Wenren Qingyi noticed Wenren Lingmeng's gaze and hurriedly stepped in front of her. Then she shot Mu Zibai a resentful look. It was all her brother-in-law's fault!
They were a full two sizes bigger now, completely out of proportion with her figure. Anyone who saw them would think they looked strange. The strangest part was that they still hadn't gone down. Could they stay this big forever?
For a moment, she was flustered, then pleased. She lowered her head and looked at her flat chest. If only—
What am I thinking! Wenren Qingyi shook her head decisively. Mu Zibai's wicked look had left her with a proper childhood trauma.
Mu Zibai was awkwardly looking off to the side as well.
"Hmph, you stinky brother-in-law. My sister woke up, and you didn't even tell me." Wenren Qingyi scolded him.
Wenren Lingmeng frowned and glanced at the two of them, finding them a little strange.
"Qingyi, watch your manners. Is that how you address your brother-in-law?" Wenren Lingmeng chided her. This little girl had no respect for her elders.
She needed a bit of discipline.
When Wenren Qingyi saw Wenren Lingmeng scolding her, she grew anxious. "Sis, you don't know what your husband did. He—"
She couldn't bring herself to say it. There was no way she could tell her sister, right in front of her, that her brother-in-law had spanked her. How embarrassing! She swallowed the words.
"What did he do?" Wenren Lingmeng asked curiously, sensing there was more to the story.
Wenren Qingyi thought for a moment, then said, "Your husband... Whenever he tells me a story, he only tells half of it. It drives me crazy."
Wenren Lingmeng: "..."
That was it? She'd thought it was something serious.
"Your brother-in-law isn't your tutor. How could he be expected to tell you stories every day?" Wenren Lingmeng said. Of course he couldn't spend every day with you. He was my husband, after all. Naturally, he was supposed to spend every day with me.
Wenren Qingyi lowered her head as if admitting her mistake, then secretly made a face at Mu Zibai before running off.
"I'm going to find Big Brother and the others. They'll be so happy to hear you've woken up, Sis."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wenren Longhong's voice came from outside.
"Zibai, King Qi is about to arrive. Come with me." Wenren Longhong walked in and froze on the spot. Xiao E came in behind him and froze too.
After a brief silence—
"Second Sister, you're awake?"
"Miss, you're finally awake!"
Xiao E ran over and took Wenren Lingmeng's hands. She was so excited she nearly burst into tears. At long last, she was awake.
Wenren Longhong smiled with relief but didn't step forward.
"Your little sister greets Big Brother."
"You've only just woken up. You should rest well. I'll send a letter to our parents later. Once they hear you're awake, they'll probably rush over at once," Wenren Longhong said with a smile.
"No, let's surprise them when we get back." Wenren Qingyi grinned mischievously. "If our parents suddenly saw Sis standing in front of them, do you think they'd be so shocked they'd faint?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Wenren Longhong scolded her irritably. What nonsense was this girl thinking about all day?
Mu Zibai gave Wenren Qingyi a thumbs-up. You really are your father's good daughter.
Wenren Qingyi returned his gesture with a smile, as if saying, Look how clever I am.
"Let's hold off on telling our parents for now. It'd be a hassle if they really came all this way," Wenren Lingmeng said. Knowing their parents, especially their father, he would surely travel thousands of miles to get here.
First, she didn't want to cause them trouble. Second, they would be going home soon anyway. And third, if they came, she probably wouldn't get a moment's peace. She wanted to spend a little more time with Mu Zibai.
"All right. We won't tell them for now."
Wenren Longhong gave Mu Zibai a look, signaling for him to come outside and talk. Mu Zibai followed him out.
Compared with Xiao E and Wenren Qingyi, they seemed relatively calm about Wenren Lingmeng waking up, but their joy was every bit as great.
"Miss, do you know how worried Xiao E was while you were unconscious?" Xiao E wiped her tears, looking as if she'd been worn to the bone. She seemed to have lost quite a bit of weight. Anyone could see she'd suffered greatly caring for Wenren Lingmeng. Who wouldn't be moved?
If Wenren Lingmeng hadn't known what had been happening outside, she might really have been fooled by Xiao E. She gave her a meaningful smile and said:
"You really have had a hard time."
Xiao E: "?"
Why did the young miss's gaze seem a little off?
She felt a faint flicker of unease.
Wenren Lingmeng pinched Xiao E hard on the waist. Xiao E yelped and dodged away.
"Miss, what are you doing?" Xiao E asked nervously, her eyes full of innocence.
"You little Xiao E, still pretending? I'm settling the score with you today. Did you really think I didn't know what happened while I was unconscious?" Wenren Lingmeng said.
"I only did it for your sake, Miss. Besides, since you know everything, don't you like having such a fine husband? I was only helping you."
Wenren Lingmeng: "..."
Seeing her young miss's expression, Xiao E was sure that she liked her husband. Her efforts hadn't been in vain. It was enough that the young miss remembered—she wouldn't have to spend ages explaining herself.
Xiao E leaned close to Wenren Lingmeng's ear and whispered, "You woke up last night, didn't you? Did you and your husband..."
"Xiao E, do you want to die?!"
Wenren Lingmeng's face was flushed with embarrassment.
"I'll go tidy the bedding."
"Xiao E! You're getting more and more outrageous!"
Laughter and playful scuffling came from the room. Outside, Mu Zibai and Wenren Longhong had already left.
Wenren Longhong said King Qi was already on his way and would probably arrive soon. There also seemed to be movement from the Dragon Palace; it looked like the Dragon King was coming too.
The negotiations would naturally concern Ao Ying Tian. They had probably brought quite a ransom.
There was no need to explain the Dragon King's status. Every Dragon King was at least a Phoenix Nirvana Realm expert, and Dragon Person blood made them far stronger than ordinary experts at the same level.
After Great You defeated the Dragon Palace, it had set down a rule: Dragon Kings were forbidden from entering Great You's territory unless they had permission from a prince or someone of higher rank. Their arrival also had to be reported to the Capital City within five days. If one was discovered without having done so, they would be executed on the spot. Great You had no qualms about going to war with the Dragon Palace again, and the Dragon Palace would have to think carefully about whether it could afford such a fight.
The Dragon Palace had already made contact with King Qi. To prevent any mishaps, King Qi was coming to Tianling Island in person. The matter was important, and without a prince present, they feared the Dragon King might try something underhanded that they wouldn't be able to handle.
As for Ao Ying Tian, he insisted that he had only come to steal some poultry to eat, but everyone knew better.
Though Great You was powerful and feared no faction, it wasn't about to start a war for no reason. That would drain the people and the treasury—not a wise move.
Instead, the best option was to use Ao Ying Tian to get a ransom without sending a single soldier into battle. A Dragon Person Crown Prince was bound to make the Dragon King bleed a little.
No one yet knew what the Dragon Palace was plotting. Once the matter was reported to the court, the court would decide what to do. It wasn't something they could decide themselves.
As for why they had called Mu Zibai along, Mu Zibai had discovered and captured Ao Ying Tian. That was a meritorious deed, and he could receive a substantial reward. He could also get a share of the ransom.
The negotiations would be straightforward, and he could earn some merit too. That was why Wenren Longhong had specifically invited Mu Zibai along—it was for his benefit.
Thanks to all the readers for your support. Here's my thanks with a third update!
I've finally made it onto the recommendations list. My book's doing pretty well so far. It hadn't been recommended before, yet its ranking was still quite high, and its stats were even better than some books that had been recommended for several weeks.
Last week, since the recommendation hadn't come through, I slowed the pace a little. I'll pick it up again soon.
Before you continue