Chapter 2692 — Happy Again

"A good-for-nothing? Precisely because he is a good-for-nothing, resentment is what builds up, is it not?" the Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor said flatly. "Yu Yi, play them the recording of the call with the Zhao family's Old Mian..."

"Yes, sir!" Yu Yi answered, then drew out a voice recorder and began to play the call recorded inside.

"Qibing has already confessed. It was because Yu Shan hated Wei Zhao that he laid this trap..." Old Mian's voice came from the recorder.

"Impossible, that's impossible! Zhao Qibing knows nothing about Yuning and Wei Zhao..." Yu Shan shrieked. "And it wasn't me who set the trap—it was him, he told me to do it, I have a recording of the call too, I kept the evidence!"

"Yu Shan... you..." Hearing Yu Shan's words, Yu Xiaozhong knew it was over. Whether or not Yu Shan had laid the trap, he had certainly taken part—he was an accomplice in this kidnapping, and this time there was truly no escape for him.

"Yu Ba, take him away and keep him under watch. I don't want to see him again!" The Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor asked nothing further about the details, but waved his hand and had Yu Ba take Yu Shan away. It was enough that Yu Shan's involvement was confirmed; whether the scheme had been Zhao Qibing's idea or Yu Shan's no longer mattered. "Put him under house arrest for now. Feed him nothing but the cold leftovers from the servants' meals each day—just enough that he doesn't starve."

"Yes!" Yu Ba nodded in assent.

Yu Shan was led away, seething with unwillingness. Had the scheme succeeded—had Wei Zhao been made to weep and the Yu family brought low—he would not have minded; even death would have been a death worth dying. But now... he could not accept it!

Yu Xiaozhong's face was the color of ashes. He sat there in silence.

"Eat, the rest of you. I have no appetite left. I came here only to bring you this news. Yu Xiaozhong, from now on you need not concern yourself with the family's affairs either—just cultivate in peace!" The Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor waved his hand and spoke indifferently.

"Yes... Father..." Yu Xiaozhong knew his standing in the Yu family was finished; that he could keep his former cultivation resources was already more than he could hope for. He could only sigh—it seemed his branch of the family would have no chance of competing from now on.

"Yuning, come with me." With that, the Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor rose to his feet.

"Oh..." Her mind unsettled, Yuning followed the Old Ancestor out of the banquet hall and into a small room nearby.

"Xiaoning, sit." The Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor gestured for her to take a seat. "Let me talk to you about Wei Zhao."

"Mm..." Yuning nodded, turning expectant eyes on the old man.

"You surely understand yourself that there can be no future between you and Wei Zhao. Setting aside the fact that your own future lies along an extraordinary path—even as things stand, Wei Zhao already has several wives. Do you still mean to join the fray?" The Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor meant to cut off all dealings between Yuning and Wei Zhao through this conversation. He had come to see clearly enough that damming a river is worse than dredging it, and in any case it could no longer be dammed—with Wei Zhao's strength, he was no longer someone the old man could bend to his will.

"Grandfather, don't you have several wives yourself? What is improper about it?" Yuning blinked in puzzlement and asked curiously.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Only then did the Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor recall that Yuning had grown up within the Hidden Yu family and, apart from training excursions, had never set foot outside. Having seen and heard such things all her life inside the Hidden Yu family, she would never think twice about it. He had miscalculated!

Still, he went on: "Oh, even if there is nothing improper about it, you know as well as I do that for the sake of that great plan of the future, you must remain a virgin—otherwise it will bring tremendous disaster upon our Hidden Yu family! And it would do Wei Zhao no good either. As he is now, Wei Zhao may look down on the Hidden great families, but he is absolutely no match for the man who launched that great plan. If he were to cross swords with the people of that place, it would be a dead end for him. You would not want to harm others and yourself both, and set Wei Zhao at deadly enmity with that place, would you?"

"That..." Yuning fell silent. Though she knew few details of the future plan, she understood the broad strokes because of her own role in it: the plan had been agreed upon with a powerful sect, mightier even than the ancient sects—which was precisely why the Hidden Yu family had developed so rapidly these past years. So what the Old Ancestor said was not necessarily all evasion and deceit. Of course, Yuning did not yet know that even without her, Wei Zhao had already formed a hatred with that place that could never be undone; even if they never provoked him, one day Wei Zhao would fight his way back there. So Yuning nodded, though still somewhat unwilling: "But I could keep my distance from him, couldn't I? Without crossing that final line?"

"You may know that, but does Wei Zhao? You two are dry tinder and a blazing flame—if something catches you unprepared, then everything is ruined!" The Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor shook his head. "And besides, does that place know? If they saw, what would they think? They would surely do away with Wei Zhao to cut off trouble at the root."

"That..." Yuning fell silent again. Yes—if that place killed Wei Zhao without asking right from wrong, what then?

"So, if you do not wish to bring harm to Wei Zhao, then have no further dealings with him," the Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor said.

"Oh... Then after that plan is over, may I be with him?" Yuning asked, still not quite ready to give up.

"We will speak of that after the plan. Who knows what circumstances may arise by then." The Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor did not answer the question directly.

"All right. I had wanted Wei Zhao to take a look at this spirit beast for me—he seems to be quite skilled at raising them. Brother Yubing said back then that Wei Zhao could help." Yuning lifted the little spirit beast in her hands as she spoke.

"Oh?" A sharp gleam flashed in the Hidden Yu family's Old Ancestor's eyes. He hesitated, glanced at the spirit beast cradled in Wei Zhao's arms, weighed the timing of when the plan would begin, and only then said with some reluctance: "Very well. Soon I will invite Wei Zhao to be our guest. But in private, you are not to have any contact with him!"

"Yes, thank you, Grandfather!" Yuning was overjoyed at his words. She had thought she would not see Wei Zhao again for some time to come! And though this time Grandfather had given no clear answer as to whether she could be with Wei Zhao after the plan, this in itself meant there was hope—how could Yuning not be happy?

Only, something struck Yuning as odd: in the past, Grandfather had never seemed to care much about the injuries to her spirit beast, so why had he suddenly shown such concern this time?

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