Stirring Up Trouble and Making a Scene (Seeking Follow-ups and Encouragement)

The door closed, and Ye Qinru vanished from everyone's sight.

Staring at the shut door, Fang Xuan's gaze remained resolute.

Dugu Bo, standing to the side, sighed helplessly at the sight.

"Let's go, Yan-yan. Things have reached this point; there is nothing more your grandfather can do to help."

He understood Ye Qinru's feelings well; the current situation was already the best possible resolution.

Had it been him in her position, the other party likely wouldn't have even been given the chance to kneel there.

Glancing at her grandfather and then at Fang Xuan kneeling on the ground, Dugu Yan knew there was nothing she could do now.

With no other choice, she chose to leave with her grandfather.

At the entrance of the Ye Family estate, Fang Xuan knelt in silence.

He did not move, nor did he make a sound; he simply kept his gaze fixed firmly on the closed gate.

News of Fang Xuan kneeling at the door spread quickly.

At first, people didn't know what had happened and could only speculate among themselves.

It wasn't until the truth leaked out from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy that everyone understood the real situation.

Bad news travels fast.

The matter was too sensational, and it spread with such speed that it soon reached every street and alley in Heaven Dou City.

Many people even came out of curiosity, though they only watched from a distance.

After all, Dugu Bo was guarding the perimeter, ensuring these onlookers didn't disturb Fang Xuan.

In reality, it was he who had leaked the information in the first place.

"Grandfather, why did you do this?"

Dugu Yan was confused. She remembered that Fang Xuan's original intention was to keep the impact of the matter to a minimum.

Yet, Dugu Bo's actions were clearly the opposite; at this point, even if she wanted to suppress the rumors, she couldn't.

"You are still young; there are some things you don't understand yet."

Seeing her grandfather acting mysterious, Dugu Yan reached out and grabbed him by the hair.

"Right, just because you're old, you think it's fun to bully a kid, huh?"

"Hey, hey, hey, Yan-yan, let go! Don't pull—if you pull your grandfather's hair out, it'll look terrible."

"I'll tell you, alright? You little brat."

Dugu Yan let go upon hearing this and sat quietly to the side, waiting for Dugu Bo's explanation as if nothing had happened.

Dugu Bo couldn't help but laugh; only Dugu Yan dared to treat him like that. No one else would ever dream of it.

"I am building momentum for the boy. His idea was indeed good—he wanted to protect Ye Lingling's reputation as much as possible."

"But that was an ideal scenario, one that depended on everything going smoothly and Ye Lingling agreeing to marry him."

"Given the current situation, that is clearly not feasible. Therefore, the only way to benefit the boy is to blow this matter up until it is known to everyone and impossible to back down from. The bigger, the better."

To put it bluntly, this was a way to forcibly bind Ye Lingling and Fang Xuan together. Even if Ye Qinru was unwilling and didn't care about the rumors, under the weight of public opinion, she would eventually be unable to hold out.

It was the equivalent of cutting flesh with a dull blade or boiling a frog in warm water; public opinion was the most effective weapon. The method might be underhanded, but it worked.

Originally, Dugu Bo hadn't intended to get involved, but he was genuinely interested in the boy.

The fact that he could discover Dugu Yan's poisoning showed that this young man was extraordinary.

Moreover, he was a genius—an eighteen-year-old Soul King? What kind of concept was that?

Calling him a peerless genius was no exaggeration. Then there was the matter of his martial soul and soul skills.

Soul skills that could be swapped at will—he had lived for so many years, and he had never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it.

Most importantly, his martial soul could randomly generate a plant every seven days, with completely unknown effects.

To others, this might just be a novelty, but to him, it was an untapped human treasure trove.

It wasn't impossible that one day, a plant capable of curing the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's poison might just pop out.

Regardless of the reason, he had every cause to give the boy a hand.

"Just wait. As long as the boy can hold out for seven days, your grandfather will personally go to their door to propose marriage on his behalf."

He had lived a dull life for far too long; it was time to find some amusement.

