Chapter 669: A Mother's Strength (Part )

Xiao Zhirou stared at Yun Zhuiyue with a cold and piercing gaze filled with anger, hatred and even hostility. Yun Zhuiyue was shocked and quickly apologized, "Rou'er, I admit that I was not thoughtful enough in this matter. It was indeed inappropriate to use Liu Xunyi to take revenge on Luo Tianjin, but...but I have never forgotten that he is your son. Therefore, I have secretly sent people to protect him for so many years, fearing that he would lose his life by accident..."

"Yun Zhuiyue, if it weren't for your kindness in raising Ping'er, I would have killed you!" Xiao Zhirou didn't want to listen to Yun Zhuiyue's explanation at all, and interrupted in a cold tone, "But the death penalty can be spared, but the living crime cannot be forgiven! You have made my son neither human nor ghost, and I will settle this account with you sooner or later!"

After saying that, Xiao Zhirou suddenly turned around and walked towards the river.

"where are you going?"

"Where else can we go? Xunyi is in danger, and as a mother, I naturally have to save him..."

"No!" Yun Zhuiyue's eyes suddenly changed, and she said sternly, "Do you want to kill your own son?"

"What?" Xiao Zhirou froze and stood there in a daze, angrily saying, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Right now, Liu Xunyi is in Lin'an City, with the support of the Song Dynasty. Who can hurt him? Don't look at the constant shouting from the Jianghu heroes. In fact, Liu Xunyi's life is not in danger at all." Yun Zhuiyue explained patiently, "On the contrary, if you act blindly and run to Lin'an City to save him without authorization, you will inevitably fight with those who are chasing him. You and Liu Xunyi should not know each other. If you suddenly stand up for him, it will surely arouse suspicion from the world. Now, in the eyes of the Jianghu heroes, Liu Xunyi is a traitor who killed his master. If you come forward to help him, Jueqing Valley will be criticized. At the same time, the Xiangxi Teng Clan will also be implicated by you. Don't forget that your godfather has made up his mind to announce your relationship to the world. Do you want your godfather to lose his integrity in his later years?"

"But……"

"Not only that!" Yun Zhuiyue did not give Xiao Zhirou a chance to refute, and continued, "Liu Xunyi is currently a meritorious official of the court. If you rashly get close to him, you will definitely arouse the suspicion of the court. If someone in the court falsely accuses him of colluding with underworld forces to plot against his will, not only will Liu Xunyi's future be ruined, but his life will also be in danger. If Liu Xunyi loses the trust and protection of the court, the consequences... are simply unimaginable."

"This……"

"And more!" Yun Zhuiyue said in rapid succession, "You and Liu Xunyi are close, and there is no guarantee that Ling Xiaoxiao will not guess your relationship. If Ling Xiaoxiao knew that Liu Xunyi was Luo Tianjing's illegitimate child, she would become even more crazy in order to eradicate the roots. Maybe... she would reveal Liu Xunyi's life experience to the court. If someone used this to impeach him, Liu Xunyi would become the target of public criticism. You also know how sinister the court is. Some things do not require solid evidence at all. Rumors are enough to kill people without a trace. By then, not only will the court no longer protect him, but it will kill him to silence him and eliminate future troubles. As you know, Luo Tianjin's crime is 'conspiracy to rebel'. As his heir, how can Liu Xunyi escape?"

"This..." Yun Zhuiyue's words made sense, and Xiao Zhirou couldn't help but fall into a dilemma. "You are right. Ling Xiaoxiao once sent someone to Xuzhou to assassinate Ping'er, but she had no grudge against Ping'er, so why did she kill her? I think about it, there is only one reason, she already knew that Ping'er was Luo Tianjin's daughter, so she was jealous and took the risk of killing."

"Since she knows that Luo Tianjin has a daughter, she is very likely to know that Luo Tianjin has a son." Yun Zhuiyue reminded, "If the people in the Xianwang Mansion know about this, Luo Tianjin's supporters will definitely recall the young master to take charge of the overall situation in the mansion. In this way, Ling Xiaoxiao's position will be lost. Her son is half dead and can't compete with Liu Xunyi for the throne. Therefore, in order to protect her own position, Ling Xiaoxiao will never let Luo Tianjin's illegitimate son go."

"Hiss!" Xiao Zhirou took a breath of cold air. When she thought of Liu Xunyi's situation, she couldn't help but panic and asked worriedly, "But will Ling Xiaoxiao already know Xunyi's life experience..."

"No!" Yun Zhuiyue's words were firm and resolute.

Xiao Zhirou raised her eyebrows and asked suspiciously, "Why are you so sure?"

"Because... you haven't shown any closeness to Liu Xunyi, and Liu Xunyi just killed Luo Tianjin, so Ling Xiaoxiao would never think that Liu Xunyi is the son of you and Luo Tianjin." Yun Zhuiyue realized that she had said something wrong, so she hurriedly evaded the question.

He did not want to tell Xiao Zhirou about his teaming up with Zhao Yuan and Ling Xiaoxiao to deal with Luo Tianjin, and he even did not want Xiao Zhirou to know that he had been to Luoyang City.

"You mean... I can't recognize Xunyi now?" Xiao Zhirou was concerned about Liu Xunyi's safety, so she was unaware of Yun Zhuiyue's ambiguous words.

"To save his life, now is not the time to recognize each other." Yun Zhuiyue nodded heavily, "Rou'er, no matter how high your martial arts skills are, you can't be an enemy of the entire Central Plains martial arts world. Now, Qingfeng is the leader of the martial arts world. He and Ling Xiaoxiao have usurped the throne and control the power of life and death in the martial arts world. Making enemies with them at this critical juncture is like hitting a rock with an egg. Not only will it fail to save Liu Xunyi, but it will kill yourself and implicate Jueqing Valley and even the Xiangxi Teng Clan."

