"Third Young Master, that Xiao Qin has a rather bad temper. The Eldest Young Master wanted to take her into his service back then, but she refused, so the Eldest Young Master sent her to the small kitchen. It was originally meant as a lesson, but who knew she would catch the eye of the Young Sect Master. She's quite capable."
"Yue Zhong, that Eldest Young Master, is just good-looking. As a legitimate son, and the eldest legitimate son at that, he doesn't have the right to compete for the position of Young Sect Master. He'll be suppressed by Yue Ran his entire life. Xiao Qin isn't a fool. Why would she choose him, an Eldest Young Master in name only, over the Young Sect Master?" Yue Xia scoffed. "Anyone with a brain knows who to choose."
"But this Xiao Qin is quite calculating."
"She's not just calculating, she's also very cunning." Yue Xia snorted. "Does Madam Yue know that her precious son has made such a deeply scheming friend?"
"Third Young Master, then we..."
"Have someone inform that Madam Yue, who seems to be detached from worldly affairs but is actually quite formidable, about the kind of friend her son has made. Let's see if she's as indifferent to her son's affairs as she appears."
"Third Young Master, the Young Sect Master is about to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, isn't he?" the attendant whispered, reminding Yue Xia. Once Yue Ran advances to the Nascent Soul stage, no one in the Heavenly Sword Sect will be able to shake his position, especially now that he has someone to help him.
"Have you found out why Yue Zhong went mad?"
"We couldn't find out, but we discovered something very strange."
"What is it?"
"The day before the Eldest Young Master went mad, he met with Xiao Qin. Our men overheard some information from a servant of Yue Zhong. That fellow was very close to Xiao Qin and her people..." Su Dan Novel Network
"Get to the point."
"The Eldest Young Master asked Xiao Qin to poison the Young Sect Master."
Yue Xia's eyes lit up. "Yue Zhong asked someone to poison Yue Ran? Did she?"
"She did!"
"Interesting. Xiao Qin poisoned Yue Ran, and Yue Zhong went mad!" Yue Xia figured it out. "Could this Xiao Qin be a plant by Yue Ran, specifically to scheme against the Eldest Young Master?"
"Does the Young Sect Master have such deep schemes?"
"Haven't you heard of playing the pig to eat the tiger?" Yue Xia sneered. "Let's go and see how my good elder brother is faring on the Cliff of Reflection."
"Yes, Third Young Master."
On the Cliff of Reflection, there was only one kind of weather: winter. Snow fell all year round. Yue Ran was a frequent visitor here before, as he often lost control of his inner fire and injured people, thus he was often confined to the Cliff of Reflection. However, among the young masters, Yue Zhong was the second to be sent here. The biting cold of the Cliff of Reflection could freeze all thoughts.
"Brother, are you alright?" Yue Xia, carrying a food box, looked at the blood-covered, motionless figure lying on the ground and asked faintly.
Yue Zhong struggled to lift his head. "What, come to laugh at me?"
"Brother, you jest. I'm not here to laugh at you, but to visit you." Yue Xia took out the food from the box, helped Yue Zhong to sit up, and placed chopsticks in his hand. "Eat it while it's hot, or it'll be cold soon."
Yue Zhong's back was injured. Even though medicine had been applied, it still pained him terribly. But he knew that Yue Xia was not someone who would visit without a reason. How could he be so kind as to visit him?
"Speak, what do you want?"
"Xiao Qin from the small kitchen has moved into seventh brother's courtyard."
Yue Zhong's body stiffened. He curled into a ball from the pain, gasping for air before he could recover. "Xiao Qin moved into Yue Ran's courtyard, what does that mean?"
"The day after your incident, she moved into seventh brother's courtyard, and seventh brother personally went to fetch her," Yue Xia said slowly. "I heard that Xiao Qin was sent to the small kitchen by you. I thought she was your person, but it seems not."
"When was Yue Ran released?"
"He was released the day after your incident. On the same day he was released, he went to the small kitchen and personally took Xiao Qin to his courtyard," Yue Xia said unhurriedly. "And I investigated this Xiao Qin and found that she and seventh brother have known each other for a long time. They are as close as one person."
Yue Zhong's expression changed. If Xiao Qin was so close to Yue Ran, then why was she disguised as a servant in the kitchen? Was it to scheme against him?
Yue Zhong's hand, gripping the chopsticks, turned white. Various thoughts flashed through his mind, finally settling on the worst-case scenario: Xiao Qin was placed in the kitchen by Yue Ran to eliminate him, the eldest legitimate son, so that no one would threaten his position anymore.
"Brother, it's not that I'm trying to sow discord, but this Xiao Qin is extremely cunning. Scheming against you was just the first step. Now she's acting as a strategist behind Yue Ran, helping him gain the attention of the sect elders and his father. By the time you are punished and released from here, I'm afraid you'll have no place left in the Heavenly Sword Sect." Yue Xia put a piece of food on Yue Zhong's plate. "Currently, the elders are all full of praise for seventh brother."
"Full of praise?"
"Yes, full of praise." Yue Xia added fuel to the fire. "Xiao Qin spent ten days with seventh brother in the training room, and he advanced from the mid-stage Golden Core to the late-stage Golden Core. He's only one step away from becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator."
"Nascent Soul is not easily achieved!"
"Brother, that's not the point. The point is, did you really lose control and injure someone?" Yue Xia asked faintly. "According to my investigation, Xiao Qin is an excellent alchemist, especially skilled in poisons. She can even incapacitate a Nascent Soul expert. Poisoning you would be child's play, wouldn't it?"
The rage in Yue Zhong's eyes ignited. He finally found the reason for his sudden madness. It turned out it was because of this person. He thought he could use her, but he didn't realize her target was him. Even more foolishly, he had delivered himself into her scheme!
"Third brother, don't think I don't know your purpose for coming here!" Yue Zhong stared at Yue Xia, speaking calmly. "You want to instigate a conflict between me and Yue Ran so you can reap the benefits. That's not happening. Get out!"
"I came for your own good. Since you don't appreciate it, I'll leave now. You should focus on recovering from your injuries. Otherwise, if anything happens to you, seventh brother will probably wake up laughing in his sleep."
Yue Xia emerged from the Cliff of Reflection with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Young Master, the Eldest Young Master rejected you, why are you still so happy?" the attendant asked, puzzled. Their intention was to incite the Eldest Young Master to confront the Young Sect Master, but if the Eldest Young Master didn't fall for it, their objective would not be achieved.
"He refused with his words, but his heart has already agreed." Yue Xia looked back in the direction of the Cliff of Reflection, his smile deepening. "He wants to kill seventh brother more than anyone else right now."