BXBX NOVEL Chapter 292: 292. Impossible
Chapter 292: 292. Impossible
Duanmu Chen looked at Su Liang, who walked alone into the Imperial Study, and couldn’t help but feel worried for her. Ever since he learned about Su Liang and Gu Ling accepting Emperor Liang’s marriage earlier this year, Duanmu Yi’s mood had been visibly bad.
Duanmu Chen didn’t know Su Liang’s intentions and was unable to speak up for her.
At this moment, it was only Duanmu Yi and Duanmu Chen, father and son, as well as Su Liang. Nian Jincheng and Gu Ling waited outside, not allowed to enter.
Looking at Su Liang, who had saluted gracefully, Duanmu Yi let her rise and coldly said, “I sent you to Liang Country to handle important matters, but you neglected everything for Gu Ling! Give me an explanation!”
Su Liang slightly bowed, “In response to Your Majesty, I do want to marry Marquis Chang Xin, but there are hidden secrets regarding Emperor Liang’s marriage decree. ”
Duanmu Chen couldn’t help but ask, “I heard it was because Gu Ling deceived you to get the Thousand-year Snow Lotus?”
Su Liang shook her head, “No. Lord Gu indeed needs the Thousand -Year Snow
Lotus to repay a favor, but I knew this from the start. Earlier this year, Emperor Liang’s illness had almost been cured, and if I didn’t agree to the marriage and conferment, we would have to leave Yao City and wouldn’t be able to complete the important tasks the emperor assigned.”
Duanmu Chen’s expression became serious, “So you are saying that you two pretended to get married in advance to buy time to find the secret scroll?”
“Yes,” Su Liang nodded, “Although Marquis Chang Xin doesn’t like to associate with people, he isn’t the kind of person who would deceive others for his own benefit.”
Duanmu Chen nodded, “So that’s how it is. Father, it seems that we misunderstood Su Liang and Gu Ling. They only pretended to agree to Emperor Liang’s terms.”
Duanmu Yi’s expression relaxed slightly, “Did you get the secret scroll?”
Duanmu Chen thought that it would be best if Su Liang had really obtained it, otherwise, no matter how much explanation, it would be meaningless.
He saw Su Liang take out a cloth-wrapped object from her sleeve, “Your Majesty, this is the half copy of the secret scroll that the royal family of Liang acquired.”
Duanmu Yi and Duanmu Chen’s eyes lit up! Because from start to finish, the information they had received was that Su Liang not only maintained a good relationship with the royal family of Liang but was even extremely harmonious. If she had stolen or snatched the secret scroll, it wouldn’t have been so peaceful. They didn’t expect that she had actually obtained it!
Su Liang stepped forward, opened the cloth wrap, and placed the half-secret scroll in front of Duanmu Yi. The object Mu Lao gave her was exactly the same as the one Mu Yu handed to Situ Xie.
Duanmu Yi flipped through it from beginning to end but frowned, “There isn’t a single complete blueprint!”
Su Liang nodded, ‘Yes. That is also the reason for the auction of the secret scroll in Yao City.”
Then, Su Liang explained that the dark weapon folding fan that first appeared in Yao City’s Treasure Pavilion was actually hers.
“Yours? Where did you get it?” Duanmu Yi looked astonished.
Su Liang respectfully said, “It was left behind by Ning Jing.”
Duanmu Yi and Duanmu Chen were both stunned. After “Ning Jing” died, Su Liang received all her inheritance.
“She bought it, but I don’t know where she got it from,” Su Liang said, “I only brought it for self-defense, but I never used it, so no one knew about it. When I got to Liang Country and stayed in King Yue’s Mansion, I couldn’t find any leads, so I discussed a plan with Marquis Chang Xin to ‘beat the grass to scare the snake’. He used a trip to Yao City’s Qingjing Temple to play chess with an old monk as a cover and secretly disguised himself, then sold my folding fan to the Treasure Pavilion.”
