Girl, let me check it out.

The girl shook her head slightly, raised her neck slightly, and pecked the corner of his mouth like a dragonfly skimming the water.

"I still have things to do, you can eat by yourself and have a good rest after eating."

Hearing her coaxing tone, Fang Weihan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"If you want to be my mother, just tell me. You can also change your address to husband."

He patted the girl's round body wrapped in green clothes and said with a smile.

"Humph, you are my husband who I raised from childhood, it is only natural for you to call me mother..."

Xie Lingwan snorted softly and spoke in a low voice with a slightly red face.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Be quiet these two days and don't cause any trouble."

The girl waved her hand and walked out of the palace gate.

"Okay, mother."

he shouted.

Xie Lingwan staggered and almost fell.

She turned around and glared at Fang Weihan in shame and anger.

Fang Weihan smiled very happily.

……

After leaving the Prince of Guangling's Mansion, Xie Lingwan boarded the carriage she had taken when she came here and returned to the residence of the Xie family in Chenjun.

She walked into the gate of Xie's house with impeccable grace.

"Miss."

All the servants and maids she met along the way bowed their heads and greeted her respectfully.

Xie Lingwan walked past them with a calm expression.

She walked through the layers of courtyard corridors and finally came to a secluded study.

The study was dark, and the heavy curtains seemed to block out all light from the outside.

Xie Lingwan turned on the spirit stone lamp in the study and reached out to tap the wall next to it twice.

With a fluctuation of spiritual power and the teeth-grinding sound of gears rubbing against each other, the floor of the study in front slowly collapsed and separated to both sides, revealing a dark secret passage.

The girl walked into the tunnel with an expressionless face.

The tunnel was dark and winding, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Her footsteps stood out in this small space.

Xie Lingwan will never forget this place.

It was here that she signed an ironclad rule that she still regrets to this day.

As the girl walked, dark blue elemental power condensed in her hands and transformed into a solid water knife.

The water jet's blade is made entirely of rippling water droplets, looking like the sharp teeth of some wriggling creature.

Xie Lingwan pushed open the wooden door in front of her that was filled with a decayed smell.

"Squeak."

Inside the door was the secret room that she would never forget.

The layout of the study is very simple, with a table, several bookshelves, and a black rhino horn hanging on the wall.

Xie Tao and Xie Lue sat opposite each other in front of the carved black wooden table, with completely different expressions on their faces.

Xie Tao's face was as gloomy as water, and he seemed to have no reaction, just like he did at his wife's funeral.

Xie Lue's face was extremely pale, his hair was disheveled, and it was covered with grayish-white powder, which was messily stuck on his head.

It looks like he hasn't been having a good time these days.

Xie Lingwan's arrival attracted the attention of both of them.

Xie Tao glanced at her calmly, with some admiration and satisfaction in his eyes.

"Xie Lingwan! What on earth are you planning to do?!"

Xie Liao stood up suddenly like a desperate beast and rushed towards her.

The girl casually threw the water knife in her hand, and it instantly split into thousands of identical water knives, floating quietly in front of Xie Lue, abruptly stopping him from rushing forward.

The sharp blade of the water knife was against his neck, and Xie Lue dared not move.

He originally didn't want to stop, but the surging water elemental power on the water knife forced him to give up the idea.

Perhaps it was because the girl was accustomed to using conspiracies and tricks as the person behind the scenes, everyone more or less subconsciously ignored Xie Lingwan's true cultivation level.

Xie Lue suddenly remembered that his niece in front of him was a genuine Xunwei Realm cultivator of the fourth level of the Five Elements.

She's probably afraid that Xie Tao and Xie Lue combined wouldn't be enough for her to beat with one hand.

Besides being able to scheme, Xie Lingwan's cultivation was surprisingly so powerful.

How exactly did she do it?

Xie Lu hunched over in dejection, feeling completely defeated.

"Nothing, I just plan to send my second uncle back to Chen County to live in retirement."

Xie Lingwan had a perfect smile on her pretty face, and even the etiquette nanny in the palace could not find any fault with her.

