Li Nianlong's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. "Sis, you're really ruthless!"
Shao Meiyun rolled her eyes. "As a person in power, there can't be even the slightest bit of feminine mercy, especially when it comes to death row inmates? Being able to contribute to the long-term stability of my Liu family before their death is considered accumulating merit for their next life."
What does practicing acupuncture have to do with the long-term stability of the Liu family?
Li Nianlong smirked and shook his head. "We don't need those death row inmates for now, and I don't want to expose my skills. The fewer people who know about this, the better."
"Sure, I'll listen to you." Shao Meiyun smiled.
Li Nianlong glanced at her and whispered, "Thank you."
Li Nianlong genuinely respected his cousin from the bottom of his heart. He even admitted that without Shao Meiyun, he wouldn't have any connection with the Liu family, and perhaps the old lady Liu would have died long ago.
Everything was because of Shao Meiyun; she was an incredible woman.
"You're welcome." Shao Meiyun smiled faintly, watching Li Nianlong continue practicing acupuncture until nightfall.
Grandmaster level at 15%, that was Li Nianlong's current achievement as an acupuncturist.
From reaching the grandmaster level to now, it had been six hours in total. At 15% proficiency, following this pace, the acupuncturist would undoubtedly reach the mastery level within three days.
Li Nianlong was very satisfied with such rapid progress, but the dead soldiers he used for practice looked like they'd been through hell. Their faces were pale, some even vomiting, clearly enduring a lot of torment.
"Menglong, you've worked hard," Shao Meiyun said, wiping the sweat from Li Nianlong's forehead with a handkerchief. She smiled. "Let's have dinner together. There are some things I want to discuss with you, cousin."
"Oh?" Li Nianlong had initially intended to hand over the blueprints to her and leave. But since Shao Meiyun suggested otherwise, he hesitated and said, "Then I'll text Ruyue."
Shao Meiyun smiled faintly. "Why not invite Ruyue to join us? I'll send someone to pick her up."
"No, thanks," Li Nianlong shook his head. "I don't want her to be involved with the Liu family."
"That's a bit harsh." Shao Meiyun chuckled. "Menglong, are you still unable to fully support the Liu family in your heart?"
Dinner was served in Grandmother Liu's room. Although there was also the need to entertain Zhao Qingqing, Shao Meiyun delegated the task of entertaining her to the servants in the mansion. As long as there were no major issues, she wouldn't pay any attention.
"Sis," with all the dishes served, Li Nianlong looked at Shao Meiyun. "You mentioned you had something to ask me. What is it?"
Shao Meiyun glanced at Grandmother Liu, who nodded. Shao Meiyun smiled faintly. "Menglong, did you know? Today, the Empress's sister came."
"The Empress's sister?" Li Nianlong was taken aback. "Zhao Qingqing?"
"I didn't expect you to know her quite well." Shao Meiyun smiled faintly. "Yes, it's her."
How could I not know her? She's the aunt of Zhao Tianming's wife.
"Why did she come?" Li Nianlong asked.
Given the current situation between the Long family and the Liu family, it was clear that Zhao Qingqing's visit to the mansion was for some ulterior motive. Although Li Nianlong wasn't too concerned, he also didn't want the Liu family to be ambushed.
"You'll never guess," Shao Meiyun picked up a glass of wine and swirled it gently. The red liquid, accompanied by the mature beauty, was particularly tempting.
With a light chuckle, Shao Meiyun said, "She came for a marriage proposal."
A marriage proposal?
Li Nianlong was stunned. "For whom? Who is the proposed marriage partner?"
After the massacre by the Yue sisters in July, the Liu family's direct heirs were left with only Shao Meiyun. Given Zhao Qingqing's status, she couldn't possibly propose marriage for a girl from a side branch of the Liu family. Moreover, what kind of marriage proposal would she make? Was it for her son?
"You'll never guess," Shao Meiyun smiled coquettishly. "She's here to propose marriage for the Crown Prince, and the proposed marriage partner is me."
"What!?" Li Nianlong stood up in shock, his face full of astonishment and anger. "She's proposing marriage to Long Zongheng! And the proposed partner is you?"
Seeing Li Nianlong's reaction, Shao Meiyun confirmed her suspicions. She had previously suspected that Li Nianlong might have been behind the attack on the Crown Prince. However, in her impression, Li Nianlong and Long Zongheng had no connection. For what reason would Li Nianlong want to assassinate the Crown Prince? But now... she believed! Li Nianlong and Long Zongheng had a feud, and it was not a small one.
Shao Meiyun had never told anyone about her speculation. Even Grandmother Liu didn't know about it. Li Nianlong's extraordinary reaction now confirmed her suspicions. This made Grandmother Liu look surprised. "Menglong, why are you so anxious? Don't you agree with Meiyun marrying Long Zongheng?"
"I absolutely cannot agree!" Li Nianlong sat back down, nearly collapsing the wooden chair. He clenched his fists, veins popping on his forehead. "Long Zongheng... I must kill him!"
Hearing this, Grandmother Liu and Shao Meiyun were both shocked. "Menglong, you... you want to kill Long Zongheng!?"
"Yes! I must kill him!" At this moment, Li Nianlong no longer concealed his feelings. Filled with resentment, he said, "Long Zongheng killed Uncle Guan and tried to kill me. I have nothing but hatred for him!"
