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The recollection was suddenly interrupted. The scholar glanced innocently at everyone and then made a long story short: "My mother passed away due to illness, my father committed suicide for love, the three elders accidentally took poison, the left and right protectors fought and died together, and the eldest elder took me, who was still young at the time, and ran away."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw that not only Gongye Bai and Fan Qingbo, but even Xie Dongfeng, who had been speaking sarcastically since entering the room, looked as if they had been struck by lightning. The scholar blinked. "What's wrong?"

Gongye Bai was the first to recover and asked, "What happened to Old Madam Li's eyes?" It was common knowledge that the old lady of the Li family in Jiangnan, Qin Shenglan, the legendary Mandarin Duck Blades, lost her sight in the battle between good and evil when her eyes were ambushed by the Demonic Sect. But according to him, the Demonic Sect voluntarily withdrew from the world—how could that be explained?

"The Grand Elder was in love with the Mandarin Duck Swords. When he expressed his love, he forgot that he was covered in poison and accidentally blinded her."

Therefore, he inherited his father's skills and learned the martial arts of the three elders and two protectors, but he refused to learn the poison techniques of the eldest elder even at the cost of his life.

A long silence fell over the room.

After a long pause, Fan Qingbo sighed softly, "Now I finally understand why you're so foolish." This Udumbara Sect isn't some kind of demonic sect; it's clearly a foolish one! They're capable of self-destruction. In that case, the scholar isn't the most foolish one among them.

The moment the silence was broken, the burst of laughter was enough to lift the fragile roof off.

"Hahahaha..." Xie Dongfeng, contrary to his initial ambiguous attitude, laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, and said "good" three times to the scholar.

The scholar was puzzled, but politely replied with three "Thank you for your kind words."

Xie Dongfeng laughed even harder, put a hand on Fan Qingbo's shoulder, and poked her face, which was also flushed from laughing. "Hey, are you sure you want to abandon me for this guy?"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a powerful palm strike, which knocked him away and sent him crashing backward.

Gongye Bai caught him in time, and as soon as he regained his balance, his anger flared up again. Looking up, he saw Fan Qingbo looking bewildered, while the scholar stood beside her, possessively gripping her shoulder, his eyes also filled with anger. He coldly said, "Lord Xie, please have some self-respect. Miss Fan is my betrothed. Lord Xie, please remember to behave appropriately." His tone was full of threat.

Looking at the scholar who was completely different from before, Gongye Bai was secretly surprised, but was suddenly broken free by Xie Dongfeng.

"Hey! Who do you think you are! Have some self-respect? Your fiancée? Is she someone I already— um!"

Suddenly, Xie Dongfeng, who was in a rage, was immobilized by acupressure. Gongye Bai grabbed him, gave the scholar an apologetic smile, and then turned to Fan Qingbo, saying meaningfully, "We're leaving now. Do you remember 'Madam Xie's' birthday tomorrow? She misses you very much."

After saying that, he stepped out the door, gathered his strength, and leaped away, disappearing from the top of the wall.

As soon as the two men disappeared, the scholar released Fan Qingbo's shoulder, silently walked back to the table, and continued eating.

Seeing his expression, Fan Qingbo felt a little intimidated, and opened her mouth but didn't know what to say: "I..."

"Are you going to the Minister's residence tomorrow?"

"Uh, yes." They wouldn't have come to us together if it weren't for an emergency.

*Snap.* The scholar put down his chopsticks, and Fan Qingbo's heart skipped a beat. She saw him begin to clear the table, and she hurried over to help, but he raised his hand to block her. He quickly put the plates and dishes into a food box, turned around and handed it to her, saying, "You can go back now."

She took the food box, feeling inexplicably flustered, but still smiled nonchalantly and said, "Hey, scholar, have you misunderstood something?"

The scholar sitting at his desk seemed not to hear. Never before had Fan Qingbo been treated so coldly. A feeling of discomfort welled up in his heart. Unable to save face, he bit his lip, stormed out, and slammed the door shut.

