Although Bai Chenge was the eldest son of her maternal cousin uncle's family, he ranked twelfth among all her fine male cousins.
Since the cousin uncle was already a generation removed, and this was a cousin from that side of the family who had been studying away from home since childhood, it was no wonder she hadn't heard much about him before.
But Bai Chenge's cultivation at Tianwen Palace had already concluded. Having just completed his training, he seemed to have followed the sect master in subjugating a great demon and rendered distinguished service, displaying his brilliance prominently among the younger generation of White Jade Capital. Naturally, his reputation had also spread back to the Wu clan of Cloud Capital.
In response to Bai Qingchi's invitation, Bai Shuangyue gave a slight nod, indicating that she had taken note of it.
Only when dusk gradually deepened did she mention to Rong Chunsong the matter of going to the cousin's tent for a cup of tea.
Once inside the tent, Bai Shuangyue took the seat of honor, while Rong Chunsong sat in the position closest to her mother.
The cousin uncle launched into an endless stream of flattery, his entire performance flowing smoothly like a well-rehearsed opera. After her mother responded to him with a few words, he gradually gathered his courage and addressed her as "Second Sister."
"Second Sister, Chenge has now made a name for himself in White Jade Capital, bringing honor to Cloud Capital. His current cultivation has roughly already…"
Bai Qingchi hinted that his son's current cultivation had reached the level of the previous male clan chief of the Wu clan—that is, the previous Grand Shaman—at the age of twenty. Between the lines, he was saying that his son had tremendous potential.
After all, there were indeed some people in the Wu clan who had begun to place their bets on Bai Chenge.
After praising his son's cultivation, his gaze turned to the Young City Lord, and he went on at length about how his son was handsome and distinguished, with a radiance that rivaled autumn chrysanthemums—the implication being that he was worthy of the Young City Lord, whose splendor matched spring pines.
Earlier, when he had heard his Second Sister and brother-in-law reveal that the Young City Lord need not choose a Wu clan man as her husband, countless members of the Bai family had been running around in a panic. But in his view, it was simply that the sons of those branch families weren't good enough! Chenge possessed extraordinary talent and had spent years honing his skills at Tianwen Palace, the most prestigious immortal sect in the Central Continent. He would surely stand out and continue the thousand-year bond between the Rong and Bai families…
Rong Chunsong merely nodded and smiled casually.
The cousin uncle was making empty claims—handsome and distinguished, radiance rivaling autumn chrysanthemums—all just him singing his own praises. Although the original work had indeed described Bai Chenge as having an immortal bearing and an ethereal, otherworldly air, she'd rather trust what she saw with her own eyes. Besides, there was one thing about this cousin that bothered her considerably…
Just then, a messenger suddenly arrived outside the tent.
The messenger was travel-worn and covered in sweat, having apparently ridden at full speed to get here.
"Greetings to the Clan Chief, the Young City Lord… Master, the eldest young master has sent a letter—he has become an Envoy in the Central Continent Immortal Alliance."
A thin letter was respectfully presented into a pair of hands that wielded boundless power and commanded the winds and rains.
According to protocol, although this was Bai Qingchi's tent, the attendant still delivered the letter to Clan Chief Bai Shuangyue.
At first, Bai Qingchi's face lit up with joy, thinking with no small satisfaction that the Cloud Capital envoy delegation to the Central Continent Immortal Alliance stationed in White Jade Capital had absorbed his son so quickly. But soon, he noticed that the sweat on the attendant's brow wasn't from exertion—it was cold sweat.
Why was this servant drenched in cold sweat and trembling—was it because this was his first audience with the Clan Chief?
His joy lasted only a few short seconds.
"A fine Immortal Alliance Envoy indeed."
Having read the letter, Bai Shuangyue's graceful smile remained, but the warmth did not reach her eyes: "Yes, Bai Chenge has become an Envoy in the Central Continent Immortal Alliance, but he represents Tianwen Palace."
Rong Chunsong, standing to the side, also shook her head.
This was precisely what she minded.
The Central Continent Immortal Alliance was a joint organization that all cities and immortal sects had joined. Among the cities, White Jade Capital was the strongest, and among the immortal sects, it was Tianwen Palace.
In the book, Bai Chenge was one of Tianwen Palace's liaison envoys to the Central Continent Immortal Alliance, and in the end, he even became the Alliance Leader. But not once did the text describe his views on Cloud Capital, on his hometown. She guessed that, first, it was because the city of Cloud Capital had never appeared in the original text, and second, it was perhaps because he did not take pride in his origins from Cloud Capital's Wu Clan, which was why he had never once mentioned his past.
Her second criterion for a spouse was "someone who, like her, takes the building of Cloud Capital as the focus of his life." It seemed this cousin would have to regretfully bow out.
In an instant, Bai Qingchi was terrified beyond measure. Trembling all over, he quickly knelt down. Yes—how could becoming a member of Cloud Capital's envoy delegation not require the approval of the Lady Shaman and the City Lord—
The attendants around him also hurriedly knelt in a crowd.
