Win Again

Li Wei pulled out a tissue and wiped the tea stains from the corners of Liang Qiushi's mouth and her lapels.

With that joke, the serious atmosphere from before was immediately diluted considerably.

"Aunt Liang, I was only joking... Please don't take it to heart." Li Wei's face grew slightly hot. If I'd known, I wouldn't have acted up like that.

The corners of Liang Qiushi's lips curved faintly. She shook her head helplessly, and only after dealing with the tea stains did she regain her graceful composure. "It's nothing..."

Seeing that she wasn't angry, Li Wei relaxed and said seriously, "Aunt Liang, I'll say the same thing again: as long as you can cure Li Cheng, whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it!"

Liang Qiushi's eyes glimmered as she stared at Li Wei, as though restraining some emotion.

After a long while, she apologized. "Ah... good child... I'm sorry."

Li Wei felt a little guilty.

Fuck, don't look at me with that apologetic gaze. I'm the one making a killing here, okay?! Tsk, this is so embarrassing. Damn my shame...

"Ahem~" Li Wei cleared her throat and asked tentatively, "Aunt Liang, I have a few questions..."

Liang Qiushi naturally rubbed the corner of her eye lightly. She had already regained her composure and said, "Go ahead."

"Does Jiang Xue have any family? Also, she and your son grew up together. If I impersonate her, will I be exposed?" Li Wei rubbed her fingers together, afraid some accident would occur and affect her going to the battlefield to level up.

Liang Qiushi's fingertips glided lightly over the warm, smooth wall of her cup. "I've already communicated with the elders in power of the Jiang Family and settled everything in advance. As for Jinzhi and the younger generation of the Jiang Family, you don't need to worry about them. Jiang Xue went abroad at sixteen, and it's already been four years. Time can blur many things."

"Besides, I'll arrange for you to go to Britain and live with Jiang Xue for a week. You'll take some of her distinctive belongings and learn her various mannerisms and habits. Then, as the Eldest Miss Jiang, you'll return home openly and honorably to await your marriage."

Whoa... How long has this scheme been in the works?

"Just out of curiosity..." Unable to suppress her gossiping nature, Li Wei asked, "You said earlier that Miss Jiang loved your son to the point of madness... So why doesn't she come herself?"

"That love of hers, hehe..." Liang Qiushi's voice suddenly turned cool and clear, and her bearing grew several degrees colder. "Perhaps compared with Jinzhi, she loves herself more. She merely disguised it too well."

This sister is so clear-headed!

Li Wei sighed inwardly.

"Um..." Li Wei asked again, "If I replace her, will she cause trouble?"

Liang Qiushi smiled. "We'll keep an eye on her..."

"Why did she go abroad?" Li Wei was extremely curious.

"Four years ago, she poisoned her own younger sister, Jiang Yao, nearly causing a death. On top of that, she caused a huge commotion at home, so the Jiang Family sent her away. It was essentially exile," Liang Qiushi replied.

Whoa... What a lunatic...

Li Wei felt the burden on her shoulders grow even heavier.

Liang Qiushi was still watching her, clearly waiting for more questions. After thinking it over, Li Wei brought up Li Cheng.

"Before I go to the battlefield, will I still be able to see Li Cheng?"

Liang Qiushi rolled her fingers as if pondering. Then she nodded decisively. "You can. Once you marry into the Gu Family, I'll arrange for the two of you to meet in private."

Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to ask about Li Cheng's condition.

Liang Qiushi had already explained in advance. "As for his illness, before everything is accomplished, I'll arrange for a grandmaster to alleviate it for him, but it won't be completely cured... Can you understand?"

Li Wei nodded, without any unnecessary emotion.

One hand gives the money, the other receives the goods. Understand, understand.

Li Wei had been beaten black and blue in her previous life. She had long since lost her innocence!

She knew that there was no love in this world without a reason.

Given Liang Qiushi's status and position, the fact that she could remain so dignified and courteous toward Li Wei—neither sharp nor coercive—already made her an exceptionally good person.

Thinking that she would be staying at the front line for a long time and worrying that no one would care for Li Cheng, Li Wei couldn't help making a request.

"Aunt Liang, after Li Cheng recovers, could I trouble you to look after him for a while?"

