Chapter 241

After a brief pondering, Niu Dingtian somewhat understood: Li Qingluo likely wanted him to help her snatch a man, or tie a man. Perhaps she was also inspired by him.

Let's discuss this later; first… let me consider.

After pondering, Niu Dingtian neither refused nor immediately agreed.

Mainly, he didn't want to cut ties with this woman. Though she was a bit of a simpleton, after all she was Wu Ya Zi's biological daughter.

The old monk in a past life said that some people are born destined for longevity, undoubtedly pointing to Xiao Yao Zi.

Nowadays, the only thing that could stir his heart, Niu Dingtian, is probably Xiao Yao Zi's secret fortune; perhaps the Xiao Yao sect still has some secret scriptures.

Having this connection, it will be easier to inquire about things in the future.

Still need to consider?

Li Qingluo's face looked somewhat unsightly; she gritted her teeth and said, "I'll marry Yan'er to you, and afterwards the entire Man Tuo Mountain Villa will be yours."

You've lost all your martial arts, you have no face, you can't even hope to regain an official post, you have no status—even rowing a boat you have to exert yourself—what else do you want? Where do you get the nerve to consider?

Madam, you still have two days." Niu Dingtian raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "If after two days you don't have the Minor Formless Skill, then once you become a grandmother, the Man Tuo Mountain Villa will still be mine."

Li Qingluo's face instantly darkened; she involuntarily stood up, pointed at Niu Dingtian, and through gritted teeth said, "You… shameless!"

Niu Dingtian gave a faint smile, said nothing, and with his feet he lightly rocked the boat planks left and right a few times, instantly causing Li Qingluo to shriek and hastily clutch the gunwale, steadying herself.

Bastard! Bastard! ……

She tensed her weak legs, inwardly cursing nonstop.

……

After the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, Ri Yue An.

Niu Dingtian had not yet sailed the boat out of the lotus pond when, from afar, he saw Wang Yuyan sitting dazedly before the table in the pavilion, her eyes betraying a hard-to-conceal melancholy.

After his gaze fell upon a pile of objects beside her, Niu Dingtian's expression slightly tightened; he suddenly flashed to the boat's canopy, lifted Li Qingluo, and lunged toward the shore.

"Bastard! Let go!" Li Qingluo's voice trembled, her body went limp; it had been many years since a man had been this close to her.

Who's come?

In an instant they reached the pavilion; he set down Li Qingluo, looked at Wang Yuyan, and asked.

Besides A Zhu, it's A Bi; anyway, it's not Bao Bu Tong, perhaps……

Recalling the girl's just‑seen melancholy expression, he instantly formed a guess.

"Mother? How did you come here?"

Wang Yuyan's gaze was completely captured by the beautiful woman before her; after reacting, she turned her head and glared angrily at Niu Dingtian: "You scoundrel! You've abducted my mother too!"

"Ask your mother."

Niu Dingtian said lightly.

If you don't reply, I won't explain either.

Li Qingluo shot Niu Dingtian an annoyed glance, a faint blush still on her cheeks; she took a deep breath, put on a stern face, and said, "Come with me!"

Having said that, she grabbed her daughter and hurried over to the distant broken wooden pilings.

"What is Miss Mu thinking about?"

Entering the thatched hut, Mu Wanqing was again staring blankly at the beams; Niu Dingtian approached with the food box and softly inquired.

As they spoke, he opened the food box, taking out a bowl of wontons and a plate of fried buns.

"Eat first; later I'll have Miss Wang change your dressing."

Seeing Mu Wanqing still lost in thought, without a word, Niu Dingtian smilingly picked up a piece of fried bun and brought it to her small cherry lips.

"Why did that lowly woman come?"

Mu Wanqing stubbornly endured the faint blush on her cheeks, turned her head away, and asked coldly.

