Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 61 - 52: Eavesdroppers Never Come to a Good End
At this moment, Zhao Yan was furious inside.
Seeing Lu Xin’s gentle, water-like eyes and the tray in front of her, Zhao Yan realized that there was a big problem with the refreshments prepared for the guests this time.
The culprit of it all was that good-for-nothing fellow, Li Kongcheng!
In the afternoon, while Zhao Yan was tutoring her children on their cultivation studies, she received a message from Lu Xin saying she was coming to visit. So, she ended the lesson early and started preparing pastries for the guests.
However, after preparing a table of exquisite pastries, as she began to wash up and change, Zhao Yan discovered that the barrier she casually set up outside the kitchen had been triggered. She hastily changed her clothes and rushed to the scene, where she saw a sneaky, plump figure in the kitchen.
Years of marriage allowed her to recognize at a glance that the fat man was indeed her husband, Li Kongcheng, and his target was all too clear... Subsequently, after a series of quick exchanges, Li Kongcheng was successfully driven away with a pair of panda eyes and two streams of nosebleed, but half the pastries on the table had been stealthily eaten.
By this time, Lu Xin and the servants had already arrived at the main entrance, and there was no time to prepare more pastries. In a rush, Zhao Yan had to randomly pick a few plates from her snack bag to fill the table... not noticing that there was a plate of sweet rice wine dumplings mixed in.
Thus led to the current tragedy.
"Sister Zhao Yan, though you often complain that Kongcheng is idle and squanders his talent, after all, you raised Xinyu and Chaolu. Nowadays, at the Li Family Mansion, besides Li Wanqing from the second house, your children are the best among the younger generation. Although Xinyu seems a bit lazy, you’ve disciplined him into becoming the Inner Sect Chief. And Chaolu, that child, is even more remarkable..."
Hearing Aunt Lu Xin mention herself, Li Chaolu could not help but perk up and feel invigorated.
Lu Xin continued, "...So young, yet already tall and graceful, beautifully curvaceous, truly wonderful."
Wait, was the point there?!
In shock, Lu Xin went on, "Sister, what did you feed Chaolu when she was little?"
Zhao Yan said, "Aside from the usual three meals a day, I only prepared a Green Grain Nutritional Package for her in the afternoon."
Lu Xin said, a bit annoyed, "I had it too when I was young!"
After a moment’s pause, Lu Xin lightly shook her head and added, "No, I mean, Qingming had it too when she was young. It only stopped after I kicked her out of the Inner Sect and she moved to Shen Garden herself. Why then, did she not grow taller, and when she’s next to Chaolu, it’s like she’s the younger sister instead. It’s infuriating; being so petite that people look and think the Li Family mistreated her, leaving her malnourished!"
Zhao Yan replied, "Speaking of Qingming, I heard that her life in Shen Garden is very austere, living off clear soups and radishes all the time..."
"Those aren’t just any radishes," Lu Xin laughed lightly, "If it were really clear soup and radishes, with her aptitudes, how could she have made it to 14? For a martial artist, lacking meat even for a day would leave them weak all over—just clear water and radishes wouldn’t suffice."
Hearing this, Zhao Yan was taken aback but quickly realized what Lu Xin meant and nodded: "Our sister is truly thoughtful."
"She was not thoughtful at all," Lu Xin insisted, "I would not go to such lengths for Shen Yue’e’s daughter!"
"Yes, yes, of course not thoughtful."
Meanwhile, Zhao Yan was planning in her heart on how to teach Li Kongcheng a lesson while continuously offering kind words to comfort her sister-in-law.
"Sister, don’t be upset. Qingming only started late but has a promising future. After all, she is Brother’s child, and now, with you hiring an Honored Guest Elder to guide her cultivation, she will be no less than Chaolu."
Listening nearby, Li Chaolu pouted her lips, clearly unconvinced, but the next moment, her attention was drawn back again.
"Speaking of which, I’ve always wanted to ask: who exactly is Wang Jiu? Although he appears open-minded and sincere, still, being a man living in Shen Garden with a young girl like Qingming... is that really appropriate?"
Li Chaolu almost felt like rushing over to give her mom a hug. Mom, you said it perfectly; Shen Qingming should be kicked out of Shen Garden, even better sent to Lingshan City to become a nun, and let me move into Shen Garden...
But then she saw Lu Xin shake her head, "The story of Wang Jiu is rather complicated, but sister, you don’t need to worry about him having any bad intentions towards Qingming... He and Fengyun are of the same kind."
Zhao Yan immediately understood: "Oh, I see, then indeed there’s nothing to worry about."
What do you mean nothing to worry about? Mr. Wang Jiu is indeed gentle and kind, but Shen Qingming, that seductive hussy, very likely harbors ulterior motives towards Mr. Wang Jiu!
While Li Chaolu was on the side gritting her teeth, the sisters-in-law’s conversation looped back to her again.
"Sister, I really envy you for having such a good daughter... Before I married Fengyun, I always dreamed of having a beautiful and smart daughter like Chaolu with him."
Zhao Yan gave a bitter smile: "At least you have a good son."
"Sons... are hopeless, either they’re rascals or fools; men are no good!"
Zhao Yan agreed deeply: "That statement is indeed true."
Li Chaolu couldn’t help but whisper, "Mr. Wang Jiu... No, I mean Uncle is great."
