Jians.h.i.+ turned to leave again but Li Qiye suddenly asked: “Do you know who your brother-in-law is?”
His body froze for a bit before turning around again with an unnatural expression: “Isn’t it you, Brother Li?”
“Both of us are only saying that towards outsiders. I won’t reveal it and you won’t either but you know that I am a fake.” Li Qiye chuckled.
It was an implicit understanding of sorts between the two to keep this a secret.
“But it is Brother Li at this moment.” Jians.h.i.+ smiled back: “You know that I didn’t force you at all. You agreed to this.”
“That’s true.” Li Qiye replied: “Let us go back to the topic of your brother-in-law. Though your lil sis is tight-lipped about this matter and probably never told you, you probably have guessed it being her brother and all.”
“I’m not all-knowing. I don"t know if Lurui doesn’t tell me.” He shook his head.
Li Qiye laughed in response: “Your little trick is of no use in front of me. Even if your sister doesn’t tell you, you know the father of that child!”
“I also want to know but there’s no place to start.” Jians.h.i.+ firmly denied.
To which Li Qiye laughed: “Is that so? I know that you know after seeing your expression towards Huaiyu. You don’t mind the child at all and even like her a little.”
He paused for a bit before continuing: “Just think about it, a man suddenly breaking the marriage alliance between your two clans and even had a daughter with your sister. This is a big scandal and as the future clan master, you wouldn’t want something like this to happen at all. Say, you love your sister so you can accept her mistake, I can understand this. However, from the perspective of the future clan master, you will not be able to accept a b.a.s.t.a.r.d into your clan even if you love your sister! But surprisingly enough, you adore the little girl and could accept her without any difficulty. What does this mean?”
He smiled mysteriously and stared at Jians.h.i.+: “it means that you can accept her ident.i.ty and bloodline. On a deeper level, it shows that you know who her father is but it even goes further than that, you must have had a deep relations.h.i.+p with him! If it wasn’t for this marriage alliance, perhaps you would have been happy to have him as a brother-in-law!”
Jians.h.i.+ was shocked after hearing this and staggered backward with waves surging in his mind.
Though his sister really didn’t reveal the father, they grew up together so when he saw Huaiyu, he immediately guessed everything, including the ident.i.ty of the father.
Just like Li Qiye has said, a b.a.s.t.a.r.d child shouldn’t appear in the Wenren Clan. However, he didn’t mind at all and could accept her. One could even say that he was very excited to see his niece and was ready to a.s.sume the responsibility of being an uncle.
Despite his guess, he didn’t tell anyone, not even his father because he didn’t wish to besmirch the reputation of a hero. After all, he made ill.u.s.trious contributions and gave up his life for the Wenren Clan!
He thought that no one would know this matter outside of Lurui herself. Who would have thought that Li Qiye would know everything? There was an impulse manifesting in his eyes. He didn’t want this news to spread.
“Don’t bother thinking about it. It should be clear that I’m not afraid of anyone since I am sitting right here without any stress.” Li Qiye leisurely smiled.
Jians.h.i.+ took a deep breath and smile: “Brother Li, you’re overthinking it. It would be good if I were to know but it doesn’t matter right now since you are my brother-in-law.”
“I won’t deny it.” Li Qiye said with a smile.
“The Dongfang people will come soon. I think you’ll be departing tomorrow so take care then.” Jians.h.i.+ said.
“That’s no problem, I can handle taking the blame. However, you need to tell your father that if he wants me to be a scapegoat, Huaiyu must stay in my sight. If I am her father, I shall have the final say in her fate!”
“Brother Li, I’m afraid I can’t do that but I can a.s.sure you that she’ll be safe.” Jians.h.i.+ considered for a moment before shaking his head.
“You missed my point.” Li Qiye said flatly: “I’m not negotiating with you or your clan. You only have one choice and that is to follow my wish.”
His aggressiveness changed Jians.h.i.+’s expression!
“Brother Li, that was too arrogant just now.” Jians.h.i.+ took a deep breath and said.
Li Qiye smiled back: “What do you think? Do as I say and take her along. I don’t want to let the child see too much blood, understand?!”
Jians.h.i.+’s demeanor changed rapidly several times in a short period. Though their clan wouldn’t be intimidated so easily, but Li Qiye was here alone and completely at ease. He couldn’t tell what the guy was capable of.
“I’ll tell them about your request.” Jians.h.i.+ made up his mind.
Sure enough, Li Qiye was taken to the Dongfang Clan on the second day.
In fact, the Wenren Clan had no choice. The moment they took Lurui back, the Dongfang Clan has gotten wind of this as well.
Right now, the Dongfang needed the Wenren to hand someone over. As in-laws, they might not do anything to Wenren Lurui but an outsider like Li Qiye seducing their bride? There was no chance for forgiveness.
Both clans wanted to deal with this in a low-key manner. The Dongfang clan found out very quickly so the Wenren Clan had to hand Li Qiye over.
In fact, the Wenren Clan Master had no control over this matter. They could only hope Li Qiye would shoulder the blame, then they could deal with it quietly and defuse the misunderstandings.
There were many people waiting outside when Li Qiye was escorted out. Outside of Jians.h.i.+ and his father, a bunch of experts from the clan was responsible for him too.
In addition, there were several old men from the Dongfang Clan. They immediately sent out unfriendly gaze at him right away.
Two experts wanted to take his arms in order to subdue him.
Li Qiye didn’t become angry at all and repeated the same phrase with a smile: “You want to keep your dog hands?”
“Leave it.” Jians.h.i.+ ordered. He knew that Li Qiye wouldn’t run away at this moment. He would have done so long ago if there was any intention of escaping.
A carriage slowly came about with Wenren Lurui inside. She was silent with a haggard complexion since she didn’t know what fate was awaiting her at the Dongfang Clan.
The thing she was worried about the most was not herself but her daughter, Wenren Huaiyu. Alas, she alone couldn’t protect her daughter.
The carriage was in front under the escort of the Wenren Clan’s experts.
“Brother Li, it’s time to hit the road.” Jians.h.i.+ politely told Li Qiye. He even deliberately let Li Qiye stay close to Huaiyu.
His intention was obvious. If the Wenren Clan has agreed to Li Qiye’s condition, he must also not go back on his words and shoulder the blame.
“Good, I also want to take a trip.” He smiled and said: “Let’s go fast, I have to leave after dealing with this trivial business.” With that, he trotted forward.