Leng Wushuang was surprised. Embarrassed, she answered scornfully, “You can eat anything indiscriminately as you please, but you cannot say anything randomly as you like. Who are you? How dare you talk nonsense here!?”
Lan Yue smiled back. “I am no one special, just a member of the Blue Fox family.”
Leng Wushuang hesitated. She had certainly heard about him and his background of Blue Fox descent. She also knew that he was engaged to Lan Waihu. However, as far as she was concerned, men of Blue Fox descent would not get married to a woman who was not a member of the family. Lan Yue, on the contrary, was engaged to Lan Waihu, who was of humble origin. His status in the family must be presumably insignificant, probably a servant from one of the nobles.
Therefore, she could not care less about him. She smiled a shy smile and responded, “Mister, although you are of Blue Fox descent, your presence must be quite insignificant, I assume. I understand that you do not know quite well about family affairs. My grandmother is one of the maidens of the royal family. 60 years ago, the king of the Blue Fox’s personally arranged a marriage for her to get married to my grandfather. My mother is their eldest daughter, so my bloodline is pure.”
Lan Yue laughed at her definition. Casually, he flapped his folding fan. “We shall not discuss the significance of my presence in the family at the moment, but I do know a thing or two about the royal family. Your grandmother was indeed the maiden for the king, but she was not exactly a member of Blue Fox descent. She was merely an orphan that the queen adopted. The queen decided to keep her close as a maiden because of her intelligence and sensibility. Her marriage was not an arranged one. The king only agreed to the marriage because your grandparents had some improper affairs. Initially, the king was going to arrange another marriage between your grandfather and a woman from the Blue Fox family, but your grandfather refused it and begged the king for a few days so he could marry your grandmother instead. He made it clear that your grandmother was the only one he loved and the only wife for him. The king decided to agree to his unreasoning passion. However, your grandmother’s actual family background remains unknown. Nonetheless, if true love knows no boundary, why should we care about one’s background? Don’t you think so?”
The crowd was not expecting this plot twist. All of them turned their curious eyes to Leng Wushuang.
Leng Wushuang was immediately agitated, like an angry cat that had been trodden on its tail. She could no longer maintain her courtesy as a lady and answered furiously, “Nonsense! You belong to the lowest caste in the family, how could you possibly know about the royal affairs? You are making an irresponsible remark about me! What a smear!” She spoke loudly. Her screeching cry was a sign of her anxiety.
Arms folded, Gu Xijiu found the drama amusing. It seemed far more interesting than she thought it would be.
Lan Yue was delighted. “Let me ask you… When did your grandmother pass away?”
Leng Wushuang stammered. “When… When she was about 40 years old. Her death was because of her enemy. They… They perished together in a fight.”
“Has anyone found her body?”
“I told you already; they perished together into dust. There was no sign of her body. Why did you ask so?” Leng Wushuang answered icily.
Lan Yue responded nonchalantly, “Members of Blue Fox descent have a very long lifespan, and we do not age. Our looks remain the way we look at 20 years old, even when we have lived on for a few centuries. If she lived, her true identity would definitely be exposed, as she was not a true member of the family. She had to die at 40 years old. Her death was not because of her enemy, but her own husband. He lured her deeper into the woods and killed her when she was unaware. He burned her body into bits of dust, so her secret would always remain a secret. His original family was nothing noble. It was because of the relationship he had with the Blue Fox family, thus earning the respect of the common people. Your mother and her siblings could eventually find themselves blissful marriages because of their proclaimed Blue Fox bloodline.”