Chapter 694

For generations, no one in the Xie family dared to contradict the mistress’s words.

With these words spoken, all the clan relatives froze, their gazes locking onto you.

Xie Renfeng’s eyes flickered with a faint, almost imperceptible gleam of delight.

Yuan Fu seemed unprepared for your reply; her brow furrowed, yet her expression remained unreadable.

She stepped forward slowly, her hands folded atop her waistband.

“Xie Guan, since you don’t know where you erred, let me ask you.”

“You practiced martial arts without permission within the household. Do you know this violates our family rules?”

“Xie Guan knows.”

Yuan Fu swept back to the high seat in the main hall, her moon-silk robe trailing, and fixed you with a piercing gaze. “Our Xie family, though founded on scholarship, stands on martial merit. We value rules above all. You know the rules—yet you still secretly learned martial arts. What punishment do you deserve?”

Your mother passed away early. Though I am not your biological mother, I am the rightful matriarch of this household. When have I ever taught you to break our family rules?

Her tone turned icy. “Xie Guan… you deliberately defied explicit prohibitions. Do you even acknowledge me as your matriarch? Do you honor the Grand Matriarch? Do you respect the Xie family’s thousand-year legacy?”

“How dare you speak so boldly? What fault is there in your actions?”

Her final words fell like frozen shards—every candle flame in the hall trembled.

The young masters and ladies of the household paled. Master Xie was often away; Yuan Fu had ruled the inner quarters for years, her authority deeply entrenched. No one dared breathe loudly.

But this matter fell solely on Xie Guan’s shoulders; the rest were merely spectators, and they quietly exhaled in relief.

Xie Qiyue stood to the side, never having witnessed such a scene. Yet the sight stirred painful memories of Zhao Fu’s past cruelty and exclusion toward her. A bitter ache rose in her chest—if her mother had not died early, who would have stood by her? If her father had not favored her slightly, her fate would be no better than Xie Guan’s.

The hall fell deathly silent. Some rejoiced at your misfortune; others watched coldly. Not a single soul spoke up to plead for you.

You slowly raised your gaze, your voice steady: “The household does have a rule: no martial practice without permission.”

“But my skills were taught to me by my fourth sister’s husband. What fault is there in that?”

Yuan Fu’s brow snapped shut. “Fourth sister’s husband… Sima Ting. Why did he teach you martial arts?”

You remained calm, your tone indifferent. “Perhaps he saw I had some potential and took a fancy to me.”

Zhao Fu’s face darkened. “How audacious! A man with no lineage, a lowly son-in-law—how dare you claim exceptional talent?”

Yuan Fu asked coldly, “Even so, why did you not report this to the household?”

You wore an expression of confusion. “Didn’t my fourth sister’s husband inform the household?”

Grand Matriarch’s brow tightened.

Xie Renfeng had not anticipated this turn.

Yuan Fu’s face darkened, about to speak—when Grand Matriarch raised a hand to stop her, as if foreseeing her words: “Ying girl is already married. Her husband is now family. Do not speak of this again.”

Xie Ying’s marriage was personally arranged by Xie Hong, approved by Xie Ling—both brothers endorsed it. Grand Matriarch held this alliance in high esteem, which is why she hosted the grand banquet for the Nine Surnames.

Yuan Fu bowed slightly. “Yes, your daughter-in-law understands.”

Zhao Fu’s gaze sharpened, her eyes like blades fixed on you. “You speak nonsense. Sima, the Military Governor, only returned to Bianjing last September.”

“It’s been barely half a year. How could you possibly have surpassed Renfeng? Speak! Who is truly teaching you?”

Xie Yu’s eyes flickered, snapping back from his thoughts. He had always looked down on his cousin Xie Renfeng—a man of outward splendor, inward decay. His uncle, a genius of rare brilliance, had sired nothing but mediocrities among his sons. Yet even he had to admit Zhao Fu’s words held weight.

Xie Renfeng’s Spring Thunder realm was artificially forced by pills; his foundation was hollow, his path to the upper three realms forever barred. But he was still a genuine middle-rank martial cultivator. His sinews and strength were real.

Xie Yu’s eyes gleamed with pride. He had entered the Spring Thunder realm before turning thirteen, one step away from the fingertip threshold—all through his own relentless cultivation, step by step.

His martial instructor had said such talent was unmatched among the younger generation of the Xie family—even rivaling his father’s.

He had never slackened in his training, rising at dawn and practicing through the night to reach this point… Yet you claim that in merely half a year, Xie Guan could have injured a fifth-rank Xie Renfeng?

Such absurdity would only invite ridicule.

Yuan Fu’s eyes hardened. “Xie Guan, confess the truth!”

Zhao Fu sneered. “A mere bastard, a lowly son-in-law—how could he possibly possess such cultivation?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Unless… you’ve secretly colluded with outside enemies?”

At these words, the entire hall erupted in shock.

Li Nantian, seated in the corner, suddenly recalled the secret report from the Mirror Bureau at the Gathering of Beauties: had someone in the Xie family truly conspired with the Three True Ones of Great Qi? Or was it all baseless rumor?

“Enough!” Grand Matriarch slammed her sandalwood cane to the floor. “This matter will be discussed later.”

Yuan Fu snapped back to herself, her expression turning frosty. “Leaving that aside—did you inflict the wounds on Xie Renfeng?”

