Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 140 Unconvinced? Then fight until you are!【2 more - s】

Chapter 140: 140 Unconvinced? Then fight until you are!【2 more Chapters】

"..."

The drawing room fell into utter silence, and Steward Sai was stunned by these words.

This girl, not yet twenty years of age, possessed an extremely powerful aura, one that was oppressive.

As he was looked upon by her eyes as blue as the ocean, Steward Sai felt his legs go weak and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

In the end, he admitted defeat, lowered his head, and his tone became much more respectful, "I will convey your message to the Young Family Head and Madam. I hope you will grace us by staying in Wanta Country for a couple more days."

Ye Wanlan replied, "Certainly."

Steward Sai hurried off, almost tumbling in his rush to leave.

"Tsk, these people, always bullying the weak," Xiang Lefeng shook his head, "Just as my ancestors said, with some people, reason won’t prevail, you have to speak with your fists."

Ye Wanlan raised an eyebrow, "Which ancestor of yours?"

"Of course, it’s Princess Yongning," Xiang Lefeng pressed his hands together and respectfully bowed toward the sky, "Her Highness had a famous saying, which I remember vividly and always regard as a personal motto."

Professor Xue was also curious, "What saying? Is it recorded in the history books?"

"It’s not in the history books, only known to us members of the Xiang family," Xiang Lefeng wagged his finger, "It was something she said in confrontation with an enemy—’If they don’t submit, then fight until they do.’"

Ye Wanlan: "..."

Had she really said such a thing?

Maybe... quite possibly?

Ye Wanlan pondered, but indeed, it did sound like it matched her character.

Yan Tingfeng poured another cup of tea for himself and Ye Wanlan, then lifted his eyes and smiled, "Indeed, these sound like words your ancestor would say."

"Oh please, you haven’t even seen our Xiang family’s chronicles, acting as if you’ve met my ancestor," Xiang Lefeng snorted, "I have to emphasize once more, Princess Yongning is my ancestor, so just be jealous!"

Ye Wanlan sighed and sipped her tea slowly.

She wasn’t too keen to acknowledge this was her descendant.

**

On the other hand, Steward Sai hurried back to the Sai family home at top speed and relayed Ye Wanlan’s words in full.

"This is outrageous!" Madam Sai was on the verge of apoplexy, "Expecting me to bow and kowtow three times to her, she can think again!"

Steward Sai wiped his sweat and dared not speak.

"Madam Sai," Sai Xiuya looked at her with a downcast gaze, his tone flat and calm, "For the sake of grandfather’s health and the future of the Sai family, you should be able to make this sacrifice, shouldn’t you?"

Madam Sai turned white in an instant; she wanted to refuse, but it was impossible—the power within the Sai family was still held firmly in Sai Xiuya’s hands.

"Yes," Madam Sai almost crushed her back teeth, her voice lowered, "I’ll go bathe and burn incense right away."

Sai Xiuya turned his head, "After Madam Sai has completed her bathing and incense burning, I will personally invite Miss Ye over."

At this point, Ye Wanlan was their only lifeline.

Madam Sai bathed a total of seven times before she was up to standard.

By the time she finished burning incense, it was already the next morning.

Without allowing her a moment to rest, Sai Xiuya immediately went to invite Ye Wanlan and her party from the hotel.

"Are we going to do the three prostrations and nine bows shortly?" Xiang Lefeng was eager, "Let me call out the commands, I’m most familiar with this sort of thing."

Sai Xiuya froze for a moment, "And you are—"

Xiang Lefeng patted his chest, "From the Xiang family of Shenzhou, Xiang Lefeng."

The Xiang family!

Sai Xiuya’s expression became grave.

The surname "Xiang" belonged to the Ning Dynasty’s Royal Family.

Even though the dynasty had fallen, the Xiang family still had an extremely strong foundation and, three hundred years later, they remained without question the number one family in Yunjing.

But—

What could be the identity of Miss Ye to have a member of the Xiang family at her back?

It seemed that Shenzhou did not have a major clan with the surname "Ye."

Could it be that there was a hidden family he was not aware of?

In his heart, Sai Xiuya’s awe of Ye Wanlan deepened another level.

"Then we’ll trouble Young Master Xiang," Sai Xiuya gestured with his hand, "Please, this way."

In the hall, Madam Sai had also dressed in elaborate formal attire, extremely grand, worn only when receiving top-level guests.

Her face looked unhealthy, and her eyes held a venomous gaze when looking at Ye Wanlan.

"Are you ready?" Xiang Lefeng cleared his throat and called out loudly, "One kneel."

Under the focused gaze of all present, Madam Sai knelt down with a stiff expression, her face flushed red with effort.

"One bow—"

"Two bows—"

"Three kowtows."

Having repeated the process three full times, the three prostrations and nine kowtows ritual was finally completed.

"That will do," Ye Wanlan nodded and smiled. "It seems Mrs. Sai’s claim of admiring the Shenzhou of three hundred years ago was no empty talk. You are very familiar with the tribute procedures of your time, and your etiquette is quite impeccable, I am satisfied."

Mrs. Sai’s complexion first turned pale, then flushed red; half out of anger, and half out of humiliation.

She wanted to say something, but the warning gaze from Sai Xiuya forced every word back down her throat.

