Chapter 203: Fair and Square

　　“Little junior sister! Don’t!” Yu Kuang ran after State Master Jiayan quickly, trying to stop her.

　　“Get lost!” State Master Jiayan’s blood was boiling. “Now, nobody takes me seriously anymore. Even you want to stop me?”

　　“Little junior sister!” Yu Kuang persuaded her patiently. “What are you going to do? Scold her? Or beat her up? What’s the point?”

　　“Then what do you want me to do!?” Jiayan shouted. “Just accept it? Who is Lu Mingshu to mess things up for me and not be responsible for it? She caused me to be in this situation, who do I look for if not her?”

　　She was now emotionally unstable, and there was nothing Yu Kuang could do.

　　“Get lost! Yu Kuang, just because I call you Senior Brother doesn’t mean you’re qualified to speak! Following me around all day like a dog, even if you’re not irritated, I am!”

　　“Shi Jiayan!” Yu Kuang shouted strictly, leaving Jiayan rooted to the ground.

　　Yu Kuang was breathing heavily. His face turned red. “Dog? So that’s how you see me, huh?” He stared at her firmly.

　　His expression was way different from how he normally was. The cheerful Yu Kuang could no longer be seen, and it scared Shi Jiayan, making her move back. “I…” just talked without thinking.

　　“Sure, I got nothing to say about you calling me a dog since I do follow you around all day long.” Yu Kuang calmed himself down. “Do you think I wantto poke my nose in your business? To look at what you do all day?! Just talking without processing anything just because you’re the State Master… how many people have you offended since you were a kid? Do you think you would be able to live so peacefully if I wasn’t behind to clean your mess?”

　　Yu Kuang’s voice calmed down slowly. “You want to find Lu Mingshu – what for? Was this caused by her? No! It’s because of your father’s rebellion! The king and queen decided to give him face, which is the only reason they didn’t announce it to the public. What does Lu Mingshu have to do with this? She may have gotten a few benefits, but she’s just a passerby! Even the rocks on the ground aren’t as innocent as she is!

　　“Sure, you could say your father isn’t at fault. However, the person who stopped the rebellion is the queen; what the hell does Lu Mingshu have to do with this? Why not go after the queen or your uncle? Or Senior Brother Xie at least. But no, you don’t dare! Do you really not get this logic? I’m sure you do, it’s just that you dare not act on it! You dare not look for any of them, only Lu Mingshu, who can take no action against you. Shi Jiayan, aren’t you at least embarrassed?”

　　Piak! A slap was given.

　　A red mark emerged on Yu Kuang’s face.

　　The slap was on impulse, and Jiayan didn’t expect that Yu Kuang wouldn’t dodge. She was flustered and started to explain, “I, I didn’t…”

　　“I know you are jealous of Lu Mingshu,” Yu Kuang said calmly. “You feel that she has no right to be more well-regarded than you when she’s not even half as good as you. A bumpkin from an unknown backwater not only got the limelight during the Qilin Festival, but the queen valued her too. But the thing that you are most jealous of is how Senior Brother Xie treats you both differently. He acts like you’re non-existence, but he cares for her in every possible way. Jealousy is an emotion, and it’s okay to feel that way. However, you should know that the difference between a gentleman and a nasty person is how well they can control themselves. You hate that I’m always poking my nose in your business, right? Fine, I’ll never care about you again. Hopefully, you can take good care of yourself. Now that the king of Yijun is in his current state, you have no rights to behave like how you always have. Please give yourself a route out, alright?”

　　After that, Yu Kuang turned and walked away.

　　Seeing him walk away without any reluctance, State Master Jiayan stared into space blankly for a moment. When she realized what just happened, she burst into tears.

　　Hearing her cries, Yu Kuang’s eyes brimmed with tears. He turned a corner to see Wei Chunqiu standing there.

　　“Senior Brother Wei….” His lips trembled.

　　“You should’ve done this earlier,” Wei Chunqiu said with a blank face. “Giving in to her would only make yourself as worthless as dust.”

　　Yu Kuang turned around, not wanting Wei Chunqiu to see tears in his eyes.

　　“Cheer up, at least you’re better than Junior Brother Xie.” Wei Chunqiu smirked. “He’s the one who lifted a rock only to have his own toes squashed.”

　　…

　　In Tianyun City, Xie Lianzhen sat on his wheelchair, looking at the main street that was outside the majestic city gate that lead away from Tianyun City.

　　As usual, Xie Zhanghui was standing beside him.

　　Far ahead, a person holding a horse was walking further away from the city. They finally entered the morning mist and could no longer be seen.

　　“Am I a coward?” After she disappeared from his sight, Xie Lianzhen asked. “I don’t even have the courage to send her off.”

　　Xie Zhanghui remained silent.

　　“Actually, I’m regretting a bit now….”

　　Xie Zhanghui looked at him nervously.

　　Seeing that, Xie Lianzhen burst out laughing. “Are you afraid that I’ll send someone to get her back?” After he finished laughing, he continued. “Eh, you seemed to like her a lot, huh?”

　　This made Xie Zhanghui even more nervous. “Young Master, you’re thinking too much. Zhanghui only thinks that… it’s such a pity.”

　　“What’s a pity?” Xie Lianzhen teased.

　　“According to Miss Lu’s desires, if Young Master forced her to stay, Young Master would never get her heart,” he replied.

　　Xie Lianzhen thought over it and nodded. “You’re right.” He sighed. “To be honest, I lost from the start. It’s hard to win if you’re unaware of what you even want. There’s no use in forcing a woman like her to stay, and I’m not confident I could make her stay either.”

　　“Young Master, you lost because you care. You worry for her at all times, and that’s the reason Young Master lost.”

　　Xie Lianzhen smiled. “You really know me better than myself.”

　　The sun rose up to the sky, and the mist gradually dissipated. The one who left could no longer be seen.

　　“Actually, I know she did it on purpose.”

　　“You mean…?” Xie Zhanghui replied.

　　“She helped me block that attack for her goals,” Xie Lianzhen said calmly.

　　Xie Zhanghui stared at him blankly.

　　“Interested in why I let her off?”

　　Xie Zhanghui remained quiet, but his expression gave him away.

　　Xie Lianzhen smiled. “Because I lost to myself!” He lowered his volume. “I knew she did it on purpose to stir up my emotions. And she did, so I lost.”

　　After Lu Mingshu had dropped to the ground, what happened was like a dream.

　　Everything was scattered and smashed. Blood splattered, and the queen’s face appeared in his vision at the same time.

　　He took a long time to remember what happened.

　　He nearly crippled Ding Qingqing. He was at the peak of the Harmonization Realm, and he suddenly broke through to the Spirit Realm at that moment.

　　However, due to his deranged emotions at the time, he became obsessed.

　　The queen sent him back to the Seventh Truth Platform and saved his life with help from the elders.

　　“We’re even now, I guess?” Xie Lianzhen mumbled to himself. “I teased her when I could, and I even got the queen to do it too. I even hindered her in the challenger’s fight. To be honest, what I did was way more overboard, so it’s okay for her to take revenge.”

　　“But…”

　　“I lost!” Xie Lianzhen repeated. “I always read minds, yet I couldn’t read my own. I’m just reaping what I sowed.”

　　“…” Xie Zhanghui said nothing.

　　Xie Lianzhen smiled. “It’s okay, we’ll leave it at that. Where’s the queen? In the palace?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“Send me to her then.”

　　“Yes.”