Lu Xingzhou carefully inquired about their conversation process, then pondered, “Jiang Duxu knows quite a lot, but he hasn’t revealed everything.”

“Indeed. For example, how he knew the Heavenly Tribulation was tampered with, and who the culprit is—he’s not willing to elaborate on those yet.”

“It’s normal if the relationship isn’t close enough… He’s playing both sides a bit now,” Lu Xingzhou chuckled. “No matter, I’ll talk to him later. It’s not that easy to play both sides.”

Ye Tinglan said, “I can’t directly agree to this cooperation he mentioned because it’s difficult to achieve. I can’t just try to break through casually; if his method fails, I would…”

“So, at the very least, he needs to tell us the verbal method first, so you can analyze how effective it might be.”

“Yes, in fact, once it’s spoken, at our level, we’ll naturally sense its efficacy; it doesn’t really depend on analysis.”

“That makes it even more secure. I was still worried…” Lu Xingzhou was halfway through his sentence when Ye Tinglan suddenly sprang up from his embrace, fumbling to adjust her clothes.

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

The next moment, he sensed someone approaching rapidly, swift as a shooting star.

Soon, a figure flashed, and Yang Dechang appeared in the room, bowing, “Gong…”

The word “Gongzi” couldn’t quite escape his lips. Old Yang’s eyes widened as he looked at Ye Tinglan, who stood beside Lu Xingzhou. Her veil was long gone, her beautiful face radiant like a rosy cloud. No matter how she tried to adjust or conceal, she couldn’t hide the fresh blush from just having been alone with a young man in tender intimacy.

She seemed to be standing beside him, but from her expression, it looked like she had just been sitting close to him and had just sprung up… And there were still a few dumplings on the table; it definitely looked like a young couple chatting intimately after dinner.

“Gong what gong?” Lu Xingzhou’s expression was calm. “Old Yang, remember to knock next time, and don’t just come through the window.”

“Ah… oh, oh.” Yang Dechang’s mind was still blank.

He thought Lu Xingzhou was having a family reunion with Miss Sheng and Miss Pei, and Anuo was also there. But what was this?

The Imperial Preceptor?

This was the Imperial Preceptor!

Although Old Yang had never seen the Imperial Preceptor without her veil and in secular clothes, she looked like the Imperial Preceptor no matter how he looked at her… Old Yang suspected he wasn’t fully awake, and even more, that he was about to die.

Yet, Lu Xingzhou calmly put an arm around Ye Tinglan’s waist. “Old Yang, let me introduce you. This is my fiancée, who comes from the Tianyao Holy Land.”

Yang Dechang suddenly realized. Lu Xingzhou indeed had a fourth fiancée, said to be the Imperial Preceptor’s junior sister.

Oh, so it was her. No wonder her demeanor was so similar to the Imperial Preceptor. Then it was fine; it couldn’t possibly be the Imperial Preceptor.

With Lu Xingzhou’s words, Ye Tinglan’s tense body relaxed. She leaned back into Lu Xingzhou’s embrace, sitting down again, and curiously asked, “Husband, who is this…?”

That single word, “husband,” delighted Lu Xingzhou immensely. He secretly glanced at Ye Tinglan, whose face was flushed like fire, and she shot him a fierce glare in return.

“Ahem.” Lu Xingzhou sat up straight. “This is Mr. Yang Dechang, a revered guest of the Huo family.”

“Oh, Yang Dechang, I’ve heard of him,” Ye Tinglan said. “An old revered guest of the Huo family, a martial arts master trained by the Huo family since very early on, a self-made Third Rank. It’s said he reached the peak of Third Rank this year.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Yang Dechang repeatedly bowed. “Just as Young Madam said.”

“What Young Madam? Who’s your Young Madam!”

“Mmm-hmm. Young Madam is right.”

Ye Tinglan angrily turned her head away.

In her heart, she was surprised. This was a very important elder of the Huo family; how many dirty deeds had the Huo family entrusted to elders like him…? It seemed he had fully sided with Lu Xingzhou, look at his sycophantic behavior.

