Chapter 121: Jing Yue, Your Sister‑in‑Law Is Already a Widow

Jing Yue's residence…

In front of the mourning hall of Jing Yue's elder brother, a dignified, elegant, scholarly woman dressed in funeral garb knelt there for a long time; her eyes, seen through her myopic glasses, had become a river of tears, with tear drops continuously streaming down her beautiful cheek.

"Even men from high‑ranking noble martial families cannot overcome the curse that God like us has placed?!"

"Is it that every man who takes an Ise Clan woman as a wife cannot escape the fate of a violent death?"

"God! Why are you so cruel? What on earth is the reason?!"

The woman stared at her late husband's portrait in the mourning hall; her beautiful, bright eyes had turned red from pain and unwillingness, and she hated her fate, hated her surname, and despised that vague, ethereal God.

Outside the mourning hall, Jing Yue Chunsui, clad in a white feathered robe and wearing a conical hat, silently observed everything before him…

Even at this moment, within the Serene Spirit Court, the famed battle‑proven captain of the Eighth Squad, Jing Yue Chunsui, felt utterly powerless; though he is as strong as a ghost deity and has never been defeated since taking command of the Eighth Squad, he could not save his already deceased elder brother and could only watch in silence as everything unfolded.

"Captain Jing Yue, my condolences!"

Behind Jing Yue Chunsui stood the Death Gods of the Court Guard Thirteen Squad who had come to attend the funeral, as well as noble heads of the Serene Spirit Court who either sought Jing Yue's aid or intended to win him over.

"Thank you all for coming."

"Today is my brother's funeral; please forgive me, Chunsui, for being unable to host a banquet for you all."

In response, Jing Yue merely gave a gentle nod to the crowd, his eyes profoundly deep, neither joyful nor sorrowful.

"Not at all, not at all…"

"Captain Jing Yue, please attend to your family matters first."

The nobles and the Death Gods of the Court Guard Thirteen Squad, after hearing Jing Yue's words, smiled, gave him a slight nod, handed the funeral gifts to their retainers, and then departed one by one.

As for Jing Yue, he simply watched everything silently, saying nothing more.

Time passed, and as Jing Yue's brother's funeral neared its end, Ye Yi of the Four Maple Court, Fu Zhu Shisilang, and Shi Tan of the Gang Yidai family finally arrived.

"Jing Yue, my condolences!"

"If there's anything you need me, senior sister, to do, just tell me; I will do my utmost to help you."

Ye Yi, seeing Jing Yue's solemn face, showed her senior sister side; she moved close, gave his shoulder a firm pat, trying to share his burden.

"I feel the same…"

After Ye Yi spoke, Fu Zhu also told Jing Yue that his thoughts matched hers; whatever Jing Yue asks, he will give his all.

"Rest assured! This won't defeat me."

Jing Yue looked at the concerned Fu Zhu and Ye Yi before him, felt a warmth in his heart, and gave them a faint smile, displaying his indomitable spirit.

"This is no small matter~"

After hearing Jing Yue, Shi Tan shook his head lightly, first walked alone to the outside of the mourning hall, glanced casually into his brother's hall, confirmed something, then turned to stand beside Jing Yue and whispered.

"Hm?!"

Jing Yue, hearing Shi Tan's words, showed a puzzled expression.

"Jing Yue, now that your elder brother is dead, your 'sister‑in‑law' has become a widow, and you happen to be single; I think you should marry your sister‑in‑law in place of your brother, which would fulfill his wishes and let you take good care of her."

Shi Tan looked at the puzzled Jing Yue, his mouth curling into a mischievous grin.

"Shi Tan, what are you saying?!"

"Is this a place for you to speak without restraint?"

Before Jing Yue could speak, Fu Zhu stepped forward to Shi Tan, grabbed his collar in one hand, and, nearly roaring at Shi Tan's flippant demeanor, exclaimed—clearly this time Fu Zhu was truly angry…

Even though Fu Zhu is usually exceedingly friendly to everyone and never loses his temper, after hearing Shi Tan's words he couldn't help but want to give Shi Tan a big slap.

Regardless of whether Jing Yue likes his 'sister‑in‑law' or what their relationship truly is, Shi Tan is not an outsider who can speak recklessly in such a setting.

"Jing Yue, if you cannot withstand societal pressure now, ignoring so‑called human morals to marry your 'sister‑in‑law' in place of your brother, the consequences could be extremely severe!"

"As a high‑ranking noble, you should know that the Corpse Soul Realm's rules forbid a woman who married into a noble family from having any contact with her husband's family after his death, right?!"

