CH 9

“Mother.”

“No.”

Just as Lin Ying opened her mouth, she was shot down by Shao-shi.

“I haven’t said anything yet! Why are you so ready to refuse me?! Am I your daughter or not?!” Lin Ying’s words were full of grievance.

“You only want to go to the Green Bamboo Courtyard with me to make things difficult for him. Yesterday you almost killed Lin Yi and made the Patriarch unhappy. Do you not know how to repent? If it weren’t for your Father pleading leniency for you before the Patriarch, do you think you’d still be standing here unscathed?”

Shao-shi looked at Lin Ying with discontent. She hadn’t expected Lin Ying to run over to the Green Bamboo Courtyard so impulsively yesterday and not only almost kill Lin Yi but also nearly expose the secret she had told her. It caused her to be blamed by Lin Jinfeng and feel too ashamed to lift her head in front of the Patriarch.

“It’s that Lin Yi! A toad lusting after a swan’s flesh, a bug in the mud who really dares to desire Big Brother Pei. You didn’t see his face, really thinking he could fly up a branch and become a phoenix. He looked like a devil wanting to seduce Big Brother Pei. I was so angry I wanted to teach him a lesson.” Lin Ying said.

“You’re still being stubborn!?” Shao-shi retorted, “I’ve already made it very clear to you that Lin Yi is only being sent over to be a Human Furnace, unable to live for more than a few years! He’s nothing more than a tool just for Pei Xuanqing to use to recover his health. Why must you make trouble with someone destined to die?”

Lin Ying gritted her teeth and said, “Because I’m not reconciled! Whenever I think Big Brother Pei will be doing that type of thing with him, I wish I could kill Lin Yi immediately! Why him?! Why must the Pei Family use this type of method to treat Big Brother Pei?! Have they considered Big Brother Pei’s feelings?! Why did Big Brother agree?! I really hate it! And Lin Yi still dared to speak so shamelessly! Simply filthy and vulgar!”

Seeing her deep-rooted affection for Pei Xuanqing, Shao-shi was both angry and undeniably a bit distressed, “Why do you have to overthink it like this? What’s so good about Pei Xuanqing? There are people better than him everywhere!”

Any person that could cultivate was better than him; a cripple that couldn’t cultivate.

“But didn’t you say that the cultivation method could cure Big Brother Pei’s illness and that after he recovers, he could cultivate?” Lin Ying’s eyes shone brightly, “When that time comes, Mother, you can talk to Father and have me marry Big Brother Pei, right?”

Shao-shi hesitated to speak. No one could guarantee that the cultivation method would be able to cure Pei Xuanqing’s illness. The Pei Family right now was merely giving medicine to a dead horse, trying everything in a desperate situation. Even if Pei Xuanqing was cured, he was ten thousand steps back, his cultivation behind and unable to catch up. Not to mention that he didn’t even have a spiritual being to form a contract with.

“Big Brother Pei is brilliant. So as long as he can cultivate, he will definitely be able to catch up very quickly. Not only that but with his position as the Eldest Grandson of the Pei Family, what kind of resources would he be unable to obtain? With the support of the Pei Family’s Patriarch, becoming a high-level cultivator would only be a matter of time. When that time comes, he could be a son-in-law who would be the Pei Family’s future heir, giving you and Father such bright face.”

When Lin Ying thought of the beautiful future of marrying Pei Xuanqing, the more she talked, the more excited she became, itching with the desire for Shao-shi to agree.

Although Shao-shi was still dissatisfied in her heart, she was also faintly moved. The status of the Pei Family was evident to everyone in Woyun City. If, by chance, Pei Xuanqing really recovered, as long as he could cultivate and use the Pei Family’s ability to invest in resources, he could also advance to a decent realm. If Pei Xuanqing really became her son-in-law by then, wouldn’t her position in the Lin Family be elevated enough that even the Lin Family Patriarch would inevitably have to give way to her to an extent?

The more Shao-shi thought about it, the more her heart wavered. However, she still had a trace of sobriety; whether or not Pei Xuanqing could actually recover was still up for debate.

“I can promise you that as long as Pei Xuanqing can recover and continue cultivating, I will mention it to your Father. In exchange, you cannot cause any further trouble for me!”

