"..."
The atmosphere instantly descended into an awkward state; the silence was palpable and stifling. Tuo Bihan immediately sensed this change; his aged eyes flashed with uncontained curiosity as he shifted between both sisters' varied expressions. The story behind this conflict seemed to have multiple layers! What a twisted drama! Certainly more creative than some books written by famous scholars, and he had the feeling that the situation was about to get increasingly juicy.
He had the urge to press for an answer, but their latent Mystic Ascendant Realm auras beat that urge back.
Wei Wuyin folded his hands behind his back; his piercing gaze burrowed into the two's mental fluctuations with acute powers of discernment. His seemingly simple and direct inquiry had created notable conflict within their thoughts. At first, he half-expected a boring answer as well, such as an opportunity was born and hatred instigated a long-expected rebellion, but the situation seemed to be more complicated than just that.
"Speak." Wei Wuyin's patience ran a little thin after several moments of silence. Tang Heihei was trying to solicit his assistance, and she was being so slow-footed with her response. He had very little stake in their situation either way, and perhaps justice would be served if Tang Baibai got vengeance for her past.
Tang Heihei's heart quivered; she had this strange feeling that she would face a calamity of epic proportions if she didn't speak now. The Seventh Matriarch hadn't expected Wei Wuyin to ask this question, especially given how their history was deeply explored. She had deliberately held nothing back to shift away from the reason, but Wei Wuyin had sensed an abnormality in the situation. Why else would he ask this targeted question?
She gnashed her teeth in her heart. Her original plan was to gain Wei Wuyin's support and then enact a misinformation campaign about his and Tang Xingyun's relationship. Unless the Imperial Clan personally interrogated Wei Wuyin regarding whether her situation was his fault, this would buy her additional time. After all, Wei Wuyin had attacked Xun Yicao before the Empress and left unscathed. Clearly, the Imperial Clan had concerns about confronting Wei Wuyin, an unfathomable enigma that forced Trueborn to back down.
The rope she wanted to create would all vanish into smoke the moment Wei Wuyin learned the truth. After all, thousands of rumors about Wei Wuyin were spreading, and it was extremely difficult to confirm whether they were true or not. Not to mention time-consuming and bothersome for the young alchemist to handle. This was how Lin Xianxei's rumor went largely unnoticed yet was extremely effective in overturning the Lin Clan's situation.
She simply had to orchestrate a proper setting for their relationship to have formed, add a plausible reasoning for them, and construct a credible timeline. However, all her schemes went down the drain before they could even be enacted. Tang Heihei knew that if she didn't answer now, or if Tang Baibai decided to tell the truth after she lied or held back, chances were that Wei Wuyin would simply leave without the slightest interest.
Tang Baibai also had her own thoughts; Tang Xingyun's situation was incredibly sensitive, and she actually liked this niece of hers. She had a talent for cultivation, a will for adventure, and a daringness to live as she wanted.
It reminded her of herself when she was younger.
However, telling Wei Wuyin and Tuo Bihan, who weren't under any oaths, was a deeply unstable variable to keeping it a secret. While she also wasn't under any oath, she had been confident that Tang Heihei wouldn't tell anyone else. Now, however, she was going to. Tang Baibai had half a mind to take several steps back, informing her sister to keep it a secret, and at most, she'll have her imprisoned. Of course, she would be crippled as well.
But knowing how desperate her sister thirsted for power and status, this was extremely unlikely. Moreover, when she looked at Wei Wuyin, her heart was telling her that doing so was no different than offending this figure and would lead to a life-and-death crisis. She smartly decided to remain silent, leaving the choice to her sister.
Tang Heihei's eyes closed as she took several breaths, and when she reopened them, a decision was made!
"My daughter lost her virginity," she calmly and flatly said with little emotion.
"WHAT?!" Tuo Bihan was shocked to the limit! He was fully aware of Tang Xingyun, the Saintess of the Tang Clan and the fiancée of Tian Yinwu, the most explosive figure beside Wei Wuyin! This was…this was…THIS WAS!!!