"Did you go last night just to kill her?" Niu Dingtian chuckled, asking rhetorically, "Have you ever wondered why your master wanted to kill her? If he wanted to kill her, he could have just done so; why then teach you to call her a lowly woman over and over?"

Mu Wanqing involuntarily startled, thinking of some possibility, she turned her head to look at Niu Dingtian.

Niu Dingtian took the opportunity to shove the fried bun into her mouth, then sighed lightly: "Your own grudges and grievances should be settled by yourself; there's no reason to let the younger generation get involved."

"Once your wounds heal, go back and ask your master who your father is, who your mother is, and who Duan Zhengchun is. If she won't tell you, just say you accidentally killed Duan Zhengchun at Taihu Lake."

Mu Wanqing puffed her cheeks, the fried bun in her mouth neither chewed nor spat out; she glared at Niu Dingtian, both shy and annoyed, looking utterly adorable.

But hearing those words, she couldn't help but have big question marks appear in her eyes.

"Li Qingluo told me." Niu Dingtian said offhandedly.

No sooner had his words fallen than faint footsteps were heard outside; moments later, Li Qingluo stormed into the room in a fury, her eyes fixed hatefully on Mu Wanqing sitting on the bed planks, and she shouted:

"I asked where you little tramp ran off to! Turns out you were hiding here, cavorting with a wild man!"

As she spoke, she drew a dagger from her sleeve and lunged at Mu Wanqing. Though Li Qingluo was clumsy, she still knew a bit of martial arts.

Just as her figure lunged to the bedside, Niu Dingtian's expression darkened slightly; he seized her wrist and demanded, "Who are you calling a wild man?"

Li Qingluo startled, her wrist seized with pain; she cried out and fell into Niu Dingtian's arms.

"Lowly woman! Get lost! Don't touch him!" Mu Wanqing bristled, hastily spat out the fried bun in her mouth, and shouted shrilly.

In the midst of her angry shout, she snatched the dagger and lunged to stab Li Qingluo's eyes.

Li Qingluo's face paled; the dagger blade came straight at her, frightening her into closing her eyes, and her body went limp like mud.

"Simpleton." Niu Dingtian cursed under his breath; with one arm he embraced the beautiful woman Li Qingluo, and with the other he hastily gripped Mu Wanqing's wrist.

Outside, Wang Yuyan heard the commotion, hurriedly ran toward the thatched hut, but upon reaching the door she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Cousin!"

She looked delighted toward the lotus pond, where a graceful figure stood at the boat's prow.

"Has Murong Fu arrived?"

Inside, Niu Dingtian couldn't help but raise his eyebrows; Wang Yuyan indeed, upon seeing her cousin, directly forgot her own mother.

Seeing that the dagger had not stabbed her, Li Qingluo was naturally overjoyed; still feeling a lingering fear, she glared at Mu Wanqing and wanted to break free from the somewhat restless embrace.

At that moment, hearing the commotion outside, her face changed slightly; she hurriedly forced her weak body upright and exclaimed: "Quick, quick, help me up, Lord Fu has arrived!"

After a moment, the small boat docked.

Murong Fu, leading the four senior ministers, disembarked and saw the charming maternal aunt walking out from behind Niu Dingtian; his gaze involuntarily froze.

"Is it really him?"

Seeing Niu Dingtian's face, Murong Fu's eyes could not hide his astonishment.

"He was shouting about fighting earlier, and now he puts on this expression—looks like this aunt really thinks she's fooling a fool?" As these thoughts crossed his mind, a flash of anger passed through Murong Fu's eyes; he quickly revealed a surprised yet gentle smile, strode toward Niu Dingtian, and laughed loudly:

"I thought the brothers from the manor had offended some hero and were coming to apologize; I never expected that we'd become acquainted through a fight—it turns out to be Young Master Niu."

"Older cousin!" Before Niu Dingtian could speak, Wang Yuyan rushed forward and affectionately called out again, her face showing the utterly girlish mix of shyness and delight.

"Indeed, a sycophant."

