Chapter 203: This Is Truly a Perfect Solution

Duan Zhengchun was accompanied by Zhu Danchen, Chu Wanli, Gu Ducheng, and Fu Sigui—the four great generals—and as the Prince of Nanzhao of Dali, rescuing Zhong Ling was naturally an easy matter; yet as he followed Duan Yu to the banks of the Lancang River, at the entrance to the Wuliang Jade Cave, Duan Zhengchun's thoughts churned endlessly.

Long ago, Duan Zhengchun had met Li Qingluo; the two had been tender and affectionate in Suzhou, and Li Qingluo had more than once told Duan Zhengchun to abandon his title as Prince of Nanzhao and retire with her into the Wuliang Jade Cave, where a sword stuck into the stone wall outside cast red and green shadows, beautifully so.

Inside the cave was a statue of Li Qingluo's mother, equally beautiful.

But when Li Qingluo became pregnant, Duan Zhengchun fled.

Now Li Qingluo had returned, and had bound Dao Baifeng; recalling Duan Yu's words about the Immortal Sister, Duan Zhengchun felt Li Qingluo had come to collect a debt.

The debt of his past amours.

"Big Brother Duan, you ran all this way to save me—I truly don't know how to thank you."

Zhong Ling, in her green robe and blue shoes, with a round little face and large eyes, gazed at Duan Yu, beaming with joy.

"You saved me, so of course I saved you."

Duan Yu, gazing at Zhong Ling's smile, unconsciously thought of the Immortal Sister beneath the Wuliang Cliff.

"Little girl."

Duan Zhengchun sensed trouble brewing and stepped between them. "Your birthday is the fifth day of the twelfth month, correct?"

Zhong Ling nodded happily.

Duan Zhengchun inwardly groaned at this fateful entanglement, glanced at Duan Yu's foolish grin, and snorted: "Show some respect to this sister!"

The girl before him was his own daughter.

"I'll certainly respect my sister."

Duan Yu laughed.

Zhong Ling smiled in return.

Duan Zhengchun sighed and followed Duan Yu down the steps toward the Wuliang Cave. After walking a long while, they began to hear voices—inside, it sounded like a commotion. Zhu Danchen walked ahead to scout for danger, and Duan Zhengchun followed him into the cave, where he saw the people inside divided into groups.

Lady Wang stood in one corner, Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian stood together in another, and Dao Baifeng stood apart.

Seeing these people, Duan Zhengchun felt his head swell.

"Zhengchun…"

Qin Hongmian called out, then immediately turned cold and fell silent.

But that single address drew every eye in the chamber to Duan Zhengchun.

Among them, Lady Wang, Gan Baobao, and Qin Hongmian all wore complex expressions; only Dao Baifeng stared at Duan Zhengchun, her gaze filled with bitter resentment.

"Mother, how are you here?"

Behind them, Zhong Ling spotted Gan Baobao and cried out, rushing into her arms.

Gan Baobao's expression was complicated; she looked aside. "Ask him!"

Zhong Ling turned her gaze—and in the dim recesses of the cave, there were three more people: one man and two women. One woman was exquisitely beautiful, yet her expression was vacant, as if her heart were dead; the other was entirely veiled in black gauze, wearing a wide-brimmed hat—Zhong Ling recognized her at once as Mu Wanhui.

"Sister Mu."

Zhong Ling stepped forward, saw the man in the shadows—his face relaxed, content, watching the scene before him with calm amusement.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Qin Hongmian asked.

She had hurried from Suzhou to the Wanjie Valley, searching for Mu Wanhui's whereabouts, when Gu Qing had seized her and Gan Baobao and brought them here. Seeing Lady Wang and Dao Baifeng also present, Qin Hongmian sensed Gu Qing's intentions were malicious.

"To resurrect Wanhui's parents."

Gu Qing said.

"Resurrect?"

Mu Wanhui stared at Gu Qing in astonishment. "Have you already prepared everything?"

There was no digging up bones, no coffins—Mu Wanhui saw no connection between this and resurrection.

"I've prepared everything."

Gu Qing looked at Mu Wanhui. "I've performed the ritual. Your parents have already been resurrected."

"Really?"

Mu Wanhui grabbed Gu Qing's sleeve.

Seeing this, Qin Hongmian sighed softly. "Wanhui, come to me."

"Master…"

Mu Wanhui always obeyed Qin Hongmian—but now, she held onto Gu Qing's arm and said to Qin Hongmian: "This master says he can resurrect Father and Mother—I…"

"Can the dead truly be brought back to life?"

Qin Hongmian said coolly. "Your mother is dead. Your father is dead."

Mu Wanhui's eyes fixed on Gu Qing.

"The dead cannot be resurrected."

Gu Qing met Mu Wanhui's hopeful gaze with solemnity.

