Chapter 232: Chapter 227 Matchmaker
The fire had raged for half an hour before it was extinguished, and the suddenly increased temperature also gradually faded away soon after the fire had died down.
Inside the governor’s mansion, a rigid figure suddenly moved, half-kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Survived?" Jiang Zhihuan murmured.
When the fire had erupted, he felt the connection between himself and Fufeng County had been completely severed, his Dao Fruit fell silent, and a heaven-defying, blazing authority suppressed him, making his thoughts freeze as if solidified.
This was the suppression of the Dao Fruit by the Royal Family’s Authority Seal, and moreover, it was from a truly significant figure, one above the level of princes and lords.
Before his thoughts had completely solidified, Jiang Zhihuan truly felt death looming, but unexpectedly, when he awoke, he was still alive.
Being stiff for half an hour, for Jiang Zhihuan, whose thoughts were frozen, was actually just a moment; the previous second he had a sense of impending disaster, and the next moment he was back to normal, and even now, he still had lingering fears.
"Behave yourself."
A detached yet authoritative voice came from a distance, carrying a transcendent dignity, and then the imposing pressure suppressing the Divine Domain gradually receded like a tide.
Jiang Zhihuan could clearly feel that the pressure ultimately withdrew to the sky and then gradually faded away.
Survived.
Not only did he survive the pressure from the significant figure but also the subsequent purging.
King Lu’s failed ascension meant that all his actions were about to be settled, and anyone who assisted him—whether willingly or not—could not escape the court’s censure.
And as a member of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Zhihuan had almost no way to escape the death penalty. His survival was probably also being protected by a significant figure.
’Jiang... Young Master?’
Jiang Zhihuan could only think of Jiang Li.
’It seems this move was the right one.’
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Elsewhere, in the Red Feather Palace, which had left the skies above Fufeng County.
It was still that side hall, and Ji Lingguang was still sitting on the red copper throne, only the other person in the hall had changed, and he wasn’t standing but kneeling.
Two fire lotuses burned fiercely in the hall, supporting two iron knees; the flames kept burning the flesh without showing any signs of scorching, only an incessant burning pain sweeping over the soul.
The Royal Family had its standards, and the Princess had her own means of punishment.
The kind of punishment akin to kneeling and scrubbing clothes—seen in ordinary households—was beneath the Princess, and the Prince Consort was entirely immune to it. Therefore, they needed to employ something more refined, such as the two fire lotuses before them.
This flame was Heart Fire, burning the body and searing the heart, able to inflict endless punishment without harming life and not even leaving any wounds.
Look at the Prince Consort; he was burned for half an hour earlier and now kneels before the fire lotus with not a single issue—just sweat a bit more profusely, with his back and forehead already drenched.
After a while, the Princess seemed to finally remember her husband was still kneeling and said from her throne, "Speak."
"I realize my mistake, I will never dare to do it again," Feng Manlou said as if he had received a great pardon.
"Did I ask you to admit your mistake? Do you even dare to not know you’re wrong?" Ji Lingguang countered with a question.
Does the objective act of knowing one’s mistake require a subjective response?
It does not.
"What I asked you to talk about is a solution!" Ji Lingguang’s voice turned stern, "Whatever schemes you have I don’t care, but you must find a way to solve the mess you’ve made! In my life, I have never been defeated so badly, and now because of your ridiculous actions, I was ridden roughshod over by that woman today and couldn’t even fight back."
Dare to fight back?
Ji Lingguang, you wouldn’t even think of it...
Just thinking of Tianxuan’s smug look made Ji Lingguang want to flay and dismantle Feng Manlou.
For decades, despite occasional defeats, she ultimately never had any major losses against Tianxuan. Unexpectedly, the confrontations of these decades were ruined in one fell swoop by her own affiliated son-in-law’s actions. If this situation couldn’t be redeemed, she would never be able to lift her head before Tianxuan again in this lifetime.
"Uh, this..." Feng Manlou stammered speechlessly.
With all the weaknesses in the hands of others, could he still expect them to magnanimously let him off?
That woman was not the benevolent type.
Or to put it another way, she, along with her two disciples, all three masters and students, had nothing to do with kindness.
Not being kind-hearted is one thing, but unfortunately, each one of them was sly as a fox. Feng Manlou had only managed to scheme against Jiang Li because of informational asymmetry; otherwise, he might not have been able to deal with this good brother at all.
As for Tianxuan, trying to make this fully grown Old Demon let go of a hold over someone was harder than thinking of how to kill her.
So, there was no solution. There was only one way to smash the pot if he was going to fail, and that was to spread the news proactively to completely give up. That way, Tianxuan would have no way to use the leverage to threaten Ji Lingguang.
But those who shouldn’t be able to raise their heads still couldn’t, and once the news got out, everyone under the heavens would know Ji Lingguang had become someone else’s aunt by marriage.
"Or shall we still consider how to solve the mess in Yong Province? This is related to the dynasty’s Jiangshan Mountain and the sacrificial altar..."
With that, the fire lotuses at Feng Manlou’s feet suddenly flared up, the pain causing him to cry out.
Clearly, Feng Manlou’s attempt to change the subject had not succeeded.
"I should just divorce you," Ji Lingguang said faintly.
By divorcing this disgrace, there wouldn’t be a need to look down on others.
