Chapter 7: Little White, Is This Poisoned Wine?
When Zui Li Xuan’s father and mother learned that their precious daughter had returned, they hurried over at once.
Nan Xun had barely warmed the seat beneath her when the door was blown open by a gust of wind.
A beautiful middle-aged woman rushed in, took several long strides to Nan Xun, and pulled her into a tight embrace, wailing loudly, “Xuan’er, my good daughter! Why did you come back? Since you ran away, you should’ve run farther! You’re really going to drive your mother to death!”
The handsome middle-aged man—her father—followed close behind. Seeing her mother in this state, he quickly set up a soundproof barrier outside the room. Otherwise, if these words were overheard by someone with ulterior motives, there would definitely be trouble.
Nan Xun was startled.
So it turned out her parents had known from the very beginning that she had eloped with Qin Yuexuan?
Lowering her head, Nan Xun said softly, “Mother, if I really left, what would happen to you and Father? I’m of no use in the Zui Li family anyway. I might as well make some contribution to the clan.”
The moment her mother heard this, tears streamed down her face like a flood.
Her father’s eyes reddened as well. “Xuan’er, it’s Father’s incompetence—I couldn’t protect you.”
Nan Xun shook her head, tears in her eyes. “With several elders of the Zui Li family pressuring you from within, and other great families eyeing us like tigers from without, outsiders only see Father’s glory as the head of the Zui Li family. Who has ever known the bitterness in Father’s heart? So I don’t blame you or Mother—truly.”
Her father, a grown man, could no longer hold it in after hearing this and broke down crying, holding mother and daughter together.
Nan Xun: …
Her mother still wanted to hustle her into escaping again, but the news of her return had already been leaked to several elders by Zui Li Yue. The elders rushed over upon hearing it and remained locked in a standoff with her father for a long time.
In the end, her father could only watch helplessly as the elders sealed off Zui Li Xuan’s entire courtyard. The powerful isolation barrier was probably so tight that not even a fly could get in.
The title “Head of the Zui Li Family” sounded glorious, but in truth her father was rather pathetic. Really—he was nothing more than a highly capable puppet of the Zui Li family. When it came to major decisions, the final say still rested with the elders collectively.
It had been less than a hundred years since the human race and the beast race agreed to a ceasefire. Back then, it could be said that both sides suffered heavy losses. However, the beast race’s recovery abilities were far stronger than those of human cultivators, so the truce period had to be extended.
Later, after deliberations among the great families, the current strategy of a marriage alliance was devised.
The Zui Li family was the foremost among the five great families. To demonstrate sincerity in this marriage alliance, the candidate naturally had to come from the Zui Li family. Yet every descendant of the Zui Li family was exceptionally capable, and the elders were unwilling to part with any of them.
And so, everyone’s gaze fell upon Zui Li Xuan.
She had no particular abilities, yet she was a daughter of the clan—and stunningly beautiful. Scouring the entire Zui Li family, there was simply no more suitable candidate than her.
In the blink of an eye, the vast courtyard was left with only Nan Xun and the long-eared rabbit in her arms.
Perhaps the long-eared rabbit’s presence was simply too low-key—throughout everything, no one spared it a single glance.
Nan Xun tried to contact the Void Beast, but for some reason the little thing gave no response at all.
And so, Nan Xun could only chatter away to the long-eared rabbit instead.
When Nan Xun ate, she shared the table with the rabbit. When she slept, she held the rabbit and slept in the same bed. Two days passed like this.
On this day, Nan Xun lay in a rocking chair with the long-eared rabbit in her arms, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the sea of stars in the night sky.
“Little White, I really want to drink some wine. Once you’re drunk, all your worries disappear,” Nan Xun muttered, rubbing the long-eared rabbit’s ears.
Even as its ears were being kneaded, the long-eared rabbit remained indifferent. It tilted its head to look toward the small table nearby, a flash of blood-red light flickering across its crimson eyes.
The next moment, Nan Xun pointed at the little table and cried out in surprise.
“Wine? How is there a jug of wine here?” Nan Xun stared at the table in front of her, nearly burning a hole through it with her gaze.
In the end, Nan Xun confirmed she wasn’t seeing things—there really was a jug of wine on the table.
After hesitating for a long while, Nan Xun asked the long-eared rabbit, “Little White, do you think this wine could be poisoned?”
The long-eared rabbit shot her a glance, its face utterly expressionless.
