The Young Master's Innocence—How Dare You Slander Him?

"Great Xia Law..." Zhao Tianhe's expression darkened slightly. He hesitated and glanced at Lin Fan, who was recovering from his injuries.

Toward this young man, whose methods were mysterious and whose insight was extraordinary, he had always harbored appreciation and a desire to befriend him. Otherwise, he would not have given him a Zhao Manor token.

Especially since the Absolute Yin Cold Meridian that had plagued Zhao Dieyi for years had been cured after Lin Fan found the Mysterious Sun Ghost Immortal Grass and treated her.

Zhao Manor still owed him a favor.

With merely Second Realm Qi Cultivation Realm cultivation, he had actually endured two moves from a Sixth Realm existence without dying.

Given time to grow, he would surely become someone great.

As for why Lin Fan had clashed with Jiang Lan, Zhao Tianhe did not yet know. But from what he knew of Lin Fan, he was not the sort of person to act rashly or provoke trouble.

On the contrary, Jiang Lan had always been infamous for bullying men and tyrannizing women...

Yet under such circumstances, Jiang Lan had actually brought up handling the matter according to Great Xia Law. That was somewhat laughable.

Everyone familiar with Prime Minister's Manor knew perfectly well that Great Xia Law was no different from a scrap of waste paper in their eyes.

Did he now think Great Xia Law would favor him?

Or was he planning to use Great Xia Law to deal with Lin Fan?

Zhao Tianhe instinctively assumed that Jiang Lan wanted to use this to excuse his own crimes. What law could Lin Fan possibly have broken?

"Young Master Lin is noble in character and stands apart from the vulgar crowd. It must have been you, villain, who was in the wrong first. Only then, unable to endure it any longer, was Young Master Lin forced to act."

Zhao Dieyi looked at Jiang Lan, who stood there perfectly composed despite his handsome, refined features and exceptional bearing. Her eyes were filled with coldness and disgust, and her tone was utterly unceremonious.

It was precisely because Jiang Lan existed that she understood one truth: one could not judge a person by appearance. Such a handsome exterior had truly gone to waste on him.

Back then, she had been young and ignorant, deceived by his handsome and elegant appearance, and had nearly had her innocence stolen by him.

Though years of cultivation at Yaochi Sect had gradually calmed her State of mind to still waters,

Whenever she recalled what had happened in Xiaoxiang Garden, she still felt ashamed and enraged, humiliated to the extreme. She longed for the day her cultivation succeeded, so she could personally cut down that villain.

At this moment, Lin Fan, who had swallowed Pills and recovered considerably from his injuries, finally opened his eyes.

His gaze narrowed slightly. He tried his best to remain calm and said in a deep voice, "What Miss Dieyi said is correct. This villain first sent people to abduct my sister-in-law, Su Qingyao. Then, disregarding my wife's wishes, he threatened her with the charge of being an assassin and molested her at Snow Moon Pavilion. Tell me, what man in this world could endure such a sight?"

"I ask that Senior Old Master Zhao uphold justice for this junior."

Lin Fan's voice rang with force, his fury awe-inspiring.

He was not stupid.

From the beginning, he had treated Jiang Lan as an ordinary Second Generation Scion, looking down on him. That was why he had suffered such a huge loss.

Had he known earlier that Jiang Lan had a Sixth Realm Divine Ability Realm expert protecting him, he certainly would have thought of another way to deal with him.

Hearing this, Zhao Tianhe looked as though he had expected it all along. He glanced at the woman beside Jiang Lan and inwardly remarked that she truly was a peerless beauty. Beauty was indeed a source of disaster.

Su Qinghan stood there.

Her brows and eyes were like a painting, exquisitely beautiful. Her cloudlike hair and misty coiffure framed a tall, graceful figure.

She wore a plain white dress, its hem gathered at her side, revealing long, straight legs.

It made her slender waist seem as though it could be encircled in one hand. Dressed in spotless simplicity, she resembled a lotus blooming upon a snowy mountain.

Yet at this moment, her eyes were lowered, her lashes trembling faintly. She did not meet Lin Fan's gaze or the eyes of the others upon her.

With such a cold yet pitiful appearance, even another woman's heart might ripple at the sight.

