"Godfather is wise!"
Upon hearing the Nine-thousand-year-old speak, Guan Bao quickly retracted his thoughts and offered a compliment.
"You may leave!"
The Nine-thousand-year-old simply waved his hand, signaling that Guan Bao could leave.
Then he picked up another jade treasure to play with.
It was only after waiting for a while that Guan Bao bowed and retreated to take his leave.
...
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun had already returned to the residence.
He initially thought that at this hour, the maids and servants of the residence would already be resting.
Unexpectedly, upon returning, he found the residence brightly lit, and although the maids and servants showed signs of fatigue between their brows, they stood obediently under the porch, not daring to move.
"What’s going on here?"
Seeing Xing’Er approaching, Ye Liuyun casually asked.
Xing’Er first took Ye Liuyun’s outer robe before softly speaking.
"The madam invites the master to the backyard, saying there is something to discuss."
"The backyard?"
With a slight raise of his eyebrows in surprise, since entering this residence as a brother, this was the first time Ye Liuyun had been invited to the backyard.
Was he finally going to meet his sister-in-law?
But why was he suddenly being invited?
After pondering for a moment, Ye Liuyun immediately thought of the matter concerning his late father-in-law, Sheng Li, and guessed that Sheng Lanzhi must now know of her father’s death, hence the invitation.
A trap?
Although unclear about Sheng Lanzhi’s intentions, Ye Liuyun nodded and said to Xing’Er.
"Lead the way then!"
Since the other party had already invited him, Ye Liuyun was not one to avoid confrontation or fear, so he directly signaled Xing’Er to guide him.
"Master, please follow me!"
It was unclear what came to Xing’Er’s mind.
There was an inerasable trace of worry in her brows, but at this point, nothing could be said, so she lowered her head and dutifully led Ye Liuyun.
...
This residence’s backyard, which Ye Liuyun had been in for so many days, he finally got to see.
Judging by the decorations, it was indeed much more spacious and luxurious compared to the remote area he was residing in.
After walking for a while, Ye Liuyun saw from afar a beautiful woman dressed in plain clothes, sitting there sipping wine.
In his memory, he had only met Sheng Lanzhi once or twice before.
The expression on her face was always that confident and proud, superior demeanor.
But at present, there was a haze mixed between Sheng Lanzhi’s eyebrows.
Not sad?
Although the distance was considerable, with his cultivation realm improving, Ye Liuyun’s vision had surpassed ordinary people’s by far, allowing him to see her clearly from afar.
It seemed Sheng Lanzhi was merely annoyed by Sheng Li’s death and showed no signs of mourning.
It appeared there was not much emotional bond between this father and daughter.
And according to Ye Liuyun’s understanding.
Even without Sheng Li, Sheng Lanzhi still had several shops under her control; the profits from these were enough for her to continue leading a wealthy life.
At most, she just lost the connections brought by Sheng Li.
"Miss!"
While contemplating, Ye Liuyun had already followed Xing’Er into the courtyard.
Seeing that Sheng Lanzhi seemed oblivious, continuing to drink alone.
Ye Liuyun didn’t mind, and conveniently sat down opposite Sheng Lanzhi.
The food before him was quite delicious, but having just returned from the Imperial Music Bureau, Ye Liuyun was indeed full, with no appetite.
Seeing Ye Liuyun just sit down like that.
Sheng Lanzhi paused her drinking, her exquisite eyes following to scrutinize Ye Liuyun.
While Sheng Lanzhi was sizing up Ye Liuyun, Ye Liuyun was also sizing up Sheng Lanzhi.
She’s indeed beautiful!
But what surprised Ye Liuyun the most was, under the system’s scan, despite Sheng Lanzhi having no strong attributes, at best only blue, her strength and cultivation were actually at Second-class Martial Artist level.
Not high, but still better than Ye Liufeng, who was previously a Third-class Martial Artist.
Was it recently cultivated? Or was it there all along?
Just when Ye Liuyun was inwardly curious, after sizing him up for a while, Sheng Lanzhi seemed to discover something extremely amusing and laughed gently.
"Sure enough, your brother really is a useless one!"
"???"
A simple utterance brought Ye Liuyun’s scattered thoughts back, looking at Sheng Lanzhi in surprise.
Had he been discovered?
Just like when Yan Shuzhu pointed out his identity, Ye Liuyun merely felt astonishment, yet not a bit of panic.
If his identity had been called out at the very start, Ye Liuyun would have been anxious.
But now.
He was already at the Innate Realm, so why fear? If capable, just make a move, we’ll see if I’m afraid or not.
"How did you discover it?"
Ye Liuyun was just curious.
He hadn’t spoken a word, and after looking at him for a while, Sheng Lanzhi determined he wasn’t Ye Liufeng but Ye Liuyun instead?
"Although it looks the same on the surface, but..."
As she spoke, Sheng Lanzhi paused and continued to drink from her cup.
Looking towards Ye Liuyun, she lightly smiled and said.
"If it were Ye Liufeng, knowing my father died, the first thing he should have done upon seeing me was to directly present the divorce letter, yet you didn’t do so!"
"..."
What she said made such sense, I couldn’t refute it at all.
So, it wasn’t that my acting had issues, it was just lacking Ye Liufeng’s original intent.
Thinking about it, Ye Liufeng was wholeheartedly absorbed in official circles, flattering while belittling.
If Sheng Li died, then Sheng Lanzhi meant little to Ye Liufeng, and cutting ties with her immediately wouldn’t be so unexpected.
"So, was it Ye Liufeng who died that night?"
Seeing Sheng Lanzhi look normal, seemingly unperturbed, Ye Liuyun still nodded.
He initially thought knowing such a thing, Sheng Lanzhi would seek revenge for Ye Liufeng, but looking at her attitude, she seemed to have no such intention.
"What, you think I’ll avenge that guy Ye Liufeng?"
Although Ye Liuyun hadn’t voiced it, Sheng Lanzhi guessed Ye Liuyun’s thoughts.
"Just a mere dead man!"
Before Ye Liuyun could respond.
Sheng Lanzhi began speaking to herself.
"In this world, people die every day, even my father could die, why shouldn’t Ye Liufeng?"
You’ve said everything, what more could I add.
"Transparent!"
Ye Liuyun raised his cup, making a toasting gesture towards Sheng Lanzhi.
Indeed, in a way, Sheng Lanzhi and Ye Liufeng were quite similar.
Both could discard those useless to them at the first instance.
"Originally, I called Ye Liufeng over to maintain some semblance of dignity."
As she spoke.
Sheng Lanzhi took out a piece of paper from her sleeve – a divorce agreement.
In today’s era, a woman being divorced, regardless of status, would be looked down upon.
Although a mutual separation would still bring gossip, it was surely better than being divorced.
Sheng Lanzhi was certain that Ye Liufeng, knowing Sheng Li’s death, would divorce her, so she prepared a divorce agreement in advance.
...