It made sense, though… If they regarded Lu Xingzhou as the Seventh Young Master Huo Shang, then in choosing among the Huo family’s sons to bet on, any normal person would choose Lu Xingzhou. What were those other guys? Even if “Huo Shang” couldn’t become the heir, he himself was a viscount, and his official career was bright. There was no loss in siding with him.

Of course, such an elder would only choose to align with a certain young master; it would be quite difficult to make him completely betray the Huo family. This was also an advantage of Lu Xingzhou consistently using Huo Shang’s name in Huo family affairs—it seemed Lu Xingzhou could win over more than just one Yang Dechang.

“Old Yang, sit down, have some dumplings.” Lu Xingzhou spoke casually, as if with family.

This made Yang Dechang even happier. Those few young masters of the Huo family were truly incompetent and arrogant, none as amiable as Lu Xingzhou.

He didn’t stand on ceremony too much, actually sitting down opposite, half on the edge of the seat. He didn’t eat the dumplings, though, and chuckled, “Gongzi, today Huo Da and Huo Er got into a fight at the family banquet, almost coming to blows. In the end, it was the Old Marquis himself who had to intervene to separate those two troublesome fellows. The Marquis strictly forbade spreading this news, but I thought Gongzi would definitely want to know.”

Lu Xingzhou smiled, “It was bound to happen eventually. But to do this on the grand Winter Solstice festival, Huo Xingyuan must be green with rage.”

“Indeed,” Yang Dechang chuckled. “But what’s more interesting is that, normally in such a situation, Huo Xingyuan would immediately order Huo Zhang to pack up and go to Beijiang. But this time, it’s awkward because Huo Zhang is responsible for Beijiang’s foreign trade and has a lot of work unfinished. Your words are pressuring them, Gongzi, and Huo Xingyuan can’t directly replace the person in charge, so he can only urge him to speed up.”

Lu Xingzhou’s heart stirred, and he lowered his voice, “Old Yang, it’s time for you to act.”

Yang Dechang also whispered back, “That’s precisely why I came to see Gongzi, to see if it’s an opportune moment.”

“The timing itself is very suitable, but have you figured out the problem with that Grand Reverend?”

“Gongzi sees clearly. I deliberately caused trouble with an alchemy furnace in the forbidden area, leading to an explosion. The Grand Reverend, who was far away, arrived instantly with his divine sense and directly suppressed the explosion. Note, he suppressed the explosion, rather than just protecting it from causing damage.” Yang Dechang whispered, “Gongzi, what do you think this means?”

Ye Tinglan blurted out, “Transcendent Rank.”

“Young Madam is very knowledgeable,” Yang Dechang praised. “That move of his must be Transcendent Rank; First Rank can’t do that.”

Ye Tinglan and Lu Xingzhou exchanged glances. The Huo family truly had a Transcendent Rank hidden away. It was correct not to act rashly before.

Not knowing the opponent, suddenly encountering a Transcendent Rank, and possibly two if the reclusive Huo Liancheng was counted, could lead to many expectations collapsing.

“So where did this Transcendent Rank Grand Reverend come from, Old Yang, do you have any idea?” Lu Xingzhou asked.

“I truly don’t know. This Grand Reverend only arrived last year. At the time, we thought he was First Rank, so we made him the Grand Reverend. Although we had some minor grievances, we were convinced. Who would have thought he was actually a Transcendent Rank, a top-tier figure, looking down on the world? Why would he be willing to be a revered guest in a marquis’s household? It just doesn’t make sense.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “Do you think it’s related to coveting the alchemy furnace?”

Yang Dechang was naturally well aware of the alchemy furnace matter; there was no need to hide anything from him.

Yang Dechang thought for a moment, then shook his head. “If he coveted the alchemy furnace, why didn’t he simply take it? When he came last year, the Old Grand Tutor hadn’t gone into seclusion to break through to Transcendent Rank, and he still hasn’t broken through now. With his strength, he could have just snatched it and left. Who in the Huo family could have stopped him?”

