“Freeman, do you remember the body of the guard?” Gongsun Su explained, “If the body hadn"t been discovered and reported to Yamen, you wouldn"t have learned so soon that your family members who went for an outing got into trouble, let alone call your daughter and others back from Lingxi Mountain. Am I right?”

Sheng Lanci nodded gloomily.

“In the troop that Han Family sent to the land, there was our spy. The body was a cue he left for Yamen. It was aimed to stop your daughter and her companions from going to Lingxi Mountain.” Pity flashed through Gongsun Su"s eyes, which was not for Shen Jiuniang or Sheng Weirao, but for the spy, “Because after finding that they kidnapped the wrong person, Han Family decided to move on to Lingxi Mountain and to ambush them there. I hope you could understand, the spy loyal to us the family of Gongsun would never want to see your daughter caught by Han Family! But at the moment, the master of Han Family was unbelieving and sly, so he couldn"t find any chance to convey a message or give a warning!”

“The spy tried every means he could think up, and finally the body, which should be buried deeply, was exposed somewhere people would pa.s.s by so that Yamen got the information and you learned that the juniors who went for an outing had an accident. Then you sent someone and stopped your daughter and her companions who were already close to Lingxi Shan!”

Gongsun Su sighed, “But after the news spread, the spy was also exposed. Han Family bound him with ropes and threw him into the sea to feed the sharks!”

“Because of this spy, Han Family doubted that you had already known about the truth, and the so-called 100 thousand taels was just a bait. So, they didn"t really believe it!”

Afterward, Sheng Lanci had been to Daimao Island and made a bid for several times. Han Family rejected because they didn"t believe him. So, they proposed such a ridiculous request that they wanted Sheng Shuihe and Sheng Weiqiao as an exchange. Though Han Family didn"t know about their real ident.i.ty and thought that they were the foster son of the family of Gongsun and the lady of Ningwei Marquis" Mansion, even if that were true, Sheng Lanci would not have exchanged the foster brother of his ally and the daughter of his friend for his nieces!

If he really had done that, his reputation on both the land and the sea would have been totally ruined!

After all, Shen Jiuniang and Sheng Weirao weren"t Sheng Weiqiao, so Sheng Lanci wouldn"t possibly ruin his future for them!

Having explained the whole event, Gongsun Su squinted and made it clear, “It was because of Xuanyu E and his family"s evil heart and Han Family"s cruelty and ambition! Your daughter was blessed, while your nieces were less lucky! But if such a thing spread throughout your whole family, you won"t benefit from it. In my opinion, your niece doesn"t want to live her life anymore. Why don"t you submit to her will, in case the further conflicts in your family cause deeper pain?”

“Thanks for your kindness!” However, Sheng Lanci said flatly with a dark face, “It was Sheng Family who failed to protect the two girls. It wasn"t the children"s fault. Since we saved one of them out by luck, how could I kill her out of the fear for her parents" blame? Even Han Family didn"t kill them. If I, as her uncle, didn"t spare her life, wouldn"t I be fouler than Han Family?!”

Gongsun Su peered at her for a while, stopped persuading him, and sighed, “I supposed that you would make such a decision, so I didn"t kill her on the sea.”

He paused, “I"ll bring her to your room later?”

“Though in Nanfeng County, everyone knows that my nieces have been missing for long, and even if I save them back now, it can"t stop those rumors about their reputation.” Sheng Lanci shook his head and said, “But still I have to do my best, even if it"s only a specious thing. I won"t meet that girl on the island. Please send her to the land secretly. I"ll give you an address, which is one of Sheng Family"s properties. The manager there is a trusted servant of mine. You ask him to accommodate the girl. I"ll talk with her parents first and determine a proper saying about it and then bring her back! Anyway, she couldn"t be brought back from the sea directly!”

Gongsun Su consented to that and reminded him, “Your daughter is innocent. If she learns the whole story, I fear she will ascribe it to her fault. Please give her some good consolation in case she feels depressed!”

“Thanks for your consideration. I will take care of her!” Sheng Lanci nodded a little distantly. Seeing that Gongsun Su had nothing more to say, he showed himself out.

After he left, Gongsun Yingdun walked out from behind the screen and made a salute, “Father!”

“Have you got anything from his words?” Gongsun Su cast a flat glimpse at him and asked.

“I… I didn"t understand while listening, that since you thought that Third Miss Sheng would make trouble for the first branch of Sheng Family, why didn"t you leave her on the sea and killed in a mess?” Gongsun Yingdun asked tentatively, “But later when I heard that Eldest Master Sheng rejected your advice, I thought… that maybe you haven"t been intended to kill Third Miss Sheng since the beginning, and you just want to probe Eldest Master with her?”

Gongsun Su asked flatly, “What do I hope to probe about him?”

