Chapter 23: Past Enmities, a Heart’s Obsession

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nWhen Su Yi arrived at the Floral Tea House, only the Wen Family matriarch was seated there.

nAt eighty years of age, she was old and grey, but she was hale and hearty, and she carried herself with the air of one long in power.

n“Third Young Master, there is no one here besides you and I, so there’s no need to bow.” She pointed to the chair beside her and said coldly, “Sit down.”

nThird Young Master!

nWhen Su Yi heard this title, he looked a bit disoriented.

nHis current body was the son of the Jade Capital’s Su Family. He was his father’s third child, with an older brother and sister, as well as a younger brother.

nHowever, as he was born of a concubine, and because his mother, Ye Yufei, had died young, he’d been neglected and overlooked from a young age. His status was inferior to even the family stewards.

n“Matriarch, might I ask what you’ve called me here for?” Su Yi inwardly shook his head, then sat casually. He seemed perfectly at ease.

nThroughout the Wen Family, only he knew that the family matriarch, Liang Wenbi, had once been a servant girl of the Jade Capital’s Su Family.?She’d served?at Family Head Su Hongli’s side for a full thirty years.

nAnd in this new lifetime, Su Hongli was none other than Su Yi’s father!

n“You want to know what I called you for?” said the elderly matriarch coldly. “Third Young Master, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten everything that happened during the birthday feast? Others might assume that Fu Shan, Nie Beihu, and Huang Yunchong came here on account of Lingzhao, but I certainly won’t!

n“Now then, Third Young Master, I have only one question. Is there something you ought to explain to me?” Her words were forceful and overbearing; she was stern in both voice and countenance.

nIf this were the past Su Yi, her powerful presence might very well have intimidated him by now.

nBut why would the current Su Yi fear an old lady like her?

nStill, Su Yi had something he wished to ask her, so he wouldn’t get hung up on that.

n“Unless my deductions are mistaken, they indeed came here on my account,” he said, as casually as if he were talking about the weather.

nSlam!

nThe Wen Family matriarch slammed her fists against the armrests in obvious fury. Her wrinkled face was overcast and terrifying.

n“Third Young Master,” she said harshly, “Do you remember the message your father had me pass onto you a year ago, upon your marriage into the Wen Family?”

nBefore Su Yi could respond, she answered her own question, pausing for emphasis between each word. “If you dare use the Su Family’s name to your own ends, immediate execution!’

n“‘If you dare take even half a step into the Jade Capital, immediate execution!’”

nThe atmosphere was instantly incomparably oppressive.

nSu Yi’s father, Su Hongli, had indeed said those very murderous, cold, heartless words.

nThis was why, although it had been a year since his marriage into the Wen Family, only the matriarch knew of his origins. Nevermind the people of Guangling City; even the rest of the family was in the dark.

n“Matriarch, it seems you’ve assumed that I used my position as the Su Family’s third young master to convince Fu Shan and the others to make an appearance today?” Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh.

nThe matriarch’s brows knit together, and her expression grew even frostier. “Are you telling me you didn’t?”

n“If you want to know the truth, you’re welcome to go ask Fu Shan and the others yourself. With the power at your disposal, investigating a trivial matter like that shouldn’t be the least bit difficult,” Su Yi said casually. “But what I can tell you is this: I, Su Yi, won’t use the Su Family’s name to my advantage now, nor… will I ever do so in the future!”

nHis expression was calm, but there was a hint of contempt in the depths of his gaze.

nWhat need did the illustrious Swordmaster of Abstruse Force have for such empty titles?

nThe Wen Family matriarch was visibly startled, and she couldn’t help but reevaluate Su Yi. An indescribable sense of unfamiliarity coursed through her.

nThis seemed like an altogether different person from the Third Young Master she was familiar with.

nAfter a moment’s silence, she said, “I will naturally get to the bottom of this!”

nSu Yi smiled, but made no further attempts to explain himself.

n“Although I’m as of yet uncertain why Fu Shan and Nie Beihu attach such importance to you, I must remind you that in the eyes of the Jade Capital’s Su Family, figures on their level are no different from ants! The Su family wouldn’t even need to take action themselves; one sentence, and they’d both perish without so much as a proper burial!”

nThe Wen Family matriarch’s expression was cold and indifferent, but when she spoke of the Jade Capital’s Su Family, she unwittingly revealed a hint of pride.

n“With that in mind, I urge you to behave yourself! Or else, you’ll bring calamity upon everyone connected to you!”

nSu Yi thought back to his time in the Jade Capital, in the Su Family estate. He had to admit that the Wen Family matriarch wasn’t exaggerating in the least.

nYujing, the Jade Capital, was the imperial capital of the Great Zhou.

nAnd the Su Family was one of the Jade Capital’s four peak-level clans!

nBy comparison, Guangling City was just one of Cloudriver Prefecture’s nineteen cities. The likes of Fu Shan and Nie Beihu really were beneath the Su Family’s notice.

nThey were as far removed as heaven and earth!

nIt was just a pity that, although the Wen Family matriarch didn’t know it, Su Yi had never had any intentions of relying on anyone else’s power to conduct his affairs!

nIn his eyes, even the Jade Capital’s Su Family was just a paltry little faction of the mundane world. He at least didn’t see much of a difference between them and Fu Shan.

n“It’s true that Fu Shan pales in comparison to the Su Family, but at the banquet, we needed him to maintain appearances,” said Su Yi flatly. “Matriarch, it seems that you’re unlikely to receive aid from the Su Family ever again.”

nOne sentence, and he hit her right where it hurt the most. Her expression instantly turned unsightly.

nSeeing this, Su Yi felt no need to elaborate.

