At those words, everyone's gaze focused on Chen Xiaojun. Even Xiao Yi, who had been sitting quietly beside him, had a faint ripple pass through her eyes.
Zhu Wuneng blurted out anxiously, "How were you not in control? You exposed her secret, laid out that girl Congtong's Martial Soul prospects, and even asked to visit Dou Jing. She went along with everything you wanted! Weren't you setting the tempo?"
"Setting the tempo?" Chen Xiaojun shook his head slightly, a meaningful smile curving his lips. "In your eyes, what sort of image did Madam Lin, Ye Sirong, present today?"
Everyone fell into thought.
After a moment, Dugu Fu spoke first. "Powerful, unflustered in a crisis, and possessed of tremendous resolve and control."
Ma Wencai added, "Someone of distinguished origins, rigorously educated and well acquainted with the wider world. Loyal and resilient."
Chen Shurui continued, "Composed and candid, with an elder's warmth. Emotionally steady and measured."
Su Ningxia said softly, "I could sense the crushing pressure weighing on her, her overwhelming sense of crisis, her deep concern for her husband, and her profound anxiety about the future. But she kept all of that beneath a calm surface."
After a while, Chen Mu summed it up. "Taken together, she presented the image of a woman shocked and pained by a tremendous upheaval. Yet with a Soul Saint's willpower, the insight cultivated by the Chen Clan, her maternal instincts, and the resilience forged through past trials, she swiftly suppressed her emotions. She calmly analyzed the situation and rationally chose a stance of 'cooperation' for her daughter's safety and future."
"Outwardly weary and restrained, inwardly clearheaded and vigilant. At critical moments, she retained both strategic judgment and human warmth, always striving to preserve her own dignity, safety, and prospects, as well as those of her