Upon hearing these words, Hua Jieyu and Ye Futian both looked at Nandou Wenyin in surprise.
Masteress wants to betroth Hua Jieyu to me. Ye Futian’s heart warmed at the thought of this. Today was only his second encounter with Nandou Wenyin, but he also understood that the main reasons behind her decision were because of Hua Fengliu as well as Hua Jieyu’s feelings for himself. Ye Futian’s gifts did not play an important role in Nandou Wenyin’s decision making.
Nandou Wenshan was also shocked but recovered quickly because he understood that his sister had been living with the regrets of her past and did not wish for her daughter to go down the same path. Now that Ye Futian revealed that he was highly capable and even had Minister Zuo on his side, the Nandou clan would definitely take Ye Futian into consideration for Hua Jieyu. Nandou Wenyin wanted to take this opportunity to get their betrothal settled in case anything changed in the future. When she extended her invitation to Ye Futian the day before, she had already made up her mind.
Nandou Tai and the rest stared at Nandou Wenyin collectively. Someone spoke, “Wenyin, don’t you think you’re making a rash decision?”
“It’s true that he presented his capabilities at Donghai Academy, but what of it? It could simply mean that the people of the School of the Emperor Star are too weak. There are tons of highly gifted young men within the Nandou clan. Why should we allow Hue Jieyu to be betrothed to him?” asked another person.
Everyone took their turn in making comments on the subject. Many people had a thing or two to say in disapproval of betrothing the most outstanding young woman of the Nandou clan to the disciple of the Guqin Devil.
“Wenyin, you heard the people. Jieyu is still young, there is no rush to make such a decision,” said Nandou Tai.
“I’m simply saying they should be engaged. I wasn’t suggesting that they should be married right away,” replied Nandou Wenyin. She stood firm on her decision. To be honest, it would not be strange for a girl of Hua Jieyu’s age to be married anyway.
“This is still too hasty,” said Nandou Tai, shaking his head.
“Jieyu’s father is Futian’s master, so obviously he would not object. I am Jieyu’s mother and I also support this. Jieyu and Futian are dedicated to each other and are deeply in love. So, why is this a hasty decision?” questioned Nandou Wenyin. She did not sound too happy.
Nandou Tai’s expression darkened. He stared at Nandou Wenyin and said, “So, what you’re saying is, Hua Jieyu’s marriage has nothing to do with the Nandou clan?”
Nandou Wenyin retorted, “And what Uncle is insinuating is that Jieyu’s marriage should be decided by the Nandou clan and has nothing to do with me, her own mother? In the past, because my parents have already passed, Uncle made decisions for me. Now, even though I’m still well and alive, Uncle wants to make decisions for my daughter?”
Nandou Wenyin knew a thing or two about the clan’s plan on setting her up in a marriage of convenience all those years ago. She was not going to allow them to do the same to her daughter.
“Wenyin, you’re out of line,” an elder reprimanded. “Is this the attitude you use when speaking to the clan leader?”
“Miss Wenyin, is it simply because he is the disciple of the Guqin Devil?” asked Nandou Ku. “Are you trying to have your daughter fulfill the dreams you were unable to?”
Ye Futian looked at Nandou Ku. This was the man who stalked Hua Jieyu to the Guqin Gardens. He had also told Ye Futian that he could not be compared to the Art Saint’s disciple, Zhou Mu.
“Watch your mouth! This is not a place for you to speak,” Nandou Wenyin said to Nandou Ku.
“I understand that Miss Wenyin is of nobility. You carry the blood of your ancestors. You have inherited the royal bloodline. The same can be said for Miss Jieyu. It is because of this that her marriage cannot be determined so hastily. Even though the Guqin Devil’s disciple is incredibly gifted, it doesn’t mean anything. There are tons of genius cultivators out there. There are many just in the Nandou clan, but it seems that Miss Wenyin never took that into consideration,” said Nandou Ku.
Realization flashed through Ye Futian’s eyes. From Nandou Ku’s words, Ye Futian predicted that Nandou Wenyin was the direct descendant of the person who established the Nandou Nation. To say that they have inherited the royal bloodline meant that Nandou Wenyin and Hua Jieyu were actually the princesses of the Nandou clan.
“What you said is correct. The battle at Donghai Academy doesn’t mean anything. I am willing to test his true abilities.” At this moment, a member of the Nandou clan stepped forward. The young man looked at Ye Futian. “How does a battle sound?”
Ye Futian glanced at the young man and chose to ignore him.
“What do you mean by this?” the young man glared at Ye Futian.
“Step down,” ordered Nandou Tai. The young man retreated into the group. Nandou Tai spoke again, “Wenyin, it is exactly because your parents left you at an early age that I was forced to take over as the clan leader. I have the responsibility to take care of you guys. I know that you hold a grudge against me for what happened in the past, but we can’t change what has already happened. I am willing to let go of the past and might even think about allowing you to reunite with Hua Fengliu in a couple of years, but regarding Jieyu’s marriage, will you allow me to make the decision?”
“You’re only now considering Hua Fengliu?” asked Nandou Wenyin. Her demeanor was cold. Hua Jieyu was incredibly gifted and carried the hopes and dreams of the entire Nandou clan. Plus, Ye Futian who was the Guqin Devil’s disciple, also possessed incredible gifts. He also had Minister Zuo to back him up. Nandou Tai had to know that some things could not be changed. Some things are inevitable. The only way future events could be altered is if Nandou Tai broke off relations with Hua Jieyu and at the same time, had Ye Futian killed. However, it was obvious that Nandou Tai could not do either of these things.
