187 Gifted Island

Chu Li sighed. "Is the Second Lady that determined to enter King An's Imperial Residence...?"

"She has already made up her mind. Who in the world can persuade her?" Xiao Qi glanced at Xiao Tieying.

Xiao Tieying looked helpless. "I've tried, but it was useless. They're already here. It's too late to do anything now!"

The engagement between King An and Xiao Shi was a verbal contract. However, the one who officiated it was the Emperor and the High Duke. Both of their words were irrefutable. Therefore, it was based on the implication of such. If both the Emperor and the High Duke were not serious about it, the contract could be voided. However, if even one of them was serious, the other party had to comply.

Chu Li kept quiet and furrowed his brows.

He understood why the Second Lady made this decision. The Yi Public House's power was waning day by day. The Ren Public House even had a political marriage with the Huay Public House. The situation was slowly getting worse. The marriage between her and King An would stabilize the morale of the Public House and retain its prosperity.

Xiao Tieying said, "Chu Li...sigh…sorry to bother you with this!"

He knew that Chu Li was leaning his affection toward Xiao Shi. If it were not so, he would not have almost given up his life to save Xiao Shi twice.

Chu Li sighed. "At this point, I think I'll try my best to persuade the Second Lady. Joining the Imperial Residence by herself is worrisome."

"There's no need to worry." Xiao Tieying scoffed. "We can't let her do whatever she wants now. Even if she has qualms about it, you'll still follow her there!"

Chu Li replied, "What if she forces me to return? I can't just disobey her orders."

"I'll author a warrant for you." Xiao Tieying scoffed. "What she says will have no bearing on you!"

Chu Li nodded in agreement. "That'd be a much better way."

Xiao Qi glanced at Xiao Tieying from the edge of her eyes. She wondered what he was trying to do. If he had resorted to this ironclad attitude sooner, things would not have spiraled out of control. They had even attracted the attention of the personnel from King An's Imperial Residence.

Xiao Tieying said, "Chu Li, take care of my sister. She's torturing herself as well. The both of you…"

Xiao Tieying shook his head as he said those words. He felt sorry for Chu Li because he was the one who made things hard for him.

As an indomitable man, seeing the woman he loved marry another man, and being forced to attend the wedding itself was indeed torture.

However, Chu Li agreed to do it. He was really enduring the humiliation as part of the important mission. Looking at the big picture, Chu Li deserved a large compensation.

Xiao Tieying turned to Xiao Qi. "Sister, Chu Li is handling a courtyard on his own right now, isn't he? We'll give him an entire island."

Chu Li quickly waved off his hand. He smiled. "Master Xiao Tieying! There's no need to do that! I don't dare accept!"

Being gifted an island and being placed in charge of an island were two completely different things. Xiao Tieying seriously intended to give Chu Li an island. Everything on the island would have belonged to Chu Li, and the Public House would have had no rights to interfere with anything he did there. It was like having a Public House within the Public House. The statuses were completely different.

The temptation was huge but Chu Li did not want to leave Jade Guardian Island. Living on Jade Guardian Island was like living with Xiao Qi. Whenever he wanted to look at her, he would be able to do so with the Omniscient Mirror. He would feel empty if he was not able to lay eyes on Xiao Qi for even a day.

It would truly be meaningless if he lived on an island, all alone.

Xiao Qi furrowed her brows as she muttered, "Hmm. It'd be good to give him an island."

Chu Li interjected. "Lady Xiao Qi!"

Xiao Qi replied, "You can't possibly stay cooped up on my island forever."

Chu Li smiled. "I'll have less worries on your island! Besides, Lady Xiao Qi will be leaving the Public House and so will Su Ru. The Jade Island Guardian would have no caretaker!"

"I guess that makes sense." Xiao Qi gently nodded.

Xiao Tieying smiled. "How about this, I'll give you an island and you can stay there. However, you can also stay at Jade Guardian Island whenever you choose to. You can decide when you're free. Tell me when you're done choosing an island."

"Many thanks, Master Xiao Tieying." Chu Li did not reject the offer. This was indeed the greatest reward for a Scribe of the Public House.

Chu Li swiftly changed the topic. "What should we do about Desolate Town's Mayor?"

Xiao Tieying suddenly sighed. "Now, that matter is really troublesome!"

"Why did the Wang Brothers want to kill him?" Chu Li asked.

Xiao Tieying scoffed. "The mayor definitely deserves death. His son robbed a female citizen, and now the parents of the victim want to bring it to the courthouse. What now? He's gotten himself thrown into prison and sentenced to torture till death! This is completely wild."

Chu Li furrowed his brows.