In that instant, Mu Wanhui's hope shattered.

"But what if your parents never died?"

Gu Qing continued: "You've already heard them call you Master Xiu Luo Dao Qin Hongmian—she is your mother. As for your father…" Gu Qing gestured, urging Mu Wanhui to look toward the Prince of Nanzhao.

Mu Wanhui lifted her head, gazing at Duan Zhengchun among the women, and saw Qin Hongmian lowering her eyes, unable to meet his gaze.

"Hongmian—is she truly our daughter?"

Duan Zhengchun was a notorious rake, yet he loved each woman with genuine passion. Hearing Qin Hongmian had borne him a daughter, his eyes filled with tears at once; he looked at Qin Hongmian, as if pained by her years of solitary motherhood.

Qin Hongmian had long hated Duan Zhengchun in secret, but upon seeing him, all resentment vanished; seeing his expression now, her cheeks flushed faintly, and she slowly nodded.

"You've suffered so much."

Duan Zhengchun stepped toward Qin Hongmian. "All these years, I've thought of you every single day."

"Hmph!"

"Huh!"

"Ha!"

Duan Zhengchun's romantic words sent Dao Baifeng, Lady Wang, and Gan Baobao into furious rage.

At this moment, Mu Wanhui learned her true origins. Seeing the woman who raised her was her mother, she felt a deep joy—she had always had her mother beside her. But this father… he certainly didn't seem like a good man.

"Then why didn't you stay with my mother?"

Mu Wanhui asked.

"Excellent question!"

Gu Qing clapped his hands and casually draped an arm around Wang Yuyan. "Because he is also the father of Miss Wang."

Wang Yuyan had felt uneasy ever since Gu Qing had read the Beiming Divine Art scroll, and had observed everything around her with detached indifference. Now that Mu Wanhui's father had appeared, and recalling Gu Qing's words—"When Mu Wanhui's parents are revealed, your father will be resurrected"—she had already guessed. At Gu Qing's touch, she merely lifted her eyes slightly and glanced at Duan Zhengchun.

But that glance shattered Duan Yu's heart.

To Duan Yu, Wang Yuyan's detached air was the sublime grace of an immortal; now that this immortal sister had become his own sister, Duan Yu's vision darkened.

He had cherished secret feelings for the Immortal Sister—and Duan Zhengchun's words had wounded him deeply.

"Ah Luo… is a girl?"

Duan Zhengchun immediately turned his tender gaze toward Lady Wang.

Long ago, when Li Qingluo was pregnant, Duan Zhengchun had fled outright—he knew a child was coming, but not its gender.

"You heartless wretch!"

Lady Wang stamped her foot in fury.

Duan Zhengchun immediately stepped toward Lady Wang.

"Hmph!" Gan Baobao sneered. "You really are heartless!"

Gan Baobao had given Duan Zhengchun Zhong Ling's birth details—and yet he had never once asked after her!

"Baobao!"

Duan Zhengchun turned to her. "I now know Zhong Ling is my daughter."

"Huh?"

Beside them, Duan Yu and Zhong Ling felt as if struck blindfolded by a club. They had endured hardship together, and feelings had begun to bloom—now Duan Zhengchun crushed them without mercy.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Dao Baifeng, watching this scene, was so enraged she felt like vomiting blood.

Duan Zhengchun was accustomed to his amorous ways, but before his lawful wife, shame still stirred within him. He lowered his head, his face flushing alternately pale and red.

"Today, we've finally gathered everyone!"

Dao Baifeng bit her teeth in fury.

!

"Actually, not everyone."

Gu Qing spoke up promptly. "Ma Dayuan's wife, Kang Min, the deputy chief of the Beggar's Sect, is also your old Duan's lover. And there's Ruan Xingzhu… sigh—how could the Prince of Nanzhao of Dali, faced with two daughters born to Ruan Xingzhu, find no place to care for them? He sent them away."

A dagger pierced Dao Baifeng's heart.

A dagger pierced Duan Zhengchun's heart.

At this moment, Duan Zhengchun finally looked at Gu Qing. All his present humiliation was Gu Qing's doing. He bowed respectfully. "Great Hero Gu, you saved my son—I am eternally grateful."

Gu Qing nodded.

"But all this today…"

Duan Zhengchun, a seasoned player in the romantic arena, always fled at the first sign of danger. But today, surrounded by these women, with no way to defend himself, he was at his most vulnerable—so he shifted blame, setting aside his own romantic entanglements for now.

"All of this today is for the sake of my two disciples."

Gu Qing held Mu Wanzhen in one arm and Wang Yuyan in the other.

The three appeared to be roughly the same age; Gu Qing's intimacy with them seemed improper to Duan Zhengchun, but the master-disciple bond made it somewhat plausible.

"Neither of them has ever met her father."