Duanmu Yi and Duanmu Chen had already received news about the folding fan, but they didn’t expect it to be a ploy by Su Liang and Gu Ling.
Duanmu Yi’s face had lost its anger, “Was it useful?”
Su Liang nodded, “Yes, I asked General Peng to buy the fan publicly and give it to me, then I took it apart.”
Duanmu Yi was well aware of the great favor Su Liang had done for the Peng Family.
“After I disassembled the fan, a craftsman named Zhao Yu appeared by Situ Xie’s side and said he could help me repair the fan,” Su Liang said, “That man should be the descendant of the Mu Family who had pledged allegiance to Situ Xie.”
Duanmu Chen frowned, “Why would Situ Xie want the descendant of the Mu
Family to repair that fan?”
“At first, we couldn’t find a breakthrough, so we used the fan as bait. It wasn’t until the auction that I roughly understood the situation,” Su Liang said.
Then Su Liang told Duanmu Yi and Duanmu Chen that she had found out that the auction was actually designed by Situ Xie. He had only obtained a half-secret scroll that was useless, so he dared to sell it. His purpose was to severely exploit Su Liang and make her a target of public criticism.
“Zhao Yu is very young and shouldn’t be the main person in the Mu Family. Situ Xie had him fix the fan to confirm whether it was really from the Mu Family. The other purpose of the auction was to draw out the person who had the other half of the secret scroll,” Su Liang said, “I didn’t buy the scroll publicly because
I knew there was deception.”
“Then how did you obtain the secret scroll?” Duanmu Yi asked with a frown.
“Marquis Chang Xin secretly infiltrated the palace and copied it. We had the opportunity to shake off the spies only after moving into the Ning Wang Mansion granted by Emperor Liang,” Su Liang said. The copy that Old Mu gave her was obviously new, with no words, only diagrams.
Duanmu Yi looked at the secret scroll and fell silent.
Duanmu Chen gave Su Liang an approving look. The complicated ins and outs of the situation were not something they could deduce from the information they had obtained.
It was clear that Su Liang and Gu Ling had been working hard and diligently to carry out Duanmu Yi’s instructions from beginning to end. As for titles and marriages, coronations, and the like, they were all meant to appease the Liang royal family and deceive Situ Han.
Even the nullification of the marriage between Su Liang and Gu Ling had a perfect reason: Su Liang discovered deception.
In reality, the one who was truly deceived was Situ Han.
“If we don’t get the other half of the secret scroll, it is just waste paper,” sighed
Duanmu Yi.
Su Liang nodded, “For the Liang royal family, it is the same. I believe that the Mu family has not appeared because the person in charge does not want to participate in the power struggle and has only produced a traitor in this generation. In the following days, the real master of the Mu family will not have to do anything, nor will the Mu family’s secret scroll have a chance to be truly discovered. That’s why I don’t think this mission is considered successful, but I don’t expect any further gains from Liang Country at this point.”
“Father Emperor, I agree with Su Liang,” Duanmu Chen said. “This half of the secret scroll is only temporarily useless; it is hard to say how things will go in the future.
“Hmm,” Duanmu Yi nodded, looking at Su Liang, his expression softened considerably, “You have worked hard.”
“The idea was mine. Most of the tasks were taken at risk by Marquis Chang Xin. Without his help, I would not have been able to bring the secret scroll back,” Su Liang said.
Duanmu Chen smiled, “Su Liang, do you regret that your marriage to Chang Xin is fake?” He asked this deliberately in front of Duanmu Yi.
Su Liang nodded, “To tell the truth, yes. The rumors outside were only to deceive Emperor Liang. In fact, Chang Xin never lied to me.”
“So you still haven’t given up on him?” Duanmu Chen continued to ask.
“Of course not, ” Su Liang replied seriously. “After our time together in Liang Country, I came to like Chang Xin even more. He might seem cold, but he is actually very reasonable and has such great strength!”
