Inside the pavilion.
Ouyang Ye stared dumbfounded at Gu Qingfeng, who was speaking on his own accord. Her delicate face flushed red then pale, her beautiful eyes filled with anger, anxiety, utter despair, and deep regret.
She was angry because Gu Qingfeng had not followed the plan.
Was that all?
No!
Not only had he not followed the plan, but he had also spouted a bunch of nonsense.
If the nonsense had been about anything else, the young girl wouldn't have been so furious. But this guy had to go and say something about Daozun Feiyan tirelessly healing Monarch Chixiao's injuries back in the day.
Was there such a thing?
No!
At the very least, as an admirer of Monarch Chixiao, Ouyang Ye had never heard of Daozun Feiyan healing Monarch Chixiao's wounds. Not only did she not know, even Han Dong, whom Daozun Feiyan had raised by hand, didn't know either.
Both Ouyang Ye and Han Dong knew that Daozun Feiyan's heart knot couldn't be untied in a short while. They weren't in a hurry, planning to take it slow and steady. So today, they only wanted Gu Qingfeng to hint at it, to use his identity as the heir of Monarch Chixiao to tell Daozun Feiyan that Monarch Chixiao hadn't held onto the events of the past.
After all, even the real Young Lord Chiyan had only communicated with a wisp of Monarch Chixiao's remnant consciousness in a dream.
Whether that was true or not was still unknown.
In such a situation, the less said, the better. The vaguer, the better.
But this guy? He just blabbered a bunch of foolish nonsense.
Spouting nonsense was one thing, but he had to drag Daozun Feiyan into it.
What made Ouyang Ye even more despairing was that whether Daozun Feiyan had even healed Monarch Chixiao's injuries back then was still an unknown, yet this guy had seriously described the process in detail—what formations, what elixirs, what was treated—all laid out clearly.
If it were anyone else, perhaps they could have been fooled, since no one knew if it happened.
But the person here now was Daozun Feiyan!
Talking about her own affairs, as the person involved, how could she not know whether such a thing had happened?
At this moment, Ouyang Ye felt like killing Gu Qingfeng.
She knew it was all too late.
It was already impossible to stop him.
Even a fool would see that Lao Jiu was lying, and Daozun Feiyan, though severely injured, was no fool!
Damn it!
What to do!
Ouyang Ye didn't know. Even though she was clever and quick-witted, her mind was now a complete blank.
She was like this, and Han Dong wasn't much better. Standing there, her coldly beautiful face was full of shock, helplessness, and worry.
She was shocked that Gu Qingfeng would spout such nonsense. She was helpless because she could no longer stop it. She worried whether her master would be heartbroken upon discovering this deception.
Especially when she saw her master suddenly stand up, pointing a trembling finger at Gu Qingfeng with a complex expression, Han Dong's heart filled with even more worry. But alongside the worry was even greater confusion.
Because Daozun Feiyan's current expression was something she couldn't quite understand.
She had been raised by Daozun Feiyan and knew her master very well. She knew her master had profound experience, had seen much of the world, and kept her joys and angers hidden within, never showing them outwardly. In her mind, even if her master saw through Lao Jiu's lies, she wouldn't say it outright, nor would her face show much expression. At the very least, she definitely wouldn't have such a strong reaction.
Moreover, with Lao Jiu's wild claims, her master could at most determine he was lying, not confirm that Lao Jiu was an impostor.
If she couldn't confirm Lao Jiu was an impostor, then she couldn't deduce whether this Young Lord Chiyan was or wasn't the heir of Monarch Chixiao.
Besides, Young Lord Chiyan's identity had been personally verified by Senior Ziyang and over twenty other Old Scarlet Firmament Veterans. Her master couldn't possibly doubt that.
But if she wasn't doubting, why was her reaction so intense?
And what made Han Dong even more puzzled was that, no matter how she looked at it, her master seemed utterly shocked. Her expression, her eyes, were filled with disbelief.
In Han Dong's memory, she had rarely seen her master react like this. No!
Not rarely—never.
Especially now, Daozun Feiyan was pointing at Lao Jiu with an incredulous look, as if a secret had been exposed, finding it unbelievable.
This made Han Dong involuntarily feel an illusion, as if what Lao Jiu had just said wasn't nonsense, but true.
How could that be?
Could it be that her master really had treated Monarch Chixiao's injuries back then?
No, right?
Han Dong thought carefully. She had never heard her master mention such a thing.
Moreover, even if such a thing really happened, how would Lao Jiu know about it when even she herself didn't?
And he described the treatment process in such detail.
He was only impersonating Young Lord Chiyan, not the real Young Lord Chiyan.
Even the real Young Lord Chiyan might not know, right?
If such a thing really happened, there might only be three people in the world who knew: her master, Lady Zhuoyue, and Monarch Chixiao.
But if her master saw that Lao Jiu was lying, why did she have that look of disbelief?
Why on earth?
Han Dong truly couldn't understand.
Just as she felt lost and confused, Daozun Feiyan's slightly trembling voice suddenly rang out: "Winter, Ye Ye, you...
Go out first!
I wish to speak with Young Lord Chiyan alone!"
Han Dong, already full of doubts about the matter, was now even more bewildered upon hearing Daozun Feiyan's words, completely at a loss as to what was happening.
What did her master mean?
Asking her and Ye Ye to leave?
She wanted to speak with Lao Jiu alone?
About what?
Han Dong truly couldn't comprehend it. Her thoughts were in disarray as she asked in shock, "Master, you..."
"Go out first!"
Daozun Feiyan stood in the pavilion leaning on her cane, her eyes fixed intently on Gu Qingfeng. Her voice still held a slight tremor as she said, "Did you not hear this old woman's words?
Out!"
Opposite her, Gu Qingfeng still sat casually in his chair, leaning against the pavilion's stone pillar, legs crossed, holding a cup of jade dew. He glanced at Han Dong, then at Ouyang Ye, and said, "Alright, you two go out first. Senior Feiyan and I have some private matters to discuss."
This...
Not only was Ouyang Ye dumbstruck, but Han Dong was too. They looked at Gu Qingfeng, then at Daozun Feiyan, opening their mouths as if to speak but saying nothing.
"Grandmother Feiyan, you...
You want to talk with Young Lord Chiyan...
About... about what?"
Perhaps feeling somewhat guilty, Ouyang Ye's voice lacked its previous confidence.
"Ye Ye, be good, go out first."
Daozun Feiyan closed her eyes, took a deep breath as if to calm her inner emotions, and said, "Winter, has this master grown old and useless, so you no longer listen to your master's words?"
"Disciple..." Although Han Dong didn't understand what was happening, with Daozun Feiyan having said such words, how could she remain unmoved? Not daring to hesitate any longer, she quickly led Ouyang Ye out of the garden.