The slamming of the door did not disturb the scholar. He gripped his brush, dipped it in ink, and continued writing, his expression seemingly unchanged. But the next moment, the brush broke in his hand. His eyes remained calm as he picked up a new brush, moistened it with ink again, and began writing.

A cool breeze swept in at night, and moonlight streamed through the west window, bathing the aloof man in its light.

As the autumn insects chirped mournfully, the last pen in the study broke in his hand.

Author's Note: One more chapter to go... I'm practically dead from exhaustion...

30 Jealousy Incidents (Part 3)

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the Fan family's gate opened. A figure darted to the Shu family's door, raised his hand, then lowered it, walked away, then returned. He repeated this back and forth, indecisive, lingering for a long time. Only after the entire alley had awakened, and the creaking sound of a door opening filled the air, did the figure hop away a few steps like a thief, then casually greet the early-rising neighbors and quickly leave.

Not long after, another figure appeared at the Fan family's gate, peeking around furtively at the Shu family's door.

After repeating the previous figure's four-step process of "raising hand, lowering hand, walking away, and coming back," this figure decisively decided to push the door open and enter.

At that time, the scholar was doing his morning exercise in the courtyard. He heard the noise outside the door as soon as he heard it. He was conflicted and struggled with his feelings. One voice said, "Go open the door. Maybe Miss Fan has something important to tell you." Another voice said, "What could be important? She's probably going to the Minister's mansion."

Hesitating like this, he finished a set of punches in a hurry, when he suddenly heard the sound of someone leaving outside the door. He felt a sense of emptiness and loss.

Just as he was feeling disappointed, he heard footsteps again. Thinking she had returned, he didn't hesitate this time and rushed forward. He opened the door and saw a dark figure stumble and fall inside. He reached out to help her, but then realized the figure wasn't the one he expected and quickly withdrew his hand.

Bang!

Fan Bing, who had been able to save himself but became complacent upon seeing someone helping him, suddenly fell face down onto the ground.

"Despicable! Shameless! Vulgar! Low-class!"

While applying the egg the scholar had ordered for breakfast to his eyes, Fan Bing launched into a tirade against him, "You must be jealous and resentful of my youth and beauty, that's why you deliberately framed me, trying to make the master abandon me. You're utterly insidious! Let me tell you, don't even think about it! I've served the master for almost five years, I won't be defeated by you so easily! You'd better be sensible and break off the engagement quickly! Otherwise—"

"Otherwise, do you want to die down there?" the scholar replied instinctively.

Fan Bing blushed, "You—you scoundrel who loves to eavesdrop!"

"This... I didn't mean it." The scholar looked troubled. "Brother Fan has a strong voice. I have tried my best to avoid listening to inappropriate things, but you can't guard against breakfast and lunch, and you can't guard against three meals a day because you can suddenly shout out from nowhere anytime, anywhere."

"You! You! You! You!" Fan Bing was almost speechless with anger. "You're mocking me?!"

Who said this guy was dull? This is clearly his sarcasm mode activated, he's invincible! He still dares to put on that innocent, harmless face and act young, does he think people don't know he's almost thirty? Old man!

He stared stubbornly at the scholar, "I won't back down. The master is mine, and no one can take him away!"

The scholar shook his head. "I have no intention of competing with you. Miss Fan's marriage to me does not change the fact that she remains your master. Besides, you have gained another family member. When Miss Fan is busy, I can also teach you to read and write. Isn't that good?"

Fan Bing stared in disbelief. "You're trying to bribe me?" How could this guy still remember what he said when they first met? How cunning!

"No, no, not at all." The scholar quickly waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something else. "By the way, Miss Fan once said that when she found you, you were a sickly, orphaned beggar, but it's not hard to tell from your gait and breathing that you have a high level of martial arts skill. May I ask, who is your master, Brother Fan?"