Ye Wanlan turned her head to address Yan Tingfeng, "Excuse me, but make sure no one comes in later."

Yan Tingfeng gently blinked, "Miss Ye trusts me so much?"

Ye Wanlan lifted her head to meet his inquiring gaze, "Shouldn’t I trust you?"

Several seconds of mutual gaze felt as though they had already gone through an intense battle.

"Of course, you should," Yan Tingfeng suddenly smiled, his eyes affectionate, voice softening, "I won’t let you get hurt."

The door to the hospital room closed, and all the caregivers were dismissed.

Though anxious, Sai Xiuya could do nothing but wait outside.

As for Mrs. Sai, having stayed up all night and suffered such humiliation, she had been exhausted to the point of fainting and was taken away by the servants.

Every second, every minute of waiting felt like a year to Sai Xiuya.

He couldn’t help but bring up a topic, "I heard that up to now, Shenzhou has yet to ascertain where the enemy from three hundred years ago came from?"

"No," Xiang Lefeng shook his head, "It’s tough. Back then, everyone in the Imperial Palace was killed. The current Xiang Family was carried on by the direct lineage members who were urgently transferred away; nobody witnessed the scene back then."

"Truly a disaster from heaven," Sai Xiuya sighed, "If the heritage of the Ning Dynasty period had not been interrupted, Shenzhou now..."

Yan Tingfeng sat quietly, the killing intent in his beautiful phoenix eyes growing more intense.

After one long hour, the door of the hospital room finally opened.

Ye Wanlan emerged, her demeanor calm as if the healing had not taken much effort.

She nodded to Sai Xiuya, "You can come in now."

Sai Xiuya followed quickly into the room and, seeing Old Master Sai already sitting up in bed, was nearly moved to tears.

"Grandfather!" Sai Xiuya rushed to the bedside, "Grandfather, you’ve finally woken up. Are you feeling any discomfort anywhere?"

Old Master Sai shook his head; he wasn’t feeling any discomfort in his body.

To him, the ten-plus days of unconsciousness felt like a long sleep; now, he even felt spiritually rejuvenated and incredibly light.

"Grandfather, this is Miss Ye," said Sai Xiuya, "Thanks to Miss Ye’s superior medical skills, I thought I’d never see you again."

At this moment, his admiration for Ye Wanlan had reached its peak.

"I thank Miss Ye," Old Master Sai got off the bed and gave Ye Wanlan a deep bow, "without you, this old life of mine would have been lost."

"I saved you with an ulterior motive; you need not thank me," Ye Wanlan spoke indifferently, "I need your Sai Family’s jade raw stones and other mineral veins. From today on, the Sai Family may only supply jade materials to me."

This indeed was a somewhat unreasonable proposal.

As one of the Five Major Families of Wanta Country, the Sai Family controlled one-third of the country’s mineral veins and naturally had numerous clients.

"No problem, integrity is what I’ve always valued in my life," Old Master Sai immediately agreed without hesitation, "You saved me, so the Sai Family will only cooperate with you."

He didn’t need to send someone to check and knew that while he was unconscious, there were many powers watching eagerly, waiting for the moment to kick him while he was down.

The Sai Family’s partners had certainly lost quite a few.

Ye Wanlan finally smiled, "Good, since you sincerely want to cooperate with me, then I won’t disappoint you."

"However, there is an important matter that I must inform Miss Ye," Old Master Sai began hesitantly, "Our Sai Family and the Du Family are currently disputing the ownership of a new mine; during my coma, it was a critical moment in the conflict."

Sai Xiuya’s eyes turned frosty, "Grandfather’s coma must be connected to them, I heard recently they found a master skilled in Art and Method; I suspect it was his doing."

Ye Wanlan hmm’d, "How is the ownership of the mine being contested?"

"To my shame," sighed Old Master Sai, "While Shenzhou is a land of propriety, my Wanta still retains the most primitive customs. Five arena duels, three wins against two losses, and the victor gains the new mine. Xiuya, what is the current situation?"

"As you asked, Grandfather, it is two wins against two losses," Sai Xiuya replied lowly, "Tonight is the last arena duel, and the situation is not very optimistic."

"Then we will just give up this new mine," Old Master Sai waved his hand and stated firmly, "Tomorrow I can accompany Miss Ye to pick the raw stones and ensure a safe return to Shenzhou."

Ye Wanlan however said, "No, there’s no need for you to give up; you can continue to take part in tonight’s arena duel."

"Ah?" Old Master Sai was taken aback but did not question further, "Alright, then I’ll have Xiuya take Miss Ye there. There are too many mercenaries in the underground arena; If you get hurt there, it would be my sin."

"Alright," said Ye Wanlan, "We’ll discuss the rest later in the evening."

To prevent anyone with ulterior motives from interfering again, news of Old Master Sai’s awakening was not released.

However, as one of the few closest to Old Master Sai, Mrs. Sai could not be kept in the dark.

Mrs. Sai finally began to panic, becoming restless, with cold sweat continuously streaming down.

She had thought that Old Master Sai would die quietly, but who would have thought he really would be brought back from the brink?

Mrs. Sai’s teeth were trembling.

Absolutely... she could not let anyone find out that she had made a deal with the Du Family to divide the Sai Family after Old Master Sai’s death.

She had to report at once, it was essential for Ye Wanlan to die in the underground arena!