Thus, under Dugu Bo's maneuvering, even many people within the Heaven Dou Imperial family became aware of the situation.

Of course, they were well aware that Dugu Bo was behind it, but they said nothing.

As the only Title Douluo in the Heaven Dou Empire standing on the side of the royal family, Dugu Bo's influence was immense.

Emperor Xue Ye even personally ordered the army to cordon off the area around the Ye Family estate.

He certainly couldn't issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage, as that would encourage such behavior; if he did, it wouldn't just be noble daughters—even the imperial princesses might be targeted in the future.

Doing this much was already the limit; anything more would invite a backlash.

Inside the imperial palace, within the Crown Prince's bedchamber.

Xue Qinghe was listening to the report brought back by a servant, a playful smile appearing on his face.

"Truly interesting. But who exactly is this Fang Xuan, to be able to make Dugu Bo care so much?"

Xue Qinghe had no interest in the affairs of the Ye Family, but if someone could make a Title Douluo like Dugu Bo personally intervene, then it could not be treated as a trivial matter.

"Go and investigate his background. I want all the information on him."

Xue Qinghe looked toward the shadows at his side and gave the order.

"Yes, My Lady."

The shadow vanished, and Xue Qinghe's gaze turned back toward the window.

After a while, he stepped away and left the room.

The Ye Family residence.

Inside a room, Ye Qinru and her daughter, Ye Lingling, sat facing each other.

Ye Lingling's eyes were red and swollen; it looked as though she had just been crying.

Ye Qinru's face was full of heartache, yet she remained firm in her refusal to yield.

She was aware of the rumors outside, and she knew that many people were waiting to see her family become a laughingstock.

Ye Lingling's reputation could be considered completely ruined, but so what?

Even if she had to die, she would never allow her daughter to repeat her own mistakes.

Even if her daughter were to hate her for the rest of her life, she would have no regrets.

"Mother, I beg you, if you do this, he will lose his life."

Seven days, and not even allowed to use soul power.

She never imagined her mother would be so cruel—seven full days without food or water; this was clearly intended to cost him his life.

"I won't marry! Just let him go, I won't marry!"

Watching her daughter's heart-wrenching cries, Ye Qinru finally softened.

"He will be fine, provided his feelings for you are sincere."

In truth, Ye Qinru had been observing Fang Xuan's condition the entire time; the moment he could no longer hold on, she would intervene.

Seven days was merely a pretext to give him a reason to retreat in the face of difficulty.

She did not believe that after only a few days of interaction, a man could truly be sincere toward her daughter.

To put it bluntly, he was just trying to use these underhanded tactics to force her hand.

Her daughter was still naive and could be easily fooled by sweet talk, but such tricks would not work on her.

If not for Dugu Bo's sudden appearance, she likely would have already taken action.

For the sake of her daughter's reputation, she would never have allowed him to live.

But now, everything had spiraled completely out of control; the entire Heaven Dou City knew about this matter.

The royal family had even sent people to surround the residence.

They claimed it was to prevent others from causing a disturbance, but in reality, they were merely escalating the situation. It was as if they had already anticipated this outcome and were now just waiting for her to give in.

Even if she chose to leave Heaven Dou City in the end, the impact of this incident would not dissipate.

"Dugu Bo, you are truly ruthless!"

Ye Qinru could naturally guess who was fanning the flames behind the scenes, but what could she possibly do against Dugu Bo?

He was a Title Douluo, while she was merely a weak woman—a support-type Spirit Master with absolutely no combat ability.

The strongest combatant she could summon was a Spirit Douluo at best, which was no match for Dugu Bo.

Even if he were the weakest of Title Douluos, he was still a Title Douluo, not someone a mere Spirit Douluo could compare to.

"Is it possible that I really have no choice but to marry my daughter off?"

Ye Qinru's resolve wavered, not because of the external pressure, but because of Fang Xuan himself.

Ever since she had left him with that ultimatum, he had remained kneeling in that spot, not moving an inch.

Could it be that he is actually prepared to kneel for seven days?