With bulging eyes and quivering fingers, Tuo Bihan was sent mentally flying at the mere implications of such a statement. Tian Yinwu! Imperial Clan! Pre-birth engagement! Divine Emperor's lineage! Pride! Honor! Cuckold! SCANDAL!!
For a solid minute, he was rummaging through his mind as all sorts of exciting and insane possibilities flowed. After hitting a state of peak excitement, with a needy and urgent smile infused with rampant interest, he asked: "To who?!"
The question that would be on anyone's lips was directly asked!
Wei Wuyin's outward reaction wasn't very intense, but his inward reaction was quite something! And this prompted a series of exceptional connections to generate within his mind, and the follow-up conclusions were astonishing. It was as if a crucial piece of information had been brought forth, assisting in completing the puzzle thus far.
"I don't know," Tang Heihei answered honestly. She had guesses, of course, but they weren't concrete with any evidence. After all, she had just been told about it by her sister a little while ago, and this was already a difficult pill to swallow. Tang Xingyun's carelessness led to her being schemed against and nearly killed! Despite Tang Xingyun being her beloved daughter, she had a wisp of disapproval and anger in her heart. Who wouldn't?
Moreover, Tang Xingyun was still a mortal. This would ruin her future prospects as a cultivator. And for what? So a man could enjoy her body?
It was stupidity at its highest!
Tang Heihei looked at her sister, her eyes also inquiring about the identity of the culprit. However, Tang Baibai shrugged. She said without any lies, "I was only told of her condition and that it was consensual. I confirmed it myself as well. But I've never sensed the yang aura intermixed into her yin aura, so I don't know."
"..." Tang Heihei felt a tad bit relieved at hearing this. She could still spin this and salvage the situation with time. A well-placed lie suggesting that it was a forceful incident by a greedy, lustful Ascended being, finding a proper patsy and slaughter…
Wait…
As someone born with a scheming mind filled with ambition and a distorted sense of morality, she recognized that her sister's words weren't very consistent with the outcome. The Imperial Clan knew that Tang Xingyun wasn't a virgin, and they had kept her in the Aeternal Sky Domain's capital, during which they instigated a coup d'état that would replace her as the Tang Matriarch and likely strip her of her title, labeling her as a vile figure unworthy of the Seventh Matriarch title postmortem. This would push forth a replacement for the Seventh Matriarch, being her more talented sister, and then invalidate the engagement between Tang Xingyun and Tian Yinwu. In with the good, out with the bad; In with the purity of white, erasing the turbidity of black.
Suddenly, her heart began to race rapidly, and fear flitted through her extremities and spine with a ghastly chill.
Tang Xingyun was never going to leave the Imperial Clan's territory, regardless of the outcome. This was what she realized!
"Interesting," Wei Wuyin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Those silver eyes of his were exceptionally bright and lit with calculation. "So this is how it is. Beings with free will must be a hassle to deal with," Wei Wuyin jokingly commented with a light chuckle, thinking about how hard it must be for the Heavenly Daos to salvage the situation of a Blessed, especially when they court their own calamities.
He almost immediately knew that the culprit could only be Lin Ming, the Archaic Chosen of the True Element Sect! He also determined that Tang Xingyun and her mother were finished. The Imperial Clan decided to take this route, supplanting the Tang Clan's position, and salvaging Tang Xingyun's infidelity to secure Tian Yinwu's reputation.
But they were currently being affected by the Heavenly Daos' attempt to hide Lin Ming's involvement. If he had to guess, the two likely swore a Mythical Oath never to reveal the truth of their affair to those they didn't trust. Because of this, even being violently interrogated wouldn't work, and Tang Xingyun would likely never willingly give up Lin Ming's name.