"In other words, if you, Jing Yue, do nothing, your 'sister‑in‑law' will have to leave the Jing Yue household; for her, aside from returning to the Ise Clan, there is no other path…"

"After all, a woman with a child, without family support, living alone in the Serene Spirit Court, has an exceedingly slim chance of survival."

Shi Tan ignored Fu Zhu's roar and, looking at Jing Yue, spoke calmly.

"…"

Jing Yue naturally understood what Shi Tan was saying; he lowered his head, seeming to contemplate.

"Um…"

As for Fu Zhu, still clutching Shi Tan's collar, after hearing Shi Tan's words he suddenly realized his mistake, gently released the collar, helped straighten Shi Tan's wrinkled lapel, then chuckled at him: "Hey, Shi Tan! I'm terribly sorry! I misunderstood you…"

"It's fine; after all, you're just a lower‑ranking noble on the fringe of the noble circle. As a lower‑ranking noble, not knowing the aristocratic rules is quite understandable…"

"Considering birth, you and I are completely different; I was born into the top‑tier Gang Yidai noble family, while you are from the fringe. The gap in our knowledge is like heaven and earth."

Shi Tan, after hearing Fu Zhu's words, simply smiled indifferently. He then deliberately emphasized several times that Fu Zhu's family is merely lower‑ranking nobility, and mockingly ridiculed Fu Zhu's learning.

"There's nothing we can do! Our Fu Zhu family is only a lower‑ranking noble family of the Corpse Soul Realm! Naturally, we can't compare to you, who comes from the top‑tier noble branch~"

Fu Zhu, after hearing Shi Tan, gave a faint smile; he knew Shi Tan was only teasing, but as a cunning person he wouldn't be taken advantage of, so he deliberately stressed Shi Tan's origin from the Gang Yidai branch.

"Tsk~"

Shi Tan furrowed his brows; his mood was clearly not good.

"…"

As for the four, the best‑born among them, Ye Yi, remained silent, quietly listening to everyone's words.

As for her, usually outspoken, the reason she stayed mute now wasn't because her throat was sore or she didn't want to help Jing Yue, but because she had never heard of these 'laborer' noble rules…

Indeed, as the legitimate little princess of the Four Maple Court family, she was destined from birth to inherit the Four Maple Court and become its head—Four Maple Court Ye Yi…

No one ever taught her the word 'rules' from childhood; the countless regulations of the Serene Spirit Court were set for others and had little to do with the heads of the Five Great Nobles. In this vast Serene Spirit Court, Ye Yi of the Four Maple Court's 'rules' are the true rules.

After hearing everyone, Ye Yi of the Four Maple Court now wants to ask: on what grounds is a woman married to a noble prohibited from contacting her husband's family after his death? That's terribly unfair to the woman, isn't it?!

"Can't this rule be changed?!"

After a while, while Jing Yue Chunsui furrowed his brows and Fu Zhu Shisilang and Shi Tan of the Gang Yidai family were deep in thought, Ye Yi finally could not hold back and asked the three present.

"This rule was established at the birth of the Corpse Soul Realm, when the founder of the Rotten Wood Clan set it down under the witness of the founders of our Five Great Noble Houses…"

Shi Tan answered after hearing Ye Yi's words.

"Ha? Our founders of the Five Great Noble Houses are being far too unreasonable, aren't they?!"

Ye Yi frowned at the remark and scolded angrily.

"……"

Shi Tan and the others fell silent as they listened to Ye Yi. Surveying the entire Jing Ling Court, among those born of the Five Great Noble Houses who still dared to directly berate the 'Five Lords' within the 'One King Five Lords', perhaps only Ye Yi of the Four Maple Hall could do so.

"The original purpose of establishing this rule was to prevent Great Nobles from exploiting loopholes in the rule…"

"For example, a Great Noble might claim to seek marriage alliances with smaller nobles, marry off his own concubine daughter to those lesser noble heads, then secretly murder those noble heads who took his daughter, and using his daughter's status as matriarch, seize the other nobles' estates…"

"Correspondingly, some noble heads who take a son‑in‑law into their house will, after the lady head dies, expel him from the noble family and forbid any further contact with that family!"

After hearing Ye Yi, Shi Tan was silent for a moment and then explained.

"Um…"

Ye Yi's expression hardened instantly at those words.

"Perhaps Senior Sister Ye Yi didn't understand, so let me give an analogy: suppose Miss Ye Yi, head of the Four Maple Hall among the Five Great Noble Houses, while strolling, suddenly covets a certain noble's estate but refuses to spend money to buy it. Thus you propose a marriage alliance with that noble head; even if that noble head has ten thousand reasons to refuse, because of your status he can only agree."