“Father Emperor, Su Liang and Gu Ling worked together seamlessly on this mission. Since their marriage in Liang Country was fake, why not grant them a real marriage?” Duanmu Chen proposed earnestly.
Su Liang also looked expectantly at Duanmu Yi.
Duanmu Yi’s face was calm, “I would really like to grant your wish, but I can’t force Gu Ling into it. As you’ve just returned, rest well for now. I don’t want to embarrass Emperor Liang too much, so we can discuss this later. Also, be careful not to have too much contact with Gu Ling, as after all, you broke off with him in Liang Country publicly by claiming deception.”
Su Liang couldn’t hide her disappointment. However, it was all an act; she was still insisting on liking Gu Ling only to avoid Duanmu Yi’s arrangements for her marriage and had no intention of asking for another marriage grant.
After leaving the Imperial Study, Su Liang went out of the palace alone.
Nian Jincheng and Gu Ling were summoned together. Regarding the matter of the secret scroll, Gu Ling had quietly communicated with Su Liang when they entered the palace. As for Nian Jincheng, he claimed to be merely a messenger who didn’t contribute much and knew nothing.
Duanmu Yi did not ask Gu Ling if he had changed his opinion of Su Liang and started to like her. He simply asked about the main issuest and then brought up the matter of the Thousand-year Snow Lotus.
Gu Ling said that he had obtained two pieces of it and had indeed given one to a young woman. He did this because she had once helped him, and he wanted to repay her kindness.
As for the two guards who accompanied Nian Jincheng to Liang Country and returned with Su Liang, they didn’t notice anything unusual. Nian Jincheng didn’t dawdle on the way, and there were no intimate actions or conflicts between Su Liang and Gu Ling during their return journey. They mainly focused on hurrying back.
After everyone left, Duanmu Chen sighed, “Father Emperor, anyone else sent on this mission would not have been able to accomplish it. Su Liang is truly intelligent, decisive, and calculative, while Gu Ling is undeniably loyal and competent.”
“Do you really wish for them to be together?” Duanmu Yi countered.
Duanmu Chen nodded, “I think they are a perfect match.”
“I never regarded Su Liang as a woman. They are both too outstanding and too individualistic. If they were to join forces, do you really think you’d be able to sleep at night?” Duanmu Yi asked coldly.
Duanmu Chen’s expression grew serious. Was Duanmu Yi wary of Su Liang and Gu Ling? As an emperor, it was indeed prudent to use smart and powerful subordinates with caution.
Duanmu Chen knew that if the ruler of Qian Country’s royal family had no talent and virtues, Su Liang or Gu Ling might rebel for the sake of the nation’s stability and the welfare of the common people, because their loyalty did not include fear of imperial power.
In short, the problem was not that Su Liang and Gu Ling were too powerful, but that their courage was too great.
sucn people could be used, and It used correctly, tney would De excellent aides. At the same time, caution was necessary.
Actually, this was what Duanmu Chen had always done. He dared not make mistakes because he knew that once some errors occurred, he would lose Su Liang as his ally.
“Father Emperor, I understand,” Duanmu Chen said respectfully. He had initially thought that Duanmu Yi wanted Su Liang due to the Heavenly Edict, but his consideration had been too simplistic.
After leaving the palace, Nian Jincheng asked Gu Ling how he would like to eat and whether he would like to stay at his house. Gu Ling nodded, “Alright.”
Nian Jincheng was taken aback, “Are you really going?”
“You knew I wouldn’t go, so you asked.” Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “Let’s sever our friendship.”
Nian Jincheng: … He was sincere in inviting him, but he did believe that Gu Ling would surely not agree…
Of course, Gu Ling only wanted to live with Su Liang and would not bother newlyweds Nian Jincheng and Yang Yu. The two quickly parted ways.
