Free Web NovelChapter 238: Chapter 133: Zhong Ming: I Did It, What Can You Do to Me
When the disciples of the Major Sects arrived together and Zhong Ming rose to his feet, prepared to crush them all with his power alone, Yi Yunya was not by his side.
While on her way, she had received a message from someone at the Golden Jade Tower. This prompted her to take Elder Wei Jingcheng and hurry over to the tower.
Then, on the sixth floor of the Golden Jade Tower, she met its Tower Lord—a woman dressed in purple whose aura was as deep and still as an abyss. Her surname was Qin, her given name, Shang.
And beside Qin Shang, Yi Yunya was surprised to see her aunt, Yi Qing.
What caught her attention even more was that Yi Qing, who held a considerable position in Jade Lake City, showed a poorly concealed reverence when facing Qin Shang.
Yi Yunya had no trouble understanding this. In a small place like Jade Lake City, Yi Qing wasn’t even the Tower Lord, but the deputy.
The Qinghe Commandery Mansion itself might lack strength, but the region’s abundant resources meant the Golden Jade Tower’s merchant network treated it with the same importance as a Prefecture City. Therefore, Qin Shang—the Tower Lord stationed here—was very powerful. Her status within the Golden Jade Tower far surpassed anything Yi Qing could compare to. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
This meant that even though the Yi Family and the Qin Family belonged to different factions within the Golden Jade Tower, the weaker Yi Qing had to defer to Qin Shang.
Upon arriving, the first thing Yi Yunya did was bow to Qin Shang.
"Yi Yunya, Steward of Jade Lake City. Greetings, Tower Lord Qin."
"There’s no need for such formality." Qin Shang raised a hand, her tone friendly. "I’ve heard about you. You made the resolute decision to shatter your jade for Zhong Ming before he even rose to prominence. Such courage and decisiveness are to my liking. You can take up a position as a Steward here under me as well."
After a few more pleasantries, Qin Shang gestured for Yi Yunya to move about freely.
Seeing this, Yi Yunya immediately went to Yi Qing’s side and asked why she was here.
"Aunt, why are you here?"
In response to the question, Yi Qing’s expression was complex, even a little bitter. "I’m here to escort treasures and Elixir Pills... A treasure that can obscure the light of the sky, and Elixir Pills that can resist Divine Soul attacks."
"What?!"
The moment she heard this, Yi Yunya’s expression changed. Being intelligent, she immediately understood: these treasures were clearly meant to be used against Zhong Ming!
But she opened her mouth and found she had no ground to object.
The Golden Jade Tower was in the business of doing business. It was impossible for them to refuse to sell treasures to other sects just to avoid offending Zhong Ming.
Even if such a rule existed, it was more likely the Golden Jade Tower would refuse to sell to Zhong Ming, not the six Major Sects of the Prefecture City. His current influence was nothing compared to theirs.
Just as Yi Yunya’s expression faltered and she fell silent, a slender, beautiful figure gracefully approached and intimately took her by the arm.
The woman’s features were charming and her smile gentle. "Sister Yun Ya, my name is Qin Hongyu. Your story is already something of a legend around here. I’ve admired you from afar for a long time."
"Also, you and Lord Zhong Ming are people of our Golden Jade Tower, so we can help you with this matter... Those treasures have already been delivered. The sects’ move against Lord Zhong Ming is now irreversible."
"But we still have a treasure here that can break through the Mist..."
Qin Hongyu trailed off, her meaning left unspoken.
Yi Yunya instantly understood and asked Qin Hongyu, "What do you want?"
"Sister Yun Ya, don’t be so guarded. I’m not trying to take advantage of your situation. I sincerely want to cooperate with you and Lord Zhong Ming... The truth is, Princess Ji Qingyue is not a very good person to ally with. Her current prestige is entirely supported by Lord Zhong Ming." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"But she is a woman, after all. In the struggle for power over the Qinghe Commandery Mansion, she is at a natural disadvantage—she can never become the Prince."
"Of course, this might not be a bad thing for Lord Zhong Ming. He could marry Princess Qingyue and take the opportunity to seize control of a portion of the Qinghe Commandery Mansion’s power."
"But for you, Sister Yun Ya, this would not be a good thing at all."
As she spoke, Qin Hongyu watched Yi Yunya’s expression closely, hoping to see anxiety, unease, or even resentment on her face.
But to her surprise, Yi Yunya’s expression was... utterly calm.
"..." Momentarily stunned, she paused for a breath. Then, to provoke an emotional reaction from Yi Yunya, she had to spell things out plainly. "It may be unpleasant to say, Sister Yun Ya, but compared to the Commandery Princess, your background, status, wealth, and power are far from being on the same level."
"If Lord Zhong Ming wins Princess Qingyue’s hand, your own status will surely fall. You might even be cast aside."
"Aren’t you afraid that after all your hard work and sacrifice, you’ll just be paving the way for another woman?"
"Oh." After listening to Qin Hongyu, Yi Yunya’s response was so flat it was almost perfunctory, without a hint of emotion.
This scene made both Qin Shang and Yi Qing glance over in surprise. They found it truly hard to imagine that Yi Yunya, who had invested so much in Zhong Ming, could face this matter with such composure.
’Is her emotional control just that good, or does she simply not care about her position by Zhong Ming’s side?’
With almost no hesitation, everyone in the room leaned toward the former explanation.
They absolutely refused to believe that the woman who had so decisively shattered her jade for Zhong Ming would stand by and watch Ji Qingyue reap all the benefits.
But on this point, they were mistaken. It wasn’t that Yi Yunya had excellent emotional control, nor was it that she was completely unconcerned about her status by Zhong Ming’s side.
It was that her primary objective had already changed.
