing had lived a long time and endured many ordeals throughout her life. She had learned to peel away falsehoods and look straight at the ugly truths of the people around her.
And in doing so, she had learned that people were mostly gentle only when they needed something from you, or because of your status.
But the feeling she had toward Luo Ming was completely different. From the moment she had seen him, a strange attraction had tugged at her heart.
’How can I feel something like this in my condition?’
That was the most important question. And she believed that perhaps it was because her heart had not yet fully awakened, leaving it an opening to feel something. Or perhaps it was something else entirely.
In any case, in her two lifetimes, this was the first time Wei Bing had felt a fluctuation within her heart.
And all because of the man in front of her.
A man who was supposed to be dead.
Her curiosity deepened.
"Luo Ming, then." She echoed, then nodded stiffly. "You may call me Wei Bing."
"Thank you." Luo Ming said. "And as for how I can thank you, I think I have found a way."
"Which is?"
"I can play the zither for you." Luo Ming said, and behind him, Wei Ting’s body shivered.
"You!!! What are you—!"
"If you have a favourite piece, you can tell me and I will play it." Luo Ming cut Wei Ting off mercilessly. "And if I don’t know it, I shall learn it."
Wei Bing fell silent for a moment, her eyes briefly catching her sister’s face.
She should have stopped all of this, as it was inappropriate. However...
"I would be glad to hear you play, then."
...Wei Bing did not want to stop herself on her sister’s account.
At her words, Luo Ming smiled. "Then I shall invite you in the coming days. For now, I will let you return home."
"Aren’t you coming to the Wei Clan to discuss the engagement with my sister?" She replied. "I could hear you play then, if you are willing."
"I don’t mind."
He then turned his head and looked at Wei Ting, who seemed stunned to witness her sister talking so much to a man, and even going so far as to accept his proposal.
A man who was supposed to be her future husband!
Luo Ming smiled at Wei Ting and spoke.
"Perhaps you will agree to break the engagement when I explain to your parents the painful experience of being accused of rape by my own wife. Don’t you think, Wei Ting?"
Leaving her no time to answer, he whispered "Have a good day" to Wei Bing and walked straight toward his quarters.
And as he walked, Luo Ming heard the loud, hissing voice of Wei Ting interrogating her sister.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
—End of Chapter 9—