Chapter 76: Each With Their Own Ulterior Motives
Xiao Susu forced a smile when she saw the gentle concern on Old Madame Xiao"s face. She suddenly felt like she had wronged this old lady. She was clearly Su Qiqi, but she was pretending to be this kind old lady"s granddaughter.
However, it occurred to her that this body truly did belong to Xiao Susu. Even if her soul was different, blood was still thicker than water.
And she was also working hard to become part of this large family.
She was giving her all for the sake of the Xiao family.
“Grandma, I"m fine, really. It"s just that I"m a little tired from the past few days.” Xiao Susu made a fatigued look as she got to her feet and went over to hug Old Madame Xiao"s arm. “Grandma must be tired as well.”
Old Madame Xiao was relieved to hear this.
As she had expected, Xiao Susu"s publicity had been too strong these past few days. The fact that she had lost to someone who had suddenly appeared would inevitably cause disappointment. Old Madame Xiao was worried that Xiao Susu would start blaming herself.
Although other people were still confused, Xiao Mi was aware of Hua Qianzi"s ident.i.ty.
She knew that even if Hua Qianzi hadn"t managed to win today"s compet.i.tion, Hua Ruxue would still come up with a way for her to win another day.
After all, the purpose of Hua Qianzi"s return wasn"t anywhere close to simple.
The fact that Hua Ruxue had her show her face at the Jasper Flower Banquet was enough to indicate her intentions.
Xiao Mi"s worried expression was immediately replaced by happiness. The person holding onto her arm right now was her beautiful and peerlessly talented granddaughter.
Her heart was filled with pride.
Every parent knew that their child was the most outstanding.
And now, it can be said that Xiao Susu was truly the most talented woman in south boundary.
The flower crown was hers, without a doubt.
She gently squeezed Xiao Susu"s hand with smile. “Grandma isn"t tired.”
Even the crow"s feet at the corners of her eyes were lifted with a smile.
Xiao Susu"s mood that had been dampened due to Hua Qianzi"s appearance improved a lot when she saw Xiao Mi happy. She didn"t want this elderly woman to be worried over her and was happy to see that she was happy. Her smile deepened as well. “Grandma, don"t worry. Susu is just a little tired. I"ll rest well once I get back today. Tomorrow"s the poetry compet.i.tion. I definitely won"t lose again!”
Her face was filled with confidence.
She didn"t know what the other n.o.blewomen in south boundary were like, but she knew what Hua Qianzi was like. She was pretty on the outside and rotten within.
All she knew to do was to use dirty tactics. What she had of true ability was simply too inferior to show in public.
This current situation could be described as the reencounter of enemies.
However, Xiao Susu couldn"t allow her hatred to show because she was no longer Su Qiqi.
She was now the granddaughter of Hundred Flowers Nation"s great general, a girl who had been deep ‘asleep" for fifteen years. She was Xiao Susu: a beautiful lively and naive girl who had unbounded freedom due to her youth.
After all, she hadn"t even reached marriageable age.
Xiao Mi and Xiao Susu continued chatting happily. From a distance, it looked like the perfect scene of a benevolent mother and a filial child.
Lei Yufeng, Hua Qianye, Baili Mo, and Xu Weiran were all quietly watching the pair and observing every single expression on Xiao Susu"s face.
At this time, Xiao Susu was no longer cold and aloof. Her smile was very warm, they couldn"t help but feel like they could never get enough of it.
Xiao Susu was extremely beautiful. She was truly like a pearl, glowing with soft light. At the same time, her features contained a peaceful scholarly air and the white garment she was wearing made her seem even more like a celestial that didn"t partake in the foods of mortals.
“In terms of appearance, it"s still the granddaughter of the Xiao family who"s the most beautiful. As for talent, out of the five compet.i.tions, four have already pa.s.sed and the granddaughter of the Xiao family has won three. Even if this Hua Qianzi manages to win tomorrow"s, she still wouldn"t be able to obtain the flower crown,” said Xu Weiran thoughtfully.