“Because you partic.i.p.ated in this fight yourself this time, everything on the island was entrusted to Little Uncle. But since Little Uncle hadn"t totally recovered, we invited Eldest Master Sheng who happened to be here to help.” Gongsun Yingdun observed his father"s expression and said cautiously, “Eldest Master Sheng is always insightful. Even though Little Uncle would only request him to handle the petty affairs, he must have looked through everything about us with this experience. If he were always our ally, it wouldn"t be a serious problem. But if he began to conspire against us, it would be extremely disadvantageous to us!”

“So, you want to probe his virtue and comportments. He knew it clearly that by saving Third Miss Sheng, he would cause trouble for his branch, especially that the apple of his eyes would also be involved, but sill he decided to do his best for his niece. I see that even though he behaved ruthlessly sometimes, he had a conscience. As long as we don"t betray him, he won"t do any harm to us, will he?”

At the point, Gongsun Su said, expressionless, “Wrong!”

Hearing that, Gongsun Yingdun trembled. But when looking into Gongsun Su"s cold eyes, he straightened and said sonorously, “I"m sorry for my fault, and I"m willing to accept any punishment!”

“First of all, Third Miss Sheng didn"t have a solid prop. Even if she thinks that her suffering is due to your aunt, it won"t have any impact on the first branch of Sheng Family. So, Sheng Lanci had no reason to fear her. He doesn"t care about a problem of such extent, and the only trouble for him is to coax his daughter out of remorse. What"s the bother to kill her?! Besides, even you are able to tell such a scheme. So, do you think Sheng Lanci would neglect it?”

“It"s thoughtless to figure that I probed him in this way!”

“Secondly, though Daimao Island is the base of us the family of Gongsun, our ancestors have once sailed through the world. Since the Gongsun Family can dominate the sea area for so many years, could we be short-sighted and incompetent? If you think that by figuring out everything on Daimao Island, so that you could grasp everything about us, it will be so ridiculous of you!”

“Since I dared to invite Sheng Lanci to help with the home front, I wouldn"t be scared even if he took the chance to play any tricks!”

“Thirdly, you underestimated your little uncle too much!”

“You thought that because of his injuries, he couldn"t get up and overlook everything himself so that he had to rely on Sheng Lanci instead of taking charge of the home front alone?!”

“In fact, I arranged Sheng Lanci to help your little uncle, not meant to find someone to share his burden, but to allow your little uncle to show his talent to Sheng Lanci!”

Gongsun Su"s expression was blurred, and he said with a complicated tone, “Sheng Lanci"s affection for his daughter was unimaginable. Though your little uncle was brought back, obviously, in Sheng Lanci"s eyes, his daughter is always more important than the son! For the family of Gongsun, in any sense, it"s not a good thing!”

“From the perspective of our community, because your little uncle was closely bonded to the family of Gongsun, and he"s back to the land, a more promising future he has, the more he could do to the family of Gongsun in the future! While considering Sheng Lanci"s status, if he offers him some support, he will be able to make achievements in his career even sooner!”

“From the perspective of the special relationship, he"s my foster brother, and I"ve known him since he was young. I always regard him as my own brother. So how could I let him repress by a naive girl?!”

Gongsun Su sighed, “But Sheng Lanci was very cunning. If you did something to his sweetheart, it would damage our relationship, and even affected your little uncle! So, I could only manage to make him realize your little uncle"s ability. After all, your aunt was born with the expectation of Sheng Lanci and his wife and raised up by them. As their sweetheart, she has spent so many years with them, so naturally, they have built a solid bond.”

“While your little uncle was brought back abruptly. Besides, his biological mother didn"t have any emotional bond with Sheng Lanci. So, to make him be valued, it"s hopeless to count on Sheng Lanci"s paternal love, and we have to resort to other means. We have to impress Sheng Lanci with his genius and talent, and make him realize his importance and recognize your uncle in his mind!”

At that point, Gongsun Su looked at daunted Gongsun Yingdun, and sighed, “When your little uncle and I were at your age, in respect of martial arts, scheming, and leadership, we were already no worse than our father"s generation! But still, when your grandfather pa.s.sed away at the beginning of the year, and I took over the position of Sea Master, even with the a.s.sistance of your little uncle, you have seen how tough it was for us!”

“While though I"ve been teaching you so conscientiously, you"re still by far worse than your little uncle and me at your age. Considering your performance, how could I leave the family of Gongsun to you later on?!”

Gongsun Yingdun put on a guilty face. Because he knew about his father"s temperament, with deep fear, he lowered his head, wordless.

“It will be the victory banquet. If you are injured, your little uncle will surely admonish me.” Stroking the ring made of deer antler, Gongsun Su said peacefully, “Go get changed. I"ll punish you after tonight!”

Gongsun Yingdun felt relieved. Having bowed with guilty, he recoiled to quit.

He moved to outside the door. Knowing that Gongsun Su couldn"t see his face anymore, he clenched his fists forcefully, and when he raised his eyes, they were filled with hatred and impatience.

