15. The Shared Past 2
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Lord Xu's brows drew together.
"The Clan Elders are endlessly difficult, and have attempted to kidnap her three times already...!"
"What?!" Lord Zhang.
"Oh My!" Concubine Huang.
"Umh!" Lord Xu continued. "They all say things like, 'such a rootless thing does not belong in the head family', and they are constantly looking for ways to get rid of her. Luckily, our Yan Yan is smart! She will instantly cry if anyone but me sets foot in her room."
He couldn't resist a fond smile, then, "But it won't last for long, and this is why I'm trying to give her the necessary 'roots' she needs.
"Who doesn't respect the Zhang family? If Yan yan is betrothed to the Zhang family, it will give the elders something they've always wanted. A link to your family! She will have some value in the Clan!"
He turned to Concubine Huang. "Sister Huang, please pardon my request. I asked for Xiao Cheng, because I dare not ask for Xiao Yin. I know you are concerned about Xiao Cheng, but I can vow to give him a promising title."
Surprisingly, Concubine Huang shed a tear, and she used a silk handkerchief to gently dab at her eyes. "Sect Leader Xu, hear me out.
"After hearing your story, I think our A-Cheng is not enough to grant this little one power!" Then surprising both men, she suddenly stood up, picked her skirts and went to sit beside Lord Xu.
She held out her arms, and Lord Xu gingerly placed the infant in her arms, watching her croon at the child.
Then she turned back to her husband.
"My Lord, pardon me for saying so, but since Sect Leader Xu has given this child his name, can't we do a friend a favour and betroth her to our A-Yin?" Concubine Huang asked with her sweetest smile.
But Lord Zhang instantly turned white. "Nonsense!" He thundered. "A-Yin is my legal successor! I can't have him marry an orphan!"
Concubine Huang simply bowed. "Forgive me my dear. I misspoke. I only think that A-Yin is the uncontested genius of the Zhang family. No one can threaten his position, no matter who he marries!"
She raised her head to Lord Xu. "On the other hand, A-Cheng is my child ... the child of a mere concubine." She said, her words dripping in sadness. "He doesn't have enough power to protect this little one.
"But if she's betrothed to A-Yin," She turned back to her husband. "...she will be safe, and the Xu Clan will owe us a favour! Don't you think?"
In those days, Concubine Huang was considered the most beautiful human in the entire Yueyan City, and Zhang Guo had not once been able to deny her a single request!
Outside the door, Zhang Luoyin did not understand what the grown-ups were discussing, but just three days later, his mother had explained to him that he had to care for the child when he was grown up!
And as the years went by, he began to understand what it all meant, so when he was ten, he had dragged a six-year old Weiyan by the hand, to one of the gardens and had boldly declared,
"You will be my wife in the future! Don't worry, I will become a capable cultivator, and take care of you! Hehe!"
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At present, Bailong flushed.
'Such an adorable Love Story!' He thought.
But the memories that followed were not so great...
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In Luoyin's twelfth year, his mother, Duan Xiu had passed away due to an illness, and shortly after, Concubine Huang had become the new 'Zhang Furen'.
Luoyin had tried to be brave despite his grief, and he poured all his focus on his cultivation.
But not long after, his own condition began to worsen, and there seemed to be no cure, no matter which physician examined him.
"Perhaps it's a disease passed on by his mother..." Zhang Furen (Concubine Huang) said, then she gasped, covering her mouth and sinking into a bow.
This was because she had spoken aloud in the courtyard, before her mother-in-law (Luoyin's Grandmother) and a few elders.
"Oh my! I misspoke." She said to her husband, who wore a dark scowl.
"It's simply suspicious that mother and child fell ill like this!" Zhang Furen continued. "We must really get the best physicians for our A-Yin!"
Lord Zhang simply strutted away, but Luoyin had been hidden in a corner all the while, and he did not miss the small smile on his stepmother's face.
Luoyin's grandmother had eyed Lady Zhang with utmost hatred, then left with the elders shortly after.
Zhang Furen stood up and dusted her skirts.
"Hmph! Let's see how long you can keep A-Yin as Legal successor!" She sneered when she thought she was alone. "Why do you think I didn't let A-Cheng marry that rootless brat? A-Cheng will eventually become your successor!"
Luoyin went through several layers of shock!
He had never seen his fairy-like stepmother make such a frightening face, and he had always believed she was the sweetest person on earth.
He didn't understand the extent of her malice, and it wasn't like he minded his elder brother being the successor, so he overlooked what happened.
But when his step-mother began maltreating him, he had explained everything to his father, who dismissed him saying,
"Your step mother has doted on you for years and has not relented in caring for you since your mother died! How can you slander her like this?!"
Lord Zhang didn't believe a single word, so Luoyin sought help from his grandmother.
His grandmother said nothing and just looked at him sadly.
But just as he was leaving, she suddenly grabbed his arm. "A-Yin, It's all my fault! I let your father bring in a snake! A-yin, you must stay away from that snake! Stay away from your stepmother!" She pushed him away, then began to ramble, as if she wasn't quite well.
"A-Yin, don't go near the snakes! Stay away from the snakes!"
Luoyin had slowly backed away, and then run off, but he awoke the next day to the news that his grandmother had hung herself.
This had cast a dark shadow over the entire household, and Luoyin was left with a guilty feeling, wondering if he had somehow caused it.
But things only went downhill from there.
His step-mother and his beloved elder brother began to maltreat Luoyin even more, and soon he couldn't pass by them without receiving some grief or the other.
He kept his distance from them as his grandmother had advised, but in just two years, his illness got to a point where he could barely pick up a sword.
He coughed out blood often and staggered around weakly.
It was around that time that rumours sprung up, saying he had been using unhealthy shortcut methods to enhance his cultivation, and his symptoms had worsened because of that.
This made him an outcast, and even his father looked at him with utter disapproval.
For 'embarrassing the face of the Zhang household', Zhang Cheng and his cronies forced Luoyin's head into a bucket of feces, and to avoid the shame and disapproval of his family, Luoyin began to cover his face and stay out of sight.
When he was sixteen, his birthday was marked by his father naming Zhang Cheng the legal successor, and Luoyin had been moved to one of the back quarters. The shabbiest of them all.
"Since you like to hide yourself, we can only assist you in doing so!" Zhang Furen had said, and Lord Zhang did nothing to stop her.
Ages seventeen and eighteen, Zhang Cheng had made Luoyin's life a living hell, which included some of the memories Bailong had seen on his first day in the manor.
But despite all that, Luoyin tried to remain strong.
He was a dutiful son who visited his mother's crypt often, and he tried and tried to cultivate, though numerous physicians had told him not to waste his time.
'I have to become stronger for Yan Yan!' He often told himself.
By this time, Xu Weiyan barely visited the Zhang residence, and since Luoyin often hid away, he rarely ever saw her.
But she remained his fiancee after all, and he was determined to strive harder, not letting his life's situation dissuade him.
All until his nineteenth year...
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