After hearing Gong Chenying's words, the First Elder fared somewhat better. His face merely stiffened for a moment before his smile returned.
Amid his astonishment, a sharp glint flashed through the Second Elder's eyes, then he too returned to normal. No one knew what he was thinking.
"He saw the navel ring..."
The peerlessly beautiful Third Elder had lost count of how many times she had been startled today. Rarely, she lost her usual composure and blurted it out, while looking at Li Yan with strange eyes, as though saying—
"What a coincidence. What a coincidence...? Don't tell me you knew the reason. You... you did it on purpose, didn't you?"
The powerful cultivation Li Yan had displayed earlier had now become, in the eyes of others, a means by which he could scheme against Gong Chenying.
Li Yan felt a little uncomfortable beneath the Third Elder's beautiful gaze, yet his expression remained calm.
"Mm! But at that time, Junior Brother's cultivation was only in the Qi Condensation Realm."
After Gong Chenying's towering chest rose and fell once, as though she had taken a long breath, her entire bearing instantly regained its cold and glamorous composure.
She had noticed the Third Elder's gaze as well, so she added another sentence.
"No wonder you never relented, despite there being so many outstanding young men in the clan. So this was the reason!"
The Third Elder nodded. The women of their Tianli Clan attached the greatest importance to clan rules, especially the one concerning the "navel ring."
However, there was actually considerable opposition within the Tianli Clan to marrying outsiders. They felt that any descendants born in the future would have impure bloodlines.
Gong Chenying in particular was no ordinary figure. She might one day succeed to the position of clan chief.