What do you mean by "I'm bullying too much"?

"Father, how could Brother-in-law have become an assassin? Brother-in-law is a good person—he's always been gentle and kind. How could he do something like assassinating someone? Could there be some misunderstanding here?"

Beside Su Family Patriarch Su Changkong.

Worry and anxiety were impossible to hide on Su Qingyao's jade-like little face as she could not help asking.

Although everyone in the Su family treated Lin Fan as a son-in-law, and at times his status was even lower than that of a servant.

Only she, innocent and kind-hearted as she was, had always called him Brother-in-law.

She believed that Lin Fan and her elder sister had already performed the wedding rites and become husband and wife. That made him her brother-in-law, no matter what. It would never change.

And whenever Lin Fan returned from an outing and passed by her courtyard, he would bring her delicious candied hawthorn skewers and all kinds of preserved fruits, along with many fun little trinkets, fragrant sachets, and boxes of cosmetics.

The Su family had strict rules. To let Su Qingyao focus on cultivation, they rarely allowed her contact with things from the outside world.

Lin Fan knew this, so he always did it in secret, without letting the Su family know. It had become a little secret shared between the two of them.

As a result, Su Qingyao had grown quite close to Lin Fan and regarded him as her true brother-in-law. Sometimes, she would even help him come up with ideas, telling him about her sister's preferences and how to win her sister's favor...

"This matter is troublesome."

Su Changkong frowned tightly. Looking at the situation before him, then combining it with what he had learned from Su Qingyao's maid, he had roughly guessed the full course of events.

He simply had never imagined that Lin Fan possessed such formidable strength. Not only had he broken into Snow Moon Pavilion, but he had also caused such a huge commotion.

All these years, he had completely misjudged him.

"Father, please save Brother-in-law." Su Qingyao lifted her little face, her eyes filled with hope and pleading.

Su Changkong sighed inwardly. If this matter was not handled properly, even the Su family might be dragged into it. No matter what, Lin Fan was the Su family's son-in-law.

The Su family could not possibly withdraw unscathed.

Even Su Qinghan, standing quietly beside Jiang Lan with her eyes lowered, had not uttered a word. It was clear that even she likely had no way to deal with the situation.

"Young Master Jiang, could there perhaps be some misunderstanding here?"

"Though Lin Fan is withdrawn and does as he pleases, he is an honest and tolerant man without any malicious intent. How could he have become an assassin attempting to kill you?"

"I wonder how this matter began in the first place. Could we first investigate the full course of events and make things clear?"

But at this moment, Su Changkong could only take a deep breath, brace himself, step forward, and cup his hands as he asked.

Watching this, Zhao Tianhe sighed inwardly and spoke as well. "Young Master Jiang Lan, if this is to be handled according to the laws of Great Xia, should we not follow the proper procedure and first clarify what caused this? Otherwise, how are we to convince the public?"

"What, is Old Master Zhao trying to shield this assassin who attempted to kill me?"

Jiang Lan paid Su Changkong no heed. Unhurriedly using the lid of his cup to brush aside the tea leaves, he said casually, "The guards wounded by him are still right here. If Uncle Ying had not protected me, I fear I would already have fallen to this murderer's blade."

"The evidence is right before us. What else does Old Master Zhao wish to say? That you would disregard right and wrong and twist the facts?"

Zhao Tianhe's expression darkened as he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart. Jiang Lan clearly knew this was all a misunderstanding.

Yet he insisted on claiming that Lin Fan had intended to assassinate and murder him.

If not for the need to mind his status, Zhao Tianhe would have cursed him for being shameless.

"Jiang Lan, don't go too far. You heard it just now—Young Master Lin mistakenly believed that his younger sister-in-law, Su Qingyao, had been abducted by people you sent, which was why he acted impulsively and forced his way into Snow Moon Pavilion..."

"If you had not made improper advances toward his wife first, he would not have struck out in rage."

A trace of anger appeared on Zhao Dieyi's face as she spoke up for Lin Fan.

Su Qinghan was Lin Fan's wife in name, after all, while Jiang Lan, the sole son of the Chancellor, was infamous throughout Great Xia.

It was hardly surprising that he would do something like make improper advances toward Su Qinghan.

After Lin Fan burst into Snow Moon Pavilion and saw his wife being molested by Jiang Lan, how could he possibly endure it?

"This elder sister must also have mistakenly believed that her younger sister had been abducted by people you sent, which was why she came to Snow Moon Pavilion. Then, left with no choice, she was coerced by you and subjected to your improper advances."

Zhao Dieyi's clear eyes shimmered, while anger was impossible to conceal on her exquisite face as she spoke with complete certainty.

With her intelligence and her understanding of Jiang Lan, it was not difficult for her to piece together the full course of events.

Jiang Lan dearly wanted to applaud Zhao Dieyi's quick wit. As expected of the confidante who had helped Lin Fan so much in the early stages of the original plot.

Even under these circumstances, she could still sort out the cause of it all.

"You... don't go too far."

Seeing Jiang Lan apparently look toward her with a faint smile, the shadows of the past involuntarily surfaced in Zhao Dieyi's mind. Her tone weakened by several degrees and softened considerably.

"What do you mean, I'm going too far? It seems you've cultivated at Yaochi Sect for so many years that your mind has become a little muddled."

The smile faded from Jiang Lan's face as he said leisurely, "I'm the one who was falsely accused and misunderstood. I'm also the one who nearly got killed by this fellow. And in the end, I'm the one going too far?"

"What, do I still have to apologize to this fellow?"

Hearing Jiang Lan directly call her by name, abandoning his former address of "Sister Dieyi."

Zhao Dieyi froze for a moment, inexplicably finding herself somewhat unaccustomed to it.

And his words left her at a loss for speech. She instinctively wanted to refute him, but after opening her little mouth, she could find nothing to say in rebuttal.

Because the truth... really did seem to be exactly that.