"Wait, wait!"
Feng Manlou hurriedly shouted, "I have a plan, my lady, I have a plan."
Faced with the threat of divorce, Feng Manlou came up with a plan in his desperation, crying out while retrieving something from his sleeve.
It was a red book, but unlike the flaming red of Ji Lingguang’s flame, this book displayed a festive red and was wrapped with loops of red thread, making it quite special in appearance.
"Fifth-Grade Daoist Artifact, Marriage Register, containing the Matchmaker Dao Fruit."
Feng Manlou held the book with both hands, "This book can check the marriage fate of men and women. If they are fated, they can be tied together with a red thread, securing this life, allowing lovers to become spouses. I have looked at the Marriage Register before, Tianxuan and Jiang Li are fated... "
The rest didn’t need to be said. It was about tying the red thread between Tianxuan and Jiang Li, turning them into lovers.
Upon hearing this, Ji Lingguang’s gaze lit up.
Ever since she had married Feng Manlou, whenever Ji Lingguang met Elder Tianxuan, she was ridiculed for robbing the cradle. But now, Tianxuan was also robbing the cradle; Ji Lingguang wanted to see how she had any face left to mock her.
If it was destined that the other party couldn’t be made to give up leverage, then create leverage over them, intimidating each other mutually.
"This is only a fifth-rank Dao Artifact. Can it affect a fourth-rank?" Ji Lingguang doubted after her initial excitement.
Dao Fruit abilities were not omnipotent. Fifth-rank against fourth-rank, the effect would be greatly diminished. Moreover, this was not a cultivator wielding all the Dao Fruit abilities but merely a Dao Artifact.
"Of course, it cannot."
Feng Manlou shook his head, "But since the Marriage Register has shown that the two are fated, it means that they may become spouses, and tying the red thread is just to facilitate this, not a curse. Moreover, the function of the red thread is not to manipulate the mind but to act as a bridge of communication between the man and woman, offering a chance; it is harmless, so the grade does not greatly affect it. The only concern is that Tianxuan might discover the red thread."
After all, Elder Tianxuan was most skilled in Mathematics, and even if Feng Manlou personally went about it, he could not guarantee that Elder Tianxuan wouldn’t notice something was amiss. If she discovered it, with Elder Tianxuan’s abilities, cutting the red thread would not be difficult.
Besides, how to tie the red silk thread around the feet of both parties was also a significant problem.
The only thing that could be considered good news right now was that Feng Manlou was not affected by Divination. Except for a certain good brother, no one else had detected his essence and actions through Divination, not even Tianxuan.
If it had been someone else, Tianxuan might have already sensed it by now, knowing that someone was plotting against her.
"No need to say more; let’s use this method," Ji Lingguang gave a decisive wave of her jade hand.
She didn’t want to be inferior all her life; she had to pull the other party down to the same level.
"Robbing the cradle, hmph, let’s see who’s really doing the robbing now," Ji Lingguang snorted.
You see, Jiang Li was twenty years younger than Feng Manlou, truly the tender grass.
Seeing his wife so driven, what could Feng Manlou do? Of course, he had to help her.
Even if it meant that his worthy brother would suffer.
Being with a domineering woman like Elder Tianxuan, his brother would know the suffering in the future. Feng Manlou knew this all too well, with his family status just above that of a Fire Lotus.
’But brother, since you have shown no mercy, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Since you made me kneel before the Fire Lotus, you can’t blame me for being ruthless.’
Feng Manlou’s gaze drifted faintly, as if he could already see Jiang Li’s future.
Jiang Li wasn’t just fated with Elder Tianxuan, but also with Gongsun Qingyue. Once these three were tied together, that future... Feng Manlou couldn’t help but laugh just thinking about it.
"Yawn—"
Having fully replenished his True Qi and tidied his clothes, Jiang Li was about to step into the ancestral land when he suddenly sneezed.
’I have a bad feeling about this.’ Jiang Li thought as he rubbed his nose.
His cultivation had long since reached a level where he was immune to the common cold, and he could harness the forces of nature for his own use; natural elements hardly affected him anymore.
Sneezing suddenly, it was hardly likely that he had caught a cold, but rather some kind of whim.
Thinking this, Jiang Li immediately used the recently acquired Wind Queen Compass for divination.
The Earth Plate on the outermost circle began to move, the Eight Trigrams revolved, and Jiang Li observed the changes in the divination while calculating.
However, the compass kept moving continuously without stopping.
This situation could only mean that either the "Gravity" around the other person’s fate was too strong or too chaotic, disturbing his Divination. This meant that the person was either in a position towering above thousands, at the very least at the level of a Prince, or...
They were fourth-rank.
This was only thanks to the strength of the Wind Queen Compass. Had he used Emperor Wen’s coins for divination, he likely wouldn’t have been able to move them at all now.
"Fourth-rank?"
Considering this possibility, Jiang Li immediately hastened his steps and rushed into the ancestral land.
No need for further discussion; the first step was to find the Clan Elder, then send a message to his master, asking her to come and save him.
Furthermore, he had to rush back to the Sect immediately. Jiang Li couldn’t bear to stay outside for a moment longer. It was too dangerous, even when everything seemed fine.
Only within the Sect did he feel a sense of safety.