The Cultivation Patriarch Became the Marquis's Wife - Chapter 3

I returned to the main residence to sleep. Xiao Jingyao meant to remain behind and care for Jiang Sirou, but she drove him out.

“My lord, it would be improper. Tonight is your wedding night with the marchioness. You should remain in your lawful wife’s chamber.”

I found him equally distasteful and kicked him out of the inner room.

“You stink of wine. Do not disturb this venerable one while I absorb moonlight essence.”

Furious, Xiao Jingyao wrapped himself in a quilt and spent the night curled up on a narrow couch in the outer room. By morning, dark shadows ringed his eyes.

The Dowager Marchioness doted on her son and nearly died of heartache at the sight.

When I served her tea that morning, she deliberately let her hand shake and flung the scalding liquid at my face.

“Oh, my! What sort of daughter-in-law cannot even hold a cup steady? Pour another!”

Xiao Jingyao stood to one side, watching with gleeful anticipation.

The weather had been poor the night before. I had absorbed very little spiritual qi and was already in a foul mood.

“Why waste perfectly good tea?”

I waved a hand and formed a spell seal.

“Water overturned, heed my command. Return at once; flow back into this cup.”

Droplets rose from my face and clothes, joined in midair, and streamed neatly back into the teacup.

I held it out to the Dowager Marchioness.

“Mother, please have some tea.”

Shock and fear seized her. Her hands trembled, and she did not dare accept it.

“This… She…”

Having gained a little experience the night before, Xiao Jingyao remained relatively calm.

“Do not be afraid, Mother. She learned a few stage tricks when she was young.”

The Dowager Marchioness relaxed and immediately found another fault.

“What decent girl learns such vulgar little tricks? How did the Shen family raise you?

“There is a reason merchants rank last beneath scholars, farmers, and artisans. They are base people, unfit for refined society!”

I was not truly the Shen family’s daughter, but I disliked what she had said.

“We are all ordinary mortals. What gives you the right to feel superior?

“I have heard all about this estate. The title sounds impressive, but the family has been in decline since the former marquis died.

“You have a great household of maids and guards to feed. This enormous estate constantly needs repairs. You do not know how to manage its affairs, your shops lose money, and your farms are failing. Xiao Jingyao’s salary does not begin to fill the holes.

“That is why you agreed to marry into the Shen family. You despise them for being merchants while spending their money to preserve your own luxurious life.

“You want the benefit and the moral high ground. Is that not a little shameless?”

The Dowager Marchioness slapped the arm of her chair.

“Insolence! You shrew, you have no respect for rank and twist right into wrong! Your family lacks influence at court. You were the ones who came fawning over the Pingyang Marquis Estate!”

I stood and smoothed my skirts.

“Very well. Have your son write a letter of separation. Tomorrow, I will take my hundred chests of dowry back to Jiangnan.”

“Wait—wait!”

She pressed a hand to her chest, caught her breath, and glared at me.

“I overheard gossip among the wedding escort yesterday.

“Your younger sister, Shen Ruzhi, is always wandering near the graveyard. The former marquis’s death must be connected to your family.

“For all we know, the Shen family deliberately lured that evil creature there!”

I raised my eyes and studied her expression. This was no angry invention.

Could someone in the Shen family truly be involved?

“I will investigate,” I promised.

After leaving her rooms, I walked quickly, thinking over each strange incident. My doubts multiplied.

Demons were throwing the world into disorder. Could it be connected to…

“Careful!”

With my head lowered in thought, I nearly collided with someone coming the other way. Xiao Jingyao caught my arm and pulled me aside.

As the stranger passed, my pupils contracted.

He carried a power I knew intimately.

“Who was that?”

“Imperial Preceptor Hengyi, inheritor of the Tianyan Sect,” Xiao Jingyao explained. “A true master of Daoist arts with profound power. Since my father’s death, Mother has invited him to perform a rite each year and protect the estate.”

So he was one of Tianyan’s descendants.

A thousand years ago, I had founded the Tianyan Sect with my own hands and passed my life’s learning to its twelve gate masters. When I faced my heavenly tribulation, the sect was at the height of its power.

A millennium later, the inheritance remained.

This grandmaster was pleased.

When I said nothing, Xiao Jingyao misunderstood.

He gave me a sidelong look, smugness written across his face.

“What? Frightened? Keep pretending to be some supernatural seductress, and the Imperial Preceptor might capture you.”

I looked up and studied him in silence.

Uneasy under my gaze, he touched his face.

“What are you looking at?”

“You are handsome. An impressive-looking man.”

Xiao Jingyao’s lips curved. “Naturally.”

“Pity you were born without a brain.”

The marquis exploded.

“What did you say?”

I had no desire to argue.

“If the Imperial Preceptor is a descendant of the Tianyan Sect, subduing a few demons should be easy. Why has he allowed evil to run rampant across the land?”

“What would you know?” Xiao Jingyao, still offended that I had called him stupid, explained in a disdainful tone. “The Imperial Preceptor discovered long ago that the seals on the Demon-Locking Tower were loosening and some of the creatures inside had escaped. Do you imagine they can simply be caught and returned? Do you even know the tower’s history?”

I paused.

No one knew it better.

I had built the tower. I had locked the demons inside.

And inside it, there was also…

My expression grew grave. I turned toward the gates.

“I will enter the tower now and reinforce the seals.”

Xiao Jingyao grabbed me, looking as if I had gone mad.

“The Demon-Locking Tower is forbidden by imperial decree. If you trespass, everyone in this estate could lose their heads!

“Besides…”

He looked me over, taking in my slender arms and legs with obvious contempt.

“You can bully me if you like, but the Demon-Locking Tower was built by the founder of the Tianyan Sect—the legendary Dragon-Slaying Patriarch. It contains the greatest demons of antiquity.

“What business does a little girl have meddling there? One of them might swallow you in a single bite!”

I wanted very much to tell him that I was that founding patriarch, and that I had never slain a dragon.

But in his present state, speaking would be a waste of breath.

He would rather believe a folk tale than believe me.

“Forget it.” I sighed. “Pack your things. Tomorrow, we go to Jiangnan. First, I will see what sort of creature has wormed its way into the Shen family.”