Gu Qing said: "I'll let them see what their father looks like."

After Li Qingluo married a man surnamed Wang, he died before Wang Yuyan was born—so Wang Yuyan had indeed never seen her father.

At this moment, Mu Wanzhen and Wang Yuyan both looked up, studying Duan Zhengchun's embarrassed expression.

"Of course, of course."

Duan Zhengchun hurriedly said, though he found Gu Qing's actions painfully glaring; though he kept a harem himself, he could not bear to see his own daughters being taken into another man's harem. After finishing his exchange with Gu Qing, Duan Zhengchun turned to the statue beside him and said: "A Luo, is this your mother's statue?"

Duan Zhengchun wanted to change the subject.

Li Qingluo nodded and walked to the statue's side, saying: "I told you—I wanted to grow old with you here."

Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian were naturally displeased.

"Duan Zhengchun, you've done well!"

Dao Baifeng clenched her teeth and turned away, tears falling to the ground.

Duan Yu saw his mother crying and rushed forward to comfort her.

"Fenghuang'er…"

Duan Zhengchun walked to Dao Baifeng's side and tried to soothe her: "I haven't seen them in over a decade." He used this to assert his innocence.

Hearing "over a decade," Qin Hongmian, Gan Baobao, and Li Qingluo each fell into memory, their expressions shifting between joy and sorrow.

"Duan Zhengchun!"

After a moment's thought, Li Qingluo suddenly said: "I won't let you kill Dao Baifeng anymore. What if you just stayed here?"

Before Dao Baifeng could react, Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian both protested loudly, and a quarrel erupted—during which they revealed Qin Hongmian's trip to Suzhou to kill Wang Yuyan, and her earlier intent to kill Dao Baifeng.

Hearing that the Empress Dowager herself was targeted by both, Dao Baifeng flew into a rage and ordered the Four Great Generals nearby to seize Qin Hongmian, Gan Baobao, and Wang Yuyan.

For Duan Zhengchun, this chaos was the worst possible scenario.

"Actually, I have a solution that benefits everyone."

Seeing both sides in uproar, Gu Qing prepared to stoke the fire further, raising his hand and speaking loudly.

Instantly, Dao Baifeng, Qin Hongmian, and the others fell silent, turning to Gu Qing—out of respect for his strength alone, they gave him his due.

"Duan Prince, your problem is that you have too many women."

Gu Qing said.

"More than too many!"

Dao Baifeng said coldly.

Duan Zhengchun felt helpless; as Prince of Zhennan, being fickle was normal.

"I'm still single!"

Gu Qing said.

Duan Zhengchun's face dropped—what does your marital status have to do with me?

"Among these women, Gan Baobao and Qin Hongmian aren't the real problem—they shout loudly, but a few private words of comfort will calm them instantly and bring them back to you."

Gu Qing analyzed.

Duan Zhengchun's eyes lit up—he felt Gu Qing understood women's psychology well.

"Wang Yuyan seems strong-willed, but she's merely obsessively clingy, with shallow scheming—she's a foolish beauty."

Gu Qing said: "Just flatter her a little more, and Wang Yuyan can be won over too."

Duan Zhengchun nodded—he agreed completely; A Luo's mind had developed elsewhere entirely.

"Your real problem is the Princess of Zhennan."

Gu Qing added.

Duan Zhengchun nodded—this was a marriage of political alliance, of great importance.

"So if you give the Princess of Zhennan to me, your troubles will vanish!"

Gu Qing patted his chest.

"Impossible!"

"Never!"

"Dream on!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Danchen and others of the Dali line, Duan Yu, and Duan Zhengchun himself all shouted in protest.

Dao Baifeng stared at Gu Qing in shock—after all this, was Gu Qing after her?

Duan Zhengchun erupted in fury—he had already feared Gu Qing was making Dao Baifeng emotionally dependent, and now it was clear: Gu Qing was targeting him!

"Who's the foolish beauty?"

Wang Yuyan also roared: "Even if Dao Baifeng were gone, as long as I'm here, none of them will ever step through my door!"

Hearing this, Qin Hongmian and Gan Baobao shouted to Duan Zhengchun: "Give her to Gu Qing too!"

Their meaning was clear—they had truly come to an understanding; in this situation, eliminating one rival was better than none.

"No way!"

Mu Wanzhen and Wang Yuyan stood up and said.

One protected Gu Qing; the other protected her mother.

"I'm fine with it—it's a perfect solution."

Gu Qing, watching the chaos finally reach its peak, sat back with a smile and said to Duan Zhengchun: "Think carefully—without Dao Baifeng and Wang Yuyan, wouldn't you finally be free?"

That way, Duan Zhengchun could keep his harem, and Gu Qing could keep his—what else could be called a perfect solution?

(End of Chapter)