Chapter 80

A moment later, the study in the North Courtyard of the Guan Mansion.

"Second Sister, why have you come?"

Guan Wenlong stood up in surprise, too late to put down the book in his hand, and said quickly, "Second Sister, don't worry, Huchen is fine; he will probably be home tomorrow afternoon."

Wenlong and Huchen looked very much alike, both tall, with fair skin and five-willow beautiful beards.

Huchen was more robust, usually wearing armor, with a more majestic and rigid appearance.

Wenlong wore a scholar's wide-sleeved robe, appearing elegant and graceful.

Lady Wen shouted "Pay respects to Eldest Brother," bowed to Wenlong, and then said, "Eldest Brother, tell them all to withdraw; I have something to discuss with you."

Wenlong frowned, but still waved his hand to drive away the steward at the door and the maid in the room.

"Guan Shentong, come out," Lady Wen said again.

No one answered; both inside and outside the room were quiet.

Lady Wen looked at Guan Wenlong.

Wenlong was helpless and said, "Shentong, come out."

Silently, a thin man in a gray robe appeared beside Lady Wen.

It was like teleportation, or as if he had jumped out of a crack in space.

"Second Lady, what instructions do you have?"

Guan Shentong swept a meaningful gaze over Lady Wen and Wenlong's faces.

Lady Wen felt angry and said coldly, "You go guard the door; you are not allowed to eavesdrop, and you are not allowed to let others approach or eavesdrop."

Guan Shentong looked at Wenlong.

Wenlong felt his scalp tingle and muttered, "Second Sister, since you know Shentong's power, you naturally understand that with him here, no one can eavesdrop on our conversation silently."

"I want him to go out and guard," Lady Wen said with a cold face and a firm attitude.

Wenlong sighed and whispered, "Shentong, go wait outside the courtyard."

Guan Shentong disappeared suddenly, just as he had appeared.

"Second Sister, have a cup of tea first," Guan Wenlong took the initiative to do the maid's work.

"Has Eldest Brother received the Guan Laozu's letter?" Lady Wen asked.

Guan Wenlong asked suspiciously, "What does Second Sister mean?"

"The Guan Laozu asked you to find the Prince of Qinghe and ask the Li family to exclude Human Immortals from protecting Guan Yu. Did you go?" Lady Wen said.

Guan Wenlong asked in surprise, "How does Second Sister know about this?"

Lady Wen had a mocking look on her lips and said, "You can go to the street and ask anyone with well-informed news; ask them if they know the story of 'The Guan Family's Tiger Daughter Beheading the Hunting Flag Immortal'."

Wenlong glanced at her and said, "It has been several days since the 'Eight Immortals Shoot the Sun' at Flying Immortal Ferry; it is normal for the news to spread via hummingbird messages."

"But what does this have to do with Second Sister knowing the Guan Laozu's secret order?"

Lady Wen sneered, "Knowing of the existence of the Guan family's adopted daughter, I naturally want to inquire about more detailed news. You must know, you Guan family have an Guan Laozu, and we Wen family also have a 'Guan Guan Laozu'!"

Wenlong was silent.

The Guan family's Guan Laozu was naturally the Guan Chenghuang of Guan.

The Wen family indeed had a "Guan Guan Laozu," the Guan Chenghuang of Guan's youngest daughter, Old Lady Guan, who was now 107 years old.

"What instructions does the Old Lady have?" Wenlong asked hesitantly.

Lady Wen did not answer his question, but asked with a smile, "What do you think of the Guan Laozu's decision to ask Human Immortals to protect Guan Yu?"

"Naturally, I will follow the Guan Laozu's wishes. Now Guan Yu and Guan Zhong are following the Fire Crow Army all the way; it is a bit tiring, but they will definitely not be in danger."

"When they return to Luodu, I will personally take her to see the Prince of Qinghe."

"Once the Prince sees Guan Yu in person and verifies the sharpness of her sword path divine powers, it will be easier to persuade him," Wenlong said indifferently.

