Chapter 254: A Wedding at the Door, Sensing the Clues

The Cangzhou Inspector's Mansion suddenly decided to hold a wedding, making such a grand display of it as if they were afraid others wouldn't know.

The eldest and second sons of Liu Cishi were already married, and the youngest son's fuss about becoming a monk was known throughout the city; only the eldest daughter remained unsettled, but...

But the incident last year where the young woman was abducted remains a topic the people of the city find hard to speak of; even though all the women involved remained chaste, in this world bound by various rites and teachings, it was still somewhat dishonorable.

After that incident, the young women involved—some sought death, some became nuns, and only a very few remained at home, yet they were treated with cold indifference.

After the Inspector's Mansion announced the wedding, Lingxiang merely sat in a teahouse for a while and heard all sorts of gossip; some said the eldest Miss Liu was of poor character, others said the Liu Cishi family were mere boors with no upbringing, and so on. There were hardly any kind words, and hearing them made Lingxiang feel very vexed.

The world is ultimately held in the hands of men; this point, for now, seems unavoidable. It is one thing that they do not understand the humiliation and heavy burdens women endure, but what Lingxiang cannot fathom is that among those saying these things, women are not a minority.

Do they not know the hardships of women? Why are they always so harsh toward other women?

Not to mention whether those abducted women were defiled or not, even the abduction itself—could it be that they did it voluntarily?

To open one's mouth and spout blood without having suffered the pain oneself—does that make one appear more noble? For the sake of a moment's glibness, they force others into a dead end; what has this world come to?

Forget it, forget it; one cannot demand that everyone be a compassionate Bodhisattva, right?

When the sages do not die, the great thieves will not cease!

Even with all sorts of rumors flying about outside, the Inspector's Mansion seemed unaffected, continuing to busily prepare for all the wedding arrangements.

It is not that the Inspector's Mansion did not care about these idle rumors; the Inspector's wife even threatened to tear out the tongues of those gossiping, but after Lingxiang's persuasion, she truly felt relieved.

Lingxiang said that a person lives for a lifetime, and if calculated in days, it is only a little over twenty thousand; if one frets over everything, the spittle of those long-tongued people could drown someone.

Between the rising and setting of the sun, one cannot spend one's days trying to please others; that is too tiring. Rather than caring about the world's opinion or minding the tongues of others, it is better to open one's own heart to live comfortably.

As parents, they only want their children to live well; now that the family is prosperous and life is worry-free, what is there to be troubled about? Even the eldest Miss Liu's marriage really needs no worrying; some things only come to fruition when the time is right.

Outsiders only know that a wedding at the Inspector's Mansion is near, and for several days it has been the talk of the town, but they do not know why such a great fuss is being made at the mansion; could it be that they are taking in a son-in-law?

Because of this, there is another theory outside, saying that no one knows which man is so unlucky as to be chosen by the Inspector's Mansion, forced to submit to their power and marry their daughter.

The days flew by quietly amidst the rumors outside and the intense preparations within the Liu family, until the day of the wedding, when the firecrackers sounded in front of the Liu house; three days had already passed.

These three days are neither long nor short. What is short is that, as a marriage, it is truly a bit rushed; there has been no exchange of betrothal gifts, nor any mention of a matchmaker. This is indeed somewhat strange and inevitably leaves more fodder for gossip outside.

As for the long part, that is naturally Lingxiang's scheme.

For these past few days, Lingxiang has been frequenting the major restaurants of Cangzhou and had Xin Yi pass the news of the Liu family's wedding to the beggars in the city, hoping for even a sliver of a response, yet she did not expect that after waiting for so long, there would be no movement at all.

This is somewhat at odds with Lingxiang's calculations.

By rights, Guihua should have discovered by now that Lingxiang was tricking her, yet there was no sign of action from Guihua, and she had even instructed Xin Yi to find more beggars to spread the word.

Could it be that she misunderstood? Guihua's target is not the Inspector's Mansion? That shouldn't be!

That's right, this news was indeed spread by Lingxiang; restaurant beggars are the best means of spreading news. She had hoped to lure Guihua out with this, but she does not know if Guihua didn't get the news or if she is truly able to keep her composure.

If Guihua can keep her composure, Lingxiang certainly cannot sit still! In any case, one cannot let the Inspector's Mansion's preparations go to waste, right?

"Get married!" Lingxiang decided.

But who will get married? Liu Lan has already been hidden away by Xiaobai.

Although she does not know why Sangmu would work for the Demon Race, she thinks there must be a hidden reason; after all, Liu Xia has said repeatedly that Sangmu is not a person who cannot distinguish right from wrong. Since that is the case, only by seeing him can she ask for the reason.

But according to Lingxiang's plan, it is currently inconvenient for Liu Lan to appear, lest she become a bargaining chip for Bai Wuchang to manipulate Sangmu, and she might even be killed by Guihua.

Such things are not impossible; those kinds of tactics are ones that the likes of Bai Wuchang are accustomed to using.

"Naturally, it will be the two of you," Lingxiang said, pointing at Liu Xia and Banxia.

"What! Him and me!" Banxia was so shocked she stood up immediately, nearly knocking over the Tea Cup on the table. "Why me?"

"Do you expect me, a dignified Elder of a sect, to step in myself?" Lingxiang calmly took a sip of tea, looking completely composed.

"Then I... how... how can I..." Banxia pointed at her own nose and stammered, but could not finish her sentence for a long time.

"Why can't you? It's not asking you to truly marry him; it's just acting." Lingxiang glanced at Liu Xia and noticed the corner of his mouth twitching; although it was only for an instant, she caught it perfectly.

That is a smile! Could it be...

Oh~

Lingxiang suddenly realized. No wonder when Banxia sought her out earlier and said Liu Xia was acting strange, she could never say exactly what was strange about him; it turns out it was this. It's just that this little girl Banxia is caught in the middle, and with her straightforward nature, she naturally doesn't understand the devious minds of these men.

Hmm~

When did it start?

According to Banxia, Liu Xia started acting strange after they came out of the Long Family Tomb, and they both fell into the Xuanwu Array together; could something have happened in there?

Hiss~

To encounter something like this, which only happens in storybooks—this is truly...

Extremely amusing!

Lingxiang suddenly felt a burst of playfulness and felt she must do something to console herself for the hard work of these past two days.

Although there are many things waiting to be solved, that doesn't stop her from having fun, right?

Even if the Heavenly King himself came, she would still want to play!

Thinking this, Lingxiang immediately put on the airs of an elder and said, "Since you have entered the Daoist Sect, you must have the heart to eliminate demons and uphold justice. This is just a scheme to lure Guihua out; what is wrong with that?"

This speech had a preachy tone, and the three of them—Banxia, Liu Xia, and Xin Yi—had to stand at attention and listen to the lecture; after all, in terms of seniority, Lingxiang is indeed one generation above them.

However, it was the first time seeing Lingxiang looking so serious; if Xin Yi did not know her character and temperament well, he might have believed it.

It's just...

Xin Yi suddenly felt a chill on his back.

What kind of devious idea is this little girl cooking up in her head again?