THE YILING MATRIARCH

Chapter 39 : Wandering the Halls of Jin

Just as Jin Guangyao approached and called out, "Brother" to Lan Xichen, having been concerned about the absent-minded expression on Lan Xichen's face, another person entered the room and threw himself over the man, wailing not-unlike a child would. 

"Brother!!!" The person was none other than the unbecoming Nie sect leader, Nie Huaisang, and his tears and snot were already staining his face as usual in the midst of his clear unhappiness.

Jin GuangYao almost stepped back from the force. He quickly fixed his cap with one hand, "HuaiSang, what's wrong? Let's calm down first." Despite Jin Guangyao's best attempts to calm the other man, nothing seemed to work, so he could only ask his wife to go ahead without him and let Huisang whimper for a bit longer. As Lan Xichen could not hold back any curiosity as to what had upset Nie Huisang, Wangji and Meifeng stood back; it was the perfect time for her to slip away and further investigate around the Lanling Jin sect. The matter of how the maid reacted to seeing her also made Meifeng wonder just what happened for Mo Xiemei to be treated that way by the people she was related to.

Stepping an inch closer into Wangji, she quietly spoke to him of her plan to sneak away. "Lan Zhan, I'm going to slip away for a while and try to find someone who can answer my questions, so please try to keep Jiang Cheng off my back for a while. It would be best if he didn't come find me when I do this, so won't you? I'll be in our room when I return." His answer was the tight squeeze her hand felt before she slipped free, disappearing into a corridor with Wangji's eyes carefully watching her leave until focusing on the crowd to make sure no one noticed her absence.

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Meifeng's search shortly after led her into a small pavilion, having found nothing else that would point her in the direction she was hoping to find some answers, when someone suddenly appeared and rudely called out to her from the other side of the rock garden. "Hey, you!" Turning on who had spoken out in such a way towards her, she was met with Jin Ling's annoyed face looking at her, yet he was the exact person she was looking for. As a member of the Jin clan, he might be able to tell her all the things she wanted to know, as well as explain the reason behind why his clan members were treating her the way they were.

"What do you mean 'hey, you?' It's not nice to talk like that, especially when we were becoming such good friends, A-Ling. You're making Aunty very sad." 

A hot blush bloomed on Jin Ling's face being referred to in a familiar way that only close family members did with one another. Meifeng did get a sort of satisfaction out of this, having missed out on the boy's early life being his adopted-aunt. For an added effect that made Jin Ling's blush possibly worse was Meifeng running a hand in his hair, ruffling it just enough for his glare to increase.

"S-shut up! Stop messing with my hair too! I did warn you not to mess with my sect's clan-members, and what do you do? You do exactly the opposite! Honestly, if you were my aunt, you'd be the biggest troublemaker that had to be put on a leash and kept in a corner so you couldn't do something stupid." Well he certainly hit the nail on the head Meifeng thought, most certainly pleased with herself now as she also rolled her eyes at the young Jin's dramatic flare up.

Suddenly, as Meifeng was still talking with Jin Ling, half a dozen members from the Jin clan were all staring down at her with hate filled gazes as they corralled around them. One of them, obviously the leader judging by his posture standing in front of two others, spoke up in a clear and disgusted manner that matched his less than pleasant expression. "I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it really is you. You must be either very brave or very stupid to show your face here, though I know the reason is the latter from knowing what I do about you."