"You can't do this! You can't do this!"

Xie Liao was still making his final struggle.

He growled:

"If my father knew about this, he would definitely not sit idly by."

"How can Second Uncle be sure that Grandpa doesn't know about this?"

The girl asked back in confusion.

"you!"

Xie Lue's face flushed red, and he pointed at her tremblingly, his lips turned blue, and he couldn't utter a word.

The reason why he had been making such a last-ditch effort these days was that he was waiting for the clan leader's order from Xie Mingren to reach Changming, hoping that he could stop Xie Lingwan's infighting.

But after Xie Lingwan's faint question, Xie Tao suddenly came to his senses.

Yes, what if Xie Mingren knew it a long time ago?

He...accepted?

Xie Liao stood there in despair, having already understood the problem that he had overlooked in his confusion:

Thank you family, always put interests first.

When it was obvious that his talents had been crushed by Xie Lingwan in all aspects, what reason did Xie Mingren have to favor himself?

It was ridiculous that in such a desperate situation, he actually hoped that he, as the patriarch, could stand up and defend that ridiculous family rule.

"Very good, you win...Xie Lingwan, you win..."

Xie Lue's body swayed, looking somewhat shaky, and he murmured in disappointment.

"I'm leaving now and going back to Chen County... From now on, the Xie family in Chen County will be decided by you and your daughter..."

He laughed miserably.

Xie Lue took a step forward, but found that the water knife floating in the air showed no sign of dissipating.

He looked at Xie Lingwan in surprise and doubt.

The girl smiled sweetly.

"Uncle, don't leave in a hurry. Your niece has something to ask of you."

"What else do you want to do?"

Xie Lue said in shock and anger.

"My property, my power, my connections, everything I have has been taken away by you, what else do you want to do!"

He roared like a wild animal on the verge of collapse.

"Yeah...Second Uncle is right."

The girl nodded.

"But even if a beast's sharp claws are cut off and its terrifying teeth are pulled out, it is still a beast."

"My niece is very timid and cannot stand the sight of wild animals."

Xie Lingwan said calmly.

"Ferocious beasts should be shackled and locked in cages, never to escape from them and bring disaster to the world."

"Are you right, Uncle?"

Xie Tao looked at her, unable to utter a word.

He felt inexplicably cold all over.

"Are you...trying to kill me?"

Xie Tao said with a hoarse voice and a miserable laugh.

"Ah? Killing my...your uncle?"

After experiencing anger, Xie Lue's mood calmed down instead, as if he had let it go.

"of course not."

Xie Lingwan smiled slightly.

"The Xie clan of Chen County has a rule that clan members are not allowed to kill each other. Uncle, do you remember?"

Xie Lue straightened his body, as if trying to fight for the last bit of his dignity.

"So what do you want to do? Just come on."

He said calmly.

Xie Lingwan didn't say anything, but turned around and looked at this unforgettable scene with a cold gaze.

"Xie Liao, do you still remember this place?"

She pointed to the ground and looked back coldly.

Xie Tao was a little confused.

What is this place? Isn't it just an ordinary secret room in the Xie family's mansion in Chen County?

The corners of Xie Lingwan's mouth curled up in a mocking arc.

"Seven years ago, in this very place, you forced me to sign an ironclad rule. Do you remember?"

The girl reminded calmly.

A flash of inspiration flashed through Xie Lue's mind, and he suddenly realized.

"You just want this... a golden rule?"

He suddenly looked up and asked in disbelief.

Xie Lingwan looked at him coldly and said nothing.

Xie Lue felt a sense of absurdity in his heart, and a dizzying feeling came over him.

My failure was actually just because of such an iron rule that seemed insignificant to me?

He took it for granted that he was doing this for the future of his family and niece, so he did it without any hesitation.

Lingwan is still young, I believe that when she grows up she will understand my good intentions.

But now it seems that he was wrong, extremely wrong.

It was this decision he made that year that pushed him into the abyss.

"you……"