Chapter 474: Madam Yu’s Secret

“It’s precisely because the demon sects are familiar with you, that they want to use you as bait. That way, other agents can infiltrate more easily.” Madam Yu smiled behind her sleeve.

Ye Wenxin’s face immediately fell. She felt like a living target, meant to face the storm while covering the other undercover agents’ tracks.

“I guess that works too. But when is this operation starting?” Ye Wenxin asked. She still wanted to visit the Wind and Moon Palace, so she didn’t reject the idea outright. It was the perfect excuse—she could go along with the immortal sects’ plans, and if the demon sects discovered anything suspicious, she could easily blame the whole thing on the immortal sects. It wouldn’t lead back to Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng at all.

As she was mentally calculating her next steps, Madam Yu appeared slightly surprised. “I thought you would refuse, so as your Godmother, I already turned down your Sect Master’s suggestion on your behalf.”

The moment Ye Wenxin realized that this awful idea came from that old fox, she felt frustrated. Once she left the room, she was determined to find Jin Xiaoqin, and mention this matter during pillow talk.

That scheming Sect Master… Since he had set his sights on her, he would have to pay the appropriate price. A wicked smirk crept across Ye Wenxin’s lips, and once again, she found Madam Yu staring at her.

She wondered if Madam Yu found her expression unsettling, or if she was looking at her and remembering someone else through her somewhat similar face.

“Godmother, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve died unknowingly,” Ye Wenxin said, using her voice to pull Madam Yu out of her daze. She couldn’t quite grasp what was going through Madam Yu’s mind.

Madam Yu seemed to realize she had forgotten herself, and quickly added, “It’s fine. Even if you go to the Wind and Moon Palace, given the relationship between you and me, my sister won’t give you a hard time.”

Ye Wenxin actually felt that Liu Churan might make things even harder for her because of that. However, she didn’t voice her concerns. The two of them continued sitting there, sipping tea and chatting, but Madam Yu remained distracted, and their conversation didn’t reach anywhere…

At the end of the day, Qiao Ni, who had gone out to play with Jin Xiaoqin, returned with her arms full. She gifted Madam Yu and Ye Wenxin each a small pendant, as if she wanted their family of three to have matching tokens.

It was hard to tell whether Qiao Ni had noticed anything, or was completely oblivious to Madam Yu’s condition. But Ye Wenxin felt a pang in her heart upon seeing Qiao Ni’s bright smile.

“Ni Ni, has your mother said anything to you?” Taking advantage of Madam Yu’s absence, Ye Wenxin leaned closer to Qiao Ni for a discreet discussion. She wanted to understand just how precocious this thirteen-year-old was.

Qiao Ni blinked her large, pretty eyes and asked, “What are you hinting at?”

Ye Wenxin felt a bit flustered and pulled Qiao Ni even closer. “Stuff about your real father. Didn’t we agree that I would give that person a good talking-to?”

Qiao Ni’s little face immediately showed an unhappy expression as she answered, “That person is too much! My mother is this sick, and he doesn’t even come to see her. He must be off dying in some other woman’s arms.”

Ye Wenxin felt a chill run down her spine at those words. In the past, she would have had no reaction to such talk, but hearing Qiao Ni say it now made her feelings quite complicated.

She tried to defend the womanizer. “Maybe (s)he’s tied up with something.”

“What could possibly have taken over a decade? I’m almost old enough to get married, and I’ve never even seen what my real father looks like!” Qiao Ni’s dissatisfaction erupted, and Ye Wenxin realized she had dug herself into a hole. Just as she was trying to soften the father’s unflattering image, she spotted Madam Yu approaching from a distance.

The two abruptly ceased their conversation, and swiftly switched to talking about the moonlight outside. Madam Yu seemed to sense something but didn’t inquire further. She leisurely began peeling apples for the two. Ye Wenxin and Qiao Ni exchanged glances, planning to criticize that scoundrel later.

As the night deepened and activities died down, a petite figure quietly entered Ye Wenxin’s room. The moment she stepped in, Qiao Ni eagerly rushed over to Ye Wenxin for a sweet embrace.

“You little rascal. I’m your godsister, you know!”

This enthusiastic Qiao Ni reminded Ye Wenxin of her younger self. However, she was reluctant to admit it and gently pushed Qiao Ni away.

Qiao Ni was quite dissatisfied but obediently sat there, continuing, “This is way more exciting.”

In that moment, Ye Wenxin felt that Qiao Ni was definitely not her child; how could she have such novel ideas? She didn’t show her thoughts as she tried to project a bit of the authority expected of a godsister.

Seeing that Ye Wenxin wouldn’t give her a chance, Qiao Ni reluctantly brought out the spoils she had collected over the days.

A red chiffon dress, exquisite jewelry—each piece looked a bit old, but seemed to tell the story of its owner.

“These are… Did my mother really wear such things?”

Qiao Ni had managed to bring out the clothes while Madam Yu was sleeping. She hadn’t expected that the box Madam Yu always carried would contain anything other than the belongings of that scoundrel.

Qiao Ni naturally assumed that Madam Yu’s partner was a man, and since she bore no affection for that scoundrel, she felt no need to hold back her opinions.

However, Ye Wenxin immediately recognized the dress, which had once been her favorite outfit. At some point, she had forgotten how she lost it. Like other clothes marked with identifiers, this one had the name ‘Gu Qingcheng’ stitched on it in Earth script—Ye Wenxin’s personal mark.

She hadn’t expected that Madam Yu would keep the dress for so long.

“If I’m not mistaken, this shouldn’t be your mother’s outfit, but her partner’s.”

“Huh, does that scoundrel like crossdressing?”

Although Qiao Ni was born in Green Isle Manor, she didn’t know much about cultivators, and certainly had no idea about the dual cultivation practices they had invented to justify the act of having s*x.

Ye Wenxin felt it wasn’t wise to tell Qiao Ni, lest it spark an interest in cultivation and lead to her actually conceiving a granddaughter with her daughter.

“Well, I wouldn’t know about that. Does your mother only have this one box?” Ye Wenxin attempted to change the subject.

Although Qiao Ni was quite perceptive, she read Ye Wenxin’s mood and didn’t press further. She replied with a nod, “Yes, but there’s another locked box, which I also managed to take.”

She opened the bag of holding at her waist, and soon a smaller box appeared.