He was simply discussing these two beauties and the Jasper Flower Banquet.
“Indeed.” He Yitian nodded. He didn"t really have an opinion on those women, but Xu Weiran"s words were clear.
Everyone else was also aware of this result.
He Yitian glanced around. “It seems that the ninth prince of Unyielding Clouds Nation has suffered a huge loss this time.”
His lips hooked in a mocking smile.
“Hahaha! Indeed!” Xu Weiran started laughing heartily. His celestial like air was gone, but even though he was laughing so much that his shoulders were shaking, he still looked gentle as jade.
However, He Yitian was well aware that this man"s gentle looks were deceiving. When he made it move, it was always ruthless.
This kind of person was the most fearsome.
He was even more frightening than someone who always had a gloomy air like that Ninth Prince.
Even as Xu Weiran was laughing, he continued to observe everyone present. He hadn"t come here solely to partic.i.p.ate in this Jasper Flower Banquet. He was trying to obtain some useful information.
These past four days, he enjoyed the view of the beauties during the day, but at night he didn"t rest either. He spend the nights trying to find out information related to the Lunar Waters Palace.
The decennial replacement of the high priest was about to start. This year just happened to be Hundred Flowers Nation"s turn.
They wanted to know who the candidate would be.
Although Lunar Waters Palace no longer had much power, in certain ways, it still stood above the three nations.
At the very least, in the hearts of ordinary citizens, Lunar Waters Palace had supremacy and was inviolable.
If he wanted to unite the south boundary and take over the other two nations, he had to get the citizens" support. That"s why, obtaining Lunar Waters Palace"s support was crucial.
From the looks of things now, if Hundred Flowers Nation obtained support, then Unyielding Clouds Nation and Serene Chaste Nation would have no chance but to endure in silence.
At that time, there would definitely be a vicious war and the outcome of that war was impossible to predict.
This was why he had personally made a trip here. He also believed that the ninth prince of Unyielding Clouds Nation hadn"t come solely for the purpose of breaking off the engagement either. That had probably just been a pretext.
Baili Mo only gave a cold humph when he heard Xu Weiran laugh. His martial arts foundation was strong, so he was able to hear some of what Xu Weiran had said.
He silently clenched his fist. He also felt that he had suffered a heavy loss this time, but since things were already like this, there was no choice but to continue on.
No matter how unwilling he was to accept it, the youngest miss of the Xiao family had already recovered her freedom.
The engraved dragon jade pendant at her waist shined so brightly it pierced the eyes.
For the past four days, everytime she stepped onstage, everyone"s eyes couldn"t help but be attracted to the dragon pendant.
No one would discuss the fact that the Xiao family"s engagement was broken off, nor would anyone laugh at them.
In fact, many of the n.o.bility were excited. They liked Xiao Susu"s current status—single. It meant that everyone had a chance.
There was a social custom in the south boundary. All unmarried women would wear an engraved dragon pendant and all unmarried men would wear an engraved phoenix pendant in order to indicate that they had not yet married. If one encountered someone they admired and the two willingly enchanted their pendants, it would mean that this flower or gra.s.s now had an owner.
The engraved dragon and phoenix pendants only differed in their background decoration. Their style, size, and shape tended to all be very similar.
The owner"s name would be engraved at the bottom.
The family would have one made as soon as a child was born.
Back then, the ninth prince thought that the Xiao family was messing with his Unyielding Clouds Nation"s imperial household again and was indignant. Hence he didn"t think much about it and immediately asked for a decree so that he could break off the engagement. He never imagined that a fool would be this shockingly talented.
Nangong Mo also glanced coldly over at Xu Weiran, then clenched his fists. Although the three nations hadn"t officially had a falling out, each nation was already secretly ama.s.sing resources in preparation for war.
As Xu Weiran had guessed, Baili Mo wasn"t here simply to break off the engagement. He was also investigating the candidate for high priest that Hundred Flowers Nation would send.
They had decided that this time, no matter what price it would take, they had to ruin the high priest appointment ceremony.
__________
Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira"s Corner]
Enjoy~