Nian Jincheng hurried home on horseback, thinking he could see his beloved wife right away and ease his longing. But as soon as he entered the door, he heard his housekeeper say that Yang Yu had left for Su Mansion upon hearing that Su Liang was back in the capital…
Nian Jincheng felt so bitter in his heart that he immediately mounted his horse and went to Su Liang’s house to find his wife.
Only Gu Ling returned to Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion alone. No one was waiting for him, and he couldn’t go to find Su Liang. The mansion was not as empty as when he left, though, because the trees he and Situ Xie requested from King Yue’s Garden had been transported and planted. However, the weather had not warmed up yet, so there were not many hints of green.
Su Mansion.
Knowing that Old Master Mu was here, Su Liang let Qi Jun go to reunite with Qi Yan and sent Ren Dong to Lin Family to report their safety.
When Su Liang returned to the mansion from the palace, Qi Jun and Ren Dong had not yet returned.
She approached Yuanming Pavilion and saw empty wine jars strewn about by the lake, knowing that Old Master Mu must have brought back his drinking buddy.
Su Liang entered Yuanming Pavilion, and Yang Yu greeted her with joy, “You’re finally back! ”
Old Master Mu glanced up and continued to happily eat the desserts and fruits Yang Yu brought for Su Liang. There was a pile of “rags” next to him.
“What’s going on with you?” Su Liang frowned.
Yang Yu was puzzled for a moment, “What’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t you wait for your husband at home? What are you doing here?” Su Liang pushed Yang Yu, “Hurry back, or Xiao Nian will be heartbroken.”
“He should know I’d come to find you and go home with you…” Yang Yu explained. But she didn’t expect Su Liang and Nian Jincheng to leave the palace separately.
“Why would you come to my house on such an important day? Hurry back,” Su Liang said.
Yang Yu was confused, “What important day?”
“Rekindled love is even better than newlywved bliss. You two should have some quality time together,” Su Liang chuckled.
Yang Yu blushed, “What are you talking about…” But she still listened to Su Liang and decided to rush back.
As soon as she left Su Mansion, she saw Nian Jincheng riding his horse over. Yang Yu stood at the gate and laughed, “I knew you’d definitely come here.” Nian Jincheng had an unhappy face, scooped Yang Yu up with one arm, and gently placed her in front of him, “Let’s go home!”
Su Liang sat opposite Old Master Mu, letting out a sigh of relief, “I finally made it back home. Master, what do you think of my place?”
“Not bad!” Old Master Mu nodded, “What about that Gu kid?”
Su Liang smiled, “He went back to Marquis Chang Xin’s Mansion. He’s the only one there. Master, would you like to go and live with him?”
Old Master Mu shook his head repeatedly, “No, no! You, this girl, promised to cook something delicious for me, but now you want to drive me away as soon as we meet? How unfilial! ”
Su Liang promptly reflected, “Yes, it’s my fault. Please do stay, Master. But where is the Poison Master you found for me? Are those wine jars his doing?
Has he gone out?”
“He’s right here!” Old Master Mu said.
Su Liang was stunned, looking around, but there was no one.
Old Master Mu pointed at that pile of “rags,” “I brought Lao Bai back for you! As for the other matters, you’ll have to handle them yourself!”
Su Liang walked over and smelled a strong whiff of alcohol. Pulling apart the broken fabric, she finally saw the person’s face. He was very thin, with even messier hair and beard than old man Mu. His body was filthy, and he was much shorter than old man Mu.
“Master, are you sure this is a poison master?” Su Liang was a bit doubtful.
Mu Old Man’s eyes flashed as he ate his dessert. “Of course… I’m not sure. I just said I’d help you find Old Bai. I don’t know if Old Bai is a poison master or not!” Su Liang sighed, “First, let him sober up from his alcohol.”
“Be careful, this drunkard goes crazy when he can’t drink, and it’s terrifying. He’s not as easy to talk to as me!” Old man Mu said.
Su Liang took out her needle pack, removed a silver needle, and used it to help Old Bai sober up.
