Identity Exposed

Upon hearing this, a flush of anger immediately bloomed across the snow-white face of the girl in white. Filled with disgust, she said, "Shameless bastard! Who is your Sister Dieyi? Who wants to be close to you?"

Jiang Lan did not care in the slightest and continued to smile faintly. "If Sister Dieyi is unwilling, then forget it. I had originally thought that, since old friends had reunited, I would give you a gift."

"Back in Xiaoxiang Garden many years ago, I still have Sister Dieyi's drunken charms carefully preserved."

Zhao Tianhe's expression immediately darkened, becoming extremely unsightly.

In Jingyang City, Imperial Capital, Jiang Lan had always run wild and acted tyrannically, not even placing imperial relatives in his eyes.

Many years ago, Zhao Dieyi had nearly fallen victim to his schemes.

Back then, at Xiaoxiang Garden, if Zhao Dieyi's elder brother had not arrived in time and rescued her, her chastity would likely have already been ruined by this fellow.

"You..."

Zhao Dieyi had never imagined that Jiang Lan would still dare to bring up such a matter.

Especially under these circumstances.

Her fair, elegant, lovely face was filled with fury. Her delicate body trembled with rage, and she wished she could draw her sword and carve him into a thousand pieces.

"Dieyi, do not act rashly." Zhao Tianhe took a deep breath and urged her.

It was only because he had found a clue to resolving the Absolute Yin Cold Meridian that he had allowed Zhao Dieyi to return from the Chi Yao Sect.

If Jiang Lan set his sights on her again because of this, matters would become troublesome.

The Prime Minister's power now surpassed even that of the past.

If no turning point appeared in court, it would not be long before Great Xia had to change its imperial surname to Jiang.

Zhao Dieyi shot Jiang Lan a vicious glare and forcibly suppressed the anger in her heart.

She had always been gentle, graceful, poised, and proper. For her to become so furious and enraged—

If her junior and senior sisters from the sect found out, who knew how shocked they would be?

"Old Master Zhao, why did you stop my men?"

"It seems you know this assassin. Could it be that you, Old Master Zhao, instructed him to assassinate me?"

Jiang Lan returned to the pavilion, picked up his teacup, and leisurely took a sip.

Su Qinghan also came to her senses at this moment. She barely recovered her calm, but the gaze she directed at Lin Fan was filled with complexity and astonishment.

In fact, the instant that girl in white had called him Young Master Lin, she had already guessed.

Before this, she had never dared believe it.

He had displayed such formidable strength, and he even knew a Great Scholar of the current dynasty...

Had she perhaps never truly understood Lin Fan? Had he been hiding his true abilities all these years?

Lin Fan also knew that his disguise was now useless. Once Zhao Tianhe had arrived, his identity was bound to be exposed.

His face and body immediately shifted, returning to his original appearance. Though blood stained the corner of his mouth, he possessed an extraordinary bearing as he faced Su Qinghan directly and said, "Qinghan..."

Su Qinghan, however, could not bear to look at him and lowered her gaze.

"Could this be Miss Su's son-in-law husband?"

"The two of you tried to assassinate me one after another. You truly are audacious beyond measure." Jiang Lan smiled faintly.

A trace of helplessness appeared on Zhao Tianhe's aged face as he said, "Young Master Lin has shown kindness to this old man, to Zhao Manor, and likewise to Dieyi. Seeing him in trouble, I cannot stand by without helping."

"I wonder how Young Master Lin has offended Young Master Jiang Lan. Could you spare Young Master Lin once for the sake of this old man's humble face?"

A Great Scholar, an existence whose strength rivaled a Seventh Realm cultivator, a figure revered by scholars and men of letters across the land as the Mount Tai and Northern Dipper—yet at this moment, he spoke in such a humble, lowly manner.

Even he himself felt a measure of sorrow.

Zhao Dieyi tightly pursed her red lips, and her heart ached just as deeply.

Jiang Lan was clearly nothing more than an ignorant, decadent, useless Second Generation Scion.

Yet her grandfather, a figure revered by literary men throughout the realm, appeared so humble before him.

