Miss Qingyao, Have You Been Married Yet?

"Patriarch Su, I recall you saying that your daughter was abducted by a fairy with her face veiled in gauze, did you not? That fairy even left behind a token. She must be Lin Fan's accomplice. I wonder, what did the token she left behind look like?"

"Perhaps we may be able to use that token to uncover Lin Fan's origins."

City Lord Wang Anming suddenly looked toward Su Changkong, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he spoke.

He was currently doing everything he could to impress Jiang Lan. He wished he could seize the culprit at once, if only to preserve his current position.

At Snow Moon Pavilion today, he had clearly noticed that the Su Family's eldest daughter, Su Qinghan, seemed rather close to Jiang Lan.

And according to the rumors, Jiang Lan was fond of women.

Tonight, Su Changkong had even brought along his younger daughter as well. How could Wang Anming fail to guess what he had in mind? Unfortunately, his own daughter had long since married, and her looks were far inferior to those of the Su sisters. Otherwise, he too would have wanted to test the waters.

Hearing this, Su Changkong did not hesitate. He immediately rose and cupped his hands. "This matter is also something I was just about to report to Young Master Jiang..."

As he spoke, he took a jade hairpin from his robes. Several tassels resembling ears of grain hung from its end, and its design was quite simple.

Beside Zhao Tianhe, Zhao Dieyi, who was drinking wine in place of tea, curled her lips slightly at the sight.

If the mysterious woman who had abducted Su Qingyao was really Lin Fan's accomplice, why would she leave behind evidence? This so-called token had probably been casually bought from some roadside stall. It could not possibly be of any use.

"This token does indeed appear to be a woman's personal belonging. However, I possess no cultivation, so I likely cannot make sense of it. Why not ask Old Master Zhao to examine it for me?"

Jiang Lan set down his golden goblet and looked at Zhao Tianhe with an intrigued smile.

Zhao Tianhe was slightly taken aback. His thoughts were actually much the same as Zhao Dieyi's, but since Jiang Lan had put it that way, he naturally could not refuse.

So, he accepted the jade hairpin from Su Changkong and wrapped it in scholarly qi as he examined it.

Zhao Tianhe did not wish to offend Jiang Lan beyond repair either. Back at Snow Moon Pavilion during the day, he had explained to Jiang Lan why he had previously assisted Lin Fan. He had not known that Lin Fan would dare to assassinate Jiang Lan with such audacity.

Had he known, he certainly would not have allowed a scoundrel like Lin Fan to run rampant.

At the time, Jiang Lan had also shown great understanding, saying that for the sake of his past acquaintance with Zhao Dieyi, he would not pursue the matter. This earned him a string of eye-rolls from Zhao Dieyi, who inwardly muttered, Who has any acquaintance with that great villain?

Zhao Tianhe naturally breathed a sigh of relief. As for that Master's Token, seeing that Jiang Lan had no intention of returning it, he was too embarrassed to ask for it.

"This should merely be an ordinary jade hairpin, something commonly seen at roadside stalls. It is not some token, nor does it retain any fluctuations of magical power. The Su Family Patriarch was likely deceived by that veiled woman..."

Zhao Tianhe did not investigate for long before determining that this was merely an ordinary jade hairpin, not some token.

As a Great Scholar of his standing, his words naturally carried immense credibility.

No one was particularly surprised. Even Wang Anming, who had raised the matter, could only sigh and let it go. He had merely been harboring a slim hope.

Only Su Qingyao looked somewhat disappointed.

She had truly believed that the mysterious fairy veiled in gauze had taken a liking to her because her talent and innate potential were excellent. Yet in the end, those words had been false, and even the token was fake.

Could Brother-in-law Lin Fan truly be in league with that veiled fairy? Had he been deceiving her all along?

"Qingyao, your talent is no worse than mine. You are simply too fond of playing..."

As though she knew what Su Qingyao was thinking, Su Qinghan spoke with a gentle smile on her lips.

"I'll definitely catch up to you soon, Sister."

Su Qingyao immediately nodded like a chick pecking at grain, making her promise with an utterly earnest expression.

Su Qinghan smiled and stroked her head.

As far as she was concerned, so long as Su Qingyao was unharmed after today's events, that was enough.

As for Lin Fan, things would proceed as they should. Naturally, she would not be foolish enough to expose Jiang Lan's schemes...

After what had happened today, Su Qinghan could no longer regard Jiang Lan as some useless Second Generation Scion.

"Miss Qingyao, do you still remember the appearance of the mysterious woman who abducted you?"

Jiang Lan's unhurried voice suddenly rang out from the seat of honor.

"Ah..."

Hearing this, Su Qingyao immediately raised her clear eyes to look at him, her entire body seeming to freeze in a daze.

In truth, when she had first seen Jiang Lan earlier, she had found it hard to connect the notorious Second Generation Scion of the Great Xia Dynasty with the elegant, handsome, and noble young gentleman before her.

No matter how she looked at it, those rumors felt like slander.

"Qingyao, Young Master Jiang is asking you a question."

Seeing his daughter standing there like a wooden post, Su Changkong could not help but feel a headache coming on. He hurriedly reminded her in a low voice.

"Oh, oh..."

"The mysterious woman who abducted me had her face covered with a veil, so I do not remember what she looked like. But I feel she should have been as beautiful as my sister, and also..." Su Qingyao came back to her senses and hurriedly replied, racking her mind as she recalled.

Jiang Lan smiled faintly. "And also what?"

"And also, she smelled really nice..." Su Qingyao answered instinctively.

At those words, Su Changkong immediately looked helpless and pained. What kind of answer was that?

Why was there such a vast difference between his two daughters?

One was so rational and clever that even he, her father, felt pressured. Yet the other seemed as though she had been born missing half her brain, hopelessly naive.

Many of those at the banquet could not help shaking their heads as well. The Su Family's second young lady was pure and beautiful, but at times, she really did seem a little lacking in wits.

This was no secret in Yuyi City either, which was why Su Manor rarely let her go out alone, fearing she might be deceived.

Jiang Lan merely gave an ambiguous smile at that answer.

It really was fragrant, and smelled wonderful too.

"Miss Qingyao, have you been betrothed yet?" he suddenly asked.

The moment those words fell, everyone at the banquet froze.

Zhao Dieyi was the first to react. Her bright eyes fixed on Jiang Lan, and her delicate nose let out a snort so soft that only she could hear it. Sure enough, he still couldn't change his old ways.

Su Qinghan subconsciously tightened her grip on her teacup. Her jade-like hand exerted too much force, and faint veins surfaced beneath her fair, jade-white skin.

Why? The matter was clearly already over, and he had achieved his goal—why was he still doing this?

She knew Jiang Lan appeared to be asking Su Qingyao, but in truth, he was still threatening her.

Given her character, she could never allow the pure and kind Su Qingyao to fall into the fire pit like this.

"What does Young Master Jiang mean by that?" Su Changkong's expression changed slightly as he asked cautiously.

In truth, he was deeply nervous as well, while a complicated, indescribable emotion churned within him... Jiang Lan was the sole son of the Chancellor, and the current Chancellor's power was no exaggeration to describe as covering the sky with one hand.