Chapter 151: Chapter 149: The Fang Family Disagrees_1
Chapter 151: Chapter 149: The Fang Family Disagrees_1
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"Cousins?" Fang Ren frowned slightly, "Does that mean my second uncle has two seeds?"
Based on the information that Fang Ren had now, his second uncle intended to kill him, coerce the current Family Head of the Fang Family with no heirs into a forced marriage with the Bai Family, then have his son marry Bai Qi, ultimately usurping the position of Family Head.
So if one son wanted to marry Bai Qi, surely the one who wanted to marry Liu Qianqian wasn't the same one.
Wu Hui was momentarily taken aback by his tone before replying, "No, the second master of the Fang Family only has one son, Fang Liqun, while Fang Lizhong is the third master's son."
"Turns out I have a third uncle after all this time," Fang Ren smacked his lips.
He just didn't know whether this third uncle was aligned with the left or the right faction of the Fang Family.
"Has Young Master Fang never returned to the Fang Family?" Wu Hui asked.
"Never been there," Fang Ren continued, "Speaking of which, since all of you refer to me as the young master, does that mean Fang Liqun and Fang Lizhong are considered my younger brothers?"
"Yes, in this generation of the Fang Family, you are the eldest brother," Wu Hui said, slightly stunned.
She hadn't expected Fang Ren to be so ignorant of his own family.
A twitch appeared at the corner of Fang Ren's mouth. The situation was quite messed up; one brother wanted to marry his fiancée, while another desired his first love. Why did they both set their sights on women of sister-in-law status?
Immensely impatient, Liu Qianqian interjected, "Hurry up and finish what you need to say."
Hearing this, Wu Hui continued, "On the night Young Master Fang gave the fruit to the young lady, I was by her side protecting her and inadvertently witnessed everything. Moreover, I informed the family about the young lady's ability to cultivate and Young Master Fang's identity."
Liu Qianqian felt her anger surge at Wu Hui's words. What did she mean by 'inadvertently'? It was obviously done with intent.
"Go on," Liu Qianqian said.
Wu Hui continued, "After learning of the young lady's ability to cultivate, the family also considered the Sacred Body described by Master Qing'an and concluded that the young lady must remain chaste, placing cultivation above all else. Hence, a few days ago, our lord personally visited the Fang Family to call off the engagement between the young lady and Mr. Li Zhong, but was refused.
To ensure the young lady's continued cultivation, the family had no choice but to send me to seek help from Young Master Fang, hoping he would lend his aid."
"How dare they!" Liu Qianqian erupted angrily, "They come seeking help now, but have they forgotten the time they wanted to kill him!"
Wu Hui lowered her head and said, "I hope Young Master Fang will extend a helping hand to the young lady in consideration of their past affection."
"Shameless!" Liu Qianqian clenched her teeth tightly, her mind a storm of rage and struggle.
Wu Hui went on, "I am but a servant tasked with family affairs, devoid of independent judgement and action, knowing only to serve my masters well. If cursing at me would make the young lady feel better, then please do so."
Liu Qianqian looked at her expressionless face, her emotions having no outlet, and could only grit her teeth and turn her gaze into the distance.
After hearing Wu Hui's words and piecing together all of her mannerisms and details, Fang Ren felt she was right; she was a servant carrying out the family's bidding, indifferent to right or wrong, merely serving her masters.
Her numb gaze was like that of a robot.
Right and wrong were associated with her, but she was not the root of right or wrong.
Fang Ren paused momentarily before saying, "I help Liu Qianqian not because your family asks me to, and your requests don't influence my personal actions."
Wu Hui nodded, "This humble servant thanks Young Master Fang on behalf of the family."
"I don't accept," Fang Ren said, "Besides, I remember your family once tried to kill me."
"The one who wanted to kill Young Master Fang is me. If Young Master Fang wishes to alleviate his resentment, he may take my life at any time, but I respectfully ask Young Master Fang to ensure the young lady completes her cultivation," Wu Hui said without expression.
Fang Ren and she locked gazes for a while, and after a long moment, Fang Ren asked, "A person like you, are you already considered dead?"
"What do you think?" Wu Hui responded.
Fang Ren sighed inwardly. He wondered what experiences Wu Hui had gone through in life; she truly seemed like a machine programmed only to obey orders.
"Such a waste of high cultivation level."
After saying that, Fang Ren turned and began to leave.
Liu Qianqian also glanced at Wu Hui. This kind of person, she found both lovable and detestable. When protecting her, Wu Hui would risk her life, and everything was considered for her. However, when the family's interests were against her, Wu Hui would oppose her too.
In every large aristocratic family, there were people like Wu Hui who lived like corpses, merely obeying orders and not understanding right or wrong, devoid of the humane thinking many others possess, with all actions serving family interests.
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"If you want to be a puppet, don't make me one too!"
Liu Qianqian harshly left these words behind and turned around to leave with Fang Ren.
