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Chapter 76 - As a Live-in Son-in-Law, Your Life and Death are out of Your Hands
This works too. I’ll be going to the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital soon anyway, so I’ll be able to visit Lingxue at Blueriver Sword Manor regularly… Su Yi suddenly relaxed significantly.
Qin Qing hesitated for a moment, her beautiful face suddenly solemn. “Su Yi, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Say it.”
Qin Qing said, “In the year since your marriage into the Wen Family, have you… Have you ever resented us?”
Su Yi shook his head. To the person he’d become, no one in the Wen Family was worthy of his resentment.
What did it mean to resent someone?
It meant you couldn’t let something go!
This was something Su Xuanjun only felt when he encountered an enemy he temporarily couldn’t overcome. Only then would he carry resentment in his heart.
As for minor figures he could easily dispose of, people he could turn to ash in minutes? He couldn’t possibly resent them.
“You really don’t?” Qin Qing didn’t quite seem to believe it.
Su Yi sighed in exasperation. “I really don’t.”
This was what they meant when they said “Summer insects don’t speak of ice, and cicadas know nothing of spring or fall.”
Qin Qing visibly relaxed. “If you don’t harbor resentment in your heart, you shouldn’t bring disaster upon us. After all, aren’t we victims of this marriage arrangement too? If you want to blame someone, you should blame….”
She was just about to say “the matriarch” when her mouth clamped shut. Finishing that thought would be too disrespectful!
Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “I understand what you’re trying to say. I have no reason to keep this from you: I’ll be leaving Guangling City in the near future, and I’m afraid I won’t come back. You can relax knowing that, yeah?”
“You’re leaving?” exclaimed Qin Qing. “Where are you going?”
Wen Changtai couldn’t help but look over. “You’re the Wen Family’s live-in son-in-law. With the marriage contract still in place, I’m afraid the family head won’t let you leave so easily.”
“If I want to leave,” said Su Yi, “No one in this world can stop me.”
His tone was casual, but his words revealed his confidence and disdain.
Qin Qing and Wen Changtai glanced at each other, obviously caught off guard. Neither of them could have anticipated that Su Yi had such plans.
It was then that a servant rushed in and reported, “Third Elder, the family head has ordered Su Yi to see him in the clan’s great hall.”
Qin Qing’s expression shifted, and she hurriedly reminded Su Yi, “Don’t forget the warning I gave you just now. I’m afraid the family head won’t let you off lightly. You’d best bite your tongue and endure; don’t talk back. If you do, not even your father-in-law and I will be able to help you.”
Wen Changtai nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. Endure, and it’ll be over soon. A true man knows when to lower his head; that’s the smartest way to live your life.”
This was Su Yi’s first time experiencing his in-laws’ concern. Despite his momentary surprise, he soon shook his head and laughed. “It’ll be fine.”
With that, he gripped his bamboo staff and left the atrium.
….
The Wen Family, the clan hall.
Family Head Wen Changjing, Second Elder Wen Changqing, and several other Wen Family higher-ups had gathered inside.
It was just, all of their expressions were stunned and uncertain.
Wen Jueyuan sat in the last, lowest-ranked seat, looking bewildered.
He’d just repeated everything he’d experienced in the Immortal Gathering House, but even now, he felt an indescribable sense of frustration, dejection, and shame.
“What dog-shit good luck! That Su Yi actually managed to sink his claws in the prefectural capital’s Yuan Family?” Wen Changqing’s expression was sour and unsightly.
The others found it hard to calm down too.
The live-in son-in-law they’d always ignored had, just a few days prior, taken first place in the Dragon’s Gate Banquet, becoming a household name and a famed rising star overnight.
Now, just a few days after that, this live-in son-in-law had established a connection with the daughter of the Yuan Family. This was enough to surprise anyone!
“The medicine picker, Guo Bing, helped Young Miss Yuan too. From the look of things, it seems that Su Yi hasn’t really ‘established a relationship' with her. He’s at most won her recognition and appreciation,” said Wen Changjing indifferently. “I called you all here to discuss what we should do with Su Yi.”
The crowd’s eyes flashed with thoughtful light.
“He’s not the waste he was once. On the contrary, his cultivation base is a bit stronger than even Jueyuan’s. Throughout our entire younger generation, I’m afraid only Lingzhao can compete with him,” said an elder gravely. “If you ask me, if we treat him with importance, we can train a talent of his caliber into a highly useful member of the family!”
When he heard this, Wen Changjing furrowed his brow, and Wen Jueyuan felt stifled. He was the leading figure of the family’s younger generation, but now, others saw him as no more than Su Yi’s stepping stone!
“We can’t,” said someone else. “The boy’s schemes run too deep. Before he took first place in the Dragon’s Gate Banquet, none of us knew he’d recovered. We still don’t know when he regained his cultivation. Furthermore, he’s been insulted and denigrated ever since he married into the family; I’m afraid his heart is already full of accumulated resentment! Putting him in a position of power would be no different from raising a tiger; he’ll just turn around and bite us. It would be the height of foolishness.”
This argument won quite a few people’s approval.
This was a young man who surely already resented them, someone who knew how to endure in silence. As soon as he’d accumulated enough power, his revenge was sure to be incomparably terrifying. It would be unavoidable and difficult to guard against.
“If you ask me,” said someone else, “We should just kick him out of the family, draw a line between him and us, and be done with it.”
Another immediately argued, “Ridiculous! Su Yi just took first place in the Dragon’s Gate Banquet, and City Lord Fu Shan thinks highly of him. Even the Huang Family favors him. If we expel him from the family, we’ll become the laughingstocks of the entire city!”