Upon hearing Shao-shi’s agreement, Lin Ying’s heart became elated, “I won’t cause any trouble!

“But Mother, since Lin Yi is merely being sent to be a Human Furance anyway like the Patriarch said, it wouldn’t matter if we made him mute, right?”

Shao-shi was alarmed by her words, “What are you thinking?! Didn’t you just promise me that you won’t make any trouble?!”

“I’m not making trouble; I’m doing it for Big Brother Pei. Think about it, Lin Yi’s mouth is so repulsive, and the sound of his voice is bewitchingly demonic. What if Big Brother Pei is bewitched by him? I will never allow such a thing to happen. Mother, you can help me, right? Either way, Lin Yi being mute won’t hinder his ability to be a Human Furnace. If you’re worried about what the Patriarch will say when he finds out, we can give him a slow-acting poison. No one will know when he goes to the Pei Residence and slowly becomes mute.”

Lin Ying’s eyes shone with malice, and when she thought of Lin Yi’s mouth that could anger her so much, being unable to say those repulsive words, she became incomparably delighted.

Shao-shi hesitated somewhat, not wanting to take risks, “Let’s talk about it later, okay? Wait until after I’ve gone to the Green Bamboo Courtyard tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Lin Ying wanted to make a fuss, but after being glared at by Shao-shi, who threatened that if she caused trouble, she wouldn’t help her propose marriage, she decided to reluctantly drop it.

……

Green Bamboo Courtyard.

Lin Yi didn’t know that Lin Ying was already urging Shao-shi to poison him. Ever since going to see the Lin Family Patriarch and returning to the Green Bamboo Courtyard, he’d become taciturn, not saying a word.

After becoming aware of why the Lin Family was marrying him off to the Pei Family, he wasn’t able to be unperturbed after trying to calm himself down in the past few days.

The Lin Family was cruel and unreliable, and Pei Xuanqing was a pervert willing to be with both men and women. No matter whether he stayed in the Lin Family or married into the Pei Family, there was no way out. Even if he had the Pharmacopoeia in hand, it couldn’t play a role at the moment, and he dared not readily reveal the secret of it. How could he escape the current predicament?

It’s not that he never thought about telling the Lin Family about the existence of the Pharmacopoeia, but after observing them these past few days, he really couldn’t trust the Lin Family. Telling them would result in nothing more than pushing himself into a dead end.

He couldn’t sit and wait for death.

“Someone, I want to drink my supplemental soup.”

The supplemental soup was the best access he had to currently absorb spiritual power. If he was really going to marry into the Pei Family, he must restore the Pharmacopoeia to its former glory first and then try to negotiate a deal with Pei Xuanqing. Compared to that cultivation method, a prescription from the Pharmacopoeia would definitely be better than it. As long as he could cure Pei Xuanqing, there could be a chance for things to take a turn for the better!

After all, unlike the heartlessness of the Lin Family, the Pei Family had something he could grasp–Pei Xuanqing’s illness.

Therefore, even if he had to suffer from coughing up blood like the first time or an even more severe backlash, he still wanted to take the gamble.

Only by winning the opportunity could he establish a foothold in the Pei Family and perhaps even gain more spiritual items to absorb more spiritual power. As long as he could unlock the prescription to cure his own eyes and find its medicinal ingredients, he could move freely and have hope of leaving the Pei Family and traveling far away from Woyun City.

A servant came over and disapproved, “Young Master Li, you will cough up blood if you drink the supplemental soup.”

Lin Yi responded, “I’ve drunk the medicinal water every day and haven’t coughed up any blood. I want to drink the supplemental soup.”

The servant frowned, feeling Lin Yi was making trouble for no reason and seeking death.

But Lin Yi kept shouting that he wanted to drink the supplemental soup, using all sorts of tricks to make an unreasonable scene and act shamelessly, so he had no choice but to ask the Lin Family Patriarch for instructions.

“Has he been taking the Yin Nourishing Grass?” The Lin Family Patriarch asked.

“He hasn’t stopped.” The servant affirmed.

Yin Nourishing Grass was also a spiritual herb, and Lin Yi had been drinking it for the past few days with no other problems occurring.

The Lin Family Patriarch pondered momentarily before saying, “Then give him the supplemental soup every other day. After all, he is to be a Human Furnace. It wouldn’t be very good if he were too weak to be useful.”