"What are you saying!?" Grandmother Liu and Shao Meiyun were completely shocked. Grandmother Liu hurriedly asked, "Menglong, what is your relationship with Long Zongheng? Why would he want to kill you? The Uncle Guan you mentioned, isn't he an old servant of your family?"
When Li Nianlong's background was investigated, Uncle Guan's information was naturally discovered. However, after Li Nianlong and Uncle Guan left the mansion at the end of June, they never returned. At that time, Grandmother Liu's attention was focused on Li Nianlong, and she didn't pay much attention to an old servant. Now, Li Nianlong mentioned it, only to learn that the old servant had been murdered, and the culprit turned out to be the Crown Prince.
This is simply unbelievable.
As Li Nianlong's eyes flashed with boundless resentment, he no longer concealed the truth: "My biological father... is Long Qingyun."
Clatter!
The chopsticks from both Liu Taixiao and Shao Meiyun fell to the ground in astonishment.
"My father is... Long Qingyun... Qingyun... Yun..."
Long Qingyun's name echoed hazily in his mind. After a moment, Liu Taixiao stood up abruptly, enunciating each word: "The current king... Long Qingyun!?"
"Yes," Li Nianlong replied coldly, looking at him. "Now you understand why I said my mother couldn't enter my father's family clan! It's because my father is Long Qingyun. You always say I'm part of the Liu family, with a noble status, but once Long Zongheng dies, I'll be the only heir to the Huaxia royal family. Isn't that more noble than the Liu family?"
"You—" Liu Taixiao's face flushed red with anger, and he trembled, unable to speak.
"Grandpa, don't be angry," Shao Meiyun furrowed her eyebrows and quickly comforted him. "Menglong, you should stop saying these nonsense. Regardless of who your father is, although you've changed your surname, since your mother didn't enter your father's clan and you're surnamed Liu, then you're a member of the Liu family. Even if you kill Long Zongheng, because you're surnamed Liu, you can't become the Long family's heir, unless you change your surname to Long."
"I'm surnamed Li!" Li Nianlong furrowed his brows, saying coldly, "It has nothing to do with the Liu family. It's just that my mother's surname is Li, and she also gave me this name."
Shao Meiyun smiled faintly. "Regardless of the reason, you're still surnamed Liu, not Long."
Liu Taixiao also calmed down. As an old fox who had lived for over seventy years, there was little he hadn't seen. Upon careful consideration, he realized that Li Nianlong's outburst just now was all due to impulse. Though he still felt a bit uneasy, considering Li Nianlong's hatred towards Long Zongheng, he sighed lightly and sat back down. "Menglong, you child... Grandpa doesn't know how to deal with you."
"I don't need you to tell me," Li Nianlong said coldly. "Everything I'm doing now is to improve my strength and then kill Long Zongheng. As long as I kill him, what does it matter to me whether the Liu family lives or dies?"
"You—"
"Menglong!" Shao Meiyun suddenly slapped him across the face, making a crisp sound. Li Nianlong was stunned, looking at Shao Meiyun dumbfoundedly, only to see tears in her eyes, a look of desolation.
The evil fire in Li Nianlong's heart was instantly extinguished. "Sister, I..."
Seeing Li Nianlong's guilty expression, Shao Meiyun took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and smiled again. "You foolish child, don't say such foolish things anymore. Do you know how much your sister was hurt just now?"
"I'm sorry." Li Nianlong lowered his head, only able to utter those three words.
"And Grandpa," Shao Meiyun looked at him. "Regardless of whether you admit it or not, Grandpa is still your closest blood relative in this world. Grandpa is already in his seventies. As a younger generation, do you want to upset him? Although I've never met your mother, I believe she must have been a kind woman. She must have taught you what filial piety is. Is your idea of filial piety to make Grandpa angry?"
Li Nianlong felt ashamed. Shao Meiyun's words struck to the heart. In Huaxia, filial piety was paramount. He had known this since childhood, but because of his anger, he had forgotten what filial piety meant. He had impulsively contradicted Grandpa, making him tremble with anger. In both emotions and logic, he was in the wrong.
But young people's pride was too strong. For a moment, he couldn't bring himself to apologize to Grandpa, so he remained silent.
As an experienced person, Liu Taixiao understood what Li Nianlong was thinking at this moment. He sighed lightly. "Meiyun, let it go."
"Grandpa..."
"Let it go!" Liu Taixiao said softly. "Everyone makes mistakes when they're young. Holding onto those mistakes isn't the conduct of a gentleman."
"Although I'm not a gentleman, but a woman, Grandpa's lesson is noted." Compared to Li Nianlong, Shao Meiyun held Liu Taixiao in great respect. She was willing to listen to Grandpa's words, although whether she acted on them was another matter.
Turning to look at Li Nianlong, who was silent with his head bowed, Shao Meiyun lifted her hand and gently stroked his cheek. "Menglong, I'm sorry. Sister was too impulsive just now. Does it still hurt?"
Although she was already in her thirties, Shao Meiyun, a rich young lady, had always been sheltered and pampered. Her skin was exceptionally tender and smooth. Feeling her gentle touch on his cheek, Li Nianlong felt comfortable and guilty at the same time. "It doesn't hurt."
After a moment of silence, Li Nianlong turned to look at Liu Taixiao, pursed his lips, and said, "I was wrong just now. I'm sorry."
Liu Taixiao smiled, and so did Shao Meiyun.
"It's okay. Grandpa is strong and can withstand it," Liu Taixiao said in a single sentence, causing Li Nianlong to also curl his lips.
The conflicts and knots just now dissipated like smoke.