That evening, not long after dinner, Qian Renxue took the initiative to cross the Crown Prince's Mansion and seek out Su Ling.
In the rear garden of Su Ling's residence, the two sat at a stone table, chatting over tea and pastries.
"Su Ling, I fulfilled my mission. Your loved ones are all safe." Qian Renxue smiled at him.
"Thank you, big brother!" Su Ling immediately rose and bowed to her.
"Hey... there's no need for that between brothers." Qian Renxue hurried over to pull him up, then sighed.
"Big brother, why are you sighing?" Su Ling asked at once.
Qian Renxue said, "Su Ling, you must know about the matter between Ye Lingling and me, right? I... I really didn't mean for it to happen. It was all Father's decree."
"Big brother, I know everything. This isn't your fault!" Su Ling replied.
"But do you know where Ye Lingling went after leaving Heaven Dou City?"
Qian Renxue had plenty of informants. Su Ling believed she must know something about Ye Lingling's whereabouts.
This time, however, Qian Renxue said regretfully, "Su Ling, I don't know where Ye Lingling is either."
"Now that Ye Lingling has left, what will happen to your wedding, big brother? And if she runs away, what will happen to the Ye Family?" Su Ling asked.
Qian Renxue said, "They'll certainly be punished, but the Ye Family's unique martial soul makes them indispensable to our Heaven Dou Empire. The punishment shouldn't be too severe. I'll speak to Father again, and it should amount to little more than a formality."
In truth, finding Ye Lingling would be easy if Qian Renxue really wanted to. She only needed to have people spread word of harsher punishments against the Ye Family.
Given Ye Lingling's kindness, she would probably choose to