Book 7: Chapter 20: The Three-Year Pact |
“Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! Who do you think you are, some worthless weed, talking about ‘reaching above your station’? Pooh, pooh, pooh! Trash like you isn’t worth anything, even if you were given to me for free, I wouldn’t take you!”
Liana was furious, her anger surging to the point where she nearly jabbed a finger straight at Julius’ nose as she cursed him.
“Liana, don’t push your luck!” Julius’ expression darkened instantly, his tone turning cold.
“The one pushing their luck is you! With that pale, drained face of yours, you still think you can break off the engagement with me? Dream on!” She lifted her chin, her voice ringing loud and clear.
“Let me tell you this, the one breaking off the engagement today isn’t you, it’s me!” Liana puffed out her chest and declared boldly, “I, Liana, am the one casting you aside today!”
The moment those words fell, the entire place plunged into silence once again. Even Lilith froze for a second. ‘Wait… this development feels strangely familiar. What’s coming next couldn’t possibly be…’
“Cast me aside?” Julius’ face twisted with rage, his voice dripping with malice. “You, a useless cripple without even a trace of spiritual energy, what right do you have to cast me aside?”
“Hmph! Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank. Don’t bully a young girl for being poor. Just because I don’t have spiritual power now doesn’t mean I never will in the future!”
“In the future?” Julius let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Trash will always be trash. What difference would the future make?”
“Then how about we make a bet?”
The moment Lilith heard that, her vision went dark, and she had the sudden urge to cover her face and walk away. ‘Don’t tell me the next line is going to be that three-year thing…’
“Let’s set a three-year deadline. After three years, we’ll fight and decide who’s the winner and loser.” As expected, Liana raised three fingers and made her declaration.
“If you lose, then from now on, you must publicly admit that you were cast aside by me. And whenever you see me, no matter where, you must lower your head and step aside.”
“And if you lose?”
“If I lose…” Liana scratched her head, clearly having not thought that far ahead.
“If Liana loses, the five thousand spirit crystals will be returned in full. Not only that, my Ye family will add another five thousand.” Landon suddenly stepped forward and spoke.
‘Huh? Uncle, what are you trying to pull this time?’ Even Lilith was caught off guard by Landon’s sudden move. ‘Aren’t you the one who understands best what kind of daughter you have?’
If whatever was wrong with her mind wasn’t fixed, then forget three years, even thirty years would just be handing her over as an easy target.
At that moment, Landon glanced toward Lilith within the crowd and even gave a faint smile. ‘My daughter’s condition, I’ll leave it to you.’ That was roughly what his gaze conveyed.
‘Leave it to me, my foot! I don’t have any confidence in curing her at all, alright? Why are you trusting me so much? Open your eyes and take a good look, I’m just a naive and adorable little girl, I don’t actually know how to treat anything!’
“Five thousand plus five thousand… that makes ten thousand, huh?” Julius stroked his chin, deep in thought.
To him, ten thousand spirit crystals was no small sum. On top of that, everyone knew Liana was a useless waste. That ten thousand was practically free money, and he could rid himself of this unlucky engagement at the same time.
No matter how he looked at it, it was a huge profit. He couldn’t help but feel tempted.
“Young Master Song, you’d better think this through. Do you really think the Ye family would hand over ten thousand spirit crystals so easily? There’s bound to be a trap in this.” The Third Elder of the Wang family suddenly jumped in, stirring trouble.
“And besides, for the sake of ten thousand spirit crystals, are you going to make my fifth granddaughter wait another three years?”
“That’s true, but…” If he refused now, wouldn’t that be the same as admitting he was scared? And wouldn’t that make it a settled fact that he had been cast aside by that lunatic, Liana?
Just the thought of people whispering behind his back from now on, pointing and saying that he, Julius, the eldest young master of the Song family, had been dumped by that useless Liana, made his chest tighten with humiliation.
“It’s only three years. What’s there to wait for? What, if you break off the engagement today, are you planning to marry that—what’s her name again—fifth granddaughter of the Wang family’s Third Elder tomorrow?”
Landon saw straight through Julius’ concerns and casually added fuel to the fire. “Besides, being able to break off the engagement openly at my Ye family, I’m sure that girl you claim to truly love will only be happier. In her eyes, your image will become even more upright and admirable.”
“Hmm? That… actually makes sense.” The moment the idea of appearing great in the eyes of his true love was mentioned, the balance in Julius’ heart immediately began to tilt.
“Young Master Song, don’t listen to his nonsense.” The Third Elder of the Wang family spoke anxiously, his tone urgent. “That old fox Landon’s words cannot be—”
“Third Elder, don’t forget where you are.” Landon cast him a light, indifferent glance and cut him off mid-sentence. “Besides, wasn’t it you who said we should leave room for the younger generation to decide?”
“Landon, you—!” The Third Elder’s face flushed red with anger, but this was, after all, the Ye family’s territory. No matter how bold he was, he didn’t dare openly turn against Landon here.
“Very well, since Uncle Ye has put it this way.” Julius flicked his folding fan open with a flashy snap and said, “Then this wager, I, Julius, agree—”
“Wait, wait!” Another anxious voice suddenly cut him off. The crowd of onlookers parted on their own, making way as a dignified and elegantly dressed woman, guided by a maid, stepped into the main hall.
“What wager, huh? What wager? I haven’t agreed to anything, and you, you little brat, what are you trying to gamble this time?” The moment she entered, she reached out and grabbed Julius by the ear. Her beautiful face, untouched by time, was filled with anger. “Julius, can you give your father and me a moment of peace for once?”
“Ah—ow, that hurts! Au—Aunt? Why are you here?” Julius winced in pain. Clearly intimidated by the woman, he didn’t dare resist and could only tilt his head awkwardly as he begged for mercy.
“Why am I here? If I weren’t, you might’ve sold off the entire Song family without even realizing it!” She twisted his ear again before finally lifting her head. Her expression turned complicated as she exchanged a glance with the impassive Landon.
Then she swept her gaze across everyone present and spoke coldly, “In any case, I do not agree to this so-called three-year pact.”
……
“Hmm? Who’s she?” Watching the sudden appearance of the woman, Lilith curiously turned to Old Huang beside her and asked.
“The City Lord’s younger sister.”
“Sister? But she came out from the inner chambers.”
“Second wife.”
Old Huang remained as concise as ever. But Lilith instantly understood the relationship.
“So that means… this woman is actually Landon’s second wife? When did she marry in?”
“Twenty years ago.”
“I see…”
No wonder, among the three great families, the City Lord had chosen to ally with the Ye family. The ties between the two had clearly been close for a long time.
At this point, all the key players behind the unfolding situation had essentially gathered.
There was Landon, who, with the City Lord’s government in decline, still valued his daughter above all else.
The Third Elder of the Wang family, who sought to make the Ye family lose face completely while quietly devouring the fading City Lord’s government without shedding blood.
Then there was the City Lord’s sister, now Landon’s second wife, who still wanted the crumbling Song family to cling tightly to the Ye family. Finally, there was Liana, who simply disliked the engagement and found Julius utterly intolerable, and Julius himself, who naively believed he was pursuing true love.
“Whew, these relationships are pretty tangled.” Lilith let out a low whistle, excitement flickering in her eyes as she sensed that an entertaining spectacle was about to unfold.