"Al-Alchemic Sovereign Wei!" Tang Heihei's desperation reached its peak. Wei Wuyin could see that she had realized the situation and its inevitable outcomes. Regardless of what, the Imperial Clan was going to kill both of them and rid the world of any evidence of infidelity.
If he were in their situation, he would too. But they were bound by the Seventh Matriarch's Firstborn Marriage Agreement, so they had to go with this roundabout and hasty manner of erasing Tang Heihei from the Tang Clan's registry—a loophole, so to speak.
If he had to guess, Heavenly Seers had a heavy hand in devising this strategy. He even suspected the involvement of the Golden Gate Pavilion, but he wasn't sure if the Imperial Clan was willing to allow them to grasp such an important secret.
"..." When he thought of this unfathomable power, he couldn't help but think of how out-of-place and atypical everything felt earlier, especially given Tang Baibai's history. Could the Golden Gate Pavilion have a hand in this from the beginning? As the strongest known faction of Heavenly Seers, they could easily grasp the truth regarding Tang Xingyun's infidelity.
There was something critical missing…
Regardless of what it was, he knew that this situation was an incredibly messy one from every angle. Tang Heihei's only choice was to rely on something else. The Imperial Clan wouldn't let her live, and they'll move to have her removed to salvage the situation, alive or dead. As for Tang Xingyun, the Imperial Clan will definitely either have her suffer a horrible 'self-inflicted' death or seal her indefinitely to 'judge' her for her mother's crimes. Perhaps both!
From Tang Heihei's shaky eyes, she knew this unforgiving truth.
Tang Baibai understood this too. While she liked her niece, she couldn't save her from her fate unless she made concessions and unsavory agreements AFTER becoming the Tang Matriarch. Such as returning to becoming Yin Cauldrons of the Imperial Clan…
"This is wild. If the world knew of this, the Imperial Clan would be a joke for thousands of years, even more so for Tian Yinwu." Tuo Bihan was like a seated spectator watching a play, eating popcorn, and desiring to see how it all unfolded. He had no stakes here, so it was simply entertaining.
"Well, unless his luck has run out, Tang Xingyun should survive." Wei Wuyin thought and nodded in his heart. Everything thus far was a sign of the Heavenly Daos in action, trying to desperately preserve Lin Ming. He couldn't imagine how much Karmic Luck Value was exhausted with this.
Wei Wuyin faintly smiled, saying to the twins: "I shouldn't interfere. I dislike Tang Xingyun. No, I despise her. To be perfectly frank, just the sheer fact she was willing to condemn her entire clan for a man's momentary pleasure reaffirms my entire belief of her unreasonable selfishness that doesn't consider truth or facts. She's a loathsome woman through and through. One that could sacrifice her servant's life and abuse her status in a fair competition at her own convenience, completely at odds with my principles.
"Additionally, your Tang Clan hunted down Bai Lin, my Fire Phoenix, and injured her severely. She still intends to ravage your entire world with her flames, erasing the Tang Clan from existence one day. The sole reason you're still breathing the same air as us is because of the Imperial Clan's protection, which don't seem to truly exist anymore. To be perfectly honest, it would be reasonable for me to leave you in the lurch to squirm and die."
Those words were extremely shocking! Tuo Bihan agreed with Wei Wuyin, just the fact that Tang Heihei had issued an order that injured Bai Lin was sufficient for her to die many times over. This Highlord was only alive by the grace of Wei Wuyin's cautiousness toward the Imperial Clan.
"..." The twin sisters had varying reactions! Tang Baibai, who one would think would be happy, had a deeply furrowed frown, and Tang Heihei, who one would think would be terrified and fall into the abyss of despair, had hope in her eyes!
They were both intelligent individuals and knew that for Wei Wuyin to speak so much already was a sign of a heavy and important 'BUT' incoming!
"But…" and as they expected, it had come: "Bai Lin could use some lowly servants to tend to her needs."
Wei Wuyin's smile deepened, a dark light suffusing his eyes with each passing second.