Niu Dingtian secretly despised him.

"Younger cousin." Murong Fu replied indifferently, his gaze quickly shifting away.

"Is older cousin angry with me, or are things not going well outside?" Wang Yuyan wondered blankly; since she came over and saw herself, older cousin's attitude had grown somewhat cold, even refusing her pleas to take her away.

Just as she was about to say something comforting, she saw her mother nearby sternly stare and say: "Come with me, let's eat first."

Wang Yuyan dared not retort, lowered her head and gave a soft assent, following her mother into the thatched hermitage.

"Has Lord Murong visited before?"

After the two left, Niu Dingtian rubbed the hilt of his waist knife, glanced at the pavilion, and smiled faintly.

"He doesn't strike a smiling face"; after their morning battle, this person's attitude changed greatly, and on Li Qingluo's boat he began to get on familiar terms with him.

After hearing this, Murong Fu's expression showed considerable regret; he said: "I came by twice earlier, intending to have Bao San Ge personally apologize to Young Master Niu. But the younger cousin said you hadn't returned from the city, so I went to the lotus pond and wandered around twice."

Having said that, he gave a subtle glance to Bao Bu Tong standing nearby.

Seeing this, Bao Bu Tong's face flushed red; he gritted his teeth, stepped forward, clasped his fists and bowed deeply, saying in a low voice:

"Bao Bu Tong has eyes but fails to recognize Mount Tai; yesterday I spoke rudely and offended the young master—I beg your forgiveness."

"It's fine."

Niu Dingtian gave a light smile.

Murong Fu did not mention A Bi's rescue, and he too tacitly avoided it, merely thinking that the token must have already fallen into the other's hands.

Niu Dingtian had no interest in sucking up or stepping on others; as long as the Murong family didn't offend him, he couldn't be bothered to stir up trouble.

After leading everyone into the pavilion and serving each a cup of clear tea, the four senior ministers insisted on standing, so Niu Dingtian sat opposite Murong Fu, chatting intermittently.

Upon discovering that the gift included two jars of fine wine, his face broke into a broader smile.

"I don't know, Brother Niu, what do you think of the current state of the world?"

Seeing the topic run dry, Murong Fu took the opportunity to switch to a more familiar form of address and, incidentally, raise the discussion to a higher level.

Upon hearing this, Niu Dingtian's motion of lifting his tea cup paused slightly, and he said lightly: "Does Lord Murong intend to rebel?"

As soon as these words left his mouth, Murong Fu's face stiffened; just as he was about to speak in defense, he heard Niu Dingtian slowly say:

"They say the emperorship rotates; this year it has come to my household, and in my view, it's not unacceptable for jianghu people to rebel."

Upon hearing this, Murong Fu's eyes brightened slightly; he opened his mouth, yet seemed somewhat hesitant.

His gaze wandered over Niu Dingtian's face, then suddenly paused, and he said calmly:

"Brother Niu, what do you think of A Bi?"

Niu Dingtian startled, then lifted his tea, took a light sip, smiled faintly, and said: "A Bi is naturally excellent."

"From the first time I saw Lord Murong, I knew he harbored great ambitions and is truly a dragon among men."

Murong Fu instantly understood, his heart also relieved; he rose, clasped his fists and laughed lightly: "It's not early anymore; I still have business, so I won't disturb Brother Niu—I'll come again another day."

Niu Dingtian rose to see him off.

"Older cousin!"

As several people were about to board the small boat, Wang Yuyan rushed out from the thatched hermitage, anxiously calling: "Older cousin, are you leaving now?"

Murong Fu's eyes flickered with a hint of gloom as he looked at Wang Yuyan and smiled: "Older cousin still has matters to attend to; if younger cousin and the maternal aunt are not in a hurry to return to the manor, I'll have A Zhu and A Bi come over later to see you home."

Having said that, he cupped his fists toward Li Qingluo and said: "Nephew will go first; aunt, take care!" (End of chapter)