Chapter 84: But Beyond People, There Are Greater People; Beyond Mountains, There Are Higher Mountains

The sycophants in Tiger Squat City who fawned over Wu Nanzhi were far more obsessive than Chu Ruoyan’s followers.

Many of these sycophants were already elderly, yet had never considered marriage—waiting only for Wu Nanzhi.

As long as Wu Nanzhi remained unmarried and childless, they would never give up.

Precisely because there were so many sycophants and none stood out, Wu Nanzhi had remained single until now.

The entire Wu family worried about her marriage, arranging matchmakers constantly, which annoyed her endlessly.

That’s why she’d come to the Imperial Capital—to hide here among the Wu family’s properties.

At least here there was only one nephew, and his status was lower than hers; she had nothing to fear.

She could also use her nephew’s connection to the Emperor to avoid family pressure to marry.

Tiger Squat City was no Imperial Capital; in Tiger Squat City, Li Chen was a puppet emperor, the Empress Dowager held court power, the virtuous Second Prince had been exiled from the capital, and the people of the capital suffered in turmoil, all waiting for the Second Prince to return and save them.

It was clear this public opinion had been spread by the Second Prince himself.

He was plainly preparing to seize the throne.

Here in the capital, among the noble families, information channels were clear—he couldn’t spread lies freely.

Outside the capital, of course, rumors spread like wildfire; he could say whatever he wanted.

Rumors had even surfaced claiming that after ascending the throne, Li Chen had become debauched and immoral, even bedding the Empress Dowager.

But soon others countered: Isn’t Li Chen just a puppet? How could he possibly be involved with the Empress Dowager?

Those spreading the rumors explained: The Empress Dowager is still a woman—anyone who understands knows!

Unreliable folk tales were everywhere, mostly negative stories about Li Chen, and glowing portrayals of Li Xian.

But Wu Qi had met Li Chen—he’d seen Li Chen’s terrifying strength himself, and from Liu Hao’s words, he’d judged Li Chen’s status in the capital.

Most importantly, Li Chen, as emperor, inherited the throne by legitimate succession—he hadn’t seized it, so he had no real flaws.

He told his family about it.

Originally, the Wu family hadn’t planned to send Wu Nanzhi to court, but after learning the truth and verifying it from multiple sources, Wu Qi’s grandfather had recently sent several letters urging Wu Nanzhi to enter the palace immediately.

Wu Nanzhi was speechless: You make it sound so easy, like I could just marry him if I wanted to—where am I supposed to marry an emperor? I’ve never even met him.

What she didn’t know was that the emperor stood right before her.

Hearing Wu Nanzhi had culinary skills, Li Chen found her increasingly appealing—she could grace the hall and cook in the kitchen, and even share the bridal chamber.

A multifunctional woman—rare, and even harder to find.

Wu Nanzhi wasn’t new to Li Chen’s unhidden gaze, yet she felt no disgust.

If Li Chen were ordinary-looking, she’d have thought him lecherous—but he was handsome; even with a lecherous stare, women still saw it as admiration.

The fact that he looked at her this way, and not at others, proved her own good looks.

Seeing herself eat more and more, and noticing Li Chen’s gaze, Wu Nanzhi explained: “I don’t usually eat this much. You know yesterday—after that guy Su Xing woke up, I became ravenous.”

Li Chen smiled: “Don’t worry, I can afford to feed you even if you eat ten times more.”

This saccharine remark made Wu Nanzhi scowl—but because he was so handsome, even her disgusted expression was alluring.

In Li Chen’s words: That look makes me feel even more aroused.

For some reason, Li Chen found teasing her extremely entertaining.

He loved watching the changes in her expression.

“By the way, your skills are impressive—how did you train them? I have a nephew who always claims he’s a genius, but I feel his strength can’t compare to yours.” Wu Nanzhi changed the subject.

She understood etiquette well—just a rough understanding was enough; one couldn’t start by probing someone’s background.

In social interactions, especially between strangers of opposite genders, excessive questioning felt impolite. Wu Nanzhi was curious: Li Chen looked about her nephew’s age, yet his cultivation base was so high.

“Before I perfected my cultivation, I simply cut out useless socializing—this kept me from getting dragged into trouble and disrupting my progress. That’s how I trained.”

Li Chen spoke honestly—this was his cultivation method.

Wu Nanzhi finally understood: No wonder her nephew’s cultivation had slowed lately—he was drowning in useless socializing, distracted.

Wu Nanzhi had heard rumors in Tiger Squat City about Wu Qi being a sycophant in the capital, competing for Chu Ruoyan’s attention.

After all, many disciples wanted to replace Wu Qi to manage the Wu family’s assets in the capital; such gossip inevitably spread.

Wu Nanzhi had long wanted to meet Chu Ruoyan, to see what kind of woman had captivated her nephew.

But she hadn’t had the chance yet.

Before coming to the capital, she’d heard tales of its abundance of experts, with powerful cultivators hiding here—now she saw it was true; Li Chen was a clear example.

Wu Nanzhi didn’t know exactly how strong Li Chen was.

!

But the fact that he’d rendered the Holy Tiger utterly powerless proved his terrifying strength.

“Your strength must be among the top in the capital, right?”

“I’m not sure. But beyond people, there are greater people; beyond mountains, there are higher mountains.”

“Oh? So who in the capital is stronger than you?”

“Of course there are some—I just haven’t met them.”

Wu Nanzhi: “.”

Li Chen’s words left her frozen in place.

My goodness, you’re being so modest.

But what’s the difference from saying “none”?

How did we end up with you acting all aloof?

If anyone else talked like this, Wu Nanzhi would’ve thought they were just big-talking.

But Li Chen spoke as if stating a fact—he had the right to be arrogant.

After a brief chat, they’d both gained some understanding of each other.

Li Chen learned Wu Nanzhi was from Tiger Squat City, and her family owned property in the capital.

Wu Nanzhi learned Li Chen was a native of the capital, with an official position there.

In her view, a man with such strength and official status would naturally attract many women.

The beautiful, refined woman she’d seen on Matchmaking Mountain must be connected to Li Chen.

What annoyed Wu Nanzhi was that despite having such a beautiful woman beside him, he kept flirting with her—it was too promiscuous!

So she wondered how she could leave a deep impression on him, just as he’d made her walk naked through the forest.

Maybe she could create a love triangle?

Let the beautiful woman beside Li Chen see her with him—surely that would make Li Chen suffer.

Wu Nanzhi thought this way because she assumed Li Chen was secretly dating someone else and meeting her behind her back.

After all, he was powerful, and she couldn’t do anything to him—so teasing him a little couldn’t hurt.

Later, she’d explain to Li Chen’s girlfriend that nothing had happened between them—it was just a prank on Li Chen.

Then she’d get to see his helpless, frustrated expression.

Thinking this through, Wu Nanzhi already knew what to do.

Normally, Wu Nanzhi would never act this way—but who was to blame for Li Chen provoking her?

(End of Chapter)