"This……"

"But you don't have to worry too much." Yun Zhuiyue walked forward slowly, took the opportunity to hold Xiao Zhirou's shoulders, and comforted her, "Liu Xunyi is not as weak as you think. If he didn't have real talent and knowledge, how could he have made a great name in the martial arts world? You didn't know his life experience before, but he lived well in the bloody martial arts world. This shows that it is not easy to take Liu Xunyi's life. You should believe that he has the ability to protect himself."

"This is a different time. In the past, he had Luo Tianjin's protection and held an important position in the Xianwang Mansion, so everyone was in awe of him. But now it's different. He has become a traitor who killed his master and is wanted by everyone in the martial arts world. How can he protect himself? No! I can't watch Xunyi being imprisoned!"

After that, Xiao Zhirou pushed Yun Zhuiyue's arm away and said bluntly, "I am his mother. Even if he has committed a heinous crime, even if everyone in the world wants to kill him, I will protect him. Xunyi has been displaced and suffered a lot since he was a child. It was fine that I didn't know his life experience in the past, but now that I know he is my own flesh and blood, how can I turn a blind eye and watch him being hunted down?"

“That being said, you still have to judge the situation.” Yun Zhuiyue reminded, “If you act blindly, not only will you not be able to help him, but you will kill him instead.”

"Then...what should we do?"

Yun Zhuiyue hesitated for a moment, then said righteously, "The only solution now is to wait and see how things develop."

"Just wait and see what happens?" Xiao Zhirou said angrily, "What do you mean? You want me to just let it go?"

"Of course not! I heard that Jin Fuyu has returned to Jinjianwu and wants to make a comeback. With his cunning and means, he will definitely not be willing to be inferior to Qingfeng. Believe me, it won't be long before the martial arts world will usher in another great change." Yun Zhuiyue said firmly, "When the martial arts world changes, everyone in the martial arts world will be in danger. Who will have the leisure to avenge Luo Tianjin?" "Yun Zhuiyue, tell me the truth, was Luo Tianjin... really killed by Xunyi?"

Xiao Zhirou's question for no reason shocked Yun Zhuiyue, and she asked calmly, "Why do you ask that?"

"Answer my question first."

“This…” Yun Zhuiyue pondered Xiao Zhirou’s thoughts and said thoughtfully, “It’s been widely rumored in the martial arts world, and Ling Xiaoxiao and the disciples of the Xianwang Mansion have testified, so it should be… true. But after all, I didn’t see it with my own eyes, so I can’t make a hasty judgment. I can only speculate.”

"That is to say, apart from Ling Xiaoxiao and some disciples of the Xianwang Mansion, no one saw Xun Yi kill Luo Tianjin?"

"That should be the case." Yun Zhuiyue pretended to be serious and asked, "Why? Do you suspect that this is false?"

"I have met Xun Yi several times. Although we didn't have much contact, I know a little about his temperament." Xiao Zhirou muttered to herself as she recalled the past, "I always feel... that he won't kill Luo Tianjin."

"Why?"

"In the past, in order to complete the task assigned by Luo Tianjin, he jumped off the Cliff of Forgetfulness at the risk of his life." Xiao Zhirou pointed at the night sky, which was the direction of the Cliff of Forgetfulness.

"This shows that Liu Xunyi can do anything to complete his mission. He can ignore his own life for Luo Tianjin, and he can also ignore Luo Tianjin's life for the court..."

"Maybe!" Xiao Zhirou had no intention of arguing with Yun Zhuiyue. Her mood was very complicated at the moment and her tone was extremely sad.

"Rou'er, this matter was caused by me, I will never sit idly by." Yun Zhuiyue volunteered to please Xiao Zhirou, "Even if it's not for Liu Xunyi, just for you, I won't let him get into trouble. It's inconvenient for you to intervene in this matter, why don't I send someone to secretly protect Liu Xunyi? It can also be regarded as... making up for my debt to you. You are right! The grievances and right and wrong between you, me, and Luo Tianjin are our own affairs, and there is no need to involve the younger generation."

"If you could understand it earlier, why would Xunyi have to suffer so much?" Xiao Zhirou said coldly.

"Rou'er, if you want to punish me, I will never refuse."

Now that Luo Tianjin is dead, Yun Zhuiyue knows that Xiao Zhirou will never fall in love with other men again. So when facing her scolding, she is not as sensitive as before. Instead, she acts like a flirt and even enjoys it.

"Rou'er, now that my daughter is by your side and my son is under my protection, you can rest assured now?" Yun Zhuiyue said as she "carelessly" approached Xiao Zhirou. "Tonight, the moonlight is bright and as gentle as jade. Does it look like the moonlight we saw in Xiangxi when we were kids?"

"I don't have the elegance of Saint Yun. You can enjoy the moon by yourself!"

How could Xiao Zhirou not know what Yun Zhuiyue was thinking? But she had no understanding of the situation at all, and did not give Yun Zhuiyue a chance to reminisce about the past.

"Remember your promise tonight. If anything happens to my son, I will tear you into pieces!"

Although it was a threat, Yun Zhuiyue did not find it harsh. Instead, it sounded like the sound of nature and was very moving.

As the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder", this is fully reflected in Yun Zhuiyue tonight.

"Don't worry! For your sake, I will never let anything happen to Liu Xunyi."

"Humph!"

Xiao Zhirou snorted lightly, said no more, and jumped onto the bow of the boat.

Yun Zhuiyue stared at Xiao Zhirou's graceful figure walking away, and a knowing smile appeared on the corner of his mouth that had not appeared for more than 20 years.

"Rou'er, sooner or later I will make you change your mind and come back to me..."

……

(End of this chapter)