Lu Xingzhou muttered to himself, “Gu Zhanting already knows about the Huo family’s alchemy furnace…”

Ye Tinglan nodded. This was the only explanation: this Transcendent Rank was simply Gu Zhanting’s man.

It was laughable that they had originally considered exposing the Huo family’s hidden alchemy furnace to alienate Gu Zhanting from the Huo family, but in fact, Gu Zhanting already knew.

Since he knew all along, that meant…

Lu Xingzhou blurted out, “Gu Zhanting’s illness is feigned, at least now it is! He should have recovered!”

Ye Tinglan’s heart also jolted.

If Gu Zhanting was faking his injury, then all that fuss about seeking treatment and healing, and showing extreme importance for alchemy, was all for show… This “person” could only be her, Ye Tinglan.

“It’s not just feigning weakness to appear harmless; there’s something else.” Lu Xingzhou stood up and paced a few steps. “He’s researching medicine, and before that, there was the altar researching demon blood replacement… There are other motives here. For breaking through to Qianyuan?”

Yang Dechang watched the young couple’s interaction dumbfounded, suddenly unsure where he was or what he was doing.

Weren’t they talking about Huo family matters? How did they suddenly start mentioning Gu Zhanting?

Were they planning a rebellion?

Then Lu Xingzhou stopped pacing, turned, and gave him a kind smile. “Old Yang…”

Yang Dechang shivered.

“You’ve done very well. The rest no longer concerns you. Huo family matters are Huo family matters. Go back and continue to whisper in Huo Qi’s ear as you should.”

Yang Dechang stood up, trembling with fear, and bowed. “Yes.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “Old Yang, you’ve been at Third Rank for so long. Since the Huo family is engaged in alchemy, why haven’t they helped you advance to Second Rank? Don’t they want to rush your growth?”

Rushing his growth, my ass. Yang Dechang had a full beard; he’d been cultivating for so long that he was quite steady. All he lacked was a breakthrough pill to help him advance. A Second Rank breakthrough pill was highly valuable to ordinary people, but for the Huo family, it was nothing. Yet, Yang Dechang still lingered at Third Rank.

Yang Dechang also had a slight grievance. “These things are given as rewards for merit, which is understandable. My merits were almost enough, but I was hindered by the incident of Huo Lu’s death last time, and it’s been shelved ever since.”

Lu Xingzhou handed over a small bottle. “I don’t usually keep these things on hand; this is only one pill.”

Yang Dechang was overjoyed. One was enough; who uses multiple breakthrough pills?

Although it was normal and understandable for the Huo family to give rewards for merit according to their rules, Lu Xingzhou’s generosity at this moment completely overwhelmed Old Yang. His hands trembled slightly as he took the bottle, and he bowed deeply. “I am willing to die for Gongzi.”

“There’s no need to die. Live well, and don’t easily reveal what we just discussed; that also concerns your own old life.”

Yang Dechang said solemnly, “This subordinate understands.”

“Good, go then.”

Yang Dechang excitedly departed with the breakthrough pill. Ye Tinglan watched his retreating back and sighed, “This chess piece you’ve placed will be of great use…”

“An unexpected gain; I originally only wanted to deal with the Huo family…” Lu Xingzhou grinned as he put his arm around her waist. “But I think the most important part was that ‘Young Madam’ and someone’s ‘Husband’.”

“Get lost.”

“Say it again.”

“No.”

Lu Xingzhou scooped her up into a princess carry, kissing her neck, his hands already climbing the Tianyao Peak, applying the kneading skill he’d used earlier there. “Are you going to say it or not?”

“What time is it, and you’re thinking about this…” Ye Tinglan soon began to pant, gently pushing his hand, but unable to move it. A tingling, itchy sensation spread across her neck, growing more and more pleasurable, her eyes gradually becoming languid.

“Is it meaningful to worry endlessly about such things? Knowing this should be a cause for celebration.” Lu Xingzhou increased his pressure. “Say it again, and I’ll use my brain. Otherwise, I’ll just give up.”

Ye Tinglan panted, finally surrendering. “Hus… Husband…”