Confined to Quarters
Fu Yinqiu slowly took a sip of tea, her expression unchanged, seemingly showing no sign of anger.
But her words sent a chill down Jimo Qunfang's spine. "So you think we've mistreated your family?"
"Of course I didn't mean that. We all know how good Auntie is to our West Courtyard. It's just that my younger brother is still young and may not know the rules well, which may have made someone angry," Jimo Qunfang quickly explained, trying her best to shift all the blame onto Sang Ying.
However, she still chose the wrong person.
"Since you don't know the rules, you'd better go back and learn them properly. Otherwise, you might offend our distinguished guests in the future. For the next three months, the West Courtyard will be closed to reflect on your mistakes and learn the rules!" At Fu Yinqiu's command, someone immediately stepped forward and pulled Jimo Qunfang out.
Jimo Qunfang was caught off guard by Fu Yinqiu's ruthlessness and was momentarily stunned.
Once everyone was pulled outside, she hurriedly pleaded a few words.
However, by then it was too late to realize her mistake. Fu Yinqiu had long since given up on tolerating those greedy people in the West Courtyard.
The Jimo Household them for so many years, yet they show no gratitude whatsoever, spending their days scheming Evil Dao.
If it weren't for the kindness of her ancestors, Fu Yinqiu would have kicked the person out long ago.
However, it probably won't be long before they are kicked out, since the head of the Jimo Household has already secretly collected evidence of the West Courtyard family abusing their Lineage power to commit evil deeds.
Once this evidence is presented to the elders, they will voluntarily request to expel the family without the Jimo Household head even needing to speak.
After dismissing the irrelevant people, Fu Yinqiu smiled at Sang Ying again, "I didn't expect the troubles at home to involve you. They heard some rumors and deliberately came to test your strength to see if they could get some benefits from you."
Sang Ying listened silently, only to realize that Aristocratic Clan aristocratic families was indeed not as comfortable as she had imagined.
"By the way, this must be your first time in Rizhao City. The weather has been pretty good these past few days. If you have some free time, you could ask Yinhuan to show you around," Fu Yinqiu suggested. "Rizhao City, aside from other things, has quite beautiful scenery."
Sang Ying accepted the lady's kindness. It just so happened that she didn't want to stay in the house all the time, and going out for a walk suited her just fine.
So, Sang Ying and her companion made some preparations and then went out on their own.
Rizhao City was relatively well-organized under the management of the Jimo Household. It was said that the best scenery in the city was Myriad Phenomena Mountain to the west.
Although Myriad Phenomena Mountain is not high, it was once shrouded in a mysterious formation. Within the mountain, one can experience the scenery of all four seasons: spring at the foot of the mountain and winter at the summit. It is said that one can even see snow scenes.
"Miss, you've come at the perfect time! The Tuyao Flower on the mountain are in full bloom right now, and from afar, the entire mountainside is a sea of pink!" Yinhuan's personality became much more lively after leaving the mansion, and she spoke less reservedly than before.
Sang Ying was completely unfamiliar with Rizhao City, so since Yinhuan had made the suggestion, she naturally had no intention of refusing.
The two then headed straight for Myriad Phenomena Mountain.
As it turned out, Yinhuan was not lying. Although Sang Ying did not know what the Tuyao Flower was, from a distance, the mountain in front of her looked like a spilled palette, with four colors mixed together yet clearly distinct.
The mountainside was indeed a beautiful pink, looking like clouds from afar.
As they climbed the mountain, Yinhuan explained to Sang Ying, "It's the season when the Tuyao flowers are in bloom, so there will be quite a few tourists visiting Myriad Phenomena Mountain. Miss, please stay close to me and don't get lost."
Sang Ying smiled upon hearing this, thinking to herself, why was this girl with no cultivation being so concerned about her, a cultivator?
However, she still followed Yinhuan's words closely behind the little girl.
Sang Ying wasn't actually very interested in these beautiful sights; she just came along because Yinhuan seemed so enthusiastic.
Some people seem destined to have trouble wherever they go. Just like now, Yinhuan sees an endless sea of pink flowers, while Sang Ying sees a strangely abundant Spiritual Qi.
"You noticed it too?" the hairpin on her head suddenly asked softly.
Sang Ying nodded slightly. "There seems to be something wrong with this patch of Tuyao Flower. The Spiritual Qi within these flowers is far too strong."
Even those exceptional spirit medicine herbs and plants possess a stable and profound Spiritual Qi, unlike the flamboyant and outward-spreading Tuyao Flower.
It was as if this Spiritual Qi did not belong to the flowers themselves, but rather they had stolen it from others.
"Why didn't any cultivators notice something so obvious?" Sang Ying was puzzled. Even if the other cultivators in the city were unaware, the Jimo Household should have discovered and investigated it much earlier.
The Spiritual Qi here is so volatile; it doesn't seem like a good thing at all.
Jiang Zhuoxue quickly gave her an answer, "You've seen so many high-level spirit medicine before, so you're naturally familiar with their Spiritual Qi. But not everyone in this world is like you, understanding the methods of spiritual Spiritual Qi flow in spiritual objects."
"Furthermore, if someone clearly tells them that this is a normal phenomenon, and since no problems have actually occurred, do you think anyone will still care?"
Sang Ying's gaze Jiang Zhuoxue's words meant that a highly authoritative person had suppressed the matter.
And this person, without much thought, must be from the Jimo Household.
"Are you planning to meddle in this?" Jiang Zhuoxue asked.
Sang Ying paused for a moment. "I want to know the truth." After all, if the Spiritual Qi of the Tuyao Flower were to erupt, the resulting power would probably level the entire Rizhao City.
Since Sang Ying was a new guest, Yinhuan didn't dare to let her play outside for too long, so the two of them ultimately didn't reach the top of the mountain and decided to go back first.
On the way back, however, a woman caught Sang Ying's attention.
The other person looked very old, and there was no trace of Spiritual Qi emanating from them; they seemed to be just an ordinary person.
She clung tightly to a man dressed in a black robe, the crest of the Jimo Household embroidered on the chest of his robe.
"These are the guards of the City Lord's Mansion," Yinhuan explained briefly to Sang Ying. "The Jimo Household established the City Lord's Mansion in Rizhao City a long time ago to ensure the city's security and prevent cultivators from causing trouble within the city."
The woman clung to the man's clothes, her eyes red and swollen from crying, her voice hoarse, yet she still pleaded, "Please, sir, help me find my son! He came to Myriad Phenomena Mountain to admire the flowers three days ago and hasn't come back since!"
"Get up quickly! What kind of behavior is this with so many people watching?" The guard said helplessly. "I've already explained it to you. Your son really isn't here. Our men have searched for him several times, turned the whole mountain upside down, but he's really not here. Your son is probably already long gone from this mountain!"
The woman still wouldn't listen to reason, insisting, "That's impossible! My son is just an ordinary person; he wouldn't make enemies. He never goes out and wanders off. He only came to Myriad Phenomena Mountain at someone's request! He's definitely still here, he's definitely here, sir!"
Yinhuan was pulling Sang Ying away, leaving their conversation far behind.
But Sang Ying memorized the woman's face, thinking that this might be a breakthrough.