Obliging Them

The Liu Family sent people out to make inquiries everywhere. In the end, all they learned was that Bao Gang had bought a piece of white cloth from a shop and then left the city.

As for where he had gone, yesterday's heavy snow had kept almost everyone indoors, so no one knew where he had ended up.

After lunch at the Liu Family estate, Xu Yang and Wu Yongfeng headed to the Mighty Far Hall.

Snow fell thickly. From a distance, Xu Yang spotted a woman standing before the Mighty Far Hall in a fur coat. She was lovely, and a maid stood beside her holding an umbrella.

Every disciple entering or leaving the Mighty Far Hall could not help stealing a glance as they passed her before continuing inside.

"What a beautiful young lady. Who could be so heartless as to leave a beauty like that waiting in the wind and snow?" Wu Yongfeng sighed.

"Don't talk nonsense. Perhaps she's a relative of one of the senior brothers in the Inner Court."

Xu Yang smiled as he strode toward the Mighty Far Hall with Wu Yongfeng.

But as they approached the woman, her gaze suddenly landed on Xu Yang. "You're Xu Yang?"

Wu Yongfeng: ...

The heartless fellow I was talking about was Xu Yang, right here beside me? And this bastard was actually playing innocent!

Xu Yang froze too. He had never expected that this woman was waiting here specifically for him.

He immediately cupped his hands. "I am indeed Xu Yang. May I ask..."

Before he could finish, the woman cut him off.

"Xu Yang," she declared loudly, "stop being a toad dreaming of swan meat! I would never lower myself to marry you. I, Huang Ling'er, have no interest in the likes of you!"

Xu Yang: ...

Xu Yang was utterly bewildered. Where the hell did this madwoman come from? I don't even know her.

"Huang Ling'er?"

He looked up again, only to find that the woman calling herself Huang Ling'er had already strode away after delivering her speech.

"Miss, please explain yourself before you leave!" Xu Yang called.

Huang Ling'er quickened her pace.

"Miss, Xu Yang was clearly the one who refused the marriage. Won't doing this damage his relationship with the Huang Family?" the maid holding the umbrella asked worriedly.

Huang Ling'er snorted. "I'm salvaging the Huang Family's reputation. I really don't know what Father and the others were thinking, trying to marry me off to someone like him.

"He's a mud-footed peasant who only crawled out of the mire because our Huang Family raised him up, yet he dared reject me twice. Of course, I don't fancy him either. This was all Father and the others' arrangement.

"But if anyone was going to reject anyone, it should have been me rejecting him! Who does he think he is? He doesn't even own a fur coat in weather like this."

With that, she climbed into the carriage by the roadside, and it swiftly departed.

"Junior Brother Xu, who was that girl? How have you been pestering her to make her come all the way to the Mighty Far Hall to kick up a fuss?" Wu Yongfeng asked curiously.

"I don't even know her!" Xu Yang said.

But no one believed him.

Wu Yongfeng did not believe him, and neither did the surrounding Mighty Far Hall disciples.

If he did not know her, why would she come to the Mighty Far Hall to reject him and tell him to stop pestering her?

Her clothing made it obvious that she was the daughter of a wealthy household. Xu Yang must have tried to climb beyond his station and failed, prompting her to come here specifically to humiliate him.

"Senior Brother Xu, Huang Ling'er is the daughter of Huang Ping, Second Master Huang," someone nearby reminded him.

Now even fewer people believed him. The Huang Family had supported him and helped him enter the Mighty Far Hall. How could he possibly not know their second master's daughter?

"Second Master Huang's daughter, Huang Ling'er?"

After a moment's thought, Xu Yang quickly realized that Huang Ling'er was probably the woman the Huang Family had intended him to marry.

He had clearly refused last night. He did not know what had gone wrong along the way to make this woman believe he wanted to marry her and come here to humiliate him.