From her seat, Bai Shuangyue's voice was as calm as ever, commanding respect without anger: "If I remember correctly, the Wu Clan and the Rong family are the same—when abroad, one must represent the interests of Cloud Capital. Our Wu Clan has gone to great lengths, only to cultivate a 'next Great Shaman' who turns his elbow outward?"
"Lady, calm your anger. I will immediately write a letter ordering him to withdraw from that so-called Tianwen Palace envoy delegation…" Bai Qingchi did not dare look Bai Shuangyue in the eye, nor did he dare address her as "Second Sister" as he had earlier when trying to close the distance. Instead, he cast his gaze toward the servants who had also knelt in a crowd. "You lot, quickly bring paper and brush—did you hear me!"
Seeing that Bai Shuangyue still gave no response, he was overcome with terror and had already knocked his head heavily to the ground: "Chenge must have been deceived by the fallacies of those Daoists at Tianwen Palace. When he returns, I will certainly reprimand him severely and properly correct his thinking… No, no—I will certainly punish him by family law, I will certainly punish him severely!"
Yet what echoed in his ears was still the stern silence that filled the room.
Ah, the time was about right. Rong Chunsong decided to play the good cop.
"Forget it, Bai Jijiu, you may rise."
"White Jade Capital is prosperous—a dazzling world of flowers and splendor that bewitches the eye. It's possible that your cousin was temporarily led astray and made a wrong decision. As long as he sees the error of his ways and still prioritizes Cloud Capital, this city will still welcome him. There's no need for family law punishment. When he returns, just have him go before the several Wu Clan elders and explain himself clearly."
Family law punishment—wasn't that just a matter behind closed doors? The matter of a Wu Clan member going off to represent Tianwen Palace—how could that be handled by family law? Naturally, her twelfth cousin should go before the several Great Elders and explain his motives clearly, one, five, one, ten.
Bai Qingchi was filled with trepidation: "Yes, yes, I will certainly bring that boy before the Great Elders…" The Young Lord was not satisfied with the family law punishment he had just mentioned—he had already caught that. But the Young Lord was still willing to give Chenge a chance to explain, and for that he was endlessly, endlessly grateful.
Seeing her daughter give Bai Qingchi a way out, Bai Shuangyue raised her hand to signal him to sit back down at the lower seat.
Actually, there was another person in this tent. Another son of his who had just come in together with Bai Qingchi.
This little cousin was quite perceptive. Just moments ago, when he heard his father praising the eldest brother effusively, he had been content to stay in the background. But the moment the eldest brother fell from grace, he immediately began fawning over Rong Chunsong, quietly sidling over with a "gentle and attentive" smile: "Cousin, try some of these flower cakes." With that, he took a plate of flower cakes from a servant who had been waiting outside the tent for some time.
"Haha, alright." Rong Chunsong casually took a cake and bit into it.
Bai Qingchi, ever the schemer, probed further and began promoting another son: "This is Chenyin, my second son. He's one year younger than the Young Lord, in the prime of his youth—"
When he saw Bai Shuangyue's expression remain cold and stern, he quickly shut his mouth.
Ah, that rebellious son Chenge—if he'd known things would turn out like this, he never would have sent him to Tianwen Palace in the first place!
"Chun'er, you actually accepted that flower cake from his second son just now? With an elder brother like that, it's surely a case of a crooked roof beam making a crooked lower beam—you needn't consider any men from this family anymore."
"Ah, when did I ever say I wanted to consider men from this family? I only ate some because those flower cakes were genuinely delicious," Rong Chunsong took a rather impressively sized bundle from an attendant. "Here, before I left, that cousin even had someone stuff a big package of them on me." This large bundle contained at least a hundred or so flower cakes—she could stash them in her System inventory and use them as rations whenever she went out traveling.
Ever since she regained memories of her past life, and given that this System was designed quite like a game, she found herself occasionally falling into her old gaming habits.
For instance, whenever she spotted usable resources, her hand would twitch and she'd hurry to pick them up and stuff them into her backpack.
【Ding. New item added to inventory: "Flower Cake" ×150.】
From Bai Shuangyue's perspective, it merely looked as though her daughter had casually tossed the large bundle of flower cakes into a storage spirit pouch.
The long corridors of the City Lord's mansion cast faint shadows across Bai Shuangyue's face.
"These days, there truly aren't any fine young men among the Wu Clan worthy of you… I had thought Bai Chenge's talent might barely match yours, but who'd have guessed he'd turn out to be such a restless one."
Rong Chunsong, however, wore an indifferent expression: "Mother, there's no need to worry about my marriage. These things should just be left to take their natural course."
Besides, talent or no talent—she didn't particularly care. A fierce and unruly man could be fun to tame and play with for a while, but if she were to truly settle down, she'd want someone loyal and virtuous.