"As a result, that poor noble head, on the night of your wedding, was smashed to death by your fist, and you then publicly claimed he died of a sudden excitement! Because you are the head of the Four Maple Hall, Central Room 46 can only turn a blind eye, allowing you to evade legal repercussions. After your husband's death, you naturally become the matriarch of that family, and the family can only let you devour it at will~"

Shi Tan seemed still afraid Ye Yi might not grasp his words, so he faced her and explained with a vivid story.

"Alright, alright! I understand…"

Ye Yi's complexion shifted repeatedly after hearing Shi Tan, and she roared at him.

"Hehe…"

Shi Tan smiled smugly as he watched Ye Yi's wildly changing expression.

Indeed, seeing the head of the Four Maple Hall get humbled made him feel pleased.

"So we have no options at all? Must we just watch Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' leave the Jing Yue family?"

Ye Yi glared at Shi Tan, asking angrily.

"The simplest solution is for Jing Yue to marry his own 'sister‑in‑law' directly."

Shi Tan was the first to propose the simplest method.

"Try another; this method definitely won't work!"

"As for letting others take Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law', that's also out! Shi Tan, give a serious suggestion, stop with these out‑of‑place rotten ideas."

Before Jing Yue could speak, Fu Zhu immediately dismissed that method.

"……"

Shi Tan ignored Fu Zhu and looked at Jing Yue.

However, Jing Yue, feeling Shi Tan's gaze, said nothing.

At this point Shi Tan also understood what Jing Yue was thinking…

"Sigh…"

Shi Tan sighed helplessly; it seemed that lovers could never become spouses.

"Since that method fails, I have only three options left."

"The first option: Senior Sister Ye Yi, acting as head of the Four Maple Hall, convenes a meeting of the heads of the Five Great Noble Houses and decides at the meeting to abolish this rule!"

"However, if my expectations are wrong, the head of the Rotten Wood Clan—those who have carried the rule on their lips since childhood and are unbearably rigid—will certainly refuse."

"At this point, Senior Sister Ye Yi would compromise, stating that Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' is someone you know, and request that the heads of the great nobles grant her certain privileges, allowing her to remain in the Jing Yue family but prohibiting her from meddling in any of Jing Yue's affairs, to prevent the Jing Yue family from being schemed and absorbed…"

"Based on my understanding of the head of the Rotten Wood Clan, since he has already rejected Senior Sister Ye Yi once, he is most likely to remain silent, neither endorsing your proposal nor saving face for you…"

"After all, if the head of the Rotten Wood Clan were to reject Senior Sister Ye Yi's proposal again, he would risk offending the Four Maple Hall, and he is not someone who is oblivious to propriety."

"As for the other heads of the Five Great Noble Houses, I think they have no reason to reject your proposal, since after all this rule ultimately benefits us Great Nobles…"

Shi Tan watched Ye Yi speak to herself.

"No problem!"

After hearing Shi Tan, Ye Yi nodded vigorously, as if everything rested on her shoulders. Convening a meeting of the heads of the Five Great Noble Houses in the name of the Four Maple Hall head is no big deal for her.

"Then what's the second method?!"

At this point, Fu Zhu looked at Shi Tan and asked.

"The second method is even simpler…"

"Senior Sister Ye Yi simply brings the person to the Four Maple Hall, and that's that. If the Ise clan sends someone, we say the person is not in the Four Maple Hall; even if the Ise clan learns that Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' is in the Four Maple Hall, they have no way to take her—the Four Maple Hall is not a clan they can provoke…"

"Although from now on Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' may never again live under the Sunlight, with the massive Four Maple Hall backing her, her days will certainly not be miserable! Perhaps she will be more comfortable in the Four Maple Hall than she ever was in the Jing Yue family~"

Shi Tan, after hearing Fu Zhu, said cheerfully.

Although from now on Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' will most likely be treated as a missing person by the Jing Ling Court and cannot easily appear there again, living in the Four Maple Hall's territory seems fine; after all, the Four Maple Hall's lands are vast—calling it a city wouldn't be an exaggeration—and are ample for Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' to live in.

"This method is good!"

Ye Yi's eyes lit up instantly.

From Ye Yi's perspective, a direct forceful grab aligns more with her nature.

"Then it's settled."

Fu Zhu also favored Shi Tan's second plan, since the first has many uncertainties; what if the head of the Rotten Wood Clan uses a veto vote and rejects Senior Sister Ye Yi's proposal twice?!

"……"

Besides Fu Zhu and Ye Yi, even Jing Yue seemed stirred at this moment.

"If I hide within the Four Maple Hall, what will become of my child?"