“I will make the decisions regarding Hua Jieyu’s marriage.” Nandou Wenyin was not going to give up. She was not going to let the clan sacrifice her daughter as they had done to her.
“How presumptuous!” yelled Nandou Tai. More and more people of the Nandou clan gathered behind their leader. At this moment, Ye Futian realized how lonely Hua Jieyu and her family were among the huge Nandou clan. Their family used to be the most distinguished bloodline but was now the most isolated.
“Masteress, maybe we should give the clan leader a little more time to think about this matter. Jieyu and I aren’t in a rush,” Ye Futian spoke. In this situation, it was not a good idea for Nandou Wenyin to go against the entire clan. What Ye Futian needed was time.
Nandou Wenyin averted her attention to Ye Futian. He bowed to her and said, “Masteress, Jieyu, I’m going to leave now. I’ll come visit again when I get the chance.” He then turned to Nandou Tai and the rest of the group. “Excuse me.”
Ye Futian began to make his way out. The clan made way for him. One of the younger clan members mocked Ye Futian. “He’s probably just afraid to lose. He won’t live up to his reputation.”
“I heard that he does what he wants at the academy, but looking at him now, he doesn’t look all that mighty,” someone else chimed in.
Ye Futian smiled but chose to ignore them. Fighting someone from the Nandou clan would only add fuel to the fire.
After Ye Futian left, Nandou Wenyin and Nandou Tai were still in a stand-off.
“Wenyin, I think you should take some time to cool your head,” said Nandou Tai.
“There’s no need. This is my final decision, I’m not going to have a change of heart,” she replied calmly.
“Talk some sense into your younger sister,” Nandou Tai said to Nandou Wenshan. Then, he turned to leave.
The crowd dispersed. As Ye Futian made his way to the exit of the Nandou Palace, people either challenged him to battle or insulted him. Everyone had an opinion about Ye Futian. He ignored all of them and left with Yi Xiang.
After Nandou Tai led the crowd away, Nandou Wenyin frowned and said quietly, “In the past, he tried to use me to get close to Minister Hua, but now even though Ye Futian is in Minister Zuo’s good graces, he won’t let Hua Jieyu marry him. Is it purely because he is Hua Fengliu’s disciple?”
Nandou Wenshan also frowned. There did seem to be some contradicting points in Nandou Tai’s decision.
“Mother, there is something that I forgot to tell you,” said Hua Jieyu. “The other day, the clan leader invited Minister Zuo over to tell me my fortune. The minister agreed to his request and said that I was destined to be an empress.”
“Tell your fortune?” Nandou Wenshan was shocked. “Minister Zuo is an astrologer?”
“Yes.” Hua Jieyu nodded her head. Nandou Wenyin stood frozen in place. She then turned to her brother and asked, “What do you think of this?”
“So, this was the reason why his Majesty has such great trust in Minister Zuo,” Nandou Wenshan murmured to himself. “I once read an ancient text about astrologers. They are extremely rare and possess the ability to tell a person’s fortune. However, this ability is highly dependent on the astrologer’s own powers. Based on Minister Zuo’s powers, by empress, he could have meant a title of courtesy or a queen. Besides, astrologers can tell fortunes but cannot see the future. A told fortune can be changed.”
What Nandou Wenshan did not know was that Minister Zuo did have doubts on the day he told Hua Jieyu’s fortune. However, he only told her that she was destined to be an empress after she had asked about Ye Futian. In reality, the fortune Hua Jieyu was told consisted of a biased prediction from Minister Zuo.
Hua Jieyu nodded. She also believed that her fortune could be changed.
…
After Ye Futian returned to Donghai Academy, he put himself on lockdown to focus on cultivating. Even after he had demonstrated his gifts and also brought out the Decree of the Minister, the Nandou family clan was still conflicted on allowing him to be with Hua Jieyu. Since things have come to this, the only thing Ye Futian could do was to become even stronger. He was going to become so powerful that he wouldn’t even need to seek the clan’s approval. When spring arrived next year, he would head to Nandou Nation’s Imperial City and attend the Tingfeng Banquet with Hua Jieyu. They were going to heal Hua Fengliu.
The days passed but Ye Futian has not set foot outside of the School of the Finance Star. His powers were increasing day by day.
Meanwhile, Donghai Academy had actually become more peaceful since Ye Futian’s battle. The schools of the Emperor Star and the Treasury Star stopped picking fights with the School of the Finance Star. That day, the two schools were completely humiliated by Ye Futian. They did not have the nerve to look for trouble at the Finance Star school anymore.
However, everyone in Donghai Academy already knew that the School of the Emperor Star was not going to let this go so easily. Perhaps this was the peace before the storm.
Countless rumors circulated around the campus. They said that the School of the Emperor Star wanted to control all of Donghai Academy and that the seven schools were no longer going to stand together.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. It has almost been one year since Ye Futian arrived in the City of Donghai. He has already broken into the six-starred Glory Plane in both martial arts and the art of sorcery. But Ye Futian did not slow down his pace in cultivation. The Glory Plane was still too weak for the Nandou Nation standards. He hoped that he would be able to reach the Dharma Plane quickly and be able to find his place in the Nandou Nation.
While Ye Futian cultivated quietly, all officials from the schools of the Emperor Star and the Finance Star arrived at the entrance of Donghai Academy, including the two headmasters. Everyone at the academy was frantically trying to guess who they were welcoming. What kind of people would warrant such a big welcome?
Finally, a group of people traveling on beasts arrived. This scene was even more powerful and shocking than the time Minister Zuo arrived!