Though the father and son of Gongsun had finished their conversation, the talk between Sheng Lanci and Sheng Weiqiao had just started. “… I tell you the whole story behind with the only hope that you won"t be cheated by others when you"re accused of Jiuniang and Weirao"s experience!”

Sheng Lanci had a stern face, “You didn"t commit any mistakes throughout the whole thing!”

“I"m not wheedling you on purpose. First, that day it was Xuanyu Che who came to provoke you first, not you! As your brother, it was normal that Shuihe fought for you! If they insisted that because you and your brother didn"t compromise with Xuanyu Che, Jiuniang and Weirao were harmed, according to their logic, Jiuniang would be the one who triggered everything!”

“After all, if she hadn"t stopped the carriage there, you wouldn"t have seen Xuanyu Che!”

“In this way, how many people are supposed to take the blame?”

“If your Second Aunt hadn"t wanted Weirao to get acquainted with the n.o.ble, why would your grandmother have asked Jiuniang to come out with you?”

“Your grandmother doesn"t like your Second Aunt. She covered up for her scheme because of your Second Uncle. She feared that the gossip about his indulgence for his wife was learned by your grandfather, and he would be penalized again!”

“Even for Weirao herself, if she didn"t hold any prejudice, acted irritably, and countered Jiuniang several times on the way, how could she be sent back with Jiuniang because of another quarrel with her?”

“Besides, the one who made the decision to send them back wasn"t you, but Weide!”

“So, if you have to take the blame, none of the people above could escape from it, either!”

“Does the whole family have to live their life with regret later on?!”

Recently, Sheng Weiqiao had been enquiring if the messages conveyed to the island had mentioned her cousins every day. Hearing that Gongsun Su was already back that day, but still, nothing new was heard about Shen Jiuniang and Sheng Weirao, she figured that the two had lost their lives in the battle, and was sobbing in the room.

At the time, she heard from her father that her cousins" miserable experience was inextricably linked to her. You could imagine her mood!

Though Sheng Lanci consoled her again and again, she still felt sorrowful. Having wept for long, she choked, and felt frustrated, “Can"t we find my cousin, anyway? Third Sister… where is Third Sister? May I see her now?”

“Though we haven"t found Jiuniang, don"t worry about that. I"ll send some people to continue searching for her.” Sheng Lanci comforted her gently, “As for Weirao, for the sake of her future, I"ve requested Sea Master Gongsun to send her back to the land. And we"ll tell others that she was saved by some kind people and sent back home safe and sound.”

Though the outsiders wouldn"t possibly believe such a saying, considering Sheng Family"s status in Nanfeng County, unless they wanted to become Sheng Family"s enemies, they would go along with the saying and answer, “Third Miss Sheng is blessed.”

With such a cover, though Sheng Weirao couldn"t live her life as before, her reputation wouldn"t be totally tainted, and people wouldn"t feel it a shame to make her acquaintance.

But after all, Sheng Lanci sent his niece back to the land hastily without letting her meet Sheng Weiqiao because he worried that being saved not long ago, Sheng Weirao could be mentally unstable, so when seeing Sheng Weiqiao, she might say something harsh to her and make her sad.

Thus, after having requested Gongsun Su to send Sheng Weirao back to the land, on his way to his daughter"s place, he had sent someone back to Sheng Family and reported to Senior Master Sheng and Old Madam Ming, so that they would send someone to the foster home and console Sheng Weirao. Certainly, he turned to them instead of Sheng Weirao"s parents because he didn"t trust Sheng Lansi and Madam Bai, especially in terms of Madam Bai"s morals.

As for if Sheng Weirao would keep her hatred against the first branch after he did that, Sheng Lanci didn"t care.

He didn"t feel guilty, anyway.

She was just a niece. If she decided to make a fuss, he could send her to somewhere remote for marriage and leave her aside.

Of course, Sheng Lanci wouldn"t tell his daughter about his scheme. He consoled her gently for some time. Seeing that Sheng Weiqiao almost stopped sobbing, he followed the servant who had come to urge him for three or four times to the victory banquet at the major hall.

The victory banquet on Daimao Island lasted for three days. Sheng Lanci and his companions left on the second day.

Gongsun Su wanted to detain them to stay for some more days, but Sheng Lanci expressed that considering Sheng Family"s business, he had spent enough long time here as the master, leaving all the affairs aside, so he wasn"t allowed to linger anymore. Most importantly, though he had brought some precious herbs here, Sheng Shuihe"s injuries would get proper treatment on the land.

So Gongsun couldn"t find any excuse to detain them and bid them farewell.

But when seeing them away, Gongsun Yingjiang and Gongsun Xi followed the members of Sheng Family onto their ship.

Seeing that, Sheng Weiqiao was surprised, “Are you going to the land? For what?”

“No!” Gongsun Yingjiang and Gongsun Xi smiled subtly, looking at her, “We"re going to your house!”