"Eldest Brother's arrangement is very appropriate! But I am asking for Eldest Brother's own thoughts."

Lady Wen said meaningfully, "If the Guan Laozu insists, even if we juniors do not agree, we will inevitably obey."

"But I feel that in this matter, the Guan Laozu is more of a compromise—a compromise to General Guan Huchen Huchen."

Wenlong's eyes flashed, and he said, "Second Sister seems to want me to say—Guan Yu is an outsider after all, not worth owing the Li family a favor for her, and even less worth bearing the revenge of the Western Eight Immortals for her?"

"Second Sister, to tell you the truth, the Guan Laozu made the wisest decision!"

"More importantly, you are right; this is Huchen's request, and the Guan Laozu has already agreed."

After a pause, he sighed again, "Huchen is over forty, but he only has one daughter, Tianfeng; his offspring are indeed a bit thin."

"And Guan Yu is an adopted daughter, not an adopted son; she will only be of help to you and Tianfeng, and will not pose any threat."

"Eldest Brother underestimates my capacity," Lady Wen leaned back in the chair and said slowly, "Before marrying into your Guan family, I was the 'Danxia Hongfu Hongfu Xianzi' famous in the Jiang Hu!"

"How could a child of the Jiang Hu not tolerate a small adopted daughter?"

"Second Sister, please forgive me; I was confused," Wenlong bowed to her and asked suspiciously, "Second Sister, just say it; how do you want to deal with Guan Yu?"

"I brought Tianfeng here," Lady Wen stared into Wenlong's eyes and said, "The Guan Laozu did not make the wisest decision; he only made the compromise that satisfied General Guan Huchen Huchen the most."

"The best choice, with your wisdom, you must be able to think of it."

Wenlong felt shocked in his heart, but avoided her gaze calmly and said, "I don't understand what you are talking about."

Lady Wen smiled, "It is truly chilling; having been in charge of the household for twenty years after marrying into your Guan family, you still treat me as an outsider."

"Second Sister, these words are even stranger; not to mention that you have been in charge of the household for twenty years, even before you married Huchen, the Guan family never treated you as an outsider," Wenlong said softly.

Lady Wen said impatiently, "That's enough. I have known about General Guan Huchen Huchen's Clairvoyance secret for a long time; Yageli told me."

"Now let's stop talking in circles; I want to do it all over again."

Wenlong's expression changed greatly, and he cursed, "That damned Zhang Kunlun slave Yageli, daring to betray his master; I want to tell the Guan Laozu and let the Guan Laozu abolish him!"

Lady Wen chuckled, "Eldest Brother, I have to remind you that Yageli is a Zhang Kunlun slave of the Wen family! So he didn't betray his master; he is a truly loyal old dog!"

"When he was alive, he was a Zhang Kunlun slave of the Wen family, but now he has long been dead; he is a ghost servant of the Guan family!" Wenlong's face was livid, even a bit gnashing his teeth.

Lady Wen shook her head and said softly, "He is only the Guan Laozu's ghost servant now, not the Guan family's!"

"You Guan brothers and I, Wen Danxia, all have to respectfully call him 'Uncle Hei'."

"Now that I am both the old master of the Wen family and the mistress of the Guan family, I just asked him about a few small things; he had no reason to refuse."

"Hasn't he done things for you?"

"Without Guan Shentong, Eldest Brother, how many times would you have died? And who taught Guan Shentong?"

Wenlong sighed helplessly, "Second Sister, Huchen is your husband; you should respect him, love him, and obey his decisions."

"Hehe, Eldest Cousin, saying this from your mouth, don't you feel guilty?"

Lady Wen smiled charmingly, her eyes still carrying a hint of provocation.

Wenlong said expressionlessly, "Second Sister, please respect Huchen as you respect the Guan Laozu; Huchen... he is my brother!!"

