Distant Relations Cannot Interfere with Close Ones

Yi Yun's words were very abrupt, and for a moment, everyone in the courtyard turned to look at Yi Yun.

At this moment, Yi Yun was simply standing behind Su Jie's seat, looking exactly like a little medicine boy. From the moment Yi Yun appeared, no one paid much attention to him, except for Lin Xin Tong's great-aunt, but she only spoke to Yi Yun he knew Lin Xin Tong.

If Lin Xin Tong hadn't greeted Yi Yun, this great-aunt would have ignored Yi Yun completely.

"Who do you think you are? Don't you know the rules? Who gave you the right to speak here?"

This is a family matter of the Lin family. Even Su Jie, an outsider, doesn't have much say in it. From the beginning until now, Su Jie has mostly just listened.

Su Jie's status was undeniable; if he were to express an opinion, the Lin family would have no choice but to listen. However, the follower Su Jie brought along looked like a mere servant boy. What right did he have to interrupt when these high-ranking members of the Lin family were speaking?

Let alone the Lin family, even in ordinary wealthy families, if a servant interrupts while the masters are talking, they will be slapped!

Out of respect for Su Jie, this great-aunt couldn't do anything to Yi Yun. Otherwise, she would have been furious after humbly persuading Lin Xin Tong today. If Yi Yun were a member of the Lin family, she would have had him dragged away and punished according to family rules.

Before Su Jie could speak, Yi Yun said directly, "My name is Yun Yantian, and I am Elder Su's disciple."

Yi Yun casually gave himself a name, using his original given name as his surname. The character "Yan" was chosen as a homophone, which actually means to cover up. Yun Yantian means clouds covering the blue sky, implying Yi Yun's ambition in martial arts.

At the same time, Shen Tu Nantian's name also contains the character "Tian" (天), and Yun Yantian (云衍天) is actually Yi Yun (易云), which obscures Shen Tu Nantian. This is also a kind of wicked humor that Yi Yun had when naming the child.

"A nominal disciple?" The woman in palace attire's face darkened further upon hearing this. A nominal disciple was of low status, yet dared to speak to her here?

She was about to explode when Lin Xin Tong stood up and said, "Grandmother, he is my friend."

The words the woman in palace attire was about to say suddenly caught in her throat, "Friend?"

This word made her very uncomfortable. What kind of status did the Lin family have? Lin Xin Tong was currently the most promising young person in the Lin family, and she might become an unparalleled empress in the future. How could she be friends with such a person?

If it were the palace lady's own granddaughter, she would have already reprimanded her. But facing Lin Xin Tong, she dared not do anything. She could only soften her expression and patiently say, "Xin Tong, making friends is of course your freedom, but you also need to see clearly what kind of people they are. You are of noble birth, and your future achievements are limitless. If you want to make friends, you should make friends like Shentu Nantian, young talents from prominent Lineage who will have a bright future. As for some nobodies and shady characters, it's best not to associate with them too much, lest you lose face and become a laughingstock. What do you say, Xin Tong?"

The woman in palace attire tried her best to make her words sound kind, but even so, the sense of superiority in her words, including her implication that Yi Yun was some nobody or nobodies, still angered Lin Xin Tong.

Lin Xin Tong frowned and said coldly, "Grandmother, he is my friend, while you are only my elder. You have lived a long life and seen countless people and events. You should understand the principle of not letting kinship interfere with distant relationships."

Lin Xin Tong's words contained not a single insult, yet they made the woman in palace attire turn deathly pale!

Even strangers shouldn't distance themselves from relatives!

The woman in palace attire is Lin Xin Tong's great-aunt, but what about Yi Yun? What is his relationship to Lin Xin Tong?

He's just a friend, and I don't even know how close we are.

But Lin Xin Tong actually said that strangers shouldn't be estranged from relatives!

This means that, in Lin Xin Tong's heart, her great-aunt was actually a distant and dispensable person, Yi Yun, this good-for-nothing boy, held a much more important place in her heart than her great-aunt!

As Lin Xin Tong just said, the woman in palace attire "can only" be considered Lin Xin Tong's elder.

In other words, aside from the undeniable connection of being related to her as a senior member of the same clan, she, as a great-aunt, was utterly worthless in Lin Xin Tong's eyes.

Her criticism of the boy who was closer to Lin Xin Tong, based on their more distant relationship, was undoubtedly presumptuous and only provoked resentment.

"You..." The woman in palace attire trembled slightly. In front of so many people, including the Old Madam and the Old Madam generation she had brought, how could she possibly swallow her pride after being spoken to like that by Lin Xin Tong? It was utterly humiliating!

However, she couldn't refute it with a single word. When Lin Xin Tong was a child, she suffered all kinds of humiliation in the Lineage, and her great-aunt never played a positive role. On the contrary, she tacitly approved and indulged her.

It wasn't until the last two years, when Lin Xin Tong was poised to become an unparalleled empress and, in the distant future, the most powerful figure in both the Shentu Family and Lin Lineage, that this woman in palace attire began to try and get closer to Lin Xin Tong. But what was the point of all that?

In Lin Xin Tong's mind, being polite to her great-aunt was merely a matter of respect from a junior to an elder. However, when it came to her friends or her master, it was a completely different story.