Lu Xin heard this and shook her head: "Fengyun? He is indeed great, very great, but he doesn’t count as a man..."
Li Chaolu was dumbfounded, "Wait, what!?"
"He’s just like that Wang Jiu, not actually a man..."
Listening to this almost made Li Chaolu explode, and she couldn’t help but ask for more, but just then Lu Xin was getting more intoxicated, her eyes growing more blurred as she leaned slightly forward towards Zhao Yan, saying nostalgically, "Sister, you have indeed had it hard. Once a dazzling heavenly prodigy, though born of a branch family, you surpassed the many ladies of the direct line in Golden Jade City... Not just men, even many women were enamored with you. Yet after marrying Kongcheng, you devoted yourself to supporting your husband and raising your children, making countless sacrifices, yet he remains ungrateful..."
"You’re absolutely right! Li Kongcheng, that bastard, I won’t forgive him!"
Li Chaolu silently mourned for her father in her heart, while suddenly noticing that her mother’s tone seemed different from normal... She looked over and was stunned.
She saw Zhao Yan holding a purple translucent jade wine pot, which was half empty of the divine liquor within, though she didn’t know when it had been drunk.
Mom, isn’t that the Drunken Immortal Dew Dad hid under the rock garden!? When did you... oh heavens, you drank it!?
Lu Xin murmured softly, "Thirsty..."
"Here, have some water." Zhao Yan cheerfully handed over the wine pot.
Lu Xin drank it all in one gulp.
Li Chaolu began to tremble slightly, vaguely feeling that staying to watch the show might get her caught up in an incredible storm.
After the two women finished off an entire bottle of Drunken Immortal Dew, they remained calm and composed, but the confusion in their eyes fully revealed their condition. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Kongcheng, in fact, was really good when he was young. His talents and skills were those of a gifted prodigy, rivaling Fengyun in every way, with an unyielding and determined personality... During the annual assessments at the Li Family Mansion, Li Fengyun always stole the spotlight, and the others quickly conceded and didn’t give it another thought, except Kongcheng, who never accepted defeat, becoming more courageous with every setback. That’s when I first took an interest in him. Although he wasn’t the best man, he was my favorite. I don’t care how strong or wealthy a man is, only that he has this relentless fighting spirit."
Lu Xin nodded, "Indeed, Fengyun also mentioned before that there was once an idiot at home who thought he could overcome objective reality with subjective will..."
Zhao Yan continued, "But now Kongcheng is like a cripple... I can only pour all my hopes into the children."
Lu Xin said softly, "Speaking of children, sister, I’ve actually always been thinking..."
"What?"
"I’ve always been thinking how wonderful it would be if I had a daughter like Chaolu. Among all the children in the mansion, my favorite is Chaolu."
Zhao Yan said, "That’s no problem... You like her, I’ll give her to you."
"Give, give her to me?" Lu Xin froze for a moment, then giggled, "Sister, don’t joke, this is not something you can give away."
"Of course you can, we’re as close as sisters, what’s not possible..." Zhao Yan suddenly stood up and, like a ghost, appeared in front of Li Chaolu, making the young girl tremble from head to toe.
"Mom, I..."
Zhao Yan held Li Chaolu’s shoulder firmly, "No more talking, from today on, Lu Xin is your mother!"
"Huh?! Sister Xin?! But..."
"Come, go bow to your mother."
"Mom, you must be joking!" Li Chaolu was utterly terrified.
Drunken women never joke, as Zhao Yan’s stately and gentle smile reminded Li Chaolu of two years ago when her father Li Kongcheng was kicked out of the dining room. Zhao Yan had the same smile as she told him never to come to the table again.
Mom is serious!
In this urgent moment, Li Chaolu’s mind raced, but she didn’t know how to escape, as her cultivation was nothing compared to her mother’s— even Sister Xin far surpassed her. So at this moment...
In panic, Li Chaolu suddenly remembered something and quickly took out a jade pendant from her waist.
That fat guy’s Communication Spirit Jade!
Li Chaolu immediately contacted the fat guy to open the door and save her, but as the Spirit Jade flashed, the image of Li Xinyu was projected forth.
The fat guy appeared completely absorbed, one hand holding an arcane tome, the other reaching from his chest to below his stomach, garments half undone, belt loose, rhythmically moving forward and back...
"Aaaahhhhh!" Li Chaolu screamed.
"Aaaahhhhh!" Li Xinyu wailed.
"Fat fat fat fat fatso, what are you doing!" Li Chaolu felt all the blood rush to her face, about to burst!
Li Xinyu scrambled to pull up his pants, trying to explain to his sister, but the next moment, through the Communication Spirit Jade, he saw not only Li Chaolu but also Zhao Yan and Lu Xin!
The two women stared at him with ghost-like expressions, unsure what to say.
Without hesitation, Li Xinyu decisively punched and shattered the Communication Spirit Jade!
On the other side, as the projection disappeared, Zhao Yan and Lu Xin remained in shock, but Li Chaolu dared not stop there and immediately used the Spirit Jade to call the only savior she could rely on at the moment.
Prince Wang Jiu, save me!
But just as the communication was sent, Zhao Yan’s Heartless Sword Qi already accurately shattered the Spirit Jade.
