stonecrandall Chapter 10: Helping Nalan Yanran Review the Process of Breaking Off the Engagement?
Chapter 10: Helping Nalan Yanran Review the Process of Breaking Off the Engagement?
About thirty minutes later, on the platform at the top of Yunlan Mountain, Yun Congxin led Nalan Yanran onto a flying magical beast bound for Wutan City.
Sharing a room with the seemingly stern and harsh old sect leader, Nalan Yanran felt somewhat reserved. After brewing tea for Yun Congxin, she obediently knelt in a corner of the room, her eyes lowered and remaining motionless.
The time spent in the sky was exceptionally boring. Yun Congxin looked out the window at the rapidly receding milky white clouds and, feeling utterly bored, decided to tease Nalan Yanran, who was pretending to be a statue.
"Look at that mountain, doesn't it look familiar?"
"This...where is..." Nalan Yanran was taken aback. Even though she had tried her best to remain calm after being demoted from the young sect leader to a maid, Nalan Yanran's face turned pale. She looked at the continuous mountain range in the distance and collapsed to the ground in a daze.
Yun Congxin nodded and said, "You read that right, we are now in the southeast corner of the Monster Mountain Range, and we will be arriving in Wutan City soon."
"Why are we going to Wutan City? It's just..." Nalan Yanran suddenly shouted excitedly, but she realized she had lost control of her emotions as soon as she spoke. "This disciple has lost her composure. Please punish me, Master."
"It's alright, feel free to say whatever you want to say."
Nalan Yanran took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down: "If Grandmaster feels that Nalan Yanran has disgraced the sect, he can simply expel Yanran from Yunlan Sect. Why humiliate Yanran like this..."
"Why would you think I'm trying to bully you?" Yun Congxin asked with a smile.
"Grandmaster, why ask a question you already know the answer to! Three years ago, I did indeed do something wrong. Grandmaster brought Yanran here precisely because..."
"Why?" Yun Congxin interrupted Nalan Yanran. "I remember you said in front of the Xiao family boy that you hoped he would apologize to someone on your behalf. Apologies are something you have to do yourself; how can you ask the victim to do it for you?"
"But..."
"But you're not ready yet, are you?" Yun Congxin interrupted Nalan Yanran again. "Don't worry, Grandmaster isn't an unreasonable person. He won't force you to go to the Xiao family."
Facing Nalan Yanran's suspicious gaze, Yun Congxin paused for a moment before continuing, "My Yunlan Sect also has its pride. What kind of nonsense is it to force you to apologize to a small family in this remote town? Besides, saying sorry requires sincerity; otherwise, it's just a perfunctory remark, what good is it?"
"So, what is the purpose of your journey, Grandmaster?"
"Sigh, just you wait and see. There are definitely more Yunlan Sect members than just you and me coming to this small town." Yun Congxin's expression finally turned serious. "What good is it to risk real trouble for empty fame?"
"Your disciple is dull-witted."
"For example, why did you bring people from my Yunlan Sect to the Xiao family to annul the engagement three years ago?"
"...It was my foolish and overly ostentatious behavior that led me to this situation."
Yun Congxin shook her head and said, "No, no, no, you've got it all mixed up. Your arrogance is an assessment of bringing my Yunlan Sect's steward to annul the engagement. You condescendingly trampled on the face of the Xiao family patriarch. You were wrong in this matter, the steward was wrong, and Yun'er was wrong. But that's just the result. So what caused this situation?"
Nalan Yanran pondered for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Because Grandpa doesn't agree to me breaking off the engagement?"
"That's it! Then why didn't he agree?" Yun Congxin smiled with satisfaction as he saw that the girl had finally figured it out.
"I...I don't know."
"You actually knew all along, otherwise you wouldn't have begged Yun'er to agree to your annulment of the engagement."
"Your grandfather is a man obsessed with saving face. He'd rather lose his granddaughter's affection than bear the reputation of betraying his principles. Even... even though you, his granddaughter, are a rare genius and the young sect leader of the Yunlan Sect," Yun Congxin recounted to Nalan Yanran. "Isn't this what they call seeking empty fame and incurring real harm?"
"Grandpa...Grandpa just..."
Even though she knew in her heart that Yun Congxin was right, Nalan Yanran still wanted to protect her grandfather's reputation.
"Him? Ha, do you know what the correct, or rather, the dignified way to annul the engagement is?" Yun Congxin sneered, not bothering to waste any more words on the old man from the Nalan family's opinion.
"The Yunlan Sect will be an asset to you, you're not mistaken about that, and it's right that you begged Yun'er to agree to annul the engagement."
"But you shouldn't use the Yunlan Sect card against the Xiao family. The Yunlan Sect's name isn't for bullying others!"
"As I just said, your grandfather already knew that the Xiao family boy had become a cripple during those years. Did he really want to marry his exceptionally talented granddaughter to someone who couldn't cultivate battle qi? Of course he didn't, but he didn't want to lose face, which is why he didn't agree to your annulment. To put it bluntly, he was held back by his reputation."
"You've already persuaded Yun'er, so go put pressure on the Nalan family! Beg her to take you to persuade your grandfather!"
"When you brought the Yunlan Sect to the Xiao family, it was an act of bullying, but when you brought your master to the Nalan family, it was a completely different story!"
"The younger generation is unwilling to accept the older generation's arrangements. So we persuaded our master, who is of equal status and position, to convince the stubborn older generation. This is the right way! It gives your grandfather a way out and allows the older generation, who were betrothed since childhood, to resolve the issue privately and respectably."
"As for the Xiao family, they've long known that their young patriarch, now a cripple, could never marry such a beautiful woman. If Nalan Jie had simply invited the Xiao family patriarch over politely and privately dissolved the engagement gracefully, would they have reacted so strongly?"
At this point, Yun Congxin smiled helplessly. If the engagement were to be dissolved in private, he knew without a doubt what Nalan Jie, that opportunistic man who wouldn't act until he saw a clear benefit, would say.
It's simply that Nalan Yanran persuaded the Yunlan Sect Master, and now the Nalan family can't force her to come down the mountain to get married. Yanran is an immature child; she even has the support of the Yunlan Sect, has gained power, and is determined to oppose the Nalan family. She shifts the blame to the absent Yunlan Sect, pretending to be caught in the middle, so Xiao Zhan naturally has nothing to say.
The engagement was broken off privately, and the dignified Dou Wang (King of Fighting) persuaded him with kind words, giving the Xiao family ample face. Xiao Zhan had no reason to disagree.
After he agrees, recall your friendship with your old friend, express your affection for Xiao Yan in a gentle tone, and take out the prepared pills as a token of your care for the younger generation. That will settle the matter.
"For the Nalan family, canceling a marriage engagement that was destined to be a loss for them, and they even gained a favor from my Yunlan Sect for free. They're overjoyed," Yun Congxin concluded.
"It's just that my Yunlan Sect suffered a slight loss, but it shouldn't have been as humiliating as it is now. For the sake of the young sect leader's happiness, suffering some losses is completely acceptable."
Yun Congxin glanced at Nalan Yanran, who seemed lost in thought, but he didn't say a few very sharp words.
To put it bluntly, this is a matter between your Nalan family and the Xiao family. What does it have to do with my Yunlan Sect?
You, Nalan Yanran, dragged my Yunlan Sect into this mess, making us all the scum. My Yunlan Sect inexplicably became the only designated boss in the early stages, while your Nalan family just quietly disappeared. Why?!