Chapter 306

Chapter 306: Flattery Backfires

The Jiang Clan members stared: “?!”

Xiao Qing Xuan reacted the fastest, asking in a low voice: “Jin’er, did you find something?”

Yu Zhi Yi glanced at Jiang Yu Chuan. Second Master Jiang felt his heart drop, [Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?]

Yu Zhi Yi showed no intention of sparing her own father’s face and said calmly: “I don’t have hard proof, but I can feel it: the Formation Core might be connected to Chen Xin Yue.”

Xiao Qing Xuan and Jiang Liu Yi turned in unison; four eyes landed on Jiang Yu Chuan.

In the martial world, everyone knew how deeply Chen Ruo Lan loved Jiang Yu Chuan. Back then, she had returned to her parents’ home in a fury, saying her husband kept a woman outside; she brought her daughter back to the Martial Alliance and insisted on divorcing him. But people in the Martial Alliance also knew she still had feelings for Jiang Yu Chuan even after she got married. Many even guessed that Chen Xin Yue might be Jiang Yu Chuan’s daughter.

The usually forceful and awe-inspiring Second Master Jiang now looked like a wronged two-hundred-pound kid as he blurted: “What-why are you all staring at me? I really have nothing to do with her!”

He grabbed Xiao Qing Xuan’s hand and pleaded: “Wife, trust me!”

Xiao Qing Xuan coolly pulled her hand back. That woman had nearly cost her life back then. Even though she later tore into her once, the anger in her heart never faded. These years, she turned a blind eye to Chen Xin Yue only because the girl was still a child. Compared to a foe’s daughter, she would always believe her own daughter more. Besides, the way Chen Xin Yue and her mother acted all these years truly was suspicious.

Seeing the coldness in his wife’s eyes, Jiang Yu Chuan felt half-frozen inside and hurried to look at Yu Zhi Yi: “Jin’er, you have the Fiery Eyes of Truth. You can tell I’m not related to her, right?”

Watching her panicked old father, Yu Zhi Yi couldn’t help a tiny laugh before landing a direct hit: “Sorry, I can’t tell.”

Chen Xin Yue’s face was strange. It clearly wasn’t the face of a so-called child of destiny, but Yu Zhi Yi still couldn’t see through it. That meant either someone used a secret art to hide the threads of fate around her Heavenly Mechanism Device, or…she shared blood with Yu Zhi Yi.

She didn’t play coy and said it outright.

Jiang Yu Chuan’s heart plunged to the bottom as he protested: “No, I really have nothing to do with her. In this life I’ve only ever had your mother!”

Xiao Qing Xuan’s face stayed dark. As the one who had nearly miscarried and died due to that scheme, she was sick to death of the ties between those two.

In the end, Yu Zhi Yi still gave a fair word: “But I lean toward the first option, because I found that Chen Xin Yue may be connected to Juxian Manor.”

Jiang Yu Chuan’s eyes turned misty, [Daughters are the best. My daughter cleared my name-even if she’s the one who smeared it first.]

Jiang Liu Yi caught the key point and asked: “Sister, are you saying Chen Xin Yue might have the blood of Juxian Manor?”

Yu Zhi Yi shook her head: “It’s a guess. The Spiritual Energy flows at Juxian Manor feel a lot like the flows on Mount Ming, and Chen Xin Yue carries Juxian Manor’s mark. That’s why I suspect it. To know the truth, we still have to investigate.”

If Chen Xin Yue’s face hadn’t been covered, Yu Zhi Yi could have read the whole story with one look. As things stood, she could only check by the most traditional means.

Jiang Liu Yi thought for a moment and offered: “Leave this to me.”

Yu Zhi Yi rubbed her chin. She already had a way to break the puzzle, but it would take time. Luckily she still had a bit more than half a month, so it wasn’t that urgent.

By dinnertime, the main branch people returned one after another. They had heard about Juxian Manor too, and their eyes grew complicated when they looked at Yu Zhi Yi. In their minds, this newly found sister, raised in the Capital City with that prim-and-proper manner, had to be a deep-courtyard miss who never stepped outside. Let her embroider? Fine. Let her race horses? What a joke.

Who knew that this very girl they’d dismissed had taken first place in the opening race of the Grand Horse Racing Meet. In past years, the champion was always Jiang Liu Yi, the young hero envied by the whole martial world. Even Eldest Young Master Jiang Liu Ting placed under him.

In those years, the three brothers-Jiang Liu Yi, Jiang Liu Ting, and Jiang Liu Shuang-entered the meet together. Jiang Liu Yi took first; the other two could only fight for second through fifth. Why second through fifth? Because Li Chang Huai, the young manor lord of Tianyu Villa, was there too, and he was very capable. In all those contests, Jiang Liu Ting managed to steal a single second place from Li Chang Huai once; after that, he hovered between third and fourth. The one he wrestled with the most was, of course, his own brother, Jiang Liu Shuang.

Chen Xin Yue walked over with gentle steps and said softly: “Big brother, don’t be upset. Sister only got first by luck. In real skill, she can’t compare to you.”

Her tone was kind and sorrowful, and she calculated in her heart: once Jiang Liu Ting heard this, he would surely be grateful to her. Her status in the Martial Alliance had always been awkward. Jiang Liu Bin and Jiang Liu Yun, who were born after her, were easier, but the older ones like Jiang Liu Ting had already been old enough to remember when her mother’s meddling nearly cost Xiao Qing Xuan her life and led to her giving birth outside alone, where the baby was stolen. These older kids treated Chen Xin Yue poorly. The Jiang Clan wasn’t narrow-minded and didn’t bully children on purpose, so after Jiang Liu Bin and Jiang Liu Yun were born, no one told those two younger ones about the old scandal. That made things awkward: those older than Chen Xin Yue stayed distant, while the younger ones actually liked her.

Chen Xin Yue had big ambitions. She wasn’t satisfied playing house with two boys who had no future; she wanted the attention-best of all, the love-of the Jiang Clan’s future young lord. She believed her comfort was heartfelt, not knowing she had just flattered the horse and hit its leg instead.

Jiang Liu Ting’s face was ugly, but since she seemed well-meaning, he forced himself to hold back. Chen Xin Yue didn’t notice and kept talking: “Sister was just lucky. The horses inside the track were already acting very wrong by then, so she could come out on top. If it were you, big brother, you would have done even better.”

Jiang Liu Ting’s voice dropped ice-cold as he cut her off: “Enough.”

Chen Xin Yue froze and finally noticed how terrible his face looked. She was stunned, [I was praising him-why does he look like I just humiliated him?]

Light laughter sounded behind her.