You answered calmly, nodding. “Yes.”

Xie Renfeng secretly rejoiced. He had not expected you to confess so readily. He had deliberately left his wounds unhealed, waiting for this moment—yet now, all his effort seemed wasted.

Yuan Fu’s voice turned icy. “According to Xie family law, kin who harm kin—what punishment do they receive? Do you know?”

Xie Qiyue’s face twisted with anxiety. Pray, don’t admit it, she silently begged.

Breaking the law knowingly—punishment doubled.

You replied calmly. “Xie Guan knows.”

Xie Qiyue staggered, her face pale. It’s over… the charge can no longer be denied.

Xie Yu shook his head, thinking you foolish. Today, you likely won’t leave the Songhe Hall alive.

Zhao Fu’s voice slithered like a venomous snake’s tongue: “Since you knowingly broke the law… then tell me: what punishment awaits one who harms kin?”

Your tone sank like a stone into a frozen pool:

“First: erase his name, remove him from the clan register, deny him burial in the ancestral tombs.”

Before the words finished, every candle in the hall dimmed. Zhao Fu’s lips curled in a satisfied sneer.

“Second: punish three generations. His descendants shall remain lowborn, forbidden from studying or cultivating.”

You fell silent, no more words spoken.

Zhao Fu assumed you were cowed. She rose abruptly, stepping to the center of the hall, and demanded loudly: “Xie Guan, why stop? What’s the third?”

“If you won’t say it, I will. Third: sever his cultivation, administer three hundred lashes, kneel before the ancestral shrine to face the ancestors’ condemnation.”

A faint, nearly invisible smile touched Yuan Fu’s lips—everything unfolding as planned. Then she noticed your smile. Her brow furrowed.

“Xie Guan, what are you smiling at?”

You did not answer. Your gaze swept the hall—Grand Matriarch seated high above, Zhao Fu’s eyes brimming with venom, Yuan Fu radiating haughty superiority.

Finally, your eyes settled on the Li family on the right. Li Qinlan sensed your gaze and turned away.

Your smile widened, then vanished. You spoke, each word deliberate: “I laugh because—how do these first two punishments apply to me?”

Yuan Fu froze, bewildered.

Your voice rang clear: “I bear the Xie surname, yet I have no courtesy name. How can you erase a name I never had?”

“I lost my mother at seven. At thirteen, I was sent into marriage with the Li family. Is my name even recorded on the Xie clan register? How can you speak of removal from the register?”

“My mother died years ago. The Xie family, claiming her low status, refused to bury her in the ancestral tombs. I would not let her lie alone in the wild hills outside Bianjing—I keep her spirit tablet in my courtyard. How can you speak of denying her burial?”

“I am a son-in-law—already of low birth. I am nearly of age, yet my household has never permitted me to attend school or train in martial arts. How can you punish me with ‘punishment extending to three generations, descendants forever condemned to low status, forbidden from study or cultivation’?”

The boy’s words rang sharp and clear through the entire hall.

Thunder crashed with the rain, battering the hall. The candles flared wildly, casting your shadow like a drawn blade.

“Therefore, I beg my matriarch to teach me—”

Your voice, cold as shattered jade falling on ice: “How do these two rules apply to Xie Guan?!”

“This…” Yuan Fu stepped back, unnerved. She forced composure. “The household has its own rules. How dare a mere youth speak so… recklessly?”

Li Nantian pondered the boy’s words. His view of this bastard son shifted—he was no timid Confucian scholar, cowed by injustice, whispering grievances in private like a weeping girl.

Xie Guan had some backbone. Too bad—

Li Nantian’s gaze flickered across the hall: the two clan elders sat like stone statues. Grand Matriarch’s hand rested on Xie Guan’s household register.

The Nine Surnames knew no justice. Only those seated high in the ancestral hall were the sun and moon.

Birth decided everything.

Xie Guan’s defiance would only deepen the Xie family’s hatred—there would be no turning back.

Grand Matriarch slowly rose, leaning on her cane. For the first time, she stood. All the ladies, young masters, and clan elders bowed their heads.

“Xie Guan, you carry Xie blood. When you commit wrong, you must be punished. That is the rule.”

“As long as I draw breath, this rule shall not be broken. The Xie family’s sky shall not fall.”

“To harm kin: sever cultivation, three hundred lashes, kneel before the ancestral shrine to face the ancestors’ condemnation.”

“To defy elders and insult the matriarch—punishment doubled.”

With these words, the matter was settled. No one dared oppose.

She picked up your household register. “Xie Guan, your failed marriage brought shame upon the Xie family. You should have been cast out. But since you are still Xie blood—”

“After the lashes, if you survive, the Xie family will leave you a name.” Her voice held no warmth.

Zhao Fu’s eyes gleamed with triumph. Three hundred lashes—administered by the punisher’s will. Even a ninth-rank martial cultivator could not survive such punishment.

Grand Matriarch’s words were merely a final courtesy to a dead man.

“Carry out the punishment.”

From behind the Songhe Hall, two figures emerged. Their aura was immense, clad in black martial robes, their presence thick with the stench of blood and corpses.

Li Nantian’s eyes narrowed. That aura—barely touching the threshold of the ninth martial realm. The Xie family’s depth was truly profound.

Xie Renfeng’s smile broke free, wild and ecstatic.

(End of Chapter)