“Understood.”

In this way, Lin Yi’s consumption of the supplemental soup was once again resumed. Although it was only every other day, after a few days of drinking the soup, the Pharmacopoeia in his mind finally returned to its former glory, and his body became light and healthy again. Lin Yi was pleased and breathed a faint sigh of relief.

And during this period, Shao-shi came over to teach him about marriage etiquette.

Lin Yi initially thought Lin Ying would follow Shao-shi to the Green Bamboo Courtyard to make things difficult for him, but unexpectedly only Shao-shi came.

“I am your Eldest Aunt, and what I teach you will not harm you. For the sake of the Lin Family’s face, you must study hard and make no mistakes.”

On the other hand, as soon as Shao-shi arrived, she was strict and arrogant. Although it was said that she would be the one teaching Lin Yi etiquette, it was actually the wet nurse beside her that taught him. The wet nurse, like Wet Nurse Rong1, was like a fox that exploited the tiger’s might to the point of disgust. Whenever Lin Yi made the slightest mistake, she would shout and scold him loudly, using Shao-shi’s status as his Eldest Aunt to suppress him.

“Wrong, you should lift your left foot first,” the wet nurse’s shrill and piercing voice rang in Lin Yi’s ear again, “Young Master Yi, even if you’ve never had a mother’s teaching since you were a child, don’t tell me that you don’t understand this point? You can’t learn properly this way. On your marriage day, you will make the Lin Family lose face. It’s really unlucky for the Lin Family to have someone like you. Or are you deliberately not studying properly so the Patriarch will blame our Madam for not teaching you properly and go against us?”

In return, Lin Yi laughed in anger and decided not to learn at all. After groping around for a moment, he sat down on the threshold and said, “You old slave, you are full of psychological drama. It’s a pity that you don’t want to be an actor. Deliberately go against you? I feel that your intention is to make things difficult for me, a blind person. If you don’t teach me properly, it’s fine. You’re still here, insinuating and cursing me for not having a mother to raise me, just short of pointing your finger at my nose and calling me a bastard. What’s the matter? Are you so unwilling to teach me? Okay, let’s talk to the Patriarch and ask him to have someone else teach me, yeah? Either way, I can kneel to death before the Patriarch and mute my voice so that I can’t speak. And I would never let a slave like you dictate in front of me again. Worst comes to worst, let the Pei Family carry a blind and mute person through the door. I’m already blind; does it matter if I can’t speak?”

As soon as Lin Yi sat down, he wouldn’t get up. The old slave dared not hit him, so she could only jump and curse angrily. No matter what the old slave said, he was unmoved.

“Enough,” Shao-shi spoke up, “Lin Yi, you are a man and still a young master of the Lin Family. Why are you acting like a shrew?”

“I’m sparing no effort to learn right now. You are naturally teaching me what kind of people you are.” Lin Yi sneered.

“Lin Yi, don’t think that with the support of the Patriarch, I can’t do anything to you. I have plenty of ways to make you suffer without anyone learning it.” Shao-shi said.

“Threatening me? So as long as I, Lin Yi, can speak, I will be sure to make known what you have done to me. Either way, I don’t need face. How about on the wedding day? There will be many people and a lot of liveliness.” Lin Yi ‘looked’ in her direction.

Shao-shi’s eyes turned cold. She didn’t expect Lin Yi to be so shameless, playing the cards entirely against common sense. Relying on the fact that he would be marrying Pei Xuanqing, he thought that he had the support of the Patarich and didn’t attach any importance to her at all.

Unfortunately, the fact was, even if Lin Yi was being sent to be a Human Furance, nothing could happen to Lin Yi now. Not to mention that Pei Xuanqing would be coming to escort the bride in person on the wedding day. In such a big moment, the Patriarch would not spare her if Lin Yi had any problems or made a fuss when marrying, causing the Pei and Lin Families to lose face. Thinking of this, Shao-shi thought about what Lin Ying had said to her. Lin Yi’s horrid mouth should indeed be poisoned mute.

Footnotes

1, Although I’m not 100% confident, I’m pretty sure that this Wet Nurse Rong is referring to Wet Nurse Rong from My Fair Princess. Feel free to click the link to see the Wiki.