Old man Mu squatted nearby, curiously watching while eating his dessert, “Will this work?”
Soon, Old Bai started to move and opened his eyes to look at Su Liang.
Old man Mu immediately hid, “Be careful! This drunkard will go crazy the moment he opens his eyes!”
However, the next moment Bai Old Man suddenly grabbed Su Liang’s hand and burst into tears, “Little junior sister… I was wrong… Don’t leave… Don’t leave me…”
Su Liang was dumbfounded, what the hell…
Mu Old Man frowned, threw away the dessert box, charged over and kicked Bai Old Man into the corner, ‘You old bastard! Old pervert! You’re buried in the yellow earth, and you still dare to take advantage of my little disciple! I really misjudged you! Little girl, he is definitely not a poison master, not even a master at all! I’m going to throw him out! ”
Mu Old Man bent down to lift Bai Old Man onto his shoulder and charged outside.
Unexpectedly, Bai Old Man suddenly struck Mu Old Man’s back with his palm. His foot wobbled, and Bai Old Man had already rolled to the ground. In a flash, he jumped up and roared, “You’re stealing my little junior sister! Looking for death!”
Su Liang watched, dumbfounded, as the two old men began to fight outside Yuanming Pavilion; a whirlwind of dust and debris followed, and soon the alcohol jars by the lake were smashed into shards.
Bai Old Man kept cursing Mu Old Man for stealing his little junior sister, while Mu Old Man angrily denounced Bai Old Man as mentally ill.
Qi Jun and Ren Dong returned to the mansion, rushed over when they heard the commotion, and saw Su Liang was unharmed before they relaxed. They quickly avoided the battlefield and joined her side.
“Master. who are these two people?” Ren Dona asked with a furrowed brow.
“Two old seniors.” Su Liang watched the two men fight intently, noticing that Bai Old Man’s steps were unsteady, but the speed of his hands was incredibly fast. Comparatively, Mu Old Man seemed weaker.
Qi Jun asked, “Why are they fighting?”
“To fight over… me?” Su Liang seemed puzzled. Was Bai Old Man’s little junior sister a blurry memory from his drunken stupor, or did she really resemble his little junior sister? Either way, Bai Old Man hadn’t sobered up yet, but the fighting strength he had displayed was already incredible. Even if he wasn’t a poison master, Su Liang still wanted to learn martial arts from him.
Ren Dong guessed, “Did they start fighting because they wanted to compete to be Master’s teacher?”
Su Liang shook her head, “Not exactly.” She hadn’t even properly greeted Old Bai yet.
“What should we do now?” Qi Jun asked Su Liang if they should break up their fight.
“Let’s not interfere with the masters’ fight. They’re both quite irritable, so it’s good for them to exhaust some energy. Maybe they’ll sober up a bit after they’re tired.” Su Liang was very calm.
Qi Jun suddenly laughed, “Master, your friend Crown Prince Xing said that one day Gu Meiren would discover that he had fallen in love with Master, but Master would firmly reject him.”
At the same time Su Liang turned around and shook her head, “That’s impossible. Keep an eye on them, and if anything seems off, call for me.” With that, she returned to Yuanming Pavilion.
Ren Dong had a strange expression, “Qi Jun, when Master said it’s impossible, did she mean that Gu Meiren would never fall in love with her, or that she would never reject Gu Meiren?”
Qi Jun hesitated for a moment, “As for Gu Meiren not being able to fall in love with Master, I don’t believe that.”
“I don’t believe it either.” Ren Dong nodded.
“Then it must be that Master wouldn’t reject Gu Meiren,” Qi Jun analyzed. Ren Dong shook his head, “What’s impossible about that?”
Qi Jun shrugged, “Then what do you think is impossible when Master said it’s impossible?”
Ren Dong thought about it from different angles and still felt that none of it made sense. Just as he was about to go and ask Su Liang for clarification, he saw Mu Old Man get slapped by Bai Old Man into the lake….