nThe Wen Family matriarch had only been one of the Su Family’s servants. Add that to the fact that she hadn’t served them in a long time, and why would the Su Family concern themselves over someone like her?

nShe took a deep breath, then sneered. “I never would have guessed that within just one year of marriage, the Third Young Master’s mouth would become so sharp.”

nSu Yi could tell that it was her shame that provoked this outburst. He ignored it and smiled, “Matriarch, everyone changes over time. That aside, I came here because I too had something I wished to ask you.”

nHer brows furrowed. “Something to do with the Su Family?”

nHe nodded. “That’s right. I want to know just whose idea it was to have me marry into the Wen Family.”

nThe Wen Family matriarch fell silent for a moment, then said, “It was the fourth lady of the house who suggested it, but your father who made the final decision.”

n“You Qingzhi?” A cold glint flashed through Su Yi’s eyes.

nThe “fourth lady of the house” the matriarch referred to was his father’s fourth wife. Her name was You Qingzhi.

n“That’s right.” The Wen Family matriarch nodded, not surprised that Su Yi would call her by name.

nBack then, everyone in the Su Family knew that the fourth lady of the house detested no one more than Su Yi, her husband’s son with a concubine!

n“Given her personality, why not just kill and silence me as soon as I lost my cultivation? She ought to know full well the depths of my hatred for her. Unless she kills me, I’ll always be a potential threat.” Su Yi didn’t quite understand.

nThe matriarch couldn’t help but laugh coldly, but when she looked at Su Yi, her eyes filled with pity. “Third Young Master, your mother died young, and even your father sees you as nothing more than the unworthy son of a concubine. He’s never cared about you. Now, having lost your cultivation on top of that, you’re no different from a cripple. Do you really think yourself worthy of the title ‘a potential threat’?”

nShe paused, then continued, “But no matter what, the blood of the Su Family flows through your veins. Were the fourth lady of the house to kill you, it would displease your father and turn him against her. The losses outweigh the potential gains. Someone as clever as her would never do something so foolish.”

nSu Yi fell silent.

nHearing it spelled out like this, his fate as the son of a concubine in the Su Family had been miserable indeed.

nAt just four years old, his mother, Ye Yufei, fell gravely ill. In the end, she left this mortal coil.

nFrom that moment on, his plight had only worsened.

nHis father, Su Hongli, wasn’t the least bit fond of him, and he neither asked about nor took care of him.

nThroughout the entire Su Family, not a single person dared get close to him, leaving him isolated and alone.

nAs he grew up and experienced more of the world, he started suspecting that his mother’s illness wasn’t natural, and moreover, that Su Hongli was behind it!

nThis thought filled his heart with agony and hatred.

nFour years ago, he decided to leave and cultivate at Blueriver Sword Manor. His goal, to pursue the Martial Dao and become strong.

nYet just three years later, reawakening the memories of his past life robbed him of his entire cultivation, and under the Su Family’s forceful arrangements, he’d become the Wen Family’s live-in son-in-law….

nThe me of the past seventeen years really lived an overly stifled life,?Su Yi lamented to himself.

nWhile combing through his memories, he discovered that his hatred of his father, Su Hongli, as well as his father’s fourth wife, You Qingzhi, had already become his heart’s obsession.

nIt’s naturally up to my current self to resolve this obsession.?Su Yi’s gaze regained its usual calm.

nIf he didn’t overcome this, it would inevitably interfere with his future efforts to prove his Dao!

n“Right, I recently heard news that that shook the entire Jade Capital.” The Wen Family matriarch suddenly spoke up, her gaze playful. “Although your younger brother, Su Boning, is only sixteen, he’s recently become an expert of the Qi Accumulation Realm’s ‘Astral Manifestation’ stage. He’s now considered one of the ‘the Jade Capital’s Eight Geniuses.’

n“The Great Zhou’s imperial family has agreed that so long as he steps into the Inner Furnace realm and becomes a Grandmaster by the time he turns eighteen, they’ll send him to the Great Zhou’s number-one Holy Land, ‘The Hidden Dragon Sword Sect’, to continue his cultivation!”

nSu Yi froze, and the image of a handsome youth in pristine white robes surfaced in his mind.

nSu Boning.

nHis mother was You Qingzhi, and he was the youngest of Su Hongli’s sons. Furthermore, within the Su Family’s main line of descent, he was regarded as the most peerless genius of the Martial Dao!

nAlthough You Qingzhi was Su Hongli’s fourth wife, she was still a proper wife, which meant Su Boning was part of the Su Family’s main line.

nBy comparison, Su Yi’s mother, Ye Yufei, was just a concubine. That put him outside the main line of succession.

nIn summary, although Su Yi was the older brother, his status in the Su Family wasn’t even remotely comparable to Su Boning’s in any way.

nAn eighteen-year-old Martial Dao Grandmaster? They think that’s an unparalleled genius??Inwardly, Su Yi found it rather funny.

nHe naturally could tell that the Wen Family matriarch brought this up to provoke him.

nBut there was no way she’d ever imagine that in his eyes, eighteen-year-old Martial Dao Grandmasters were a dime a dozen. At least in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, they were nothing to write home about. ．

n“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.” Su Yi decided to take this leave. He’d confirmed some things already, and had no plans to linger here any longer.

n“Wait.” The Wen Family matriarch called him back. “Before you go, there’s something I’d like to show you.”

nAs she spoke, she pulled a silver jade talisman from her sleeves and raised it for Su Yi to see. “Third Young Master, do you know what this is?”

nThis jade talisman was about three inches long and silver throughout. Although it looked like jade, it also seemed somehow not quite jade, and it emanated a faint glow.

nIt immediately attracted Su Yi’s attention.

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Chapter end