Chapter 153: Visitation

　　Elder Sun got someone to send Chu Ning home and take care of him in case of any accidents. He could understand Chu Ning’s feelings, but he did not know what would happen if they let Chu Ning leave alone.

　　How could his heart not ache? He had thought very highly of Chu Liuyue and even wanted her to take her as his disciple. If not for Uncle-Master Ye, Elder Sun actually might have become her mentor.

　　Elder Sun also felt miserable, having helplessly watched a star student fall before his eyes.

　　After sending Chu Ning away, Elder Sun locked himself in his room for a long time.

　　…

　　The half-dead Chu Yan was sent back to the Chu family, but it did not cause much commotion. Instead, many Chu family members were there to laugh at them.

　　Ever since Chu Liuyue came and took away a rather large sum of the Chu family’s assets, almost everyone hated Chu Yan and Lu Yao to their cores. The two of them abused their positions to embezzle funds and make trouble. Thanks to them, the Chu family was almost bankrupt.

　　If they hadn’t intended to make the couple pay them back, they would have chased them out of the family already.

　　Besides, Chu Xianmin was just a concubine at Crown Prince Mansion. There was not much she could do, so they had nothing to be afraid of.

　　Who would possibly respect them now?

　　First Elder simply laughed coldly when the servants reported the news to him. “He was tired of living and decided to go taunt Chu Ning. There’s nothing we can do!”

　　Everyone in the Chu family was secretly happy that Chu Liuyue was dead, but only Chu Yan was brainless enough to go straight to Chu Ning.

　　No matter what, Chu Ning was a stage-five martial artist. He was not to be trifled with. Only brainless people would provoke him!

　　“First Elder, as the Imperial guards’ Commander-in-Chief, Chu Ning beat up Third Master. That’s rather inappropriate. Should we make a complaint to His Majesty?”

　　First Elder tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Chu Yan is stupid, and you’re following suit! Chu Liuyue just died, and Chu Ning is grieving. How could His Majesty possibly pursue the matter? Besides, Chu Yan provoked him first. So many people were present and heard everything he said. Even if we made the complaint, we’re in the wrong. Rather than do that, it’s better to pretend it never happened.”

　　“First Elder is wise! However, it’s such a pity to let Chu Ning off just like this…”

　　It would be great if we could bring him down now!

　　First Elder laughed coldly. “Chu Ning will collapse without us doing anything. Chu Liuyue was his only hope. Now that she’s dead, he will be crushed. The trauma from back then was enough to keep him depressed for a decade. He only survived because of Chu Liuyue. Now that she’s dead, he has lost all hope. He’s as good as dead.”

　　With only Chu Ning left, we have all the time to deal with him.

　　“Such a pity… Chu Liuyue died out there so easily… It was too easy on her…” First Elder muttered. He could only vent his hatred if he had gotten rid of Chu Liuyue personally!

　　“Did you hear anything from the Crown Prince’s side? Why has His Majesty been so cold to him recently?” First Elder changed the topic after a while.

　　“The palace has kept it quiet. We haven’t managed to get any information despite all our efforts. However, there’s one strange thing. The Crown Prince was urgently summoned to the palace on the night of his marriage to Third Missy. Nobody knows what they talked about, but the Crown Prince has not left his residence since he returned. The Third Prince also entered the palace before that…”

　　“This has something to do with the Third Prince?”

　　“We’re not sure, but the Third Prince is being kept here in the Imperial City by His Majesty. He has not returned to the Northwest Army. However, I’m sure he won’t sit around and wait for his doom.”

　　First Elder knitted his brows tightly. I sent out a calling card the other day, but it was turned down. It is quite clear that the Crown Prince’s situation is much worse than we had imagined.

　　He had a feeling that the Crown Prince was in a precarious position.

　　The Chu family had been on good terms with the Crown Prince. They were in the same camp, so it was impossible for them to ally themselves with another prince. Thus, they had to find a way to break through the situation before them!

　　…

　　Mu Hongyu was unconscious for one day and one night. After she woke up, she sat on her bed dazedly. It was as though all her strength and life had been sucked out of her. Her mind was blank, but it also kept replaying everything that had happened on Wan Ling Mountain.

　　All the events replayed in her mind clearly, and she felt miserable.

　　If we had stopped Liuyue back then, would things be different? We were careless! No matter how strong she was, Liuyue was a student just like us! She even entered the academy half a year later than we did… How could we actually let her face a seventh-grade fiend alone?

　　That’s a legendary existence! Even the elders of the academy might not be its match, not to mention Liuyue…

　　Mu Hongyu dazedly thought all this as tears streamed down her face. She then slapped herself hard.

　　Pak!

　　The sharp noise was especially audible in the quiet room.

　　The burning sensation on her face was nothing compared to her self-reproach and guilt!

　　“Wu—” The golden mane bear cub felt the deep sadness emanating from Mu Hongyu. It stumbled over and whined as it hugged her arm.

　　Mu Hongyu buried her head in her arms and sobbed silently.

　　A knock came from the door at this point.

　　Mu Hongyu looked up hurriedly. She wiped away her tears and dragged her sore and tired body to the door. “Who is it?”

　　Her expression then turned cold when she saw the person at the door. Without any hesitation, she closed the door.

　　Even though the person at the door was wearing a veil and only revealed a pair of eyes, Mu Hongyu immediately knew that it was Chu Xianmin!

　　“Hey… hang on!” Chu Xianmin pulled the door and stopped Mu Hongyu’s actions. “I came to visit because I heard that you’re injured. Why are you so eager to close the door?” Chu Xianmin spoke as she eyed Mu Hongyu’s face.

　　Mu Hongyu was aggravated, and she coldly said, “You’re not welcome here. Hurry up and leave. There’s nothing in it for you if you anger me!”

　　Chu Xianmin smiled. “You couldn’t even beat me at your peak, not to mention now. There’s no meaning in such a threat.”

　　“What do you want!?” Mu Hongyu had lost her patience.

　　Chu Xianmin closed in as viciousness flashed across her eyes. She smirked. “Chu Liuyue is dead. I heard that she was close to you, so I came to visit. Judging by your current state, she must have died a horrible death, right?”