"Xin Tong, why are you so outspoken?" the Old Madam scolded, thus helping the woman in palace attire out of an awkward situation.

The woman in palace attire looked disgraced. She glared at Yi Yun resentfully, "Old Madam, this young man, so young, of such lowly status, knows nothing, yet he dares to speak ill of the Shentu Family —matters that were decided by the Great Emperor! He's utterly ignorant of his own limitations!"

Major decisions concerning the Shentu Family are made by a number of high-ranking members. For a junior to presume to make such a comment inevitably gives the impression of being ignorant of etiquette and childish and laughable.

Yi Yun calmly said, "I'm just stating a possibility: the Shentu Family might not be able to cure Miss Lin."

"What a joke! Do you think this is a child's game, something that a large Lineage is doing? If you have absolutely no confidence, wouldn't you be a laughingstock?"

"Furthermore, my Lin family will verify this matter to ensure absolute certainty. Do you think that my Lin family elders wouldn't have thought of what you've considered? Do you think their knowledge is inferior to yours?"

"Do you understand the Savage Heaven Technique? Do you know any ancient secret formulas? You're just a nominal disciple of Su Jie. Whether or not you can restore Xin Tong's severed Fatal Meridian is none of your business!"

"What an ignorant fool! His words are utterly ridiculous!"

The woman in palace attire fired off sarcastic remarks and rhetorical questions in rapid succession. Yi Yun remained silent in response, as if the woman had rendered Yi Yun speechless.

This finally gave the woman in palace attire a sense of relief. However, Yi Yun was of lowly status, and she felt that arguing with a young man would be beneath her dignity and not worth it at all.

To her, it felt like being bitten by an insect. Even if she crushed the insect, what difference would it make? She was still bitten.

"Old Madam," the woman in palace attire said, fearing Old Madam might hesitate, "The Shentu Family's foundation in the Savage Heaven Technique is undeniable, far surpassing that of our Lin family. If the Lin family were to unite with the Shentu Family, when Xin Tong takes charge in the future, our Lin family's Savage Heaven Technique inheritance will likely be elevated to a higher level."

"Two months from now, the Shentu Family will be hosting the Savage Heaven Technique Tea Party. At that time, the Shentu Family should be able to prove that they have the ability to cure the Xin Tong Fatal Meridian!"

The woman in palace attire glanced at Su Jie with a hint of schadenfreude as she spoke, "Elder Su, you should be ready for the Savage Heaven Technique Tea Party, right?"

The woman in palace attire knew very well that Su Jie would definitely suffer a setback at the Savage Heaven Technique Tea Party two months later. Although his Savage Heaven Technique skills were superb, he couldn't withstand the fact that the Shentu Family had more grandmasters. No matter how strong Su Jie, he would probably be defeated.

The woman in palace attire had a strained relationship with Su Jie, so she was naturally happy to see Su Jie suffer a setback. Moreover, the Shentu Family's demonstration of their strength served as further evidence for her viewpoint. No matter how you looked at it, this marriage alliance was entirely beneficial to the Lin family.

"You don't need to worry about how well I've prepared. What, do you seem to be hoping for the Lin family to be trampled down?"

Since he had no liking for the woman in palace attire and was being targeted by her, Su Jie was naturally not going to take the beating passively, and drew his sword in response.

"Elder Su, you don't need to imply that I'm a traitor. Of course, I hope the Lin family will prosper, but we can't just wish for it blindly. Just because I hope you win, does that mean you will win?"

Seeing that the woman in palace attire was about to argue with Su Jie, the Old Madam's face darkened, and she scolded the woman, "Shut up! What kind of behavior is this!"

Su Jie was a guest of the Lin family, so he naturally had to be treated with courtesy. Otherwise, Su Jie could have simply left. If the woman in palace attire argued with Su Jie, the Old Madam would naturally reprimand her.

The woman in palace attire fell silent, having spoken rashly in a fit of anger.

The Old Madam stood up, leaning on her dragon-headed cane. "Elder Su, although the original intention of this Savage Heaven Technique Tea Party was for the Shentu Family to showcase their Savage Heaven Technique skills, they came prepared. We were caught off guard and lacked sufficient resources, so it's inevitable that we might be outmatched."

"That being said, my Lin family cannot afford to lose too badly. Elder Su! You must preserve the honor of my Lin family."

The Old Madam's voice was sincere, Su Jie nodded, saying, "I will do my best, please rest assured, Old Madam!"

"Hmm." The Old Madam nodded, then turned to Lin Xin Tong, "Xin Tong, I won't force you to do anything. You still have a long life ahead of you."

"My great-grandmother has lived for so long, seen so many people and things, and experienced so much. I just want to tell you that you are still too young. What you think and insist on now may seem naive and laughable thousands of years from now, when you are truly grown up and look back on it."

What you hold dear may not be what you want... What you refuse to do now, even at the cost of your life, but are ultimately forced to accept with humiliation, you may one day in the future be grateful for the surrender you made...

After the Old Madam finished speaking, she leaned on her cane and walked away surrounded by a group of young girls.

...(To be continued~^~)