Or perhaps his two refusals had left this pampered young lady so ashamed that she flew into a rage.

Either way, it was difficult to explain. He had accepted the Huang Family's kindness, then refused them twice. If he stepped forward to explain, he would slap the Huang Family in the face and put his eldest uncle in an awkward position there.

Besides, he did not care about such things. Whether he had rejected Huang Ling'er or Huang Ling'er had rejected him made no difference. If the Huang Family thought this would salvage some of their dignity, he was happy to oblige.

Soon, however, Xu Yang discovered that he had underestimated Huang Ling'er. He had thought she merely wanted to turn his rejection of the marriage into her rejection of it to soothe her wounded pride.

There was far more to it than that.

Huang Ling'er had already planted people in the Mighty Far Hall.

Not long after she left, rumors about her and Xu Yang began circulating through the Mighty Far Hall.

The story went that after Lu Ren left the Huang Family, Xu Yang assumed they needed him again. Through his eldest uncle, Zhou Shunchang, he sent word that if they married Huang Ling'er to him, he would leave the Liu Family and become the Huang Family's Attendant. But Huang Ling'er had no interest in him whatsoever, so she came to the Mighty Far Hall specifically to reject him.

All at once, many people in the Inner Court began looking at him differently.

Some thought he lacked honor, making such an outrageous demand while the Huang Family was reeling from Lu Ren's betrayal.

Others thought he did not know his own limits. With a mere C-Grade Lower Bone Root, he actually had the nerve to name such terms to the Huang Family.

"He finally knocked some sense into himself after bashing his head bloody against the wall, but it's too late now."

Jiang Ping believed Xu Yang had realized the importance of having a powerful backer nurture him and regretted not marrying into the Liu Family. That was why he had set his sights on the Huang Family after they lost Lu Ren, only to be rejected.

"He thought the Huang Family would value him once I was gone? How naive," Lu Ren said with a laugh.

The Huang Family liked to stake little in hopes of winning big. Even if Xu Yang had some talent, they would never pour vast resources into nurturing him.

Consider this my repayment to the Huang Family.

Xu Yang had no intention of explaining the matter. He would oblige the Huang Family and preserve their reputation.

He did not care about this sort of reputation. Whether the Huang Family had approached him and been rejected, or he had approached them seeking a marriage alliance and been rejected, made no difference to him.

He could disregard his reputation, but he could not let Huang Ling'er humiliate him for nothing. He could remain silent and preserve her reputation and the Huang Family's, but he would regard this as repayment for their kindness. From now on, he would have nothing more to do with them.

"Just look at that disgusting face of his. He's ungrateful and still has the gall to flaunt it. There's nothing wrong with Senior Brother Xu wanting to get ahead," Qiu Wenjie said indignantly as he watched Lu Ren's expression.

Xu Yang: ...

Even Qiu Wenjie believed he had approached the Huang Family first. Probably few would believe that the Huang Family had proposed a marriage alliance to him twice, even if he explained.

Zhang Yong frowned. "How could the Gu Family dare take in someone like Lu Ren? Aren't they afraid he'll betray them one day too?"

He still could not understand it.

Lu Ren had talent, but someone who understood neither gratitude nor loyalty,

however talented, would sooner or later betray them again.

Zhang Hong said, "Apparently, it's for Dragon Ascension in the Martial Examination. The Gu Family's eldest young master wants to place in the rankings, so he's sparing no expense to befriend talented people at all the martial arts halls. Otherwise, why would a young lady of Senior Sister Gu Fang's standing come to the Mighty Far Hall to study?"

Wu Yongfeng nodded. "Right. If it's for Dragon Ascension in the Martial Examination, that makes sense. The Gu Family doesn't need Lu Ren to remain loyal for life. With his talent, he'll leave Qingyuan sooner or later. There's no way he'll serve the Gu Family forever."

Qiu Wenjie still did not understand. "Is a mere Martial Licentiate title really that important?"