Soon, the entire hall was in uproar as the family higher-ups argued amongst themselves, unable to reach an agreement.
Wen Changjing’s expression darkened in response. Who would have thought that a mere live-in son-in-law already had enough influence to affect the family higher-ups to this degree?
“Enough!” Wen Changjing suddenly spoke up and suppressed all other voices. “I’ve already decided.”
Everyone froze, stunned.
“Elder Brother, what do you plan to do?” Wen Changqing couldn’t help but ask. The others pricked up their ears as well.
“The matriarch won’t agree to simply dissolve Su Yi’s wedding contract. In that case, we can’t just exile him either.” Wen Changjing took a deep breath, and his eyes glinted. “But if we give him too much power, it really will be no different from raising an untamed tiger. In that case, we need someone to keep a leash on him and make sure he puts his fangs to use for the family’s benefit!”
As soon as he said this, a servant solemnly reported from beyond the hall, “Family Head, the Wen Family son-in-law, Su Yi, has arrived!”
Whoosh!”
Everyone looked over and saw Su Yi’s tall, lean figure, his long hair pinned up. His robes were jade-green, neat, and clean, and he had an indifferent, detached air.
He approached, leisurely and unhurried, carrying a bamboo walking stick. He completely disregarded the crowd’s gazes as he strolled into the hall.
When they saw this, many of the family higher-ups looked conflicted. If only this kid were surnamed ‘Wen’.....
“What did you want to see me about?” Su Yi stood in the center of the hall, hands behind his back, staring directly at Wen Changjing. He offered no respectful greeting, nor did he lower his head. He just got straight to the point.
Wen Changjing’s face twitched subtly. “When I got back last night, I heard that you recovered your cultivation, and that you took first place in the Dragon’s Gate Banquet,” he said flatly. “You outshadowed every other competitor. I called you here, first to congratulate you on becoming a martial artist once more, and second, to share a piece of good news.”
“Good news?” Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up. “Then I’ll just have to clean out my ears and listen up.”
His words carried a hint of sarcasm, which made many of the listeners uncomfortable.
Wen Jueyuan’s expression darkened. This Su Yi…. Just how brazen is he?
But Wen Changjing didn’t linger on that. He continued, “Just now, the elders and I discussed the matter. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be the younger generation’s captain of the guards. You’ll receive eight thousand taels of silver per month, as well as a stalk of spiritual medicine, and you’ll be assigned eight servants. How does that sound?”
Everyone turned to look at Su Yi.
These conditions weren’t that lavish, but they weren’t shoddy, either.
But Su Yi merely froze. “You’re planning to put me to work for the Wen Family?”
Wen Changqing snorted. “You’re our live-in son-in-law. Working for us is the natural order of things. What’s so inappropriate about that?”
“If you’re displeased with the conditions I’ve offered you, please feel free to say so,” said Wen Changjing, feigning magnanimity. “I just have one request: once you begin your role as the younger generation’s captain of the guard, you are to obey Jueyuan’s orders. You are to ensure his safety, but you are not to go against his commands. You’re both young, so I trust that the two of you will get along.”
When they heard this, the crowd instantly understood. The family head is planning to have Wen Jueyuan keep a leash on Su Yi!
As the captain of the guards, Su Yi would be like a sharp sword in Wen Jueyuan’s hand!
The family head really is shrewd. He’s essentially just paved his son’s way forward. With a tough customer like Su Yi under his command, what need will Wen Jueyuan have to worry about maintaining his position as the next family head? Many of them sighed with emotion.
Wen Jueyuan was briefly dazed, but then, he practically went mad with delight. Even he would never have guessed that his father would make such a wondrous arrangement. Doesn't this mean that Su Yi is to become my underling?
It won’t matter that Su Yi has the higher cultivation. Even if Su Yi were tougher than he already is, in terms of rank, he’ll still be a full head lower than me!
The more he thought about it, the more excited Wen Jueyuan felt. It was as if his father’s words had swept away all the stifled anger and dark clouds he’d accumulated over the past few days. His whole body relaxed.
But it was then that Su Yi couldn’t hold back any longer. He burst into laughter. “Wen Jueyuan? What even is he? Is he worthy of my allegiance?”
The entire hall fell silent.
Everyone was flabbergasted; they almost didn’t dare believe their ears.
Wen Jueyuan was the heir of the family head, the future leader of the Wen Family. How could Su Yi say something so depraved?
Wen Jueyuan had been brimming with excitement just seconds before, but now, he practically jumped up and down with rage. He couldn’t help but bellow, “Su Yi, cease your impudence!”
Su Yi sighed, his gaze pitying. “How could you be this stupid? Didn’t you learn anything from what happened at the Immortal Gathering House this morning? Anything at all?”
Bang!
Wen Changjing slammed his chair’s armrests, shattering them. He glowered, his expression terrifyingly dark. “Su Yi! Don’t forget your position! Not even the daughter of the Yuan Family can intervene in our family’s private affairs!”
He continued icily, “Also, City Lord Fu Shan cannot help you here. No matter what, you’re still the Wen Family’s live-in son-in-law, and the Wen Family is well within its rights to discipline you as it pleases. I advise you to behave yourself!”
His words were cold and callous, and they carried a blatant threat.
The Wen Family higher-ups’ expressions frosted over.
This live-in son-in-law has clearly let his pride go to his head. Does he really think that finding a backer or two is enough to let him overturn the heavens?
According to the laws of the Great Zhou, a live-in son-in-law’s fate is under the control of the family he marries into. We can kill and cripple him as we please, and there’s nothing he can do about it!