Watching this scene, Su Qinghan finally gained a clear understanding of Jiang Lan's influence—no, of the Prime Minister's Manor's influence.

She let out a quiet sigh in her heart and suddenly understood just how laughable and foolish she had been earlier, actually attempting to threaten Jiang Lan.

"Old Master Zhao, you are being too modest. You are, after all, a ritual official of the Confucian Temple. No matter how bold Jiang Lan may be, I would not dare let you call your face humble."

"This assassin suddenly barged in tonight for reasons unknown. Not only did he injure my guards, but he also wished to kill me. I had no choice but to order my men to act; it was merely self-defense."

"And yet, with just a few words, Old Master Zhao wishes me to spare someone who intended to kill me. Is that not a little too much?" Jiang Lan smiled lightly, but by the end, the smile on his face had turned somewhat cold.

A Great Scholar like Zhao Tianhe, with an entire family of young and old behind him, was naturally different from an ordinary Rogue Cultivator.

The more ties one had, the more concerns one naturally had. Every word and action had to be weighed with care.

Otherwise, he might bring unwarranted calamity upon the Zhao Manor behind him...

If he had been facing a Seventh Realm Rogue Cultivator, Jiang Lan would not have acted so casually.

What if the other party disregarded everything and insisted on killing him? Then he would have truly played himself into a corner.

As for Zhao Tianhe stepping forward for Lin Fan, it did not have much of an impact on Jiang Lan.

With the forces currently at his side, he indeed could not kill Lin Fan while the Eternal Calamity Sword remained on him. Whether Zhao Tianhe appeared or not, the result would have been the same.

His original plan had been to make Lin Fan use the Eternal Calamity Sword, his greatest trump card. Killing him afterward would become far easier.

In the original plot, whenever the Eternal Calamity Sword broke through space to escape, it could only travel within a certain range.

With Lin Fan's current strength, he could flee at most three thousand li away.

Three thousand li sounded far, but for Jiang Lan to search out his whereabouts, it was really only a matter of giving an order.

Unable to use the Eternal Calamity Sword for a short time, Lin Fan would naturally lose his greatest support.

"I wonder what Young Master Jiang Lan requires before you are willing to spare Young Master Lin?" Zhao Tianhe frowned slightly, suppressing the anger in his heart as he asked as calmly as possible.

He was a Great Scholar of his generation, yet he had already humbled himself to this extent.

What ordinary junior would not be overwhelmed with fear and hurriedly agree?

Jiang Lan's gaze swept over Zhao Dieyi's soft, slender, graceful figure, and he said with interest, "That is simple enough. How about Old Master Zhao let Sister Dieyi accompany me for a while?"

People always liked to compromise.

Zhao Tianhe would definitely not agree to this condition.

So he could only consider the second condition...

No matter what, Jiang Lan would not lose out.

"You wish..."

Zhao Dieyi's flawless, tender white face was flushed red with rage. Her delicate body trembled, and her eyes nearly spat fire.

If looks could kill, Jiang Lan did not know how many times she would have killed him already.

She had always been gentle and elegant, yet today she had lost her composure before Jiang Lan time and again. In the past, she would never have dared imagine such a thing.

Zhao Tianhe's expression also darkened as he said directly, "That is impossible."

Zhao Dieyi was the Heavenly Chosen Daughter the Zhao Family had not seen in centuries, with outstanding cultivation talent since childhood.

Several years ago, she had entered the Yaochi Sect. Her cultivation had advanced rapidly ever since, and in the future, she was expected to stand alongside him as a Seventh Realm Dharma Aspect Realm cultivator.

Jiang Lan said with slight regret, "Since that is the case, Old Master Zhao, you should step aside. Today, I must kill this fellow."

Zhao Tianhe's expression was unsightly. Still unwilling to give up, he asked, "Why must Young Master Jiang Lan press so relentlessly? If you insist on killing Young Master Lin, then do not blame this old man for intervening."

Jiang Lan smiled faintly. "It seems Old Master Zhao is determined to oppose my Prime Minister's Manor? In recent years, the Confucian Temple has shown good momentum, with quite a few promising Great Scholar seedlings emerging. My father has also been quite pleased..."