Xiao Qi scoffed. "The Wang Brothers' act really gratify the people, this is really…"

Chu Li said, "If that's the case, let's not say that he was murdered by others in the memorial that we're going to hand in to the Emperor. Shall we say that he died because of a disease? What do you think?"

"Hmm...?" Xiao Tieying grasped his own chin. "That's quite a good idea. We'll do it just like that, and we'll pass Xiao Song's apology memorial to the throne too. I believe the Emperor will end up confused."

"Not only will this help us protect the Public House's prestige," Chu Li said. "This'll also be a warning to the other Mayors. If they cause any outrage, we won't let them off scot-free!"

"That's a great idea!" Xiao Tieying smiled. "These fellows take over towns and no one controls them. They always end up doing revolting things. The people of the martial arts world won't just lie down and take it. We still need some assistance to deal with this problem, it's quite a repetitive issue. The best choice we have is to send all of them a warning!"

Xiao Qi furrowed her brows. She offered her opinion. "We'll offend the Mayors if we do this."

"Then let it be." Xiao Tieying scoffed. "They wouldn't dare do a thing!"

Chu Li said, "Lady Xiao Qi, when dealing with these Mayors, you need to use threats. Let them feel fear or else they'll continue whatever they're doing. The wrath of God and the resentment of men are shouldered on their backs. The reputation they corrupted was the reputation of our Public House."

"That's true!" Xiao Tieying slammed the table. "We should've finished them off long ago!"

Xiao Qi gently nodded and said nothing.

——

Chu Li returned to the courtyard, and Xue Ling diligently served him. She prepared a whole table of great dishes along with good wine.

She used her clean hand to pour the wine, and then sat opposite of Chu Li. Her cold face turned into a warm smile. "Master, did you manage to catch the culprits?"

Chu Li gently took a sip of wine, and shook his head.

"Aren't the culprits the Wang Brothers?" Xue Ling asked. "Master still hasn't caught them?"

Chu Li said, "They're the High Officials of the Huay Public House."

"So we can't touch them?" Xue Ling scoffed. She was unconvinced.

Of course, she knew how powerful the Public House was. Her Master had killed the Imperial House's High Official, and was still safe from allegations. Not even mentioning that the man was a Mayor.

Chu Li nodded. "We can't touch them."

Xue Ling pursed her red lips.

Chu Li said, "Do you know why Wang Zhengzong and Wang Zixu killed Desolate Town's Mayor?"

Chu Li explained the reason to Xue Ling.

Xue Ling furrowed her brows. "Injustice as an officer, bullying a citizen into submission? D*mn it!"

Chu Li lifted a piece of beef, sent it straight into his mouth, and slowly chewed it.

Xue Ling scoffed. "Are we just going to let this slide?"

"What can we do even if we cared?" Chu Li asked. "The both are polarizing. They've done good and bad. Standing out for this kind of guy is not authoritative and fair at all. That would just unleash all the Mayors. Besides, the Huay Public House would've also surrendered."

He explained the situation as Xue Ling helplessly stared at him. "Master Chu Li, these kinds of offensive jobs surely must be done by you, no matter what!"

Chu Li smiled. He replied, "Who'll go if I don't?"

"I believe High Duke Song won't dare to take it too far, if Master Xiao Tieying were to go personally."

"Maybe not." Chu Li shook his head. "However, what if High Duke Song were to make it difficult for Master Xiao Tieying? Our Public House would lose face!"

"High Duke Song is really awful!"

"As long as the person is dead, there'd be no favor to repay." Chu Li sighed. "He really thinks that the High Duke bode ill rather than well."

"That's very disappointing!" Xue Ling scoffed.

Chu Li said, "There must be some sides to the story that outsiders don't know about. Fine, there's no point in discussing them. Did anything else happen in the Public House?"

"Everyone was discussing about King An's and Second Lady's engagement!" Xue Ling smiled. "Everyone's quite happy."

Chu Li furrowed his brows.

Xue Ling said, "King An has a good reputation, and he's even a prince! Everyone believes that he's a perfect match for the Second Lady! If she married over, the Ren Public House wouldn't dare to cause trouble anymore!"

Chu Li sighed to himself as he nodded.

"Bam Bam!" A knock rang throughout the courtyard. Su Ru pushed the door open and then walked in. She was dressed in yellow this time, and her beautiful face was clear, flawless as ever.

Su Ru entered the courtyard. "Chu Li, Lady Xiao Shi wants you over."

"Chief." Xue Ling stood up to welcome her.

Su Ru waved as a signal to drop the courtesy. She carefully stared at Chu Li.

Chu Li nodded before standing up to leave.