Wu Hui, kneeling on one knee, hung her head low, her numb gaze fixated on the ground. Within a few seconds, she got up and began to vanish from the spot.
"Your family is really bizarre," Fang Ren said helplessly to Liu Qianqian from a distance.
"Isn't yours the same?" Liu Qianqian retorted.
Fang Ren frowned slightly and then added, "Alright, maybe the bigger the family, the more bizarre it gets."
Actually, what he wanted to say was that the headquarters in the Central Area and the imperial aristocratic family of Tianjiang, the Bai Family, were the real gathering places for extreme oddballs.
They were like rulers, devoid of humanity, devoid of emotion, possessed only by outlandish thoughts.
"Speaking of the Alchemy competition, are you still going to participate?" Fang Ren asked.
Having broken free from the shackles of marriage, Liu Qianqian said, "I've achieved half of my goal and decided not to participate. But I've found a new goal. I'm planning to join the university cultivators competition in half a month."
Fang Ren naturally understood what her new goal implied: to grow stronger so that one day she could help him and Mu Huanqing be together.
But that was an incredibly difficult journey. In Fang Ren's view, whether or not Liu Qianqian offered her help made no difference; the power he sought was vast, and next to it, Liu Qianqian seemed so insignificant, offering little help.
Of course, that was just how he felt.
"Even if you're not participating, you should still learn more about alchemy. It will be very helpful to you in the future," Fang Ren suggested.
"I know," Liu Qianqian nodded.
They continued walking forward in silence for a while longer.
Again at the dormitory entrance, Liu Qianqian had no classes that afternoon, so she was planning to stay in the dorm to rest or cultivate.
"I'll go up first."
Liu Qianqian was about to walk towards the female dormitory entrance.
Fang Ren's expression began to twist, and just as Liu Qianqian was about to enter the dorm, he couldn't help but speak up, "Is your life goal really that simple?"
Liu Qianqian turned back to see Fang Ren looking downcast, his brows slightly furrowed, a look of distress on his face.
Seeing him like this made her happy, because he was distressed for her.
"Once I've dealt with your issues, I'll go travel to mountains and waters to re-think what I should do," Liu Qianqian said with a smile.
Fang Ren's expression remained troubled, and he continued morosely, "What about the sentiments you've cultivated daily through music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? Shouldn't your heart be vast? Why insist on persisting with such matters? It's not worth it. Compared to the grand life you're meant to have, this is nothing!"
His voice grew a bit loud, but fortunately, there was no one else coming and going at the dormitory entrance at that moment.
Liu Qianqian fell silent for a while, then smiled again, "When I used to watch romance dramas, I always thought the characters' happiness and sorrow were over-exaggerated. Is it really necessary to go to such extremes just because you missed out on someone you liked? But now that I've experienced it for myself, I realize..."
She paused, choosing her words carefully, and looking at Fang Ren's distressed face, she continued, "Actually, it's not hard to forget each person. What's unforgettable are the things I've done with them. Before I knew you were Master Qing'an, I thought you were nothing special, forgetting someone as ordinary as you should have been easy.
But I can't forget the first boy who held my hand, the first time my heart raced, the three years of my life when you were there every day."
Fang Ren remained silent.
With a subtle smile, Liu Qianqian continued, "There's a popular saying lately, 'The person you love is but a mortal, it's your gaze that gilds them.' You're ordinary, and so am I. I like you, so you're special. You used to like me, so I was a goddess in your eyes. If I didn't like you, even if you were the Central Commander, we would have no story.
If you didn't like me, even if I were Su Daji, I couldn't enthrall you in any true sense."
After hearing what she said, Fang Ren spoke, "I remember when I first met you, you always spoke so artistically, and you were beautiful too. It made me really want to get to know you, but at the same time, it made me feel slightly inferior, unconsciously elevating you to a high position in my heart."
In the campus, Liu Qianqian was still a goddess-like figure, radiant and splendid. It's just that Mu Huanqing appeared by Fang Ren's side, like the sun, completely overshadowing her.
"When we first met, you were already pretty ordinary, not much different from those boys who had a crush on me."
Liu Qianqian laughed, "This rather pretty face has given me a lot of confidence, and even arrogance. I didn't want to take the initiative to understand or contact anyone, but I believed in fate. The first time I fell into the river at school, you didn't know how to swim but you still jumped in to save me, which left a deep impression on me.
After that, a lot of things happened in our daily lives, we kept meeting coincidentally, you were always so clueless, but that was what I liked. Gradually, I started to believe in fate more, and I don't know when but your cluelessness ground down my pride. I let go of my pride, forgot my identity, and my arrogance, and started reaching out to you.
At that time, I felt weak for caring so much about a perfectly average boy. I did something very childish then, I resolved to put on a cold demeanor towards you, trying to bring your image back down to that of a mere mortal, but in reality, I was the childish one, because the moment I saw you, I would act like an idiot trying to please you, even seduce you.
Meeting you and liking you was the silliest thing I've done in over twenty years."