Lady Wen restrained her charming smile and said solemnly, "Fine, you help me accomplish this, and I will remember these words for a lifetime."

Wenlong said helplessly, "Huchen will not agree."

"That's why I came to you."

"I... have no reason to disobey Huchen's wishes—"

Lady Wen raised her hand to interrupt his full-of-conflict statement and said, "General Guan Huchen Huchen simply cannot reproduce!"

"What?" Wenlong had a moment of confusion, then his heart jumped, and his eyes flickered.

Lady Wen stared at his face and said word by word, "Because of the Clairvoyance affair, and because he used Clairvoyance to indulge in pleasure when he was young, although he can perform the act, he cannot sow seeds."

Wenlong said hoarsely, "Not necessarily..."

"Eldest Sister-in-law has given birth to five sons and two daughters for you, counting the illegitimate children... in the Guan family's martial arts arena, nearly half are your seed. I have been married to General Guan Huchen Huchen for twenty-one years and six months, and only have one Tianfeng."

"Just looking at his physique, he is much more robust than you..."

After a pause, Lady Wen added gloomily, "The Guan Laozu probably knows everything."

"Not to mention the Guan Chenghuang's divine power, just talking about medical skills."

"In the entire Shu Kingdom, for hundreds of years, only the Divine Physician Min of the Bao'an Hall in Tianmen Town can be on par with him."

"I don't need to tell you about Divine Physician Min, right?"

"Let him touch your pulse, and he can even tell you how many times you have had intercourse in the last three years and how long each time lasted."

"Yue Tanxi, it's all my fault for getting drunk and being confused for a moment..."

Wenlong was full of despondency and regret, pulling his own hair hard, and his elegant and indifferent demeanor vanished.

Lady Wen said warmly, "Cousin, why are you struggling and suffering? I'm not asking you to feed Huchen arsenic; it's just a Sha Man woman."

"Huchen is just unable to think it through for a while; in the future, he will eventually understand this simple great truth—you and I have done what is best for the Guan family, for Tianfeng, for him, for the Guan Laozu, for Shu Kingdom... for everyone."

"Except for Guan Yu..." Wenlong said dully, holding his forehead.

Lady Wen was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "It is also the best choice for her."

"The Guan Laozu is very particular about karma; you reap what you sow."

"If you want what kind of 'fruit', you must first cultivate what kind of 'cause'."

"In this life, she is a low-born Sha Man with dirty blood, and she is also hated by the Western Eight Immortals and used as a target by the Fire Crow Army; dying young is an inevitable ending."

"With the Guan Laozu's help, who knows, maybe in her next life she can be reborn in the land of China as a real noble young lady!"

Wenlong said softly, "It's useless for you to persuade me; you have to persuade the Guan Laozu."

Lady Wen smiled, her smile bright, as brilliant as summer flowers, as beautiful as Shunhua.

Wenlong had already been taken by her!

"The Guan Laozu didn't directly persuade General Guan Huchen Huchen to give up Guan Yu for only two reasons: he couldn't bear to waste the Bone-Fleshing Pill and couldn't bear to waste the sword bone divine power; and he had expectations for the Li family's Human Immortals."

"Actually, whether to find the Prince of Qinghe and how to tell the Prince is all up to you," Lady Wen said warmly.

Wenlong shook his head and said, "You go persuade the Guan Laozu with your reasons. I don't want to lose my only brother."

Lady Wen curled her lips and said disdainfully, "You have been brothers with him for more than forty years, yet you don't understand him as well as I, his wife of twenty years, do."

"If he were really as affectionate and righteous as you think, it would be useless no matter how much you drank that night; I am the 'Danxia Hongfu Hongfu Xianzi'!"

"In fact, he is more selfish and ruthless than you, than me, than anyone."

"Don't talk about falling out with you for Guan Yu."

"Do you believe it? He won't even be sulking alone for more than half a month."

"Half a month later, if I hook my toes, he will still pounce over happily."

Wenlong was speechless.