"But the Ye family is utterly loyal to the Emperor; no matter how much we try to win them over, it's useless." The Empress was extremely reluctant to hand over Long Kui.
"As long as you mention to the Emperor when handing over Long Kui that Ye Lanshan should marry your nephew Sun Chenbo, can we still fail to control the Ye family?" Xiao Li Zi indicated that controlling Ye Lanshan would surely mean controlling the Ye family.
"You mean to use emotions to control the Ye family, like Xiang Yue's arrogance?" The Empress finally understood what he meant by winning them over.
"Something like that. Once Ye Lanshan marries into the Sun family, she'll be on the same boat as us. Then she'll have no choice but to hand over the military token." Xiao Li Zi plotted the next steps.
"But Ye Lanshan probably won't listen to us. After all, she once turned against her own uncle, Ye Suzhe, and captured him herself." The Empress strongly opposed the idea.
"A woman in love can't see these traps. I recall Sun Chenbo is quite skilled at such things."
Just as they were planning to marry Ye Lanshan into the Sun family, Ye Lanshan was blocked by Sun Yulu.
"On the family tournament ten days from now, I challenge you. Do you dare to accept?" Sun Yulu pointed at Ye Lanshan arrogantly.
Ye Lanshan frowned, clearly unwilling to engage, and walked right past her.
Seeing that Ye Lanshan had publicly humiliated her, Sun Yulu condensed a water whip and lashed it toward her.
Hearing the whip cut through the air, Ye Lanshan ignored it, simply forming a fire shield around herself to block the water whip.
Sun Yulu, unwilling to give up, tried another move but was stopped by Mu Yifeng.
Mu Yifeng said, "I wondered who was so arrogant as to openly attack someone on the street without regard for others' safety. Turns out it's Miss Sun."
"Brother Mu, it's not like that. She publicly embarrassed me, so I struck out. I was just too angry to think about others." Sun Yulu quickly explained upon hearing Mu Yifeng's words.
Ye Lanshan hadn't planned to argue, but hearing this, she was amused despite herself.
"Publicly embarrassed you? I'd like to know how I did that." Ye Lanshan turned around to confront her.
Sun Yulu fumed, "I asked if you dared to accept the challenge, and you didn't even glance at me, just walked right past. If that's not embarrassing me, what is?"
Ye Lanshan hadn't expected someone like this to exist. She said, "I never participate in family tournaments, so how could I accept? Besides, even if I did, challenges should be issued on the day itself, right?"
"Don't change the subject. Even if you refuse, you should at least give me an answer. What does it mean to walk past me without a word?"
Ye Lanshan shrugged. "That means refusal, of course. You didn't understand, so blame me?"
"You—" Sun Yulu, furious, condensed another whip and aimed it at Ye Lanshan's face. "I'll make you look bad in front of Brother Mu. Today, I'll teach you a lesson."
Ye Lanshan shot an annoyed glance at Sun Yulu, but since she was in a hurry to return home to give her grandfather acupuncture, she didn't retaliate. She simply formed another fire shield for protection and ran off toward the Ye residence.
Mu Yifeng watched this, disappointment flickering in his eyes. "She saved your life during the Suzhe rebellion at the palace, and you... sigh."
Seeing the disappointment in Mu Yifeng's eyes, Sun Yulu panicked and tried to explain, but he walked away without even acknowledging her.
Sun Yulu blamed everything on Ye Lanshan. "Ye Lanshan, just wait. I'll get my revenge for today's humiliation."
"Young Master, we've found Miss Ye's whereabouts. She's at the Ye residence." In the dim hall, Mo Ran sat in the main seat, toying with beads made of human bones.
Upon hearing this news, he immediately tossed the beads aside and asked, "Is the information accurate? Tomorrow, you go to the Ye—no, I'll go myself."
Mo Ran stood up, straightened his clothes slightly, and vanished from the hall.
"Lanshan, don't waste your efforts on me. I know my own body. Living this long is already a stroke of luck. My greatest wish now is to see you safe."
Ye Luotian lay in bed, speaking weakly. "Listen, after I die, you must go to Xuanzong. Don't be reckless in anything. And if someone tries to capture you, remember to run if you can't fight."
Ye Lanshan grew increasingly uneasy at his words and asked, "Grandfather, is there something you're hiding from me? As long as I'm here, you won't die. I'm absolutely not going to Xuanzong, so don't say things like that anymore."
Ye Luotian avoided her question. "Sigh. I should have died six years ago. Making it this far is already a blessing. Don't trouble yourself over my health."
Ye Lanshan lowered her eyes, her long lashes hiding her emotions. "Grandfather, rest for now. I'll come back tomorrow for your acupuncture."
After Ye Lanshan left, Ye Luotian opened his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He knew she hadn't taken his words to heart.
"Uncle Ye, you're the one I trust most now. Can you tell me what happened six years ago?" Ye Lanshan stopped Ye Jinlin as he headed to the alchemy room.
"About that matter..." Ye Jinlin hesitated but ultimately told her nothing, only saying, "Remember, everything your grandfather did was for your own good."
Ye Lanshan ran her hands through her hair in frustration in her room. Only now did she realize how terrifying it was to have no power.
"No wonder I couldn't find you anywhere. You came home." A voice suddenly sounded, startling Ye Lanshan into turning around.
"How are you here?" Ye Lanshan eyed Mo Ran warily.
Mo Ran approached with a sinister smile. "What? Not welcome? We fought side by side before. Your attitude really hurts me."
Though he spoke of hurt, his eyes were icy cold.
As he stepped closer, Ye Lanshan quickly drew a dagger, as if she would kill him if he took another step. "What's your purpose here?"
"To take back what's mine, of course." Mo Ran didn't hide his intention at all.
"How could I have anything of yours? You must have the wrong place." Ye Lanshan's mind didn't catch on at first, but when it did, she was startled. Had he discovered her identity?
Mo Ran clearly had no patience to play games with her and got straight to the point. "Ye Lanshan, you've had the Twin Fruit for so long. Isn't it time to hand it over?"