Zhao Dieyi immediately snorted coldly. "Jiang Lan, villain, what else do you have to say?"

"Under Great Xia Law, forcibly taking a woman is a grave crime."

She did not doubt the truth of Lin Fan's words in the slightest.

Because Jiang Lan truly was... that kind of person.

"It seems that Sister Dieyi's misunderstanding of me remains as deep as ever."

Jiang Lan still wore a leisurely expression as he said unhurriedly, "But everything requires evidence. Without proof, I will not admit to such baseless accusations."

"Setting aside who this Su Qingyao is, I have never met her. As for Qinghan and me, we hit it off at first sight and had a delightful conversation here. The two of us are innocent and upright—how could we allow others to frame and slander us?"

"Just now, I did agree to Old Master Zhao's request to spare Lin Fan. But as for how he should be dealt with specifically, that must still be decided according to Great Xia Law, must it not?"

He had agreed verbally to spare Lin Fan, but Great Xia Law would not spare him.

For no reason at all, he had attacked and attempted to murder the Prime Minister's son. That charge alone was more than enough.

As for whether Zhao Tianhe would realize this and curse him for being shameless and going back on his word, Jiang Lan did not care.

A flash of anger and chill passed through Lin Fan's eyes, but he forcibly suppressed it.

The facts were right before them, yet this fellow still stubbornly denied everything. Did he really think everyone was blind?

"Shameless scoundrel. All you know is how to twist right and wrong, disregarding black and white," he said coldly.

At this moment, he had already regarded Jiang Lan as a dead man. No matter what happened in the future, he would personally kill this hateful villain.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to ease the hatred in his heart, much less wash away today's humiliation.

"The Young Master's innocence—how dare you slander him?"

Uncle Ying's eyes turned cold. His callused hand gripped the scabbard, and terrifying killing intent spread outward.

Even when facing a Great Scholar, he showed little reverence.

Pressed by that killing intent, Lin Fan's face went slightly pale. A bloody taste surged up his throat, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Though he appeared fine on the surface, his injuries were actually severe. Even his internal organs had shifted out of place.

With his current Second Realm strength, he had forcibly withstood two moves from a Sixth Realm cultivator. Although he had relied on his trump cards and certain tricks,

It had by no means been easy.

Had Old Master Zhao Tianhe not appeared, he would already have used his greatest trump card to flee for his life. There was no way he would truly have remained here to fight to the death...

He was the Eternal Calamity Sword Master, after all. At his peak, he had looked down upon the vast land while countless cultivators worshipped and kowtowed before him.

When had he ever suffered such wretched humiliation? To be bullied by a foppish Second Generation Scion and a Sixth Realm cultivator?

"Since Young Master Jiang has already agreed to handle this matter according to Great Xia Law, why continue making things difficult for Young Master Lin?"

Zhao Tianhe frowned and waved his hand, dispelling the killing intent that had been pressing down on Lin Fan.

He was somewhat puzzled.

If the matter were decided according to Great Xia Law, Jiang Lan could not stand on firm ground no matter which charge was considered. Forcibly taking a woman or molesting another man's wife—neither was tolerated by Great Xia Law.

Yet Jiang Lan remained so calm and unconcerned.

Could it be that he truly believed Prime Minister's Manor could cover the sky with one hand and manipulate Great Xia Law at will?

"It is fine, Uncle Ying. I walk straight and sit upright. Naturally, I do not fear the slander and defamation of others."

Jiang Lan ignored Zhao Tianhe. With a faint smile, he waved his hand to indicate that Uncle Ying need not act so.

Uncle Ying had been bestowed the surname Jiang Ying. As for what he had been called before, Jiang Lan did not know.

He only knew that Uncle Ying had followed his father's side for a very long time.

Everything he had learned and practiced had been personally taught by Jiang Lan's father.

He was fiercely loyal and immensely powerful. Because Jiang Lan could not cultivate due to his physical condition, Uncle Ying had remained by his side all these years, never straying far and protecting his safety at every moment.

In the original plot, Su Qinghan would threaten him into submission. It truly made no sense once one thought about it; otherwise, it was nothing but a gaping logical flaw.

As for whether it might have been some accidental stroke of luck, Jiang Lan could not say...