Imagining the Process Based on the Answer, the Sickness Flares Up Again

At such a time, a Prime Minister's son who indulged in wine and women and was utterly ignorant and incompetent would instead help stabilize the current situation in Great Xia.

The imperial family could rest somewhat easier, and the Prime Minister's side had not yet asked for his second son again or pressured the imperial family.

Both sides did their best to maintain this tacit understanding and preserve Great Xia's current state of affairs.

The reason Su Qinghan was so certain, apart from personally witnessing Jiang Lan's scheme against Lin Fan today, was largely because she had seen Jiang Lan's seemingly fastidious, disgusted reaction toward her.

He clearly was not a lecherous man, yet he insisted on putting on such an act.

After keeping it up for so long, it was impossible not to develop such a fastidious aversion.

"Miss Su truly possesses a delicate heart and an ice-snow intellect, but aren't you overthinking this?"

"I am neither a gentleman nor a good man. Lust is simply in my nature, and since growing up, I have done no small number of wicked and heinous deeds."

"You're trying so hard to whitewash me. It's difficult not to wonder whether you're plotting something."

Hearing Su Qinghan's logical and well-supported analysis, Jiang Lan could not help wanting to give her a thumbs-up.

Though he had given her that answer, the process she had imagined based on it was far too detailed.

Jiang Lan had never expected her to fill in so much on her own.

Still, he slightly furrowed his brow, wearing a somewhat surprised expression.

"Young Master Jiang, rest assured."

"Whether it is what happened during the day or matters concerning Young Master Jiang, Qinghan swears upon her Dao heart that she will keep her lips sealed and never tell anyone."

Su Qinghan lowered her eyes and lifted a hand to tuck several strands of hair that had fallen across her cheek behind her crystalline ear.

Naturally, she did not believe Jiang Lan's flat denial.

Having come this far meant Jiang Lan had long ceased to care about his own reputation, casting it aside like a worn shoe.

How could he possibly admit it so easily just because of her words?

In truth, she rather admired this about him.

No matter where they were, people valued their reputations, just as birds cherished their feathers.

Yet Jiang Lan deliberately ruined his own image, utterly unconcerned by the abuse, scorn, and countless slanders from the outside world.

Such people often possessed hearts of extraordinary strength, and what they sought and plotted was even greater.

"Does Miss Su not know that people who are too clever tend to die young?"

"Although I'm happy that you're trying to whitewash me like this, if I truly am as you say, wouldn't that mean I have even less reason to let you go?" Jiang Lan smiled faintly.

"This..."

Su Qinghan froze, then stood there in a daze.

She had only dared voice this speculation because she wanted to take a gamble.

But she had forgotten that if this were Jiang Lan's secret, and she had exposed it, how could he let her go?

At a time like this, what use was swearing upon one's Dao heart? Killing her to silence her would be far more direct and effective.

Hadn't she just given Jiang Lan an even better reason not to spare her?

Seeing the chagrined and conflicted expression on Su Qinghan's face, Jiang Lan knew that tonight's objective was basically secured.

If he wanted this Female Protagonist to give him her heart, ordinary forceful methods definitely would not work. She admired strength, so he had to display qualities that could make her admire and respect him...

If he used the wrong method, then no matter what he did, the result could only send him south while he meant to go north.

And now, Jiang Lan needed a large amount of fortune to nourish the Qi Luck Dao Fruit.

At present, the only place he could effectively obtain fortune was from Su Qinghan. Naturally, Su Qinghan giving him her heart and attaching herself to him could bring him a great deal of fortune.

In fact, at Snow Moon Pavilion during the day, the instant Su Qinghan said before Lin Fan, "There is no relationship whatsoever between Lin Fan and me,"

Jiang Lan could clearly sense a vast, dense tide of fortune pouring into his Mud Pill Palace from the void.

Nourished by that fortune, the Qi Luck Dao Fruit hanging at the end of the mysterious verdant vine had visibly grown another size. It was already nearly as large as an infant's fist, becoming ever more emerald and mysterious.

Its branches and leaves had likewise turned lush and dripping green, as though cast from flawless jade treasure, translucent and crystalline, suffused with an unfathomably profound aura.

This also made Jiang Lan understand that the key to ripening the Qi Luck Dao Fruit lay in the density and amount of fortune he seized.

And how this fortune came about was actually quite simple: by suppressing and destroying the Son of Fortune's momentum.

This momentum came from the people, things, opportunities, and fortunes connected to him.

The Master's Token that Lin Fan would obtain from Zhao Tianhe in the original plot was now in his hands. At the time, Jiang Lan had sensed fortune pouring in from The Unseen.

When Zhao Tianhe attacked Lin Fan and severed the relationship between them, Jiang Lan could also clearly feel fortune pouring in.

This was part of Lin Fan's Great Trend. Because of what Jiang Lan had done, it had been broken, and he naturally obtained the fortune that had belonged to Lin Fan.

The Female Protagonist Su Qinghan likewise bore immense fortune. In the original plot, she was no mere decorative vase; she herself was powerful and had never relied on the Protagonist Lin Fan.

Although Lin Fan was the reincarnation of a great power, there were by no means few characters with even greater origins and more formidable cheats than his.

By comparison, being the reincarnation of a great power even seemed somewhat unimpressive...

What left the deepest impression on Jiang Lan was his unbelievably fierce sister Jiang Ruxian—both righteous and wicked. More precisely, she was his adoptive elder sister.

From beginning to end, she had crushed the Protagonist, Lin Fan, so thoroughly he could barely breathe. Every encounter ended with him fleeing in miserable disarray, then hiding away with grievous wounds, lying low for a time before daring to show himself again, trembling like a homeless dog.

She was the most popular character in the entire story, even surpassing Eunuch Sword Master Lin Fan by far.

"What a pity..."

"A golden thigh like that, yet I can't cling to it. The reason she wanted to personally kill Lin Fan was because I died by Lin Fan's hand. In this world, only she could kill me. Lin Fan got in her way, so Lin Fan had to die..."

"So that she could kill me with her own hands, she even intended to revive my dead self, then torture me to death herself..."

Jiang Lan stroked his chest. As those thoughts surfaced, he could even feel a faint ache there.

To this day, he had been unable to embark on cultivation, and his constitution was so frail—all because of this.

Compared to that hatred, what did Lin Fan's even count for?

"Gah..."

It had been fine when he did not think about it, but the moment he recalled it, Jiang Lan was suddenly seized by boundless pain. It was like his tendons were being pulled and marrow sucked dry, surging from every inch of skin and spreading through his lungs, viscera, and bones. All the essence, qi, and blood in his body flowed backward, flooding toward his chest in unison.

His entire body seemed about to be drained into a withered skeleton.

"Damn it, this sickness is acting up again..."

Jiang Lan's handsome face twisted at once, turning so pale it no longer looked human. With a thud, he collapsed to the ground. Beneath the skin of his limbs, it was as though one slender snake after another were writhing and darting through.

That was his body's essence, qi, and blood taking form.

"Young Master Jiang..."

Su Qinghan cried out in alarm. Her beautiful face was filled with shock and disbelief, and even her voice began to tremble.