Li Wei had originally planned to ask her to help raise him for a while, then take Li Cheng over once she became powerful.

But Liang Qiushi had clearly misunderstood her...

Looking at Li Wei's innocent, clear, watery eyes, Liang Qiushi suddenly clenched her fist and half-covered her nose and mouth. The corners of her eyes glistened once more, her tears shimmering as they hovered on the verge of falling. She remained silent for a long time.

"Auntie, what's wrong?" Li Wei was a little bewildered.

No way, no way. I'm going to the battlefield in place of your son! Although I'd be going even without your son, isn't it too much to ask you to help take care of Li Cheng? Is there really a need to feel this wronged?

"It's nothing..."

Taking advantage of raising her hand, Liang Qiushi discreetly wiped the corners of her eyes.

"You don't need to worry. After Li Cheng recovers, I'll arrange for him to enter the Liang Family's school for its descendants. The Liang Family will educate him according to the standards for a direct-line young master, all the way until he graduates from a martial arts university."

"Whoa—!" Li Wei was shocked and realized that she had misunderstood Liang Qiushi just now.

Everything's been arranged so perfectly, so why was she crying? Still, this sister's arrangements really are beyond expectations.

She had originally thought this would be a win-win situation. As things stood, it was clearly a win-win-win situation!

Of course, the one winning the most was Li Wei.

"Also..." Before Li Wei could recover, Liang Qiushi continued, "To solidify your identity, I've reached an agreement with the Jiang Family Head. Before you go to Western Xinjiang, she'll give you the first three swords of the Jiang Family's secret art, the 'Nine Moon Reflection Swords,' as well as the physical-body chapter of the 'Great Yin Jade Lotus Treasure Scroll.' Consider it... a little compensation for you."

At those words, the corners of Li Wei's lips nearly split to her ears. If that beautiful hibiscus-like face hadn't held the expression up, it could have been selected for a bizarre-expression meme.

Although Li Wei had no idea how much the 'Nine Moon Reflection Swords' and the 'Great Yin Jade Lotus Treasure Scroll' were worth,

she had some idea of just how precious Mind Methods and Combat Methods were.

Even the most ordinary, complete Combat Method would sell for at least a million on the open market.

As for Mind Methods, their prices were impossible to pin down. You also needed luck—classic cases of having a price but no market.

Unless one joined the government or military, or performed well enough to enter a reputable martial arts university,

it was extremely difficult for an unaffiliated martial artist to collect both a Mind Method and a Combat Method.

Aunt Liang was truly thorough. She had even equipped her with all the skills!

Now that's being generous! By this calculation, it's practically a four-way win!

"The Jiang Family is really generous!" Li Wei raised her delicate, pretty thumb, smiling so broadly that her eyes curved into crescents. She was only short of having her front teeth flash in the light.

"The Jiang Family Head is also a wounded, retired grandmaster..." Liang Qiushi neither agreed nor disagreed. "You'll be disguising yourself as Jiang Xue to enlist in the army in Jinzhi's place. According to the 'Mobilization Decree,' that means you'll represent both families at once. Jiang Xue has a twin brother named Jiang Han. In two years, it will be his turn. With you here, he won't need to enlist either."

"Uh~"

Sure enough, there's no love in this world without a reason...

"Any other questions?" Liang Qiushi took a sip of tea and waited.

Li Wei fidgeted a little. After struggling for a long while, she finally asked, "After we get married, do I need to sleep with him?"

"Ahem..." Liang Qiushi coughed lightly, then rubbed her forehead with a slightly helpless expression. "...No. But you must share a bed. The Gu Family will certainly have spies from the Zhang Family, so you can't let them obtain any evidence that the marriage is fake. Whether in public or in private, you must act as though you admire Jinzhi. Can you do that?"

"As long as I don't have to sleep with him!" Li Wei relaxed. She could just treat it as sharing a communal bed with friends in her previous life.

She could barely accept acting. After all, she had taken so much advantage of him; she ought to do the job properly.

"Also..." Liang Qiushi seemed somewhat unable to bring herself to say the next part. Only after a long while did she speak.

"The other people in the Gu Family don't know about my plan. You... must keep it secret!"

Li Wei: "..."

Fine. So in the end, the two of us are the only ones putting on this show?