Ice Sealed Three Feet Deep, Heart Demon Lurking in the Shadows (Part 1)

Yu Ci had not expected Yu Qing Xuan and Zhan Shuicheng to settle this matter so silently. It sounded easy enough, but how could an agreement involving Ruizhu Palace and Donghua Palace, the two great powers of the southeast, truly be easy?

For a moment, he was speechless.

Yu Qing Xuan paid no heed to what he was thinking and said slowly, "For Donghua Palace to relent, you must also do something."

"What?"

"You must leave the Northern Wastes."

Yu Ci's eyes flew wide open. The moment he opened his mouth, Yu Qing Xuan said, "Do you know why Shuicheng came forward rather than me?"

"This... I do not."

"Lu Suhua has likely already discovered Jiu Yan's identity. Over the past two or three months, she has probed Flying Spring Mountain, and deliberately let us know. Though Ruizhu Palace and Donghua Palace have little dealings with one another, this move of hers has already shown us considerable respect. Thus, I had Shuicheng come forward and tacitly acknowledge it, using this opportunity to reach an agreement."

Sure enough, it might seem unproblematic to others, but concealing it from Lu Suhua was truly difficult.

From her perspective, there were only so many people in the Northern Wastes connected to Lu Qing. Even by guessing blindly, she could guess a few things.

Yu Ci fell silent.

Yu Qing Xuan continued, "You would do best to respect another family's affairs as well. I have already heard of the situation here. The Lu family's daughters turned against one another, flesh and blood tearing at flesh and blood—regrettable indeed. Yet no matter who won or lost, they were still blood of the same family. But once an outsider became involved..."

Before Yu Ci heard her out, he recalled Lu Qing's reasons for rejecting him. He wanted