Ye Qingtang nodded.
Old Master Si furrowed his brow slightly, apparently displeased with Ye Qingtang’s arrangements.
“Your Grand Elder will be having his birthday celebration then. If you’re meeting there, people will assume his Lordship’s actually paying him a visit and that’ll be an unnecessary boost to his already inflated ego.” Though Old Master Si no longer held prejudice against the Ye household by virtue of Ye Qingtang, he still despised their Great Elder.
The Ye household was one of the three prestigious noble houses in the City of Lin. Therefore, its Great Elder’s birthday was a much celebrated event, with the other noble houses receiving the birthday invitations several days in advance.
Mu Su was invited by the Si Household at Ye Qingtang’s request. If it was not for the Si Household’s affiliation with him, an esteemed Marquis would never have agreed to grace the small City of Lin with his presence.
The thought of Mu Su appearing at the Great Elder’s birthday feast was enough to make Old Master Si miserable.
Ye Qingtang chuckled and said, “Grandpa Si, I don’t mind. Let him bask in that glory.”
For that glory could very well turn into a catastrophe instead, and that would be beyond his control.
“You’ve something up your sleeve, don’t you?” Old Master Si peered at Ye Qingtang with suspicion.
Ye Qingtang gazed at him with innocent eyes and an endearing smile, but kept mum about the answer.
This stubborn pair continued their staring contest, till Old Master Si finally gave in.
“All right, I get it. I’ll pass on the message.” Old Master Si said in a sulking tone.
“Thank you so much for your help, Grandpa Si.”
Old Master Si got up from his seat sluggishly. Before he left the main hall, he grumbled, “You’re one tough nut to crack and your grandpa’s too old to challenge you to a battle of wits.”
Ye Qingtang could neither laugh nor cry at his complaint, but she had already devised a plan as she watched Old Master Si retire to his quarters.
That moonlit night, Ye Qingtang finally left the Si’s residence. However, instead of returning home straight away, she secretly made a detour to the eastern side of the city, where Qin Luo’s Pavilion was situated.
Two days later, the Ye Household ushered in the Great Elder’s birthday celebration. Decorations and frills filled the entire manor and the guests started rolling in when the night was still young.
“That’s certainly a lot more people compared to the previous years.” The Second Elder watched the festivities with a cold-eyed glare, but his features remained impassive.
Ye Ling was standing at his side and had a faint smile on his face as he explained, “That’s on account of Ye You, since she had just joined the Cloud-Breakers. You can’t blame the people for looking up to her grandfather as a result. They would want to congratulate him for that, on top of his birthday well wishes.”
The Second Elder furrowed his brow slightly and gave the Great Elder, who was basking in the guests’ praises, a peculiar look.
“Last time, didn’t you tell me that Ye You was accepted due to her verdurous spirit root?”
“Yup.” Ye Ling nodded.
The Second Elder was knitting his brow by now as he stated, “The Great Elder was always so secretive about his granddaughter’s cultivating performance…. But once Tang Tang shattered her spirit root, he revealed Ye You’s to be verdurous. That news even reached the ears of the Cloud-breaker’s sovereign. Don’t you find this coincidence… a tad weird?”
The Second Elder was always at odds with the Great Elder, and thus he did not care much for his granddaughter Ye You as well.
Previously, even after knowing the state of Ye You’s spirit root, he did not spare it another thought. It was only now that he started to have qualms about this coincidence.
Ye Qingtang shattering her spirit root, Ye You revealing hers, and both were known to be verdurous.
Ye Ling furrowed his brow at the Second Elder’s conjecture and though he grew suspicious likewise, he felt that it was too much of a leap. He said, “I understand what you’re implying. Having two verdurous spirit roots under the same roof is too good to be true and the timing in its discovery does raise concerns, but… I’ve never heard of a way to rob someone else’s spirit root for one’s own use… and besides, Tang Tang never spoke of this as well.”