Just as everyone was about to decide, Jing Yue's 'sister‑in‑law' left the ancestral hall behind her, stepped before the group, her beautiful face still streaked with tears, and asked Ye Yi and the others.

"Naturally, she can only live within the Four Maple Hall's territory."

Shi Tan heard that, his eyes slightly narrowed, and he replied.

"Then I'd rather not go to the Four Maple Court family's lands…"

Jing Le's sister-in-law heard that, shook her head vigorously. She indeed wants to take her daughter and escape the Ise family's cage, but that doesn't mean she chooses to enter another family's cage in order to successfully escape the Ise cage, even though this cage is a bit larger than the previous one.

"If, sister-in-law, you are unwilling to go to the Four Maple Court family, then you will most likely be sent back to the Ise family, and I need not say much about your fate upon returning to Ise; this time you have absolutely no chance of escaping, and even your daughter will follow your old path."

Shi Tan looked at the gentle woman before him, seeming to understand why Jing Le values his sister-in-law so much; he tried to appear gentle himself and spoke to the gaunt woman.

"It won't happen; everything will get better. My daughter will definitely not follow my old path."

However, after Shi Tan spoke, the gentle woman suddenly smiled, her eyes showing endless motherly love. Though she might never see her child grow up, she believes that Qi Xu, as her child, will definitely not follow her old path.

"Jiro, that thing is entrusted to you."

The woman, having said that, faced Jing Le Chunshui and bowed deeply.

"Alright."

Jing Le looked at the woman before him and silently nodded.

"Thanks to all of Jiro's friends for their help to Jiro! I also hope that on the road ahead, you can, like today, continue to help Jiro as his friends…"

After receiving Jing Le's answer, Jing Le's sister-in-law slowly exhaled, as if some burden had lifted, then she looked at Ye Yi, Shi Tan, and Fu Zhu, bowed deeply, and kept thanking them.

"As for my matters, you need not worry about them!"

"Rest assured, everything will get better…"

"I will make everything end completely here!"

Then, Jing Le's sister-in-law changed tone, and a hint of strength flickered in her delicate eyes.

Perhaps a mother must be resolute; everyone present, including Shi Tan, was shaken by the sister-in-law's steadfast gaze.

"That thing…"

At the same time, Shi Tan narrowed his eyes slightly; from the sister-in-law's words, he sensed something unusual, as if the sister-in-law and Jing Le Chunshui were hiding something crucial.

"Jiro, let me say a proper farewell to your older brother; you go accompany your friends~"

Then, using the excuse of bidding Jing Le's older brother farewell, the sister-in-law drove Shi Tan, Fu Zhu, Jing Le, and Ye Yi out of Jing Le's house.

"Huh…"

After the four left, the sister-in-law let out a thud and sat on the ground; she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, then gasped heavily, clenching both fists…

At this moment, she made a decision: to sacrifice her life to secure a bright path for her daughter. From now on, the Ise family's daughters will no longer be cursed by the Divine, no longer be caged birds; at least her daughter, Ise Qi Xu, will be truly free.

"…"

Jing Le Chunshui and the three others, after leaving the Jing Le family, walked to the tavern they often visited.

The owner, seeing that the visitors were Jing Le Chunshui and three other Guard Corps Thirteen Squad captains, immediately arranged a private booth for them.

As the four entered the booth, Shi Tan looked at Jing Le and bluntly asked, "Alright, speak up! What exactly have you hidden?!"

"Hm?!"

After Shi Tan spoke, both Ye Yi and Fu Zhu's expressions changed.

"Snap!"

Jing Le gave no explanation, but placed the two Zanpoko Blades at his waist onto the table.

"This is…"

Shi Tan saw the two unawakened Zanpoko Blades Jing Le placed on the table, and his pupils flickered.

"Do you know what exactly you're doing?!"

Shi Tan stared at Jing Le's blades, thought for a long time, and finally couldn't help asking Jing Le.

"Of course I know…"

Jing Le heard that and nodded vigorously.

"Then do you know the consequences of doing this?"

Shi Tan, after hearing Jing Le's words, continued to ask.

"…"

This time, Jing Le remained silent.

Yet Shi Tan had already gotten the answer he wanted.

"So Jing Le, do you actually want to save people?"

Shi Tan asked Jing Le softly.

"I do."

Jing Le answered without hesitation.

"If so, go find Teacher Araki! Right now, only finding Araki is the safest."

Shi Tan, after hearing Jing Le's words, gave the final suggestion.

"This is the third and final method I can think of to help Jing Le's sister-in-law: go find Teacher Araki and ask him to solve everything…"

Shi Tan listened to Jing Le's every word seriously.